Herbs: Nutrient packed flavor

To me, the major must in having a culinary garden, is having fresh herbs to cook with.  Most people are familiar with the basic uses of parsley. basil, chive and with the popular trend of eastern and south of the border cuisine, cilantro.  But, there are myriads of other herbs, easily grown in a window box or kitchen window that not only add adventure and flavor to our food, but pack a wallop in nutritional value to our diets.

Many ordinary herbs have tremendous vitamin, mineral and electrolyte composition.  Following are four basic herbs, their nutritional properties and nutrient value.  (Information gleaned from: http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/healthy-herbs.html)

BASIL (Ocimum basilicum)

Nutritive value per 100 g. (3.5 oz)

(Source: USDA National Nutrient data base)

Principle	Nutrient Value	Percentage of RDA
Vitamins
Folates	68 µg	17%
Niacin	0.902 mg	6%
Pantothenic acid	0.209 mg	4%
Pyridoxine	0.155 mg	12%
Riboflavin	0.076 mg	6%
Thiamin	0.034 mg	2.5%
Vitamin A	5275 IU	175%
Vitamin C	18 mg	30%
Vitamin E	0.80 mg	5%
Vitamin K	414.8 µg	345%
Electrolytes
Sodium	4 mg	0%
Potassium	295 mg	6%
Minerals
Calcium	177 mg	18%
Copper	385 mg	43%
Iron	3.17 mg	40%
Magnesium	64 mg	16%
Manganese	1.15 mg	57%
Zinc	0.81 mg	7%

•   Basil leaves contain health benefiting essential oils such as eugenol, citronellol, linalool, citral, limonene, and terpineol. These compounds are known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.

•   An important essential oil, eugenol has been found to have anti-inflammatory function by acting against the enzyme cycloxygenase (COX), which mediates inflammatory cascade in the body. This enzyme-inhibiting effect of the eugenol in basil makes it an important remedy for symptomatic relief in individuals with inflammatory health problems like rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and inflammatory bowel conditions.

•   Oil of basil herb has also been found to have anti-infective functions by inhibiting many pathogenic bacteria like Staphylococcus, Enterococci, Shigella and Pseudomonas.

•   Vitamin K in basil is essential for many coagulant factors in the blood and plays a vital role in the bone strengthening function by helping mineralization process in the bones.

•   Basil herb contains a good amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, copper, and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids, which helps control heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.

•   Basil leaves are an excellent source of iron, contains 3.17 mg/100 g of fresh leaves (about 26% of RDA). Iron, being a component of hemoglobin inside the red blood cells, determines the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.

•      

Rosemary herb (Rosmarinus officinalis)

•       Nutritive value per 100 g.

•       (Source: USDA National Nutrient data base)

Principle	Nutrient Value	Percentage of RDA
Energy	131 Kcal	6.5%
Carbohydrates	20.70 g	16%
Protein	3.31 g	6%
Total Fat	5.86 g	20%
Cholesterol	0 mg	0%
Dietary Fiber	14.10 g	37%
Vitamins
Folates	109 µg	27%
Niacin	0.912 mg	6%
Pantothenic acid	0.804 mg	16%
Pyridoxine	0.336 mg	26%
Riboflavin	0.152 mg	12%
Thiamin	0.036 mg	3%
Vitamin A	2924 IU	97%
Vitamin C	21.8 mg	36%
Electrolytes
Sodium	26 mg	2%
Potassium	668 mg	14%
Minerals
Calcium	317 mg	32%
Copper	0.301 mg	33%
Iron	6.65 mg	83%
Magnesium	91 mg	23%
Manganese	0.960 mg	42%
Zinc	0.93 mg	8.5%

 Note the mineral and Vitamin A values!

Thyme herb (Thymus vulgaris)

Nutritive value per 100 g. ORAC value 27426,

(Source: USDA National Nutrient data base)

Principle	Nutrient Value	Percentage of RDA
Energy	101 Kcal	5%
Carbohydrates	24.45 g	18%
Protein	5.56 g	10%
Total Fat	1.68 g	8.4%
Cholesterol	0 mg	0%
Dietary Fiber	14.0 g	37%
Vitamins
Folates	45 µg	11%
Niacin	1.824 mg	11%
Pantothenic acid	0.409 mg	8%
Pyridoxine	0.348 mg	27%
Riboflavin	0.471 mg	36%
Thiamin	0.48 mg	4%
Vitamin-A	4751 IU	158%
Vitamin-C	160.1 mg	266%
Electrolytes
Sodium	9 mg	0.5%
Potassium	609 mg	13%
Minerals
Calcium	405 mg	40.5%
Iron	17.45 mg	218%
Magnesium	160 mg	40%
Manganese	1.719 mg	75%
Manganese	106 mg	15%
Zinc	1.81 mg	16.5%

•   Thyme contains many active principles that are found to have disease preventing and health promoting properties.

