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JOHN KOZINSKI MEA, FSMA
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Keeping your Sanity during the Lock down and Slow Opening of our Country

7/8/2020

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As states slowly open up after the Corona virus lock down, many people are working from home, staying home more or slowly going out. Stir craziness is probably a mild phrase to describe what people are experiencing at this time.

Here are tips on how to keep your balance and stability of mind during the slow opening phase of most states:

1. Eat balanced meals rather than eating more or overindulging in comfort foods. Have full spectrum macrobiotic meals. Most people should include grains or grain products, 3-6 oz of animal protein often with beans substituting a few times per week, natural fats that are saturated like butter or coconut oil with some monounsaturated fats such as olive, cooked and some raw vegetables, non-vinegar pickles, salt seasonings, spices or herbs with some natural sweets or fruit, natural beverages like tea and some juices.

If your health permits drinking please avoid the desire to calm your self with too much alcohol as this will lead to more stressful emotions. Excessive alcohol consumption weakens the nervous system which makes you more prone to stress.

Try to be creative and make delicious satisfying meals. As restaurants open up, pick ones that have good quality fare like farm to table, natural ethnic foods and natural food varieties.

Avoid too much snacking on natural chips, cookies and similar foods.

2. Beyond work, set goals for yourself to do your own projects making or learning things rather than spacing out in front of the screen, computer or TV. Of course, some of this is fine. Lots of people because of exhaustion due to work and responsibilities have more passive activities like watching videos on the screen. Here is an opportunity to make a learning habit to develop your self in different ways, skills and expertise. 

3. If you are not already doing it, learn chi gong. Chi Gong is an amazing system of exercises that offers incredible benefits for the body and mind. Practicing will enhance your vitality, improve your digestion, calm and improve your mind, strengthen your immunity along with many other functions in the body. High level practices can even reverse aging. I will have a video available in the near future with a high quality Qigong set. You can start with simple practices outlined in the books by Tom Bisio, Bagua Nei Gong 1 and 2.  

4. Start to practice Qigong Breathing and some simple meditation practices: Decoding the Dao by Tom Bisio is a good resource.
 
5. Study philosophy. A philosophical approach to life can help you deal with challenges in a healthy way. Avoid New Age theories on philosophy as they tend to be fostering the ego or self. Read Aldous Huxley’s “The Perennial Philosophy” to get insights into how to begin or continue explorations into the mystery of life that science can not answer. An excellent contemporary take on the Stoic philosophers are in Ryan Holiday’s books. You can explore the teachings of the mystics of the great religions as they asked and sought the answers to the bigger philosophical questions of life.  You can choose to study the mystical tradition of the religion that you were born into or explore others that are interesting to you. 

6. Spend time with the family or friends in the old fashioned way of board games, gentle conversation at meals, walking and other activities. 

7. Take time to appreciate nature and the arts. Spend time listening to great music and being with nature. 

8. Take a break from technology, social media, computers, etc. for a day or weekend to spend your time in other good old fashioned ways. 

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Revitalize Your Health in 2020 Building Your Three Treasures

12/31/2019

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“We wish you a happy and healthy new year with the help of the Three Treasures.”

New Year’s is a time of resolutions for the year ahead. Instead of resolutions, one might consider actions to take based on learning what supports your overall well-being.

In ancient China they developed an understanding that, upon careful inspection, might be called a universal insight. It is known as the three treasures. The three treasures of the human system are jing or essence, qi/chi or energy/motivating force and shen or spirit/consciousness.

These three treasures are the keys to overall health and emotional, physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. Jing is the concentrated energy of the substance of our organs, tissues and cells. Qi is the energy that animates us, activating all functions of the body and mind. Shen is our consciousness, emotions and mental functioning.
For health, these three treasures are one unit, the jingqishen field.  Each area affects and benefits the others when we balance one of the three. A different take on resolutions is to self-reflect on where there might be holes in any of these three areas and fill them.

Through teaching and counseling I help people address where they might be holes or leaks in each of these fields. If our diet is poor or missing nutrients or too rich in certain ways; this will affect the jing/essence or substance of the body. I write about basic healthy guidelines here: https://www.macrobiotic.com/blog/the-4-foundations-of-health-1-eating

Jing or inner strength is depleted by over activity of any type and stress. Rest and relaxation are important for rebuilding jing: https://www.macrobiotic.com/blog/4-foundations-of-health-3-rest-and-relaxation
One of the best ways to build internal energy is by practicing high quality Qigong exercises. https://www.macrobiotic.com/energy-healing.html

Chi is derived from breath and food.  It is used up by doing activities. Breathing exercises in Qigong, eating well and having a balanced lifestyle is important to restore and preserve our energy.

