Winter 2020 Essential Wellness Magazine

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resources for inner peace, health and healing

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essential wellness digital magazine Twin Cities Wellness aka Essential Wellness 4270 Honey Tree Pass Danbury, WI 54830 PUBLISHERS Dee & Lynn LaFroth ADVERTISING Dee LaFroth sales@esswellness.com 715.259.3047 EDITOR Lynn LaFroth lynnlafroth@icloud.com ART DIRECTION Soleil Graphics WRITING SUBMISSIONS Click here to request Writers Guidelines RECEIVE ESSENTIAL WELLNESS BY EMAIL Send us your email to receive twice-monthly Celebrate Wellness e-news and quarterly digital Essential Wellness info@esswellness.com 2 www.esswellness.com

4 Three Steps To Becoming Vegan

By Rose Elliot

8 Excuse Me…Did you Say Sanskrit?

The Surprising Relevance of Sanskrit for Today

By Sarah Mane

12 The Holistic Approach to Keto and Gut Health

By Kristin Grayce

16 The Writing of Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness —A Memoir of New Beginnings

By Keri Mangis

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Three steps to becoming vegan

By Rose Elliot

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WITH THE VEGAN diet so much in the news, many people want to ‘give it a go’ and see what all the fuss is about. But how do you ‘go vegan’?

How do you begin, and what do you do? How do you know which foods you can eat and which you cannot?

And how on earth do you begin to manage without milk, butter, cream and cheese, not to mention meat and fish, if you’re starting the vegan journey as a meateater? Not to mention other things such as knowing which cleaning products and make up are suitable to use (because they do not contain animal products or have not involved cruelty in their production), and which clothes, shoes, bags and accessories might contain silk, wool, leather, feathers, or fur....

Well, first of all, may I commend you for your interest in the vegan diet; I nearly said ‘way of life,’ which as you can see is really what it becomes. As you really get into it, your ‘circle of compassion’ as I like to call it, expands to cover more and more aspects of your life. That can seem overwhelming, so first of all I say do your best: keep it simple, do one thing at a time, and most of all keep reminding yourself why you wanted to go vegan in the first place and keep going.

Here are some tips to help you on your way.

1) Make the intention to succeed and reach out to others. Yes, you can do it! Thousands of people have done so, have shown it to be a practical and joyful way of life, and more and more are joining the ranks as every day passes, so it’s actually getting easier and easier all the time. That’s not to minimize the challenge for each individual; the decision to go vegan is an important one and affects many aspects of one’s life. Ask for the respect—and hopefully the support as well—from those close to you; reach out to others who have ‘gone there’; and keep going.

2) Go at your own pace and make life as easy for yourself as you can. It’s your life, and your journey, so do what feels comfortable for you! That might mean an all-or-nothing approach, sweeping your cupboards bare, going vegan overnight, or you might feel like taking a gentler approach, changing one thing at a time—swapping dairy milk for one of the plant milks. Try the different ones and find your favourite; having a fully vegan meal once a week, or once a day, depending from your starting point. But keep going—remember your intention, and persevere.

3) Keep going and reach out. Explore the different delicious vegan foods that are coming onto the market all the time; talk to other vegans. If you like cooking, try new vegan recipes, treat yourself to a vegan meal in CONTINUED PAGE 7...

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4... a restaurant, spoil yourself with some of the vegan treats you can buy, come on, reward yourself, have fun! It’s a wonderful way of life with so many benefits, both personally—better health, wonderful food—this can no longer be contradicted, vegan food can be truly gorgeous, if you doubt this, try it and see! And of course the joy of knowing your diet and life-style is having a truly positive impact on the world, saving animals from pain, suffering and slaughter, saving their ecology, enabling more people to eat well, and hopefully, saving our beautiful planet.

Rose Elliot, MBE, is Britain’s foremost vegetarian cookery writer and her books have won her popular acclaim all over the world. Rose has written over 60 vegetarian and vegan books, with sales of around three and a half million worldwide. Some of her most popular titles include Simply Delicious, Not Just a Load of Old Lentils, The Bean Book, Complete Vegetarian Cookbook, Rose Elliot’s Mother, Baby and Toddler Book, Rose Elliot Vegetarian Supercook, Vegan Feasts, and Sumptuous Suppers.

