May20

Are you ready to benefit from the healing power of the summer season?

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Caracol demo Sirenitas bd 033What:   a four session phone group coaching series in a supportive community environment to implement permanent changes to optimize your health and vitality.

 Why:    to learn about reconnecting with your body, mind and spirit as we reconnect with the season, tips for detoxing, light, healthy recipes based on seasonal veggies and fruits, how to develop a personalized diet, easy daily work-outs and spiritual practices.   

 When:  Tuesdays June 18 and 25, July 2 and 9, from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.

 Where: From the convenience of your home, call in and join the interactive teleconference.

 During the course of this four session program, you will

  • Set and accomplish goals
  • Explore detoxing seasonal foods
  • Learn how to stay hydrated
  • Increase energy and vitality
  • Feel better in your body
  • Find mastery over your cravings through healthy alternatives
  • Receive the support of a community of peers

 

Bonus:  preliminary individual health phone consultation, a Facebook support group for weekly check-ins, recordings of the sessions, hand-outs, individual recommendations, support from a buddy system, health food store tour.

 

Make sure to check out the Top seven reasons to join a group coaching program

Cost for the 4 sessions:                       125$

Savings if paid in full by June 11:     100$

Eventbrite - Four session phone group coaching series on health and wellness

 

RSVP sirena@vivamivida.com or call 323-352-8970

Sirena Pellarolo, Ph.D. is a holistic health coach, food justice activist, raw food educator, radio host and blogger. She advocates for individual and community autonomy, sustainable, vibrant health, empowering self-reliance and nutritional sovereignty for all. As a compassionate, down-to-earth and experienced healer, Sirena supports her clients in the unleashing of their hidden potentials hiding behind apparent health challenges. Please visit her holistic health coaching website, www.vivamivida.com, and her raw food and detoxifications blog, livefoods4life.com.

May15

Special offer and savings for the Costa Rica Detox Retreat, July 7-14, 2013

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Hello everyone!!
Paloma and I appreciate the incredible positive feedback we have received about this amazing retreat we are offering this summer. Many of you showed interest and, in order to help you make a commitment, we would like to gift you with a very limited offer that you will not want to miss. We have some few slots that will reduce the cost when you bring a friend:

$2,500 FOR TWO PEOPLE, on a first-come first-served basis. The offer is limited to the first three pairs of friends or couples who pay in full by May 26. This is going to sell out quick, so make your decision ASAP!

Price includes

  • 7 night occupancy in beautiful beach front rooms
  • Delicious organic plant-based meals, smoothies, juices and raw soups
  • Daily retreat program
  • Pre-retreat orientation
  • Pre-retreat individual health consultation

Body work, surfing lessons and local tours are available at an additional cost. Airfare, transportation are not included.

To register and make your payment

Detox Retreat

May5

Helpful tips to practice mindful eating and promote weight loss

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One of the first recommendations I give my clients who want to lose weight and adopt a healthier diet is to be mindful during their meals. To just sit in front of their meal, give thanks for it, bless it and savor each bite in mindfulness: chewing thoroughly, paying attention to the flavor and the texture of their food. No multitasking, no TV, no phone, no computer. Just eat. A simple act, that when done mindfully, recovers its original sacred nature. When we eat mindfully we eat less and our digestion improves.

I have been enjoying reading a book by one of my favorite authors, Thich Nhat Hanh, in collaboration with Dr. Lilian Cheung: Savor, Mindful Eating, Mindful Life. In their book they recommend these simple tips to practice mindful eating:

  1. Breathe before eatingsavor
  2. Honor the food
  3. Engage all six senses
  4. Serve in modest portions
  5. Savor small bites and chew thoroughly
  6. Eat slowly to avoid overeating
  7. Don’t skip meals
  8. Eat a plant-based diet, for your health and for the planet

I would add: enjoy the process! Bon appétit.

 

 

If you’d like to receive updates, please join my newsletter here

Apr29

Top Seven Reasons to Join A Group Coaching Program

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Hello all!

I am launching a four-week intensive phone group coaching program. From the convenience of your home, I will be coaching you on how to jump-start a healthy diet and lifestyle. As I know that many times we need someone to hold us accountable to make permanent changes to support our health, I designed this easy-to-follow four series program. I hope you join me. And, if you know of someone who might benefit from a program like this one (who wouldn’t?), please forward the information to them. Please note that this is very time sensitive, as the program starts May 6. For more info and to register, go here.

