My brother in law is an avid juicer.  He actually has supplied me with all of my wheatgrass see to date, which is four plantings.  I’ve been planting my wheathgrass in gardening containers up until today.  I made the switch to soil because I noticed the pot planted wheatgrass would only produce one crop while the grass my brother in law planted re-grew after each clipping.  So today I dug my first gardening plot.  This was quite satisfying.  I turned the soil, and discovered what I think could be mycelium:

I first heard of mycelium in a TED talk by Paul Stamets, which I have to say was truly amazing.  If you think you know what fungus is, think again and watch his presentation.  I’m a fungus newbie, but I’m excited that maybe this is the amazing organism that he describes.  I found it just an inch under the soil while turning it over with the shovel to create the planting bed.  There was a lot of it.  At first I thought it was merely decomposing leaves clumped together, but when I peeled one apart, that distinct mushroom aroma told my nose otherwise.

So I ended up with the little plot you see here:

One day, I plan to be raising my own vegetables on an acre or more of land, so this is the first step and I’d like to commemorate it.  In addition, maybe it will encourage others who have yet to start gardening, but always thought of it as something they’d like to try.

We bought our three day supply of the product at the New Life Yoga and Raw Food Expo, which was held at the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan.  We were there only for Sunday, but really expereinced a lot in that short time.  Since we bought the cleansing supplies at a booth, there wasn’t really a place to call once we started the cleanse, which was two weeks afterward.  My main purpose of writing this post is to try to compile a bit more information on the product for other people who might be out there trying it as well.  At the time, we had a hard time finding any information, and didn’t really know what you google for either.  searching for the name of the company listed on the box, INS, did not return many relevant results.  In addition, the website on the box was not working.

So for anyone out there doing the cleanse or thinking of starting it, here’s a link to a pdf that has a lot on information on what’s in the powder packets.  It has details of what nutrients are provided and why each pack is important to the cleanse.  In fact it also has instructions on what to do if you do not have any bowl movements by the second day.  That would have been useful to read at the time, since I did not eliminate anything until I started eating when the cleanse was complete.  In fact, I was a bit disappointed because I did not eliminate any mucoid plaque.  In fact, it was the shocking pictures of mucoid plaque that got me thinking that I should do the cleanse.  So to have gone through it with no unusual eliminations leaves me wondering about two possibilities.  One, is it possible that I did not have any mucoid plaque to be eliminated?  I have been slowly changing my diet to be more and more vegan over the past several months.  I rarely eat meat.  Does that mean that I could have eliminated or greatly reduced some of this material already?  Two, does this product work for other people?  I have read testimonials and seen pictures but I still have to wonder.  In the pdf document below, it is emphasized to drink even more water if you do not have a bowel movement.  I do not think that I could have been dehydrated during the cleanse.  Drinking all the water in the prescribed supplement shakes provides 120 ounces of liquid at the least.  That’s just under one gallon, and I definitely drank a lot of water in addition to that.

Without further ado, here’s the link:

http://www.tiptopwebsite.com/custommusic/bryantmeyers.pdf

During the first day of the cleanse I had abundant energy.  I could hardly sleep on the first night.  The energy boost ended quickly.  By the second and third days I was feeling pretty droopy. I experienced a woozy and dizzy feeling almost everytime that I stood up.  For that reason I would recommend keeping a low profile and activity level during the cleanse.  Surprisingly, I was rarely hungry during the cleanse.  The supplement shakes really provide enough to keep your stomach full.

Additionally, here’s a link to someone that’s selling the product:

http://shop.shii-inc.com/product.sc;jsessionid=8624D37763E0EAA6929A3431E758BA22.qscstrfrnt02?categoryId=10&productId=6

I hope that this page will help someone who may be out there working on the cleanse themselves.  I plan to continue cleansing for the rest of my life, but I’m not sure that I’ll try this particular product again.

I was sore for the whole week following June 9th.  I will likely be sore for the week after tonight, which is only my second class in my return to Ashtanga.  However it will soon pass, and I believe I will find myself stronger, more flexible, and less sore after getting back into it.

For the uninitiated I would like to say that yoga is like baskin robins.  There’s 32 flavors or more.  Some styles are slow, others are fast, some hold positions longer, some focus on movement, other on stillness.  There’s a great variety, so dont be surprised when someone tells you that their yoga class was challenging or exhausting.  I find ashtanga to be a very challenging workout.  I usually leave drenched in sweat, even in the cold winter months.