•   Thyme herb contains thymol, one of the important essential oils. Thymol has been found scientifically to have antiseptic, and anti-fungal characteristics. The other volatile oils in thyme include carvacolo, borneol, and geraniol.

•   Thyme contains many flavonoid phenolic antioxidants like zea-xanthin, lutein, pigenin, naringenin, luteolin, and thymonin. Fresh thyme herb has one of the highest antioxidant levels among herbs, a total ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) value of 27,426-µmol TE/100 g.

•   Thyme is packed with minerals and vitamins that are essential for optimum health. Its leaves are one of the richest sources of potassium, iron, calcium, manganese, magnesium, and selenium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Iron is required for red blood cell formation.

•   The herb is also a rich source of many important vitamins such as B-complex vitamins, beta carotene, vitamin-A, vitamin-K, vitamin-E, vitamin-C, and folic acid.

•   Thyme provides 0.35 mg of vitamin B-6 or pyridoxine; furnishing about 27% of daily recommended intake. Pyridoxine keeps up GABA (beneficial neurotransmitter in the brain) levels in the brain, which has a role as stress buster.

•   Vitamin-C (266% RDA!) helps the human body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals.

•   Vitamin-A (158% RDA) is a fat-soluble vitamin and antioxidant that is required maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin and is also essential for vision. Consumption of natural foods rich in flavonoids like vitamin A and beta-carotene helps protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.

•  

Sweet marjoram herb 

(Origanum majorana), dried leaves,

•       Nutritive value per 100 g.

•       (Source: USDA National Nutrient data base)

Principle	Nutrient Value	Percentage of RDA
Energy	271 Kcal	13.5%
Carbohydrates	60.56 g	46.5%
Protein	12.66 g	22%
Total Fat	7.04 g	23%
Cholesterol	0 mg	0%
Dietary Fiber	40.3 g	106%
Vitamins
Folates	274 µg	68.5%
Niacin	0.902 mg	25.75%
Pantothenic acid	0.209 mg	4%
Pyridoxine	1.190 mg	91.5%
Riboflavin	0.316 mg	24%
Thiamin	0.289 mg	24%
Vitamin A	8068 IU	269%
Vitamin C	51.4 mg	86%
Vitamin E	1.69 mg	11%
Vitamin K	621.7 µg	518%
Electrolytes
Sodium	77 mg	5%
Potassium	1522 mg	32%
Minerals
Calcium	1990 mg	200%
Copper	1.133 mg	126%
Iron	82.71 mg	1034%
Magnesium	346 mg	86.5%
Manganese	5.433 mg	236%
Zinc	3.60 mg	33%

 Note the impressive mineral (and vitamin) content of Marjoram in the above chart.

•   The herb contains many notable phyto-nutrients, minerals, and vitamins that are essential for optimum health and wellness.

•   The herb parts contain certain chemical constituents like eugenol sabinene, α -terpinene, cymene, terpinolene, linalool, cis-sabinene hydrate, linalyl acetate, terpinen-4-ol and terpineol. These compounds have been known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.

•   Fresh herb has high levels of vitamin C (ascorbic acid); provide 51.4 µg or 86% of RDA per 100 g. Vitamin-C is one of the powerful natural anti-oxidant help remove harmful free radicals from the body. Ascorbic acid also has immune booster, wound healing, and anti-viral effects.

•   Marjoram herb contains exceptionally high levels of beta-carotene, vitamin A, cryptoxanthin, lutein and zea-xanthin. 100 g of dry marjoram leaves carry 8068 IU or 269% of DRI levels of vitamin-A. Carotenes, xanthins, and lutein are powerful flavonoid anti-oxidants. Together, these compounds help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging, and various disease processes.

•   Vitamin-A is known to have antioxidant properties and is essential for healthy eye-sight. It is also required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural foods rich in vitamin A and carotenes are known to help protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.

•   Zea-xanthin, an important dietary carotenoid, is selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea in the eyes where it thought to provide antioxidant and protective light-filtering functions. It has proven beneficial action against age-related macular disease (ARMD), especially in the elderly.

•   Sweet marjoram is one of the richest herbal sources for vitamin K. 100 g of dry leaves provide about 518% of recommended daily intake. Vitamin-K has a potential role in bone mass building by promoting osteotrophic activity in the bones. It also has established role in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease by limiting neuronal damage in the brain.

