Thursday, December 31, 2015

ReYOUvenation Yoga


 
Rejyouvenation yoga

Reawaken your Pure Vibrant Energy with Doctor Lynn

This proactive anti-aging yoga class will recharge, restore and improve natural movement of the body while reducing stress and reawakening the soul.  Yoga has been scientifically proven to slow the aging process by reducing stress, managing arthritic aches and pains, improving range of motion, bone strength and balance, as well as manage weight and enhance sleep. 

Rejyouvenationyoga is for anyone at any level who wants to recharge, renew and reawaken the power of pure vibrant energy.  You will learn poses that will improve your overall general health and mobility as well as tips and techniques for reducing stress and soulful awakening.

Rejyouvenation yoga is a six week program beginning Sunday January 3 @11AM and then every Wednesday January 6-February 3 @ 6PM

This is a one time class limited to ten.   So grab your space.  Email Doctor Lynn @ info@doctorlynn.com for more information and to sign up.

Location:  Yoga Court 10956 Weyburn Westwood Village – free convenient parking before 6PM in parking garage across the street from the studio.

Cost:  $15 per class.   Since space is limited your spot must be reserved.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015





Fruit compote is a 17th century French desert made up of fresh slightly cooked fruits. It is seasoned with orange, lemon, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves. Many Jewish people associate it with holidays. The fruit compote served on holidays is supposed to indicate sweet wishes and good luck in the coming year.








For dessert its fresh homemade fruit compote. Your choice of fruit, but I chose:

1 pear ripened

2 peaches ripened

3 black apricots soft and ripened

1-      ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce

¼ cup of brown sugar

¼ cup of uncooked oatmeal or any other dry cereal

A few dabs of butter

In a bowl combine the first four ingredients. Mix well and turn into a square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle sugar, oatmeal on top and dab small amount of butter randomly on top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve warm.
 
Happy New Year- sweet wishes for good luck and good health
Doctor Lynn
 
 

A Recipe for Health- A Melodic Composition


 
 
Fruit compote is a 17th century French desert made up of fresh slightly cooked fruits. It is seasoned with orange, lemon, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves. Many Jewish people associate it with holidays. The fruit compote served on holidays is supposed to indicate sweet wishes and good luck in the coming year.

The base of fruit compote is, of course, the fruit. Some variants use dried fruit while others may make berry compote. Some fruit compotes follow a theme, such as tropical compote, while others use preserved fruits in syrup from the summer, or an assortment of whatever looks good. Depending on the type of fruit used, the spicing and level of sweetness is usually adjusted to make the fruit compote's flavor optimal.

Whatever the fruit this is a healthy dessert that packs a punch when it comes to antioxidants. That’s because fruit is a great source of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Some of the fruits used are pineapple, peaches, pears, apples, apricots, cherries and berries.

When I was young we lived on an Island off the coast of Maine. It was difficult to get fresh fruit and vegetables in the long winter months. So in the summer my Mother would can fresh fruits so she could make fruit desserts in the winter. Traditionally canned or preserved fruits were used to make compote.

Fruits were first discovered wild. Humans no doubt liked the look, then the smell and finally the taste. Eventually humans began to cultivate fruits and thus began early farming. Today we enjoy a vast variety of fruits from around the world; however, there is nothing better than tree or vine ripened, in season, locally grown fruit. It has a sweetness and texture that just doesn’t exist with half ripened, imported, out of season fruit.

Fruits contain essential vitamins and minerals needed for good health. It’s important to get fresh whole fruits because the vitamins and minerals in fruits have a synergistic effect meaning that they work together to produce the greatest amount of health benefits. For example; oranges are rich in vitamin C, but to get the vitamin C you need a bit of the fleshy white stuff(bioflavonoid) which synergizes with the Vitamin C, delivering the maximum amount of nutrients.

When you mix a variety of fruits together in a fruit salad or compote you get both a wonderful collage of flavors and a healthy portion of nutrients. We need to get three to four servings of fruits a day and sadly most Americans get little to none. The fiber, the skin, the seeds and the pulp of fresh fruits are a far better choice than fruit strips or fruit juice which is often times missing essential nutrients and loaded up with sugar.

There’s nothing like compote of fruits to make for a healthy melodic composition.



