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InternationalINTEGRATORS
STARTWHOLELIVINGSTARTWHOLELIVING
InternationalINTEGRATORS
Place your left thumb into your right palm and hold it with gentle, firm
pressure. Keep holding your thumb as you read on…
We love that you are ready to build a healthier, happier lifestyle for life.
By signing up for the International Integrators email list, you have already taken your first step, because Integrative Health is about taking action.
Taking action requires energy. Your hands strike a match and the spark catches fire. You hold the flame close to the wood in your fireplace and the cold room fills with crac-kling energy that warms your home.
Right now, your hands are already moving energy in your body, through an ancient Asian practice called Jin Shin Jyutsu.
To help you, our experts in Integrative Health employ the best in conventional medicine, nutritious food, movement and mind/body/spirit disciplines.
Conventional medicine has an important role in health care, so our expert team includes medical doctors. Medicine cures many infectious diseases, treats acute conditions and offers useful diagnostic tools.
The other three essential elements of Integrative Health, food, movement and mind/body/spirit disciplines, are areas in which you can take control of your health and, the more you do, the less likely it is that you will need the services of conventional medicine.
When you bring together the powerful forces of food, movement and mind/body/spirit disciplines, you Start Living Whole—harnessing these essential elements of Integrative Health to balance your body, emotions, mind and spirit.
InternationalINTEGRATORS
is a collaborative global community dedicated to the promotion of Integrative Health. With deep expertise across the fields of conventional medicine, nutrition, movement and mind/ body/spirit disciplines, we help you enfold into your daily life a sustainable and individualized program to optimize your health and well-being.
We curate from among the vast array of “self-help and wellness” practices and offer those we feel are worthy of your consideration.
Improve your health
Build your inner strength to help you deal with life’s stresses
Renew your relationships with yourself and others
Become a role model, coach and mentor to help those you care about
YOU CAN
STARTWHOLELIVING
by choosing one or more actions from each of the essential elements of Integrative Health below and engaging in them every day for the next seven days.
Following this one-week experience, you may choose to:
Join us in a Living Whole Immersion retreat
Engage in training or counseling sessions.
Become an active member of the International Integrators community by reading, commenting on and writing blog posts .
Support our Integrative Health Projects .
There are three essential elements to the Start Living Whole program:
When you Start Living Whole, you will experience transformation. Seven days after you Start Living Whole, you will feel greater physical, emotional, mental and spiritual balance and health.
I HAVE A QUESTION
Move and clear your energy through the practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu and meditation. You have already begun to practice Jin Shin Jyutsu by engaging your two hands as you read this.
Mind/Body/Spirit
Exercise your body for at least 30 minutes a day with an activity or practice that you choose from among our suggestions.
Movement
Eat more plant-based, whole foods and eliminate processed food from your diet.
Food
Breath and Jin Shin Jyutsu
Three-Part Breath: Place your right hand over your lower belly and your left hand over your heart. If you are sitting, feel your “sitting bones” on the surface that supports you. If you are standing, place your feet hips-distance apart. Feel your feet being supported by the floor, and relax a bit deeper into that support. On your next inhale, fill your lower belly, then your ribs, then your upper chest, then fully exhale. Repeat this three-part breath, at your own pace of breathing. Notice your body. Notice your thoughts. Notice your energy.
Continue your three-part breath. At the moment, you are experiencing ways of moving energy through two mind/body/spirit disciplines: conscious attention to breath and Jin Shin Jyutsu. Jin Shin Jyutsu is an ancient Asian practice that balances your body’s energy by using the fingers and hands to eliminate stress, create emotional equilibrium and relieve pain.
In any situation in which you are not otherwise using your hands, you may practice self-care Jin Shin Jyutsu by holding each of your fingers for a minute or two, or pressing into the center of your palm.
For more information about Jin Shin Jyutsu, a good introduction is contained in The Touch of Healing: Energizing the Body, Mind and Spirit with the Art of Jin Shin Jyustu by Alice Burmeister.
