Bottling Cleansing & Detoxing

I've found the perfect topic to reawake my Bottling Health blog with! And since I haven't blogged here in a long while -- be warned, folks...I've got lots to say! :-)

As I wait for Grassroots Natural Market in Fleming Island to open today so that I can go there and purchase a "health gem" that I learned about last night, I'm feeling like the excited child at Christmas. I even awoke at about 5:00 this morning, propped my head up and glanced over at the clock with the hope that it was almost time for Grassroots to open...only to later learn that the one closest to me is actually closed today! :-(

In any event, the "gift" that has my cells jumping for joy is the news I discovered last night in Extraordinary health™ magazine about "the world's first RAW cleansing and detoxification program" created by Garden of Life®. I mean -- I know, I know -- if we eat a 100 percent and largely varied raw-vegan food diet the way my dear friends, Jinjee and Storm do at TheGardenDiet.com, the food, alone, could be our overall cleansing and detox program. This couple and their children maintain optimum health with no supplements or supplemental cleansing programs; however, I'm still on my journey to Jinjee and Storm's level of raw eating. But, since I try to eat a high amount of raw food, I would say that for the most part, I stay aligned with cleansing and detoxing on certain levels.

I get many compliments about my skin, so I'd say that my body is doing a pretty good job with its cleansing process. However, I would also say that the last time I DEEPLY detoxed -- I mean, taking-wheat-grass-shots-daily-for-10-days-and-colonics type of deep -- was when I did the 10-Day Healthy Lifestyle program at The Living Foods Institute in Atlanta three years ago. I just haven't detoxed to that degree since then and am sure that I am not covering ALL of the detoxing bases with my food. So, just as I was feeling it's time for a major cleansing and detox experience again, I came upon the information about the Garden of Life's RAW program. Doesn't God ALWAYS deliver right on time?!

And to think I wasn't even going to bring home the literature that had been placed in shopping baskets for customers at Grassroots. After unloading my basket the day I recently shopped there, I had planned on leaving the reading material at the bottom of the basket as to not bring additional paper into my home. (I'm striving to be a minimalist with paper and things.) In any event, at the checkout counter, I suddenly remembered I needed one more food item (God's timing again!), and when I darted to the isle to collect it, Lance, the manager at Grassroots who was tallying up my goods and packing them, put the literature in my shopping bag.

So, last night, of the three magazines that Lance sent home with me, I decided to first peruse Extraordinary health™. Once I began seeing the words "raw" this and "raw" that, well, those who know me well will know that I began delving more deeply into the text. I soon fell "in love" with this resource for various reasons, including finding the Garden of Life's 3-in-1 cleansing and detoxification program well-explained on two full pages. Intuitively, I knew this was to be the 7-day cleansing and detoxing journey I was to do. Now!!! As the saying goes, "Don't put a question mark where God puts a period," so I'm not questioning it but rather....just doing it.

***So, stop by this blog over the course of the next 7 days to find out how the 7-days cleanse is going for me.

Which companies will you support?

I realize that more and more companies are popping up these days with convenient raw food and products. Sounds like a good thing, right? But, so I'm told, even the integrity of some of these companies is questionable (so beware!). However, there was an intuitive feeling I got about the energy and effort that the Garden of Life® is putting into their RAW offerings...AND...I like that they even take the time to produce a magazine loaded with varied insights about their business...AND...I see that a friend of mine, Paul Nison, raw food educator, is part of the Garden of Life® team, so that also helps make me trust this company even more. The editor of Garden Life's Extraordinary health™ magazine, Jordan Rubin, also founder and CEO of Garden Life®, comes across like the friendly neighbor next door. I read his words and trust what he's telling me/us about his company that wants to transition us from average health to EXTRAORDINARY health™.

Now that's the type of health I want. Don't you? And, even through my flaws, I believe I can attain it. And, you can, too!

On that note, a few more hours before the Grassroots in Five Points opens today (about 30 mins from me), and then I'm there, to get this "1-2-3" cleansing program that I'll be kicking off tomorrow with! I love that this program first focuses on oral health via the oral probiotic, S. salivarius, and then organ detox via ingredients such as raw chlorella (a green algae), and then digestion and elimination via ingredients such as "RAW food-chelated magnesium" that allows for naturally moving bulk from the intestines as opposed to forcing it out as some other products do. The "RAW Digestion & Elimination" powder product in this RAW program also provides omega-3 fatty acids and fiber, and some of you will know I've been promoting that via Mila, another all-raw product I love.