•   Marjoram herb carry good amount of minerals like iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, copper, zinc and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids, which helps control heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.

Furthermore, its leaves are an excellent source of iron, contains 82.71 mg/100 g (about 1034% of RDA). Iron is an important co-factor for cytochrome oxidase enzyme in the cellular metabolism. In addition, being a component of hemoglobin inside the red blood cells, it determines the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.


Every plant, herb or otherwise, is a little different tasting than the one before.  What is exciting about using fresh herbs is sensing the amount to use and adjusting to it's subtle variations depending on what was at market this week.  Fresh herbs are generally one-third less concentrated in flavor than dry herbs.  There is a lot of leeway playing with amounts of fresh for the most part.  It's a lot harder to overdo seasoning with fresh herbs than it is with the dry variety.  When I go to market and have chosen what interests me, I immediately high-tail it to the herb fridge and check out what is there and how they're looking and start formulating a plan. Sometimes, I put back an eggplant if the basil doesn't look too good and choose something I know will go with the vibrant thyme or tarragon I see.  Herb availability often dictates what I prepare for a meal.

If you aren't experienced in using a lot of different fresh herbs, it's trial and error.  Generally, there are Mideastern flavor profiles, Mediterranean, Southwestern, Provencal flavor profiles, etc.  Whereas these are good to know, I like to play outside the box and that is trial and error.  Rarely will the use of fresh herbs create a disaster.  Although, as a young cook trying to impress my parents with an Italian dinner, I did use way too much basil in the homemade tomato sauce.  I didn't know about the oils in fresh basil that would turn bitter upon cooking.  In a panic, I called my Italian neighbor to ask her how to remedy my faux paux and she said carrots:  something sweet to counter the bitter.  So, don't overuse (cooking) fresh basil, just sayin....

Please look at:  http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/healthy-herbs.html for a comprehensive nutritional analysis of most ordinary kitchen herbs.

Preparation: Procurement to Plate, the Joy of Partaking II

photo credit:  Lalu Danzker

So, you have hauled home a treasure trove of good eats from vendors with whom you have hopefully had a jolly time.  You are excited.  You are hopeful.  You are vibrating from relationship; relationship with your curious self, exquisite gifts from nature and beast, and a nourishing engagement with those who love and appreciate what they grow.  This is a happiness.  Now, in this gratitude, we consider how best to prepare these gifts.

How do we do this?  What are the influences?

The conditions vary.  We might have shopped with an idea of a meal in mind, being directive in our approach.  We might have shopped wearing our instinct, our intuition, open to what is freshest at the market.  Regardless, we have these fine resources.  I take them out and admire them once again.  I resensitize myself to their vibration, their hardiness or delicacy, their beauty.  I consider their relationship and possible combinations to each other.  I notice their "voice".  The seasoning they call for, even the way they'd liked to be cut, chopped and treated.  In my regard for them, these gifts I and others are about to receive, there is a hope to honor them and those that provided them.  But this is not a heavy honor, if anything it is a playful one.  I want to find ease, and relaxation, again my curiosity and most of all I want to have some fun.  Braise, broil, steam, bake, poach, reduce, wine or no whine?  The possibilities.  How to know what actions and in actions are needed.

Because you shopped locally and picked things with glory and vibration-- you probably picked seasonal.  And the season calls you to respond.  Spring is light and lightly aromatic.  Summer calls for bare-naked naturalness, a coolness even rawness.  Fall is deep, earthy, heavier more sustaining.  Winter is warm, daringly aromatic, rooted.

Tamar Adler's An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace has been a life changing book for me.  Life changing in the way I consider food and cooking.  One of her premises I work with all the time is the connection one meal has to the next.  The thick residue from the bottom of the pot of beans one cooked is the beginning of tomorrow's soup.  The "ends" of vegetables not used in preparation for dinner, are again, the beginning of tomorrow's soup stock.  Everything is connected, useful.  I've taken that one step further in asking myself, how are my components related?  How do I bring a thread of what is part of one component to the next, relate them, bring an overall harmony to the entirety of a meal.  The slice of lemon in water served at a meal might be echoed in a sliver or two of it's rind perched almost

imperceptibly on a piece of herb and wine-poached fish.  The basil in the herbed fish might be suggested in the spearmint (same family--Lamiaceae-- as basil) that is lightly confettied over the fresh fruit for dessert.  A lamb stew with fresh sprigs of rosemary has an almost subliminal echo in the water boiled for the accompanying rice or potatoes which you threw the stripped branches of rosemary into (to remove at the end of the cooking).  It's a hint, a light almost subconscious impression of the relationship from one component to the next. There is an endless way to carry the thread in a meal.  Staying close to curiosity and "the player" in oneself is helpful in determining the manifestation's gesture.

