A Strengthening Health Institute (SHI) Graduate's Story

Sophia G.: Strengthening Health Institute (SHI) Graduate, 2010

Many SHI Comprehensive Certificate Program (CCP) students are relative newcomers to Macrobiotics. They have started eating well recently and want to learn more about the thinking behind the way of life or “diet” that has changed their health for the better. Almost all CCP students are adults with jobs and families who travel to Philadelphia to deepen their appreciation and understanding of something new and even a little strange to them.

Sophia G., who graduated from CCP in February, was decidedly different from most of her classmates. Sophia was only 16 when she started taking classes from Denny and Susan Waxman at SHI and Macrobiotics was not something new and strange to her. Her parents, John and Mary, have been eating a Macrobiotic diet for more than twenty five years. In fact, Sophia, the third of their seven children, was born in Japan where her parents lived for four years to study traditional cooking. Sophia has not only grown up eating this way but she also has been assisting her mother, an accomplished medicinal cook, since she was 12 years old.

So why did she come to CCP in Philadelphia to study?

Her family are Orthodox Christians who homeschool their children to foster their vocations or “callings” rather than to meet conventional education standards. Educational reformer John Holt called this cardiac intelligence focused parenting “un-schooling” and Sophia is a model “un-schooler.” Her two older sisters, one an athlete, the other a musician, are students at VMI and the University of Chicago.

Sophia, in contrast, hopes to be a nun in an Orthodox monastery. Her “studies,” consequently, are focused on her interests in music, church history and teaching, and on cooking. She makes pilgrimages to convents when she is not cooking for clients and studying the violin with her teacher at Philadelphia’s Settlement Music School.

She came to SHI because her mom and dad, both graduates of the Kushi Institute in the 1980’s, thought it the best place for her to learn the cooking skills and traditional thinking behind Macrobiotics.

As John, now a literary critic but once a teacher and the director of programs at the Kushi Foundation Berkshires Center, wrote us,

Mary and I urged Sophia to take SHI’s Comprehensive Certificate Program as part of her un-schooling because we believe that Denny and Susan Waxman are the best at what they do. The great improvement in Sophia’s cooking skills and her greater grasp of the Principle at the heart of traditional cosmology from her studies there is all due to the Waxmans’ unmatched experience and ability to communicate what they know.

Sophia says:
My parents have taught us for as long as I can remember that the right way to understand food is as an echo of the Eucharist. I certainly didn’t ‘get’ this idea of food and cooking styles, though, that they are transparencies of the Principle that creates us all, until my year studying with Denny and Susan. I will always be grateful to them for teaching me how to see people’s conditions in this light and for encouraging me as a young person and cook! I will be applying the lessons and using the skills I learned at SHI the rest of my life.

Mary, Sophia’s mother, wrote:
I was blessed to study with Aveline Kushi, Shizuko Yamamoto, and Wendy Esko when I started cooking years ago and I knew the difference these women made in my understanding of food and health. John and I recognized from our experience that Sophia, a good cook by nature, needed the formal instruction and experience she could only get with the best teachers and cooks if she were to begin reaching her potential. And there are no better teachers and cooks in the US than Susan and Denny and no better intensive program than CCP.

Sophia’s CCP classmates realized very quickly that this very friendly if barely five feet tall young woman with long hair and braces was not a child. Her skills in Susan’s classes and the questions she asked Denny, Susan, and the other SHI instructors reflected her intelligence, big heart, and keen interest in the subjects at hand. Sophia loved and was a big part of the lively discussions during class and over meals at CCP during her year there. Since graduating, Sophia has been cooking for clients in Florida, New Jersey, Missouri, New York City, and Southern California.

Every CCP class is made up of people with stories as different and interesting as Sophia’s. What they all have in common, what brings them to SHI, is a light burning in them to learn more about Macrobiotic cooking and traditional thinking. If you want to join the discussions, acquire the skills, and meet thoughtful, challenging people like Sophia, contact the SHI office today at 215-238-9212!

