WHERE: Call in on your telephone

HOW: Conference Dial-in: 1-218-862-1300 / Conference Code: 527149

For more information: info[at]biom.net | (206) 842-6936

Healthy Eating: The Five Element Way is a strategy for maximizing the energy value of the food you eat—nutritionally and economically.

Session 4 of Healthy Eating: The Five Element Way brings together everything you’ve learned in sessions one, two and three to anchor your understanding about how to use the FIVE TASTES & ENERGIES of FOOD and SEASONAL EATING to improve and maintain your health. 

Some appetizers ...

• Five Element Eating is probably a new way of eating for you, and yet, for the people of East Asia it’s the way they’ve been eating for thousands of years.
• You’ll probably be surprised to hear that you’ve been enjoying the Five Element Way of eating too, without realizing it, and that has been when you’ve eaten at Chinese, Japanese, Thai and other East Asian restaurants where the recipes are based on the Five Element Way.
• Did you know you can develop an ability to ‘taste’ your food with your whole body, and not just your taste buds? Listen in to learn how.

Like the cherry blossom—full of energy and beauty in its season—so too the food that comes from our localities and gardens in their seasons. Or in the words of Ecclesiastes: “To everything there is a season ...

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Fortunately this is the year of the ‘Water’ Dragon; meaning as Dragons go, this is a (relatively) mellow fellow.

Water Dragon
In this Year of the Dragon ... take some comfort in knowing this is a ‘Water’ year ... and Water damps down Fire.

One thing for sure though: the Fire of Dragon Yang will make this a year of vitality and powerful experiences. At the same time, we need to be careful to not get burnt-out from more ‘24/7’ ... work-hard-play-hard living; which may have worked somewhat in the past year of the calm Rabbit, but everyone knows there’s a big difference between a Rabbit and a Dragon.

The Dragon says: “Tend your own Yang energy carefully, and adjust your lifestyle so that you don’t get brittle, like a piece of wood tinder. This way you won’t get scorched as I fly through the year.”

The Ways of the Dragon

The Dragon is a Yang (Fire) creature representing the Wood Element.

By observing and understanding the power and tendencies of both Wood and Fire, you’ll have a good sense of what to expect this Dragon year.

Yin & Yang Energy
Yang energy manifests as Fire, Vitality, Power, Assertion; as opposed to Yin energy, which is: Cold, Receptive, Receding.

Wood & Fire & Water
Imagine the Wood Dragon ... with its Fiery nature. The Dragon perpetually powers itself using Fire and Wood ... burning it’s way through Nature when it’s time arrives.

Keep in mind that the Dragon is a natural force, and is not pro or con human beings.

This year the Dragon will just be doing what comes naturally—to Dragons. So be aware that we’ll be living in a combustible atmosphere this year, with plenty of energy around to ‘fuel the fire.’

The Dragon is a very alluring and seductive sort: dangerous when you get too close.

Position yourself to take advantage of the warmth, light, and power (however it manifests) that Dragon energy stimulates; while at the same time, do what’s prudent to avoid getting crisped.

Getting Along With The Dragon

The Dragon’s element is Wood and according to Oriental Medicine, the Wood energy governs the health of the liver.

When your Liver is out-of-balance energetically the first thing you’ll feel is STRESS. So in a Dragon year it makes sense to do those things that support a healthy Liver.

Being able to recognize your early signs of stress is crucial so you can open your personal ‘pressure valve’—before it POPS.

Some ways to manage stress throughout this Dragon year include:

Meditate. You don’t have to become a monk, just cultivate a new habit of taking a few minutes out of your Dragonly-busy day to calm your mind and relax your body. Your Liver will be happier and your Heart more joyous.


Eat Better. Learn how to eat the ‘Five Element Way’ to bring more balance into your life. This will help you: improve digestion; have more energy; sleep better; think more clearly and generally feel better.


Rejuvenate with a Short Retreat. When you feel the Dragon getting a bit too close and breathing down your neck, it’s time for a mini-retreat to rebalance, rejuvenate and reconnect with the simple things that are most important in your life. When you’re done, the Dragon will have moved on and things will be much calmer.

