the REN DAO Wellness Center Blog

6/12 - Reiki Circle w/ Peter Goldbeck - Saturday 2:00pm to 5:00pm
6/25 - Acupuncture Happy Hour - Friday 4:30om to 7:30pm
6/26 - RDWC Open House - Saturday 11:00am to 4:30pm

Reiki Circle with Peter Goldbeck - 6/12, Saturday at 2pm to 5pm
This workshop will provide time and space for you to experience Reiki as well as practice it. After leaning some of the theory about Reiki and receiving a Reiki attunement, the most important factor by far is to practice Reiki. During this workshop you will practice what you’ve learned, you will pick up some extra attunements and extra techniques to help you blossom. Lots of Fun!!! This workshop is great for people new to Reiki and energy healing as well as Reiki practitioners and those who have attended Peter’s workshops in the past. Suggested donations: 20 dollars.

Acupuncture Happy Hour - 6/25, Friday at 4:30pm to 7:30pm
Join us for our monthly Acupuncture Happy Hour held the last Friday of each month. Enjoy a 30 to 45 minute, relaxing bliss filled ear acupuncture sessions, relaxing music and smoothing tea. Bring a friend! For more information. Suggested donation: 15 dollars.

The REN DAO Wellness Center Open House - 6/26, Saturday, at 11:00pm to 4:30pm
The REN DAO Wellness Center will hold its second open house to celebrate five years of serving the downtown Yonkers Community and to celebrate our move to our new location.
The REN DAO Wellness Center (RDWC) is now located at 2 Bashford Street, just two blocks from the Yonkers Metro North train station in beautiful downtown Yonkers. Bashford street is off Dock street, next to Singas Pizzeria and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The RDWC offers Traditional Chinese Medicine including acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutritional counseling, therapeutic massage, and more. The center also offers classes in qi gong, yoga, reiki / energy healing and martial arts.
The RDWC would like to thank Yonkers and Westchester County for your continued support of our practice over the last five year by inviting you to this free celebration of wellness.
Beginning at 11am you can stop in and visit our new office. Meet acupuncturist Mike Kelly, founder of the RDWC. He will be provide a brief talk and demonstration about Chinese Medicine.

We will also provide:

Demonstrations will start at 12:30pm and will run approximately a half hour each.

Upcoming workshops at the RDWC will include:

For more information, please call the REN DAO Wellness Center at 914-548-7585

5/16 - Intuition Workshop at the Riverfront Library w/ Peter Goldbeck - Sunday 12:00 to 1:00pm
5/18 - Zumba Class - Tuesday 6:30pm to 7:30pm
5/28 - Acupuncture Happy Hour - Friday 4:30om to 7:30pm
6/26 - RDWC Open House - Saturday 10:00am to 4:30pm

Intuition Enhancement Workshop w/ Peter Goldbeck at the Riverfront Library - 5/16, Sunday at 12pm to 1:00pm
This workshop will help you learn to trust your gut feeling and to use techniques to make you intuitive skills work with you and for you.
Join Peter Goldbeck, Certified Reconnective Healer and Reiki Master, and explore untapped regions of the mind and universe. Just bring a pad and pen, and amaze yourself. This event is part of the Riverfront library’s Free Weekend Events Program.

Zumba Dance and Meditation - 5/18, Tuesday, 6:30pm to 7:30pm
Zumba is a program of stretching, exercise and fitness. It is also a whole lot of fun. Join us for a trail Zumba class. This class is designed to increase flexibility, relaxation and health. It is open to all ages and fitness levels.

Acupuncture Happy Hour - 5/28, Friday, 4:30pm to 7:30pm

Don’t Distress, De-stress! Join us for our monthly Acupuncture Happy Hour. Enjoy a 30 to 45 minute relaxing bliss filled ear acupuncture session, relaxing music and soothing tea.
RSVP is encouraged, but not required. Please call 914-548-7585 if you’d like to attend or if you have any questions. Bring a friend, co-worker, family member too. Suggested Donation: 15 dollars

Open House - 6/26 Saturday 10:00am to 4:30pm
The RDWC will have an Open House Saturday June 26th. You will be able to meet and speak with the many practitioners who offer services at the RDWC. We will offer mini massage, reiki and acupunture sessions at a rate of one dollar a minute. Availability for sessions will be limited so we ask that you call and sign up for a session.

