Cuba (vacation/study) Dec 17 2012 – Jan 25 2012.  I will have limited internet access.  Please contact me by email only, and I will do my best to respond promptly.  Please note that Facebook and WordPress may not be accessible for me from Cuba.  Use email only:  pierre@pierreblack.com

Montreal • Returning for four days only!  • Jan 26, 27, 28, 29 2012 • appointments still available, book now!

           Puerto Vallarta, Mexico • January 30 – March 14 2012               Private sessions and workshops available in Puerto Vallarta and vicinity. Book now!  Email:  pierre@pierreblack.com  I will have daily internet access, be active on Facebook, and will also be available to my Montreal clients for sessions via Skype or Google phone.

Returning to Montreal March 15 2012

Please note that the best way to book a session is by email.  I may not be receiving my phone or Facebook messages especially while I am in Cuba.

Happy New Year!  See you soon!

The sound of Tibetan bowls carries a very powerful vibration that induces the brain waves to synchronize to the frequency of the sound, immediately the body and mind feel relaxed, the respiratory and heart rates slow down, one feels a deep sense of well-being.”

I experienced Tibetan Sound Healing with Grace for the first time only recently and was pleasantly surprised. I experiment with a lot of healing techniques, and think it is important to discern between placebo, incidental effect, and real heath effects. ‘Soft’ therapies that promote natural equilibrium and the body’s innate regenerative abilities are often criticized as unproven or non-specific treatments. I think rather, that such therapies deserve a special position as preventive and supportive therapies.  But the real, raw question is:  does this therapy have any positive effects beyond those achieved by just lying there for an hour relaxing?

The remarkable effect of the Sound Healing session was the very rapid induction of a low-Theta preponderant brain frequency, the most soothing and healing of the conscious brain-states. (I work with brain frequencies a lot in my practice.)Low-Theta states are those achieved and maintained protractedly by expert meditators. These frequencies allow access to the subconscious mind, a great reduction in the production of health damaging stress hormones, as well as optimum healing, tissue regeneration, and detoxification.

On the experiential side, it is a wonderful sensation to feel your bones resonate with the sounds of the bowls. You feel it through your entire body. The pleasurable experience, moderate cost, combined with the unusually rapid access to beneficial brain-states makes this technique definitely worth a look.     (Grace is also a yoga teacher and has a great Nepal blog.)

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Sensual and Sexual Healing
“We are all born perfect sexual beings until societal norms, family dysfunction or a painful relationship steals or warps our sense of self-acceptance and sexual power. Don’t worry. You can reclaim, heal and awaken your sexual, succulent being. … Gaia can help you navigate the waters, bringing you joy, peace and pleasure. Let her be your healer, your cheerleader and sensual adventure guide along your journey of self-exploration and love.” -succulentliving.com


I was very pleased to meet Gaia at a conference recently. The natural health world can be so agamous or even sex-negative sometimes, it’s a joy to see someone working directly in this area. Too bad for us that she is based so far away from Montreal. Well, what if I brought her here? Interested? I hope to host Gaia in the spring for some small group presentations, workshops, and one-on-one sessions. Stay tuned…

“…a safe non-judgmental and healing environment for individuals and couples to awaken their sexuality through the exploration of their senses. I aim to provide an environment that will promote changes in perspective and feelings about bodies and sexuality. Allowing them to embrace their Inner Sex Goddess and Sex God, promoting a life filled with pleasure, passion, intimacy and connection with the world and their partners.” -succulentliving.com

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The Secret Lives of Sacred Plants in Canada

“TrancePlants is an organization interested in the traditional use of medicinal and healing incenses in a healing and exploration context. The first goal of TrancePlants is to share the knowledge about these magnificent plants and make them accessible to you, travelers of the universe.“  -TrancePlants.net

This site carefully navigates the rules on some of the plants that are currently in a legal gray area under Canadian law. Sadly we live in a society that criminalizes the cultivation, possession, importation and sale of certain plants, and aggressively misregulates others. Hence all the strange euphemisms and disclaimers on this site. I don’t want to get into a full diatribe here on “drug” decriminalization and why it makes so much sense  from the perspectives of harm reduction, public health, social medicine costs, taxation, and global health, fair trade, to mention only a few, but rather I will let a few good articles do it for me! (1/2/3/4/5)

What I am really concerned with here is our right of access to all plants from nature; medicinal, spiritual, edible, and consciousness altering.  I believe that proper information and appropriate commercial regulation should apply, yes, but I believe it is our inalienable right to have access to all the plants offered by nature as we each see fit.  Please use these plants with respect, caution, and careful research from multiple sources.  Let’s keep them accessible through intelligent self regulation.

