blog
March 2nd, 2012
We are lucky in Portland, OR to be able to buy seasonal vegetables, fruit, fish and other food from our local farmers all year round. Even in the Fall and Winter, Saturdays and Sundays (and some other days) we can go to different farmers’ markets and find out what is growing in our Northwest climate, and purchase it all locally.
I have a lot of respect for all these farmers who work so hard all season to provide us with organic produce. Farming is not easy, not everyone wants to do it because it is such hard work. Plus, they have to drive long distances, come early in the morning to set up and have the market ready in the damp cold mornings.
Last Sunday, we were at the Hillsdale market, and we met the five-day old baby goat “Robert.”
Robert the 5 day baby goat at the Farmer's Market
He was adorable and so friendly. He was born at a farm outside Portland. He was so slow to come out, stand up, and take his first walk that his mother thought he was not going to survive and refused to nurse him. The farmer’s daughter took him, washed him, and fed him his first bottle. Everyone at the market fell in love with Robert. We were petting him, holding him, kids were playing with him. He went along with it all. People gave him so much care and love, and he returned it back so graciously and happily.
This time of the year, there are fewer vegetables at the market, but we are lucky to have three types of hardy winter vegetables:
- Leafy greens like many kinds of kale, collard greens, parsley, leeks, brussel sprout greens that look like collards but are smaller and more rounded forms and different tastes.
- Round vegetables like turnips, rutabegas, cabbage, onions, some pumpkins and winter squashes, and radishes.
- Root vegetables like parsnips, daikon, carrots and their green tops are so yummy and long stems with a little pungent taste and smell to it.
Also at this time of the year, we can get Dungeness crab. It is a short season. There are several varieties of fish as well, fresh and not frozen – how wonderful.
It is not bad at all for a winter season, plus we buy produce that has not been radiated. We just pick our vegetables and fruit, they get weighed, we pay and put them in our baskets – I like this old way of shopping.
I prepared a simple RISOTTO CRAB PARSNIP KALE recipe for dinner with leftover sweet rice. I sauteed in sesame oil 1/2 onion chopped, 1 small sliced parsnip for few minutes, added the rice and mixed it altogether. Then I added sea salt, pepper and an organic vegetable cube (optional), some water and covered it to cook for 15 minutes. Towards the end, I mixed in the crab meat and stirred for a few minutes. Then I served it with boiled kale mixed in and chopped fresh raw parsley. It was delicious and easy to prepare.
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February 4th, 2012
February 5, 2012 in shiatsu| by margomarver | Leave a comment
Some years back, in 1993, we returned to the US from London. I had just finished my advanced course of Zen Shiatsu at the Shiatsu College of London. Then, for a whole year, I flew back and forth from Boston, MA to England to complete my Post Graduate degree at the College.
I worked with people who were referred to me for Shiatsu, Vegan/Macrobiotic cooking classes or Dietary Consultations. In those days, the internet and websites hadn’t become popular yet, so, I used the yellow pages to advertise. On a rainy Sunday, I got a phone call from a lady who had been suffering for years with migraine headaches. She was so desperate and in such discomfort, she opened the phone book hoping to find someone working on Sunday that could relieve her from her excruciating pain and discomfort. I saw her that day, and it was quite a visit. She had a great sense of humor. We enjoyed each other’s company after that initial treatment, and she became a long-term client, plus she referred to me her cousin and many friends.
I don’t usually like working on Sunday, but T.H. knew how to charm me with her Southern accent, and I could feel how desperate she was. She arrived and I gave her a Shiatsu treatment. During the treatment, she started feeling better, and her pain started to dissipate. She was curious about the whole procedure. She had never had or heard about Shiatsu. But, she knew about Acupuncture and the way it worked.
