Fasting in winter can be as rewarding as fasting in the warm glow of summer if a few simple tips are considered.

1. Use hot water bottles to keep your core warm. If you tend to cold extremities, then rest your toes on hot water bottles as well.

2. When you fast it is so important to rest, and where better than in the cosy warmth of a hot bath. As the water cools, add more hot water. Candle light, a good book, relaxing meditation, and essential oils all add to the experience. When you are ready to get out bundle up in towels warmed on the radiator and get under the covers with a hot water bottle. Lovely ♥

3. Wear cosy socks and comfortable layers. Bundle under the covers. Create an oasis of cosiness where you have all within arms reach and can relax in warmth and peace.

4. Drink warm water with a touch of cayenne and ginger. I like to gently simmer water with grated ginger in it and then add a small amount of cayenne to the mix after taking it off of the heat. There is the view that cayenne and ginger added to water would prevent you from reaching the basal metabolism rate of fasting, and this is a consideration if you are following a strict fast for serious health reasons. Otherwise, enjoy the warm pleasure of ginger and cayenne for winter fasting.

5. Sunbathing, even in winter, is a wonderful and important part of fasting. However in winter, when you sit out in the sun, you will need to bundle up extra warm. Avoid losing core heat. Take your hot water bottle and feather comforter outside with you.

6. As with all fasting it is best not to be busy with work and child care. If you aren’t able to take a complete break while fasting, then juice fasting may be a better choice than a complete fast. Juice will provide energy to keep up with daily life, and if juice fasting you are less likely to feel easily cold during winter fasting.

7. Relaxed stretching will keep your lymph and circulation moving, and is a natural way to heat up your body. However, when water fasting your energy can be low, so only do movement exercise if it feels comfortable and easy for you.

8. Hot Stone Massage. I add this one because it is my secret fantasy to get endless divine bodywork while undergoing a fasting retreat. Sigh.

9. Cosy up with someone you love ♥

10. When you are ready to break your fast, do so with warm alkaline broth. Yum!

Tags: Fasting , Healing Diets, bonny casel, Academy of Healing Diets

India is preparing a landmark case against Monsanto, a Multi-National GMO company, for Bio-Piracy. India claims that when Monsanto took plants from India, developed over many generations by Indian Farmers and modified these plants to create a new GM version for their own profit, they were in fact robbing the farmers of India of their property. This landmark case is being pursued by the Indian Government with methodical attention to detail so that it will lay the groundwork for further litigation if Monsanto continues their assault on Indian Farmers. An interesting situation and one that I will follow as it unfolds over the coming years (yes...years).

Note: A high rate of farmer suicides in India have been linked to the effects on their livelihoods of having ‘trusted’ the sales pitch of GM companies such as Monsanto and Cargill, the consequences of which has led to the ruin of tens of thousands of Indian Farmers.

Tags: GMO, Genetically Modified Organism, monsanto, Indian Farmers, Indian Farmer Suicides, cargill, Heritage Seeds, Organic

The Academy of Healing Diets opens it’s doors, summer 2012, in Torquay, Devon. Bonny Casel has been developing the healing diets part of her teaching for many years and the number of students interested in this teaching has continually grown. Now, Bonny Casel has created a school that focuses entirely on food as medicine, and training students in a variety of natural vegetarian, vegan and living foods approaches to diet and food preparation. Her courses range from fasting and superfoods, through to vegetarian cooking and vegan baking, offering a valuable foundation for students who wish to explore food for their own personal healing and for practitioners who wish to create effective and safe dietary programmes for their clients.

‘The English Riviera’ - Torquay, Torbay, Devon

The Healing Diets Teacher Training is part of the Naturopathy, Master Iridologist and Master Herbalist Diploma programmes, or can be studied separately. Students who wish to undertake a Healing Diets Diploma can speak to Bonny directly to discuss the curriculum and requirements.

Tags: Living foods, superfoods, bonny casel, bonny white, vegan cooking, vegan baking, Fasting , raw foods, Torquay, Devon, United Kingdom, England

Medicine Flower Flavour Extracts are a culinary delight for raw foodists. With a delicious range of flavours to choose from, Medicine Flower Extracts can be added to shave ice, smoothies, raw sweets, drinking water, sparkling water, sorbet, raw chocolate and more. For those on a vegan diet they can be added to pancakes, muffins, bread...and then let you imagination take it from there.

Medicine Flower Extracts are gluten free, calorie free, extracted below 118 degrees F, organic, wild-crafted and water and oil soluble. They are very highly concentrated so you won’t need more than a drop or two to bring life and exotic flavours to your recipes. Many of us are familiar with the multi-faceted pleasures and benefits of pure essential oils. Here, Medicine Flower harnesses the pure, delicious flavours and aromas of organic fruits, nuts, beans and flowers in ‘raw’ extracts. You will have to smell and taste this extracts yourself to appreciate the potency and intensity of their flavours...up to 70 times more flavour than most other extracts on the market.

