Living Beyond Breast Cancer event on the Art Museum steps, Sunday, May 16th, was a bigger success than they thought. Over 1,000 people converged to practice yoga and to raise $$$ and awareness for breast cancer. They raised $190,000 to help those receive prevention, treatment and support in dealing with breast cancer.

I am very excited to let you know the Totally Zen team had 16 people come out to practice yoga and we raised $1,500 for breast cancer. We reached our personal goal.

It was an amazing ENERGY FILLED event!!! So moving to be part of the solution! Imagine all those people: of all different backgrounds and fitness/yoga levels coming together to BE as ONE?? Some who have breast cancer, some who are in remission, some who’s family or friends who have been affected by breast cancer or others, like me, who want to show their love and support.

THANK YOU TO THOSE THAT HELPED Totally Zen RAISE MONEY, AWARENESS & PRACTICE YOGA WITH ME.

You can still donate $$$ to help them reach their goal!

PLEASE DONATE at this site to help LBBC reach their fundraising goal.

Your presence was deeply appreciated!

NAMASTE!!!

The sensation of taste… AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! An ABSOLUTE FAVORITE of most people! How gratifying is it to taste GOOD FOOD?? Personally, I learned how to LOVE GOOD FOOD by traveling in Europe and then from a family friend who took us out and explained the sensation of taste. I have never looked back.

To truly appreciate and enjoy the sensation of taste is a HUGE BLESSING! I can’t imagine not understanding the true pleasure of biting into a decadent dessert or a fresh, seasonal dish made to perfection. An apple a day is a treat in itself and so satisfying it can change your mood!

How is it that our body receives the taste sensation? When we eat the saliva in the mouth breaks down the food so that your taste receptor cells can tell your brain what you are experiencing. Taste receptor cells are in a cluster and they are called taste buds; there are thousands of them on your tongue and in your mouth. Each taste bud has about 50-100 taste cells that represent the five taste sensations. The tongue has pores that connect to each taste bud so when the different substances are taken into the mouth they can reach the receptor cells below the surface. Once converted, the sensation of taste is found in the brain and this is true for all five senses. The tongues taste receptor cells connect through a synapse because the neuron releases a hormone to the receiving cell.

We have five primary sensations of taste:

Sour                        Sweet                             Salty                                Bitter                                      Umani

Perception of a sense is an awareness. In yoga we build awareness. I would venture to say that many people who begin to practice yoga then become increasingly more aware of their different senses. It is desirable to enhance your cognizance of the five senses that enrich and enhance your life every second of every day. Food is an experience that can leave you satiated, happy and energized.

Eating for nutrition, enjoyment and socially are all different experiences. Find one example of each setting, try and connect to the sense of taste and see if you notice a difference in the taste of your food. If you are alone and it is quiet the taste is easier to focus on. When you eat for nutritional purposes you may forget to even taste your food. The presence or absence of a good atmosphere and people can either take your food experience off the charts or leave you unsatisfied.

To cultivate a stronger sense of taste you can begin to become mindful of the breath, relax, clear, focus on the food you are about to receive, be grateful for this nourishment and begin to eat slowly, chew your food well and close your eyes and feel the experience of eating food moving through your body.

Each day is more fulfilling when you find you can simply just enjoy your food!    

Earth Day is a way of creating awareness and recognition for our planet. Founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in that began in 1970 as the largest organized event at that time. Now each year it is celebrated globally.

In Philadelphia many organizations find a way to recognize Earth Day. In Clark Park, 43rd & Baltimore, last Saturday the Uhuru Movement made the beneficiary of their Earth Day Fest the African Village Survival Initiative. This organization concentrates on helping provide food, water, energy and programs to foster economic empowerment in the African nation and communities worldwide.

At the park there was food, music, lots of people, kids, games, spoken word, drumming circle; as well as, speakers on sustainability, health and social justice. A great flea market provided a perfect backdrop to all the people to enjoy this nonstop entertainment. There were lots of craftspeople, jewelers, artists, unique gifts and books to allow you to take home something.                  

The sunshine and good vibes could not be denied and I couldn’t help but feel everyone appreciated the park as a fine example of the great treasure and resource the Earth provides them. Individually and collectively we can take the Earth for granted and then a moment happens where you say, Ahhhh & feel all the goodness we derive from our beautiful planet!

Please take time to do something to enhance the Earth today! You can do something else for the Earth tomorrow and all the other days to follow.

Greeenfest Philly will be holding their annual Greenfest this Sunday, September 7th, 11am-6pm, 2nd & South Street. In 2006 Urban Green Partnership started to bring people together to become more connected and aware of the environmental issues facing the city and Delaware valley. 6,500 people & 40 vendors took part in the day long festival. In 2007 they decided to repeat their efforts and the festival grew to 14,000 people, 130 vendors. This time the focus was on joining with the Delaware Valley Building Council to accentuate the need for Philadelphia to build and be greener. The festival then became part of the Green Plan Philadelphia.

All I can say is: What a way to create community! What a way to turn people on to becoming, embracing or supporting the Green Movement!

What is Green & Why is it important?