Usually, when I start a Zen Shiatsu treatment, I take an assessment on the receiver’s abdomen where all the organs of the body are located. Though I don’t deal with the organs themselves but rather with the energy lines or meridians, the assessment takes me in the direction of where I need to treat. I palpate gently around the abdomen. I look for the tightest and most depleted areas there. Then, I pick two or three areas that I feel drawn to. I test two meridians at once together, looking for a reaction. I usually test a depleted or yin area, and a yang or tight/stuck area. Often the most depleted one does not react, but the third, less weak location reacts with the yang. By addressing that specific meridian, it works wonders by boosting the weaker one. It makes perfect sense, because it is so depleted, that it doesn’t even have enough chi to react.
I usually work quietly, focusing on the plan I create to treat the client. But, if I feel the person needs to talk, I listen and let them say what they have to say, as long as it is related to their own health symptoms. Sometimes, it is part of the treatment when the receiver needs to discharge what is on their mind, or share something that is bothering them.
As I was working with T.H., I kept seeing this image of chocolate. It was very strange. My assessment was Gall Bladder and Kidney Meridians. She asked me after I was done treating her if I had any advice or recommendation for her. I explained the assessment I had, noting that Liver and Gall Bladder work as a couple. Liver deals with stress, and detoxifies the blood at night, among many other jobs. Excess fat such as sugar, nuts, nut butter, chocolate, excess dairy and alcohol can affect the Liver and Gall Bladder, and create stagnation in the meridians.
Before I finished my sentence, she interrupted me and explained to me that every Sunday, after a long stressful week at Harvard, she would treat herself with a jumbo-sized bag of M&Ms. She had never ever made the connection between the binge or her Sunday treat and her headaches. We talked about sugar and its effect on mood, health, and our organs, especially the Liver and Kidneys, and our bones. I explained how in Macrobiotics, I learned that sugar is a yin ingredient, as well as chocolate. They affect the upper part of our body, mostly the head. My advice was to notice if she eats chocolate again, especially poor quality kinds, to notice if her migraine headaches came back. If she craved chocolate, she should buy better quality one. I eat chocolate once in a while, but I will only eat the organic ones with very few ingredients. It made sense to her and she was relieved to have found part of the cause of her chronic migraine headaches. She was tired of taking pills to get rid of her pain.
She left with a big smile on her face, and pain free. She booked another appointment and I have to say it was such a joy to work with her. We used to laugh a lot, and she came on a regular basis for shiatsu to help her deal with her stress at work, and to learn more about personal self-care. T.H. became more and more aware of her diet; she also started exercising, walking, and binging less on M&Ms.
I suffered from degenerative cervical discs, musculoskeletal injuries, and migraine headaches for years. I had tried everything. The Shiatsu treatments relieved 75% of my pain and enabled me to regain a quality of life I have not had in decades.
T.H. Secretary, Harvard Business School,
Cambridge, MA
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January 23rd, 2012
Reflexology, the Alternative Approach for Years of Better Health
Foot Soak before the Foot massage
In the mid-nineties, while living in Boston, my back hurt so badly that I had to lie down without moving for weeks. I just couldn’t move because of the pain. I was advised to try Reflexology after other alternatives had failed. The first two Reflexology practitioners could not help. But the third person drove 45 minutes to our house in Cambridge, treated me for 50 minutes, and the next day I was back on my feet working. Two more treatments and my back was feeling much better. I was able to go back to yoga, gardening, working, to my normal life. I was amazed, and decided to sign up for a Reflexology course.
I learned about Reflexology – the art and science of working on people’s feet – in the 1990s. In Japan and Hawaii, therapists work on the abdomen for an entire session. In China and France, alternative doctors work on the ear the whole session. It is likely that Reflexology began in ancient Egypt, where a wall painting from 2330 B.C. shows a physician working on the Pharaoh’s foot. And in ancient India, work on the feet was quite popular. In 1938, Eunice Ingham published her first book “Stories the Feet Can Tell Through Reflexology,” and that was the beginning of this new therapy in the US and in Europe, later in Australia.
