Community News
Vipassana Meditation

Research has shown that meditation can expand the brain, and help people avert stress and disease. One way to achieve this is through Vipassana meditation, a technique that emphasizes mindfulness, with the goal of seeing things as they “really are.” An ancient meditative technique from India, Vipassana was taken up by Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) just over 2,500 years ago. Vipassana meditation is the practice of freedom. It is an honest and direct practice: the moment-to-moment investigation of the mind-body process through calm, open, and precise awareness. Learning to observe our experience from a place of spacious stillness enables us to relate to life with a balance of wisdom and compassion. This experience fosters clarity and penetrating insight into the nature of who we are, as well as increased peace in our daily lives.

Brett Scott, Disability Tax Credit, DisabilityTaxCreditWinnipeg.com

Something to Sleep On

Daydreaming about better health? Getting 7-9 hours of uninterrupted, deep sleep can help make those dreams come true. Some researchers claim that the health benefits of sleeping are equivalent to those of eating. When daylight fades, our bodies release melatonin, a natural sleep aid/hormone with powerful antioxidant properties that works to: 1) Reduce inflammation; 2) Foster mental and emotional resilience; 3) Boost immune system function; 4) Improve performance and memory; 5) Protect your heart; 6) Prevent cancer. Having trouble sleeping? Here are a few tips to help you nod off: 1) Darken your room. Melatonin release only happens in low light/dark conditions. Blue light from mobile devices, TV’s, etc. inhibits this process. 2) Avoid eating/drinking 2-3 hours before bedtime. 3) Keep a consistent sleep/wake schedule. 4) Engage in moderate to rigorous exercise. If you rarely feel well rested talk to your healthcare provider about natural and medicinal support.

Sean Miller, CMHA MB & WPG, mbwpg.cmha.ca

Clean Eating: Lemon Tahini Dressing

This delicious dressing can be used for salad greens or as a sauce over rice, steamed vegetables, and baked potatoes.

2/3 cup plain almond or rice milk

5 tbsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic

½ tsp salt

½ cup tahini

1/8 tsp toasted sesame oil

Place all the ingredients in a blender and puree for 1 minute at high speed. Herbal D-TOX Cookbook for Cleansing by Dr. Terry Willard, CI.H.,Ph.D. AvivaHealth.com/WildRose

Book Club: Herbal D-Tox Cook Book for Cleansing by Dr. Terry Willard, PH.D.

Out with the old and in with the new. Detoxification is one of the central concepts of natural healing because it is impossible to build healthy new tissue without eliminating old cells and their by-products. This D-Tox program is designed for both meat eaters and vegetarians. The recipes in this book are designed to stimulate your own creativity and to show you that a delicious Meal Plan can accompany a detoxification diet.

Nathan Zassman, Aviva Natural Health Solutions, AvivaHealth.com/WildRose

Running Tips for Spring

For many of us, spring and warmer weather mark the return of running outdoors. There are a few things to keep in mind when getting started. Start back slowly. Progress back into your mileage and training appropriately; doing too much too soon can increase your chance of injury. Check your shoes. Guidelines suggest replacing your running shoes every 500800 km. The foam cushioning of the shoe breaks down with time, not only mileage, so changing them yearly is a good idea. Address any injuries. Don’t start off your running season with an injury that might set you back mid-season. Good mobility of the thoracic spine and lower extremity, as well as hip and lower extremity strength, can be integral to injury prevention. Physiotherapists can help improve mobility through manual therapy and prescribe targeted exercises for mobility and lower extremity chain control. Let’s get you back on the road!

Sarah Bleichert, PrairieTrailPhysio.ca

Have You Played Lately?

Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we’ve stopped playing. There are many benefits of playing for adults, which include increased creativity, productivity, and feelings of wellbeing. Hula Hooping can boost your energy and vitality and even improve your resistance to disease, helping you feel your best. The continuous, whole body movement gets the energy flowing, essential for creativity. According to a study into Fluid Movement and Creativity, fluid movement plays a significant role in enhancing creativity in three domains: creative generation, cognitive flexibility, and the ability to make remote connections. That is, your brain will be ready to generate new, original ideas and find fresh angles and possibilities. In the words of George Bernard Shaw, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

Karrie Blackburn, Kurrent Motion, KurrentMotionHoops.com

Natural Product Review: Cardioflex Q10

Cardioflex Q10 is a Manitoba-made nutritional supplement designed for cardiovascular health. With a unique blend of vitamins and amino proteins, Cardioflex Q10 is a supportive natural therapy that enriches cardiovascular health, establishes cholesterol balance and reduces CRP (C-reactive protein). With this product you can expect some amazing results: Strengthen your cardiovascular system, dissolve atherosclerotic plaque, lessen the pain of angina pectoris, reduce the likelihood of heart attack or stroke, increase heart and other muscle strength and stamina, lower blood and tissue lipids (fats), and increase antioxidant intake. Give yourself natural immunity against viral, fungal, and bacterial diseases, including antibioticresistant strains. Reduce hypertension and improve overall health!

