New books coming up from Singing Dragon…

2014 has been an exciting year for Singing Dragon with the publication of some truly groundbreaking books; from The Spark in the Machine and Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches – TianGan DiZhi, to Rasa Shastra and The Compleat Acupuncturist. But we’re not finished yet! Here are some of the exciting titles coming to you in the rest of 2014:

Buck_Acupuncture-and_978-1-84819-159-4_colourjpg-webAcupuncture and Chinese Medicine
by Charles Buck

Charles Buck, the chairman of the British Acupuncture Council, draws on three decades of study, practice and teaching in this book to provide a relevant and engaging account of the origins of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. From its pre-Han dynasty roots to Chinese medicine as we know it today, Buck covers the key texts, the main scholars and the concepts they have contributed to the greater body of knowledge. With Buck’s lucid and engaging style, Roots of Modern Practice is going to be the new ‘must-read’ resource that will help practitioners and students deepen their understanding of this great medical tradition.

Hamwee_Zero-Balancing_978-1-84819-234-8_colourjpg-webZero Balancing
by John Hamwee

The definitive guide to Zero Balancing brings this increasingly popular therapy to life. It contains a clear description of the anatomy and physiology of energy which leads on to a compelling explanation of how and why this form of bodywork can have such powerful effects. Throughout, there are illustrations which convey the unique energy of a Zero Balancing session and John Hamwee provides fascinating examples of clients, their experiences and the outcomes of the work.

 

 

Tisserand_Aromatherapy-vs_978-1-84819-237-9_colourjpg-webAromatherapy vs MRSA
by Maggie Tisserand

Breaking new ground in the field of essential oils, this scientifically based but accessible book addresses the challenge of serious infection, especially MRSA, in hospitals, in the community, and in animals. Maggie Tisserand focuses on the scientifically proven effects of antibacterial essential oils, and their usefulness in managing infection, including the ‘superbug’.

 

 

 

Hellas_Yogic-Cooking-N_978-1-84819-249-2_colourjpg-webYogic Cooking
by Garuda Hellas

Yogic cooking is nutritious, easy to digest and free of toxins, allowing you to improve your health, keep your body strong and facilitate spiritual revolution. The aim of yoga is to cultivate a physical, mental and psychic balance so that higher states of being can be experienced. This can be achieved through a balanced vegetarian diet that includes all the essential vitamins and minerals. This books contains 56 delicious and easy-to-follow recipes, with something for every occasion it is the perfect introduction to the ayurvedic approach to life.

 

Quayle_Mouses-House-Ch_978-1-84819-247-8_colourjpg-webThe Mouse’s House
by Susan Quayle

A beautiful children’s book that combines reflexology with delightfully engaging rhymes and illustrations. Written by a specialist maternity reflexologist, it features easy-to-follow diagrams and instructions for giving basic reflexology to a child during a bedtime (or anytime) story.

 

All of these books are available for pre-order now. To receive notifications for new books in your areas of interest, sign up for the Singing Dragon mailing list.

Is there a secret to healthy ageing?

old-people-webAgeing seems to be the only available way to live a long life (Daniel Auber). In fact, some would say that the business of ‘getting older’ brings so many benefits that we should positively embrace it.

Ageing is certainly high on the current news and political agendas. As a nation, we’re heading for an unprecedented population shift towards older people. (The King’s Fund predicts that within 18 years, the number of 65-84 year-olds and those aged 85+ years will rise by 39% and a staggering 106%, respectively, whereas the number of people in the 15-64 year-old age group is set to increase by a paltry 7%).

The problem is, we don’t appear to be ageing very well. And this hampers our ability to see the benefits and enjoy the ‘golden years’. For too many people, mid- and later-life is dominated by the pain and disability of degenerative diseases like CVD, cancer and dementia. Recently, for example, Diabetes UK told us that 700+ people are diagnosed with diabetes every day.

So what, if anything, can be done? Is there a secret to healthy ageing?