News
Yoga classes will start June 3rd. Classes will be held Thursdays, 6:15pm to 7:15pm and Sundays 9:30am to 10:30 pm. Please call or stop by the center to sign up for classes. Cost will be 15 dollars a class or $100 for a set of ten classes.

We will also offer a Cardio Kick Boxing class and Functional Metabolic Training class. Cardio Kick Boxing is a fun way to stay fit and burn calories, punching and kicking. Functional Metabolic training is a cardio workout gear towards building core muscle strength and flexibility for day to day activities and sports. We will also offer functional sports training, one on one or in small group sessions. This training will be specific to the sports of golf, tennis basketball and baseball and will emphasize building strength and flexibility required to excel in these particular sports.

Dr Majid Ali is a western doctor who runs holistic integrated medical practice. His essay on cholesterol is a must read for those taking cholesterol lowering medication.
Article location: http://www.ethicsinmedicine.us/OXYGEN, CHOLESTEROL, AND STATINEX.htm

4/30 - Acupuncture Happy Hour - Friday 4:30om to 7:30pm
5/2 - Free Qigong Class at the Riverfront Library - Sunday 12:00pm to 1:00pm
5/2 -Free Holistic Spa Session at the Riverfront Library - Sunday 1:00pm to 2:00pm
5/16 - Intuition Workshop at the Riverfront Library - Sunday 12:00 to 1:00pm

Acupuncture Happy Hour – 4/30, Friday, 4:30 to 7:30pm
Don’t Distress, De-stress! Joins us for an Acupuncture Happy Hour. Enjoy a 30 to 45 minute relaxing bliss filled ear acupuncture session, relaxing music and soothing tea.
RSVP is encouraged, but not required. Please call 914-548-7585 if you’d like to attend or if you have any questions. Bring a friend, co-worker, family member too. Suggested Donation: 15 dollars

Qigong Class at the Riverfront Library – 5/2, Sunday, 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Michael Kelly will teach a free Qigong class at the Riverfront Library as part of the library’s Free Weekend Events Program. Qi Gong is a system of health and self healing that has been practiced in the east for thousands of years. With regular practice, Qi Gong helps prevents illness, helps them heal, reduces stress and induces a sense of balance and peace of mind. During this class we will practice Emei Wuji Gong qigong and other health oriented qigong forms..

Holistic Spa Sessions at the Riverfront Library - 5/2, Sunday, 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Therapists from the RDWC will proved free mini massage, reflexology and tui na sessions at the Riverfront Library. This is part of the library’s Free Weekends Events Program. Participant will receive a ten minute reflexology, massage / reiki or tui na sessions. There will be a sign-up sheet and session will end at 2:00pm.

Intuition Enhancement Workshop w/ Peter Goldbeck at the Riverfront Library - 5/16, Sunday at 12pm to 1:00pm
This workshop will help you learn to trust your gut feeling and to use techniques to make you intuitive skills work with you and for you.
Join Peter Goldbeck, Certified Reconnective Healer and Reiki Master, and explore untapped regions of the mind and universe. Just bring a pad and pen, and amaze yourself. This is part of the library’s Free Weekend Events Program.

Most people are over weight basically because they consumed more calories than they burned. The excess weight does not arrive overnight, but takes weeks, months, or years to appear. Most people would like their excess weight to fall off in a fraction of the time it took to put on.

The general way most people try to lose their extra poundage is by dieting, exercise programs and weight loss supplements, etc. Many people do lose some weight. But after a while the diet ends, there is no time to exercise and the supplements become expensive or sit on a shelf. Of course we start over eating again. We consider ourselves a failure, get depressed or become angry with ourselves. Interestingly the weight lost by dieting seems to magically reproduce its self (with a few extra pounds). Then after a few rounds of repeated dieting, weight loss, weight gains, the dieters curse arrives. We eat virtually nothing, exercise like we are training for a marathon and the weight just will not come off.

Through this whole process, we feel lousy, we are miserable and the health and vitality of our bodies goes into decline. We ignore or mask our bodies warning signs like fatigue, body aches, poor sleep, constipation, acid reflux, etc. Worse yet, lifestyle related conditions such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, diabetes and insulin resistance become as acceptable as the medications we are prescribed to manage these symptoms.