During my time away from ashtanga, I focused more on Hung Ga.  Hung Ga has many aspects, and its root is horse stance.  There is a strong emphasis on building the foundation, which is most notably horse stance.  I have no great experience in this martial art, but I can say that my legs are much stronger than they used to be.  I have found this training to have really improved some aspects of my yoga practice.  I felt myself sinking further  into Warrior 1 and other postures that focused on bending the knee to support nearly the full body weight.  Some of my training brothers may cringe to hear it, but I find that the two methods of training, though they are very different, compliment each other nicely.  Today I had a landmark realization in my vinyasas.  I realized that I could nearly swing my body between my arms from sitting by clenching my abdomen as if i was being kicked in the stomach.   That sudden contraction while lifting my body with my arms would cause my legs to swing backward.  I felt more momentum in this vinyasa transition that ever before, and it felt good.  I could really see it developing into real yoga someday.  Another bit of fun was finally being able to transiton from insect (or firefly) into crow. I never understood how this was humanly possible, until I watched my wife do it  next to me tonight.  I thought I would give it a try, and though my feet touched the floor a bit as I moved them from front to back, I was able to do it!  Twice!  I was never able to do this before tonight, so I’m quite pleased.  It’s so encouraging to be able to understand new transitions and movements.

4-5 carrots
1 Handful Parsely
1 Handful Wheatgrass
5-6 Leaves Watercress
1 Medium Beet
1 Cucumber
3-4 Celery Stalks

This recipe is packed with nutrients from each vegetable.  I think that Wheat Grass and Parsely may contribute the most potent supplies in that regard, but they all have a lot to offer.  This is a good combination of the bitters in parsely, wheatgrass and watercress with the sweet carrots and beets, and the soothing cucumber and celery.  I think this has a real winning combination of those three tastes, bitter, sweet, and soothing.

Here’s the video to prove it:

I swear I’m not standing on anything

Why am I writing about this again?

Yesterday was our last day in Colorado. Since our flight was at 5pm we thought we’d make the most of the afternoon. We went back to Chimney Rock, determined to make it to the summit. This was our second visit. The first visit did not allow enough time for the 8 mile round trip hike. So Kitty and I are getting ready to set out on the trail when a volvo rolls up. Out step two friendly people, let’s call them Tom and Jane, with their lovely dog Rover. Names changed to protect the innocent.

We start chatting a bit about the trail, then we’re shaking hands, and the next thing you know we’re hiking together. The conversation is lively and before long Tom tells us that he’s recently recovered from sudden hearing loss. Can you believe it? This blows my mind. I couldn’t believe it when he started talking about this. We have been on the lookout for hearing cures for quite some time. Kitty has some hearing loss that she’s been dealing with for years. In her case, the doctors have not been able to diagnose it. They have no explanation, only guesses. Tom had the same issue with his doctor. He didn’t know how to help him. To top it off, Tom’s a professional musician. Hearing is his livelihood.

Tom said that he only had to deal with hearing loss (and tinnitus) for about six months. He was fortunate to have a friend that recommended a regimen of Wobenzym.  The regimen consisted of 30 pills each day for 3 months. After that he was cured!! Tom said that there is a doctor who has prescribed this to over 3,000 patients, nearly all of whom have improvement if not dramatic recovery of hearing. That even includes patients who have had hearing loss for years, not just recent onset cases.

So needless to say, we are very excited to find out more about Wobenzym. Since I have had such wonderful results in asking for help here, I’m going to do it again. If you know anything about Wobenzym, please contact me by leaving a comment. I would love to hear about what you know, information you’ve found, or best of all, your story of healing! Don’t be shy! I can’t wait to hear from you!

Earlier I had asked to hear what inspires people. I wanted to know what it is that excites, motivates, challenges or empowers you. Now I know that a simple way to ask that question is to say “Have you discovered your personal legend?” In “The Alchemist”, the personal legend is a calling. It is a path that is signaled with omens sent by God, the universal power. The personal legend is something that each person is meant to discover. It is your purpose. A task or quest you must follow. Or rather, you may follow. Following the path leads to great discoveries, trials, and rewards but many people never set out on this path for fear of failure.

So I have to ask again. What is your personal legend? Are you following it now? Do you feel like you know what it is, but have denied it so far? I’m trying to listen to truly know my personal legend. I have a feeling that I know what it is, but am not yet ready to say.

Here’s the original video that I posted:

Yesterday the missus and I hiked Lobo overlook near the continental divide.  It was truly stunning.  The dramatic vistas inspire grand postures, like this one:

Happiness, joy, and spontaneous modeling are also side effects of such beautiful surroundings.  Take this for example:

I have this scene pictured in my mind: a snow covered slope filled with pine trees.  In this image I’m standing under the pines as they tower above, looking across the slope.  The snow is several feet up the trunks of old growth trees, and snow is undisturbed.  I’m hoping to actually come across this vision.  I’m sure we’ll come back with loads of pictures for our flickr page.   Stunning mountain vistas, waterfalls, interesting rock formations and plant life.  Another spot already on the map is Chimney rock.  I can’t wait. Maybe I’ll even do a little hung ga with these natural wonders in the background.