Another consideration is suggested by Ayurveda, an (eastern) Indian health approach.  Our tongue and palate is comprised of sensory taste receptors: sweet, salty, sour, savory (umami) and bitter.  Ayurveda cooking looks to satisfy all of these taste receptors in a meal.  So, when I cook, I try to consider that the entire meal has a balance of these five taste sensations.  Balance not being 20% of each flavor making 100% of the meal, but balance being in relation to the whole.  Hence, the development of one's culinary "palate" is inevitable.  This opens my field quite a bit.  Sweetness doesn't always have to be in dessert, but perhaps a condiment to go with the protein.  Perhaps dessert is the protein; a combination of nut-based crust and dairy filling, preceded by a thin soup and light salad; a sublimely hearty end of a meal .  Experimenting with turning the predictable on its head is, dare I say, a heady notion.

Culinary pleasure and digestion begins in our senses, especially the visual.  Hence, why care in presentation is necessary.  The gustatory sense is stopped if food is presented wrapped in greasy paper or unspecific boxes.  Considerations with the visual in mind are color, shape, size and texture.  In the plant world there are arguably 7 colors as far as palette goes (that arbitrary number is challenged as there are at least 5 variations of green alone in the edible plant world).  I try to have at least 5 colors in a meal, (for nutritional composition and visual compliment) but I always aim for 7.  I consider the "heart" of my meal and move from there.

The heart is often the protein.  My rebel self often balks at this seeming undeniable culinary truth.  I play with this notion.  And sometimes I lose.  But at least I play and I always learn.  I resist the cultural habit that meat be at every meal, be at one meal a day, one meal a week (depending on your cultural influences).  I play with the notion that meat can be treated more like a condiment, an aside, a small potent presence to the mighty diverse selection of the incredible vegetable or homey complex carb.  Sometimes it works just so and other times the heart of a meal just can't be the vegetable combination you've put together.  It's live and learn.  A very complex and hearty slaw with roasted nuts or seeds can be very central and sustaining, especially if a chewy/crusty bread and cheese accompany.  Try and succeed, try and fail, it's all great because your interest, intention and attention are active.  There are no bad meals if that is engaged during the preparation.

photo credit: Lalu Danzker

The consideration of shape, size and texture is important, but often enough not considered.  I was looking forward to trying Ethiopian food out on the town with some friends, but found that each of us were served varying flavored legume purees.  The flavors couldn't trump the solitary texture, and the bread served, although somewhat interesting (made from an ancient African grain) was not in good relationship to the pureed food, being kind of stretchy and gray.  Purees can be used to wonderful effect; they can compliment in color and texture. A light green pea puree under a delicate white fish has contrasting textures and complimentary colors.  A white parsnip puree or bright orange carrot puree is a delightful foil for a rich, darkly glazed beef or lamb.  To have something straightforward and simple accompanied by something complex in flavor is a marriage of balance.  A group of minimally touched green beans is a whole component that supports a garlic/potato mash and multi-colored/complicated stew.  Everything about it grounds the meal:  the deep green color, its untouched wholeness, its promise of lightness and simplicity, even its possible reference to a season just ended or about to begin.  It might not be the "hero" on the plate, but it makes the hero look good by its otherness.

Procurement to Plate: the Joy of Partaking (part I)

I’m inspired by several conversations I’ve had over the last few weeks.  The conversations haven’t been about one area of life or another.  The vibrating thread through all of them has been the attitude and the relatedness we are willing to bring to the journey, any journey.

The very fact we would look at anything (such as a medical/health treatment, our upcoming meal, a room’s renovation, a child’s education) as a journey is already an attitude adjustment.  A journey, an adventure, assumes a process, an interest in the aspects of the process, possibly an excitement and a curiosity.  Once we are aware of a process being present in our life, we begin to ask questions, identify the beginning, middle, end and inbetweens of the adventure.  Already, there is a palpable life around the process.  A sense of vitality around the questions of what do I/we value, what is a priority, how am I related to other, the process and myself.  Life!  Interest!  Attention!  The Chi/Prana is flowing; I feel more of my life inside and outside of myself.  I begin to recognize by this activation the life all around me.

When I consider the nourishment (and healing) of my body I think and consider the journey of procurement to plate; that is how and where I buy the raw ingredients for a meal, how I consider them (and myself) in their preparation, how I plate, how I serve, how I imbibe what has been prepared and even go as far as to think about how I store leftovers.  Each of these steps on the adventure of feeding myself and others (body and soul) can be layered and complex.  The adventure is solidly centered in:  how can I optimize my health, my received impressions, my well being and pleasure in the engagement with nature, other and myself.