"Since many people chose to incorporate cleansing in their lives, you would think there would be a raw cleansing supplement for those embarking on a raw food-cleansing program, "says Rubin in Extraordinary health™. "The fact of the matter, however," he continues, "is that for many nutritional companies, cost and availability of effective raw ingredients is an issue. Sourcing all of the raw ingredients necessary to create a raw cleanse product is undeniably costly and time-consuming. Raw should be the ultimate standard for cleanse ingredients, but it hasn't been that way. That's about to change, thanks to a new breakthrough formula, Garden of Life RAW Cleanse."

Here's to Bottling Cleansing & Detoxing...Here's to Bottling YOUR Health!

Penny

Bottling Beauty, Health and Pleasure

Hello, Wonderful People:

Want to eat for Beauty, Health AND Pleasure? If so, this resource is a must because of its simple step-by-step approach to improving diet at such a comfortable pace. It's......

Eating For Beauty, Health & Pleasure:
A Raw Food Quick-Start Program by Shannon Leone

available for $20 at:

http://www.bottlinghealth.com/books.htm
(Review and pictures available there)

No matter what your diet or belief about food, Shannon Leone's book is sure to enhance your journey and lead you to better health! The book will be sent directly to your inbox! How convenient is that!!! :-)

Special offer: For those of you in the Orange Park area, once you purchase the e-book, e-mail me at penny@bottlinghealth.com to let me know and then receive one of my Ladies-only yoga classes for FREE!

In Health & Happy Friday!

Penny

Bottling Stretching & Smoothies with B-Ball Youth

In June, I did a "Stretch Clinic" with youth in my community who are members of the Orange Park Gators basketball league. The time with the boys went so well, and I'm looking forward to our next session this month. Peaceful Yoga Studio, Yoga Ananda Studio, M Body Yoga and lululemon athletica donated equipment (mats, blocks and straps) for the event. To them, I send love and gratitude!!! Thank you, Bonnie (and Mary) at Peaceful Yoga, Melissa at Yoga Ananda, Mark and Siddie at M Body, and Lisa at lululemon.

After the first session, to the parents of the youth I worked with, I wrote:

Thank you for the opportunity to work with your child on Wednesday evening at the Orange Park Gators' Stretching Clinic. I thoroughly enjoyed working with your sons and appreciated how receptive they were to learning about the benefits of stretching complemented by breathing more deeply. As I mentioned to another parent, it was a nice vibe amongst us, so it made for a lovely evening. They made me laugh with their giggles and other sounds they made when they realized just how tight their shoulders, hips or other bodies parts were! Given that, I think they now better understand the importance and benefits of guided stretching while breathing more deeply into the posture -- but only to their "comfortable edge."

Because we were pressed for time near the end, I didn't get to share more information about the fresh strawberry/banana smoothies I had made for them. I wanted to tell them about the nutrition in this drink that is ideal for the muscles of athletes. It's a nutritious and refreshing beverage to drink in between the games they play at tournaments, etc. Good fuel for them! Just as I talked to the boys about breathing more deeply for healthier bodies, I wanted to explain how we'd get more mileage out of what was in that smoothie versus some other food choices out there. In any event, I heard some good comments about the taste of the smoothie, so I'd say that went over well with them. :-)


Back to the stretching! As you know, the clinic was offered at no cost (and future ones will also be free), but if any of you would like to have your boys stretching on a regular basis in a similar fashion to what we did, I will offer classes to them.

You would be able to sign your child up for:

~ a group class at $10 per child per class (sibling discount available)

~ a 4-week series for a total series cost of $35 per child (a $5 savings; sibling discount available)

~ a 6-week series for a total series cost of $50 per child (a $10 savings; sibling discount available)

~ one-on-one classes (Contact me for rates.)

~ family classes (Contact me for rates.)

The more consistent our young athletes are with a stretching program blended with relaxation, the more flexible they will become. I'd love to assist them along their stretching journey, so please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance.

Here they are relaxing at the end of class; we also began with this relaxation posture. The flow of the evening was a blend between "effort" and "ease."

