Elements for Life Seminar with David Wolfe
March 9, 2009
It was all about Superfoods, like Goji berries, Inca berries, Maca powder, Aloe Vera, and of course Cacao.I have read of two of David Wolfe’s books, Naked Chocolate and Eating for Beauty.
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!
How to Survive P90X without Losing Your Mind.
March 3, 2009
During the past 10 months I have tried and failed P90X a couple of times.
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?
Great Superfood Protein Snack
February 6, 2009
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!
At Natural Healing Cases we collect stories of people who have cured their illnesses with the help of alternative medicine, meditation and simple belief. Anything that cannot be qualified as conventional medicine.
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
My “Law of Attraction” Experience
January 22, 2009
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!
“Eating for Beauty” by David Wolfe – wonderful read.
December 1, 2008
I just got this book and practically devoured it in 2 days.
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!
Cold? – Drink some Glintwein!
November 29, 2008
They drink it just about everywhere in the world. The Germans call it “Glühwein” (“glowing (as in heat, not light) wine”); the Americans “Mulled Wine”, the Dutch “Gløgg”(“heated”), the French vin chaud, (“heated wine”), the Russians глинтвейн (“glintwein”), and the list goes on and on.
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!
From Cacao to Coco Naturally
November 10, 2008
All of us love chocolate. And most of us know that chocolate is good for you. But do any of us know that commercially produced chocolate is not that good for you, because of the way it’s made?
Here is the story. To make the chocolate manufacturers use cacao beans. They roast them, grind them; etc, and then the beans become the cocoa, all of us know.
Cacao beans are extremely good for you. They have the most antioxidants out of any other types of food, even more than blueberries! Cacao beans are good for skin, hair, and nails because of sulfur; and they are good for circulation, because of magnesium; cacao is an anti-depressant, helps reduce PMS symptoms, promotes increased focus and alertness, relaxation; and of course it’s an aphrodisiac, which famous Casanova supposedly used to swear by.
However, by eating commercially produced chocolate, we almost don’t get any of that!
The best way to consume chocolate, based on my research, is to buy raw organic cacao beans, and then either eat them as they are, or mix them up with honey or agave syrup; or to prepare them various ways, for example make shakes, sprinkle over yogurts, cereals, oat meals, ice cream, etc.
There are a number of recipes that you can get from many websites.
Here are some of the ones I like:
http://www.expertvillage.com/expert/277.htm – Expert Village with Kelly Johnson
http://goneraw.com/recipes/334-Raw-Chocolate – Gone Raw
http://www.naked-chocolate.com/recipes/ – Naked Chocolate from David Wolfe
And it is easy to find raw chocolate beans too. I get mine from Whole Foods. And I also like www.iHerb.com. They have the cheapest shipping. And if you go to www.yelp.com and enter www.iherb.com, you can find a lot of comments from different people, and many of them provide discount codes, which I found very useful!
You can either get peeled raw dried cacao beans, or unpeeled ones.
I hope this info was useful to everyone. If you know any more cool recipes of raw organic chocolate, please share then with the world!
Cheers, friends!
Where did the milk from REAL cows go?
November 7, 2008
I think I am not the only one who is frustrated with the fact that it is almost impossible 
these days to find organic non homogenized milk on the shelves of modern stores.
The milk we are now forced to drink is mostly made from powder; it has been ultra pasteurized at very high temperatures, which kills all, good and bad; homogenized to break up the fat molecules to ensure that the fat distributes evenly throughout all milk (but doesn’t bring anything healthy as its structure has been broken); and finally there has been Vitamin D added to it, supposedly to enhance Calcium absorption, but which has also been liked to breast cancer development in women.
Most Americans probably don’t even notice this difference, simply because they have never tasted REAL milk. But for someone like me, who grew up in a Russian village, where every day you see the cow herd come back from the field, graciously straddling down the street; and where you get the best milk possible that separates naturally, and tastes sweet!
So, that’s it? There is no chance for people like me to enjoy the virgin fruits of nature here, in America?
To my great surprise I found out that there still people that make the same natural organic milk like that one I am used to.
I found these brands in a Brighton Beach store, but you can also locate them in Whole foods.
Here they are, ladies and gentlemen!
Ronny Brook Farms
Oak Knoll (goat milk products, my personal favorite)
Sky Top Farms (haven’t tried it personally, but judging by the bottle which says it’s from grass fed cows, non homogenized, grade A pasteurized, it is natural)
I am sure these are not the only brands, and that’s very promising. But here are a few things you need to pay attentions to when you buy milk.
Make sure it says on the bottle:
non homogenized,
grade A pasteurized (which is done at lower temperatures that the Ultra one, and retains all vitamins and minerals, but still kills bad bacteria);
all natural, no hormones, antibiotics, no pesticides
from grass fed cows (optinal)
These brands are more expensive than the regular ones, i.e. not the natural ones, but in my opinion, they definitely worth it, because they are good for you.
And a little more about my personal favorite, Goat Milk.
I love it because it is better digested by the human body, due to smaller molecules of fat, I believe (not that well versed in biology), and helps get rid of radio-active substances from the body!
I hope this info was helpful to everyone, who wants to be healthy and knowledgeable.
I you have any additional information about where to buy healthy food, please don’t be shy and leave a comment!
Cheers, friends!
The World’s Barack Obama!
November 6, 2008
I have no words to describe the overwhelming feeling of joy that I feel about the victory of Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the Presidential Elections! This is truly the victory of the whole world over everything obsolete, cynical, negative and dictatorial. It is a triumph of hope and zeal!
I remember riding the train home on November 4 around 10pm and being so anxious about the outcome, so I had to listen to music to calm down. Although earlier that afternoon I knew that he would win!
I texted all of my friends in Russia to congratulate them with this common victory, and got the warmest response and congratulations in return! I called my parents in Russia the morning after the elections, yelled my congratulations to which my father shrieked “Hooray!” – This is the victory of the whole world! I have never seen anything like that.
But now we are facing more challenges than ever – actually doing what we all want our country to be, all of us, – White, Black, Latino, Gay, Straight, Russian, Chinese, Indian….- we are all Americans.
In my opinion, we should not sit back and wait what our new President is going to do. We should all take part in the rebuilding of our country. Community after community, borough after borough, state after state. The way Obama’s campaign won this victory – mobilizing the entire country. I encourage everyone to find out what they can do to improve life in their own community, and do not wait for politicians to do it for them. I am personally very big on Renewable energy. So I am going see how I can help.
See what you can do for your country. This victory has shown to all of those, who had any doubts that anything is possible, that it indeed is possible!
Please, contribute your ideas about helping your community. I really would like to find out how we can provide assistance to everyone!
Cheers, friends