Now lets say we decide to forget about dieting and losing weight as our primary goal. Lets say we choose health and choose to live a healthy lifestyle, for life. Lets say we decide to now take the necessary actions needed to live and be healthy. Something will change. Our bodies will now becomes our healthy lifestyle partner instead of an overweight unhealthy image we are trying to subdue and control.

If we chose to eat healthy nutritionally dense whole foods, if we choose to think and live with healthy positive thoughts, if we practice forgiveness and gratitude; the body will get right on board. The weight will naturally come off and stay off. The body will reward us with increased energy, vitality and zest for life.

A Simplified Healthy lifestyle Plan

• Eat primarily nutritionally dense whole foods.
• Reduce the amounts of sugars and processed simple carbohydrates consumed.
• Reduce the amounts of meats and highly processed foods consumed.
• Drink adequate amounts of fresh water (preferably room temperature or warm.
• Practice slow breathing exercise and get regular exercise.
• Get adequate amount of rest and relaxation time.
• Raise your emotional joy levels. Manage your emotional discomfort levels.

As your lifestyle health partner, your body is constantly giving your feedback. It is constantly telling you when your life choices are having a positive or negative affect on your body and health. If you are in pain, something is wrong, be aware of what if is and fix it. If you are constantly depressed, sad, or stressed, be aware of what is causing these emotions and right it. Strive to do those things that make you truthfully feel good.

• The Drive at Five Live Ardyss Wellness Talk Radio
  Listen to Patricia McDow’s weekly talk show. She addressing health and wellness with leading professionals in the health industry as well as featuring Ardyss International Wellness Products. The show airs Mondays at 5:00pm. Michael Kelly was one of her guess April 12th.
• Dr. Ben Kim Experience your Best Health Blog.
  An excellent resource for current health news, health tips and easy health recipes.

3/26 – Acupuncture Happy Hour – Friday 4:30pm to 7:30pm

3/27 – Energy & Light Healing Celebration w/ Peter Goldbeck – Saturday, 2:00pm to 4:30pm

NEWS:

The REN DAO Wellness Center has Moved

Our new location is the wonderfully restored Blacksmith Building at 2 Bashford Street ,  two minutes walk from the old location on Wells Avenue. Bashford Street is on the northern end of Larkin Plaza, next to the Department of Motor Vehicles and Metro North Yonkers Station. The Blacksmith Building is owned and was restored by Robert Hothan, an energy conservations specialist.

Google Map - 2 Bashford Street, Yonkers

I would like to thank everyone at the Greyston organization (the owners of the buildings at 6 and 8 Wells Avenue) for their support over the past five years. I wish them  success on their new residential building, planned for the Wells Avenue / Warburton Avenue location.

I have to also thank Maya Brassel again for the wonderful logo she designed for me and for her window design that graces the front windows at 6 Wells.

Community Acupuncture

The new RDWC location will operate primarily as a Community Acupuncture (CA) style clinic. CA treats multiple people together in an open group setting. The advantage is reduced cost and greater accessibility to this healing art. We will be open for lunch hour and after work CA sessions. Private Acupuncture, Tui Na and other services will still be available. Call for office hours or to schedule an appointment.

Web Site Updates

We are currently redesigning and updating the RDWC web site. It should be completed in about a week.

Qi Gong Classes and Yoga

Evening Qi Gong classes will resume on Mondays, 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Please arrive five to ten minutes before class. We will  add morning Qi Gong classes shortly. We hope to resume yoga classes soon.

 EVENTS:

Acupuncture Happy Hour – 3/26, Friday, 4:30 to 7:30pm

Don’t Distress, De-stress! Join us for Acupuncture Happy Hour. Enjoy a 30 to 45 minute relaxing bliss filled ear acupuncture session, relaxing music and soothing tea.

RSVP is encouraged, but not required. Please call 914-548-7585 if you’d like to attend or if you have any questions. Bring a friend, co-worker, or family member too. Suggested Donation: 15 dollars.