In some ways this year will be like a roller coaster ride—fast, somewhat wild, with some hair-raising points along the way, but take comfort in knowing you’ll eventually return to stable ground.

Get ready for the ride—the Dragon flies high!

Calligraphy by Ponte Ryurui

“For calligraphers (the Year of the Dragon) is very special. The Water Dragon’s spirit lives in the ink. Its wisdom is its deep color; its spirit is the flowing energy; its power and momentum is ‘streaks of white paper piercing through the ink strokes’; and its immortality is the fact that calligraphy, be it on paper or in the hearts of people, lives on—remaining as mythical as the dragons, revealing its most cherished secrets only to those who live by it.”


— Ponte Ryurui

WHERE: Call in on your telephone

HOW: Conference Dial-in: 1-218-862-1300 / Conference Code: 527149

For more information: info[at]biom.net | (206) 842-6936

In Session 3 of Healthy Eating—The Five Element Way you’ll learn about the relationship between SEASONAL FOODS and your HEALTH.

Some appetizers ...

• Did you know that ‘health’ happens on a seasonal basis and can be affected by eating foods that are ‘in-season?
• We all know that good food is expensive so you want to derive the maximum benefit from it. 5 Element Eating is the ‘magic sauce’ that makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
• In Winter it’s cold and wet; our bodies need lots of energy. Did you know there are specific Winter foods that will keep you warm and energized?

... and there’s more where this came from ... served up fresh at the telinar.

Featured Recipe

This session’s featured recipe is: Red Lentil Soup With Turnip & Parsley.

(Photo: Clean Start by Terry Walters)

The FIVE ELEMENT way of eating is a powerfully simple way of creating a BALANCED diet and an energetically vibrant and balanced body.

Health Benefits From Eating: The Five Element Way

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This darkest time of year is why we have the tradition of lighting things up for the Holidays … an innate celebration of the ‘rebirthing of the Light’ … religiously and naturally …

The Ways of Winter

Winter Solstice … the seasonal equivalent of ‘… the darkest hour … before the dawn’ is the perfect time to become more aware of the aspects of oneself—stillness, quiet, reflection, insight—that are very low on the list on a bright, warm, summer day.

Summer is the time for going out, Winter for going in. And while we need and want to live and enjoy our lives in both dimensions, it’s important to understand the wisdom that tells us: There’s “… a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak …”

Winter Solstice Retreat at BIOM

Every year at BIOM we do a Winter Solstice retreat. We take a day off from work, chores and Internet-ing and spend the day slowing down. We walk in the woods and listen to ‘the sounds of silence’; meditate and practice Chi Kung and Tai Chi; read and write; cook and eat slowly; talk and imagine …

It’s a day to retreat from the hustle-n-bustle of the 21st century lifestyle. An opportunity to rest and reconnect with the quiet side of ourselves—the part that gets ignored and pushed aside in the hurly-burly of earning a living and going after the next thing on the list.

Contact Kitty: info@biom.net | (206) 842-6936

Planning A Winter Solstice Retreat

If you’re interested in a Winter Solstice retreat experience, here are some ideas for getting started:

• Imagine what a successful retreat experience would be for you. Take some notes. Set aside some books. Restring your guitar. Start to gather the ‘kindling’ that will ignite the experience you want to have.

• If you hear yourself saying, “I can’t do this at my house.”; ask yourself: “What can I do to get as close as I can to creating a space at home to retreat into?” Then think of a few things you would like to do if you had a quiet day, or several hours all to yourself. Write those ideas down and look at them for a minute or two each day. Add new ideas as they emerge.

• Ask yourself: “What do I need to do to create the space—in my house, in my schedule, in my mind—so that I can have an enjoyable and beneficial one-day or half-day retreat with myself.

• Remind yourself that whatever effort you make to gain some quiet time for yourself will be worthwhile. Your mental ‘chitter-chatter’ may be envisioning a made-for-reality-TV retreat, and if it does, tell that ‘voice’ to be quiet; a good practice for when your Winter (Solstice) Retreat begins ...

Tweets for a Winter Solstice Retreat

Here are some ‘tweets’ we’ve been sharing on Facebook, Twitter, and Linked-In about getting ready for a Winter Solstice retreat.