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, thoughts or concerns.

Sincerely,

Penny Powell
penny@bottlinghealth.com

Bottling the Ocean

Wow, it has been several weeks since I last blogged. I know it's best when blogs are consistently updated, but during those times I attempt to reduce my computer time, my blog suffers. But, my mission to advocate good health still continues, as I've received wonderful related opportunities in my community (away from the computer). ;-)

Recently, after teaching a class for a firm in Jacksonville, I strolled Jax Beach when the class was over, and this picture is what I captured with the camera on my cell phone at about 8:15 or so at night. My walk was so wonderfully therapeutic. I also managed to capture a little video footage which I will continue to try to add to this entry.

Beach Hugs,

Penny

Bottling Changes and New Plans

Happy May 1.

In my last post, I mentioned doing a freshly-squeezed orange juice and water journey for two weeks. As mentioned, my initial plan was to begin today, but on the day I wrote that post, there were still three days left before May 1 arrived, so I thought...why wait?

Turns out, on April 28, I wasn't as prepared as I needed to be to successfully begin the journey. I did well on water for most of the day...waiting too long to shop for the oranges I needed. Plus, I really wanted to try this journey with a citrus juicer, and still needed to get that, too. So, April 28 didn't go quite as planned. The lesson of the day -- "Be well-prepared before starting out with a journey of this kind."

April 29 -- Still didn't have what I needed, but like the day before, I just consumed water up until a certain point. Then, much earlier in the day, I set off to get my organic oranges and citrus juicer. I found great deals on both. I returned home and got right to work prepping for my juicing session. I juiced and then went outside in the sun to drink my glass of freshly made orange juice. Delicious. A few hours later, I sliced and ate (not juiced) two more of these JUICY oranges. (My son has been enjoying them as much as I have.) I did really well with my water and orange juice plan until later in the evening...when I just wanted to chew something. I then decided these days leading up to May 1 were simply "getting me in the mindset" days, so to speak.

April 30 -- By this day, I had figured out that while I wanted to add more oranges into my days, I didn't want to exclusively drink orange juice for the next 14 days -- especially after seeing some wonderful avocados and mangoes when I was out shopping for oranges. I realized I wanted to embrace all of the raw goodness -- although these oranges I have are mighty good.

"God said, 'See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.' " ~ Genesis 1:29

Yesterday, I contacted a friend of mine and invited her to buddy up for the May 1 journey of all-raw with no flexibility at least for two weeks. She was very open to the idea on such short notice. In fact, she had just come from the grocery store, stocking up on some wonderful fruits and veggies, so she was already prepared without knowing the plan during her time of shopping.

She has a networking event coming up in a couple of weeks...at which time I have some exciting projects coming up, too. I want us to be our best selves for those events, so I think that eating soley what I refer to as "God's foods" over these next few weeks will help us be just that...

...And what a great day to kick-off this "fast" of sorts. May 1.

Bottling Oranges

I was planning to wait until May 1 to start a freshly-squeezed Orange Juice and Water-Only journey, but there are still three days left before the start of the month, so that's three days sooner that my system can get more alkaline prior to the start of a new month. Although we tend to think of oranges making the body more acidic, they actually help make the body more alkaline

Follow along for the next two weeks for insight into my OJ and water diet and to learn about my inspiration behind it. And, if you don't already know, you'll be AMAZED by the VARIED nutrients in an orange.

On another note, as I type this I hear my son slurping the last drop of his banana/strawberry smoothie....a sound he makes with his straw and mason jar that is music to my ears. ;-)

Here's to Bottling Health!

Do you plan on bottling any new health before or during May?

Bottling Yoga as Medicine and/or Prevention

Yoga As Medicine -- The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing by Timothy McCall, M.D., lists 40 ways that yoga heals:

"1. Increases Flexibility
2. Strengthens Muscles
3. Improves Balance
4. Improves Immune Function
5. Improves Posture
6. Improves Lung Function
7. Leads to Slower and Deeper Breathing
8. Discourages Mouth Breathing
9. Increases Oxygenation of Tissues
10. Improves Joint Health
11. Nourishes Intervertebral Disks
12. Improves Return of Venous Blood
13. Increases Circulation of Lymph
14. Improves Function of the Feet
15. Improves Proprioception
16. Increases Control of Bodily Functions
17. Strengthens Bones
18. Conditions the Cardiovascular System
19. Promotes Weight Loss
20. Relaxes the Nervous System
21. Improves the Function of the Nervous System
22. Improves Brain Function
23. Activates
the Left Prefrontal Cortex
24. Changes Neurotransmitter Levels
25. Lowers Levels of the Stress Hormone Cortisol
26. Lowers Blood Sugar
27. Lowers Blood Pressure
28. Improves Levels of Cholesterol and Triglycerides
29. Thins the Blood
30. Improves Bowel Function
31. Releases Unconscious Muscular Gripping
32. Uses Imagery to Effect Change in the Body
33. Relieves Pain
34. Lowers Need for Medication
35. Fosters Healing Relationships
36. Improves Psychological Health
37. Leads to Healthier Habits
38. Fosters Spiritual Growth
39. Elicits the Placebo Effect
40. Encourages Involvement in Your Own Healing"

Contact Penny at penny@bottlinghealth.com if interested in yoga classes for children, adults, or parent-and-child classes.

"Handbook 2009"

Happy April -- This "Handbook" just turned up in my inbox from a dear friend of mine. I have no idea who the source of this content is, but it's too good not to share!

Enjoy and Apply...

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2008.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:

11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:

25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:

40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about

Bottling "One Love" in the Hymnal

"The Anglican church in Jamaica will include the lyrics of songs rendered by two of the country's most famed reggae artists - Bob Marley and Peter Tosh - in the next publication of its church hymnal due by the end of the year." Read more here.

"We move our bodies to the songs because we are beings of spirit." ~ Rev. Canon Ernle Gordon, Rector of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Jamaica

Bottling Reggae

I grew up on reggae music in Bermuda, so I'm a huge fan of some good reggae rhythms and conscious lyrics. As I type I'm listening to some dub that has me dancing in a seated position as I visualize an all-reggae yoga class I'll one day teach. ;-)

The above collage is one that Jinjee Talifero created for the October 2008 issue of Pear Magazine. What an honor it was for me to be "photographed" with Bob Marley that way. ;-) And the picture below shows my husband and I being married in 1992 by Abuna Yeshaq, the Ethiopian Orthodox archbishop who baptized Bob Marley and performed his burial service -- then, in 1996, Abuna Yeshaq performed my father's burial service after baptizing my son that same day.

Bottling this Archived Post

Photo by Spangles44, flickr.com

Last night, I was going through my "archived blog" -- Flowing With Nature -- and came upon a post from Saturday, August 12, 2006 which was fun to read again, so I've decided to share it here. I called it Dream Interpretation. I wrote:

Tonight, when I picked my son up from his friend Christian's house, my friend and Christian's mother, Charo, mentioned that she and the children (her three, my one and her daughters' friend) had just wrapped up a dance contest to old-school music. They had traveled around the inside of her house dancing in a line, and the winner would be the one who outlasted everyone. Turns out, my always-full-of-energy Caleb won. Charo joked, "Well, I said, 'he's like his Momma. This would go on all night.'" My friends think I have mega energy. I guess they're right -- sometimes.

The children were telling me about different dances they had come up with during their "Soul Train" time. Then, Caleb requested I bust out a move. Feeling put on the spot, I responded: "Well, you all had an opportunity to warm up. I just got here." (Any excuse to take the spotlight off of me, I guess.)

Charo interjected that I'd probably turn some Yoga move into a dance step. We laughed, but she was right. Her comment suddenly reminded me about a dream I had last night.

In that dream, I did a full handstand and then with my arms still holding the rest of my body up, I lowered my legs to a 90-degree angle. In that position in my dream, my 10-year-old son grabbed on to my feet or ankles, and I lifted my legs and his entire body back up to my original handstand position. Using the bottom of my feet as support, he was doing his own handstand in this dream. Then, some way, some how, he did a flip (I think) and connected back to my feet that were held high in the air.

Next, both of us positioned our bodies to our version of a Half Moon yoga pose. In this case, I guess it would have been a Handstand Half Moon pose. That would mean that I removed one of my supporting hands from the floor while doing the handstand and fully extended it out to my side. Plus, I would have put space between my legs. In the dream, my son adjusted his body to imitate our Half Moom position while still using my feet as support for one arm this time.