 
For dessert its fresh homemade fruit compote. Your choice of fruit, but I chose:
1 pear ripened
2 peaches ripened
3 black apricots soft and ripened
1-      ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
¼ cup of brown sugar
¼ cup of uncooked oatmeal or any other dry cereal
A few dabs of butter
In a bowl combine the first four ingredients. Mix well and turn into a square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle sugar, oatmeal on top and dab small amount of butter randomly on top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve warm.
Happy New year - sweet wishes for good luck and good health
Doctor Lynn
 

A Recipe for Health- A Melodic Composition


 
 
 
 
Fruit compote is a 17th century French desert made up of fresh slightly cooked fruits. It is seasoned with orange, lemon, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves. Many Jewish people associate it with holidays. The fruit compote served on holidays is supposed to indicate sweet wishes and good luck in the coming year.

The base of fruit compote is, of course, the fruit. Some variants use dried fruit while others may make berry compote. Some fruit compotes follow a theme, such as tropical compote, while others use preserved fruits in syrup from the summer, or an assortment of whatever looks good. Depending on the type of fruit used, the spicing and level of sweetness is usually adjusted to make the fruit compote's flavor optimal.

Whatever the fruit this is a healthy dessert that packs a punch when it comes to antioxidants. That’s because fruit is a great source of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Some of the fruits used are pineapple, peaches, pears, apples, apricots, cherries and berries.

When I was young we lived on an Island off the coast of Maine. It was difficult to get fresh fruit and vegetables in the long winter months. So in the summer my Mother would can fresh fruits so she could make fruit desserts in the winter. Traditionally canned or preserved fruits were used to make compote.

Fruits were first discovered wild. Humans no doubt liked the look, then the smell and finally the taste. Eventually humans began to cultivate fruits and thus began early farming. Today we enjoy a vast variety of fruits from around the world; however, there is nothing better than tree or vine ripened, in season, locally grown fruit. It has a sweetness and texture that just doesn’t exist with half ripened, imported, out of season fruit.

Fruits contain essential vitamins and minerals needed for good health. It’s important to get fresh whole fruits because the vitamins and minerals in fruits have a synergistic effect meaning that they work together to produce the greatest amount of health benefits. For example; oranges are rich in vitamin C, but to get the vitamin C you need a bit of the fleshy white stuff(bioflavonoid) which synergizes with the Vitamin C, delivering the maximum amount of nutrients.

When you mix a variety of fruits together in a fruit salad or compote you get both a wonderful collage of flavors and a healthy portion of nutrients. We need to get three to four servings of fruits a day and sadly most Americans get little to none. The fiber, the skin, the seeds and the pulp of fresh fruits are a far better choice than fruit strips or fruit juice which is often times missing essential nutrients and loaded up with sugar.

There’s nothing like compote of fruits to make for a healthy melodic composition.

 
 
 

 
For dessert its fresh homemade fruit compote. Your choice of fruit, but I chose:
1 pear ripened
2 peaches ripened
3 black apricots soft and ripened
1-      ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
¼ cup of brown sugar
¼ cup of uncooked oatmeal or any other dry cereal
A few dabs of butter
In a bowl combine the first four ingredients. Mix well and turn into a square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle sugar, oatmeal on top and dab small amount of butter randomly on top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve warm.
Happy New Year-sweet wishes for good luck and good health.
Doctor Lynn
 


Friday, December 25, 2015

I made them, but now how can I keep my New Year’s resolutions?


 
 
 
 
 
We all resolve to give something up, to eat better, live better, exercise more and make more money. 95% of resolutions fail because we lack the motivation to stay focused and succeed. A resolution should be something you can successfully achieve. It should be something you truly want and are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to make it happen. It also needs to be fun so you retain the enthusiasm to reach your goal. New research (USC Journal of Personality and Psychology) suggest that to change, it might work better to focus on habits as opposed to willpower. It seems that when we strive to change our behavior we need to apply motivation and self-control.  This is where we often get defeated. Instead we should be thinking about changing our habits. Habits persist even when we don’t have the energy to exercise motivation and self-control.    All experiences are stored in our memory. When the proper atmosphere is created they come to the surface. When we do something several times it becomes a habit. Continue the habit for a long time and it becomes our character.

Nothing is achieved without practice so let’s build character.

Research shows that people tend to default to a habit when stressed. So to keep your resolutions focus on creating healthy habits. This year default to eating healthy, exercising 30 minutes a day and finding peace within. It’s good for your body, your mind and your soul!  Defaulting to healthy habits builds good character!

Happy New Year!

 

Make it a habit to have a cup of fruit everyday instead of something sweet.

Make it a habit to do something nice every day.

Make it a habit to exercise for at least 30 minutes every day.

Make it a habit to smile.
Doctor Lynn
Happy New Year!

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

A Recipe for Health – Salmon - I Like Mine Wild Thank You!











