3 Food Documentaries Worth Your While

As I reach my final year as a nutrition undergrad, I decided it was time to start investigating all outlets for information and last few weeks turned into 'the month of documentaries'. Normally I’m not one to stay engaged long enough to finish an entire non-fiction film, but these three kept me glued to my seat. With so many food movies out there trying to sell you on the non-processed, organic and raw food way of life, it’s hard to choose which ones are worth the time commitment. Luckily, I watched them all for you! These three are chock-full of the most inspiring, useful and shocking information out there. So read on before you take another bite of that food. -Kirby Duemig  

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead: After watching this film, I literally went out and bought a juicer. The film follows Joe Cross, an Australia entrepreneur and investor, who decided to embark on a 60-day fresh fruit and vegetable juice cleanse to literally save his life. The first 30 days are spent in New York City, while the second are spent traveling across the US in his van with his Breville juicer by his side. Along the way he meets a 429-pound truck driver named Phil, who later asks for help and begins the juicing journey himself. The positive life changes that occur for these two men throughout the film are incredible - a definite must see. The best part though? This documentary is purely rousing. The film inspires change without harshly bashing another lifestyle or industry. It makes some comments and presents the necessary facts, that's a given, but it leaves you just thinking about the benefits juicing - as it should. Definitely two thumbs up.

Forks Over Knives: This documentary follows the research of two revolutionary doctors, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, both advocating for a whole food, plant based diet. The findings are astounding. With one doctor taking a scientific approach and the other taking a clinical look, results start to show how it's possible for our diet to actually reverse certain diseases. The film is brimming with information, making it extremely intriguing to watch, (my jaw hit the floor a few times). The studies are plainly stated and the individual stories are so relatable, I found myself listing the family members I could share this information with! Some claim it’s just a movie advocating veganism but I disagree, the knowledge gained from this film is absolutely worth your while.

Food Fight: Go local. Go organic. Sustainable farming. Farm-to-table. All of these trends get wellness junkies like me very excited. Following the history of this food revolution, calling it the 'California Cuisine', this film is brought to light in the U.S. by activist and chef Alice Waters and her partner Jeremiah Tower. Focusing on America’s lack of 'taste' in food back in the 20^th century, due to a high demand for convenience, these two decided to broadcast their use of local, fresh, organic products and made the world see the beauty in it. The story is something we all could benefit from seeing, and if you need some familiar faces to convince you of the positive, wide-spread message, Michael Pollan and Wolfgang Puck make quite a few appearances.
 

Starting With Ourselves

image viaIt is said Buddha offered something like this, “You could search the whole world through and not find anyone more worthy and deserving of your love and affection than yourself.”

When I began dipping more deeply into Tibetan Buddhism, I looked forward to morning meditations, sitting in community at the Three Jewels Dharma and Outreach Center. A group of us gathered to practice the meditative art of Tonglen (a practice of “giving and taking”-- specifically the taking in of suffering and the sending of happiness and it’s causes). We had been meeting for quite some time and there was something inspiring and euphoria-inducing about starting the morning in this way. I’d walk out soaring- feeling like some sorta secret superhero- continuing on the train ride home, taking in the suffering of those around me on the inhale and offering them peace, love, joy or whatever I felt in the moment on my exhale. Well, on this particular morning, we were greeted wholeheartedly with this invitation, “We’re going to try something different this morning, which can be more challenging, but we’ve gotta go here if we’re going to be able to go any further... we’re starting with ourselves.”