Prior to ending the dream, we then returned to our original handstand position (Caleb's hands on top of my feet). Quite controllably, I proceeded to lower him and my legs back down to the floor and then resumed my individual handstand position.

Instantly, Charo said: "That signified your motherhood strength." She was just talking off the top of her head, but since she's such a deep-thinking, intuitive person, I couldn't help but wonder if she might have been accurately interpreting that handstand-with-my-son dream. She was convincing. Hmmh!

Until that point, I had simply viewed my dream as a result of my love of yoga and gymnastics. I figured my son was involved in that activity because of his athletic/kinesthetic nature, and because of the way he loves to challenge himself.

Who knows.....maybe Charo has a future in dream interpretation.

Anyone else out there interpret dreams -- for free? :-)

Bottling Saturday's Sun/Son

It's 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning, and I've just stepped indoors from my backyard, spending some time lounging out in in the sun after returning home from a 7:30 a.m. yoga class. I took my bowl of Strawberry Crunch outdoors to enjoy, and then I settled in for some extra Vitamin D by way of the sun. I could feel my body being nourished as the sun's rays gently beamed down on me. There's a warmth that I get from the sun that just makes me feel so good inside.

When I returned indoors and my son hugged me in an arm lock type of way (boys!), he exclaimed, "You're warm!" "I've been lying out in the sun for almost an hour," I reminded him and started talking about how comforting the sun can be.......

.......Then it was as if something clicked for me.......

"Hmmh, why do you think that Jesus is referred to as God's son?" I sort of just instinctively said to my boy. "Just as the sun comforts, nurtures and restores the outer body, that's what the inside One is doing for us," I stated.

I recently heard someone refer to Jesus as a "verb" not a "noun." In fact, here's the quote by Rudy Jones from his article, Is Christ A Person?

"When most Christians mentally relate to the word Christ, they associate the word Christ as being the first or last name of Jesus, and are relating to Christ as a noun, or a proper name. So it is difficult to introduce a new paradigm, a new understanding of what the word Christ actually means. The word “CHRIST” IS A VERB. Christ is what you express “of God.”

Christ is not separated from you. Christ is the Light or Life energy in the cells of a Christian, electrifying every nerve and every muscle, bringing every thought into captivity. Christ is the Truth of what makes you who you are..........The Fact is: Every Day -- Everything I AM is what Jesus was. And Everything He was is Today what I AM. That is Biblical Truth. His Anointing permeates every fiber and tissue of your body, but is Life to you only by faith based on scriptural fact. Your faith is accepting your Truth."

The word Christ, #5547 in Strong’s Concordant Dictionary, is the Greek word "Christos," which means "Anointed," and is from #5548: "Chrio"; “through the idea of contact; to smear or rub with oil [the act of] from #5530: “Chraomai” (note the possible connection to chromosome.) “Chraomai”; “a primary root, a VERB; to furnish what is needed.”

When I am in the outdoor's sun, it's as if it becomes the "oil" (from "Chrio" above) that is being smeared or rubbed on my body "to furnish what is needed."

Basking in the Sun and Son,

Penny

***Photo Credit -- honey77, flickr.com***

Bottling Intuition and a New Agave Report

To think I was using Agave Nectar to sweeten my raw chocolate pudding!

Okay, my health intuition must be set on a nice, clear

"channel" right now, because....... Well, let me explain:

(1) I've had flax seed in my house for a while, and apart from putting a handful in a smoothie I made for my son a few weeks ago, the seeds have just been here, sitting. I would think to use them every now and then, but wouldn't. What was up with that if they're so healthy? Intuitively, something must have been going on.

So, Mila (a fabulous source of Omega-3's) ends up coming into my life in such a divine way, at which time some hard and unknown-to-me facts about flax came with it -- information about folks experiencing some thyroid issues from the consumption of too much flax. And how a part of the flax seed doesn't fully digest. Now, by no means am I an expert on this information (so please don't consider me so), but I know someone who has my attention about this matter (next to Mila Expert Dr. Coates, that is), so I've asked this person to write a related article for BottlingHealth.com and Pear Magazine. Stay tuned for that!

When Mila came to me along with the flax facts I had not been aware of, I connected with the reason why I probably had been, for the most part, staying away from the flax in my home. It had to have been my intuition at work. Now, I realize that some/many may disagree with this no-to-flax theory, and that's fine. But, as with everything else in my life, I simply move as I feel led. For me right now, that's moving with Mila and not Flax.

