Garlic is one of my favorite herbs to use!  It is considered a natural anti-biotic, anti-viral, and anti-fungal.  It is touted as one of nature's 'superfoods'!

It reduces inflammation, boosts your immune system, and helps to fight infection.  The main component is allicin and unique sulfur compounds which makes it lethal against cancer, helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and is very effective against viruses and yeasts such as Candida.   Researchers have even found that it works better than penicillin or tetracycline!

One tip is that when cooking with garlic after you chop, crush, or slice it let it sit for a few minutes prior to cooking it, this allows the elements to enhance to their most potent healing availability.

Garlic does have a rather potent smell (it is also known as the 'stinking rose') and if you eat too much it can lead to body odor.  One benefit to this though is that it repels mosquitoes, ticks, and can kill internal parasites in the intestines!  To neutralize this odor you can eat some fresh parsley afterwards or put some in the food with the garlic.

I love to eat fresh garlic!  If I'm not feeling well I'll dice a clove up and keep it in an air tight jar and take about a 1/8 teaspoon throughout the day.  It is potent on the tongue as it is cleaning all the germs there!  It also helps with sinus problems, sore throat, intestinal problems, or joint inflammation / pain.  Give it a try...just keep some fresh parsley on hand so that your friends and family still want to be nearby too!

For more information about the wonders of garlic check out this website:Benefits of Garlic

Imagine walking through a forest or park.  What do you envision?  Tall majestic trees, surrounding and towering above you like a natural cathedral.  Standing in woods is magical and brings a deeper understanding of the rhythm and spirit of the land which can touch you to the very essence of your soul.  Trees are an essential part of our world and our life, though it is easy to take them for granted.

When you thought of the above image did you noticed that you relaxed?  It has been documented that just walking a few minutes among trees can reduce stress.  A study at the University of Illinois shows that people are more likely to exercise, interact with neighbors, and heal when they are surrounded by trees.

We are much like trees.  We both need oxygen, food, and water.  We both draw our strength from Mother Earth, and stand tall reaching for the energy of the Sun.  They have personalities too!  Each are different, none are perfect, yet a work in progress.  Adapting to their environments, changing as needed to life's circumstances.

Trees do so much for us.  Their leaves give us oxygen to breathe, filters and cleans our air from pollution, and give us shade.  Their wood builds our homes and furniture, provides pencils, and makes reading a newspaper possible.  From their branches we are provided food such as fruit and nuts.  Sap from trees provides us with maple syrup, chewing gum, and crayons.  Bark provides us with dyes and medicines.  Roots hold our earth in place and soaks up water to prevent flooding.  Practically every part of a tree is used for something.  The quality of our whole existence depends on the roles trees play!

So what do we do for trees?  Man has not been kind to trees.  As I was researching for this newsletter I found many articles on what trees do for us but none on what we do for trees. It makes me sad to see how we cut down trees willy nilly. There was one maple tree in my neighborhood that I looked forward to seeing every fall because of it's glorious red color. It gave me a boost every time I saw it!  I was so mournful when I saw BGE callously cut the whole tree down because they needed to put some cables down for a new playground. That same playground area was bulldozed tearing hundreds of trees down just so that we could put sport fields up for our enjoyment.  How nice it would have been to instead work with nature and the trees so we could preserve some to sit under and enjoy and to respect the life that was all ready there.

What can you do to help preserve trees, our environment, and our world?  Begin to notice the trees around you and teach by example how to preserve and conserve our planet. Check out this link from England on simple ways you can help Mother Nature:  Ways to Protect Our World.   You can also plant a tree.  Follow this link to see which tree would suit you best:  10 Best Trees to Plant.  Take children for a walk through the woods to help build reverence for nature in the next generation too.  

I'm reading a book called "Grandfather" by Tom Brown, Jr.   In the chapter titled 'The Tree Speaks' Coyote Thunder teaches Grandfather when he is a child explaining "Man is a tool of the Creator and creation. ...Man belongs to the earth and the earth belongs to man. ...It is not just about taking from the earth and giving nothing in return.  ...Man has an important part in the survival of creation, for it is through man that nature can grow strong and healthy. We all need each other to survive.  But there must be a balance and harmony with man and nature.  ...Nature needs our help all of the time.  ...We must become protectors, caretakers, of the earth.  ...Nature becomes a doorway to the spirit and spirit also becomes a doorway to nature.  There is only the sacred 'oneness' that we are all part of." 

Begin to look around, really SEE the nature around you.  Take care of Mother Earth.  It doesn't matter whether it is just a small garden of pots on a balcony, or a whole mountain, by picking up trash when you see it, hanging a bird feeder, or using your own bags when grocery shopping.  Let's all work together to leave a beautiful legacy for our children and grandchildren to enjoy and sustain each other.

It was not until I began to do yoga that I awakened to the nature around me and within me and to see how I was a part of this great symbiotic relationship with this planet and all that live upon it.   My hope is that yoga begins to foster a love for nature within you also and a grateful stewardship for this unique planet we live upon.

Namaste,

Debbie