“Nature’s wisdom is infinitely great, much greater than our own individual wisdom. Well used, many plants can help us immensely on our life path, both in physical and spiritual ways.“  TrancePlants.net

Plants depicted; Guarana, Fly Agaric, and Sacred Pink Lotus.

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Energy Healing, Sans Mumbo Jumbo

It’s often hard to articulate what happens in an Energy Work or Energy Healing session – for both me and my clients. There is a tendency to want to add a story, an explanation, some mumbo jumbo; a need to create complexity, even supernaturality that is not there, that I think is not necessary.  I don’t even really like the term “Energy …” but I continue to call it that, for lack of a better term, and because my clients seem to know what “It” is.

In my practice the vast majority of what I do works with real substances and real behaviors that have a real, measurable effect on the body.  I am critical of hokey, overblown healing modalities, and strive to clearly define placebo effects against actual effects, magico-religious modalities against the more scientifically stringent.

So what’s with this “Energy Work” stuff then if I’m so scientific?

The branch of philosophy called phenomenology proposes that the human experience is more relevant that what “actually is”. The facts about why you are having an experience are not very important when you are, suppose, immersed in the experience of enjoying a superb meal, or about to jump out of an airplane.  To over-analyze and scrutinize the more profound extremes of the human experience in the moment, while it is happening, I think takes away from the pure experience.

When doing Energy Work, if we listen carefully enough, the body talks.  That’s the human experience of Energy Work.  And we find confirmable and useful truths in the process.  That’s all I’m concerned with in the moment.  For now.

A client of mine wrote this lovely blog after an energy work session that I think describes the experience nicely.

Great job Natalie, thanks very much…

Bone-based natural Soup Stock
Using any animal bones, poultry carcass, or fish scraps and heads, I prefer organic or wild options, you can make delicious and versatile super-nutritive soup or cooking stock. Stock can be used as a base for soups, stews, beans, lentils, gravy, and more. The finished stock can be used immediately or stored in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Bones can be raw or pre-cooked (for example a meat-stripped carcass from a roast chicken) and if possible should be broken to expose the marrow. Fish heads can be left whole.
Cover the bones completely with water and add approximately one cup of natural apple cider vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt for each large pot of bones and water. The measurement need not be exact. Onions, herbs, and spices may be added for taste if desired but making a simple, plain stock leaves you with a more versatile final product.
Bring first to a boil, then immediately turn down to the lowest heat, and cook covered for 3-24 hours on the lowest heat being sure the bones remain well covered by the water and that nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot. Sticking means that the mixture is too dry and more water should be added. Longer cooking time dissolves more minerals, collagen, and other nutrients and creates a richer stock.
Allow the covered pot to cool until it is an easily handled temperature that won’t burn you. Pour through a fine strainer, saving the liquid stock, and dispose of all solids. Refrigerate, freeze, or consume the stock immediately; treat with the same food safety cautions as any cooked meat product. Refrigerated stock should be used within 3 days. Frozen stock will last at least 6 months.

And this brings me to my “Soup of Life” workshop!
Learn to build a delicious soup from the ground up with no recipe. Learn the basics of a traditional broth and why its worth the effort. Learn why a good soup is real medicine and how to enhance this aspect.
Book your own workshop with me! 4 person minimum, available in vegetarian or non-veg versions, at your home or in my kitchen.
Other food workshop possibilities include:
-Cooking with Beans and Whole Grains.
-Seasonal Eating for Better Health
-Eating For Your Innate Constitution
-Choose your cooking style: Japanese, Indian, Latin…
…or design your own workshop.

Cost is between $20 and $30 per person and includes food. Workshops last 2-3 hours.
Just email or call.
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New Supplements and Super-Foods, part of my Exclusive Selection of Products

My purpose in distributing a very select line of products is to make the very best supplements more accessible to my friends, family, and clients. My goal is to find products of truly exceptional quality and offer them at a lower price than stores, directly to you, by special order only.