(2) Just as I had been avoiding my home supply of flax, well, when I recently ran out of Agave (which I typically prefer to Honey), I gravitated to a raw Honey when it was time to replace the "raw" Agave I typically get. I just figured I had a taste for something different at the time. So, these past few days, I've been using Honey to sweeten some Yogi Tea I recently purchased, as well as adding a squirt of it to my son's smoothies. Then, yesterday and this morning, Honey has complemented my Strawberry Crunch so well. As I ate that tasty food, I tried to visualize the Agave in place of the Honey, but somehow could taste that, Honey, not Agave, was what was supposed to help the sunflower seeds stick to the strawberries and give this dish an added kick.

Then, just moments ago, around the time of posting my Strawberry Crunch (with Honey) recipe, an e-mail from my friend Angela Elliott arrived, announcing her new web site. Her "Agave Nectar" link spoke to me, so I clicked on it....surprised to see the words, Just say no to Agave! Now I can't help but wonder if this is why I, intuitively, have NOT wanted Agave lately. Hmmh?

Yikes! But I've Recommended Agave to Family and Friends

I then had to take a deep breath, because my friend Shannon recently purchased Agave upon my recommendation, and other family and friends have done the same. I quickly pulled out my copy of Angela's "Alive in 5" book and was reminded that "Agave" is one of the ingredients listed in the book's "Raw Food Pantry" section. "Hmmh, until now, Angela (and many others) must have been misled like me," I figured. I'm sure that if and when Angela does a reprint of her book, readers won't see "Agave" recommended for their pantry the next time around.

Fortunately, I've done a blend of yoga and pilates for 11 consecutive days, so I know that's helping to keep my emotions balanced at the moment about this issue. There's a part of me that could easily freak out in my head, knowing that I've turned folks on to Agave.....and, now, this new information doesn't hold this sweetener in a good light. But, I inhale and exhale and am reminded that we live and learn.....and just as Mila has replaced Flax for my family, Raw Honey will continue to replace Agave at this time!

You know, now that I think about it, I don't think Jinjee and Storm (my mentors and friends) have ever been major Agave supporters. I should have listened to them in the first place. They know their stuff, they do! My intuition is confirming that, too! ;-)

Be Well.

Penny

P.S. Picture above of the Raw Chocolate Pudding made during my time at the Living Foods Institute last summer.

Bottling Strawberry Crunch

I made this yesterday for lunch, and because it tasted so good, I made it again for this morning's breakfast.

Includes: Cut-up strawberries with honey drizzled over them and raw sunflower seeds sprinkled on top. (The honey helps the seeds to stick to the strawberries, which provides a wonderful texture when chewing.)

Bottling a Fresh Juice Breakfast

From this:

To that:

For Today's Breakfast!

Ingredients: kale, parsley (a little), beet, lemon, apple, Mila (that little scoop on the side in the top picture)

I juiced the ingredients in the order above (I stirred the Mila in with the juice). I always juice apples last because the force of the juice extracted from them helps push through more of the juice from the greens, etc.

Bottling Rudy Jones' "5-Minute Health Seminar"

Raw-vegan foods, including Mila, help clean up our cells as Rudy Jones beautifully explains below. Today, I am beginning a 40-day 'frequency' clean-up through increasing my intake of pure water, fresh juices, leafy greens, etc. -- through nature's finest of ingredients. If you need help getting your cells cleaned up, Shannon Leone has a great resource here to help you.

Rudy Jones writes:

"The 70% water/plasma makeup of our physical body plays the same role within our bodies as the air plays in the atmosphere around our body. The trillions of cells, which make up the human body, are designed to live in balanced health according to the frequencies in the colors of the rainbow. The brain of each cell is outside the cell, in the watery membrane which surrounds each cell. Interestingly the membrane around the cell (the brain of the cell), has saucer shaped ‘antennas’ (very similar to the ‘saucers’ on the roof tops of many houses) searching for signals (Frequencies) in the flowing waters of the ‘blood’ (light) and in the lymph fluids until they pick up the correct frequency needed. Then “the watchers on the wall” open the door into the cell. If the frequency is organic and natural, the nutrients and the oxygen create life
energy within the cell. If the cell ‘food’ is man made, it is toxic to the cell because men use enticing fragrance and colorings, and ‘patented’ harmful preservatives. All manufactured products are harmful to the cell (which is God made) and have side effects.