Market Madness.

One of the things that has helped me at the beginning of any procurement journey is to make sure my curiosity is up and running.  There is no place for the automatic, knee-jerk self when I am trying to resonate and sensitize myself to the important job of opening (especially to food and people). 

Because of food sustainability, a reality in USA food sourcing, curiosity is almost required.  Health, sustainability and wellbeing are dependent on diversity; diversity of food sources and the willingness to engage with the unfamiliar.  Market shopping, in this light, becomes an adventure.  I try consistently to purchase one unfamiliar thing from each food group I am buying.  This could be a vegetable, fruit, protein source (ie: an up to now, unknown type of fish), or grain/complex carbohydrate (ie: amaranth, millet).  I try to buy local.  I try to buy seasonal, organic when possible.  I try to be present to what is available; to sense the vibration and aliveness of the food, to have the food come to me, for me to be attracted to its freshness/life (it’s so beautiful!  do not resist!).  I often opt to pick up “bugaboo” foods I hated as a child to see if I have a different experience of them now (ie: brussel sprouts, lima beans, peas). I notice what foods have not traveled well, or were not treated well farm to market.  I notice what was harvested too early and too late.  

Already the relationship has begun.  

If something jumps out at me, makes me smile and be excited, I pick it up, even if I don’t know what it is or what to do with it. To enjoy the curiosity more, I inquisit with the grocer, start a conversation with the other hovering shoppers about this curious food product.  In addition, via the internet, I can find out anything; what is it, nutrition content and what to do with it.  I’ve discovered very interesting, nutritious foods; foods that add color, texture and add an interesting variety to a meal (tomatillos, prickly pear, dragon fruit, unfamiliar melons or squash, several Asian greens I now recognize, but still don’t know their names—can’t read Chinese).  This is important:  Important for diversity of nutrition and source sustainability.  Important for keeping my culinary field open.  Boredom and repetition leads to disinteresting dining, ruts and a lack of diet diversity.  I am feeding my body, spirit and soul.  I want to care and be excited about my engagement with food.

photo credit:  Lalu Danzker

Switching up where you shop, trying new places encourages the curiosity factor.  Try not going to a supermarket for a month; shop only farmer’s markets, farm stands, food coops, non-industrialized food sources.  Yes, it is inconvenient sometimes.  Yes it is a different experience that sometimes is not easy (the selections may be limited, prices pricier).  But again, one’s culinary field is opened, more receptive.  Mindful eating is hardly ever about convenience or what is comfortable.  It’s about interest, joy and pleasure.

In this endeavor I have found relationship.  Relationship with farmers, small market purveyors, local artisan cheese makers and bakers. I ask questions, they ask me questions. They know me, I know them.  We have a mutual appreciation.  This is soul warming. It does my heart good (as it probably does them).  It is more fun, more interesting.  I feel more connected to my food, because I am.  I know the source.  I know where the fish came from.  I know how the fish was treated because I know the guy who trucked it.  This impacts my well being.  This infiltrates my preparation (I think of them as I chop and cook); their efforts are closer to me.  I feel a fuller connection, I feel a Oneness.  I have a sense of obligation to them, the food and myself to cook well what has been provided. 

photo credit: Lalu Danzker

I have only had remarkable outcomes and experiences doing this.  Buying a chicken from a small poultry farmer, getting to know her in the process, how she treats the chickens, what she thinks and feels about her chickens have given me a transformative culinary experience. I glean her excitement and love of her work, her relationship with her birds.  When I eat her chicken, it is like eating a miracle.  I taste its domestic wildness in the fiber of the flesh, the deep, earthy flavor. I feel its realness; I feel the farmer’s love and investment in the flesh.  The chicken’s good life is transmitted to me.  It is an experience.  This is a joy. It almost feels like receiving a sacrament, a total privilege to partake.  Also, a small portion goes a long way, leaving me fully satisfied and satiated.  Most ordinary chickens (even the organic ones) I am left with wanting more, because I am missing its essence, lost in its poor treatment in life and death.

In following posts, I will continue with the related processes of Partaking:

Preparation, Plating, Service, Leftovers; how does more engagement in these ordinary efforts feed more of me, enhance my wellbeing, and support joy in living.

Following the Rules: Embodying Ourselves and the Practice

The embodying of an art form, practice or ourselves, means a two-fold process:  learning the "rules" well, living them so they are a natural reference point, and then letting go of the rule's structure.  Only then is there a deep confidence in one's "Way" and a freedom in that Way. Only then do we become ourselves, or form art or live a practice.