3/27 - Energy & Light Healing Circle w/ Peter Goldbeck - Saturday, 2:00pm to 4:30pm

Please join us for our monthly Energy and Light Healing Celebration. This session will help center, balance and unify your sense of well being as well as open your energetic awareness. You will share in a group energy healing and will receive an individual healing and energy balancing treatment. You will also receive Peter’s special energy activation which will empower your healing abilities.

Those who’ve already received an activation, will receive a booster activation resulting in increased sensitivity and healing ability. Please bring one or two crystals or oils for activation.

As always it will be a whole lot of FUN!! Suggested Donation: 15 dollars.

1/9 – Energy & Light Healing Celebration w/ Peter Goldbeck – Saturday, 2:00pm to 4:30pm
1/29 – Acupuncture Happy Hour – Friday 4:30om to 7:30pm
2/6 – Aerobics Dance & Exercise Class – Saturday 11:00am to 12:00pm
2/14 – Valentine‘s Day Partners Yoga Class – Sunday 7:00pm to 8:30pm
2/26 – Acupuncture Happy Hour – Friday 4:30om to 7:30pm
2/28 – Eighth Intra-Dojo Martial Arts Workout – Sunday 11:30am to 2:30pm

News and Events

Happy New Year! To help you prepare for a healthy and abundant 2010, the REN DAO Wellness Center is offering special New Year’s Wellness Assessment and Energy Balancing Acupuncture Sessions. You will receive a holistic health and nutrition consultation, a Chinese astrology energy assessment and an energy balancing acupuncture treatment. The RDWC will offer this New Year’s wellness special from now until January 31^st, for the price of 75 dollars. To take advantage of this special, please download and fill out our Health History Form. When you call to make your appointment, please know your birthday, time of birth and place of birth (this is needed for the Astrology assessment). Get your new year started right.

We have added an additional Kids, Teens Karate class, which will meet Saturdays, 12:30pm to 1:45pm. Our Iaido / Swordsmanship class has moved from Saturday to Friday evening, 6:00pm to 7:30pm. On days we have Acupuncture Happy Hour, the Iaido class will start an hour later.

We are taking appointments for Community Acupuncture. Please email us or call for more information or to schedule an appointment.

1/09 - Energy & Light Healing Circle w/ Peters Goldbeck - Saturday, 2:00pm to 4:30pm
Please join us for our first Energy and Light Healing Celebration of the year. This session will help center, balance and unify your sense of well being as well as open your energetic awareness. You will share in a group energy healing and will receive an individual healing and energy balancing treatment. You will also receive Peter’s special energy activation which will empower your healing abilities.

Those who’ve already received an activation will receive a booster activation resulting in increased sensitivity and healing ability. Please bring one or two crystals or oils for activation.

All in all it will be a whole lot of FUN!! Peter’s January Events schedule.
Suggested Donation: 15 dollars.

1/29 - Acupuncture Happy Hour – Friday, 4:30 to 7:30pm
Don’t Distress, De-stress! Joins us for an Acupuncture Happy Hour. Enjoy a 30 to 45 minute relaxing bliss filled ear acupuncture session, relaxing music and soothing tea.

RSVP is encouraged, but not required. Please call 914-548-7585 if you’d like to attend or if you have any questions. Bring a friend, co-worker, family member too.
Suggested Donation: 15 dollars.

2/6 – Aerobics Dance & Exercise Class – Saturday 11:00am to 12:00pm
Looking for a local fun dance and exercise class to help boost you metabolize and get you back in shape? Try our Aerobic Dance & Exercise Class. This class is open to persons of all levels of fitness and will focus on the needs of older adults and those whom have not exercised regularly in the past.
Suggested Donation: 10 dollars.

2/14 – Valentine‘s Day Partners Yoga Class – Sunday 7:00pm to 8:30pm
The Ren Dao Wellness Center will be hosting a special Valentine’s Day Partners Yoga Class. Couples that attend the class will have the opportunity to experience gentle yogic stretching, synchronized deep breathing, meditation and deep relaxation. This one of a kind class will be held on Valentine’s Day, February 14^th from 7:00-8:30 PM. For more information or to sign up for this class please calls 914-424-2298 or go towww.yogajanetraining.com.

2/26 – Acupuncture Happy Hour – Friday, 4:30pm to 7:30pm
Don’t Distress, De-stress! Joins us for an Acupuncture Happy Hour. Enjoy a 30 to 45 minute relaxing bliss filled ear acupuncture session, relaxing music and soothing tea.

