I have just stewed some duck and mashed some potatoes–so you can see where my priorities lie.

But let’s cut to the chase. I am sure most of you have brushed your teeth in the morning and you mouth still smelled like you have eaten a dead horse for dinner. Even good old Listerine wouldn’t help.

The solution here comes from a very ancient and, please agree with me, very cheap source, which no one advertises.

Salt water– put about a table spoon of salt in half a glass of lukewarm water, wash your mouth before brushing– and bamm! your mouth is as fresh as mountain air.

Now about brushes– how clean is your toothbrush? Most likely you are not even brushing but just spreading bacteria all over you mouth like a cleaning lady with a dirty mop.

What to do – keep you toothbrush in a very strong solution of salt, the ratio of salt to water has to be about 2:1. Salt helps prevent bacteria growth and keeps everyone happy.

Of course you can go back to Listerine, but before you do, I challenge you to read this Huffington Post article about Disease Mongering and inventing cures for problems that don’t exist. Listerine was used as a floor cleaner. Does your mouth look like a floor?

P.S. Another great way to keep your mouth fresh and clean is oil pulling.It takes a little bit more time (15-20minutes) but is said to get rid of toxins and rejuvenate your body.

What are you thoughts on this?

I chose TCM after a friend of mine mentioned that a friendly Chinese lady solved her long time ailment that had been bothering her for decades. The lady felt her pulse and declared that my friend’s  problem was none other than a hormonal imbalance. She drank bitter herbs the lady gave her and in less than six months she was in hormonal paradise. She hasn’t had a problem ever since. And on top of that, the Chinese lady got rid of her mother’s psoriasis for good, too.

So, who could blame me for wanting to try TCM after that type of promotion?

Another friend recommended a practitioner and a week later, here I am in Chinatown, sitting in an office of The doctor (I won’t say the shop’s name yet, should I die and permanently damage their reputation). Downstairs is a store with herbs, roots, and shark fins galore, and large slicing knives that you see in movies about Chinatown and stuff. The office looks ordinary enough: just a desk and shelves of files and may be hieroglyphics on the walls next to licenses and diplomas.

The doctor feels my left wrist as I fill in the health history form; then the right, at the same time drawing neat little symbols on the paper. Then a few questions follow to determine my condition, after which he says, “Your kidney energy is low.” I try to suppress a smile; I am not sure why (probably because I image my husband, who is sitting next to me, trying to keep a poker face and at the same time bursting from laughter). The doctor explains that in TCM the kidneys are very important, they are like the heart and that if they are not working properly, it can cause a lot of health problems. We need to warm up the kidneys, so he will give me some herbs to drink twice a day for 5 days. “Do you live far? Queens? Then ten days is better”. I am to add all the powder to two cups of hot water and drink twice a day after meals. Then come see him again.

“Are there any exercises I should do for kidneys maybe?” I ask. He mentions breathing yoga exercises and tai chi.

I am happy because I found out something new about myself and because he seems like he knows how to reign in my stray kidneys.

We say Good Bye and go downstairs to the store where they fill my prescription by placing packets and packets of herbal powder into small bowls, seal the packets in plastic bags and out we go full of hopes for radiant health.

Later at home I googled (like I do with everything) about the kidney energy and a lot of interesting things came out.

Apparently, kidneys and like Cinderellas of the body, i.e. really the princesses in disguise. They hold all the essential energy and control a wide range of essential hormones that regulate metabolism, excretion, immunity, sexual potency and fertility. Thus the kidneys control sexual and reproductive functions and provide the body’s prime source of sexual vitality, which the Chinese regard as a major indicator of health and vitality (http://www.lieske.com/channels/5e-kidney.htm). A lot of stress seems to disrupt the proper work of kidneys and cause knee, lower back and neck issues, circulation, hormonal problems, dry skin, premature aging, infertility, feelings of fear, indecisiveness, sluggishness, and lack of energy, and.

But lucky for me I have a nice Chinese doctor who will fix my problems (or kill me if he is a fraud, lol).

Do you have any of the symptoms mentioned above? And do you have experience with TCM?

Please share, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Cheers

Just wanted to make a quick post and finally break the spell of not blogging for almost a year!

Anyway, on my recent trip to Russia, I saw my mom washing dishes in a small basin of hot water (they are saving water), with some yellow powder instead of dish washing liquid.