I’m not going to lie, there was something less comfortable about sitting with and allowing myself to experience the sensation of my own suffering... of being in the muck. This wasn’t a secret superhero morning this was a vulnerable, tender, mind wandering practice of showing up with that which preferred to remain hidden and it wasn’t pleasant. Gone was the high. And yet, that day helped open my eyes and my heart to the necessity of coming to know and accept myself in a deeper and more complete way. As I moved through the subsequent days- I listened carefully to the contents of the stream flowing in my mind and was surprised to hear how harshly I spoke to myself, how much more critical I was of myself than of others, how quick I was to dismiss the promptings of my heart and mostly how little kindness I extended to myself. And it struck me, I would never speak to a friend the way I speak to myself in my own mind. In the work I have done since, I recognize that shame and other suppressed emotions are in need of a loving, compassionate space to be seen, heard, felt, experienced and integrated. These emotions are powerful but they are not more powerful than we are. We are capable of being present with them as they emerge, evolve & dissolve. As long as there remain aspects of our experience and ourselves that are unintegrated, we divide ourselves further and feel less connected to ourselves and each other and the likelihood of unconsciously repeating patterns which cause more suffering endures. Thankfully the opposite of this is also true-- the more at peace we are within ourselves, the more connected we feel to ourselves and each other and the more likely the bright light of awareness will illuminate choices which move us out of dysfunctional habitual reactions and choices.

Subsequently I’ve come to recognize and honor, that as a microcosm of the whole, the best gift I can offer my son, my partner, my family, my friends and the world is this work I do in my own heart. The more compassionate and kind I can be to myself, the more compassionate and kind I can be in my interactions with others. The more present I can be, the more deeply I listen, the more fully love, the more space I feel to respond rather than react and the more grateful I am for everything. - laurieG

Well On The Road: Alisa Rottenberg

Our new Travel Tuesday series cozies up to fabulous entrepreneurs who spend countless hours away from home in the name of their passion. Here we ask them to share some of their secrets for staying well on the road.

Alisa Rottenberg (right) | Daisy Mae PRAlisa Rottenberg
founder: Daisy Mae PR & Double Happiness Jewelry
most recently in: Cabo San Lucas and Turkey

The one snack you can always find in my carry on is... 
A salad. I'm a vegetarian so I usually pick something up at the airport.

Tell us your in-flight rituals.
I buy tons of magazines. I not only read them all cover to cover, I do the crossword puzzles as well. Keeps my brain active.

How do you conquer jet lag once you've arrived?
Unfortunately it tends to conquer me, but with my running shoes in my bag I try to get outside and keep up my energy.

Which fitness icon best describes your 'workout on the road' style?

Bear Grylls - Travelling is the best time to go hike a mountain, go diving, go surfing, kayaking etc. I love outdoor exploration when I travel. It is imperative to a trip. 

How do you keep sickness at bay?
Religious drink bottled water! I have an iron stomach from my years of traveling to so many places so I'm lucky. I also think that not eating meat is a big help.

Alisa shops the market in IstanbulWhat's your 'go-to' restaurant item?
The vegetable special dish of the day paired with a great organic cocktail of course :) 

What do you do to stay grounded?
Meet people! I like to be out everyday, get off the beaten path and see the small towns. Buying local arts and crafts not only makes me happy, but it's giving back to the local community. This all keeps me grounded, happy and satisfied while travelling. 

What is your preferred method of staying connected with loved ones?
Facebook, email and Skype.

Currently at work expanding her PR business in Los Angeles, Alisa is excited to launch a New York showroom for the Double Happiness jewelry line. You can follow her and travels via the Daisy Mae PR blog and on Facebook.

Win: An Apple a Day

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contest ends May 3rd, 8pm EST. winner announced via facebook

Does a 200-hour Training Make a Qualified Yoga Instructor?

image viaAs yoga grows in popularity, so do the yoga teacher trainings being offered in one of a gazillion yoga studios worldwide. Practically every local studio has a 200-hour training program. Most studio owners will admit that yoga teacher trainings, which run upwards of $3,000 ($6K if you're into Jivamukti), help pay the bills. But is 200 hours enough to be a qualified yoga instructor?

The Yoga Alliance says yes. Their definition of an RYT 200® (registered yoga teacher), a title, which by the way, is a registered mark, is having completed a 200-hour training program with an RYS 200 (registered yoga school). There are no actual teaching time/instructing requirements for this designation. The teaching requirement for RYT 500 status is only 100 hours, but with an additional 300 hours of training.

