Beck Anderson Yoga & Wellness Hammock

When I logged on this morning and read about the recent shooting in Aurora, Colorado in which twelve people died, my immediate reaction was sadness and then I got scared. What guarantee did I have that it wouldn’t happen to me in our local Mariner Theater, average audience size of eight?

The truth is there is no guarantee.

We, and I include myself in the forefront, trust the authorities to protect us. May I suggest that we possibly trust too much?

What about situations like this? Cops aren’t stationed at movie theaters, nor should they be. Cops aren’t stationed at many public places. But any “bad guy” with a gun could be. And how do I want to feel then?

One person said they got scared, like a deer in the headlights so they curled up in a ball and waited.

Another person said they had never been more scared than when they were all trapped in the theater together, “helpless.”

“…You never think something like this would happen,” said another.

From what I understand of Colorado law, possessing a handgun is legal in a place of business. I’m not sure if it was legal in this particular movie theater, but if anyone last night had had a gun, they probably would not have felt like a deer in the headlights or helpless. And maybe there would be less good people dead.

So, I’m putting “purchase a handgun and learn how to shoot” at the top of my to do list.

What do you think?

I came up with a brilliant (I think) idea as I was browsing through my Google Alert on “raw milk” (sometimes when it’s a slow raw milk news day, I get articles that are slightly off topic): do a feature on the school lunches in my area! (more…)

This coming Sunday the 18th of September at 3:30 pm Jennie Smith and I, Beck Anderson, are co-hosting a movie afternoon at Blesch Auditorium in Menominee, MI. The movie is about farmers and other individuals who are rethinking our food system. Most people understand that the system we have now — the mass produced animal meat in confinement farms, pesticides and Genetically Modified crops (GMOs) — is not a sustainable system. (more…)

Session #1: Beginner Yoga ~ 6:15 A.M. – 7:30 AM
Breathe, strengthen, revitalize! Gentle movement sequences invite you to explore your inner landscape, reduce stress, and relieve chronic muscle tension. Increase range of movement in your shoulders, spine, hips, and legs. Learn simple Yoga postures at a moderate pace.

Session #2: Yoga for Balance and Fall Prevention ~ 8:00 AM – 9:15 AM
Feeling a little unsteady on your feet? Learn effective ways to regain a sense of center, stability, and balance. Decrease your risk of falling and reclaim confidence and ease of movement. All poses can be modified to fit your body.

About the Instructor: Beck Anderson
Beck Anderson has been practicing yoga for eight years. Observing the strength and peace it brought to her body and mind, Beck aspired to become a yoga teacher to share the benefits of yoga with other people. In February 2011 she met and began studying under MaryKay Marquart for her RYT-200 certification. She hopes to share the possibility of creating balance, tranquility, and healing through awakened awareness and harmony between body, mind, and spirit. Beck lives with her husband, Elav, in Menominee, MI. For more information on Beck, visit www.wellnesshammock.com.

Do you often feel like you simply cannot say “no” to donuts, candy bars, cake or other simple carbohydrates?  Do you crave pastas, white bread, and other sugary foods?  Perhaps you think, or friends or family members suggest, you don’t have enough will power to avoid these bad foods or ability to keep on a diet.  Do not blame yourself or feel guilty: it takes much more than will power to eat healthy; it takes nourishing foods and knowledge of what food does in your body.

Our bodies need healthy saturated fats for the cells to function properly, and if we don’t get enough cholesterol from saturated fats, our bodies become deficient in the primary building block for hormones.

Cholesterol also repairs cell membranes, makes vitamin D, bile acids to digest fats along with a host of other functions.  But, in the 1900s when heart disease was steadily increasing, saturated fat and cholesterol were depicted as being the culprit for clogging arteries and causing heart disease.  This is the Lipid Hypothesis; it is still a hypothesis and has never been proven.  In fact, just the opposite is true but we’ll get into those studies (that prove healthy fats results in healthier people) another day.

In response to the lipid hypothesis, many people avoid saturated fats and anything with cholesterol.  Thankfully, the body can use the sugars from carbohydrates and turn them into a usable source of energy (although not the preferred source).