I am not particularly a lover of rules.  In fact for me, it has always been a secret pleasure to bend and/or go against them.  Rules often impinge upon "individuality", a self's impulse.  They are often restrictive, even stifling.  But as in all things, there is a season, a time for everything.  So there is a time to understand and live the rules (without them absconding who You may Be).  To blindly identify and attach to rules, whether they be a religious or spiritual practice or a craft/art, is to live bound.  There comes a time when stepping beyond the structure of rules is necessary to grow oneself and one's practice up.

I am a 'personal witness' for someone in a large group Authentic Movement (AM) session.  I move first and find myself doing a lot of strong, grounding movements with my arms, legs, body.  It's as if I am filling myself with strength and courage.  I move out and my mover moves in.  I am 15 feet away from her and have the impression I should be closer.  This would be breaking the group agreement (rule) of returning to the same place for witnessing all the time, established at the beginning of the group session.  I stay where I am, but keep feeling the tug to move closer.  I finally move the 10 feet I need to be closer to her.  I "sprout" my arms, moving them into a large embrace of the space to identify my new spot to the other witnesses. They sprout their arms as well, acknowledging the change. The container feels intact.

Despite my deep love and appreciation of Authentic Movement practice, I almost always have an inner eye roll when the form's guidelines get raised in a new group.  They are practical and almost entirely safety based; why take the trouble to bring them up, we all know them.

Well, we don't all know them in the same way. It is an assumption to think otherwise. Much like social etiquette in different families, regions and countries, the rules, customs and the understanding of AM rules can be different.  It becomes necessary when crossing boundaries and terrain to keep clear the very simple guidelines.  The reminder of them actually sets an intention for safety.  Safety is imperative in an AM setting; the depth of our work has the possibility of surfacing and showing us our otherwise submerged material.  Without safety, our protection and survival mechanisms are always in play, in at least an oblique defense, making it impossible for the more subtle expressions to reveal themselves.


As I witness my mover, I remain standing, this being somewhat irregular in the form.  The mover's process is intense and the witnessing requires a significant renewal of self-grounding on my part.  I find myself moving slightly (maintaining stillness is a norm in the practice) to what I witness.  This standing and moving is necessary for me to stay present and unattached.  I have an impression of myself being a samurai; knees are bent, feet wide apart, arms bent in front of me as if protecting my dantian, my torso, my 'home'.

Embody:  to give a concrete form to; express, personify, or exemplify in concrete form: (to embody an idea in an allegorical painting.); to provide with a body; incarnate; make corporeal: (to embody a spirit);  to collect into or include in a body; organize;incorporate; to embrace or comprise.  Merriam-Webster Dictionary

What does it mean to embody something?  M-W Dictionary says it in a cerebral way above.  Embodiment is quite the opposite of cerebral.  Embodiment is a full integration of parts; parts of an understanding we hold in varied aspects of ourselves.  Embodiment is to fully live or express something complete.  To be embodied is to be ourselves as we are meant to be in that moment.  To be a complete expression in movement, verbalization,  or visualization.  For anything to be embodied is for it to be perfectly Whole, to be exactly as it is meant to be.  This usually doesn't look or sound like what we  imagine the expression to be.  And yet, it rings absolutely true when it is expressed.  Embodiment can not be forced or created. It creates itself.  It's the timely accumulation in experiencing the suffering and joy of our material over our continuum, and the benefit of having lived the rules.

My witnessed mover has moved out of the moving space and is now witnessing.  I enter the space as a mover, running, skipping, jumping lightly, releasing any held tense material.  I circle and bend and turn and feel absolute lightness and joy.  My face feels open and ecstatic.  I become aware of another who has entered the circle.  She is following me;  it actually feels like I am being stalked.  I feel she wants a part of me.  It comes to me that this needs to be confronted.  I stop circling and stand in my samurai pose.  I am surprised at how relaxed and unafraid I feel.  The other mover doesn't hesitate to move into my body and attach.  The primary guidelines for contact in AM-- to move slowly, wait for cues that mutual engagement is desired by all parties, has not been maintained.  My samurai arms move swiftly up disengaging the mover.  I feel angry at the violation. 

I later describe this experience in the circle.  The other mover reacts and starts to justify her actions.  Before she starts to speak, I want to ask her to take three breaths before speaking so as to enter herself, the cell memory of her experience.  But I am too slow and also, this would be irregular to do this.  She is defensive, reactive, not clear in her verbalization.  She forgets or doesn't know the AM guideline to attempt to be in oneself (one's embodiment?) while talking about a movement experience, as she was in the actual movement.  She forgets or doesn't know that witnessing response to a mover is always in service to the mover not themselves as witness.  When this (difficult) effort is made, the verbalization becomes an extension of the movement experience instead of outside the movement experience.

