Dear Fabulous Friends and Community,
I am a student again! I have enrolled in a health and nutrition class with the
Institute for Integrative Nutrition. The course is a year long and at the end I will be a certified health coach. I'm SO excited! Wooowhoo! Since it's a distance learning course and all the info came to me weeks ago, I've totally cheated and have read and listened to a whole bunch of the material we are to cover. It's great stuff!
As most, if not all, of you know, I have always been interested in health and nutrition. My obsession with local food, gardening, eating and all things health-related is going to develop into my next career!
I'm going to learn a lot about all the different dietary theories out there. From the
Zone Diet to the
Blood Type Diet to
Five Element Theory (which, by the way, I'd never heard of - Shocking!). I'm also going to learn a lot about listening, the basics of food consumption, and the latest in dietary theory - As well as the business end of being a health coach.
I chose
Integrative Nutrition because of their basic philosophy, which is:
There are two types of food:
Primary Food consists of our relationships, our physical activity, our career and our spiritual practice.
Secondary Food is what we put in our mouths.
This was a revelation to me when I heard it! The world got brighter and bigger and all the stuff in my head around food and place and self-care and community started to link up like a string of old Christmas lights when you replace the right bulb! Fascinating!
There is no one-size-fits-all diet:
What invigorates you may bore me. What I eat to feel great might make you feel lethargic. What works for your body might make me have a rash! We all are intuitive and smart enough to figure out what will bring optimal health and happiness. . . all we need is information, support and encouragement along the way.
Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?
What will I do with all this new-found learning and inspiration?
Here's my vision for this year:
- I'm going to share it with you. Here on my blog. So please check in occasionally to see what's new!
- I'm going to offer seminars to groups, starting (hopefully) with my workplace.
- I'm going to take on clients who want to increase their health and happiness.
Here's my vision for a few years after that:
I'm going to buy a piece of land and start a
biodynamic human-scale garden/farm that will serve as the centerpiece for seminars, weekend retreats and classes about nutritionally dense food, how to grow it, how to cook it, how to enjoy eating it - and taking care of our children, grandchildren and ourselves as we age.
Sounds fun, doesn't it?!
Where will this garden/farm be? I have no idea, but I'm looking for that piece of land. Two to five acres with water rights in an area that's pretty and has a good growing season. Not sure if that's California, Idaho, Oregon or Washington - or someplace I haven't thought of yet.
I'm planning to apprentice on a biodynamic farm, either the fall of 2011 or the spring of 2012, for a year. There are a few out there that pay a small stipend, which is all I really need.
I am looking forward to the next part of my journey and sharing it with you. I cannot begin to express what you all mean to me.
For those of you who are new in my world, I have family and friends that are amazing. They've been there for me through many different phases in my life (not all good) and I love and admire every single one of them.
Of course, I can't do this alone. I will need your help and encouragement along the way.
To start with, if you have information about, or know of, a piece of land that is for sale that I would love, or a biodynamic farm that hires help, please post a comment or email me at greenlifejunkie@gmail.com.
Here's to the future!
Love to you all,
Tamara
PS -
Mr. Green is totally supportive of this new adventure. Crazy man! :)
February, the “month of love,” is here. It’s the time every year we are reminded to recognize and celebrate the love in our lives. We mark our calendar and give flowers, chocolates and cards. 
