Headingley News March 2016
Growing achievement for Lishi classes in Headingley.
AN EXERCISE programme from China based on the philosophy of Yin and Yang has been introduced in Headingley.
The classes at St. Augustine’s Wrangthorn Church Hall in Headingley as well as Leeds University has gained a lot of success.
Lishi combines the very best from Tai Chi, Cardio Kung Fu, Self Defence and Daoist Yoga.
It has been practised for thousands of years and is still around today because of its relevance to the challenges of modern life:
Wai-Yii Yeung, the leader of the Lishi classes said: “I started Lishi when I was a student at the University of Leeds and I got so much from the classes that I wanted to make sure that other students could learn these arts and benefit from the exercises and philosophy.
I teach classes at Wrangthorn Church Hall as well as at the University and all my students agree that it helps them concentrate, de-stress and boost their energy.
“Part of the programme of self-development includes not only learning the exercises but eventually learning how to teach and lead.
“As I developed these skills I found that I really enjoyed sharing this ancient knowledge and starting classes in the area was a natural next step. I love it.”
Lishi classes have been going on throughout the UK and abroad, but it has been kept secret for a long time compared with other Tai Chi or Self Defence arts.
Wai-Yii added: “I hope that as more people experience the benefits they will tell others and Lishi will start to grow in popularity through word of mouth.
“I love teaching these arts but more than that I love it when people tell me how much the classes have had a positive impact on their life and time at university.”
Find out more about Wai-Yii and her classes:
Source: https://newsinheadingley.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/growing-achievement-for-lishi-classes-in-headingley/
Spring Vegetables with Tofu and noodles
Serves 1
Ingredients
3 bunched carrots
2 spring onions
1 clove of garlic
1cm root ginger
3 large Chard leaves ( or equivalent)
2 sticks dried Tofu
50g (20zs) Noodles
300mls (1/2pint) vegetable stock.
Instructions
Break up the tofu sticks and soak for 5 minutes
Peel and chop carrots
Remove stalks from chard and chop
Chop or grate garlic and ginger.
Drain the tofu.
Place in a pan with the carrots, chard stalks, garlic, ginger and stock
Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
Chop the chard leaves and spring onions.
Add to the pan with the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes.
Recipes
Search my blog for more Chang Ming Recipes that I post regularly or buy The Basic Chang Ming Cookbook from Amazon
Chang Ming Guide
The Chang Ming diet goes hand in hand with the Lishi practice. So here are 5 basic steps to help you follow the
- Eat lots of veggies and wholegrains – yum!
- Replace refined sugars with natural sugars
- Cut out stimulants – byebye -coffees and chocolates – and then bye bye to mood swings, bad nerves and hello better quality of sleep
- Don’t drink when you eat – wait until after your meal to drink. This ensures better digestion and that you are not diluting your stomach acids.
- Eat until you are 80% full – then stop….learn to listen to your body and stop before you are bloated. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to register the signals from your stomach that you are full. SO if you eat until you are full, then you are likely to feel too full
Recipes
Search my blog for Chang Ming Recipes that I post regularly or buy The Basic Chang Ming Cookbook from Amazon
Ten Lishi Wisdoms on how to be happy and healthy for 2016
Ten Lishi Wisdoms on how to be happy and healthy for 2016
2. Don’t think too much. Thinking takes energy. Thinking can make you age quickly. Learn to follow your energy work in the flow.
3. When working, work for 40 minutes then stop for 10 minutes. When you look at something all the time, it can damage your eyes. Concentrating on something too long is not nourishing for your mind or body.
4. When you are happy, control your happiness, too much happiness damages the heart energy. When you lose control of your happiness then you damage your lung energy.
5. Don’t worry too much or get angry. Anxiousness and anger damages your liver and your intestines. It’s ALL GOOD!
7. When you eat food don’t eat too much. Chang Ming advises always make sure you leave a little space in your stomach and do not eat until you are totally full as this can damage your spleen.
8. If you only do physical exercise all the time and you never do Qigong this makes you lose your balance and you will become impatient. You lose the Yin of your body. Lishi Exercises balance the Yin and the Yang.
9. If you never exercise your body, and instead only meditate with soft training/qigong, then this doesn’t nourish your Yang energy so you will use up your Yang and become weakened.