Group coaching programs are very beneficial, as the next seven reasons will show.

1.  Find a  Personal Support System

Group coaching gives you the opportunity to share your feelings with others and develop deeper connections, making your sessions more meaningful. Knowing you are not alone in your journey will help you develop the confidence to address your challenges and the motivation to succeed.

2. Higher Likelihood of Achieving Goals

When individuals are part of a group, they procrastinate less, accomplish more, and reach their goals faster.

3. Benefit from Collective Wisdom

You’ll brainstorm solutions, open creativity channels, and uncover opportunities you may not have discovered working alone.

4. Gain a New Perspective

When you work in a group, you’re exposed to a variety of insights that offer you multiple angles and motivate you to develop new solutions.

5. A Great Value

Get the same quality coaching, but at a fraction of what individual coaching costs. Group coaching is a smart and affordable way to receive top-notch guidance.

6. A Team Invested in Your Success

When you work in a group, the whole team supports you and celebrates your success.

7. Turn Work into Play

Working with a group is a social event that participants look forward to. You will join a close-knit group that is energizing, motivating and most of all – fun! Group members often become lifelong friends.

Check out the information for my next group coaching program here.

Apr25

How to jump-start a healthy diet and lifestyle by going back to the basics

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What:   a four session intensive phone group coaching series in a supportive community environment to implement permanent changes to optimize your health and vitality.

Why:    to learn about reconnecting with your body, deconstructing cravings and finding healthier options, tips for detoxing, healthy recipes, how to develop a personalized diet, easy daily work-outs, meditation and journaling.

When:  Mondays May 6, 13, 20 and 27, from 5:30 to 6:30 pm PST.

Where: From the convenience of your home, call in and join the interactive teleconference.

During the course of this four session program, you will

  • Set and accomplish goalsCaracol demo Sirenitas bd 033
  • Explore new foods
  • Understand and reduce cravings
  • Increase energy
  • Feel better in your body
  • Improve personal relationships with yourself, others and nature
  • Receive the support of a community of peers

Bonus:  preliminary individual health phone consultation, a Facebook support group for weekly check-ins, hand-outs, recommendations, support from a buddy system, health food store tour.

Cost for the 4 sessions:                       125$

Savings if paid in full by May 3:        100$

Limited slots! A 50$ deposit reserves your spot via PayPal at www.vivamivida.com

RSVP sirena@vivamivida.com or call 323-352-8970

Sirena Pellarolo, Ph.D. is a food justice activist, raw food educator, certified holistic health coach, radio host and blogger. She advocates for individual and community autonomy, sustainable, vibrant health, empowering self-reliance and nutritional sovereignty for all. In 2009 she created Viva La Vida, Live Foods for Life, a project committed to spread the basics of a raw food diet in working class communities of color as a means to decolonize our bodies from commercial food and foster the re-membering of healthy lifestyles. As a compassionate and experienced healer, Dr. Pellarolo supports her clients in the unleashing of their hidden potentials hiding behind those apparent health challenges. Please visit her holistic health coaching website, www.vivamivida.com, and her raw food and detoxifications blog, livefoods4life.com.

Apr22

Dandelions: let food be your medicine

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photoLlegó la primavera y el amor!

I love spring time! I love the weather and to be able to witness nature yawning back to life. How beautiful!

When I walk in the mornings or when I go out and feed the pack of (former) stray cats in my backyard, I am welcomed by a flourish of colorful and aromatic aliveness. Bouganvillia and morning glory blooming, jasmines of all types sharing their equisite aroma… And my favorite: yes, the loyal dandelions. Most people want to kill them, because they feel they are “weeds,” but I love to forage them because they are locally and seasonally grown and they are FREE!!!! And, of course, they have amazing medicinal properties.

According to a post by David Metz, Certified Clinical Herbalist, “Dandelions: from weed to medicine,” these herbs have “been known for perhaps thousands of years as a springtime cleanser and rejuvenator. The young leaves are perfect in the spring to cleanse your liver, kick-start your kidneys and release the winter stagnancy out of your muscles and bones.”  He adds that they are also “a premier digestive aid,” easing ” indigestion, gas and bloating.” Moreover, the bitterness of the herb helps the liver to release built-up bile,  “making dandelion good for gallstones, gout, jaundice, constipation, acne and eczema.”