Sophia G. was a recipient of a CCP Scholarship

Controlling HIV with Macrobiotics

“I am HIV positive. Macrobiotics chose me to follow its Path and not the other way around. I was diagnosed in May 2006, two days after my birthday. I was devastated. Fortunately macrobiotics found me, and I have never had to take anti-retroviral medications.” – Alejandro Aguilera

Alejandro’s HIV symptoms began while on a trip to Turin during the 2006 Winter Olympics. It started as night sweats and a viral rash. Shortly after returning to the US, he caught a cold which kept getting worse. He had to change his shirt at least five times in one night because he was soaked in sweat. As symptoms progressed and being knowledgeable of HIV, he feared the worse. He wept. He had doctors test for everything else and went to three anonymous testing centers. Finally, he was running out of options and while waiting for the anonymous results, he agreed to be tested by my doctors twice. He had no insurance at the time. Out of the five tests, three came back positive for HIV. He then decided to accept the virus now living in my body. He contacted his attorney and closest friends to share the diagnosis. Eventually, in time, he would contact his family.

Alejandro recalled a young Minneapolis bartender suggesting macrobiotics. The bartender had tried it with much success in regards to his condition but had given it up. He also mentioned a homeopath and a bookstore in South Minneapolis.

Alejandro’s soul sister in Minneapolis, Daniella took him that weekend to see the homeopath. It was at “Present Moment” bookstore that Daniella bought his first macrobiotic text for his birthday: Michio Kushi and Alex Jack’s “The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health”. He went home and devoured the entire section on AIDS and found himself agreeing with the precepts and principles. He proceeded to empty his pantry into brown grocery paper bags, and recycled his teflon and aluminum cookware. The next day, he returned unused groceries back to the neighborhood convenience store and then went to Target to buy stainless steel cookware. His next stop was the Wedge Community Coop to buy “MACRO” food. The cashier turned out to be macro and this was the beginning of a mentoring relationship. She would give him first pressure cooker and his first Le Creuset pot. She would eventually take him to Philadelphia to see renowned, Macrobiotic Counselor, Denny Waxman.

Alejandro witnessed his viral load diminish from over 300,000 copies per milliliter of blood down to a bit over 9,000 copies per milliliter. He also has a fluctuating immune system, CD4 count that keeps him in very good health. He has only had the flu once since becoming macrobiotic, and the only symptom which reminds him of his condition (and his humble existence) is the hairy oral leukoplakia on his tongue.

Emotionally and spiritually, Alejandro moved from anger and punching walls, to fear and endless tears, to a place of peace, light, service and redemption. He now suggests to others that: “If you want to LIVE and fully embrace your purpose in Life, then give macrobiotics a chance to change your point of view. It did that for me.”

Listen Now (or download)

Cancer of the Vocal Chords

James Kirman, 84, is a guitar player and singer, In 1997 James experienced a hoarseness in his vocal chords. He went to his Doctor who referred him to a specialist who examined him and suspected that it was leukoplakia, a pre-cancerous condition. James went into the hospital and had it removed and his doctor confirmed that it was indeed, leukoplakia.

6 months later he became hoarse again. This time he went to see Doctor William Lewis who said it was leukoplakia squamous cell carnicoma but not invaded and had it removed. 6 months later, again he had leukoplakia squamous cell carnicoma and again had it removed. 6 months again, he had it again and again had it removed. It would come back one more time and James would have a total of five operations to remove the recurring leukoplakia!

In 1999 and before the fifth (and last) time that James would go into the hospital to have the leukoplakia removed his daughter went to a health seminar conducted by renowned macrobiotic teacher and counselor Denny Waxman, founder and Director of the Strengthening Health Institute in Philadelphia. She told her father to go see Denny for a consultation and that’s when James changed his diet and began following macrobiotics.

Now, ten years later James is still eating macrobiotically. His leukoplakia has never come back and both and he and his doctor are convinced that it was because of macrobiotics. He now sings as good or even better than before and often performs in retirement homes to audiences younger than himself!

Listen Now (or download)

New Program Dates

ADVANCED TRAINING SEMINAR
Our Advanced Training Seminars will now follow a new format; it will consist of 3 lectures, 1 Cooking Class, and 1 Shiatsu Class.
The following topics will be covered:
• Macrobiotic Philosophy
• Workshop on refining your cooking techniques
• Developing Shiatsu
• Healthcare
• Macrobiotic Diagnosis

PROGRAM DATES:
• June 11-13, 2010
• October 8-10, 2010

Read more about our Advanced Training Seminars.
Please call 215.238.9212 for details or to register.


