Welcome to another edition of the Living Yoga Newsletter,
your source for the reliable information and support you
need to reclaim your health and energy, naturally.
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In this edition you will find:
Events and Announcements
Feature food: Edible Flowers
Refreshing Spring Soups (raw, of course!)
Feature Article: Part IV of My Fasting Story
I have planted my tomato and cucumber seeds - they will
grow into seedlings on my kitchen counter, then harden off
outdoors in my greenhouse. Over the years I have
learned to keep my garden simple - to focus on growing
the foods we love best and will really eat!
(Most of us really don't need more than one zucchini plant,
for example.)
For the folks in my household, that means we will plant
mostly tomatoes, cucumbers, salad greens, sweet peppers,
melons, and berries. We may try a little corn this year,
for an experiment. And I'm trying out more tomato
varieties, including different colored ones.
raw diet, is edible flowers. You can really have fun
dressing up your raw meals with colorful flowers, and
many of them really taste good, too! My
children especially love to do the harvesting and
decorating. I've included a short article to inspire you
and get you started.
Part IV of my fasting story takes us to the last day of the
fast. In my next newsletter, Part V will begin with eating
our first food in 26 days! Stay tuned, because there is
much more to tell about the recovery journey . . .
Events and Announcements
course has been a big hit, and I'd like to offer it again, on
Monday evenings (7-9pm) from June 9th - July 28th.
Please let me know right away if you are interested!
You can see a description of the course under the
Services tab at www.LivingYogaNow.com.
in my home studio. See www.LivingYogaNow.com for details.
Join at any time, your first class is free! $15 drop-ins, or save
with a 10-class pass.
Keep Your Salad Healthy! Learn to make your own . . . ."
Please pre-register by calling the store, 996-8111. $10.
3rd Sunday Raw Food Potlucks - Next one on May 18th,
1 - 3 pm at 1801 Avondale Ave. Call 995-0875 for details
or visit www.LivingYogaNow.com under "Services".
3rd Sunday (Ann Arbor) -
http://www.livingyoganow.com/services.html or
http://rawfood.meetup.com/312/
1st Thursday (Livonia) -
http://vegmichigan.org/events/index.php
1st Monday (Lansing) - http://www.livinghiho.com/page12.html
1st or 2nd Friday every other month (Sterling Heights) -
http://www.rawteacher.com/bethwilke/?p=calendar
2nd Thursdays (Toledo) - Bob Avery 419-382-1850
3rd Saturday (Lansing) -
http://www.livinghiho.com/page15.html
3rd Wednesday (Jackson) - Char Raby 517.529.9073 or
charjackr@sbcglobal.net
Last Thursday (Southgate) -
http://www.risingsunyoga.com/Newsletter/September/Sept07News
Letter.htm
Monthly (Flint) - http://www.sustainablyraw.com/index-3.html
2nd Wednesday (Muskegon) - Angel Reflections located on
Sherman and Glenside blvd.
Monthly (Southfield) -
http://rawfood.meetup.com/361/calendar/7018479/?gj=sj29
Ester Floyd
Monthly (Grand Rapids) - Carlos Dominguez 616.450.0726
email: little.chow4u@gmail.com
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Edible Flowers
nutritious garnish on your raw food dishes. You can really
impress friends and family with this exotic, special touch
on a meal! Growing the flowers yourself is your best bet,
just to be sure they are free of any pesticides or other
contamination.
wild greens, in the cool of the morning (but it's also okay
to rush out on impulse and pick some while preparing
dinner!). If you are not using them immediately, maintain
their freshness by storing them either in water or in a
plastic bag with damp paper towel, in the refrigerator, and
use them that day.
It's best to remove the pistils and stamen to lessen any
chance of allergic reaction, and because the pollen can
distract from the flavor. If the base of the flower is
particularly hard or bitter, you can use just the colorful
petals - we often do this with marigolds, maybe leaving one
flower whole for decoration.
Here is a partial list of common edible flowers, to get you
started:
Argula, Basil, Bee Balm, Broccoli, Calendula, Chamomile,
Dandelion (use young flowers, and pick just before using,
as the flowers sometimes close after picking), Daylily,
Dill, Fennel, Hibiscus (delicious!), Hollyhock, Lavender,
Lilac, Marigold, Mint, Nasturtium (beautiful!), Pansy, Red
Clover, Rose (use petals only), Rosemary, Sage, Scarlet
Runner Bean, Scented Geraniums, Snap Dragon (bitter),
Squash (anything in the squash family), Thyme, Tulip (try
making a stuffed tulip!), and Violet.