We all know that salmon is good for us. It is an oily, fatty fish that is a great source of the so called “good” fat or omega 3. It is also a good source of calcium and vitamin D. But, buyers beware when it comes to salmon because not all salmon is alike.

When choosing salmon you should always pick wild salmon over farm raised salmon. The main reason is that farm raised salmon is upwards of 8 times more toxic than wild salmon due to the confinement of the salmon, the feeding and general living conditions. The Seafood Watch Guide strongly advises against eating farm raised salmon and suggest the best salmon to eat is wild Alaska salmon.

Ordinarily, I would say that eating wild Alaska Salmon is the best, but my experience is slightly different. I was raised in the outdoors of Maine. Much like Alaska people in Maine hunt, fish and gather local food for consumption. That means that food is usually consumed in season, fresh and local. My parents owned two homes. One on the ocean and one in-land near the lakes and streams. My father would fish for salmon and when caught we would have salmon fresh from the pure waters of New England for dinner that night. The taste and the texture was something you have to experience for yourself. To me caught fresh and cooked immediately is the only way fish should taste.

Times have changed and I now live in the City. However, I still eat wild Salmon and prefer it from the colder waters of Canada or Alaska. Wild Alaska Salmon may not be fresh from the water to the pan, but it is a better choice than farm raised.

I like my salmon poached with a side of dill weed and dill sauce. Dill weed is an herb that is an excellent source of antioxidants and essential vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A and C and zinc, folate and calcium, as well as a host of other vitamins and minerals.

Dill has all the characteristics to be consideredt as one of the most valuable functional foods. 100 g of dill weed provides only 43 calories, but its nutritional profile holds its own against other high calorie food source such as nuts, cereals and the meat group.

So when it comes to health step to the wild side and ask for Alaska wild salmon and a side of weed! Dill weed –that is!

 
Doctor Lynn

Saturday, December 12, 2015

How to Find a Peaceful Mind


 
Our thoughts are affected by the Vrittis or the whirling, fluctuating, modifications of the mind. Our thoughts come about through knowledge, reaction, feelings and memory. As our thoughts arise they tend to move and swirl in many directions. Yoga is about bringing tranquility to the mind. There are several ways we can bring about a tranquil and peaceful mind.

One is by cultivating friendship, compassion, joy and staying impartial or detached from either pleasure or pain. Observe without judgement.

The second is through the breath; when we stop to focus on the breath we clear the mind. This brings quietude and quietude brings peace.

The third is to practice the Om; the sound of ultimate reality.

We will focus on all three today. First, cultivate friendship, compassion, joy and detachment and you will radically change how you perceive the world. These demolish the boundaries and the barriers that keep us separate due to our egos.

When we detach from our differences and accept life as totally interconnected compassion and understanding endure under all circumstances.

Let’s practice because nothing is achieved without practice.

The great Om. According to yoga all thoughts and all speech are derived from the sound Om.  It is the expression of ultimate reality. Chanting the Om clears all obstacles and focuses the mind on the single truth which is the nature of reality. That ultimate reality is that we are all one only separated by our egos. Be at peace with the world and the world will be at peace within you.

Namaste

Doctor Lynn
 

Wednesday, December 09, 2015

A recipe for Love- I really love your peaches. Let me shake your tree.









Of all the fruits I love to smell, fresh ripe peaches are the best. I love the sweet, but tart smell that can only be described when you taste  the succulent juicy flesh. When I was young peaches were a delicacy that only appeared for a short time in the summer. Today you can purchase peaches anytime and from most anywhere. However, there is a big difference between peaches that are in season and peaches that are imported from somewhere else, which are usually hard and mealy because they were picked before they had a chance to ripen. I like my fruit in season and local. It makes a big difference in the taste and the quality. Humans evolved eating local foods that were vine ripened. As a naturopath I would always advice eating as fresh and as local as possible.

Peaches are a great source of many vitamins and minerals including a great source of potassium. A shortage of potassium has been associated with fatigue, anxiety, hypertension, muscle soreness and poor memory, as well as heart issues.

Peaches are also a good source of fiber. They help to keep the intestinal system clean by providing a mild laxative effect. And because peaches are about 80 percent water and a good source of fiber they can be effective when it comes to losing weight. What’s not to love here?

Peaches originated in China. The Chinese place great nutritional and magical significance to peaches. They are an ancient symbol of fertility. The peach is a symbol of an omen, signifying good luck, abundance and protection. The fruit is believed to offer immortality, or at least a long life. Eating peaches is good for your health and good health insures a long life. I’m loving this fruit!