Medicine Flower Extracts in 45 Delicious Flavours

Medicine Flower Extracts are available at Medicine Flower in the US or at Raw Living in the UK and include the following flavors: Almond, Golden Apple, Green Apple, Red Apple, Apricot, Banana, Bergamot, Black Currant, Blackberry, Blueberry, Black Cherry, Morello Cherry, Chocolate (light), Chocolate (dark), Chocolate (white), Cinnamon, Coconut, Coffee, Elderberry, Fig, Guava, Hazelnut, Honeydew, Jasmine, Kiwi, Lemon, Mango, Mint, Orange, Passionfruit, Peach, Peanut, Pear, Pineapple, Plum, Pomegranate, Raspberry, Bulgarian Rose, Rum, Strawberry, Tropical Fruit, Vanilla, Violet, Walnut and Watermelon. The difficulty will be in choosing which flavour to try first.

Here is a recipe to get you started:

Blueberry Milkshake

1 cup cashew milk (walnut or almond milk also very good)
1 cup ice
1/2 tsp Maple Syrup
6 drops Medicine Flower Blueberry Extract
4 pitted dates
10 soaked Goji Berries
Pinch Himalayan Salt

Blend until smoothe

EnJoy!

These extracts can also be used in natural beauty products. Check back for recipes for my favorite ‘edible’ body lotion.

Tags: raw foods, bonny casel, Academy of Healing Diets, medicine flower extracts, blueberry milkshake

1.
Practice Kindness
Being kind and thoughtful to others gives the body a rush of hormones similar to being in LOVE. Wonderful for your state of mind and your state of health.

2.
Spend Time with your Friends and Family
Research clearly indicates that those who maintain close connections with friends and family are the happiest. Quality is significantly more important that quantity. A good friend is priceless. Nurture those relationships.

3.
Give Thanks
Counting your blessings has enormous power to promote happiness, optimism, better health and satisfaction with life.

4.
Pay Attention
By being present in the moment, studies show that you will increase immunity and will be less likely to be angry, fearful or anxious.

5.
Exercise and Spend Time Outdoors
Regular fresh air and exercise effectively lowers stress and anxiety to nil, and dramatically increases our self-confidence and ‘joie de vivre.’ Fresh air alone has been shown to increase health and emotional wellness. Bundle up if necessary, but make sure you get out every day.

6.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is letting go of the idea of a better past. The moment we let go our body and mind relaxes and healing can begin. Those who let go of grudges feel better about themselves and closer to others. They also experience more positive and optimistic views of human relationships, thus increasing their health and happiness.

Tags: Happiness, Kindness, Emotional Healing, Emotional Wellness, Depression, Naturopathy training

After many months of work revising, updating, editing and proofing, the revised and updated version of Iridology - A Complete Guide by Farida Sharan is almost done. Carolyn Oakley, of Lumi Moon Designs in Boulder, Farida’s dear friend and book designer since 1993 has been working hard on formatting the book and designed this beautiful new book cover. Bonny drew all the new images and scanned them and also edited and proofed the book through several revisions. The new revised and updated version of IRIDOLOGY – A COMPLETE GUIDE by Farida Sharan will be available on amazon.com.

We are in the last stages of putting the book together. Over the next week we will place the images and then join the chapters. After that there will be one more run through for any errors and the book will be ready to publish.

Farida has added a new Introduction called ‘Meetings with Remarkable Iridologists’ that includes her studies, visits and hostings with Dr. Raymond Christopher, Dr. Bernard Jensen, Harri Wolf, Willy Hauser, Joseph Deck, Dorothy Hall, Denny Johnson, Ellen Tart Jensen, and Daniele Lo Rito.

Iridology – A Complete Guide by Farida Sharan will be available through amazon.com, as are her other books, Herbs of Grace - Becoming Independently Healthy, The Old Man & His Soul, Creative Menopause, and all 14 of her training DVD's. Once this book is complete, she will begin to work on The Iridology Coloring Book.

All who purchase Iridology – A Complete Guide will also receive an online file of iris photographs.

Tags: Iridology classes, Academy of Healing Diets, bonny casel, Iridology a Complete Guide, Farida Sharan , school of natural medicine intl, school of natural medicine uk

Genetically modified organisms are made by forcing genes from one species, such as bacteria, viruses, animals or humans, into the DNA of plants or animals, thus creating new traits within the ‘genetically modified’ new variety. These new GMO varieties are ingredients in the most common food brands even though numerous animal studies have indicated that there are serious health risks associated with GM food. These health risks include immune system problems, issues with insulin regulation, infertility, changes in major organs, accelerated aging and digestive system disorders.

Yet, if there are such clearly researched health risks associated with GM food, why is it allowed into the food industry. A simple explanation for this may be found by carefully observing the chart below:

Monsanto is the world’s largest supplier of GMO seed and related products

GM foods have maneuvered their way into the heart of the food industry, with the help of lobbyists paid by GMO corporations and the support of government officials who are also closely linked to the interests of GMO corporations. It is no longer possible to shop for food at the market place without being consciously aware of the GM food industry and it is highly recommended that you stay up to date and support organizations that actively fight for consumer interests and rights such as the Alliance for Natural Health and the Non-GMO Project.