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Excuse me...Did you say sanskrit?

The surprising relevance of sanskrit for today

By Sarah Mane

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I WAS RECENTLY on a long-haul flight from Sydney to Vancouver. In the row in front was a young mother with two little boys. The flight attendant announced that no one was to use peanuts as these boys had a severe peanut allergy. All through the flight this mother provided her children with carefully preprepared food. Making sure the boys were occupied, answering their questions, resting when she could. It was very impressive. But what has this got to do with Sanskrit? I’ll get to that.

First, what is Sanskrit? It is an ancient language, some would say timeless. It is described as the language of the Universe, and a Mother of Languages. These are grand claims to be sure, so let’s look at Sanskrit on two levels.

First, Sanskrit is a spoken language with grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure and so on. As a Mother of Languages, Sanskrit is an etymological matriarch in the vast Indo-European family of languages, which includes Latin and Ancient Greek and the Germanic, Indian and Romance families of languages. English, of course, is an Indo-European language.

To get an insight into the care of that young mother taking her boys home to Canada let’s look at the power of ‘mātri,’ the Sanskrit word for ‘mother’. Our

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English ‘mother’ is cognate with matri, so, when we’re speaking English every day, we’re connected with Sanskrit meanings whether we’re aware of it or not.

The second, deeper level of Sanskrit is as the language of the Universe. But how is this so? And how did that universal language affect a young family on a transPacific flight?

The word ‘Sanskrita’ means ‘purified and perfectly formed’. When we are quiet, open and receptive, without mental distractions, we hear a still small voice within. That voice is always pure and perfectly formed— it is sanskrita. In that quiet state we just ‘know’ the truth of that voice.

This communication occurs in our heart. This perfectly formed language then needs to be interpreted into our vernacular language so that our mind and body can take action. This sense of ‘knowing,’ a simple alignment and resonance with this Universal language, shapes itself into a form that our mind and body can use.

SANSKRIT CONNECTS TO UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE Sanskrit reflects that universal language. It uses a subtle system of verbal roots to establish a connection to that universal language CONTINUED PAGE 10...

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Using a combination of both anti-bacterial and antiparasitic herbs whileroot, alsocalled detoxifying the(धातु body is an Each simple verbal a ‘dhātu’ ), gives integrative health ofapproach assistsmeaning in ridding rise to a myriad words. that The core of the all body of this pernicious ailment.

In addition, adjunctive these words comes from the verbal root. This is the herbal medicine been shown to safely aid in powerhouse of thehas meaning.

These roots are verbal, remedying infections manifest that is the key to the that system.

Verbsas arthritis, are ‘doing’ damage words, to the central nervous system or weakening of the heart. they are actions.

Providing and stimulation We generallypain thinkrelief of ‘meaning’ as a conceptofor the an immune system, acupuncture is a natural, object. We think a ‘table’ is a thing, not as the ‘act complementary approach further assuages the of tabling,’ the service that that the table performs for us. health challenges of Lyme Disease.

Sanskrit, on the other hand, is based on the idea that the actual meaning of something is what it does, the Besidesitthe springtime allergies andtheLyme action performs.

So ifailments a table ofceases to do act Disease, what are other areas of your health where of ‘tabling,’ in other words provide us with a surface acupuncture canput be an aid? it is no longer a upon which to ourinvaluable dinner, then table, it becomes something else.

STRESS MANAGEMENT Stress is a major cause of lost work hours, sick days Actions are a form of energy, so words in Sanskrit and lowered productivity in both home life and the carry the core energy of meaning of their particular workplace. But it doesn’t have to be a mainstay in verbal root. This is one of the astonishing and perhaps your life! Acupuncture is a holistic remedy that can unique features of Sanskrit—that meaning is conveyed balance both your emotional and physical well-being in experience not merely in concepts. so detrimental stress factors don’t diminish your daily vitality. Scientific research shows that acupuncture

releases neurotransmitters such as endorphins, serotonin and Now norepinephrine. let’s go back More and more hospitals, clinics corporate to thatandflight to employee wellness programs are incorporating acupuncture into their preventive Canada.