What is Zone Therapy? We all know that we have ten toes and of course ten fingers, five on the right and five on the left side of the body. Number the big toes “zone line one.” These zones relate to various parts of the body. For discomfort in the shoulder, for instance, we work the area below the small toe, and the pelvic area, which is the lower parallel side of the shoulders and that part is located below the ankle.
Here’s a concrete example. Recently, I was working on a client’s right foot in the area of the foot that mirrors the large intestine ascendant colon. She was quiet, lying down and breathing deeply. Suddenly, she pointed to her right abdomen, and told me that she was feeling some movement upward in her intestines. I acknowledged that indeed I was working on that area on her foot. I was surprised, because I don’t always get clients who are that sensitive and precise. When I start working on the lung area below the toes, people begin to take deep sighs, and they comment that they start feeling their lungs opening. Often, clients say their head feels clear after a Reflexology session. I find that kind of result fascinating.
What is Foot Reflexology? Dwight Byers – founder of the International Institute of Reflexology where I studied – comments: “Reflexology is a science which deals with the principle that there are reflexes in the feet relative to each and every organ and all parts of the body. Stimulating these reflexes properly can help many health problems in a natural way, a type of preventative maintenance.”
When I started studying and practicing Reflexology in 1998, relieving stress and tension were the first tasks we learned. Apparently, most health issues are caused by stress. I always start my sessions with relaxation movements or techniques on the feet, allowing the body to relax and let go of all the tension that the client brings with them. That allows the person we are working on to begin relaxing and breathing properly. My next step is to start working on the diaphragm, where all the tension and the stress get stuck. When we are under stress and pressure, we tend to forget to breathe. Our breath moves the diaphragm up and down, in and out. When we hold our breath, that specific area in our body gets stuck and tight, thereby slowing the circulation between our upper and lower body. Working on the diaphragm area allows the body to relax, to allow the flow of energy, and the blood and lymphatic circulation to go back to its natural rhythm. When we ease tension and stress, the pressure on the nerves and vessels diminishes. Underactive or overactive glands and organs will return to normal functioning, helping nature to normalize the body’s function.
In Reflexology, we don’t diagnose, prescribe, or treat a specific condition. We just work the map of the feet. The whole body is mapped out on the foot. The toes represent the head, sinuses, brain, etc. Below the toes, we have the chest, breasts, and lungs. Heart location is on the left foot only as it is in the body. So on and so forth. Some people have discharges, or have some slight reactions after the sessions. These are the result of the body trying to detoxify and getting back into balance.
I like to encourage my clients to take total responsibility for their own health by exercising, acting in moderation, doing stress management as much as possible, and not to depend on therapists and doctors to keep their health in harmony.
We abuse our feet so much during our busy lives day in and day out. In Asia, feet are very important. Notice the Feet of the Buddha everywhere on drawings, engraved on stones or other materials. In Tibet, it is the same. When I was in Egypt, vendors at every tourist site would be selling a foot of black granite covered with the ancient hieroglyph drawings (their ancient language that used pictures rather than our modern alphabet). In the New Testament, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet in the temple, which must have been a ritual in those days. In Japan, people never go to bed – at least in the old days, my teacher Kiiko Matsumoto (Japanese-born world famous acupuncturist) used to tell me – without scrubbing their feet. You never, she said, take the tension of the whole day with you to bed. Wipe your feet with a hot wet towel, massage them or roll them on a ball or foot roller and you will see how deeply you will sleep.
Take good care of your feet, and your feet will serve you for a long time. That is my mantra. Wipe them before going to bed. It takes only 3 seconds. Roll them on a small golf ball, or foot roller. Lately, I read an article about a pebble walk created especially to use at home – we can have the beach at home, an amazing idea. We can benefit our health so much by massaging our feet ourselves with a natural, good quality cream. Avoid products and creams with mineral oil or petroleum. My favorite product to use is Arbonne International’s Swiss-formulated “Intelligence Foot Cream” or their Holiday Pampermint scrub and foot cream. It is soothing and relaxing, and easily absorbed by the feet. Eat well, drink water, exercise, take walks daily, treat your feet with good natural products and Reflexology, and notice the return and feedback from your feet and body to your body, mind and spirit. Good luck and good health with happy feet.