COMPREHENSIVE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
The Comprehensive Certificate Program is an in depth seminar that builds upon the foundation of healthy living established during the Strengthening Health Intensive, and there are still a few seats available for the 2010 class.

The following five key areas will be covered:
• Macrobiotic Philosophy and Theory
• Shiatsu Massage and Do-In Self Exercise
• Oriental Diagnosis
• Cooking
• Macrobiotic Health Care for Oneself and Others

PROGRAM DATES:
• May 21-23, 2010
• June 24-27, 2010
• July 30-August 1, 2010
• September 24-26, 2010
• October 22-24, 2010
• November 18-21 2010

Read more about our Comprehensive Certificate Program.
Please call 215.238.9212 for details or to register.

STRENGTHENING HEALTH INTENSIVE
Register for July's Strengthening Health Intensive with a friend to get the second enrollment for half price and enroll by June 7 to save $100.

Let us do the cooking as our kitchen staff prepares 12 delicious meals while you learn The 7 Conditions of Health, Meal Planning, Cooking plus much, much more.

Be a part of this life-changing experience that has helped hundreds of people maintain and recover their health and well being through macrobiotics.

PROGRAM DATES:
• July 7-11, 2010
• August 25-29, 2010
• November 3-7 2010

Read more about the Strengthening Health Intensive.
Please call 215.238.9212 for details or to register.

Standing Ovation

Check out Standing Ovation! It was made at the Jersey shore and Susan provided macrobiotic snacks and lunches for the cast and crew.

Through original songs and dance numbers, Standing Ovation delivers an optimistic tale of perseverance and passion that inspires the American dream in all of us. The film showcases a talented cast of kids as they learn the importance of friendship and family on a journey to fulfilling their dreams.

Grains of Truth

Traditionally, cultures were known by the grains they ate; rice in Asia, corn in the Americas, oats in the UK, couscous in the Middle East and buckwheat in Russia, to name just a few. Grains have two key components that make them unique among the world’s foods. They are complete in themselves and they are endlessly adaptable.

In grains, the fruit and the seed have merged to become one. (In fruits, we eat the flesh and throw away the seed.) This oneness is the basis of the complete and balanced nutrition that grains give us. Looked at another way, we can say that grains represent and incorporate both the beginning (the seed) and the end (the fruit) of the plant kingdom.

Grains are adaptable in terms of both geography and climate. They can and do adapt easily and effectively to the varied geographical and climatic conditions of our planet. Therefore, they can be cultivated wherever food can be grown. Barley has the widest growing area of any grain. It can grow north beyond the Arctic Circle and as far south as Ethiopia. Grain can also be stored for hundreds of years, which makes it the ideal food to supply the basic nutrition of our planet.

I will elaborate further on the distinctive qualities of whole grains in future articles but in this first article on grains, I want to concentrate on the uniqueness of brown rice.

There are three aspects of brown rice that I find endlessly fascinating. The first is that brown rice can be cooked with any other food to the mutual enhancement of each.

Brown rice can be cooked with all types of animal food, including, beef, lamb, veal, pork, poultry, eggs, fish and seafood. (Just bring to mind the variety of rice dishes available in the world’s restaurants.) Rice can also be cooked with other grains, as well as with beans, seeds or nuts. We can cook barley with rice and chickpeas with rice. We can garnish rice with walnuts or sesame seeds. Rice can also be combined with different types of dairy food to create both savory and sweet dishes or used to mutual advantage with fruit or other sweeteners to create satisfying desserts.

The second fascinating thing about brown rice is that whatever you cook with it takes no longer to cook than does the rice. For example, if you pressure-cook rice with chickpeas or wheat berries, the beans will be tender in 50 minutes. If you cook chickpeas or wheat berries separately, they can take hours to reach that state.

The third, and perhaps the most endearing, thing about brown rice is that you can eat it every day of your life and yet it remains delicious to the taste. I will go so far as to say that brown rice seems to become more and more delicious over time.

There are mental and spiritual, as well as physical, benefits that come from eating a food that has this wealth of unique qualities. Brown rice can be said to open our minds. It gives us the ability to connect or synthesize different ideas, meaning that it can combine as easily with different ideas as it does with different foods. It promotes as sense of oneness with our surroundings.

With brown rice as the lynch pin of our diet, we can significantly improve and maintain the health of our bodies, minds and spirits.