Apparently, mustard powder is a very good home “remedy” for grease. It gets rid of all the right things and leaves your dishes in a chemical free state, and the environment healthy. And everybody is happy.

I have also heard that vinegar could be used, but haven’t given it a try myself.

May be you can!

It was all about Superfoods, like Goji berries, Inca berries, Maca powder, Aloe Vera, and of course Cacao.

I enjoyed both of them a lot, so I was really interested in seeing the man behind it all, and learning something new.

It was a very rewarding experience. David is a very passionate and charismatic speaker. You can tell that he really knows his stuff.

We got to taste the samples of some of their products, like the goji berries, inca berries, the colloidal gold, the island fire (a really spicy health tonic!), marine phytoplankton (one drop of which gives you a bolt of raw energy), and raw cacao nibs. I also purchased a couple of heart shaped chocolate bars. They are gone by now, and it only occurred to me to take a picture after I pigged out on them! So, sorry.

The products are not cheap, I must admit. For example, the marine phytoplankton is around $60. But since you only need a drop of it, and it is extremely good for you, I guess it’s a wise health investment. And another thing I noticed as well, was that all the products were of a very good quality, actually much better than the ones from competitor brands available at Whoolefoods. The cacao nibs tasted crunchy, very tasty, and not acidic at all compared to the GoHunza brand cacao beans I purchased in the past. Those ones I couldn’t really eat without sweetener, but I went crazy on cacao nibs from Elements for Life! May be I got a bad batch from GoHunza, or may be it has to do with the quality of cacao beans in the first place. By the way, David Wolfe mentioned that he had 2 cacao farms of his own in Hawaii. I thought it was amazing.

Goji and Inca berries also tasted very fresh and not as dry as they normally are from other brands. So take notice.

I got a good tip about goji berries: drop a few of them in your tea, let it steep, and enjoy. I have tried it, it tastes good. Apparently, it is an old Chinese technique.

We learned that it is possible to plant goji and inca berries in a pot right here in New York, which I am planning to do.

And thanks again to my good friend and a Superhero, Donna Yee from Elements for Life www.togreathealth.net for the invite!

Each time before I stopped I was doing really well, until I got sick, or something else would happen that prevented me from working out for a while, and then I just couldn’t get back into it. I also felt very impatient about the results I expected, and it’s needless to say that the results did not arrive instantly. After each workout I would come up to the mirror anxiously anticipating a finally flat belly, toned arms and thinner legs. And when I didn’t see those, I would get discouraged, and thought that workouts don’t work. Does anyone recognize themselves here? Anyone?

Well, I finally hit a point where I just couldn’t get any bigger (150lbs!!!), and decided that this summer I want to be able to show off my toned belly, and be able to go to the beach without embarrassing myself. I just had to do something about it.

It has been a few weeks since I have started working out consistently, and I have learned a few things that have helped me keep going no matter what. After all, you can’t fail until you quit.

I have narrowed down 10 main tips on how to get through a tough workout routine, especially as tough as P90X:

1. Ease into it. Sometimes when you decide to take on a high intensity workout routine, that you have to do 6 days a week, it might get a little overwhelming, especially if you haven’t exercised for a while. I think it’s better to start with 5-10/15-minute mini-workouts. It’s something that is easy enough to do for almost anyone. It gives you a sense of accomplishment and pleasure form the exercise without making you feel miserable, because you aren’t fit. Some people though, believe that it’s either all or nothing; my husband, for example. This strategy doesn’t work for him. However, I started with a few minutes of cardio on an elliptical every day, until I felt strong enough to graduate to the big dogs, i.e. P90X.

2. “Modify, modify, modify.” Here I am going to repeat the words of the P90X creator, Tony Horton. It’s better to do it half way, than not to do it at all. Many times in the past I found myself in the middle of a workout, when it would get really tough, I and wanted to stop half way in. What helps me through times like these is Modifying. Don’t feel like if you are not doing everything, your muscles aren’t working. They are, and very hard, trust me. Your body is going to thank you for every chance you give it. So, give it chance to get better with time. Getting to the end of a routine feels really good, compared to stopping in the middle and feeling crappy about yourself.