New Chapter Products, Top of The Line Supplementation

For a few years now I have been distributing New Chapter’s superb line of food-sourced nutritional supplements and herbal extracts in pill form.  Although the New Chapter line is the best I have found for these specific product varieties, even at a heavily discounted price, many of my clients find these superb but higher-end products unaffordable.

Organic, Affordable, Fair Trade Superfoods by Organic Traditions

Now I offer the entire Organic Traditions line of organic and fairly traded super-foods and traditional herbals in a dried and/or powdered form; perfect for smoothies, snacks, or to enhance your cooking. This is a more cost effective means to integrate these highly nutritive, healing, and protective superfoods. (I also can also make available all the other products from Advantage Health.)

Purica: Organic Medicinal Mushrooms, Made in Canada

I am also excited to offer the full line of Purica supplements, organic and made in Canada, including their medicinal mushroom line featuring their superb Cordyceps (real profound energy), Reishi, and exclusive blend – Immune 7x (serious broad-spectrum immunomodulation).

Please take your time to browse the links provided and get familiar with these exceptional and exclusive product lines. Don’t be tempted by chemically isolated nutrients or processed and refined supplemental foods. Whole-food and whole-herb nutrition and therapeutics offer your body the complete, dynamic, & fully complex natural matrices that healthy human beings have co-evolved with over millennia. Order all these products directly from me a greatly reduced prices.
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I can help you optimize your diet and supplement regimen for your specific needs based on your preferences, health profile, innate constitution, and genetics. Let me help you make sense of the often confusing ocean of supplements, fad diets, and exotic foods on the market – making use of the best ones for you – while avoiding the many useless, overpriced, or potentially harmful ones.

What I will provide here is my professional opinion based on a lifetime of personal and professional consideration of the arguments for and against meat-eating from innumerable sources. I realize that others have come to different conclusions, but I strongly believe that well balanced omnivory including high quality animal products is both a sustainable choice and essential to human health.

Before we enter the fray, it is also absolutely essential that I express my unequivocal opposition to industrial animal farming, the widespread excessive consumption of it’s products, and all their health, environmental, and ethical perils. I observe that most of the popular arguments against meat are really arguments against industrial farming.

- “Humans are not designed to eat meat.” It is ridiculous to compare humans to tigers and deer; or rather predatory full-carnivores and grass-eating ruminants. However, we absolutely digest meat better than we do grass, which we cannot digest at all! It is a silly comparison. Many apes are omnivores like us. Many, many animals are omnivores, like us. If you try to alter an animals natural diet they generally do not fare well.

- Karl von Linne, the only scientist mentioned in the article, lived in the 18th century. Our understanding of the human body and it’s evolution has changed slightly since then.  The scientific community today generally regards human anatomy as consistent with other omnivores.

- The point form comparison of “the anatomy of man with that of carnivorous and herbivorous animals” does not include the essential comparison to other natural omnivores. It is serves no purpose to compare humans to pure carnivores or grass eating ruminants. It’s like saying we should never ever swim because we don’t have fins and some people drown.

- “Meat putrefies within 4 hours after consumption and the remnants cling to the walls of the intestines for 14-21 days.” Everything we eat putrefies, it’s called digestion. It does not “cling” in a healthy person eating a balanced diet.

- “…eating raw bloody meat disgust us as humans. This is why we must cook it and season it to buffer the taste of the flesh.“  This is ridiculous. Note the popularity of sushi, rare steak, various meat tartars, and other raw delicacies worldwide and the fact that numerous living cultures consider completely raw flesh and blood indispensable. The Inuit and the Masi immediately pop to mind. I believe that if we feel disgust for animal consumption and it’s processes, that this represents a very recent neurotic disconnect from nature that inadvertently permits and perpetuates the reprehensible practices of industrial farming by radical disassociation.

- “Meat raises cholesterol to unhealthy levels“, etc, etc. Again this refers to industrially farmed meat and what are essentially sick animals. The meat of naturally fed and raised animals consumed in moderation does not cause ill effects on human health. To the contrary, fats from healthy animals modulate “bad” cholesterol and are anti-inflammatory.