Dandelions are also used as diuretics and a “potent anti-inflammatory, a cholesterol reducer, a type 2 diabetes balancer, and a reducer of muscular pain and swelling.  These qualities are due to its cooling nature. “

So, I invite you to try these amazing plants. How can we eat them? Well, I make the most delicious salad; simple, tasty and stimulating. Enjoy!SAM_0345

Dandelion Greens Salad

1 bunch of thinly sliced dandelion greens

½ cup chopped mushrooms

3 chopped garlic cloves.

a handfull of cranberries

Dressing: olive oil, raw apple cider vinegar and 1 tbsp. amino acids (Braggs) made with fermented soy beans.

Equipment: bowl, knife, chopping board

Apr14

Gluten* and sugar- free fruit and nut cookies-Galletas de frutas secas y nueces sin gluten* ni azúcar

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-DSC_1113smThis is a deliciously  healthy snack that can be dehydrated or baked

Ingredients

2 cups of assorted dry fruits (soaked 4-6 hours)
1 cup of pitted dates (soaked 4-6 hours)
1 cup of pecan nuts
1 cup of shredded/grated coconut
1 cup of flax seeds
1 cup of oat groats
2 tablespoons of raw agave nectar
Coconut oil to cover the cookie sheet

Preparation
Filter the water used to soak the dry fruits and dates and keep it.  Process the fruit and dates in the Cuisinart and place in a bowl. Frind the flax seeds and the oat groats and add to the bowl. Mix well, using the water used for soaking the fruits. Add chopped nuts, shredded coconut and the agave. Continue to blend and add the water as needed. The consistency should be firm, in order to shape the cookies. You can bake them in the oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or dehydrate for 24 hours. Enjoy!

* thank you, Lorena, for your comment. Oats don’t have gluten naturally, but many times they are packed in facilities that handle other grains with gluten. Make sure to use uncontaminated oats to prepare this recipe.

 
Estas galletas son muy saludables, y se pueden hornear o deshidratar

Ingredientes
2 tazas de frutas secas variadas remojadas en agua filtrada por 4-6 horas.
1 taza de dátiles sin carozo remojadas en agua filtrada por 4-6 horas.
1 taza de nueces pecan (se pueden remojar también)
1 taza de coco rallado
1 taza de semillas de linaza
1 taza de granos de avena
2 cucharadas de nectar de agave
Aceite de coco para aceitar la asadera

Preparación
Filtre el agua que se usó para remojar las frutas secas y los dátiles y guárdela. Ponga las frutas y los dátiles en una procesadora y procese bien y pase a un bol. Muela las semillas de linaza y los granos de avena y agregue al bol. Mezcle bien usando el agua del remojo. Agregue las nueces picadas, el coco rallado y el agave. Siga mezclando y agregue agua cuando la necesite. La consistencia debe ser firme, para formar copos en la asadera. Aceite la asadera y ponga la masa en copos para hacer las galletas. Cocine en horno de 400 grados por 45 minutos.

* Gracias, Lorena, por tu comentario. Si bien la avena no tiene gluten naturalmente, muchas veces se empaqueta en establecimientos con otros granos que sí lo tienen. Para asegurarse de que la receta no tiene gluten, por favor, asegúrense de que la avena no ha sido contaminada.

Apr11

Costa Rica Detox Retreat, July 7-14

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When you offer yourself this time-out from your busy lives you will experience an expansive aliveness, a feeling so uplifting, that you will want to periodically include such breaks to keep up the overall feeling of vibrancy. In this retreat you will:
*lose weight and learn how to keep it off
*learn delicious recipes to make at home
*enhance your autonomy over your health
*delve in the exploration of self in relation to food
*empower your body through chakra work, yoga and other physical practices
*increase the sense of community through activities incorporating nature, sharing and support
*express your creativity by exploring the world of dreams and visioning
*explore radical self-love, acceptance and compassion to help you move into your most authentic expression
*and of course, relax and restore in a beautiful, quiet Paradise
For more info, go to the Detox Retreat page on this blog or to
Apr10

You are not alone: we’re doing this together

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I began a recent teleclass by sharing the health issues that many of my health coaching clients have in their quest for vibrant health. At the end of the call, when I asked what had been something of value that my audience had heard, one of the listeners said that it was to realize that she was not alone in feeling some of the issues that I shared my own clients were feeling.