Well, yes, there may be: it’s called anti-inflammation. As you age, you gradually become more predisposed to the type of low-grade yet chronic, insidious inflammation that promotes degeneration and disease. As the lifestyle medicine authority Dr Gary Egger describes in his paper ‘In search of a germ theory equivalent for chronic disease’, our environment has become increasingly more inflammatory since pre-Neolithic times. Pre-Neolithic individuals lived within a predominantly anti-inflammatory mileu of low calorie intake (compared to the level of energy expenditure), a low omega-6-to-omega-3 ratio and good levels of monounsaturated fats, fish, fibre, vegetables and nuts. In today’s environment, these are typically replaced with inflammatory triggers (‘anthropogens’) like pollution, endocrine disrupting chemicals, being sedentary, a high omega 6-to-omega 3 ratio, saturated and trans-fats, sleep deprivation, chronic stress, junk foods and obesity. Indeed, the medical journals are stuffed to the gills with scientific papers demonstrating that most, if not all, age-related chronic diseases are driven in part by inflammation. And this applies not only to classic inflammatory conditions like autoimmune arthritis, but also to Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, depression and others.

Hence, the trick to a long, healthy life is to stay out of the ‘inflammazone’.

But, hang on, this isn’t necessarily as simple as it sounds. It’s not just about taking anti-inflammatories, whether pharmaceutical (like ibuprofen) or nutritional (like curcumin from turmeric), as these offer merely allopathic, ‘sticking plaster’ remedies. The only effective long-term approach is a systems-based one, in which the focus is on identifying the pattern of inflammatory antecedents, triggers and mediators that is unique to the individual in question.

old-people-eating-webBy all means, remove Egger’s anthropogens from the environment, and reinstate the anti-inflammatory inputs of pre-Neolithic times. This is an excellent start. But look also at the functioning of the key body systems. For all body processes, when they are in a state of dysfunction, become drivers of inflammation. Microbial imbalances in the gut, for example, can cause gastrointestinal hyperpermeability and immune dysfunction, leading to systemic inflammation. Poor detoxification processes can lead to an accumulation of toxic, inflammatory metabolites. Failing mitochondria (the batteries of your cells) can leak electrons that cause free radical damage and inflammation. Problems with glucose and insulin control mechanisms can result in sugars attaching to proteins in the body (a process called glycation), damaging these proteins and triggering inflammation. Exhausted adrenal glands can fail to produce sufficient cortisol to moderate any over-reactive inflammatory responses. And so the list goes on…

And, let’s face it, all chronic diseases are foreshadowed by years of decline in one or more body systems. Alzheimer’s, for example, is preceded by years of elevated homocysteine levels (which may be inflammatory), indicating a problem with a biochemical process called methylation.  Methylation is crucial to healthy ageing in the brain. In fact, elevated homocysteine is such a strong predictor of future cognitive decline that every ‘healthy ageing’ strategy should include a homocysteine check. If you find your blood level is elevated, you should work on your nutrition and lifestyle to get it down to 7-8.

Now, you might ask, where is the evidence that it’s possible to exert some control on this sinister type of inflammation, that is, that you really can take action to change the way you age?

The evidence lies in the fast-developing area of science known as epigenetics. In recent years, epigenetics has taught us that the rate at which you age (and your propensity to specific diseases) is not limited to how your parents and grandparents aged, what diseases they got and how long they lived. Rather, it is more to do with how your lifelong environment, essentially your diet and your lifestyle, is influencing the ways in which your genes behave, including which genes are switched on and off. (Only a small proportion of your genes are active (expressed) at any one time; and this is determined by the way you live your life.)

Of particular interest to healthy ageing is the discovery that environmental inputs (such as those proposed by Egger above) promote inflammation at an epigenetic level, that is, by directly increasing the expression of inflammatory genes. Environmental inputs can also down-regulate genes that produce energy; they can silence genes that supress tumour growth; and they can speed up the rate at which telomeres get shorter. (Telomeres are the physical ends of chromosomes on DNA; and they get shorter, the faster you are ageing.)

What’s really exciting is that scientists think that such changes to gene expression are likely reversible – meaning that we may have more control over our destiny than was previously thought.

Unsurprisingly, the search is now on for interventions that can reverse such harmful changes in gene expression – and thus slow down the ageing process. To date, the intervention with the most evidence is the practice of eating less than normal, either by restricting calories daily, or by fasting intermittently.