Dr. Maria Di Bernardo D.C. is a certified NAET Advanced Practitioner, Village Chiropractic Centre

All-Dentist Musical

Occurring every two years, the All-Dentist Musical is a public presentation of a musical featuring a cast entirely comprised of Manitoban Dentists! Professional and emerging local artists are engaged to lead the All-Dentist Musical creatively and in production, with funds raised being donated to charitable arts and dental related causes. This coming spring, the fabulous and talented Manitoba Dentists will be performing the musical comedy, “LUCKY STIFF” from May 4th – May 7th at the U of W Asper Centre for Film and Theatre. This hilarious story revolves around an unassuming English shoe salesman who is forced to take the embalmed body of his recently murdered uncle on a vacation to Monte Carlo! Proceeds from the show will go to the Never Alone Foundation’s Restoring Smiles Campaign and to a student bursary at the University of Winnipeg’s Theatre and Film Department. Visit www.alldentistmusical. com to purchase your tickets!

Dr. Sarah Keating Sangalang, ReflectionsDentalHealth.ca

Spirituality for Everyone

By: Randy Armstrong

Spirituality – a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves and it typically involves a search for meaning in life. As such, it is a universal human experience—something that touches us all.

We at the Centre for Spiritual Living Winnipeg invite you to join us as we explore a philosophy and way of living. Each and every moment of our lives provides a choice to create a life we desire. We believe there is always an opportunity to choose. Each of our lives is a reflection of our predominant thoughts and beliefs. We have come to understand there are rules, which once understood, can be used to enhance our lives in ways which bring joy, success, happiness, peace of mind, and new opportunities. This concept is expressed as “Change Your Thinking. Change Your Life”.

If the life you are living on the outside doesn’t match who you are on the inside; or if you are hurting and feel powerless⎯ the Centre for Spiritual Living offers you a roadmap to self-empowerment. You can either keep putting up with your pain and suffer more each day or you can choose the way out. Perhaps your whole life isn’t so bad. Maybe just one aspect is lousy. Maybe it’s your job, or your relationship, or your money, or you just don’t feel well. Or maybe things are good most of the time, and not so good some of the time. It doesn’t matter. When it’s bad, it’s bad. Do you want to just settle for a mediocre life, or would you like it to improve?   When something isn’t working, it saps your energy and affects the quality of your life. It sabotages your joy and you walk around feeling crummy.   When it comes to your life not working well, you can’t just walk away from it. You can’t just put your life aside and go on to something else that feels better. When your life isn’t working, it’s serious. It’s an invitation to do something different. Not more of the same. If coins keep falling out of a hole in your pocket, the answer is not to go out and get a second job. The answer is to plug the hole.

We at the Centre for Spiritual Living help you to find the power within yourself to create your best life. We provide honest and practical tools on “how” to think not “what” to think.

If your life is not working the way you would like right now, you might want to know why, so you can do something about it before it gets worse. As you choose new ways of thinking, you will transform every challenge into a gift.

To really live, begin by letting go of any idea that anything outside you determines your destiny. The force that determines your destiny is you.

If any or all of this sounds incredible, you are probably thinking someone or something outside you pulls the strings of your life. But anything less than living fully from choice is settling for too little. Your true strength is in using your power in the midst of those who have abandoned theirs. Most people take what is given them and call it their destiny. You can take what is given to you and use it to make your own destiny.

Take what you have and make what you want.

When you are ready to stand in our own power, your world will reshape itself around your intentions.

You are not a victim⎯ you are a powerful creator. You can make the changes in your life that will get you the results you want. I guarantee that if you practice the principles you learn with us, your life will change for the better. But don’t take our word for it….prove it to yourself. You are worth it.

Join us for meditation at 10:30 and inspirational message at 11:00 each Sunday.

Centre for Spiritual Living Winnipeg, 625 Spruce Street. www.cslwinnipeg.org

Randy Armstrong, Centre for Spiritual Living Winnipeg
cslWinnipeg.org

Clean Eating: Blueberry Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Start your day (although nothing wrong with pancakes for supper!) with this protein boosted treat with blueberries to pack an antioxidant punch. Maximize nutrition by topping with a lightly sweetened greek yogurt and chopped nuts for more protein, fiber and omega-3 healthy fat:

1⅓ cup wholewheat flour

⅓ cup sugar

1½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 cup cottage cheese

¾ cup milk

2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cup blueberries

Whisk together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl whisk eggs, cottage cheese, milk, lemon zest and vanilla until well blended. Combine dry and wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in blueberries. Cook 1/4 cup at a time in a lightly oiled skillet at medium heat until bottom is golden brown (3-4 minutes). Flip, cook the other side and enjoy! Adapted from EatingWell (Best Blueberry Pancakes eatingwell.com/recipe/248514/best-blueberry-pancakes).

Lisa Kehler, OffYourPlateNutrition.ca

Life is Not Always Fair

If you are waiting for life to be fair and compensate you for the energies and time you’ve put into it, expecting the outcomes you had hoped to receive…you might be waiting a long time! In my experience life doesn’t tend to work that way and a paradigm shift might be required. What life does offer is an incredible myriad of gifts in the form of extraordinary people and experiences with opportunities presented to grow you in ways you would have never signed up for willingly! The choice is up to you if you choose to stay a victim or take in these new experiences. Living life fully is about loving. It’s about learning and living the fine art of embracing what comes your way with gratitude and appreciation instead of wishing you can be or have something different than what is.

D’Arcy Bruning-Haid, Souls-Journey.com