Macrobiotic Summer Traveling

It's been a long, active summer here at Studio Mugen. We traveled to many places including the East Coast for the Kushi Institute Macrobiotic Summer Camp which was a full of new friends, delicious food and beautiful weather!

I also attended the French Meadows Summer Camp where I taught three classes: Eat Healthy, Live Happy, Make New Moon Wishes (including what and how to eat at new moon time), Beautify Yourself Inside for Your body and Soul and a cooking class to learn how to recognize your skin color condition to beautify yourself with remedy drinks.    

Eric had the chance to travel to the Big Island for work and I joined him.

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I became very careful and making a plan a head of time before I do anything after I had to had a serious car accident in 2001. It is good to make plans, but I feel that I lost adventure of doing spontaneous. This summer I had a sudden invitation to go to Big Island of Hawaii and my first answer was “No” because I did not make a plan to go and there is nobody to take care of office and nobody to take care of our dogs and cats family at home since my regular pet sitters were not available.

I have had PTSD from the serious car accident in 2001 - I was scared to do many things and sometimes not even able to go out side house. I come a long way to heal myself since the car accident after I healed myself from the cancer that I had in 1993. Because of PTSD and my physical limitation I still do not drive a car so some people have asked me how I live in Los Angeles without car, but my life is very active and I have learned to live more sustainable life for my true health and happiness without driving. Of curse sometimes I know that I need to challenge for me to do something different and move forward. I felt that this sudden invitation to go Hawaii was one of my challenges to try out.

Once a I diced to take this invitation I moved quickly and looked for a new pet sitter so  I found new pet sitter. My friends and neighbors also offered to take turn to take care of my dogs & cats family and water my vegetables garden etc. I was concerned to take a flight my own since I had a horrible experience and missed flight because I could not walk fast enough to get to a connection gate, but everything went smooth this time and I made to Kona, Hawaii. Eric came to pick me up with a beautiful lei and took me to beach right a way. The warm Hawaiian wind helped to relax me right a way. I felt so grateful that I took this spontaneous opportunity.

 

In the morning I took shower outside with blue sky with my favorite Hawaiian flower of white plumeria and ate delicious Hawaiian breakfast (vegetables white miso soup, oatmeal with  papaya and white plumeria )with a guest of electric green color, Gekko. Then went to farmers market and found Hawaiian Kabocha and Daikon radishes… got taking a photo with beautiful flowers. In the afternoon we played Ping-Pong at beach and I surprised Eric because I beat him and we laughed so hard when every time when I got a point. Since the car accident I lost mobility of my legs and have chronic nerve pain always I have not been able to play sport much.

 

He said after 23 years he did not know that I could play Ping pong I am a full of surprised to him so what else I am hiding from him. It made me so happy to see that he was laughing and happy to do something with me. Before I injured my legs we did so many things together, water ski, scuba diving, ski and traveling many different places. I hope that we play sports and start to traveling again.

Eric was working a lot as his client’s private chef so I decided to take Hawaiian culture classes everyday while he was working: Ti leaf lei making, shell craft, Hula dance, and of course ukulele - I met Aunt Dizzy who was 84 years olds and teaching how to play Hawaiian ukulele.

 

I enjoyed so much learning Hawaiian history this time more than ever and I felt that I was Hawaiian girl previous lifetime. Now I am very happy to be return to home in Santa Monica and how much I appreciate what this short trip gave me for. My life with Eric, dogs and cats family and friends and neighbors who love and support us so much. Also Seed Kitchen’s staff work very hard to keep our business strong, even when we are traveling.

With gratitude and love, 

Sanae

Mercury Retrograde, Full Moon and 10th Anniversary!

 

Eating more balanced organic quality vegan macrobiotic food I started to pay attention to not only my body (physical), also my feelings (emotions) carefully. I noticed so many things around affect me and I am aware of how nature is ruling the global. Nature is making a balance by yin and yang of universal order. 

dynamic clouds over the ocean

I know noting about Mercury Retrograde, moon cycle and season affect our body and emotions before. After I learned macrobiotics way of eating and living I started understanding everything is connected. A full moon and new moon have a different energy and different affect on us and season’s changing is very important to balance us.  

beautiful green sea vegetable on the sand

When I found out about Mercury Retrograde a long time ago I was going through very difficult time for me to accept how I was feeling. I was grateful to find out about how Mercury Retrograde affect on us. Now I believe that Mercury Retrograde comes as one of universal order to balance us out three times year (sometime four times year). I only know a little of astrology so Mercury Retrograde means to me Mercury is moving backward not forward. During Mercury Retrograde I usually feel stacked and even feeling exact the word - going back word if I stressed out and push too hard during this period. Another word I go through a dark spot and I feel extra sensitive. Sometimes everything and everybody irritate me. I feel very lonely. 