• Winter is a natural time to retreat; the energy in the northern hemisphere is at maximum Yin—a time of dark, cold, stillness and quiet.

• Winter Solstice is Nature in full retreat ... at the same time we’re going full-speed-ahead for the Holidays—tap the retreat reset button…

• To ‘retreat’ doesn’t have to mean doing something ‘spiritual’ or ‘religious.’ Retreat to do something you enjoy.

• A personal retreat: An opportunity to become aware of & feel the quiet place inside yourself ... where everything feels in order.

• Why retreat? ... Because we are so busy most of the time it’s easy to miss Life’s central experience: our capability to feel peace and joy.

• There are all kinds of things going on that affect mental & physical health and well-being. A personal retreat can bring clarity & focus.

• A Winter Solstice Retreat: ‘Stepping back’ makes room for something beneficial to come forward.

• A little bit of retreat preparation will get everything in place for you to have the experience you want.

• The moment you start planning your retreat, visualizing what the experience could be like ... that’s the moment your retreat begins.

• A feeling of gratitude arises when you retreat: It’s you thanking you for taking care of yourself.

• Once you begin a retreat it may feel a bit uncomfortable at first. The momentum of today’s lifestyle takes a while to slow down and unwind.

• A personal retreat is worthwhile. When the chitter-chatter voice tells you there are better things to do—ignore it: A good skill to develop.

• It’s the shortest day of the year—Winter Solstice: Dark, Quiet & Still are the qualities of the energy that surrounds us.

• Winter Solstice is a time to become aware of and feel the dark, still aspects of your Self that come into focus at the beginning of Winter.

• Bear hibernates; Tree gathers energy in roots. Get in sync with Winter energy by ‘sinking’ into the deeper parts of yourself.

• “Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it ... Being alive is the meaning.”– Joseph Campbell

WHERE: Call in on your telephone

HOW: Conference Dial-in: 1-218-862-1300 / Conference Code: 527149

For more information: info[at]biom.net | (206) 842-6936

In Session 2 of Healthy Eating—The Five Element Way you’ll learn how your DIGESTION works and how it’s affected by the 5 TASTES OF FOOD.

Listen in and find out what you can do to improve your digestion and thereby—improve your health.

The FIVE ELEMENT way of eating is a powerfully simple way of creating a BALANCED diet and an energetically vibrant and balanced body.

So you’re invited to stop by to listen and ask your questions about and find out: How to stay healthy: The Five Element Way.

Health Benefits

Featured Recipe

This session’s featured recipe is: Balanced Miso Soup.

Related Links

Balanced Beet Soup

Here’s a simple, balanced recipe to try out that will help you get in touch with what a balanced Five Element meal tastes and feels like.

I encourage you to think about what you eat—become more aware of the ingredients in the meal and whether or not the tastes are balanced.

(Click Image for Print Version)

Ingredients

• 3-4 medium sized beets, scrubbed and diced (skin may be left on, if desired)
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 teaspoon oil, preferably unseasoned sesame oil or extra-virgin olive
• 4 cups of water
• 1-2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 Tablespoon miso, medium salty type like brown rice miso (optional)
• 3-4 Beet greens (or other leafy greens — like chard or kale), washed and chopped

How To Prepare

• Put the diced beets in the water and bring to a simmer.
• While the water is heating, saute the diced shallot in oil over medium heat until transparent.
• Add shallot to simmering beets and water.
• Cook until beets are tender, about 10 minutes — fork tines pass through easily.
• Using an immersion blender, puree the beets and shallot to desired consistency.
• Add the chopped greens and simmer until tender about 5-10 minutes.
• Add lemon juice and salt to taste. If using the miso, spoon out one ladle-full of hot liquid into a small bowl with miso and mix until it is a smooth paste.
• Stir miso paste into soup and serve.

Online Course With Kitty Bradshaw
Learn More About Healthy Eating—The Five Element Way

You can learn much more about combining foods into energetically balanced, healthy meals in our online course Healthy Eating the Five Element Way.

This easy-to-follow course offers:

And because food is a prime focus of the Thanksgiving celebration, I thought it would be useful to offer some ideas about healthy eating that satisfy the tongue without sacrificing the stomach.

