Health Education

by: Brenda Shoshanna

When children are raised naturally, in keeping with their own true hearts, there is nothing that we need to teach them about Zen. In fact, the children then become our teachers, reminding us of what is important and expressing themselves naturally.

To grow a Zen child, means to raise a healthy, expressive, creative child--a child easily in touch with who they truly are. This child is naturally curious about life, experiencing each day as an adventure, going to sleep happy at night. This is a child to whom sharing comes naturally, who can laugh when things are funny and cry when they're sad, who is not terrified of the consequences of their behavior or focused unnecessarily upon reactions of adults. This child then becomes strong and stable, able to weather all kinds of conflicting demands and pressures. Actually, all of Zen practice comes simply to teach us how to become a child once again. Not how to become childish, but child-like, how to tap the natural knowingness and spontaneity we were all born with, to find delight in our days and share it with others.

by: Nicole Bandes

“Eat your brussel sprouts!”

Mom really did have a great reason for forcing us to eat those horrible vegetables but I bet she didn’t even know the full benefits.

It turns out that cruciferous vegetables including broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and cabbage contain Indole 3 Carbinol (I3C). I3C is the reason our moms were so strongly encouraging us to eat up.

by: Dr. Wysong

There is the underlying assumption that modernity translates into better health. A corollary of this logic is that we can live our lives pretty much as we want because we can always buy a repair. You know, the car won't start, the TV is broken, the telephone is dead – no problem. Just call in an expert, spend some money and all is well.

People carry this over to their thinking about health. Our ticker falters, joints creak or an unwanted growth pops up – no problem. Buy some modern medical care. If that doesn't work, it's a problem of money, better insurance, more hospital funding, more research for the "cure," more doctors, better equipment and more technology. Right?

by Ian Byrd

Yoga For Your Pregnancy

A 45 minute DVD broken up into two segments, Yoga For Your Pregnancy, is designed to limber up women who are expecting a child and revitalize their energy level. Yoga Journal's DVD is great for beginners, featuring alternate poses for women who can't stretch, and doesn't expect you to be a Yoga guru.

The first section, entitled "Energizing and Stretching," is 30 minutes long and is designed to create strength and stamina. The goal is, of course, to prepare you for the intense efforts required during labor. It is also, however, meant to help you cope with your constantly changing body.

by Meri Raffetto

Weight loss…if we could just find the right diet we would achieve our goals, right? The sad truth is that weight loss diets, for the most part, don’t work and are becoming a thing of the past. Research shows that 85-95% of dieters regain any weight they’ve lost within 3-5 years. Most diets simply dictate what to eat and how much, and usually don’t teach us to make better food choices once we go off. When we go back to our old habits the weight comes back and we end up in a constant battle to get the weight down again.