Editorial
Volume 24 Issue 6 — March/April 2019
by Melva Armstrong

As I write this editorial, there is gorgeous sunshine streaming into the house and the temperature outside is –15º C, which has taken us slightly out of the deep cold we’ve been in for most of February. I’m sure every winter there are many of us who question why we live in this part of the world, yet we always get through winter and eagerly look forward to the beauty and excitement of spring, summer, and autumn. As we live with the cold and snow, I can visualize many of you sitting indoors reading your seed catalogues and getting your material ready to start planting those little bundles of nourishment into small containers to start them growing. These activities are exciting and provide people with something to do where it is warm and cozy as they anticipate the coming spring season.

This issue completes 24 years of publishing WHOLifE and what a journey it has been when I look back on everything. I feel it has always been an upward progression as it has grown and evolved in different and exciting ways. And I have grown and evolved along with it. I have learned much along the way and I have met and shared with hundreds of amazing and beautiful people. I feel truly blessed to be able to do this work and I have many fond memories of all those who have touched my life in a myriad of ways. With every issue a new group of individuals show up to share their joy, skills, love, and expertise in the paths they have chosen for their life purpose. They have come with all kinds of offerings for body, mind, spirit, and the environment to help those who are drawn to them to lead a more fulfilling, healthy, happy, and prosperous life. I have seen and heard many amazing stories where people’s lives have improved and changed over the years. I’ve seen people plant a seed from which they have grown and evolved in amazing and magical ways. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who have come into my life and who have touched the lives of so many WHOLifE readers in peaceful and magnificent ways.

Last summer I had a phone call from a woman who told me she and her sister were Cree herbalists and would I be interested in having an article about them in the journal. I was very excited at the idea and it has now come to fruition. In this issue, we are featuring an article by Moh O’Brien and Hawk Caribou called Cree Sisters Preserve Their Healing Traditions and Language (p. 16). They grew up in a small isolated Northern Saskatchewan village where their parents taught them how to “live off the land.” The gifts from the land gave them their food as well as their healing medicines. Over the years and continuing to this day, Moh and Hawk share their knowledge and traditions with people of all ages, at many different events, and in many ways. I am grateful to have them bless the pages of WHOLifE with their stories.

We are fortunate to have all the pages of this issue full of unique and dynamic stories and offerings. We have a lot of talent and inspiring people in our Saskatchewan communities, many of whom contribute to this journal. Stacey Tress has once again brilliantly researched the material for her Nutrition for Vitality article (p. 8) in which she provides some general guidelines for a healthy diet. Who among us couldn’t use such information? It’s about keeping track of what and how you eat, the importance of the kind of food you buy, with an emphasis on eating natural foods. There’s always ways great information from Stacey along with some mouth-watering recipes.

There are several other excellent food-related articles this time including Nina Lane’s Healthy Fats for Optimal Health (p. 10), Taranum Sultana’s Keto Lifestyle 101, and Dolphyn Boshman’s A Spring Cleanse May Be Just Right for You (p. 14). Be sure to check them all out.

Read on and you will discover What is Yoga Therapy? by Joanne Alexander (p. 24) and What is Naturopathic Medicine? by Mackenzie Jardine (p. 23). To top it off, Sarah Sand’s article, The Combination to Unlocking the Power of Your Mind (p. 26), has exercises to help reconcile the intuitive and logical mind and thus create balance and wholeness.

May the return of the light bring brightness and rejuvenation into your days and a warm feeling into your heart and soul.

Namaste
(The spirit in me honours the spirit in you)