Saunas have always struck me as a place of indulgence for the rich and retired. I was of the opinion that my usual workout routine contained plenty of sweating without having to malinger in a hot box with naked strangers. I had always preferred to spend every precious moment I had at the gym sweating on the Stairmaster, pushing around heavy weights or begrudgingly stretching.

Then I got laid off from my day job and my schedule went from externally frantic and impacted to internally frantic and wide open. I used some of my freed up time and energy to set new fitness goals, develop more targeted workouts and explore aspects of the gym I had previously ignored, including the sauna. One day after riding the bike and working the heck out of my lower body, instead of heading straight for the showers I detoured into the sauna. I put down my towel, laid myself out and waited for something to happen.

At first it felt odd to be lying down and doing nothing at the gym, usually such a physically busy place. I stared up at the criss-crossed boards that made up the ceiling and tried to relax. After a moment, I could feel the heat beginning to penetrate my body, causing my skin to tingle and flush. I could feel the heat like a persistent lover determinedly making its way inward, working its way toward my tired muscles. I became hyper aware of the feel of my skin and the interesting feeling of my body interacting with the hotness. Another woman was having her own sauna experience on a bench across from me, but we did not speak. The heat and quiet wrapped themselves around me and I closed my eyes.

In this busy, fast paced world who doesn’t appreciate a little help to enter into a calmer state of mind? The sauna can be a meditative shoehorn to ease you into a more relaxed place and like the labyrinth, (see November 9th entry) is another useful tool. There are no reading materials, I PODS, computers or idle chatter in the sauna and we are relieved of the modern stimulates that keep us wired and given a rare opportunity to tune into our physical selves at rest. So often at the gym, and in life, its push!, push!, push! We feel the burn and then do five more reps, come to the point of mild discomfort and then hold the stretch, force out ten more minutes of aching lungs on the treadmill. No wonder so many people consider the gym a house of horrors.

The sauna does not allow pushing or competing and is great for balancing the more active parts of a workout. Spending time in the sauna can be a great transition from the charged effort of a workout to a more mellow post workout state of being. The process is cleansing for the entire body and a great relaxation technique.

On my way home that first day I experienced a warm, full-body glow. My skin seemed to be breathing on its own and I felt light from the inside out. Ahhh…the relaxers high! I am now a dedicated sauna convert and it has become my reward at the end of every workout.

The sauna is a five to ten minute gift of mental and physical health that you can easily give yourself. Don’t wait until you’re old, well married or unemployed to reap the rewards that the sauna has to offer. You could be a few minutes away from heaven in your own body.

The benefits of meditation are remarkable and continue to be documented. The practice has been shown to reverse heart disease, enhance the immune system, reduce pain and create feelings of calm and general grooviness. The problem is that sitting meditation requires the ability to sit still; which for many people can be a real obstacle to success. If you are stressed out and haven’t found a regular relaxation practice that works for you, perhaps a journey into the labyrinth is just what you need.

I had my first labyrinth experience on a breezy afternoon in San Francisco’s Duboce Park, making sure I was nice and pre-stressed by illegally parking to get there. Labyrinths have been used as a meditative tool by many cultures including Celtic, Mayan, Greek and Native American since prehistoric times. I already felt more connected to humankind as I thought about the mega stresses that people were dealing with thousands of years ago and was impressed that such varied cultures had caught onto this practice.

Labyrinths are often confused with mazes, but there are a couple of key differences. A labyrinth has only one winding path, you can’t get lost (physically anyway) and there are no minotaurs waiting to eat you. Also, labyrinths are flat and the path is never concealed. They can be made of almost any material but the most common are stone, masonry, tile or canvas. The labyrinth at Duboce Park is sandblasted into the concrete and includes a table-top finger labyrinth for the vision impaired. The typical practice is to walk from the outside to the center, pause for contemplation and then retrace the path back to the beginning.

The labyrinth adds some action to the quiet and focus of meditation and asks you to observe yourself on the journey. There are lots of different ways to approach the process of walking a labyrinth, from focusing on your breath, the feel of your feet (bare or not) on the path, your God or something else in your life that needs attention. You can see the labyrinth as a metaphor for the many journeys of life and also as adding some helpful structure to your meditative practice.

After my walk I felt calmer, more connected to my own body and more in the moment. I wonder what that the labyrinth has in store for you?

All stressed out with no where to go? To find a labyrinth near you visit the world wide labyrinth location.

http://wwll.veriditas.labyrinthsociety.org/

More information on walking Meditation (no labyrinth required)

www.wildmind.org/walking/introduction.com

Online labyrinth tool (no walking required)

http://www.gracecathedral.org/labyrinth/interactions/index.shtml#

My cat Smurf will eat just about anything, from the processed concoction that is dry, diet cat food, to the mysterious blend that is wet, and any kind of meat or dairy product in between. This morning I was woken to a slamming in the kitchen and the soft patter of her paws down the wood floor of the hallway. I rose to find her hunkered down over a piece of crust from last night’s frozen pizza. Just about the only things Smurf won’t eat are fruits and vegetables; which makes her palate very similar to the average American’s.

Except for beets!

I discovered this aberration when I spilled a bowl of cooked, cubed beets onto the kitchen floor. Smurf went to town on those beety beets, risking decapitation from the refrigerator door without a second thought. I was surprised and intrigued as I had never seen her eat anything that didn’t have, or come from, something with a face. Was it the blood red color, reminiscent of raw meat that brought her on or the nutty, perhaps vaguely meaty taste of the root itself? Due to the language barrier, we may never know.

What we do know is that even though beets are not as famous as some other rooty vegetables, such as carrots and potatoes, their unique coloration makes them a nutritional treasure trove. Beet roots are rich in a plethora of nutrients including folic acid, potassium, calcium, Vitamin C and Vitamin A. Their telltale redness is an active ingredient that is thought by many nutritionists and natural health practitioners to thwart tumor growth, heal the liver and detoxify blood.

If your first experience with beets involved the pickled or candied varieties then you may be suffering from Post Traumatic Abused Vegetable Syndrome or PTAVS. Chances are you are hesitant to try them again and I understand your pain. I too thought of beets as foul red pickles, used for garnish and torturing children. I truly hope that you will give them another chance and discover their tastiness for yourself.

The versatile fresh beet root can be eaten raw, boiled, steamed, roasted (my favorite), or sautéed. They are great on salads and can be used as a meat substitute on sandwiches or burgers. Their peak season is June through October, but because they store well they can be found year round. If you decide to boil you beets, cook them with the skins on to minimize their magical nutrients leaching out into the water.

I beet-seech you to expand your vegetable horizons and give beets a try! If you hate them, you can always feed them to your cat.