March 1, 2024

Happy March! 

Mothers and Daughters

Today is my beautiful daughter’s 45th birthday. She was such a delightful little girl, and never “rebelled” like so many kids do…until well into her 30s (she tells a different story!) We’ve had some very rugged years, but I’m so grateful that we’ve repaired whatever meaningless relationship issues we had and she’s lovingly back in my life. Here’s a pic of her and Lanny getting ready for a fiddle contest when she was about 8 years old. The 10+ years of weekly violin lessons were an anchor for both of us, and I can’t recommend music enough for young families.

I've uncovered extremely information that is not being reported anywhere, which I’m going to go public with in the biggest way I can. What I’m about to reveal is beyond disturbing, but we need to turn to each other and do whatever it takes to upend a murderous pharmaceutical cabal. I feel like my entire life has been lived for this moment, and whether I survive or not hardly matters. 

Apple Crumble

Today we ate the last of the several servings of apple crumble that I had wrapped en papillote, or in parchment paper, and put in the freezer last Fall. We’ve both been burning serious calories (brain energy if nothing else), and these delicious little packets fueled us on several cold winter days. The apples were from old orchards near Las Truchas, New Mexico, one of the most beautiful places in the American Southwest. We dried and freeze-dried many pounds, and are eating the very last fresh Fuji’s, which last many months if stored well. We bought a few organic Fuji’s from our local Co-op recently, and they paled in comparison. Food is so much deeper than what is trucked across miles of American highways!

It’s very easy to do. I just mixed a bit of freshly-ground spelt flour, dried cane-juice sugar (often called Sucanat), cinnamon, clove, freshly-ground nutmeg, a pinch of fine Himalayan salt, unsalted butter, and tossed the mixture lightly with apple slices, which I had sprinkled with lime juice. 

Cut several sheets of parchment about 15 inches long, fold them in half, and then cut a half-moon shape leaving the folded edge in place. Simply spoon the apple mixture onto one-half of the paper and crimp the edges all around. They’re so much fun to bring out of the freezer and pop into the oven on a cold winter’s day.

Whole Woman Posture

The book project has really taken its toll, mostly because I worked obsessively on it for so many months. I’ve learned some valuable lessons though, one of which is about the effect aging has on lumbar curvature and our ability to breathe deeply. This illustration (from Saving the Whole Woman) shows the respiratory diaphragm and its tough tendons, called crura, which attach the diaphragm to the inside of the lumbar vertebrae.

Every time we breathe in, the muscular diaphragm comes all the way down to our last set of ribs, and pulls the lumbar spine forward. That forward movement pulls the bottom of our lungs downward, allowing us to breathe deeply.

I believe that like many of our tendons and ligaments (especially those in the hands and around the hips), the crura become shortened and fibrous as we age. The result of less-functional crura is not being able to take a deep breath easily like we used to do. I also believe this symptom is often mis-diagnosed as more serious conditions, like heart problems and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). 

The remedy is living and breathing mindfully in Whole Woman posture! Lumbar curvature never ceases to be extremely important, especially as we age. Eating “half-full,” as the yogis say, is also very important because an overly-full stomach shoved up against the left side of the heart can become an obstructive force as well.

Stay well, stay alert, and enjoy the turning of the Season. 

Best wishes always,

Christine Kent
Founder
Whole Woman