Certain special nutrients (‘epigenetic nutrients’) have also recently been discovered to mimic the healthy ageing effects of eating less. These nutrients are found in grape skins, green tea, turmeric and cruciferous vegetables, to name but a few. Some of them, however, are notoriously hard to absorb, so for a truly therapeutic effect, their dietary intake may need to be supplemented.

Nicolle-Bailey_Eat-to-Get-Youn_978-1-84819-179-2_colourjpg-webThe best approach to healthy ageing, then, is one that promotes anti-inflammation, by preventing or even reversing harmful (epigenetic) changes to gene expression; and by optimizing the function of the key body systems. These ideas form the central theme of my recently published book Eat To Get Younger, (co-authored with colleague Christine Bailey).  In it, we bring together the current thinking on the best changes to make for healthy ageing.  Chapter topics include staying lean and preventing diabetes, supporting connective tissue health (skin, bones, gums, etc), keeping energised, making the most of your mind, memory and mood, staying as pain-free as possible, experiencing a trouble-free menopause transition, and keeping your digestive and immune systems in good working order.

The opening chapters explain exactly why fasting is better than eating little and often; and how you can set about eating less without feeling deprived.  You can then pick which of the remaining chapters to focus on, depending on the areas of ageing that are of most concern you. Each of these chapters contains advice on why things can start to go awry as you age, and what you can do about it, with advice on diet, lifestyle and nutritional supplements. The advice is supported by references to relevant scientific studies. And, to make it truly practical, we’ve also included meal plans and over 100 recipes.  Ultimately, the recommendations are designed to support your key biological systems, reducing your overall inflammatory load and preventing your genes from misbehaving.

Looking at the balance of the evidence, there is more reason now than ever before, to positively embrace the ageing process, for there is so much that can be done to support vigour and wellbeing into your later years.  And, for anyone who’s concerned that living a clean life is boring, that it can all too easily cramp one’s style, I’ll venture the view that pain, disability, fatigue and low mood, not to mention the endless hospital appointments and repeat prescriptions – they sound pretty boring to me!

 

Lorraine Nicolle MSc is a nutrition practitioner with a regular clinic in London. She has developed and taught on undergraduate nutrition and health degree programmes at British universities, and currently teaches on two university-validated courses. She also works with a dietary supplement company, delivering nutrition education sessions for healthcare practitioners; and she runs workplace nutrition programmes for businesses. She is a recipient of the CAM Award. www.lorrainenicollenutrition.co.uk

This article was originally featured on Bite the Sun.

Skin meditation – extract from Body Intelligence Meditation

In this chapter, Ged Sumner offers up a fascinating account of how the human body works in relation to the skin, and other collagen constructs of the body. He provides us with a meditation that allows us to feel every inch of our skin wrapped around our body and feel the wholeness of the organ.

 Read the extract…Sumner_Body-Intelligen_978-1-84819-174-7_colourjpg-web

This meditation is taken from Body Intelligence Meditation: Finding presence through embodiment by Ged Sumner. The book is available to purchase from the Singing Dragon website.

Contents include:
Preface. 1. What is Real? 2. Felt Sense Awareness. 3. Dynamic Stillness. 4. Peace and Autonomic Order. 5. The Amazing Connective Tissue System. 6. Diaphragmatic Wholeness. 7. Breath and Life. 8. Inner Volume and Depth. 9. Fluid Body and Bliss. 10. Being Centred. 11. Embryonic Mind. 12. Internal and External Circulation. 13. Inner Cell. 14. Hormonal Space. 15. Brain Balancing. 16. Life Continuum. 17. Integration.

Click here to listen to this meditation online

The rewards of using homeopathy with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Andrews_Homeopathy-and_978-1-84819-168-6_colourjpg-printThe rewards of using homeopathy with Autism Spectrum Disorder – by Mike Andrews

I have been practicing as a professional homeopath since 1990. I have an open door policy to referrals and most clients self refer to me. In the past I have had a special interest in working with clients with fertility problems, skin conditions and asthma.

I have over the years worked with many children, and their parents, with ADD, ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder. I find working with ASD children particularly rewarding as the changes that I have seen homeopathy bring about in their and their parents lives is immensely heart-warming.