When the body does not receive healthy fats, it reacts as if there is a crisis and craves simple sugars because it can quickly use that in emergency situations.  Once we allow our body to begin using simply carbohydrates, it becomes an addiction because there is a slight serotonin boost also.  Now the body is learning to rely on sugar which comes with the risks of developing diabetes, heart disease and many other modern diseases.

Carbohydrates, sugar metabolism, insulin versus healthy fats, saturated fats, cholesterol : these are all topics I cover in my Food & Nutrition 101 classes as well at the Nutrition for Weight Loss program.

Entered in Monday Mania Carnival.

My dream.

April 11, 2011–Falls Church, VA—The explosive increase in raw milk consumption—according to CDC statistics, at least ten million Americans now consume raw milk—has created innovative partnerships between consumers and their farmers. By accepting responsibility in their food choices, Americans are paving the way to the next phase of the US local food movement: partnership with producers to ensure we a way of providing raw milk and other healthy foods that our families require for good health.

The Farm-to-Consumer Foundation and the Foundation for Consumer Free Choice will co-host the Third Annual Raw Milk Symposium: Producer-Consumer-Choice in Bloomington, Minnesota. The event will be held on Saturday, May 7, 2011, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Bloomington. It is open to the public. Farmers and consumers are especially invited to learn more about the safety and health benefits of Raw Milk as well as the critical relationship between producers and Consumers

Featured speakers at the event include:
Ted Beals, M.S., M.D. - He is a retired pathologist with a special interest in the relationship of raw milk to the specific facts surrounding its safety.
Sally Fallon Morell, M.A. - Author of the best-selling cookbook, Nourishing Traditions and President of the Weston A. Price Foundation.
David Gumpert - Author, journalist and reporter, and host of the on-line journal, The Complete Patient. His most recent book is The Raw Milk Revolution.
Sylvia Onusic, Ph.D. - A nutritionist and writer/journalist in the areas of traditional and whole foods and public health with a particular knowledge of the European perspective.
Michael Schmidt - Trained in biodynamic farming in Germany, he moved to his farm in Canada in 1983 where he won a monumental court decision in 2009 for raw milk access.
Catherine Shanahan, M.D. - Author of the books Deep Nutrition and Food Rules, she is a board certified family physician trained in biochemistry and genetics
Alan Watson - Author of two books, 21 Days to a Healthy Heart and  Cereal Killer, which delineates the unintended consequences of the typically recommended low fat diet.

During the past year, in the name of “food safety” at the urging of the Food and Drug Administration, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture has targeted raw dairy farmers, making Minnesota a crucial state for the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation’s education and outreach efforts to the farming community, general public and government agencies. Minnesota residents are willing to stand with their farmers and even take on more responsibility to ensure their farms’ survival.

Interested parties may register online or by telephone. Visit the http://RawMilkSymposium.org website to register. The cost is $40 to attend the Symposium (no meals included, 8 and under free). A lunch ticket is available for $25.00, and the Fundraiser Reception and Dinner is $100.00. To register by phone, call 703-208-3276.

For more information about the event or sponsorship and exhibit opportunities, please contact, Symposium Coordinator, Christie Boyd.  Her phone number is 513-407-8899 and email is: admin@farmtoconsumerfoundation.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Farm-to-Consumer Foundation through education and charitable relief, supports farmers engaged in sustainable farm stewardship and promotes consumer access to local, nutrient dense food.

To learn more about the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation, or to make a donation, visit their website, http://farmtoconsumerfoundation.org. The phone number is: 513-407-8899. 
Press Contact:  Kimberly Hartke, Publicist
A Campaign for Real Milk, realmilk.com
press@westonaprice.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
703-860-2711, cell 703-675-5557

Related Links:
Raw Milk Symposium Official Website:
http://www.farmtoconsumerfoundation.org/rawmilksymposium/index.htm
Exhibitor information:
http://www.farmtoconsumerfoundation.org/rawmilksymposium/exhibits.htm
Spread the Word (Downloadable Flyer, Web Ads): http://www.farmtoconsumerfoundation.org/rawmilksymposium/flyer/index.htm