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January 13th, 2012
A client of mine is going on a hiking trip in the Grand Canyon. We were talking about food to carry that won’t spoil, that will hold you up on the trip in the desert and especially when there is no way to cook.
Seven years ago, my husband and I drove across the country for nines. We had to be creative and pack food that does not need cooking and would be easy to eat while driving nine hours without stopping, or taking a shourt break. We both love hummus and rice cakes. But since driving can be dehydrating, we decided to prepare some crudites to munch on in the car – carrot sticks, celery, and rinsed romaine salad – they all are refreshing, hydrating, and don’t spoil easily. We also love apples and pears. Personnally, I like to eat the apples sliced. Bananas were also handy as well as avocado on a car trip, or for hiking.
I love the energy and nutrients I get from Japanese Brown Rice balls with Umeboshi Plums wrapped in toasted Nori. The plums make the rice balls last for a few days without spoiling. I read once that during the war in Asia, these kinds of rice balls were given to the soldiers to feed on and get energy and nutrients.
In natural food stores, we found dehydrated split pea soup with carrots, onions and light spices. All we had to do was add hot water and chopped parsley, and it became a delicious soup. To make it satisfying, we added some bread in it. It was yummy. I had chopped some parsley and stored it in a small container to garnish the soup with and get some leafy greens.
Another handy ingredient is roasted sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds; almonds in small quantities is also fine. Organic high cocoa content chocolate is nice to have as well. We had two hot water thermos that we filled every morning from the hotel. We took easy oatmeal and muesli that we would soak in hot water to make it a light and warm breakfast.
This way, we had a combination of grain, protein, vegetables, sea vegetables, fruits, warm drinks and soups, along with nuts, seeds and sweets to cheer us up when tired and sleepy. Power bars are an option, but my husband and I are not so fond of these foods, but it can work for a lot of people – light, and easy to carry and eat. I found some Organic Green SuperFood ones with Berry (goji and akai) – sugar and gluten free. Anther one is Pure Organic Apple Cinnamon Bar with walnuts. Our favrite traveling power bar is ”Kelp Krunch” with sesame seeds, brown rice syrup and kelp. I order them from a company in CA.
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December 30th, 2011
Chair Massage
We were just on a trip to IN to visit my husband’s mother and his brother. Our transit flight was through Dallas, TX. Flying always affects my neck. It gets a bit achey and tight. As soon as we get off the plane, it gets back to normal. But, it doesn’t hurt to get a chair massage when you are traveling. So, as we were walking to get to our next gate I told my husband it would be a dream come true to get an airport chair massage. Lo and behold, just before we got to our gate, I saw a chair massage parlor. Lucky for me, we had time to kill. So, I signed my name up for 15 minutes.
I gtt on the chair, head down, adjusted my knees, chest, and arms on the chair to a comfortable position, and the massage therapist started working on my neck and shoulder. I felt her strong hands on my neck, since this is where my main concern was expressed. I knew right away that it was going to be a good 15 minutes upper body massage.
Indeed, I was so glad to be at her mercy. It felt amazing. I often get chair massage whenever I see them at airports but this one was really the best ever. She worked deep on my shoulders, shoulder blades or scapula areas, arms, and back after addressing my neck for around five minutes. I kept taking long relaxing breaths. In my mind, I was thinking I hope it is not going to be just neck work. It wasn’t – she read my mind.
I usually have tight shoulders. She spent some time there using her forearm and elbow. I was so pleased with her deep but effective pressure. I thought: “that’s too bad, I only signed up for 15 minutes, I should have asked for 20 minutes instead.” Well, the massage went on and on. I almost asked her if she realized I signed up for just 15. I was enjoying her work so much that I just let her keep going. I kept breathing deeply and tuning in the great feelings my shoulders, arms and shoulders were feeling.