As is common in the Autism community when parents find something that benefits their child they tell other parents about it. This is how my Autism practice has grown. The changes can be so obvious that other parents will ask ‘What you have been doing to help your child so much?’

The changes can be most observable in social skills in public, the changes that go on ‘behind closed doors’ are often dramatic in terms of improved family relationships, eating a wider range of foods and less repetitive or aggressive behaviour.

In my book Homeopathy and Autism Spectrum Disorder I wanted to look at the types of results homeopaths around the world were achieving and to see how they compared with my experience. Many positive small cohort studies have been published. I refer to these studies in the book and also chose to interviewed colleagues from around the world.  Homeopaths working in Australia, the US, Israel, India and the UK contributed generously to the publication.

Nutritional approaches or biomedicine are often the first step that parents take in to non-conventional medicine when they are dissatisfied by state provision of services. Myself, and other homeopaths, have found that significant further gains can be made even for those children that have been following a dietary regime and supplementation program for some time. Observing a seven year old boy, who had been on a nutritional program for a year when his parents first consulted me, significant cognitive and motor skill improvements followed the introduction of a homeopathic remedy. His nutritionist then suggested stopping the old program, and various tests, before starting a new revised program; at this point the child’s tantrums increased although other gains were maintained. He was then prescribed a different homeopathic medication which helped him greatly even before he started the new nutritional supplements.

Homeopathy is very much an individualised treatment modality which is both its strength and its weakness. Being so individualised it is hard to fit homeopathic treatment into conventional research protocols and it is difficult to give advice for self treatment. However with a choice of over 3500 homeopathic medicines to choose from the child, or indeed adult, with ASD can receive a remedy which takes full account of their individual characteristics and symptoms. Homeopathic treatment is not about de-toxing, although that can be part of the treatment plan, but more a holistic treatment. Homeopathy views everyone’s symptoms, whether autistic or not, as a dynamic whole mind-body disturbance and they are treated with a dynamic homeopathic remedy. Homeopathy works with the ‘vital’ force’, Chinese traditional medicine with the ‘chi’. The exact mechanism of homeopathy is still not fully understood, although it probably lies in the realms of quantum physics. Reading my book will give you as a parent or career for someone with autism, or a professional working with families, a good understanding of homeopathy and the results that have been achieved if you work with a properly qualified and registered Homeopath.

Mike Andrews DSH RSHom graduated from Misha Norland’s School of Homeopathy (UK) in 1990. He has taught at many UK homeopathic colleges: London College of Classical Homeopathy, Purton House School of Homeopathy and on the BSc (Hons) Health Sciences: Homeopathy module at the University of Westminster. He has been in full-time homeopathic practice since 1990 and has been a Registered Member of the Society of Homeopaths since 1994. He practiced in West Sussex for many years, but now works in London and Ludlow, Shropshire. Over more than twenty three years in practice, he has worked with many children and their parents, giving him a good practical understanding of child development. He has worked with children with diagnoses of dyspraxia, dyslexia, ADHD, ADD, Asperger’s and Autism. He is the author of Homeopathy and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Making your acupuncture sessions unique, personal and amazing

Solos_Developing-Inte_978-1-84819-183-9_colourjpg-web

Making your acupuncture sessions unique, personal and amazing – by Ioannis Solos

As acupuncturists, we all wish to provide quality treatment and patient satisfaction, and each time a patient praises our healing abilities it reaffirms our belief that we are doing something right.

However, what makes a patient happy is not always our level of competence in meridian diagnosis, but also various interpersonal and esoteric skills that some tend to identify and cultivate better than others.

In this article, I will speak about the patient-doctor connections as described in the classical theories of Chinese acupuncture.

According to the early Confucian traditions, when doctors exercise compassion and benevolence, they can become not only successful healers but also restore faith in the medical field. This is why a doctor-scholar should embark upon a meticulous study of the classics, and as Chen Shi Gong advised: “learn the contents by heart and understand them with the eyes”.

The Confucian ideas about benevolence, compassion and seeking deeper understanding, were also evident in the early theories of Chinese acupuncture.

One of the central and most esoteric concepts in Chinese Medicine is the theory of “Controlling the Spirit”.