Tip 1 - BUY AND EAT ONLY ORGANIC FOODS
If it has GMO ingredients it cannot be labeled organic. Although there can still be some contamination, the best way to stay as close to 100% GMO free as possible, is to eat and buy only organic foods.

Tip 2 - LOOK FOR NON-GMO PROJECT SEALS
Look for ‘Non-GMO’ seals on participating products, as an added insurance. The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit organization committed to protecting consumers with the use of clear labels and independently verified non-GMO products as well as independent testing and research into the health effects of GMO’s.

Tip 3 - AVOID INGREDIENTS THAT ARE TYPICALLY GMO
unless those ingredients are clearly labeled ‘organic’ or ‘non-GMO.’ Crops that are typically GMO include soy beans, sugar beets, corn, cottonseed, canola, Hawaiian papaya, and some yellow squash and zucchini/courgette, as well as dairy. If your first reaction is that you don’t often eat those ingredients, think again. Corn and Sugar (made from sugar beets) is in most processed food in one form or another. Canola and cottonseed oil is similarly a part of a huge number of processed foods. I watched a program once that showed the many forms that Corn takes in the food industry and, frankly, it was scary.

Tip 4 - AVOID PROCESSED FOOD ALTOGETHER
I simply don’t eat ‘big corporate’ food. I don’t buy food that is packaged. No cereals, no canned soup, no packaged baked goods, no processed animal products. None! I don’t miss them. I DO buy organic fruits and vegetables, organic raw nuts and seeds, organic sauces, herbs and spices, organic grains, organic ‘superfoods,’ the occasional organic cheese (rare as I am 99.9% vegan) and, where ever possible, locally grown produce. My kitchen cupboards do not contain colorful packaging but they do contain real food that is delicious and nutritious when ‘I’ prepare it.

Tip 5 - EDUCATE YOURSELF
Click on this link and download the document GM Crops - Just the Science

Tags: GMO, Academy of Healing Diets, Genetically Modified Organism, monsanto, Non-GMO Project, Alliance for Natural Health , ANH-europe

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2012

Wishing you a healthy, happy and INSPIRED YEAR in 2012

<3

Tags: raw food Christmas

This year Herbal Medicine Diploma Students have a wonderful opportunity to split their studies between the school in Cambridge, and the American branch of the School of Natural Medicine in Boulder, Colorado. Herbal Medicine students pursue their studies in a series of modules, and complete with clinical training. The following modules are required for the Herbal Medicine Diploma:

In Cambridge, England
❀ Herbal Medicine Independent Study (e-course)
❀ Self Healing
❀ Healing Diets Teacher Training
❀ Essential Oils Therapist
❀ Flower Essence Practitioner
❀ Iridology Level 1 & 2

In Boulder, Colorado, USA
❀ Herbal Medicine 1 & 2
❀ Herbal Medicine 3 - Clinical Training Wildcrafting Campout

Students can take all of these classes, if they wish, in 2012, or attend classes in Cambridge in 2012 and in Boulder in 2013. Either way, students begin their enrolment in the School of Natural Medicine by enroling in the Herbal Medicine Home-Study E-Course. This study is mentored personally by Bonny Casel and is supported by the Self Healing Module.

Contact Bonny directly for further information about the Master Herbalist Diploma programme and to discuss enrolment.

Tags: Herbal Medicine 2012, Healing Diets, Academy of Healing Diets

Naturopathy, Herbal Medicine and Iridology students have a full summer of classes ahead with the summer school in Cambridge. The School of Natural Medicine has created a one month intensive that includes: Healing Diets Teacher Training, Naturopathy and the Elements, Flower Essence Practitioner Training and Iridology Level 1 and 2.

Bonny Casel - Director School of Natural Medicine

This one month intensive includes half of the classes required for Naturopathy and Herbal Medicine Diploma training, and the remaining classes will be offered the following summer. Herbal Medicine students also attend Herbal classes at the School of Natural Medicine in Boulder, Colorado.

The Healing Diets Teacher Training includes the study of water fasting, juice fasting, the master cleanse, bowel cleansing, lymph cleansing, liver and gall bladder cleansing and then using food for strengthening and body building including nutrient dense superfoods, living and raw food diets, vegan theory and practise, and much more.

The Naturopathy and the Elements five day class explore each of the five elements, earth, water, fire, air and ether, in relation to natural healing, naturopathic therapies, diet, the emotions, herbal medicine and much more.

The Flower Essence class explores the Bach Flower Remedies through healing processes that will help students to create a unique and deeply personal approach to using the essences, including a synthesis of Flower Essences and Essential OIl. Look at the Flower Essence page to learn more about this wonderful class, and email Bonny for a detailed flyer on each of the classes offered.

Iridology Level 1 and 2 explores the signs, markings, colours, structure, charts and practical iris photography and client skills, along with the constitutions and programme creation bases on constitutional strengths and weaknesses. It is an ideal class for health professionals and well as those who are beginning their studies in many forms of natural therapeutics.

Tags: Naturopathy classes, superfoods, Living foods, Fasting , Naturopathy training, Herbal Medicine 2012, Iridology classes