Healing Foods

We are what we eat. Food is fundamental. The ancients embodied the connection between food and optimal health from Ayurveda to Christianity, Taoism and traditional Chinese medicine to the native peoples and shamans of the world. Food is a global, communal, healing language. It is a sacred way for us to experience and respect the interdependence of all living things and allows us to express gratitude for Nature’s abundance. Food is medicine and contains life force energy to heal us. Our first primal relationship to another human being depended upon food and its life-giving aspects; therefore food affects us at the core level of ourselves and is highly symbolic of love and care. Taking the time to feed ourselves well provides us nourishment, both symbolically and physically. It is a way to honor and thank our bodies, and our bodies respond in kind with radiant health and longevity. In a society steeped on multi-tasking, speed and technology, we all need one thing: to slow down. Food offers us a chance to do just that: to live simply, to create community, to heal and be artisans of Nature, to touch the Earth deeply with our hands, and nurture life with life. Private Consultation Private in-home therapeutic nutritional consultations are available. A typical consultation lasts approximately 4-5 hours and covers various genres of food such as: meat/fish, raw dairy, fermented foods, raw fats, grains and legumes as appropriate to the client’s needs and condition, if any. Healing Foods Workshops Yoga philosophy teaches that appropriate ahara (food) and vihara (lifestyle) create optimal health of body, mind and spirit. How and what to eat is highly subjective and should accomodate our individual constitution, blood type, medical anthropology and present health conditions. There is no "universal" diet that works for all, given the uniqueness of each human being. What heals one may bring disease to another over time.

Workshops generally begin with a brief, all-levels yoga practice followed by a hands-on foray into therapeutic nutrition. Students learn the theory behind eating enzymatically-live and raw foods geared toward a particular workshop topic.

Expect a combination of lecture, food prep and enjoying what we create!

Workshops can be arranged for private groups upon request.

The Skinny on Raw Fats

Raw fats are essential in detoxing our body of toxic chemicals, heavy metals, pharmaceutical and recreational drugs, nourishing our joints, brain and myelin sheath (coating around our nerves), keeping arteries pliable and flexible, lowering LDL ("bad" cholesterol) and building HDL ("good" cholesterol). They enable us to continue building hormone as we age, maintain our youthful vitality and help provide vibrant, well-hydrated skin. These precious fats sustain our body if we become deficient and malnourished due to diseases such as cancer or parasitic infection. Often they have been avoided, eliminated or are missing in many people's diets. In my clinical experience, each person, regardless of age or constitution, requires raw fat for longevity and sustained health without exception.

The Conscious Omnivore: Meat as Medicine

Protein is the second most common component in the body and essential to regenerating healthy tissue, retaining muscle density as we age and strengthening us while cleansing and detoxifying. Proper consumption of proteins prevents various deficiencies, build-up of ama (toxins and undigested food), parasitic infections and longterm malnourishment. We may sustain our health but not necessarily thrive and be robust without them. In my clinical experience, many people are unaware how to use the "protein" key to optimize and increase health and it was my own experience years ago as a vegetarian. We will focus specifically on animal proteins: organic grassfed meats, wildcaught fish and raw dairy.

Fun with Fermentation

Fermented foods such as miso, raw yogurt and kefir, as well as cultured vegetables like sauerkraut and kimchee, can help recolonize our intestinal tract with healthy intestinal flora (beneficial bacteria and yeast). They provide much needed daily defense against pathogens, virus, bacteria and other unwelcome microbes. Our healthy flora is often destroyed by stress and anti-biotics and for some people, have never been actively replenished once depleted.

People the world over have long known and historically consumed these highly beneficial foods for longevity and radiant health. Strengthening the intestinal tract, dissolving unwanted fatty acids, facilitating elimination and digestion all provide valuable reasons to include these probiotic and enzyme-rich foods in our diet.

Food offers us a chance to to live simply, create community, heal and be artisans of Nature, touch the Earth deeply with our hands, and nurture life with life.