- “The Chinese believe that the chi or life force in your body is less when you consume meat and so do the Indians with their ancient yogic principles.” False. Animal product consumption is at the foundation of all Asian traditional medicines, and potential risks and syndromes of abstinence can be found discussed in any modern Traditional Chinese Medicine book. In “old-school” TCM books veganism is almost unknown except as a form of anorexia (a mental illness). The only major divergence can be found in Ayurveda (the traditional medicine of India) where vegetarianism is generally encouraged including abundant raw milk and derivatives, never veganism, however some meats and animal parts are considered medicinal. The healthy tolerance of dairy by an entire people has a huge genetic (and of course cultural) factor. The Chinese and other East Asians, like many Caucasians, do not tolerate milk very well, and so small amounts of certain animal products like bones, organs, skin, tendon, and meat; are considered indispensable to good health.

- “What vegetarians don’t get is the excess protein of the traditional American diet. This type of diet leads to liver toxicity, kidney overload and mineral deficiency diseases.” Yes, the “traditional American diet” featuring massive overconsumption of health-damaging  industrial meat and heavily processed foods is vastly excessive, and a vegan diet vastly deficient. Milk and eggs (or vegetarianism) as the “in between” options are not well-tolerated by many individuals and genetic groups, and in the context of industrial farming are just as cruel and unhealthy as the direct consumption of sick, sad, industrial animals.

- “The purpose of spiritual growth is to move away from the animal nature.” This statement is a self-righteous and disconnected affront to many great peoples and cultures around the world. Many deeply spiritual people and cultures eat meat. Even the Dalai Lama eats meat when the need arises; when climate, illness, geography, culture, and social grace dictates it. Traditional societies that maintain spiritual-vegetarian beliefs are of course influenced by geography, climate, historical food-safety issues, genetic factors, and many other factors.

- ALL the health issues mentioned as being “caused by meat consumption” are related, rather, to an unhealthy, unbalanced diet, low-quality animal products as well as a low-quality diet in general; a diet featuring inadequate fiber, nutrients, alkalizing factors, protective nutrients, healthy fats, etc. Exercise is also a major factor in daily bowel clearance and overall health, as well as one’s daily protein requirement.

- “Meat is costly and it is the most wasteful source of resources.” Animals are essential in traditional and biodynamic farming, completing the cycles involved in sustainable, natural farming practice, and providing essential sustenance to those living in colder climates. Where do you think vegetables and fresh fruit are flown in from in the winter, and at what cost to the environment?  Many meat animals survive well through the winter, and when naturally raised need not consume any food that could otherwise go to humans – another old myth.  In this way animals have been essential to human survival in colder climates.  Grazing animals are supposed to eat grass, an abundant renewable resource.  This also produces the most health-promoting meat for our consumption.  Naturally raised animals can consume mostly agricultural byproducts and renewable resources like grass.  This as well as their ability to thrive in most geographies makes them potentially low resource food sources which are essential to the natural cycles of traditional and biodynamic farming.  The problems arise when farming is industrialized and meat is consumed in excess.

- “As a meat eater I was constantly sick, tired, and overweight.” Huh, as a vegetarian I was constantly sick, tired, and overweight. Is it possible that people are all a bit different? Is it possible that health is broadly multifactorial? Is it possible that my ancestors, all of Northern European and Amerindian descent, throughout history, ate very little grain or beans, but rather, abundant meat balanced with green vegetables, roots, and berries, going back tens of thousands of years? And that perhaps I should also look to such a diet for optimal health?

It is fascinating to me that in 2011 in Montreal I now see more chronically ill vegans and vegetarians in my practice than I do those who are ill from excessive meat consumption. In consideration of a client’s innate constitution, genetic background, and health complaints, I find that I am much more likely to encourage the elimination of dairy products, eggs, wheat, refined sugars, or low-quality fats which are mostly from plant sources, than a reduction of meat.  With the modern popularity of vegetarianism and veganism in genetic groups that have no history of these practices, we are starting to see the other side of the coin. I encounter case after case, in study and practice, where increased consumption of carefully chosen animal products is the prescription for the client’s primary complaints.

Chronically ill vegans all present with a similar symptom group; emaciation and/or water retention, edema, anemia, skin conditions, intolerance to cold, frequent infections/colds/flus, low endurance, excessive sleep and/or insomnia, idiopathic pain, nervous conditions, headaches, depression, and anxiety.

