Prototype Issue
Tending the Mind, Body and Spirit
By Various Authors
(page 1 of 1)RTLA rounded up natural resources for promoting your health head to toe.
The Motivators
Daniel Gutierrez of East LA is sometimes called the best Latino motivational expert in the business, though he likes to say he is a motivator who happens to be Latino. He has brought modern, humane system techniques to individuals interested in being successful and “self-realized,” and he has helped numerous businesses and CEOs in creating a healthy, effective workplace. He sums up his teachings in a new book, Stepping Into Greatness. Part autobiography and part workbook, the text lays out a number of interesting self-practice exercises that suggest he knows what he is doing and can indeed assist the reader to live up to the book’s subtitle: Success Is Up to You! Penmarin Books, www.danielgutierrez.com.
Mabel Katz is as Hispanic as Gutierrez but not as well known. A businesswoman and spiritual teacher who lives in the Valley and is active in Latin business circles, Katz is a devotee of an ancient Hawaiian spiritual and self-enhancing art form called Ho’oponopono. Her new book, The Easiest Way or El Camino Más Fácil (available in English and Spanish), is a practical guide for applying spiritual principles to get past blocks to having what you want in life. Its premise is that life is easy, we are the ones making it difficult, and we can learn to stop getting in our own way. Among other tasks, the book takes on teaching how to delete negative programs that impact plans, goals, decisions and results. It also offers guidance on being open and flexible to receive ideal solutions through inspiration. www.mabelkatz.com
Art of God
Brooks Greene-Barton is high up in the running as LA’s most advanced and certainly, original spiritual teacher. He has traveled extensively -inwardly, of course, and outwardly—to scores of other cultures, and possesses a formidable knowledgeable about spiritual practices and techniques gleaned from these cultures. From his own direct experiences and searches combined with this acquired knowledge, he has created a profoundly unique training called Art of God, which holds as its basic premise that we have gifts and skills and can access states of awareness far beyond our knowing and that true life richness (and success) lies in tapping these gifts while moving beyond fears, limiting behaviors, traumas and inner resistance. A lot of folks have techniques for a similar path. Greene-Barton’s are so uniquely innovative and the context so profound that they must be experienced to be appreciated. Free demonstration sessions take place regularly. Check the website for information. www.artofgod.org
Water Medicine
Drinking alkaline water may be the easiest thing you can do to improve your general health. Remember acid rain? Well it appears that a similar phenomenon is happening within our own bodies. The increasingly acidic water supply, the processed foods, coffee, table salt, refined sugars and sweeteners we eat and drink all contribute to an excess of acid deposits in our cellular tissue, creating an environment that is conducive to disease and poor health. Maintaining an appropriate acid-alkaline balance can help fight off toxicity and dramatically improve overall well-being.
The body strictly regulates the pH of the bloodstream, maintaining a very narrow range of 7.35-7.45, slightly alkaline. When we ingest acid-forming foods or engage in acidic habits like smoking or drinking alcohol, the body scrambles to combat the excess acid by sequestering it in cellular tissue. It does the same with polluting toxins from our food and air. Drinking alkaline water helps flush out these disease-enticing deposits. It may also help in the absorption of nutrients, and has reportedly aided people with such diverse health issues as weight loss, sugar imbalances, hypertension and other maladies.
Alkaline water can be purchased at health food stores or can be conjured right in your own home with a water filtration system that uses an electrolysis process to make an alkaline solution. The household systems for making alkaline water are available on the Web and cost around $700-$800. This simple technology is used in over 10% of Japanese homes and could hold the key to a long, healthy life. —S.A. Galluzzo
The LOHAS Movement
For those who have not grasped the fact yet, there is a business and lifestyle force afoot in the world generally going by the awkward name LOHAS, which stands for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability. Essentially a social as well as a business movement, it entrains those individuals and companies dedicated to creating products and services that are environmentally sustainable, made from renewable, non-toxic substances, and who also promote foods that are organic and health practices that are holistic and non-pharmaceutically based. The movement is a very big deal not for its name or for the number of firms but because of the sophisticated market and “psycho-graphic” research it has contracted showing that an increasing majority of Americans support major elements of LOHAS thinking and lifestyle.
There is an annual LOHAS conference, for the past few years held here in LA. This year it is May 14-16 at the Marriott Marina del Rey. Featured speakers at LOHAS 11 include a number of savvy business execs from the movement and for icing Lawrence Bender, producer of Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth, and musician Lou Reed. It is always a smart time and a place to expand your business or personal horizons. For info www.LOHAS.com. —Bev-Sue Powers
AROMAPatches
"The Easiest Way or El Camino Más Fácil’s premise is that life is easy, we are the ones making it difficult, and we can learn to stop getting in our own way."
The soothing scents of lavender, lemongrass and larkspur fill many homes, and there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence related to the therapeutic benefits of certain smells and the burning of certain essential oils. The low gurgle of simmering oils in suspended glass dishes and the flickering light of the votive candles that warm them—are lovely side effects but they often deliver overpowering scents and aren’t exactly convenient to use on the go. That’s where the AROMAPatch comes in handy. A simple round patch sticks to your skin like a Band-Aid, releasing the scent of essential oils into the air, not into the body. Available in Calm, Dream, Refresh and Control, these patches help with everything from weight loss to insomnia, along the same lines as the candle versions, except these fit in your purse. www.aromapatches.com —Shana Nys Dambrot
Essential Children’s Play Books
Marcia Singer, a Valley person, has developed a set of beguiling coloring books that teach kids about healthy eating (Eating for a Fresh Start), environmentalism (Love Me, Love My Planet) and healing arts (Crystal Kids). The books are smart, fun and deserve wide distribution. Meanwhile they can be obtained from her company, P.L.A.Y. House, 877-278-9453 or by writing to her at lovearts@att.net. Bulk discounts are given to teachers.
Discussion