Jin Shin Jyutsu: The finger holds that you have begun by holding your thumb connect to all of the body’s energy pathways, which in Asian medicine are called “meridians.” Right now, your left thumb is being held in the palm of your right hand. Once you have held the thumb for two minutes, move your index finger into the palm and free the thumb. Two minutes later, move your middle finger in and your index out, and so on. When you finish with your pinky finger, gently press your right thumb into the middle of the palm of your left hand, and hold that for two minu-tes, then switch hands, and start with your right thumb in the left palm.
Three-Part Breath: Start your three-part breath as described above. Notice your body. Notice your thoughts. Notice your energy.
Meditation: Meditation is a predictable miracle. By turning your attention to a single point of focus, you bring yourself into the present moment and let distracting thoughts slide away. There are numerous studies that point to the benefits from this simple practice. It improves your attention, concentration and overall well-being and reduces your stress and anxiety.
Close your eyes. Imagine an emotion that makes you feel good. It can be love or kindness or compassion or gratitude or all of these emotions.
Allow this emotion or combination of emotions to radiate out from inside you. This is what it feels like to be free of fear, anger, hatred and resentment. This place of peace lives within you always and belongs to you. You can step into this place whenever you wish. It is yours, and no one can take it from you.
Now imagine the person or people you are trying to forgive. Imagine that you are their mother and they are like a tiny baby in your arms, before they hurt you, before they hurt anyone. See their goodness and humanity.
Can you bless them and wish them well? Can you send them compassion and kindness? Can you let them go?
One meditation, the Loving Kindness Meditation, is offered by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu in The Book of Forgiving. Why do we suggest that you focus your meditation on forgiving? Because each of us has done things for which we deserve forgiveness and each of us has experienced injuries from others whom we need to forgive. The emotions from these experiences are heavy burdens that we carry. The longer we carry them, the more their heavy weight contributes to stress and illness.
The act of forgiving sets us free. The Tutus explain that forgiveness is a four-step process. If you try this meditation and find that it is not yet right for you, consider writing to us about your experience, and perhaps we can help. You could also read about the four steps and do some of the exercises. Once you feel clearer, return to this meditation and see if it resonates.
Breath and meditation
Following this one-week experience, you may choose to:
Join us in a Living Whole Immersion retreat in Ávila, Spain (June 12-17, 2016) or in Ben Lomond, California (March 19-24, 2017).
Engage in training or counseling sessions.
Become an active member of the InternationalIntegrators community by reading, commenting on and writing blog posts.
Support our Integrative Health Projects.
Our bodies hold powerful wisdom and intelligence from the precise communication of our nervous systems to the power of our muscles. Daily, conscious movement of our bodies helps us connect to that power within us.
We all have different preferences and capabilities when it comes to movement. The important thing is to find an activity or practice that resonates for you and that is practical for you to do daily.
Qi gong is a powerful practice that is generally possible for most people and can be done almost anywhere once learned. Learning generally in-volves finding a local teacher. Certain Living Whole Immersion retreats offered by International Integrators also offer an introduction to qi gong.
Whatever movement activity or practice you choose, it is important that you enjoy it and that it is easy to fit into your day without too much effort. Sometimes even little hurdles can derail our best intentions to move our bodies every day. If you find that adding movement into your day is too challenging, contact us and we will help you with your specific concerns.
Take a yoga class1Walk or hike for 30 minutes
2
Work out in a gym3
Garden5
Practice qi gong6
Take a tai chi class7
Swim4
Some suggestions include:
Breath and Jin Shin Jyutsu
Three-Part Breath: Place your right hand over your lower belly and your left hand over your heart. If you are sitting, feel your “sitting bones” on the surface that supports you. If you are standing, place your feet hips-distance apart. Feel your feet being supported by the floor, and relax a bit deeper into that support. On your next inhale, fill your lower belly, then your ribs, then your upper chest, then fully exhale. Repeat this three-part breath, at your own pace of breathing. Notice your body. Notice your thoughts. Notice your energy.
A predominantly whole food, plant-based diet is good for our individual health, for the health of the Earth, for animal welfare and for alleviating world hunger.