In the past, my computer acted up – I had experiences of crashing my Apple computer twice during Mercury Retrograde period. Things were missing and could not find them. I usually checked the date of Mercury Retrograde to be aware of challenges are coming, but this month I was pre-occupied over my left arm and shoulder which have been giving me a trouble and had pain and limited mobility. I already have pain and limited mobility on my legs and feet from the car accident I had in 13 years ago so having more pain and limited ability was over the limit – after three months of arm and shoulder problem I lost my patient completely. I became very unhappy person. I was also trying to organize our 10th year anniversary and teaching at La Casa De Maria for Health Classics Macrobiotic Conference. When Mercury Retrograde hit on June 6th and full moon came June 13^th, also the lowest and highest tide… I felt everything sink in and hit me to the bottom after I watched a movie that I should have not watched. I had a nightmare and the PTSD condition came back. I was not able to talk and just cried for many times for a long time. I started to hate myself and do the things I did not want to do – like being super bitch to my husband and even to my 4 legs family. Of course my husband was getting effect by Mercury Retrograde so he was a super grouchy too. We thought we never make to our 10 year anniversary, but I found out it was Mercury Retrograde nick of time and this Mercury Retrograde time somebody wrote that we do the things we don’t even want to do and this made all sense to me. It was not we hate each other - it was Mercury Retrograde (this time till July 2), but we talked about our 10 years of ups and down (yin and yang life) and how grateful for us to be here together still after we met 23 years ago. 

 

--> Our 10th anniversary at Health Classics Conference

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10th anniversary cake by Tiziana

We shared many things together to celebrate this10th last week: meditation, playing an ukulele, the beach with our dogs –there I showed my love as swimming in the ocean by myself (usually I am afraid to go the ocean because of my limitation on leg mobility), teaching a cooking class and exchange the gifts. It has been so much shifting and transformation for me.

 

cooking class at Health Classics in Santa Barbara

 We also enjoyed summer solstice evening with many friends of the Health Classics conference who made this celebration possible, Health Classic organizer, Larry Cooper, Chef Mark Hanna and ChefTiziana Slipo Tamborra who made our 10th anniversary cake. I am sending my love to all of people who support us. 

with Tiziana and Larry

Keith, Pamela, Micheal, Tiziana, Heidi, Mark, Dara and Cynthia and more

I want to thank my husband, Eric Lechasseur for being with me for the happy and batches time, healthy and painful time, full moon and new moon time and Mercury retrograde time!

10th anniversary gift: Tie pin and the money clip with diamonds with the engraved box from me to Eric

10th anniversary gift: Tin and Diamond pendant from Eric

Love, 
       
             Sanae

Borage Floweres

Gardening is one of my favorite things to do in everyday life. It started when was very young when my grand mother was award grower of chrysanthemum in Japan. I watched her grew and taking care of her chrysanthemum flower with her love as they were the most important of her life. I remember that chrysanthemum flowers really acknowledged and appreciate her love and gave her back their love by showing as a most beautiful blooming flowers.
Spending time with my grand mother taught me that plants and trees have heats of their own as a part of nature just like us.


This week I saw beautiful borage* flowers finally bloomed. 



I planted organic borage seeds in March and grow them watch carefully.



I love using borage flowers for my cooking garnish: soup, salad and grains for summer time. They are beautiful blue flowers lift up our spirits.
 



I also love using these flowers for making my skin oil with an organic rose-hip oil *.




* Here are more information about Borage & Rose Hip oil by Wikipedia.

Borage is also known as a starflower, is an annual herb. It is native to the Mediterranean region and has naturalized in many other locales. It grows satisfactorily in gardens in the UK climate, remaining in the garden from year to year by self-seeding. The leaves are edible and the plant is grown in gardens for that purpose in some parts of Europe. The plant is also commercially cultivated for borage seed oil extracted from its seeds.

Traditional medicine

Traditionally Borago officinalis is used in hyperactive gastrointestinal, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders,^[12] such as gastrointestinal (colic, cramps, diarrhea), airways (asthma, bronchitis), cardiovascular, (cardiotonic, antihypertensive and blood purifier), urinary (diuretic and kidney/bladder disorders).^[13]
In Iran people make a tea for relieve colds, flu, bronchitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and kidney inflammation.^{[citation needed]} It is said to be warm in nature and alleviates symptoms that are caused by using food that is cold in nature such as cucumber and fish. People with heart problems can benefit using the borage tea,^{[medical citation needed]} since it promotes reaching more oxygen to the heart, that’s why one should use this herb in moderate amounts.^{[14][unreliable medical source?]}
Naturopathic practitioners use borage for regulation of metabolism and the hormonal system, and consider it to be a good remedy for PMS and menopause symptoms such as the hot flash.^[15] The flowers can be prepared in infusion.

Rose hip seed oil is a pressed seed oil, extracted from the seeds of a wild rose bush.
The oil contains provitamin A (mostly beta-Carotene). It has been wrongly said to contain retinol (vitamin A) which is a vitamin solely made by animals from provitamin A. It does however contain levels (up to .357 ml/L) of tretinoin or all-trans retinoic acid, a vitamin A acid that retinol converts to.^[1]
Similarly, while the fruit is rich in vitamin C, the oil does not contain any, as it is a water soluble vitamin.
Rose hip seed oil is high in the essential fatty acids: linoleic acid or omega-6, and linolenic acid or omega-3.

It is commonly used in skin care products. It is commonly used for a variety of skin conditions, including dermatitis, acne and eczema, for mature and sun burnt skin as well as brittle nails and wrinkles. Rose hip oil is also frequently used to heal scarring and diminish photo-aging