The concepts of following the rules and being embodied seem antithetical on the surface.  But they are related, part of the same process.  We have our attitudes about words, like "rules" and "embodiment".  When these attitudes relax into an open inquiry, a word and its previously assumed meaning becomes an unknown.  It isn't attached to the attitude any longer.  I can have a different, fresh experience of it.

Not living the simple guidelines/rules of AM practice agreed upon by a group of movers/witnesses, can have dire consequences; even in 'mature' and seasoned groups.  When the rules are relaxed in groups where the trust level is high amongst the members, a certain vigilance and integrity also relaxes.  Sometimes it results in a further spaciousness, an expansion of possibility.  Sometimes it leads to a 'no one being home' situation, and a drop in meta support of its members and the container's safety.  In groups that don't have a seasoned foundation, people get stepped on, bumped into, (not usually serious) injuries can ensue, as well as the obvious psychological repercussions of not being seen, felt or respected through "accident".  Unwanted contact can feel like a violation.  Unwanted, unembodied verbal witnessing in a circle cheapens the mover's experience and can feel like a violation.  Rules in the form are not arbitrary, but provide safety in a circle of movers, seasoned or not.

No matter how mature one is in a practice or art form, returning to and letting go of the rule's of the form is necessary. As one becomes more seasoned, they are a light reference point touched upon and released.  As in all rules maintained in society and elsewhere, one doesn't have to think of them, they are well established in our interior.  When this is mature in us, embodiment of a material and of ourselves is possible, in large part to the safety of the rules we have integrated over time and practice.  How do I know where I am in this way?  Our self-awareness becomes more refined with practice.  I begin to see the natural adherence and letting go of the guidelines and the oblique repercussions.  This is my maturity, my seasonedness.  This is how I know where I am in the practice.

A Healthy Sexuality

We are sexual beings.  From birth to death.  And from birth to death our sexuality impacts our wellness. From the broad picture related to our sexual identity and orientation, to the more subtle sensual perceptions of the world around and inside us perceived through our six senses.

The influences of the world on us, from birth to death pose deep impressions on our sexuality.  The way our parents are in their sexual selves (as their parents before them), the religious/spiritual/ education indoctrination we receive through our continuum, the ethnic culture we harken from as well as the general culture at large.  We are saturated by these influences (often distorted, superficial, negative).  In our nature's quest to heal this misinformation as adults, our chosen partners affirm and reinforce those indoctrinations magnifying the messages learned (in your face "heal this already!").  And luckily sometimes, our partners are instrumental in healing those deeply ingrained messages.  And to complicate things further, our learned and healed sexuality changes.  It changes as our cells and bodies change, as our hormone levels soar and drop off.  It changes as we change.  This happens because we are our sexuality and our sexuality is us.

Our sexual selves are not represented anywhere but in ourselves.  Movies, music, media, commercials, clothing designers have always tried to depict it; but they never are near accurate even in broad, generalized terms, because it's an intensely personal and intimate experience that is as unique as the singular person that is each one of us.  These external attempts at commercializing the sexual experience are coarse at best.  The subtle and sublime truth of a person's sexuality is connected to our qi, our prana, our subtle energies which coarse through our bodies and our layered energy fields.  Mostly, this subtle experience is lost on us, as we are not even aware of it half the time.  One of the reasons why sex attracts us, is that in our depths, we need to experience this finer energy in ourselves, and the possibility of exchanging it with another.

Recognizing that the first 50 years of life is an organic quest in manifesting and externalizing just about everything to the -nth degree, including our understanding of our own personal sexuality.  And recognizing the following 50 years, there is a natural quest in doing quite the opposite.  Whereas the early decades are a movement out, the later decades are a movement in.  Maturity makes it possible for sexuality to be energetically layered, subtle and more fully embodied.  Because sexuality, the movement of its energy are series of moments, ever in flux, it would be difficult to understand this unless you were there, at that age, in that moment. I remember in my late 20's an older woman mentor telling me this.  And I remember not having a clue, not being able to imagine what she was describing.  My youthful self imagined and projected the loss for all that spark and flame to something that sounded opaque and boring. Wow.  What's the saying? Love/life is lost on youth?  And so it is.  One's future sexual self is an unknown, veiled by the immediacy of the present.  Or is it?

And what does this have to do with health and wellness?