Harmful man made ingredients ‘ground’ the electron in the cell; creating a ‘free radical’ cell. A free radical is parasitic, caused by the loss of the charged ion. Every atom seeks balance. An out of balance cell seeks to borrow ‘oil’ from one of the ‘virgins’. Your body is a biological river of vibrating frequencies, continually moving and feeding and changing the cellular atmosphere in your body. (What we think does effect matter.) When we are bitter, unforgiving, covetous, vengeful, etc., those thought frequencies are contrary to the designed program of the cell and The Creator’s nature." Continued here!

Bottling Caleb's Favorite Smoothie once again!

I often make a smoothie for my son to hand to him as soon as he gets in the car when I pick him up from school. At that time of day, he's typically ready for something to eat, so the smoothie is a tasty, healthy alternative and a nice distraction from something not as healthy at that time.

One day this week, after making Caleb's smoothie and heading out to pick him up, it occurred to me that I should have also made one for Tyler, a friend of Caleb's who has been interested in trying a BottlingHealth.com smoothie. However, I wasn't sure if I would see Tyler when I picked Caleb up, so I kind of let the thought go. But, of course, as soon as I pulled up for Caleb to hop in the car, who should be standing right next to him? So, I quickly pulled the mason jar out of the cooler bag and said, "Caleb, I made this for you, but if you want to give this one to Tyler, I can make another one for you as soon as we get home." Caleb was happy to share with his buddy, and so we did.

"Shake it before you drink it," I called out to Tyler as I was driving away.

By the time we arrived home, Caleb noticed Tyler had called. When Caleb returned the call, Tyler told him that he enjoyed the smoothie. "That's the one I drink the most," I heard Caleb say.

"I drank the whole thing," Tyler said to me when I spoke to him. He had let his parents sample it, too; they said they really enjoyed it as well. I told Tyler that not only did the smoothie have bananas and strawberries in it, but Mila, too. "You got a whole lot of nutrition in that drink," I said.

The recipe:

~ 2 bananas

"Of the soft fruits, bananas are second only to strawberries when it comes to overall mineral content," says Jay Kordich in "The Juiceman's Power of Juicing," The high potassium in bananas benefits the heart and muscular system, he says.

~ 5 strawberries (with stems)

Wonderful source of "vitamin C and natural sugars that cleanse the system," Kordich explains. They are also "high in potassium and iron, which is good for strengthening the blood. The sodium content makes them a valuable tonic for nerves and for keeping glands healthy...What I value most in strawberries," Kordich continues, "is the presence of elagic acid, which reduces and often neutralizes the damaging effects of the carcinogen PAH found in cigarette smoke." So Kordich says that if you should happen to find yourself exposed to secondhand smoke, to pop a few strawberries in your mouth to help dissolve the PAH.

~ 1 scoop of Mila

3,000 Omega-3's and 5 grams of fiber per serving as well as an ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) of 844 per serving.

~ A little water

~ Ice

~ Honey, to taste

And The Winner Is...

BottlingHealth.com is excited to announce the winner of our first Mila contest. Although we didn't have many people participate in our debut contest, we applaud Tracy, Nelly, Shelly and Tee for taking a chance at winning a bag of nutritious Mila. We'll keep you posted about other Mila contests we may offer in the future. In the meantime, if anyone would like to order a bag to sample, you can do so here -- where you can also get the scoop about Mila.

Now on to the drum roll.......And the Winner is...

TW Pouncy

Congratulations, Tracy!!! Please contact us at penny@bottlinghealth.com to claim your prize. We look forward to hearing from you.

Bottling Grapefruit/Apple Juice

My friend, Charo, gave me some yummy grapefruits yesterday from which I just finished sipping on a grapefruit/apple juice I made in my juicer. The recipe:

~ 1 large grapefruit, cut and peeled

Grapefruits are a great source of vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium.

~ 4 apples

Apples are also a source of potassium and phosphorus (which helps flush the kidneys), as well as a wonderful source of pectin (which helps remove toxins from the intestines).