RSVP is encouraged, but not required. Please call 914-548-7585 if you’d like to attend or if you have any questions. Bring a friend, co-worker, family member too.
Suggested Donation: 15 dollars.

2/28 – Eighth Intra-Dojo Martial Arts Workout – Sunday 11:30am to 2:30pm
The REN DAO Wellness Center will be hosting it’s Eighth Intra Dojo Martial Arts Workout.
Head instructors from the various school training at the center will be sharing their techniques and experience. List of some of the styles that will be presented:
San Yama Bushi Ryu Jujutsu.
Bujinkan Taijutsu.
Nisei Goju Jutsu & Karate.
Kumite Ryu… and more.

Join us for a spirited martial arts experience. All styles and experience levels welcomed. Please RSVP before February 22^nd.
Suggested donation: 20 Dollars.

12/12 - Energy & Light Healing Circle w/ Peters Goldbeck - Saturday, 2:00pm to 4:30pm

This month we are happy to finally have Peter Goldbeck back at the RDWC and to host his Energy and Light Healing Celebration. Peter has been very busy down at the A.R.E. in Manhattan where he is a frequent lecturer and runs regular Healing Celebrations, Level 1 through 3 Reiki classes and gives private reading. He hosting of a week Internet radio show.

Peter’s Enery and light celebrations will help center, balance and unify one’s sense of well being as well as open up one’s awareness. This will include a group healing as well as individual healings, enrgery balancing / clearing and an energy activation (an ATTUNEMENT) which will empower one’s own healing abilities.

Those who’ve already received an activation will receive a booster activation resulting in increased sensitivity and healing ability. Please bring one or two crystals or oils for activation.

All in all, a whole lot of FUN….. A Healing Celebration!!

Sugested Donation: 15 dollars.

Last month I posted a few items on the genetically modified (GM) food industry. It would be safe to say that 75 to 85 percent of all processed foods contain or were processed with genetically modified ingredients.

These products entered the markets with no testing for environmental impact or consumer safety.

In the European unions all GM containing products must be labeled as such. In America, labeling is voluntary and up to the manufactures discretion. Hence, here in America GM foods and products are not label GM. Manufactures know their consumers, given a choice will choose (like their European counterparts) non-GM products.

Consumers should demand proper and accurate food labeling. Consumer pressure got Trader Joe’s, Whole Food’s and Wild Oat’s to commit to stop using GM ingredients. Consumer pressure in Europe got GM containing products labeled. We can do this here. The Center for Food Safety has an ongoing supermarket activism campaign we all should think about taking parting in.

Links to the Center for Food Safety articles on Supermarkets and GM Foods:

Shoppers Guide – Supermarkets and GM Foods

Supermarkets and GM Foods Flyer (pdf)

Supermarket Activist Kit (pdf)

About a year ago I wrote about food labels. This was after a friend bought a jar of imitation honey they thought was real honey. A few weeks ago it was me who got duped. In a rush, I bought a jar of dry roasted peanuts without fully reading the label. Whether intentional or not, product labels, ingredient list and nutritional fact labels can paint an inaccurate picture of whats really in the package.

This year, the REN DAO Wellness Center participated in a Halloween celebration organized by Lucy Moreno for kids in her Greyston Community Gardens Project. We gave the kids a karate class, then I spoke briefly about healthy foods and snacks. I like to emphasize eating more whole foods and less processed foods (with added sugars etc.) We ended by having the kids participate in making a healthy trail mix snack (with Chex cereal, raisins, peanuts and pretzels). The kids then when to the Groundworks Science Barge to crave pumpkins and to the Buena Vista community garden to watch a movie.

Halloween celebration went well, the kids enjoyed the trail mix. It wasn’t until the following day when I ate some of the nuts by themselves that I realize something was strange. At first I thought, “Man, these are some tasty nuts” (in my best Samuel L. Jackson voice). Then I realized the nuts actually tasted sweet. I had feed Lucy’s kids (and parents) salted dry roasted peanuts laced with sugars, MSG and favor enhancers.

