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February Newsletter
THE NUMBER ONE KILLER OF WOMEN IN AMERICA
February is American Heart Month: Respect Your Heart and Keep it Healthy
Stress and heart disease go hand-in-hand. Cardiovascular disease has claimed more lives in America than any other disorder for over a century. This February, during American Heart Month, I encourage you to do some simple stress reduction practices that can literally save your life.
Stress is a major contributor to heart disease, which kills approximately 8.6 million women in this world annually. Dr. Kathleen Hall’s S.E.L.F. care formula not only reduces the risk of heart disease, but can actually reverse heart disease.
FOUR SIMPLE ROOTS TO LOVE YOUR HEART, an excerpt from Dr. Hall's book, A Life in Balance, Nourishing the Four Roots of True Happiness.
1. S=Serenity (Opposite of Stress) Meditate or pray for 3-5 minutes each day. Memorize a positive affirmation, (Life is Good, I am strong, I surrender). Repeat this phrase over and over with your breath. Listen to music. Laugh. You will reduce your blood pressure and heart rate and get an immune boost.
2. E=Exercise. Reduce your risk of death by 1/3 by just walking. If you have weight equipment at home, put it in your television room and burn 200-300 calories while you watch the news or your favorite show. Try something new: Tai Chi or Yoga-just get moving.
3. L=Love. People in a cardiac rehab group decrease their risk of death by over 50%. Schedule a meal with a friend twice a week. Begin a lunch group at work. It can save your life.
4. F=Food. Food is medicine and can regulate your moods. Get your omega 3 fatty acids by eating fish three times a week or take one to three grams of fish oil capsules a day. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that women who consume 8 oz of fish a week cut their risk of suffering a stroke in half.
Love is a Decision
February is the month of love. Love depicted by the media in our lives these days can be disturbing at best. We are bombarded with concepts of love in television shows such as Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives and a plethora of soap operas. Dictionaries offer definitions of love such as; love is about sexual intercourse, pleasure or an object of affection or devotion. Sadly enough most of us in our culture believe this is what love is.
I believe love is not just a transient emotion but love is a decision. Love is the commitment of reverent respect, kindness, devotion and companionship to yourself and another. Whether love is in a marriage, a family, friendship or any relationship, love survives the good, the bad and the ugly, because love is the decision you have made. I remember spending lots of time with my grandparents from both sides of my family. They didn’t kiss or hold hands all the time, but there was a glow of love and reverence each time their eyes met as they lived a long rich life side by side. When the times got tough through death, loss, illness, job loss, betrayal, or difficulties, you could palpably experience love as a decision.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you and to my husband. Our first date was on Valentine’s Day 37 years ago. We have been through incredibly dark times, barren of emotions and pleasure, where our marriage almost fractured, but we remembered, “love is a decision.” We got help our of our darkness each time and we have consistently emerged renewed and discovered a deeper more profound Divine love in each other.
So this Valentine’s Day and this February, the month of love, take some time after family dinner or with a friend and discuss what love is to you. I challenge you to discover “love is a decision.” Once you decide to love someone or something, don’t allow the winds of emotion and life’s circumstances to change your course.
Life on the Farm
February is pruning month at the farm. Pruning is tricky because if you cut a plant too deeply it can die. If you don’t prune the plants enough, they get weak and don’t produce rich healthy foliage. As I look at each plant before I cut, I smile and reverently sever the dead dried limbs, clean away the dead leaves from around the roots, smile and bless each plant for the pure joy they give all of us through Spring, Summer and Fall at Oak Haven. Each plant emits an energy of surrender and stillness as I tenderly cut away. There is a sense of communion and peace during pruning season.
What a metaphor for all of our lives. Why not take this month to reflect on what needs pruned from your own life. How severely do you need to prune away a relationship, a habit or your lifestyle? Most religions, spiritualities and cultures continually use the metaphor of pruning as an essential quality needed for health, happiness and love. Enjoy February as we prune our lives and hold great hopes and dreams of our future.
Easy Chocolate Mousse!
2 c. (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. whipping cream, heated to boiling point
6 egg yolks
2 egg whites
Whipped cream (opt.)
Combine chocolate and vanilla in blender or food processor fitted with a steel knife and mix for 30 seconds. Add boiling cream and continue mixing until chocolate is completely melted. Add yolks, mix about 5 seconds, then transfer mixture to a bowl and allow to cool, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into chocolate mixture. Place in glasses, cover with plastic wrap and chill. Serve with whipped cream. Garnish with fresh raspberries and chocolate shavings. 4 to 6 servings.
Mindful Message from Kathleen
Dear Friends,
February is the month of Valentine’s Day which means love, flowers and of course chocolate. I invite all of us to celebrate the joy of chocolate this month. A new study appearing in the September issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine, found that chocolate-loving heart attack survivors cut their risk of death threefold compared to survivors who do not eat chocolate.
Adam Drewnowski, a researcher at the University of Michigan, says we desire chocolate in times of stress and anxiety because chocolate is a natural analgesic, a painkiller. Many other researchers have shown that chocolate contains compounds that have the same effects as marijuana.
You may be saying to yourself, “Duh, all of us women already knew that Kathleen.” Of course we did. Chocolate is holy. The ancients believed chocolate to be the food of the gods and goddesses. So let’s celebrate our lives as women this February with a nice dose of chocolate. I love Lindt truffles, chocolate skim milk and skinny cow frozen treats. We need to be disciples of chocolate. When we see other women feeling guilty of their reverence for chocolate our job is to enlighten them on the Divine health qualities of chocolate.
I wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day. Please excuse me as I open my chocolate truffle and enjoy the next moments of pure pleasure; the sumptuous smell, the feel on my fingers and the taste, as the chocolate slowly melts in my mouth and tantalizes the senses.
Blessings,
Kathleen
2010