Let me be clear that this does not happen to all vegans, at least not immediately.
Why? I think constitution, genetics, and climate are factors in how long a person can tolerate a totally vegan diet.

For an in depth look at raw foods and veganism from a traditional medicine perspective, please have a look at my past article: The Raw Food Conundrum.

So why are so many people such strong promoters of veganism? I believe it comes as a backlash to the meat and processed food preponderant Western diet devised in the last century.

I have a huge library of traditional herbalism and dietetics from around the world and there is not one that encourages veganism. There is simply no culture in human history that has been vegan and thrived. I would go so far as to say that prolonged veganism causes a deterioration of the body’s immune, regenerative, and nervous systems.

Vegetarianism then?  I never recommend a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet.  Eggs and particularly dairy products in their modern manifestations, are not health foods at all, and definitely do not deserve their own food group!  But that is another blog for another day…

I frequently do recommend, however, a diet that is mostly vegan PLUS fish and occasional birds or small game.  This diet seems to promote optimal health for those wishing to minimize meat, or those with a certain constitutional or genetic profile.  I specifically exclude any dairy products at all for those trying to correct acute health situations, however I see no reason to exclude meat entirely.

We have irretrieveably co-evolved with the animals that we are now designed to eat; to steward and propagate their species, to love them through humane husbandry and care of the environment; and finally to kill them with respect and efficiency befitting the gift they offer us and our species, and providing them with a death much less slow and painful of that generally offered outside of human hands.  Sadly modern industrial farming is often a disgusting antithesis to this ideal.

We can change the state of things by carefully choosing where we spend our money, becoming well informed consumers, and by demanding naturally produced, high quality animal products.

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There are many paths to health – there is no one correct path for everyone.  I help my clients choose their optimal diet based on their innate constitution, genetics, specific health concerns, and other factors.

Thanks, XXXXXX

Hi XXXXXX,

1. I teach Ayurvedic techniques and Meditation to my clients without religion. I work primarily within a non-theist, secular spirituality framework, not a religious one. I teach a scientific and parallelist approach to distilling ancient spiritual techniques into useful modern day behaviors, all of which have a scientific basis.

2. Ayurveda in it’s modern form is an herbal, dietary, and bodywork system similar to Chinese Medicine or Naturopathy.
Ayurveda is no more linked to Hinduism, than Traditional Chinese Medicine is linked to Buddhism & Daoism, or Naturopathy is linked to Paganism; or Greek medicine, the root of modern biomedicine, is linked to the pantheon of ancient Greek mythology. (I’m curious if you also exclude yoga from your directory since it is originally part of Ayurveda and therefore Hinduism, by your standards?) See more on the history and current state or Ayurveda HERE.

3. Meditation, by definition, has nothing to do with a particular religion, and I specifically avoid teaching it in the context of religion, or even in any strict form. Additionally it’s effects and benefits are scientifically measurable, and also much better documented that those of many other systems you include on the site, like homeopathy for example. These facts are confirmed and expanded upon HERE.

Thanks in advance for your time and consideration,

Pierre Black
PierreBlack.com

Unfortunately my response did not change the rejection of my listing.
What do you think? Are Ayurveda and Meditation are religious practices? Leave a comment…

I’m doing a lot of walking these days but I’d like to avoid too much sunscreen and I heard antioxidants are great for resisting the sun.”

In general, I discourage supplementation with chemically isolated antioxidants – individual antioxidants in pill form. These “chemicalized” nutrients have a stronger drug-like effect which may cause imbalances in other nutrients, may not be absorbed at all, or in some cases are actually toxic. Nutrients are almost always more assimilable to the body in their original whole food matrix. Nature tends to provide perfect co-factoring to encourage optimal assimilation and maintain the right balance of other nutrients.

EAT REAL FOOD
My advice is to eat as many different dark colored all-the-way-through natural foods as possible. Fill your grocery cart with these instead of the pale old standbys. There may be a bit of a learning curve here when it comes to preparing them, but it’s easy to learn how to make them taste good with a little patience and the help of the internet. Some colorful substitutions require no extra work at all. For example; white potatoes get replaced with dark orange sweet potatoes or squash, choose red grapes over green, or replace lettuce with baby spinach. Diversify, experiment, and enjoy!