There are many ways to garnish with flowers. Here are just
a few ideas: toss small flowers in with a salad of mixed
greens; float a larger, decorative flower in a fancy drink
or on the top of soup; place flowers around the edge of the
plate, or off to one side; place one or more larger flowers
in the center of the food; remove the petals and sprinkle
them over the food like colorful confetti. Dream up your
own ideas, and have fun with your food art!
Refreshing Spring Soups
This one's just like the Mango-Tomato Soup I sent earlier:
just blend ½ and ½ peaches and tomatoes, pour into a bowl,
and stir in some diced peaches and diced tomato. Garnish
with a sprig of parsley and a flower of your choice. Heavenly!
Peaches have been called "the mango of the north", and can
be used interchangeably with mangoes in most recipes.
New High Energy Diet Recipe Guide, 2007.)
Get them while you can, the 1st strawberries of the season
are coming in!!
2 lbs. fresh strawberries
1 oz. soaked cashews
2-4 oz. water
Directions: Blend strawberries with a little water. Pour into
a bowl. Separately blend cashews and water, and gently
strawberries (and an edible flower!) floating on top.
Optional: Use macadamia or pine nut in place of cashew.
Minty Melon Soup
Blend the flesh of any melon (or a combination of melons)
until smooth. Pulse in a handful of fresh mint leaves.
Pour into a bowl (a half-melon rind makes a fun bowl!), and
garnish with a whole mint leaf. This soup is also delicious
without any mint.
My Fasting Story, Part IV
By Ellen Livingston
fast on water only, in Costa Rica under the supervision of
Dr. Douglas N. Graham. You can find the first three
installments of this story at www.LivingYogaNow.com ,under
the "Ariticles" tab, then scroll to the bottom.
Day 15
I am experiencing such brilliant clarity of thought this
morning! Every word of an original full-length article
just flows right through me, and I get out my journal and
simply transcribe it for my website. If only it was always
like this, and everything came so easily!
I want to read this great article to my roommate, but she
is in one of her self-absorbed non-communicative moods, and
is not available to listen. We later joke about these
moods of hers - she explains that on certain days during
the second half of the fast she just had to put every last
ounce of energy into simply coping. I understand.
After receiving the article, I use the gift of my amazing
clarity to design an eight week health course.
I still have abundant mental energy and acuity, and today I
use it to study the work of Byron Katie, from her book,
suffering comes from arguing with reality, and then from
believing our made-up stories. She shows us a method for
arriving at the only thing that IS real, which is what
actually IS in the moment, and for accepting that it is all
perfect, and it is all as it is supposed to be.
This work brings me relief, and a sense of peace. Relief,
because with these tools I don't have to work so hard now
to make things right, or to suffer so much from other
peoples' behavior. Peace, because it all seems so much
simpler now. I also feel sad, because I am conscious of how
much I have suffered, and how much suffering I have caused
others. I also feel some fear, because I sense how big a
shift this Byron Katie work requires, and I know that it
will demand consistent attention and practice.
Day 17
I have no record of this day in my journal. I'm guessing
my energy was very low!
Today I have a long conversation with a faster next door.
She is in her 70's, and I often seek her company because I
enjoy the wisdom she has accumulated. Today we share about
growing up (both of us) with the profound experience of
feeling invisible, unworthy, unlovable, and unable to reach
out for the love and help we needed (even pushing
well-meaning people away!), and of carrying these experiences
with us into adulthood.
I am approaching the very low body weight I reached years
ago when I first began a raw food diet and did not know how
to get enough calories. In their concern and fear, my
family criticized my choices then, and I did not feel
supported. I worry now that I will experience this feeling of
rejection again when I return home, so skinny from the fast.
This time is different, though. This time I have lost
weight on an intentional fast, and I now know how to gain
it back, in the right time. But I do feel very vulnerable
at this low weight, and I know that I will need to be
strong in the face of others' concern and judgment about
what I have chosen to do for my health.
I am weepy, emotional this morning. My study of Byron
Katie has exposed many of my issues. I revisit the
experiences that lead up to my divorce; so much seems
painfully unresolved in that relationship, still. I spend
most of the day just staring out the window.