The term “Controlling the Spirit” or “Zhi Shen” [治神] is made up of two characters, zhi 治 and shen 神. The character zhi in this term is used in the context of control and recuperate. The character shen is made up of two parts: the radical shi 礻, which means worshiping; and the character shen 申 that stands for the ninth earthly branch, meaning “to extend” or “to expand.” In the oracle bones, the most ancient version of the character shen appears as depicting a man and a woman having sexual intercourse. The same character is also included within the character dian 電 for lightning, as the outcome of the “intercourse” between heaven and earth. This sense of “closeness,” “intimacy “and “connecting” is perhaps one of the most beautiful concepts of our medical tradition, although it should always be followed by the rules of etiquette and propriety.

Building and maintaining a positive doctor-patient therapeutic relationship is vital for healing and re-balancing. This is not only important in the social sense but also for therapeutic synchronization and treatment management. Timid and difficult patients are sometimes hard to treat. Helping them to relax, focus and take part in the treatment ritual is an art. However, this is also something that many need to re-discover, explore and apply with creativity and a sense of responsibility. Tailoring your approach in accordance to the needs of each patient will certainly ensure the positive outcome of each acupuncture session.

In the classic Chinese Medicine literature we read:

Therefore, when using the needle, one should examine and observe the patient’s bearing (i.e. posture and movement), and identify if the essence (jing), spirit (shen), ethereal soul (hun) and corporeal soul (po) are preserved or lost. If the five [spirits] have already been injured, acupuncture will be unable to provide treatment. (Ling Shu—Ben Shen)
If using acupuncture to treat, you should assist the [patient’s] spirit to focus and then needle. [This procedure does] not only [apply] for needling but [you should] also allow the [patient’s] spirit to become stable before moving the qi. If the spirit is out of focus, then don’t needle. If the spirit is stable you can treat [by both needle and moving the qi]. (Biao You Fu)
When needling, the patient’s spirit qi must be stable (focused), and his breathing even. The doctor should also do this (i.e. focus and adjust his breathing), and not be hasty. (Zhen Jiu Da Cheng)

In my new book Developing Internal Energy for Effective Acupuncture Practice, I tried to explain various ancient ideas that are rarely clarified in the current TCM literature, alongside a rigorous training regime.

Cultivating your overall health, increasing your spiritual awareness and making the right energetic connections with your patients will certainly enhance your understanding of the medical art and open your eyes to a much larger world.

Ioannis Solos studied Traditional Chinese Medicine at Middlesex University and the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. He enjoys researching, teaching, practicing and critically interpreting the ancient philosophy and culture of China, internal martial arts, health preservation practices, classic medical texts and lesser-known Chinese esoteric traditions. He is the author of Gold Mirrors and Tongue Reflections and the new book Developing Internal Energy for Effective Acupuncture Practice: Zhan Zhuang, Yi Qi Gong and the Art of Painless Needle Insertion.

Stillness meditation – extract from Body Intelligence Meditation

Image from Zen Mountain Monastery

You need reminding about stillness. Modern life has little interest in it. We have all become imprinted with an urge to activity that is both an overbearing work ethic and a neurotic need to be scintillated. Being still is very unfashionable and uncool. Once you glimpse your innate stillness, your body will respond powerfully to it and each time you open up to it, there will be a much stronger connection.

Sit and let your body become calm. Recognize the tremendous activity in your body. How can we ever get tired with so much energy and movement taking place within us? Let’s open up to the underlying stillness gradually. Start with your heart. The movement of the heart is constant. You couldn’t name a structure that is more caught up in motion. As you feel the movement of the heart, simply open up to the movement taking place within a field of stillness. Even if that doesn’t make any sense to your rational mind, open up to it. Do the same with the other big movement in your body, your breathing. Be with the felt sense of the ribcage and diaphragm moving, but again open up to the movement taking place in a field of stillness. The body will start automatically reorganizing when you do this. Notice the effect on your body. Lastly, notice the furious activity of your brain and thoughts, and open up to stillness as an intrinsic component of that. Again, you will feel something as you do it.

Stay with that for a while and then simply open up to your whole body being part of a field of stillness that embraces everything, so that all activity within you is part of the stillness. Now listen and feel as your system becomes modified by the stillness. Everything slows down. Breath, heart and mind all gear down and something sparks up in the body as a whole. It’s a dynamic energy that comes through your cells and fluids like a permeation from the field of stillness. The body just loves this process!