The shen is depleted by being over emotional, called excessive emotionality, and using the mind excessively. There are several ways to restore shen. The best ways is through a regular mediation practice that slows down the thinking process and through certain tonic herbs such as Reishi.
To learn more read here:  https://www.macrobiotic.com/blog/4th-foundation-of-health-mental-attitude
and listen here: https://www.macrobiotic.com/audio-longevity-approach-to-herbs.html

Self-reflection is the key to moving forward in our lives. Reflecting on our jingqishen field is a powerful way to change our health and our lives.  We wish you a happy and healthy new year with the help of the three treasures.

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Getting Ready for Winter with Food

11/17/2019

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It is time to get our bodies ready for winter. In the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts, we just had our first snowfall. The temperatures dropped overnight into the teens.

More than 4 decades ago, I first studied the macrobiotic philosophy of health which included eating according to the seasons. I went on to study this understanding of balancing with the seasons in traditional systems of oriental medicine.

Balancing with the seasons is based on an energetic understanding of health, food and lifestyle. This energetic understanding is the basis of all macrobiotic longevity health systems around the world. It is included in my modern 21st century  Full Spectrum Macrobiotic Approach.


One basic energetic macrobiotic understanding of food that is applicable to staying healthy with the winter season is that food has warming or cooling properties. Since winter is naturally cold, it is important to eat more warming foods and less cooling foods. Even with our modern systems of central heating, it is best not to have your house too warm and to eat for warmth to keep your body more vital.


Warming foods include heavier grains. Preparations such as traditional sourdough bread, oats, buckwheat, sweet rice and cooked vegetables are good. More animal products can be eaten and other adjustments made according to your needs, health condition and dietary preferences.

Red meat and fatty fish such as wild salmon and sardines are more warming. If you eat these types of foods, it is good to have them more often. Lamb and organ meat is particularly warming. All animal foods such as meat, fish, eggs and cheese in general can be eaten more often as they generate heat due to thier very heavy condensed quality.  In winter, these foods can be cooked in more warming styles such as baking, broiling and stews. Modest portions of 4-6 oz. are best balanced by meals centered on vegetables and grains.

Vegetarians can create more heat in their bodies by eating the warming grains above, focusing on cooked foods and eating often grass fed cheese and eggs. 

Besides essential supplementation with vitamins, it would be best for vegans to focus on warming grains, cooked vegetables, and have sautéed vegetables and grains often to create heat. 

In addition, vegans and vegetarians should avoid raw vegetables, raw fruit, tropical fruit and tomatoes in the winter. All of these foods are naturally cooling.  Both vegetarians and vegans usually have cold metabolic conditions due to a lack of or low amount of animal foods. Cool conditions lower the metabolism which can lead to disease. Sometimes vegans think it is a benefit that heat does not bother them in the summer, when in fact it is not always a healthy sign. Raw food is naturally cooling. This is one reason some raw vegetables and salads are appealing in the summer heat.

​Another traditional macrobiotic longevity concept is that the digestive system is like a stove and cooking pot. Food needs to be mostly cooked all year round for better digestion. The modern explanation is that human beings don't have a rumen, a stomach with bacteria to break down raw fiber. Because of this, a human diet should be mostly cooked in order to break down the fiber to release the nutrients (and energy) from food.


The winter's cold makes the body burn hotter. Because of this, the body can handle eating more fats to create heat. If you are eating animal fats, these have the most warming effect from natural animal foods such as meat; grass fed raw cheese and butter. The best vegetable fats for cooking that create heat are olive oil and coconut oil. Be sure to serve fats with salt and mild spice such as ginger, black pepper or garlic for better digestion.

Foods to limit or avoid to keep healthy with the seasons are those that are naturally cooling including  raw vegetables, raw fruit, excessive sugars, alcohol, coffee, tea, soy products, very hot spices, tomatoes, eggplant, and tropical fruit.

Lastly, eating enough calories in one's diet is extremely important to generate body warmth. Winter is not a time for fasting or skipping meals. Most people find that their hunger naturally increases in the winter. Eat a good quality diet to stay healthy and eat more in the winter not less. 1

Eating with the seasons is fundamental to staying well in the winter. Now is the time to begin building our internal warmth.

1. https://www.macrobiotic.com/macrobiotic-diet.html

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    John Kozinski

    Health Educator, Counselor, Pioneer and practitioner of macrobiotics for almost 40 years, John Kozinski has devoted his career to helping people achieve and maintain optimal health.

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The information and educational material on this entire website is based on the opinions, research, and experience of John Kozinski unless otherwise noted. It is not medical advice. John Kozinski recommends you do your own research and consult with qualified health care professionals.
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