Green is a way of living, thinking & acting. Recycling & re-using everything you can, conserving all resources, making more green decisions, refusing to use products & services that are not green & supporting greener ones instead! Once you raise your awareness you will want to make changes by consuming in a more conscious way.

Detoxification of the planet is essential for all species health and continued longevity. Can’t you sense the planetary shifts and see the toxic materials building in our supplies of natural resources? What will we do & where will we turn for natural, clean essentials if we pollute all our Earth?

“There is a very common mind-set right now which holds that all that we’re going to need to do to avert the large-scale planetary catastrophes upon us is make slightly different shopping decisions,” said Alex Steffen, the executive editor of Worldchanging.com, a Web site devoted to sustainability issues. “The genuine solution, he and other critics say, is to significantly reduce one’s consumption of goods and resources. “

I found a website, http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/4990/index.html, that gives some startling statistics, suggestions & information on going green : 

• The amount of wood and paper we throw away each year is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years.

• 99.5 percent of all fresh water on Earth is in icecaps and glaciers.

• Each gallon of gas used by a car contributes about 19 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere. For a single car driving 1,000 miles a month, that adds up to 120 tons of CO2 a year.

• A single polystyrene (Styrofoam) cup contains one billion billion molecules of CFCs–that’s 1,000,000,000,000,000,000.                                                      

• Once a CFC atom reaches the ozone layer, it can take over 100 years before it breaks up and becomes harmless.

• About 110 million Americans live in areas with levels of air pollutants the federal government considers to be harmful.

• Americans dump 16 tons of sewage into their waters–every minute of every day.

• Although water covers two-thirds of the surface of the Earth, all the fresh water in lakes, streams, and rivers represents only one-hundredth of the Earth’s total water.

• Each year, 1 million sea birds, 100,000 marine mammals, and 50,000 fur seals are killed as the result of eating or being strangled in plastic.

• A plant called the rosy periwinkle, which grows in the rainforests of Madagascar, has been used to make a drug that can cure some kinds of cancer.

• Americans throw away 25 billion Styrofoam coffee cups every year, and 2.5 million plastic beverage bottles every hour.

• Americans throw away enough glass bottles and jars to fill the 1,350-foot twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center every two weeks.

• Americans throw away about 40 billion soft drink cans and bottles every year. Placed end to end, they would reach to the moon and back nearly 20 times.

• Eighty-four percent of a typical household’s waste–including food scraps, yard waste, paper, cardboard, cans, and bottles–can be recycled.

• Using recycled paper for one print run of the Sunday edition of the New York Times would save 75,000 trees.

• If every American recycled just one-tenth of their newspapers, we would save about 25 million trees a year.

• Each year, 40 million acres of tropical rainforests–an area larger than the state of California–are destroyed through logging or burning.

• Only 10 percent of the 35,000 pesticides introduced since 1945 have been tested for their effects on people.

• It takes only one-twentieth as much raw materials to grow grains, fruits, and vegetables as it does to raise animals for meat.

• The typical American home uses about 300 gallons of water a day.

• A 1/32″ leak in a faucet can waste up to 6,000 gallons of water a month, or 72,000 gallons a year.

• America’s refrigerators use about 7 percent of the nation’s total electricity consumption–the output of about 25 large power plants.

• By turning the heat down, Americans could save more than 500,000 barrels of oil each day–that’s over 21,000,000 gallons.

• A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to two million gallons of fresh water.

• By the year 2000, U.S. businesses will need the equivalent of all the office space in Pittsburgh, PA, to store the paper it uses in just one year.

• Driving an average of 1,000 miles a month produces about 120 tons of carbon dioxide a year.

• If all the cars on U.S. roads had properly inflated tires, it would save nearly 2 billion gallons of gasoline a year.

We can no longer wait until tomorrow to embrace this challenge! We need everyone’s commitment! Hopefully, we’ll see you there &/or inspire you to Get Greener everyday!

Meditation is the next layer you add to a yoga practice once you have found posture and breathing. Building a yoga practice bit by bit takes hard work, just like anything you really want to succeed at in life. Indeed, yoga is a life skill and in this hectic world we live in meditation can be as essential as yoga. They compliment each other; but in yoga the real work does not begin until you learn how to meditate because then you can tap into the internal and external energy. It is my deep belief that if everyone meditated there would be a lot less hostility in our world. This is how powerful, transformational and critical meditation can be to your health and happiness and everyone else’s.

Moments of time connected by nothing but breath & clear presence are the crux of meditation. Finding things you might have lost along the way we engage in meditation to reconnect to the source. Deep relaxation can be achieved by participating in a regular practice of meditation. Awareness to the self and others can be cultivated by means of meditation.

When we were babies we had no constant ticker tape of thoughts trailing our every move. We had no information highway, bills, business, relationship woes, concerns or considerations. As we get older the chips start to stack and the pile gets so large just thinking of it can raise your blood pressure, make you sweat, frown, curse and sometimes a lot worse. Just think of all the tragic abuse and killings we hear about every day in every corner of the world.

Meditation helps you regain your center so that all these problems become manageable and approachable. You can take action instead of get stuck in stress of many types; like: fear, anxiety, worry, anger and other more negative emotions.