3. Pump up your nutrition. I’m sure it’s something that I don’t even have to talk about. But just for the sake of it, I am going to repeat this commandment: Thou shall not under nourish thy self while working out. Go for more nutritious food, like whole grains, sprouted bread, green leafy vegetables, fruit, lean meat (or if you are a vegetarian, more green leafy vegetables, like spinach), foods that speed up your metabolism, like coconut oil; etc. P90x is a very intense workout, so you are gonna need a lot of energy. I felt it on the second week, when my energy levels got really low. A simple recipe for a protein shake: blend together milk (cow, soy, or nut milk), almond butter (very good source of fiber), hemp seed butter (excellent source of protein), agave syrup, raw chocolate powder, coconut oil, a banana, and may be a strawberry, blueberries, or something else of your choice. Tastes great and is very healthy. There are also plenty of raw food recipes on my favorite website www.goneraw.com.

4. A little green help. Who knew, that a juicer is your new best friend? I actually think that this tip is one of the most important in this post. I personally don’t believe in taking vitamin pills. I am a juicer. Making fresh vegetable juice twice a day is going to give you so much more energy for your workouts than you can ever imagine. You are going to jump higher and move faster. A simple recipe: juice carrots, 1 apple, celery, ginger, and one more secret ingredient – liquid chlorophyll.  I can’t juice leafy vegetables on my juicer, so I just buy chlorophyll. You can come up with many recipes of your choice. I personally juice whatever I have in the house!

5. Chocolate Diet. Yeah, I have not gone crazy. Raw chocolate helps lose weight by decreasing your appetite, and giving you a lot of energy. In his book Naked Chocolate, David Wolfe says that he like to drink a lot of chocolate and do a lot of yoga. I have started doing the same, and guess what? It works. There are so many cool raw chocolate recipes online, like on www.goneraw.com, http://www.naked-chocolate.com/recipes/, and of course in the book Naked Chocolate, by David Wolfe.  The greatest thing about eating raw chocolate is that it’s really healthy, and it curbs your cravings for junk, by giving you the best nutrition ever and boosting your mood at the same time.

6. Fight Cravings with raw desserts. Like I said before, eating raw chocolate desserts helps to fight those nasty cravings. There are also so many other recipes for natural desserts online. All you need is a blender, and for some of them a dehydrator.

7. Do not Think Fat Thoughts. I learned it from the Secret book. Don’t think about all the things you are not supposed to eat, otherwise OMG, you are going to gain weight. Think: I can eat whatever I want and stay at my perfect weight.

8. Praise Yourself. It might not feel like a big of a feat to finish even 5 minutes of Core Synergistics instead of the whole thing. But it is! The fact that you have overcome yourself to do it is amazing. So give yourself a break, “do your best and forget the rest!”

9. Workout to Workout, not to Lose Weight. It might be hard at first, but as you move along, and start seeing the results on your body, you are hooked. Think about it, when you reach your ideal weight, you are going to need to keep it off, which means staying active for life.

10. Don’t Look in the Mirror. Don’t focus on your present looks, especially if you have a long way to go. Look at the beautiful pics of yourself from the past or pics of a person whose body you prefer. Keep them in sight all the time to motivate you. Imagine yourself the way you want to look, feel good about yourself. See yourself at your perfect weight, wearing beautiful clothes, and enjoying yourself. You are so beautiful, and so sexy! Positive attitude is the key. This is the Most Important tip.

What techniques help you to get through the workout?

Mix in a bowl:

banana

hemp seed butter – 1tbs

almond butter – 1tbs

raw cacao powder – sprinkle

shredded coconut – 1/2-1tbs

a choice of:

goji berries – 1tbs

golden inca berries – 1tbs

This snack is not only very healthy, packed with vegetable protein, but also incredibly delicious!

You can also blend it into a shake with soy milk or add it to your morning oatmeal.
First of all, hemp seed butter is rich in Essential Amino Acids (protein), and Omega 3 & 6 Essential Fatty Acids, and vitamins. It has 11 grams of proteins per serving.
Almond butter is yummy, has lots of fiber, protein, calcium, iron, and made from the only nut that doesn’t become acidic in your body.
Cacao power is rich in antioxidants, so are inca berries, and goji berries.
Coconut is rich in fiber and Essential Fatty Acids.
Enjoy!

The goal of Natural Healing Cases is to give hope to those who think that their situation can’t be solved with regular doctors, and to those who can’t afford expensive hospital treatment, or just want to try something new.