SUPERFOOD SUPPLEMENTS
Alternately there are dried and powdered options like popular spirulina, raw cocoa, acai berry, and many, many others, but quality and price are highly variable and should be considered cautiously. High cost does not necessarily assure quality. They also can be purchased as a pill if need be, but you end up taking a lot of pills, since they are “food pills” and not concentrated chemicals. I use products like this for convenience when I travel, and I recommend them to people who’s busy lifestyle does not support attention to shopping and fresh food preparation. This comes at a higher cost though, and exotic, imported functional foods are not necessarily more effective or of better quality. (Take a look at my criticism of the heavily marketed Acai berry.)

SPICE THINGS UP
Most spices are also typically high in antioxidants and also happen to promote good digestion, assimilation, and immunity. Turmeric, cinnamon, garlic, and basil are well known examples. Ginger, fennel seed, and coriander may also treat and prevent gas and indigestion.

OPTIMIZE ON ORGANICS
Organic food options, in any form, almost invariably provide dramatically higher nutrient levels that their industrially farmed counterparts. Have a look at my past blog which addresses a lot of the concerns and confusion people may have about choosing organic products more often.

MY PERSONAL TIP
I personally like to get my daily superfood intake taken care of with a blender drink using only natural, fresh or frozen, local berries, ultra-dark leafy greens, and other color-dense fruit and vegetables, as well as seeds and nuts. I sometimes add spices like fennel seed or cinnamon for digestion, and occasionally add concentrated powdered foods like barley grass or beet powder for diversity and depending on my diet.

SUNSCREEN SUBSTITUTE?
Regarding antioxidants as sun protection; I would have to say that antioxidants are not a viable or safe substitute for good sun protection, although they do act as a buffer.

Sunscreen has it’s own risks. Most sunscreens are actually not doing the job they promise and contain dangerous chemicals. You can find out which sunscreens are safest using Environmental Working Group’s sunscreen ratings.

There are more reliable alternatives to sunscreen like hats, long sleeves, or exercising early or late in the day when the sun is low in the sky. If the idea of covering up with clothing to go walking in hot weather sounds unpleasant, consider that many of the newer high-tech synthetic fabrics let you feel like you are wearing nothing at all. Many even have built in additional SPF beyond what a lighter fabric would normally provide. Any of the better fitness-wear retailers will be able to advise you on these options.
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I provide my clients with healthy cooking lessons, assisted shopping, and personalized supplement advice based on your individual health goals, lifestyle, and tastes. I believe in a pleasure-based, sustainable approach to healthy and joyful eating.

return to PierreBlack.com
or book an appointment at 514-564-7847.

Do you have difficulty sleeping or wake up feeling exhausted? Do you ever feel like your life is a treadmill – or like you can’t switch off your brain?
So many people, especially urbanites, feel disconnected, anxious, or depressed with no obvious cause.

THE URBAN CONDITION

One of the most common causes of this urban malaise is an unconscious failure to respect the natural rhythms required for the proper care of the human animal. So many of us have quietly succumbed to the incessant buzz of the city. The light, sound, and vibration are often inescapable. Then add the additional chosen stimulation of computers, caffeine, television, and cellphones. Without realizing it we are operating in an agitated, hyper-vigilant state, in which our nervous system and physiology operates at an abnormally aroused level. Unconsciously, our brains remain tuned to an unnaturally elevated frequency. All of this has numerous direct and indirect negative health and emotional effects.

There are normal, evolutionarily predetermined, patterns of activity and rest, stimulation and relaxation, that result in optimal physical and mental well-being. Longer lived and happier peoples around the world understand and respect these natural rhythms unconsciously as an integrated part of their culture. When these natural cycles are respected we are at our best, not only physically, but emotionally, creatively, and spiritually as well.

If I need to appeal to your vanity as well as your common sense, let me add that these habits also promote optimal body weight and a radiant complexion, not to mention improved sex drive and stamina.

THE OPTIMUM SLEEP CYCLE

Have you ever spent a few days in the country and been astounded at how well you slept? Or perhaps you remember that perfect, profound sleep you had as a child after a day at play?

A healthy sleep cycle is about respecting the natural rhythm of our body and mind, exposure to light and darkness at the right times, and limiting exposure to other stimuli like sound, electronics, stressful situations as the time to sleep approaches. Optimally, you should be able to fall asleep quickly, sleep soundly for at least 7 hours, and wake up feeling refreshed and energetic. Proper sleep relates to every aspect of health, happiness, and longevity.