This meditation is taken from Body Intelligence Meditation: Finding presence through embodiment by Ged Sumner. The book is available to purchase from the Singing Dragon website.

The Spark of Life – extract from The Spark in the Machine

9781848191969

In this chapter, Daniel Keown offers up a fascinating account of how the human body works in relation to electrical currents.
Keown explores the ‘super substance’ collagen, electrical currents that mimic the Qi flowing along channels, and the intelligent energy that regrows broken bones.

Read the extract…

“This book is a must read for anyone that has ever wondered how Acupuncture might work. Daniel Keown, a Western medical doctor and Acupuncturist, has managed to stylishly bridge the gap between ancient Chinese medicine theory and Western medical science which is no small feat. He explains complex ideas with elegant simplicity and provides case studies to bring some of the ideas to life. This should be on the curriculum for both Acupuncturists and Western medical students. This book is thoughtfully written and raises stimulating ideas for future work in this area.”
– Amazon customer review

The Spark in the Machine by Daniel Keown is available to buy from the Singing Dragon website

 

July Fire Element activities for children – by Karin Kalbantner-Wernicke and Bettye Jo Wray-Fears

Welcome back to the monthly series of stimulating Five Element activities that can support development of children in all ages!   By clicking on the link at the end of this article you can enjoy making your own notebook of Five Element exercises for each month and season of the year. 

FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!fire-element
What do those three words expressed with exclamation marks elicit in you?  Action, alarm, quick-rising energy to react, a pounding heart, consideration of others, a need for clear communication to call out to others for help?  You are landing in the Fire Element capacities already and July brings us into the heart of summer and the Fire Element.

The Fire Element gives us our capacity to communicate with others with warmth, excitement, distinction, emotional sensitivity, and clear articulation.  It rules the heart, so Fire Element development includes learning to express and feel all of the emotions in life.  Joy, laughter, lightness of being, and relational sensitivity are the core emotional expressions gifted to us in our Fire Element capacities.

Correlating summer qualities can be seen in the vitality of nature in the Fire Element.  Summer brings playfulness, bustling energy to interact with others, red, sweaty faces, laughter, heart connecting activities, and vacations that involve relationships with others or self.  Like the busy bees in nature pollinating the trees and collecting nectar for the hive, all activities are directed by some level of communication with others and self.  And like real fire, the energy of this Element in children can be seen in flickers of spontaneity, exuberance, boundless freedom to express in all directions in a room, contagious – spreading laughter, humorous wit, and warmth to all that come near it.

The following exercises can be used with a family, classroom, or a group of children to experience qualities of Fire Element.  Remember, all emotions and experiences in the participants are part of the growth of the Elements.  There is no right or wrong way to react to these games.  Allow children to experience whatever arises with support, acceptance, and safe boundaries, and all five of the Elements are given room to grow.

Nicking Socks

This game is suitable for groups of at least six children.  Each child needs to be wearing loose-fitting socks.

a. On command, everyone crawls around the room and tries to pull as many socks as they can off the other children’s feet and stick them in their own waistband.  The contest creates a lot of laughter and romping.

b. To calm the group down afterwards, all the socks can be put into a bag, and the child who collected the most socks is blindfolded and has to try to find the matching pairs.  Can it be done?  Laughter, playfulness, group camaraderie is offered for all in this exercise.

Desire and capacity for relationships, emotional intelligence, awareness of others and oneself are fruits of developed FIRE qualities.

Making Faces (Good for all ages, great for parent/child groups)

3 or more individuals are standing in a line facing in one direction. The last child/participant makes some kind of funny facial expression.  When the child is ready, he/she taps on the shoulder of the person in front of him.  Then this child/person taps the shoulder on the person in front of him and passes the expression on.  When the last child receives the expression, all compare how it looks with the last persons interpretation and how it looked at the beginning.  The difficult part is not to laugh and to try to stay serious all the time.  Nearly impossible!