Natural Healing Cases Group is inviting anyone with unconventional healing cases to submit their stories to share with other people. It’s great to give back!
And thanks for your participation

One of my students gave me a book “The Secret” for Christmas. Now, I have heard about it a long time ago, but never had a desire to read it, because I thought it was cheesy, made just to get money out of people, and not providing anything of value. I was wrong. I started reading it thinking that my student would ask if I liked it, and maybe she would get upset if I hadn’t started reading yet. Long story short, I really liked it! I know it’s kinda late to jump on the band wagon with the whole “Secret” thing, but I really really did!

The most important thing that I got is the joy of life, appreciation for the small things in life that we usually oversee because we have so many problems.

For example, a week into reading the book, my husband told me that I was looking very beautiful lately, and I had a certain glow about me, and he couldn’t figure out what was the reason! I told him that I learned from the book to appreciate myself the way I am, and most importantly seeing myself pretty, the way I want to be (even if it’s not the state at the moment).

Another thing is, in the book they teach you, that if you want something to happen, you have to imagine it come to reality, say thanks for it, and then act as if you already have it, be satisfied and happy about it. I really wanted to take an improv class with my husband at the PIT, NYC, but we were a little short on money. So I found the class that fit my schedule, and announced to everyone that we were attending it, put it in my calendar, and started waiting for the Universe to solve my problem. It was supposed to happen in about a month. A week before the class I went to the PIT website and found out that the class had been sold out! Bummer! But something told me to search online for a free improve class, and I found a few of them in the city including at the PIT! These were sample classes, but that’s ok for me, I only wanted to take it to become more confident and tackle my fear of public speaking.

Of course, you can say, that these things were just coincidences. Maybe, but I guess I want to believe that no matter what I put my mind into it is going to happen as long as I am happy, grateful, hopeful and not give up until I get it.

I have a lot of lofty goals, financial, career and personal as well. So I have put the most topical ones on my wish list, which I view everyday visualizing them coming true. And also every day I say thanks for all the good things in my life. It puts everything in perspective, and makes my problems look less important and serious.

I also printed out blank checks from the bank of the Universe (!) from www.secret.tv, wrote the amounts of money that I need, and I just look at them everyday too.

Do you have any similar experiences with the law of attraction? Please, let me know!

The book is mostly about the power of raw foods, like fruits and vegetables, in becoming healthy and thus beautiful.

I have read a long time ago that beauty is the symmetry of features and body, and the healthier you are the more symmetrical your body is. David Wolfe’s perspective on reaching beauty is through eating raw, and leading a harmonious life style with yoga, beauty sleep, positive attitude and love. Hey, I am up for beauty!

This book has a lot of useful information about basic nutrition, explanations in a nutshell about carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins. It provides simple and understandable insights about the most healthy fruits and vegetables, and efficient ways of eating them in proper combinations.

For example, one of the most beautifying minerals is sulfur. The foods that contain it are onions, garlic, or any spicy foods. But you should eat it them together with some form of fat (avocado, oil; etc) to improve digestion, and avoid gassiness. That was a revelation for me, because I always get really gassy after eating garlic!

And the coolest thing of all are the kirlian images of fruits, vegetables and such, that show the energy fields of different objects. They are amazingly beautiful.

Another amazing thing I read in the book is that 98% of our atomic structure is rebuilt in 2 years, and 100% of it is rebuilt in 7 years! Because our bodies constantly repair themselves!

It also has a section about skin, hair, nails, and the problems that may occur with them, as well as the foods that will benefit their health.

And while I may not agree with everything in the book, it certainly gave me a lot of motivation to take more steps in eating healthy, and most importantly taking it slow, as it is the only way to make permanent changes!

Do you know of other good reads about eating raw? Let me know!

When I went to Russia in October my friend made it for me. She said that they sell it on the streets Germany in the winter; and that it’s perfect if you have a cold. And for me it was just a very tasty hot drink that puts you to sleep in a minute!

There are so many recipes of Glintwein. You can find most of them online.

But here is the basic one that I use all the time.

Here is what you are going to need:

Red wine – a bottle or as much as you are planning to drink

Honey – to taste (it should be sweet, but not too much)

Cloves – 5-6 cloves

Cinnamon – a nice pinch

Lemon – 1

Put the wine in a pan on a slow heat. Slice the lemon, add it to the wine. Add cloves, cinnamon, and honey.

Heat the mixture up, but do not boil.

And that’s it! It’s ready to drink!

Enjoy, and the winter will go by faster!