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The Inner Voice
A weekly newsletter from Debbie Jensen-Grubb, RYT500
May 6, 2013 - Issue 34
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The Daily Yoga Poses Poster |  FREE!!! For all who receive this newsletter my first ever poster to download and print out! Thank you for joining The Inner Voice newsletter! (You need to open it in another window and print it from there.) |
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Quick Links
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This weeks reading can be seen here at The Daily OM.
Know Your Food
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| Greetings! |
 Festivals! Now that the weather is warming up it is the season of festivals. Today I was at my first Sheep and Wool Festival at the Fairgrounds in Howard County. What a wonderful sense of emerging from the dark, isolated, cold winter and bursting out with the joy of being able to walk leisurely in the sunshine, seeing the young lambs, and watching people just enjoying being outside.
There was a sense of community and an underlying sense of preserving traditions of making things by hand, living close to the land, and sustainability. There was also a current of trepidation about the direction in which the our farms and farmers are heading.
In talking with a honey vendor about the concerns of how pesticides are killing our bees (please don't use them on your lawns or gardens), a sheep farmer about the farms that are selling out and being developed with more houses, and a volunteer at the fairgrounds about how there are not as many 4H participants as before.
All show a great concern for our planet, the future of farming, and our future as a part of this earth (there was a study done that said we would only last 4 years after the bees are gone). It is up to us. How can we live more gently upon this earth? How can we give back to it? How can we preserve the farms and land instead of building more houses? These are huge questions that cannot be answered in my little newsletter. Yet each of us can do something, even if it is just changing one thing, to begin to turn towards a more healthier planet, way of life, and people.
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| Mantra | |
A mantra is a sound or phrase that aids in the concentration of meditation. It is a Sanskrit term and literally means 'instrument of thought'. Here you will find a suggested mantra to use during the week (from Louise Hay's 'Heal Your Body'). Just repeat it whenever you need a lift.
I breathe in love and I flow with life. |
| Rib-Tickler of the Week - hee hee |
A man was walking along a road in the quaint countryside of Franklin County, Pennsylvania and came across a farmer and a huge flock of sheep. He told the shepherd, "I will bet you $100 against one of your sheep that I can tell you the exact number of sheep in this flock."
The shepherd thinks it over; it's a big flock so he takes the bet.
"973," says the man. The shepherd is astonished, because that is exactly right. He says "OK, I'm a man of my word, take an animal."
The man picked one up and began to walk away.
"Wait," cried the shepherd, "Let me have a chance to get even. Double or nothing that I can guess your exact occupation." The man thought for a moment a said "sure."
"You are an economist for the federal government," said the shepherd.
"Amazing!" responded the man, "You are exactly right!
But tell me, how did you deduce that?"
"Well," said the shepherd, "Put down my dog and I will tell you."
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Yoga on the Farm Poses
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In honor of all of the farmers who continue to work their craft this yoga video is to honor them. They provide food to their communities and preserve our beautiful landscape.
Farming life has never been easy, even with all of the technological advances that have been made. To be a farmer requires determination, perseverance, and a dedication to something greater than yourself. The wide range of skills required to manage a farm are passed down from one generation to the next. Many farms have been owned by the same family for more than 100 years. This is extremely rare in our days and times.
The USDA reports that 96% of all farms that make up the USA's agricultural operations are family farms. This reminds us of how important it is that farming traditions continue to be passed down through the generations and how we must do our part in supporting these small, independent farmers.
We don't know what the future of agriculture will hold. We do know that it is only through the hard work of farmers from sunrise to sunset that we will continue to benefit from their resources of food, fiber, and energy to our community, county, state, nation, and out into the world.
So a deep thank you to all the farmers across our nation that strengthens the love of the land, to the artisanal crafts, and the bountiful produce we all enjoy. I'll do a Cow-Faced Pose for that!
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Nutrition Prescription - Eggs
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Eggs are one of the healthiest foods you can eat if they are from organic, free range chickens. Historically, they have been considered detrimental because of their cholesterol. A large egg contains 212 mg of cholesterol, which is a lot compared to most other foods. However, it has been proven that eggs and dietary cholesterol do NOT adversely affect cholesterol levels in the blood. In fact, eggs raise HDL (the good) cholesterol. They also change LDL cholesterol from tiny LDL (bad) to large LDL(benign).
Two of the most talked about benefits are the carotenoid antioxidants, lutein and zeaxanthin. They are most bio-available to us via the egg to help with the prevention of macular degeneration and cataracts if a person eats one egg per day. Move over carrots!
One egg contains 6 gm of quality protein and all 9 essential amino acids. These little orbs contain a certain sequence of amino acids that make egg protein easy to absorb. So a hard boiled organic egg after an intense workout is the perfect muscle repair food.
Eggs are packed with vitamins A, D, E, B2, B6, B9, iron, calcium, phosphorous, potassium and choline.
One of the most important is choline. When you think of choline, think brains and babies. It is used as a building block for phospholipids used in all cell membranes and is particularly integral in brain and nerve health. Choline from eggs is essential for proper fetal brain development and decreased neural tube defects, and it is a necessary constituent in breast milk. It also helps with memory function, breast cancer, and heart health too.
Remember that true eggs are not all one size or one color. In fact, they are a rainbow of colors from brown to green to blue and can be long and skinny, to small and round. Also, you can tell a healthy egg from the color of its yoke, it's positively golden, and when fresh doesn't break as easily as store bought ones when making that perfect sunny-side up breakfast.
There is so much good nutrition in eggs that I can't possibly talk about it all here. The best website I found was a Canadian one (click on the word 'nutrition') called Get Cracking. So do just that, get cracking on putting some eggs into your diet and becoming a healthier you.
Egg Recipes |
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Ponderings - Family Farms
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Our family farms are the back bone of our nation. We must support them to keep our independence from corporations and factory farms. Buying from local, organic farms keeps our bodies well, sustains the community, and preserves the land. Consider joining a CSA to get healthy seasonal food from a neighborhood farm.
Much is being done to safeguard farm land such as the MALPF, Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation, that purchases easements of land that can only be farmland and not developed into anything else. So far they have preserved more agricultural farmland than any other state.
Why is preserving farmland so important?
Farming employs more than 16 million people, more than 9% of the labor force. Well- managed farms provide clean air and water, as well as a place for wildlife to live. The beautiful, iconic vistas they provide keeps us in touch with our nation's heritage and brings peace to the soul.
Soon there will be farmer's markets opening, CSA deliveries, and much abundance from our local farms that will be for sale at road side stands, pick-your-own places, and festivals. Begin to look for alternatives to buying your food just from the supermarket. Find local farms on the web, ask your friends, or take a leisurely Sunday drive to check out the countryside around you. You just never know when you will come upon a hand-painted sign that is advertising the best eggs, meat, vegetables, or fruit that you have ever tasted.
Support your local farmers, not only are you helping them but you will also be helping yourself stay healthy, the community keep it's agricultural land, and the world stay green.
Heck, maybe buy some land and become a farmer yourself! It doesn't take that much to grow just a little. You will be part of a greater movement and you'll be guaranteed
first pick of all the best produce you, well, produce!
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Saving our land, preserving our farms, and being a good stewart towards the communities we are a part of is all of our responsibility. What can you do to do your part? If you are looking to move, consider buying an old one (my idea of recycling on a grand level), instead of having a home built. When a farm is developed the beauty and nature is lost forever. Let's begin now to save it for our future generations.
Thank you and Namaste,
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