Is 200 hours of classroom instruction with little to no actual hands-on practical experience enough to legitimately “register” someone as a yoga teacher? How about teachers who have been practicing for decades but never registered with the Yoga Alliance (YA)? There are many, some prominent, such as Leslie Kaminoff and Richard Rosen, who eschew the YA and feel it offers little in the way of true oversight for yoga teaching and simply exists to gather registration fees for its various designations. So essentially the industry is on an honor system. Are programs are actually 200 hours long? Are the relevant topics covered? Can graduates actually teach? How does one perform due diligence on a yoga teacher or studio if the registration he or she has and the actual experience he or she embodies can be so wildly divergent?

image via In my experience, what matters most is the teacher’s personal practice. I am less interested in someone leading me thru a rote series of poses and far more interested in what wisdom and insight a teacher can share. A teacher who is a newly minted 200-hour RYT but has been practicing for 15 years under a variety of teachers and styles is probably better prepared to share yoga’s wisdom than a teacher who practiced all of 16 months before doing a training at a “McYoga” studio, but in the accreditation language of the YA, they are equivalent.

While RYT 200 status is the most basic qualification a teacher can receive from YA, I’m much more interested those who earn an E-RYT, which says that not only has the instructor taken a 200-hour training, but that they have completed over 1,000 hours of teaching time since graduating from said training (I have amassed this number of teaching hours, but I have yet to file and pay for this additional letter behind my name). E-RYT is far more descriptive of a teacher’s knowledge than RYT. After teaching 1,000 hours (that’s over 650 90 minute classes), presumably you have something of value to teach. Keeping in mind that the student/mentor relationship in yoga is never complete and most instructors that put in the time to teach 1,000 hours have not stopped learning from their mentors.

Yet as the industry has shown, being a highly respected, world-famous yoga instructor with decades of experience does not gild a teacher in perfection. Stories about Pattabhi Jois’ abusive nature are legion; John Friend of Anusara fame got himself into a huge pickle with allegations of stolen funds, inappropriate sexual relations, and pot dealing; Bikram Choudary lost a suit against Yoga to the People on grounds of copyright infringement and is still battling a lawsuit over sexual harassment. And it’s not only male teachers: a student claiming he suffered emotional and physical injury in her class is suing Hilaria Thomas Baldwin of Yoga Vida. All these teachers have lots of experience, lots of training, and have been at it for a very long time. So what makes a good yoga teacher? Is 200 hours enough?

image viaYes and no. In the right yogi, trained by the right program, 200 hours is enough to get them the basic teaching tools and designation that most studios will require to give them a job. It enables them to serve humanity via the incredible technology of yoga. In the wrong yogi, 200 hours is license to be let loose on a yoga-needing public without having the wisdom, experience, skill, sensitivity or anatomical understanding to serve it best.

One of yoga’s gifts is the cultivation of non-judgmental observation. If we can apply this to both the teacher and our own practice, we should be able to stay out of trouble. We are ultimately responsible for our own practice, even at the hands of highly trained, world-renowned teachers. But where does that leave yoga newbies? Bring the equanimity that yoga teaches along with lots of research to your search for a teacher or school. Ask to sit in and observe some classes, talk to the people running the studio about how they find their teachers and what the hiring requirements are, get a feel for the place. If it feels right, great! If it doesn’t, then find somewhere else that does.

A teacher that is a boon for one may by a non-factor to another. The style of yoga (there are hundreds) we practice and resonate with is a very personal thing. Newly minted teachers are a dime a dozen in New York City. Some of them may be very good; just as many, if not more, will never teach a class in their lives. As yoga grows in popularity, teachers and students are both called to become more aware, to teach (and practice) from a place of composure. Both must remember that the teacher is still human. We all have faults. That does not necessarily make us bad teachers. It is only when the faults get in the way of the ability to teach that you have a problem on your hands. So don’t look for letters trailing a teachers name to give you a stamp of approval. Instead do your homework, use your intuition and listen to your body to feel the teacher’s impact. This is the way you fill find your true teachers, they are the ones who touch your soul. - Lola Rephann