Consider healthcare the word offerings ‘mother’as a way to address stress-related illnesses.

—mātri —written as

मातृ in the beautiful BOOSTING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM Devanāgarī script.

A combination of acupuncture and herbal medicine has It draws its meaning been proven to be impactful in building immunity to from the verbal root prevent illness. Chinese herbs are used for balancing, ‘mā’ (मा). Mā means harmonizing and cleansing the body’s system. They ‘to measure’. So, the can treat a wide array of health issues and an accredited essential meaning herbal consultant can detail how to use them as adjuncts behind ‘mother’ is the act of measuring. to medications.

MEASURING WHAT? PAIN MANAGEMENT A mother cares for and nurtures the body, mind, Pain a significant for anyone!

Pain heart,isand spirit of a distraction child. She provides everything medications expensivethe or addictive, often only just in the can rightbemeasure, perfect amount for addressing painplace. symptoms not the of cause. we the time and The measures what Today is needed are aware dangers opioids and needdesigned to find change all of thethe time, but a of mother is perfectly safe alternative pain when relief.it isAcupuncture to give the child paths what isfor needed needed. The helps many pain conditions, from pulled knowledge of this measuring is innate andmuscles comes to in headaches to backaches and more. Pain symptoms can be reduced in as few as six sessions. Many types of pain

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response to the child. It is known and expressed in the very act of mothering, it is not a theory or a concept.

The true meaning of ‘mother’ is in the action and the experience.

Any woman, whether they have given birth to a child or not, has this natural and innate power of measuring or mothering in the presence of a child. Measuring love, encouragement, discipline, boundaries, knowledge, food, what to wear in the winter or summer, the list is endless. The measures needed to care for a baby, a young child or a teenager are different, but the act of measuring is the constant. The greater the level of presence and awareness in the mother, the more precise the measure is. That was certainly in evidence on that plane.

Delving into the deeper meaning of words like this is very important. The meaning we give to things shapes our world. Things such as Values, Attitude, Truth, Being, Love, Mother and Father are not actually things.

They are actions. What is your attitude doing to you

and to the people around you, what are your values doing?

Through the timeless wisdom of Sanskrit, we can redefine, clarify and realize new meanings, which can have a powerful and positive impact in our life.

Sarah Mane has been studying Sanskrit since she was a teenager. Today she teaches practical self-awareness, philosophy, meditation and Sanskrit to both children and adults. She also coaches individual clients and business professionals all over the world.

Conscious Confidence is her first book from Findhorn Press. For more about Sarah go to www.sarahmane.com

Click here to visit www.sarahmane.com

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The holistic approach to Keto and gut health

By Kristin Grayce

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THERE HAVE BEEN waves of fad diets surging through social media; some stick around, others disappear

drinks like coffee; the use of certain pharmaceutical medications, eating on the go, and stress to name a few top contributors.

as quickly as they arrived. In the last 22 years of practice as a holistic healthcare provider, I’ve learned that food is medicine and that you only gain the benefits of your nutrition if you can break it down and absorb it properly. When I analyze a blood chemistry lab, I often find people are not digesting and absorbing their nutrients well. Most doctors and naturopaths are unaware of which lab markers to order and the lab patterns associated with digestive dysfunction. Still, these are essential clues that direct appropriate and individualized treatment plans.

Dairy and gluten are two common examples of foods that cause inflammation, even if you don’t have a known sensitivity. In my first book, Holistic Keto for Gut Health — A program for Resetting Your Metabolism, I explore the science behind gut damage.

I also explain how to repair it and the enteric nervous system properly. I look at the foods that both cause and prevent illness, new perspectives around the mind, body, spirit health and healing, and how a functional, holistic keto gut repair program can help halt, prevent, and heal autoimmune challenges.