So, when she was done and mentioned the price, I knew she worked 20 minutes. I complimented her on her strong hands and work. I told her it felt really good and that she was terrific. My name is Holly,” she said. “Have a safe flight Ma’am” (with an Asian accent) “and hope to see you again.”
If you have never had a chair massage, you may want to consider it between flights or at the end of your trip. Some of my clients like to book a massage before and after traveling. The body can deal better with the discomfort of the long flights, the confining seats and what it does to your entire system, not only to your neck, back and shoulders.
A Happy Holiday season and a wonderful 2012.
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November 8th, 2011
Walking on Pebbles or beach rocks can be pleasant and beneficial.
Reflexology Foot Pressures Massage on Pebbles
Fall, Spring and Summer times are my favorite seasons to be out in my garden. I am always moving around plants just as I move furniture in my house. My garden is my way to be creative and playful. Sometimes, I feel I am creating a painting but a live and big scale piece of art. My husband once asked me: “when will this garden be done?” My answer was: “never.”
I am in the process of making a Pebble River in my front yard. I love walking barefoot, so I took my garden clogs off and stepped on the pebbles I had just spread in my garden. What a feeling! At first, it felt a bit uncomfortable but I could feel some interesting pressures in specific areas. It felt like some huge thumbs pressing on reflex points in the sole of my feet. I loved the feeling after a while despite the discomfort at times. I could feel some pulsation in my feet that lasted for a while after I moved away from the pebbles and their pressures. I also could feel some circulation in my legs. Hmm, I think I am onto something here. Now, I walk as often as I can on this Pebble River in my front yard whenever I feel like having some deep pressure on my feet.
Of course, it is not like having a Reflexology treatment done by a professional Foot Reflexologist, but the pressure from the pebbles feels really good, and is satsifying enough especially if we take our time and let the pebble pressure work deeper to make the effect last longer and benefit the spot where the pressure is happening. Our body is mirrored in our feet. The foot is naturally devided into Zone lines that correspond to our internal organs, to all the systems that make our body function harmoniously – such as digestive system, urinary system, reproductive system, lymphatic system, endocrine system, etc…
I wish I could build a pebble walk inside my house and do it more often, and not have my neighbors wonder why I keep walking back and forth on this Pebble River.
Not long ago, I read an article saying that in China, they just created an Indoor Pebble Walk. They know the benefit of the pressure we get on our feet reflexes from the roundness and firmness of these little stones.
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November 7th, 2011
Sweating and Detoxing through gardening
Gardening and free daily exercise
One of my favorite exercises and hobby is Gardening. From a young age, my father used to encourage me to get out in the garden and have fun using my creativity. He gave me a small piece of our garden to plant, weed, move things around, turn the soil – yes, that is what we do in Lebanon because the ground can get really hard. So, every Spring, we add compost to the garden right when the perennials start showing up and turn the soil, mixing the old with the new soil to soften the old hard soil. I am so grateful my dad encouraged me to play in that little plot of the garden. Now, I love it and always feel great after working a few hours in my garden. I feel better than after working out for an hour in the gym. The reward is when all the colorful perenials start giving me these beautiful bouquets of colors and gorgeous flowers to decorate our house and share with friends and clients…
Why is gardening so great for our bodies and mind?
The Joy of Gardening and the resulting beauty and peace
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Getting the fresh air and the Vitamin D even if the sun is hiding behind clouds.
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The yoga movements that happen during the work: forward bending, twisting, reaching forward, kneeling..
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The joy and nourishment of our hard work harvesting flowers, fruit, berries and vegetables.
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When I am tired, just walking around my Zen Garden and enjoying the beauty of it makes me feel great and brings a smile to my face and soul.