For one week, try eliminating all processed foods from your diet. A processed food is anything that is not made solely of whole food ingredients that your great-grandparents would recognize as food.
Increase your consumption of plant-based foods. You may be interested in this blog post for grocery lists, snacks and other specific and practical suggestions about how to transition to a predominantly whole food, plant-based lifestyle.
Below are some recipes to get you started.
Congee
Congee is a grain-based, medicinal porridge served for centu-ries in traditional East Indian and Chinese homes. It is an easy and affordable dish to incorporate into any diet. It is used pre-ventively to promote good health and strong digestion. Congee for breakfast is simple and easy to make. You use a small amount of grains, water, sea vegetables, dried fruit and spices.
When you incorporate this as a regular dish, you’ll see impro-vement in digestive function and the consistent level of energy throughout the day. Congee is healing in the sense that those who need to lose weight will lose it and those who need to gain weight will gain it when congee becomes a regular part of the diet.
A total of 1.5 cups of whole grains to 8 cups of water, with sea vegetables,
dried fruit and spices.
Whole grains include:
• Rice (brown, red, black)
• Quinoa (brown, red, black)
• Amaranth
• Millet
• Buckwheat
• Steel cut oats
Sea vegetables include:
• Kombu
• Arame
Dried fruits include:
• Prunes
• Apricots (not artificially colored)
• Dates
• Figs
Spices include:
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Cloves
• Allspice
• Ginger
Breakfast
Close your eyes. Imagine an emotion that makes you feel good. It can be love or kindness or compassion or gratitude or all of these emotions.
Allow this emotion or combination of emotions to radiate out from inside you. This is what it feels like to be free of fear, anger, hatred and resentment. This place of peace lives within you always and belongs to you. You can step into this place whenever you wish. It is yours, and no one can take it from you.
Now imagine the person or people you are trying to forgive. Imagine that you are their mother and they are like a tiny baby in your arms, before they hurt you, before they hurt anyone. See their goodness and humanity.
Can you bless them and wish them well? Can you send them compassion and kindness? Can you let them go?
Directions
Place your chosen combination of the above ingredients into your cooking vessel:
Crock pot method: Cook on low heat for 7-9 hours.
Stove top method: Simmer on stove over very low heat until the water is absorbed by the grain (2-3 hours).
Serving Congee–Congee Sundae
Like with the less nutritious ice cream sundae, a congee sundae is made special by the toppings. Choose a delicious combina-tion from the following list, and add your own ideas:
Nuts, seeds, dried fruits
• Almonds
• Apricots, dried (not artificially colored or sulphured)
• Brazil nuts
• Cashews
• Chia seeds
• Coconut: shredded unsweetened
• Cranberries, dried
• Pecans
• Pine nuts
• Pistachios
• Raisins
• Sesame seeds (black, toasted brown)
• Sunflower seeds
• Walnuts
Fresh fruits
Choose delicious in-season
fruits and berries
Milk
Choose nut- and grain-based
milks (avoid brands that have
a lot of added sweetener, and
the preservative carrageenan,
which may have carcinogenic
associations):
• Almond
• Hemp
• Oat
• Rice
Recipe Gallo PintoIngredients
• ¾ cup brown rice cooked with 2-1/2 cups water. You can add arame or
kombu seaweed optionally for more vitamins and minerals. Best if rice is
made a day in advance but fine if just made.
• 2/3 cup quinoa mixed with 1/3 cup amaranth, cooked with 2 cups of
water.
• 2 ½ cups cooked black beans (or one 29 oz. or two 14-1/2 oz. cans of
black beans). Do not drain.
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 1 clove garlic (optional)
• 2 carrots diced small
• 1 onion chopped fine
• ¼ kilo green beans cut into 1-2 cm. long pieces (or 1 bunch kale, torn by
hand into small pieces with large stems removed)
• Salza Lizano (available on Amazon.com, ticoshopping.com and other
websites, imported from Costa Rica) or a similar sauce you can make
easily. See directions below.
Directions
1. Sauté carrots, green beans (if using) and onions in water, adding a little
at a time, in a large iron skillet or other large frying pan.