Almost everyone has some degree of gut damage, which impacts immune function, nutrient absorption, cognitive function, hormone production, energy levels, inflammation, healthy skin, hair, and nails, and vitality, to name a few. Gut damage arises from multiple factors, such as consuming non-organic foods with pesticide and herbicide residues like glyphosates (from Round-Up). Or exposure to heavy metals in the air, water, food, and dental material; processed and packaged foods that are full of chemical preservatives; environmental factors such as herbicides used on public park and playground lawns; acidic foods and 12 www.esswellness.com

THE BODY MORE EFFICIENT ON FATS FOR FUEL Scientists now agree that the human body, your brain, and every major organ runs more efficiently on ketones (fats) for fuel rather than glucose (sugar, aka carbohydrates). More specifically, the brain functions 25 percent more efficiently on ketones than it does on carbs. Ketones can provide as much as 70 percent of the brain’s energy needs.

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(1) I remember when I was premed at the University of Arizona and taking a prerequisite for medical school, Biology. I learned the brain requires carbohydrates to function, but I have since discovered that this is not wholly true. What is true is that several structures in the brain do prefer glucose, and this comes from a process called gluconeogenesis. The body is “making new glucose,” which is done by the liver through the use of amino acids (protein building blocks). The liver is also good at making glucose from glycerol through a process that links fatty acids together in triglycerides (body’s storage from fat). Your body prefers ketones to make everything it needs in terms of energy.

The low-fat fad has been scientifically debunked, and healthy fats, like coconut oil, shown to improve cognitive function. Good fats are our friends.

Processed hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats cause many health issues including inflammation, the precursor to every disease.

I’m part of several Keto Facebook groups, and I’m shocked at how many people live off of diet soda, coffee, and processed high-fat foods. Many people in that group are using a standard ketogenic-type diet plan to lose weight, and it can work, but they are also causing harm

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to themselves. How people interpret, the ratios of fat, protein, and carbohydrates are visible in their food choices. Just because you’re eating a highfat diet, that may be called ketogenic, and even force your body into ketosis, does not automatically mean it’s healthy for you.

Carbohydrates cause many serious health problems in humans. Diabetes, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, dental decay, obesity, and decreased cognitive functioning are a few of the harmful effects of glucose on the human body. There is solid science elucidating the link between metabolic disturbances (ex. high blood sugar) and mood and psychiatric disorders as well as dementia. Insulin has been found to play a critical role in neuronal growth and neuroplasticity.

For example, people with Type 2 diabetes have a 60 percent increased risk for dementia of all kinds.

(2) High blood sugar, trouble with insulin production, and utilization cause a problem for you.

I prefer a more holistic approach to the ketogenic craze.

Not all fats are created equally. The foods that make up your calories each day do matter. I’ve found that the more fresh, organic, and vine-ripened vegetables and leafy greens, the better. Moderate protein and higher healthy fats can be the perfect ratio to stimulate your metabolism, resensitize your cells to insulin, stabilize blood sugar, decrease inflammation, and balance hormones. This approach is the ideal foundation for healing the gut. Avoid standard ketogenic diet foods, like dairy and eggs, processed foods, and synthetic

immune dysfunction, which leads to allergies, skin issues, food sensitivities, joint pain, inflammation, and autoimmune challenges, is the result. Here is where the power of prevention, heightened awareness about what is happening inside your body-rather than guessing, and your desire to level-up your health and life do make a difference.

sweeteners, and replace them with healing gut foods such as aloe vera, coconut oil, high fiber vegetables, collagen powder, and cultured vegetables. Add a natural supplement or two like L-glutamine, marshmallow root, specific high potency pre and probiotics, and finally, make lifestyle changes like chewing your food, mindful eating, staying hydrated with fresh spring water, avoiding chemicals, and managing stress. Your gastrointestinal tract can finally begin to repair itself.

recommendations, supplements, and contemplative exercises in my first book Holistic Keto for Gut Health, to offer you a comprehensive, holistic approach to healing, of which you deserve. If you find yourself needing a nutritional and lifestyle upgrade, then I’m here to help. I see patients, write regular blogs, and share tasty recipes to help keep you enjoying life to the fullest.