How do we learn to meditate?                                              

It starts with your breath in a quiet place and an intention to build breath energy without thought. (Refer to the breathing post from 7/3.)

Once you learn how to deep breathe in a constant, cyclical manner you have begun the rhythm or energy.
To transform this energy, which is your breath into clear and positive white light. 

People suggest many different types of concentration and awareness tools:

Some people like to chant, others like to visually see the breath as white light, another method is connecting to the sensation that is your breath. Focusing on a point outside the self or within the self are still other forms of meditation. I began by counting the breath because it is hard for thoughts to enter in your mind when you are counting.

Don’t try too hard and do not get discouraged. I did not learn to meditate for about two years. It depends on your concentration and focus, your openness and effort, your intention and desire.

Start with nine deep breaths without thought once, twice or three times a day. Later you can sit, lie or walk in meditation for longer periods. Build your meditation strength and skill as you would any other learned skill or behavior.

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Ultimately, your goal is to return and join with universal conscious-ness, the divine power, a higher force that exists around you and within you. The One that helps you elevate your level of consciousness so that the “little things” that used to alter your mood or behavior are now more manageable because you have a tool to feed you that true power. Eventually, this leads to peace and contentment.

Trying to describe the vast number of Qigong forms here could keep us here for a good, long while. There are said to be around 35,000 different forms of Qigong.

Even though there are many different forms of Qigong they all essentially use the same principle. The goal is to remove tension from the body and increase the energy flow.

If we focus on calming the mind then we can open the qi channels (or meridians) and direct our energy (qi) along these pathways. In essence you are directing oxygen, blood and new energy to increase the circulation and remove stagnation. This will ward off disease.

Qigong can be performed: standing, sitting, still, moving and lying down. In the still forms: seated still, lying down or standing still you begin with meditation and then possibly just use your mind and breath to channel the energy or you can place your hands in various postures to activate energy flow to that particular part of the body. 

In seated moving or standing moving qigong you use the pumping or expanding and contracting of form with breath to activate and strengthen the energy. You can create a connection to your energy and then begin to move it internally or externally over the body.      

Another way to differentiate Qigong is by the different types: Taoist, Confucian, Buddhist, martial and medical. The first history of Qigong exercises were recorded by Lao Tzu (premier Daoist philosopher) on pieces of silk dating back to the third and fourth centuries B.C.

The Chinese practiced Qigong to enhance their martial arts practice. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) utilizes the same pathways so when you practice a Qigong form you increase your vitality.

There are many schools of Qigong that strive for the same goal but through a very specific form and structure: Shaolin, Taiji ( Tai Chi), Jin Gong, Flying Crane, Shaolin Damo , Wu Qin Xi, Ba Duan Jin and Yi Jin Jing are just a few.

“You are what you eat” is more than just a familiar saying – it’s another way we can all strive to be totally zen. Being mindful of what we eat nourishes our bodies and connects us with the earth.

In our busy lives, we often don’t have time to cook or be thoughtful about what we’re eating. Sometimes we need to be reminded that you don’t have to cook for hours to enjoy a healthy and delicious meal. Even the simplest foods like blanched vegetables and steamed fish with lemon and pepper can be extremely satisfying. Open yourself up to the possibilities in simplicity.

Another way to make your diet totally zen is to buy local and seasonal foods. By eating these we become more aware of the seasons and cycles of life and learn to appreciate the finite moments for each vegetable and fruit. Eating local and seasonal is not only great for you, it has echoing effects like supporting family farms, protecting open space, reducing emissions spent on transporting food long distances, and building your community.

The farmers’ market is one of my favorite places to shop and browse because it’s so full of possibilities. There’s something about meeting the person who grows your vegetables that solidifies a connection with the land and makes cooking an experience rather than a chore. The vegetables are always more tasty and fresh than at a supermarket too.

Farmers’ markets are also great for opening up creativity in the kitchen. Try buying something you haven’t tried before like mustard greens or lima beans, and then ask the farmer for suggestions or look up a recipe when you get home. The only thing that trumps shopping at a farmers market is growing vegetables in your own garden. Nothing is more satisfying!

Buy Fresh Buy Local Week in Philadelphia is this July 12th to July 20th with plenty of events: from farm tours, to medicinal plant walks, to cooking demonstrations, to samples of local beer and ice cream. There’s no better introduction to local food – check it out! For more info visit the Farm to Philly Blog.

Some of my favorite places to buy local food are:                              

Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market
12th and Arch Sts
Tuesday – Saturday 8am – 6pm
Sunday 9am – 4pm

Jefferson Farmers’ Market
10th and Chestnut Sts
Thursdays 12pm – 5:30pm

Headhouse Farmers’ Market
2nd and Lombard Sts
Saturdays and Sundays 10am – 2pm

Some of the local foods available in July are:                                                          

Beans
Beets
Blueberries
Cucumbers
Corn
Eggplants
Peppers
Sweet Potatoes
Yellow squash
Zucchini
Lettuces
Herbs
Radishes

Later in the month look for:

Tomatoes
Peaches
Watermelons
Cantaloupe
Potatoes