HEALING BRAIN FREQUENCIES

Relaxation should be part of every day. True relaxation is a measurable brain state; Theta brain frequencies – or deep relaxation while still awake – is the brainstate which allows the best assimilation of nutrients, optimal body tissue repair, as well as the greatest reduction in the production of health-damaging stress-hormones. Most modern city dwellers do not spend nearly enough time in healing Theta brainstates.

Low-Theta is the brain frequency achieved more protractedly by experienced meditators and in conscious-dreaming during deeply relaxed states (not to be confused with lucid dreaming, which involves Delta frequencies – or true sleep). Spending more time in Low-Theta brainstate promotes creative, personal and spiritual insights that cannot be achieved in other brainstates. Most people spend little or no time in this state.

HEALTHY HABITS

Here are some tips that encourage both a healthy sleep cycle and spending more time in Theta-range brainstates before going to sleep and while waking up in the morning.

- Try to allow yourself some time in the morning to wake up slowly and mentally plan your day. At least 30 minutes without caffeine or electronic screens is essential.

- Be sure you are visually exposed to a few hours of bright light every day – sunlight is best. (Wear proper sun protection when appropriate.)

- Moderate exercise every day promotes proper sleep at night. Overtraining and excessive exercise can cause insomnia.

- Most types of physical intimacy promote good sleep. Massage, sexual intimacy, cuddling, and grooming are good examples.

- If you sleep alone, develop a habit of self-care and self-love such as self-massage with oil, a luxurious bath, or slow, mindful, tantric-style masturbation – with only your imagination to stimulate you. Developing the ability to love, soothe, and care for oneself is an important habit for overall well-being.

- The most important element of good sleep is a winding-down period at the end of the day. Tip: Keep electronic devices, computers, televisions, work materials, study materials, and all books except the one you are reading, OUT OF THE BEDROOM.

- Play and laugh everyday as much as possible.

- Alcohol, caffeine, and recreational drugs when abused or used at the wrong time, can disrupt your sleep and limit access to Theta brainstates while you are awake. Alcohol, as well as most common sleep aids, might make it easier to fall asleep, however they are now known to disrupt proper brain frequency patterns for healthful sleep.

- The wrong food or too much food for dinner or before bed can ruin your sleep. Intestinal gas, flatulence, or heartburn will also definitely affect your sleep. Change the type of food you are eating or get advice on suitable natural remedies to treat your specific digestive issues. Note: There are serious health concerns related to the frequent use of medications for the treatment of digestive symptoms. Natural treatments and dietary change will address the cause, not just the symptoms.

- Avoid eating a full meal right before going to sleep. Working to digest a meal all night keeps your sleep shallow and un-refreshing. If you must eat immediately before sleeping, eat only an egg sized serving of a dense protein – a handful of nuts is a great choice. For some people, this habit could actually encourage waking up feeling more refreshed and energized, due to it’s positive effects on stabilization of blood sugar through the night.

- Certain supplements may be appropriate for you, especially if these techniques do not optimize your sleep on their own. Popular sleep supplements, however, are some of the most misused and misunderstood natural health products on the market. It is absolutely essential that natural sleep aids are chosen for your individual situation, so the the supplement encourages your natural sleep cycle rather than taking over for it.

- If your job, studies, or lifestyle do not support the implementation of these habits, you may want to consider a major life change! The reality is that sometimes we may have to subject ourselves temporarily to an unhealthy lifestyle, to achieve a certain education or career goal. It is essential, however, to know when this imbalanced lifestyle will end. Don’t allow it to be your lifestyle on an indefinite basis.

- There are constitutional and energetic imbalances that may be the cause of sleep or mood disturbances. This is the basis of Chinese and Ayurvedic traditional medicine systems. (Insomnia, for example, is most commonly a result of excess Pitta/Yang or Vata energies which can be identified and subdued providing almost immediate results – without a sedative!) These imbalances may clear on their own or may require the help of a constitutional-energetic natural medicine practitioner.