10. Lishi training is holistic. The purpose of our training is to balance our Yin and Yang. How many hours is not important. It’s quality not quantity – come along to one of our classes lishi.org/classes/leeds
Recipe: Steamed Greens and Carrots with a Tahini and Miso Sauce
Steamed Greens and Carrots with a Tahini and Miso Sauce
This currently has my number one spot for favourite meals.
At the moment I am 30 weeks pregnant and I my body craves Cabbage and Broccoli! (nope, not a pickled onion or piece of coal in sight!)
This recipe is super quick and easy. Plus once you’ve tried the Tahini and Miso sauce you won’t be able to get enough of it.
Serves: 2 adults / 2 Kids
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 15 mins
Ingredients:
Half a head of Brocccoli
2/3 Carrots ( organic if possible, just because they taste so much better)
Half a Green Cabbage
But substitute with any seasonal vegetables that are hanging around in your fridge.
Sauce:
2 tablespoons of Tahini ( Light)
1 generous tablespoon of Brown Rice Miso
1 generous dollop of date syrup
1 dash of tamari
1 dash of toasted sesame oil
2 ladels of vegetable stock / water from the steamed veg
Instructions:
- Wash and cut the carrots into large chunks
- Place the carrots into the steamer and start steaming
- Wash and cut the broccoli into chucky heads
- Wash and dice the cabbage
- Place the broccoli and cabbage into the steamer and add as another layer over the carrots. Steam for 5 mins.
While the veg are steaming, make the sauce.
Tahini and Miso Sauce
- Place 2 heaped tablespoons of Tahini in a pan with a very low heat.
- Add 1 dollop of date syrup, toasted sesame oil and tamari soya sauce
- Add 2 ladles of the steamed vegetable water and stir
- Once the sauce has mixed well, turn off the heat and add 1 tablespoon of brown rice miso and continue to stir in well.
Place the steamed veggies in a bowl and generously dress with the hot sauce and serve.
I try and follow lifestyle guidelines called Chang Ming (Long Life therapy).
This means plenty of seasonal veggies and I’ve also been cutting down on the amount of grains and carbs I’ve been eating lately.
However you can also serve this with a portion of short grain brown rice. The nutty flavour of the brown rice is also delicious with this sauce.
Bon Appetite! 🙂
5 Non-Dairy Sources of Calcium
Here are 5 non dairy sources of calcium
Calcium is an essential mineral for the good health of the body, teeth and bones. I am sick of being told that the only source of calcium is from milk and dairy.
In actual fact calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body and also abundant in a number of foods in equal or higher quantities than dairy. It is estimated that 6 out of 10 people are not able to digest lactose. Chee Soo describes it as “ cows milk is designed for baby calves not people” (sic)
For example only 33% of calcium from dairy products can be absorbed by the body. We need around 300-400 mg of calcium a day. Other food sources such as leafy greens, vegetables and seeds are a much better source of absorbable calcium.
Over zelous PR from the dairy industry market calcium as an wonder mineral, however over comsumption of calcium has its problems. Therefore to be safe it is better to consume calcium through natural food sources rather than supplements and fortified foods. Natural food sources are the best way to consume calcium as to absorb this mineral, Vitamin D, K and Magnesium is also needed in the body, which are also naturally occurring in food sources.
Here is a quick list of 5 great non dairy alternatives to calcium
- Dark Leafy Greens: e.g. Pak Choi, Broccoli, Cabbage and Kale. In addition they are also a fanastic source of vitamins A, C, E and K and B vitamins. If you make no other changes to your diet, if you have an extra helping of dark leafy greens, you will see positive results in your body.
- Sesame seeds: there are 90mg of calcium in a teaspoon. But foods such as tahini and halva are rich in sesame and therefore calcium as well as zinc, magnesium, selenium and iron.
- Beans:such as haricot or navy beans are high in calcium, fiber and iron.
- Black Strap Molasses: This is an excellent sweetener for teas and baked goods. High in multiple vitamins and minerals, one tablespoon of this thick, dark molasses will give you 172 mg of your daily calcium needs. Try it in your morning cup of organic tea or coffee.
- Quinoa: this is widely thought to be a grain, but is actually a seed. The delicious light nutty texture contains around 175mg of your daily RDA for calcium, as well as high levels of potassium, magnesium and zinc.
For more information on the Chang Ming Diet buy our Kindle book which includes sixty delicious Chang Ming Recipes