The peanuts were Target’s store brand, ‘Market Pantry Dry Roasted Peanuts’. One would expect that the jar should contain only dry roasted nuts. Below is the ingredient list:

Obviously these nuts are mis-labeled. They are Salted Flavored Dry Roasted Peanuts. A Shoprite’s store brand, labeled ‘Unsalted Dry Roasted Peanuts’, accurately listed only peanuts on their ingredient list.

Click on image for full size.

Umami is a taste humans and animal can sense on special taste receptors on the tongue. Umami is not a distinct flavor but more like a quality. It can be described as savoriness, brothy or meaty. Umami taste receptors are stimulated by freely occurring glutamic acids (an amino acid) or salts of glutamic acids (called glutamates) in foods we eat. Glutamic acid and Glutamates in foods appear to enhance the flavors of foods and make them taste better.

Glutamic acid is a non-essential amino acid and is common in meats, meat stocks, cheese and other protein rich foods. Glutamic acid can be isolated from protein sources for use as a flavor enhancer, the most common being monosodium glutamate (MSG).

MSG was first isolated and mass produced in Japan from Kombu seaweed in the early 1900’s. Currently in America, MSG is derived from protein rich bacteria grown on a sugar or starch medium. The proteins are extracted and split (autolysis) to isolate the glutamic acid. Yeast high in proteins can also be cultivated and processed in a similar fashion to isolate their amino acids (yeast extract). Proteins from grains, vegetables and beans can also be sources of glutamates (hydrolyzed soy protein).

Many processed foods have little flavor or loose there taste after the manufacturing process. Vegetarian based processed foods (especially meat substitutes) can be bland and do not have the expected taste. Adding MSG and other flavor enhancers to processed foods make them taste more acceptable.

Some people are sensitive to glutamates and exhibit various symptoms after ingesting them and MSG has taken most of the heat for this. So food manufactures are using glutamates from other sources to obtain the glutamate flavor enhancement while removing MSG from label.

Food designers are excited about new yeast extract products coming onto the market as they are more versatile. They enhance flavor like MSG but at lower concentrations, can add distinct flavors (like roosted chicken) or mask bitterness or sourness. Food designers use these to reduce added MSG, salt and sugars while providing require taste and flavor.

Even though glutamic acid based flavor enhancers can be listed as natural ingredients, they are highly processed manufactured chemical, much like high fructose corn syrup, and processed white oils (like Canola). Flavor enhanced processed foods are not going to go away, so it is best to avoid processed foods or read the food labels carefully.

The term Natural Flavor now appears frequently on food labels. But what is it? The FDA has defined ( CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21, item 3) ‘Natural Flavor’ or ‘Natural Flavoring’ as any added ingredients, derived from a natural sources, to add flavor vs. nutritional value. Artificial flavors have the same chemical makeup as their natural counterparts but are make from man-made chemical.

FYI, Artificial sweetener are man-made chemicals that do not exist in nature.

Unami

Hidden Sources of processed free glutamic acid (authors of this site are heavily biased against MSG)

Extracting Yeast Flavor Advantage

What’s Natural

What is the difference between artificial and natural flavors?

Would you intentionally eat a genitally modified food? Would you know how to identify one? Would you benefit from eating a genitally modified food?

The acronyms GMO (genetically modified organism), GE (genetically engineered) and GM (genetically modified), commonly refer to living organisms (plant and animal) that have had parts of their genetic structure (DNA) changed. A genetically modified organism has genes from another organism, spliced into its gene structure to express or enhance a desired trait. Traditionally this was done through conventional breeding techniques but these methods are time consuming and mostly limited to similar species. With genetic engineering, genes from any living organism can be mixed. Today, genes from bacteria toxic to insects are inserted in corn to produce corn that produces its own pesticides.

In the late 1990’s genetically modified foods started to appear in supermarkets. One of the first, a GM tomato, received poor public acceptance and was removed from the market. Now the market is dominated by GM corn, soybean (and products derived from corn and soybeans), cottonseed (cottonseed oil) and rapeseed (cannola oil). They entered the market silently, with the approval of the USDA, EPA and FDA, without going through any testing for environmental or consumer health safety. With heavy lobbying by the major chemical and seed manufacturers, the FDA ruled labeling of GM foods should be voluntary. In America, no foods containing GM ingredients, byproducts of GM material or processed with GM materials are labeled to inform consumers.