This article can be downloaded in a PDF format by clicking on this link  so you can start creating a notebook of Five Element exercises that will be offered each month.
You can find more information and examples of how the Five Elements support development in children in the book: Children at Their Best: Understanding and Using the Five Elements to Develop Children’s Full Potential for parents, teachers, and therapists, published by Singing Dragon.

NEXT: Earth Element activities – stay grounded in the season of change

Vegan quinoa nut burgers – recipe from Eat to Get Younger

These delicious vegan patties contain protein and healthy fats thanks to the combination of quinoa and almonds. The  nutritional yeast flakes provide B vitamins and they impart a wonderful nutty, cheesy flavour to the burgers.

Makes 8, Serves 4

quinoa burgers web

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Suitable for Vegans, No added sugar

100g/3.5oz dry quinoa
1tsp bouillon powder
250g/9oz almonds
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp tomato paste
2tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
Pinch of sea salt
1 onion, finely chopped
60g/2.5oz sun dried tomatoes, drained and chopped

1. Place the quinoa in a pan with the bouillon power and 250ml/1 cup water. Bring to the boil. Put the lid on and turn the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the quinoa to cool.

2. In a food processor, process the almonds, garlic, vinegar, tamari, tomato paste, nutritional yeast flakes and salt. Puree until the nuts are very finely ground, and becoming a little sticky. Add the onion and sun-dried tomatoes and pulse together until the mixture starts to stick together. Add quinoa and pulse again until incorporated.

3. Shape the mixture into patties and chill for 30 minutes.

4. Heat a little coconut oil in a frying pan and cook the patties in batches about 5-6 minutes before turning over and cooking for a further 2-3 minutes until golden brown.

Calories per burger 284kcal, Protein 10.2g, Carbohydrates 10.9g, sugars 3g, total fat 22.1g, saturates 1.9g

This recipe is taken from Eat to Get Younger by Lorraine Nicolle and Christine Bailey, the book has over 100 more delicious anti-ageing recipes to combat inflammation and other ageing processes for a longer, healthier life.

Scent association exercise – extract from Listening to Scent

Colour-plate-4-DSC_0021

This exercise is based around the Japanese Koh-Do ceremony and is designed to be done in a group using essential oils on blotting paper.

Scents have an enormous evocative impact. They may trigger a specific memory, or a sensation or feeling linked to a previous experience, they might evoke a new feeling within us, and they have a vast array of associations –with images, shapes, colours, tones, sounds, words, names, notes, music, textures. This exercise allows us to explore these ‘cross-modal’ associations, and helps us to verbalise scent-evoked sensations. The master of ceremonies selects three aromatics. Blotters should be prepared, and as before, are presented one at a time to the participants. The master of ceremonies can then ask a question for each scent. For example:

If this scent was a musical instrument, or a piece of music, what would it be? 

If this scent was a season what would it be?

What kind of weather does this scent evoke?

Does this scent evoke a scene in the natural world?

Colour-plate-5-DSC_0081

Each participant should record their answers, which can be collected for discussion at the end of the exercise. Following this, one scent can be chosen by each participant, who can then write a short piece about anything that this inspires. This might be a short, descriptive essay, a poem, a meditation, a personal reflection, or simply a collection of phrases.  There are no rules! Sometimes, a scent might not be evocative for an individual, and this is fine. Simply chose another one that ‘works’.

For example, a coniferous fragrance might evoke ‘a rainy autumn day in a forest’, and this can be described in detail – sights, sounds, sensations. An exotic flower scent could transport the individual to a ‘peaceful, lush, tropical island’, and again this can be imagined and conveyed with descriptive words. Or, the aromatic might conjure up feelings and sensations; for example, soft gentle balsamic scents might evoke feelings of being wrapped in warm fluffy blankets, while some herbal aromatics might conjure up the feeling of sunshine on the skin. Sometimes, scents might evoke places where specific feelings might be experienced. Sometimes, the scent can be associated with a specific memory, which can be re-experienced and described, while other times, something quite abstract and seemingly unrelated to the specific aromatic might emerge.

At the end of the exercise, the answers to the questions can be discussed, and the creative writing shared if desired. Most individuals will be happy to do this, unless of course their words are of a private nature.

This exercise is taken from Listening to Scent by Jennifer Peace Rhind, the book has many more ideas on experimenting with scent and is great for beginners and professionals alike.