Archives

Eat Well! Food as a Vital Part of Our Spiritual Journey
by Sandra Brandt

To be sustainable and health giving, our diet must harmonize with our manner of being in the world. —Charles Eisenstein, The Yoga of Eating

We are constantly evolving: in body, mind, and spirit; as individuals; in groups; and as cultures. Our interaction with food is part of that evolution. For some, this evolution may take the form of regularly checking out the latest packaged food products. For others, it can involve trying out new recipes or restaurants. For still others, including myself, it means making food a vital part of our ever-deepening spiritual pathway. I have long been passionate about becoming more knowledgeable and skillful in the art of food preparation and eating, and in serving the best possible quality of food to myself, my family, and my friends. Through my study of food philosophies and practices, and my work in past years as a natural foods retailer, I’ve come to realize more profoundly how wonderfully life giving the world of food can be.

Read the article

Better Health in a Teacup
by Joe Smulevitz, CH, MH

Congratulations, if you are a tea drinker. Whether you prefer green, black, white, or oolong tea, you are drinking much more than a simple hot beverage. If you are not a tea drinker, you’re missing out on a natural drink that is free of fat or calories, inexpensive, good tasting, and loaded with unique, health-yielding properties. Polyphenol catechins, a class of chemicals with potent antioxidant properties, predominate over the other constituents in these teas. One catechin in particular, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), is the most powerful and reported to have multiple health benefits. Green tea has been identified as having an abundant amount of EGCG.

Read the article

Help Yourself with Colour Therapy
by Yvette Woodrow, BPT

What is Colour Therapy? Colour is simply a form of visible light of electromagnetic energy. All the primary colours reflected in the rainbow carry their own unique healing properties. The sun alone is a wonderful healer! Just imagine what life would be like without sunshine. It has been proven that lack of sunlight contributes to depression in some people. Colour is simply light of varying wavelengths/frequencies and is a form of energy that is used in Colour Light Therapy. These wavelengths resonate with energies in different areas of the body. Studies show that Colour Therapy can be used for any problem whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, as well as an overall relaxation therapy, and can be used to complement other treatments.

Read the article

Breath, Body, and Voice Work: Fitzmaurice Voicework®
by Traci Foster

Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. —Thich Nhat Hanh

It is with us throughout our entire life, whether we acknowledge it or not. It is a relatively silent companion most of the time, but can be audible in varying experiences. It is usually gentle, but can also be very erratic – just think of the last time you experienced great pleasure or conversely were very worked up. I am referring to your breath – your energy – the two are intricately and intimately related! The Chinese word “chi” means both “breath” and “life-force”. In Sanskrit, “prana” means “vital energy”, “breath”, or “life-force”. Breath is the metaphor for spirit and soul in Hindu and Taoist traditions.

Read the article

Singing – It's About Having Fun and Feeling Good
by Julie Paquette

I was born to sing. A day without singing is a day where something is a little off, like these gray days of early winter. Maybe you’ve met me on the street, walking along and singing, and wondered, “What is the matter with that girl? Surely only a crazy person would expose herself in that way." Maybe you are a secret singer, someone who loves to sing in the shower or the back yard while pulling weeds. Or you like to crank up the car stereo and sing along to your favourite songs. You, too, are a singer, although your voice is stuck in the closet, whereas mine is out dancing naked in the streets. Am I crazy? Where did all this racket come from? And what is the point of it? Who am I, anyway, and why am I telling you this? I can explain.

Read the article

Meditation Enhances Physical and Mental Health
by Dr. Yancy Orchard, DC

Meditation is a catch-all term used in the English language to refer to a staggering variety of methods used around the world for a variety of purposes. When considering whether to take up a meditative practice, you should have some idea of what you hope to accomplish and whether the method chosen will meet your needs. There are three major purposes to which meditation may be applied. The most common purpose of meditation in the Far East is spiritual advancement. In our culture, many people are first introduced to meditation to develop general health and for relief from specific medical conditions. Finally, martial artists are famous for using meditation to enhance their combat effectiveness.

Read the article

Wounded Healers: Finding Our Sacred Paths Together
by Carol Marriott

The Wounded Healer is initiated into the art of healing through some form of personal hardship—anything from an actual physical injury or illness to the loss of all one's earthly possessions. If you have successfully completed the initiation, you inevitably experience an exceptional healing, and a path of service seems to be divinely provided shortly after the initiation is complete. —Caroline Myss, Sacred Contracts

While attending a women’s circle in Calgary, Alberta, I met Jane, a woman who shared my passion for horses. She invited me to come out to her farm to meet her beloved old mare and the new additions to her herd. After meeting her mare and new horse Arthur, Jane introduced me to Arthur’s younger brother Sammy, a seven-year-old Welsh Pony. Jane told me that this horse needed someone to gain back his trust of people. He needed to be gently cared for, brushed, walked, and nurtured, and thought I would be the right person to bring him along.

Read the article

Editorial
by Melva Armstrong

Another new year has begun, and already it is 2010. Where did the last ten years go? It seems like just the other day we were all concerned about the Y2K transition to 2000. There was no disaster or great upheaval then and we have zoomed through ten years in what seems like the blink of an eye. January will be fifteen years since I received the inspiration to create WHOLifE Journal and we will be celebrating the 15-year production anniversary once the Mar/Apr '10 issue is completed. I continue to feel very blessed doing this work and I sincerely appreciate all the people who are part of the journal.

Read the editorial

Plus:

Oh, My Aching Body! A Holistic and Natural Approach to Fibromyalgia
Colour it Green!
What If You Claimed Your True Power: A Message for the New Year
Book Review: Across the Void, Through Cancer and Into Life
Yantras: An Ancient Form of Sacred Geometry
Romancing Your Self
It's Time to Say Yes to Life
Natural Reflections: Racing to Self Destruction
News of Note
From Our Readers