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Sitting with a book or a cup of tea out in the garden or eating a meal surrounded by all theses beauties and the magic of nature is priceless.
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Watching nature coming to me in the form of butterflies, hummingbirds, the singing of the birds, my cat massaging her fur and back on the pebble alley and grass is such a pleasure.
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Sharing my garden with friends and neighbors to inspire them, to enjoy relaxing times together.
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Sweating is a good natural way of detoxing when gardening.
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August 30th, 2011
There is so much in life to learn, it never ends. A few weeks ago, I took a very interesting workshop on Ayurvedic Reflexology or Kansa Vatki foot massage. I call it Reflexology because I add the Reflexology training that I had throughout the years to this beautiful Indian foot massage – they work so well together.
WHAT IS KANSA VATKI OR AYURVEDIC REFLEXOLOGY?
They say in India, “Diseases do not go near one who massages his feet before sleep.”
I learned that also in Japan “Never take the stress of the day with you to bed. Always rub your feet from the knees down with a hot towel before getting into your bed.”
This unique kind of foot Reflexology involves the use of ghee (or coconut oil and sesame oil), and a small three metal bowl – copper, zinc, and tin. This work is deeply revitalizing for tired feet and legs, because the feet contain nerve endings relating to internal organs. Plus, all key energy lines start and end in the feet. A Kansa Vatki treatment also helps to rebalance the tri-doshas (Vata, Pitta, Kapha). This kind of foot work is known to help detoxify and balance the body’s energies.
The heart of the treatment involves vigorously rubbing the soles of the feet with a three metal bowl to draw internal heat and toxins out of the body, thereby inducing tremendous relaxation.
SOME OF THE MAIN BENEFITS:
- Relaxes tired feet
- Improves blood and lymphatic circulation
- Enhances lower limb mobility
- Restores level of Prana
- Promotes sound sleep
- Relieves eye strain
- Boosts the body’s vital energy or Prana.
The Kansa Vatki foot massage makes a wonderful addition to Reflexology treatments.
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September 16th, 2010
Cooking class Invite September 2010
SOUP Satisfying and Nourishing Indian Summer soup
GRAIN Rice Garbanzo (yellow bean – Spleen season)
PROTEIN Tempeh Stroganoff (white sauce nourishes Lungs)
VEGETABLE Seasonal Vegetables Stir Fry with
Ume Orange Dressing
DESSERT Warming Apple or Peach Pie (whatever available in market)
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April 20th, 2010
Touch is very healing, especially for older people who just need lighter touch and shorter massages. They often feel lonely, and have chronic pain and discomfort. Massaging older people’s shoulders, neck, arms, wrists, hands and fingers can be quite beneficial physically for their blood and lymph circulation, and emotionally by feeling cared for. Though it is a short length massage, it can be quite helpful. One resident told me the other day while I was helping her stand up to reach her walker: “I still feel your hands on my shoulders, and I feel nice tingling movements in my arm like they are alive.”
My favorite client is a 108 years young lady. She is always cheerful and positive. She is always the first one to sign up for the massages. She is so sharp and tells all residents they should try the massages and see how good they will feel afterwards. She never complains about her health, she has followed a vegan diet for a long time, and used to plant her own vegetables. I want to be as cheerful and strong as she is when I will reach an older age. I asked her once at the beginning of the massage how is she doing. She said, “I am great, but I worry about my 90 year old daughter.”
I thought that was sweet and interesting. We are always young in our parent’s mind and eyes no matter how old they are and we are. She is really my hero. I love this woman, and she teaches me a lot.
One reseident had signed up that day to come for a massage, but could not make it because she felt dizzy and nauseated. I was asked if I would be willing to work on her while she lied down in her bed. I did. She started feeling better after just ten minutes of massaging gently her hands and arms, and pressing on some meridian points in these areas.
I am always amazed how older people react fast and find relief within a few minutes of working on their shoulders and arms.
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