In lecture today Doug presents a technique for processing
baggage from our past, and then releasing it so that we are
free to create a new future. When I have the energy I will
try out his advice.
The wise voice visits me again in my dreams. This time it
simply declares, "None". I spend today practicing being in
what I call "the none-space". It is a blissful place where
everything drops away, and I am content to simply BE.
There are no voices here, no dreams, no projects,
aspirations, or plans, none. There is only stillness.
This is meditation, and I realize how important it is for
me to practice coming into this space. I want to learn this
mind control. I will master my wonderfully creative,
over-active mind through meditation, and through directing
all of my thoughts upward. I want to spend less time in
busy thought, and more time immersed in the experience of
LOVE. Love of self, of others, of nature, and of all that
simply is.
Day 21
My spirits are often flagging today. I feel ready to be
done with this fast! But I keep regrouping, lifting myself
back up, and doing my best to follow Doug's advice to "stay
in the present" (because if I focus on the end of the fast,
One of the fasters has organized a kind of club to help us
support each other in sticking it out through the fast. He
calls it "The Distance Club", and our motto is "Going the
distance, in the fast lane". He even has a rock & roll
theme song that gets played on the main speaker system at
all of our lectures this week. It really does help - when
the song comes on we all perk up, tapping our feet and
dancing a little, giving each other high-fives (all from
our horizontal position on our mattress-beds on the floor
of the main lecture hall!). I am so glad to be sharing this
experience with other fasters.
Day 22
In my balcony hammock today I make a sacred vow to myself,
and it is this:
I will reach for the highest thought I can in every moment,
and in this way I will keep my vibrational frequency tuned
to what I really, truly want.
To live this one simple (yet challenging!) action is really
my one highest aim! Just to keep tuning, tuning, tuning,
to be aware of (and in control of) the level of my
vibration in every moment.
Another complete article flows through me today and gets
recorded in my journal.
I request a visit from Doug, and when he comes to my room I
ask him if it might be best for me to end the fast a few
days early so that I will have more recovery days to help
my diseased digestive system get into working order. He
assures me there will be ample recovery time, and explains
how powerful the latter phases of a fast are, that it is
like a snowball rolling down a hill and gathering momentum
as it goes.
he says. And he tells me that digestive disorders often
require the longest fasts, so "hang in there". Of course,
it is my choice if I want to stop now, he reminds me. A
few tears smart, because I was hoping he would tell me to
quit now, but I decide to continue on. It's only a few
more days, after all, but every hour feels like at least a day,
Day 23
I realize that my most treasured goal, the one that
supercedes all the others, is this:
Inner peace, bliss, and true knowledge of the Self. The
ability to calm the chatter of my mind, and to live in the
quiet spaces of the heart.
Yogaschittasvrittasnirodah: the Union of yoga.
Day 24
Today I invent a new chapter for my life, and the theme of
it is "taking full responsibility for my life". I read
yoga scriptures most of the day, and record a quote from
Lao Tsu:
"Can you coax your mind from its wandering and keep to the
original oneness?
Can you let your body become supple as a newborn child's?
Can you cleanse your inner vision until you see nothing but
the light?
Can you love people and lead them without imposing your
will?"
I learn that all of the fasters are struggling now, just
trying to make it to the agreed-upon 26th day. Two fasters
have already begun to eat again, but 10 of us remain
fasting. Nearly all of us are finding that water just does
not taste so good anymore. Doug gives some people a lemon
wedge in their water, just to make it palatable. I don't
need the lemon, but I am not enjoying my water anymore. It
used to taste cool and refreshing, but now I just make
myself drink it because I know I must stay well hydrated.
It is hard to muster the energy or desire to even drink
anymore.
Day 25
Today I have one of the most beautiful experiences of this
fast. I have a spontaneous experience of pure compassion
and love for another person, and it is very powerful. It
happens when Doug receives very distressing news of a
health crisis in his family. Our eyes connect briefly, and I am
suddenly, completely overcome with a pure sensation of love
and compassion in every cell of my body. This washes
through me and tears pour out. I am deeply able to feel
another's pain, and I am aware of how much I love and
appreciate this man who has held my hand through so much of
my own suffering. My heart is blessedly, completely, open.
I feel a strange sense of sadness that my fast will
officially end tomorrow. I guess I've become a little
attached to this different state of being. With the ending
of the fast, I sense that the "real" world will come
rushing back, and everything will be different, and much more
complicated.
again.)