2.When begin to soften, add garlic, cilantro and kale (if using) and cook
until wilted but do not overcook.
3.Add rice, quinoa and amaranth and mix together with sautéed vegetables
until warm.
4. Add beans and enough juice from cooking/can(s) to keep moist
and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir to keep from sticking or burning
on the bottom.
Serve with bottled Lizano sauce or the Costa Rican sauce from the recipe
below.
Notes: This is a healthy version of the Costa Rican dish which is used as
a breakfast food and also for other meals. You can play with the vegeta-
bles to add things you like. Just keep the beans and rice visually domi-
nant.
Ingredients Costa Rican Sauce
• 1 chipotle pepper from can and a little of the adobo sauce in which it is
sold
• ¾ cup vegetable broth (or water with one vegetable bouillon cube)
• ¼ small onion, chopped (Optional)
• 2 large, thick carrots, chopped
• 2 tablespoon agave syrup
• 2 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar
• ½ tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon molasses
Directions Costa Rican SaucePlace all ingredients in a powerful blender or food processor. If using a boui-
llon cube, heat the water to close to boiling so that the cube will dissolve.
Adjust the amount of chipotle pepper and its adobo sauce depending on the
desired spiciness. Blend until smooth. The sauce should keep in the refrige-
rator for one or two weeks.
Lunch and Dinner
The following lentil soup recipe was modified by us from a New York Times recipe whose first ingredient was bacon. The millet loaf recipe is a crowd pleaser that is especially popular with children. It is inspired by Chef Del Sroufe, who wrote Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook.
Ingredients• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne
• 3 fresh, ripe tomatoes with their juice, diced small (or 1 14 oz. can of diced
tomatoes with juice)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 cup (7 oz.) lentils, rinsed and picked over
• Black pepper
• ½ cup dry white cooking wine
• 6 cups vegetable broth (or 6 cups water and 2 vegetable bouillon cubes)
• 1.5 teaspoons lemon juice (juice of one lemon)
• 9 teaspoons cilantro or parsley (optional)
Instructions1. With a little bit of water, sauté the onion and carrots until they are soft,
about 2 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, cumin, cinnamon and cayenne, and continue to cook until
they are aromatic, about 30 seconds.
3. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf and thyme, cooking until they are aromatic,
about 30 seconds.
4. Add the lentils and pepper to taste, cover and cook on low heat until the
vegetables are soft and the lentils have darkened, about 8-10 minutes.
5. Uncover, turn up the heat to high, and add the wine, cooking for 1 minute.
Then add the broth or bouillon cubes and water.
6. Bring to a boil then cover and turn down the heat so that the pot just
barely boils. Continue cooking until the lentils are soft but still hold their
form, about 30-35 minutes.
7. Remove the bay leaf.
8. Add the lemon juice.
9. Serve with the optional cilantro or parsley as a garnish.
Recipe Lentil Soup with Aromatic Spices
Ingredients• 4 ¼ cups vegetable broth
• 1 ½ cups millet
• 2 yellow onions, diced
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin
olive oil (optional)
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons oregano
(or substitute sage)
• 2 tablespoons basil (
or substitute thyme)
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 ½ cups tomato sauce
• Salt
• Ketchup (optional)
• Dried or fresh basil
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350º F (180º C).
2. Place vegetable broth in medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
Add the millet and bring the mixture back to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and
cook, covered, for 20 minutes or until the millet is done and the broth absorbed.
3. Place the onion in a large pot and sauté in water or extra virgin olive oil over
medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, sage (or oregano), thyme (or basil), nutmeg and black pepper,
and cook for another minute.
5. Remove from the heat and add ½ cup of the tomato sauce, mixing well. Then
add the millet, season with salt and mix well.
6. Immediately spoon the mixture into a 9” x 13” glass baking pan or into two
loaf pans, pressing firmly into the pan. Top with the rest of the tomato sauce
and some ketchup, if using. Sprinkle some dried or fresh basil on top.
7. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before
slicing.
Serves 10-12
Recipe Millet Loaf