GUT DAMAGE RESULTS IN GAS, WEIGHT GAIN OR LOSS Gut damage may indeed result in noticeable gut issues like gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, pain, and weight gain or loss. But this is only a small piece of how gut imbalances manifest. More often than not,

The body is remarkable and can heal when blocks are identified and removed, and it is given what it needs. I outline specific nutritional and lifestyle

Click here to visit kristingraycemcgary.com

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The Writing of Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness—A Memoir of New Beginnings

By Keri Mangis

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WHEN I BEGAN this book six years ago (coming February 2020), I was in a place in my life we in the spiritual community often call a Dark Night of the Soul. Several ventures of mine had ended abruptly, and I wasn’t sure what was next. I felt I understood what my skills and strengths were, but I couldn’t find a way to put them to use in the world in a way that would be recognizable to others (i.e., safe) as well as satisfying to me. Plus, I was tired of trying so hard, and making (seemingly) no progress. I was having an identity crisis (isn’t this what all mid-life crises are at the core?)

With guidance and support, I dug past the surface questions until I arrived at my core questions: Did my soul know and remember what it was like to be human before choosing this lifetime?

Did she know about the disillusionment, betrayals, loneliness, and disappointments?

Did she know all of this, and still say “yes”?

This was how the Soul Realm perspective of my book began, which alternates with a more common Earth Realm perspective. Writing with these two parallel perspectives (and eventually watching them merge) 16 www.esswellness.com

allowed the stories to be seen through the eyes of the soul as well as the ego. As it turns out, they look quite different!

I began to realize that I was living my life exactly how my soul had always meant: with a lean toward adventurous new beginnings, and the opportunity to slip into many different human “skins”—roles, identities, titles—to see what there was to learn. She, my soul, never expected me to “figure it out.”

NEW PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE REALIZED This realization filled me with gratitude and forgiveness toward myself. Much healing happened during the writing of this book. Rather than seeing my life as a series of false starts and premature endings, I saw it anew as a rich journey of new beginnings, continued growth, and soulful evolution.

It was then that I realized this book was no longer simply a personal memoir, but a collective one. All of us have stories in our lives that we don’t quite understand why they happened, or what we were

supposed to learn from them. But our souls do, if we only stop to ask.

For most of my life up until this point, I was trying to find a skin—a role, a relationship, a title—which I could wear that would make me permanently happy and content. In this book, I share my desperate journey to shrink down, cut off, or otherwise mold myself to fit inside each of these skins. But the struggle created an untenable situation within my own body, one that forced me to address all that was being ignored.

I had to turn inward and decide: Am I someone I can live with, faults and all? Am I someone with whom I can be happy? Am I someone I can honor and even adore just as I am?

I can thank my own Endless Curiosity, who appears in this book embodied in the form of a silver-eyed wolf, for not allowing me to give up and disappear into the folds of society. It is a testament to her importance in my life that I made the decision to make her a character.

For I learned that her nature, like that of a real wolf, was very seldom invited inside the places that actually needed her most—schools, churches, and businesses, even yoga centers. I eventually learned to love my Endless Curiosity even more than I coveted approval and belonging. Now, Endless Curiosity is with me everywhere I go. Her wild nature can be intimidating, but it is also often the catalyst for change, conversation, and above all, wild, soulful creativity.

As I move into the next stage of my life, I’m not trying to grow ever-thicker skins—quite the opposite, in fact. I’m letting myself be more vulnerable, more fully

seen for Who I Am. Now, I am living porously—no boundaries, no apologies. Any skins I try on from this point forward, I will wear as they were meant to be worn—soul-side out.

Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness—A Memoir of New Beginnings, is a memoir. But it is also an invitation for each reader to take a journey to the center of their own soul, to ask how their soul views their life. It is an invitation to slip beneath one’s outer skins to find out who we are at the core. It is an invitation to come to a place of living with courageous, unconditional selflove.

Every new beginning provides a rich opportunity for healing & personal evolution Keri is a curious seeker and truth speaker, an Earth Realm explorer and Soul Realm mediator, a philosopher and boundary-free visionary. She has recently begun a podcast entitled Awaken your Power, which you can find on her personal website: www.kerimangis.com. In this podcast, she seeks to redefine power from something we try to get from the outside world to something that we cultivate from within. Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness will be available on Valentine’s Day. 2020. For information on the book, the launch party, book readings, and/or to pre-order your copy, visit embodyingsoulbook.com.

Click here to visit embodyingsoulbook.com

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Live Well.