SKILLED RELAXATION

Skilled relaxation goes one step further; it is the conscious and structured cultivation of low-Theta brainstates. This typically involves the use of a specific form that is used consistently to gradually teach the mind and body to enter a relaxed state more quickly and easily. This could involve traditional forms such as sitting meditation, or a form of your own design.

These suggestions are only some possibilities toward the resolution of sleep and mood disregulation. There may be many other causes and solutions. If you implement the habits discussed and do not see improvement, or your symptoms are severe, see a both a medical doctor AND a natural health practitioner if possible. Why both? Doctors are skilled diagnosticians and have access to testing that most natural practitioners do not. This will also rule out any serious illness. It is then your choice how to respond and what treatments to use. I believe that the right herbs, food, and behaviors offer the safest solutions most of the time and at the same time teach us something along the way.
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These are just a few key concepts for the development of a your personal ecology of mind and body. I help my clients refine and expand these skills, integrate life changes, and find balance. Health is natural.

return to PierreBlack.com
or book an appointment at 514-564-7847.

For many, this “Heat” can become pathological, resulting in more than just discomfort. Symptoms can include general grumpiness, anger, frustration, rashes, acne, aggravation of skin disorders, recurrence of herpes (or cold sores), insomnia, dehydration or water retention, dizziness, headaches, summer colds, and various infections. Unfortunately in our society we tend to treat the symptoms and not the root cause.

Five tips to turn on your body’s natural air conditioning:

- Cooling foods include almost all raw veggies but not all fruits! More melons like watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew are a perfect option. Apples and pears are in, while strawberries, cherries, peaches, and nectarines may be out if you having trouble with the heat.

- Cut the coffee in favor of tea. Tea has a more cooling and calming overall effect. If you are drinking iced tea however, watch the sugar content. Try it unsweetened or with a bit of honey or raw Agave syrup. Green tea (unlike coffee) promotes more efficient sweating and blood circulation, your built in cooling systems.

- Decrease dairy and red meat. These can heat you up, promote mucus production and sit around in your digestive tract making you feel heavy and lethargic.

- Fiber cools you down? Yes, by increasing healthy elimination you decrease the work your digestive tract has to do and reduce your body’s toxin load. This can make you feel cool, light, and energetic surprisingly fast. Use a natural fiber supplement if you can’t seem to get things really moving with just high-fiber food.

- The right herbs for you can make all the difference. The herbs found in many “energy drinks” and smoothie powders could really make you feel awful or even harm you if they are wrong for the season and your specific constitution. Try cooling medicinal herbs and spices like cilantro, fennel, mint, or chamomile, as an iced tea or in a salad.

Everyone is unique. I help my clients optimize and get healthy by learning how to manage their constitutional type in every season, build health, and optimize individiual wellness. PierreBlack.com/

- Cordyceps fungus – coming soon: As many of you know I work a lot with medicinal mushrooms There is some testing happening right now that may make this unique herb more accessible to my friends and clients. Like Reishi, Cordyceps has many subtle long-term protecting and balancing benefits, but it is best known as an all-round energizer without the negative effects of stimulant herbs or caffeine. When I bother to sell any product, it is to facilitate access to the very best quality at a reasonable price, when it really matters. I’m really excited to see more people benefit from the invigorating effects of this important herb.

- Everyone knows I am a big proponent of intelligent snacking as a major key to maintaining a healthy weight and stabilizing energy levels through the day. I recommend food bars made with real whole food (not processed flours, sugar, and chemical vitamins!) as a convenient way to always have a healthy snack on hand. My favorite bars are Nature Bars, a delicious Canadian product made from nuts, seeds, and fruit; and they come in a multitude of flavors so you won’t get bored. Go try them out – If you love this product too, I can order it by the case at a great price!

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- And lastly, I need you! Volunteers needed with current infections, bladder infection, urinary tract infection, prostatitis, or yeast infection for FREE natural treatment as case study. Contact me for more information.

return to PierreBlack.com
or book an appointment at 514-564-7847.

Skills for deepening your relationship through presence; mindful listening, touch, silence, breath, and self-awareness can become tools to reach new levels of understanding and intimacy between you and your partner.
$30 per couple. Telephone confirmation of your attendance is required. Maximum of 5 couples (10 people).

(Can’t make this particular event? Suggest another day and time that works for you for a possible repeat of this workshop!)

return to PierreBlack.com
or book an appointment at 514-564-7847.