These tips will also help you improve the strength and overall health of your digestion throughout the rest of the year ... and the rest of your life.

Late Autumn Night

Cold, wet and soggy —
Pregnant darkness hangs waiting,
Moon rises slowly.

Be mindful as you eat. To be mindful while eating is simply being aware of how you feel, and noticing as you eat when you start to feel full. A good ‘starting point’ is to ask yourself at the beginning of the meal: “How do I want to feel when I finish eating”? If you answer to yourself: “satisfied, not stuffed and not feeling like taking a nap,” then as you’re eating, be aware of the imaginary dialogue between your tongue and stomach; where the tongue says: “Yes, give me more, it’s delicious! While the stomach says: “Eat slower so I have time to digest.”

If you want a healthy digestive system, and a slimmer waist, pay more attention to what your stomach tells you.

Chew well, eat slowly, enjoy the taste. Did you know that chewing is the first step in the digestion process? And the more you chew your food, the easier it is for your stomach to break it down further so that it’s easily absorbed into the small intestine, from where nourishment gets distributed to the rest of your body.

If you don’t chew well, your meals don’t get digested properly, and that’s generally the point where digestive problems begin. By chewing more, you’re automatically eating slower, which gives your stomach the opportunity to ‘feel full’ so you don’t overeat.

Wait to lose weight. Eating has its own momentum: The tongue enjoys the pleasure of taste, while the stomach and small intestine need time to digest and nourish the body. If you eat too fast, your digestive system doesn’t get a chance to let you know when you’ve eaten enough. When we don’t give the digestive system time to send this message - before going back for ‘seconds’ and ‘thirds’ - we ‘stuff’ ourselves. Then we not only feel uncomfortable, we’re also faced with a choice that the tongue didn’t tell us about: either start exercising to burn those excess calories, or be prepared to gain some unwanted weight.

Take a Walk. Whether you’ve eaten too much, or just the right amount, instead of sitting around after you’ve finished eating, grab one, two, three or more of your fellow celebrants and go outside and take a walk for about 15 minutes. You’ll not only feel good by giving your digestive system a boost ... you’ll also have room for ‘a little’ dessert.

In this third of four 30-minute sessions on Healthy Eating—The Five Element Way, Kitty Bradshaw will explain what ‘balance’ is, why it’s essential for improving and maintaining health, and how to achieve it through food choices.

And to nurture this new knowledge, Kitty will give you a simple, age-old recipe that will help you experience what balance is.

WHEN: THURSDAY, JANUARY 12TH—1:00-1:30 PM (PACIFIC TIME)

WHERE: Call in on your telephone

HOW: Conference Dial-in: 1-218-862-1300 / Conference Code: 527149

For more information: info[at]biom.net | (206) 842-6936

Benefits From Healthy Eating—The Five Element Way

✔ Improve digestion.
✔ Have more energy.
✔ Sleep better.
✔ Think more clearly.
✔ Generally feel better.

Balance Is Vital

Knowing how to keep your body’s energy balanced has been part of the cultural wisdom of the East for thousands of years.

This information is especially VITAL today for people living in stressful times and needing more balanced energy.

Healthy Eating—The Five Element Way leads you in the right direction.

Here’s a class discussion we had recently about how balancing the tastes of food in a meal can affect health.

Stillness ... then the bat
Flying among
the willows
Black against green sky
— Basho

Question

Since I have found I enjoy the addition of a sour component to several foods I often eat, does that indicate my liver may be out of balance? I would not describe the situation as being a craving as such. It seems like it is more of a flavor enhancement kind of thing.

Answer

Yes, your choice of adding the sour taste to your food is an indication that your Liver could use some rebalancing—and enhancing the flavor of your meal with a bit more of the sour taste may be just what your Liver needs.

On the other hand, to make the point: If one were craving sour food, that would indicate a more significant imbalance with the Liver energy, which might require a more vigorous technique like acupuncture or Chinese medicinal herbs to get the Liver rebalanced.

Keep an eye on your consumption of sour tasting foods and see how much of them you’re choosing; perhaps make some notes in your food journal.

There are also Chi Kung exercises you can do to keep your Liver balanced; (we’re planning to show some in a future course).

Please let us know if you have any other questions.