Because we are sexual beings in our nature, understanding and nourishing the interior aspect of what this is for us is important.  Those that are celibate, experiencing a fallow or inactive period in their sex life, are still sexual beings.  If an appreciation and nourishing of this subtle self isn't nurtured, human perspective on sexuality ultimately becomes distorted, frustrated and agonized.  Living an even sometime tortured existence in this way negatively impacts our health and well being.  How do we nurture sexual health?

Sexuality is not limited to the bedroom or sex act.  Sexuality is not limited in external connection to self or other.  Sexuality can't be compartmentalized nor appropriated into a neat forum; it is pervasively in our being.  Cultivating a layered awareness during our life's spectrum of the movement of one's qi, prana and sexual energy-- outside the bedroom, is key.  Normally, we don't identify sexual energy as such unless it is overtly sexual.  Sexual energy is Big.  It covers a lot of ground in subtle to gross measure.

A frequent connection to our six senses invites us into the sensual world, which opens the sexual energy field in oblique ways.  We are surrounded by the essential nature in all things: art, architecture, flow and movement in ordinary life, which are reminders of our own energetic flow.  Not acting on chemistry with others, but taking stock, noticing the movement, appreciating the flow is a way to bring an intimate awareness to one's sexuality.  This requires a maturity in self, and subsequently, these types of practices internalize the life of our sexuality, allow it to flourish on a deeper level.  It's a type of self-nourishment.  It opens our world.

As young children and even as young adults we explore our sexuality from a more pure perspective.  As mature adults, the search continues, adjusting to our more grounded understanding of ourselves and our energies and how this impacts our sense of wellness, our health and our being.

Courage, Confidence and Wellness

We spend a lifetime searching for balance.  We learn about a new piece of dietary information; we try it out.  Science comes up with new info about our body's function; we consider this, perhaps, by modifying our behavior.  We accumulate information and try to verify an approach to our own wellness through the decades.  And if we're lucky,  something settles in us that isn't so reactive.  It's hoped for—that we become discerning in our responses to new information, not jumping from one new fangled idea or another in a quest to be healthier.  This would go for a spiritual growing up as well.  In all of this, what is the difference between adapting and adopting?

Courage and a Self Confidence is required. Through our continuum, there is a time to follow and "obey".  There is also a time to find the courage not to look toward outward "authority",  but believe enough in what one has experienced, gathered information-wise and trust in one's own maturation process.  Or, maybe it's about following the intuitive messages even though all that outward advice makes sense.  A reliable practice of self-awareness will sort the false impulse from the true impulse.  It is a growing up of sorts;  a confidence in one's own perceptions, knowledge/understanding base and the experience of having navigated dark corners before.  It's a trust in speaking up, being adversarial when necessary, being close to one's own truth.  This doesn't negate being open to other information or an other.  It just means owning one's own grounded material in what Is.

This sometimes means finding one's own language within the known culture, whether it be in spiritual practice or wellness lingo.  Human nature makes us prone to being static in our approach, clinging to what has been known, whether it be language, way of understanding, an approach to a spiritual or wellness practice, or dietary and movement habits.  Because everything is changing all the time, being light "on our feet" is necessary.  A regular practice of entering into unknown territory, making efforts that are not familiar, or may be somewhat uncomfortable and foreign.  Becoming familiar with how—and where—I recede and retreat into habits that aren't useful is part of the self awareness practice.  If one has relied primarily on external authority to direct one's efforts in the past, claiming a semblance of one's own "master" is initially a rocky road.  It's sort of like being 20 years old again, finding your young adult legs under yourself, making first time life decisions, leaning into resistance and not capitulating.  It's possible to boldly strike out, to find the courage to be enough where you are, recognize your needs, and make a demand of yourself or of others to meet those needs.

It is true there is an "action" component to all this.  But mostly, it's sublimely internal. The action has turned inward, hence, doesn't have to be externally manifested to the extent it has been in previous decades.  Stepping up to (the responsibility of) oneself minimizes confusion.  Confidence is confidence, not arrogance.  Courage is courage, not being cavalier.  It's clear.  Understanding and living these differences makes us our own leader, mentor, guru.  And if we somehow find we have trickled our way into arrogance or have become cavalier, that's ok.  Because we have, at our foundation, taken responsibility and owned what is.  So we own that, and we mindfully work with that manifestation.  It's a beautiful thing. No longer are we afraid of being—or experiencing ourselves—as arrogant.  We are more afraid of not seeing what is.  We are more afraid of being static and internally atrophied.  Scary personality portraits of old are now interesting, beguiling, surprising and refresh our perspective.

"To thine own self be true." Hamlet, Wm Shakespeare

“And you will know the truth, and that truth will set you free.”  John 8:32