Peach blossoms mean generosity and bridal hope. She’s a real peach means she’s a very sweet girl and what a peach means what a good “looker”. It was by a peach tree that the protagonist of the Tale of Kieu fell in love. Ah, love…

The peach has become a word to signify someone we love, something sweet, something tender and something beautiful? With it’s beautiful pink blossoms turning into a succulent fruit that is not only good for your health, but also a symbol of love, is it any wonder that Steve Miller Band sang to my heart as they penned the lyrics,” I really love your peaches, let me shake your tree.”

 
Doctor Lynn

Saturday, December 05, 2015

Non-violence - Thoughts


 
 
 
Our thoughts are pure. We have a thought and then we add emotions, memory, our perceptions and attitudes. For each of us it is both different and alike. We draw upon our own experiences and add this to our thoughts. Where the same thought may make someone happy it may make someone else unhappy. Yoga is about taming the emotions and feelings we apply to our thoughts. In this way we become the observer of life rather than the judge. Comparison gets us into trouble because in truth there is no comparison in the world. Each of us is unique, on our own individual journey and yet at the same time we need each other to complete our mission. So although we are separate we are connected. Here is where we get into trouble because it is the ego that keeps us separated. To transcend the ego is to connect with the universal energy of life. In this state of being we can do no harm because to harm anyone or anything is to harm all of life. Extremism like terrorism pits life against life. In an attempt to harm and destroy the perpetrators harm themselves, their families and their culture.

For the next hour think of yourself as connected to everyone in the class. We may look different, but we are all the same spiritual energy.

 We cannot stop radical ways of thinking, but we can through yoga begin to see the world as embedded and connected to the universal energy of spirit. When we see the world this way we transcend the separateness of the ego. We cannot stop the violence in the world. But we can each of us do our part to bring peace by not doing physical harm, not using words that hurt and by mastering our thoughts, moods and attitudes. Just practice compassion and understanding. Remember we are all connected to the universal spiritual energy of life. Harm one you will harm all. Do no harm.

Namaste – I celebrate the place where our souls meet.

Doctor Lynn

Wednesday, December 02, 2015

A Recipe for Happiness – It can be found in a bottle of








Balsamic vinegar can make even a non-Italian smile. Balsamic vinegar is one of my favorite ways to dress up salads, vegetables and fruit. It’s low in calories and high in health. It taste good and adds a zip to most foods. I repeat; it taste good and is low in calories. Are you smiling? Feeling happy?

 True balsamic vinegar is not really vinegar. Rather it is made from the pressing of two grapes, Trebbiano and Lambrusco, resulting in a thick syrup that is aged for a minimum of 12 years. The syrup is aged in different types of barrels such as oak, acacia, chestnut, cherry, mulberry, ash and sometime juniper. Traditional balsamic vinegar comes for either Reggio Emilia or Modena Italy. Different ages of vinegars carry different labels.

The flavor intensifies over the years, with the vinegar becoming sweet and very concentrated. During this period a small portion of the liquid evaporates. It is said this  is the “angels” share. Somehow that conjures up happy thoughts in my head.

My two favorite balsamic vinegars are Elsa which is great for salads, meats and vegetables and Riserva di Famiglia which is good also for salads, but is a little sweet so works great on fruit with a little cheese. Both are quite expensive, but well worth the cost. You only use a small amount so they last a long time. Once you have tried these balsamics you will never go back to commercial vinegars again.

I promise these little gems will not only make your taste buds happy, but they are also good for your health. Balsamic vinegar boosts the activity of pepsin, an enzyme that breaks down protein into small amino acids that can be easily absorbed by the body. Pepsin helps to improve the body’s metabolism as well. Balsamic vinegar improves insulin sensitivity, allowing for easier regulation of blood sugar.

Balsamic vinegar contains polyphenols( antioxidants) that protect the body from heart disease and cancer. The grapes that are used for balsamic vinegar help to protect the cells against cell damage, improve the body’s immune system and make blood platelets more flexible, thus preventing heart circulation problems.

Now best of all, balsamic vinegar can be used for weight loss. Use it instead of  salad dressings and marinades which contain hidden calories. Balsamic works to suppress the appetite and increase the amount of time it takes the stomach to empty. Balsamic also increases your metabolism so you burn more calories. It is a good source of calcium, iron, potassium and manganese, which improves the body’s overall functioning and assists in weight loss.

A food that taste good, is good for you and helps you to lose weight…if this doesn’t make you happy…I don’t know what will.

Balsamic = happiness!

 
Doctor Lynn
http://www.doctorlynn.com