It is so reassuring that we are not alone, that we are all doing this Life thing together. It helps us reduce the anxiety, the guilt and the shame of not knowing really how to go about making changes and choosing higher. The power of community is really very helpful, not to commiserate with each other, but to realize that it is not necessary to isolate to lick our wounds when things seem not to be going the way our egos decide they should.

That is why I am starting a series of posts with this list of issues, and some recommendations on how to find solutions to them. My first post will just be the list, so you, my readers, realize that you too, are not alone. In upcoming posts, I will be focusing on each one of these topics and expanding on them.

For now, please comment below if you also are experiencing some of these issues:

  1. Emotional eating as a coping mechanism
  2. Disconnection from the body and hunger signals
  3. Food cravings and addictions
  4. Choosing “convenient food” over “healthy home-cooked food”
  5.  Mindless eating
  6. Poor elimination
  7. Lack of exercise
  8. Lack of self-care and alone time
  9. Low energy
  10. Low self esteem
  11. Fear and guilt
  12. Overwhelm
  13. A feeling of powerlessness
  14. Boredom, frustration, depression, confusion
  15. Difficulty in catching the vision of a purposeful life

Catch you in the next one!

To sign up for upcoming events and updates, please go here

Mar16

Spring Equinox Re-Birthing Community Cleanse Kick-Off

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When:    Saturday March 23, 2013, 11:00 am-1:00pm

Where:   El ranchito de Sirena en El Sereno, a place for healing and mystery school

What:     a one week DIY raw cleanse and juicing fast, followed by an optional 3 day liver/gallbladder flush

Why:      to deeply clean-up and de-junk our system, release physical, mental and emotional toxins, so that we continue the work from a place of clarity and strength

Hey everyone!

It’s time again to detox. I’m planning to kick-off the Spring Equinox Re-Birthing Community Cleanse on Saturday March 23 at 11am.

Following ancestral traditions and what our four-legged friends teach us, the changing of the seasons ask of us to release un-needed baggage, so that our organisms flow with the natural cycles of Life. Raw food and holistic health guru David Wolfe claims that cleansing and detoxification promote “inner terrain modification created by transforming our tissues in a way that eliminates stagnation and restores intelligence. This modification drives all manner of decay organisms out of our bodies and removes the debris that they have left behind” (The Longevity Now Program, 46). Periodic cleansing then is the most natural way of allowing our bodies to restore their inherent intelligence hindered by toxins, processed food, stimulants, stress, etc.

Community cleanses have proven to be a very supportive and caring environment to detox safely in a community setting (see testimonials of previous cleanses at http://livefoods4life.com/2012/01/22/epiphany-power-cleanse-testimonials/. We will be using again the Power Cleanse manual for instructions on how to develop a personalized cleanse safely and effectively http://livefoods4life.com/2011/12/31/8/. To listen to an interview on the power of these community cleanses, go here https://soundcloud.com/sirena-pellarolo/community-cleanses-and. For audio testimonials of previous cleansers, https://soundcloud.com/sirena-pellarolo/viva-mi-vida-2-12-2013. We will support each other in this amazing journey of releasing at every level: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual.

Let’s detox our bodies as we enter the season of re-birth and renewal by choosing delicious raw foods with a clear intention of letting go of the old, releasing what we dont need, so that we give birth to a clearer and stronger version of ourselves.

Activities of the kick-off will include

  • Instructions on how to do the cleanse safely
  • Pairing up with buddies to support us in the process
  • Demos of recipes to incorporate during the one week detox program
  • Sampling of the recipes

Please RSVP and for more information: sirena@vivamivida.com

Investment:                          25$ paid by March 20, 30$ at the door

Returning cleansers:            15$

For payment, go here:
http://vivamivida.com/events/2013/03/spring-equinox-re-birthing-community-cleanse-kick-off

Sirena Pellarolo, Ph.D. is a food justice activist, raw food educator, certified holistic health coach and radio host. She advocates for individual and community autonomy, sustainable, vibrant health, empowering self-reliance and nutritional sovereignty for all. In 2009 she created Viva La Vida, Live Foods For Life, a project committed to spread the basics of a raw food diet in working class communities of color as a means to decolonize our bodies from commercial food and foster the re-membering of healthy lifestyles.
www.vivamivida.com            http://livefoods4life.com/