Juice grapefruit and then apples! Stir and Enjoy!

Well, now having provided this refreshing information above, I feel I must share this info below.......the words of Jay Kordich, author of The Juiceman's Power of Juicing.

"I try to eat only organic apples. Often as many as eleven chemicals are used by apple growers who then wax the fruit to preserve it further. If I have to eat a waxed apple, I always peel it. Some growers use a chemical spray called Daminozide which penetrates the fruit and cannot be gotten rid of by any amount of washing. Another dangerous chemical is Alar, which may be carcinogenic but is being used in lesser amounts or eliminated altogether since the well-publicized outcry a few years ago.

"When you buy organic apples, check them for worms. The won't harm you but you probably don't want one going through the juicer. The government allows commercial canners to use a certain percentage of wormy apples in every batch of juice they make. This is only one reason I do not recommend bottled or canned apple juice. The canneries also use old, disfigured, rotten fruit. Why should they care? They filter the juice and then boil it so that the consumer never actually knows what goes into the juice. It is also difficult to know how much juice is in a can of apple juice. Regulations controlling what is printed on labels are becoming stricter but are still not enforced, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. That watchdog organization did a survey a few years ago on more than a dozen commercial juices and discovered that in many, the amount of juice was only about 10 percent. The rest was sugar and water.

"If you must buy apple juice, never buy it if you can see through it. This means it is pasteurized, or cooked, and then filtered so that all the helpful enzymes are removed. Buy, instead, cloudy-looking juice with sediment on the bottom, which indicates the juice is unfiltered and so probably contains more nutrients."

Bottling Exercise

When my family and I set sail on a Christmas cruise this past December, Yoga and Pilates were the two classes I signed up for at sea. Back on land, I'm excited to have a found a place near my home where I can do both: Pilates one day, yoga the next -- and then throw some Zumba in there, too, and I've got quite a exercise program going on, I'd say.

Today, I am simply "bottling" the great feeling of exercise. I took a Pilates class yesterday morning and a Zumba class last night. At the end of the hour-long Pilates workout, the instructor said to me, "You make it look easy." That was sweet of her, but I still want/need to get my core strengthened far more. But, if I did "make it look easy," I'm sure the yoga teacher training program I'm doing is certainly helping with that. Talking about yoga, that's Kate Potter (yellow shirt), creator of the Namaste Yoga TV show, pictured with me (green pants) about three or so years ago.

I ended up at Zumba last night because I felt an urge to go cardio-crazy, so to speak. The class had two instructors -- lovely and lively French gals -- and we partied away, Zumba-style! (By the way, Didier, my Yoga Teacher Training teacher is also French.) The Zumba fitness room had lots of space for moving around -- and the atmosphere just made me feel like I was dancing in my own living room. After class, I joined my husband and son at their basketball practice. Initially, I was going to go with them but decided that rather than just watch my husband coach and watch my son get all of his exercise in, I might as well get some of my own in! So, it was my "date" with Zumba until I met up with my family, and so I got the best of both exercise "worlds".

Today, after Chapel at my son's school, it was off to Victoria's yoga class at the gym -- where I got to do headstands and backbends (wheel). Thanks, Victoria! Victoria received her yoga teacher's certification from the same school where I'm getting mine, so her classes feel as if they're an extension of my training program. Perhaps that's why throughout her class today, I heard Didier's voice in my head reminding me that: "Yoga is about energy," and then I could feel myself giving more energy to the postures while feeling stronger and more alive in the process. For instance, here's a little exercise where you, too, might be able to experience this difference I speak of:

~ With your arms about shoulder width apart, extend them straight up above your head and look up.

~ Bring them back down by your sides.

~ Now, with your arms hanging down by your sides, stretch your fingers open wide and begin the motion of raising your arms (shoulder width apart) above your head. Raise them with purpose and intention. Raise them as if you have the head of a tiny infant resting on your wide-opened finger tips of one hand and the infant's feet resting on the finger tips of the opposite hand. Feel the strength it takes to lift the precious "infant" up towards the sky as you look up with shoulders relaxed and away from the ears. With that stretch, remember to spread your fingers apart like five-pointed stars....because you are a star! ;-)

Did you feel the difference between the two variations of the stretch? Did you feel more electrified by the second one? I did. :-)

Exercising with Energy,

Penny