Every Sunday morning, in the quiet back room of the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding, Wonchull Park teaches a community tai chi class. I arrived a couple minutes early, but about 15 older members were already there, conversing in the back of the room. Park allowed me to observe from the sideline and quietly take notes. Beginning with several minutes of seated meditation, the class focuses on breathing slowly and rubbing muscles gently to warm up. Eventually, Park stands up and starts leading the class through circular motions of his hands in coordination with his body. He then begins to speak.

Park is a longtime physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and a longer-time practitioner of tai chi. Learning from masters of ancient lineage, Parks pedigree contributes to his enduring relationships with his learners. Feng Chen, a professor at Rider University who learned tai chi when she was a college student in China, recognized Parks style as one passed down from one generation to another. Park also teaches tai chi with a unique approach, Chen said.

Park emphasizes comfort and the effects of relaxation while seeking to demystify the martial art. Approaching tai chi with his physics background, Park decouples the esoterica from the profoundly simple truths of tai chi.

To some, said his assistant, Mackenzie Hawkins 15, this may be a little too simple. She humorously posed the question: How far can you go with Newtons three laws? But Park asserts that it really is that simple, and points to tai chis application in everyday life.

The effects of tai chi are noticeable and immediate, but can take a lifetime to perfect. During class, Park explained the concept of qigong, what he describes, in part, as understanding the reality of now.

Hawkins helped unpack it for me: In the narrow sense, qigong is a breathing-related exercise, but in a broad sense it is mind-body cultivation. Understanding the natural cycles of breathing centers ones emotions and attunes ones conscious mind to the whole positive feedback cycle of being and perceiving.

Fundamentally, breathing is a movement, according to Park, and like any motion, most of us should work on our form. Park pointed out that I held my breath as I typed and that I had several issues with my posture. These are details we are prone to ignore in daily life. Breathing sharpens the mind, which is good for school work or advanced physics, Park noted. Hawkins attests to the recuperative powers of tai chi from her personal experience: As an undergraduate, she struggled with illness and found recovery in the practice of meditation.

Hawkins and Park have begun working together to publish books and teach more classes to introduce tai chi to a younger generation. Together they teach classes for kids at the Princeton YMCA, called Super Kid Tai Chi, and their books in progress will demonstrate different benefits of tai chi in the modern life.

On Saturdays from 3 to 4:30 p.m., Park teaches club tai chi in the studio of the New South Building, free to all students and faculty. In contrast to the Sunday classes, these offer smaller, more direct learning with Park. In a moment of humor, Park encouraged all to take up this lifelong practice: like the Nike commercial, just do it!

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Meditation in Movement - The Daily Princetonian

Sonora Thomas laid out patterned scarves along her office floor. Each acted as a checkpoint along the road of life. Thomas stood beside a scarf, acting out a technique she uses with her clients at MCLAs Counseling Services.

They get more information if they do it versus just talking about it, Thomas said. So, I find getting up and being active, is helpful, as you start to learn more information rather than just thinking hypothetically.

When students come in and talk about the possibility of switching majors, Thomas pulls out her plastic bin full of scarves and has students practice the different aspects of deciding to do a career in a certain field. They start out from doing ten years down the road, to 20, and so on. Sometimes students realize the difficulties that may come with a different major, and they may decide to just stick it out with their current major.

Thomas enjoys working with college students because many are beginning to understand themselves and forming ideas and different viewpoints that may be different from the same ones their parents held onto. Students are discovering how they want to live their lives, and what they want to fill their lives with.

Its such a great age and a time in peoples lives, Thomas explained, and theyre moving away from their families and getting to see that things are different, and not everybody does things the way their families do it. Its a big eye opener theres so much going on at this age. Its a total kick to be around all of that, and supporting people on that quest of self-discovery.

Since joining the College, Thomas has been working to get students involved in the act of meditation. She has participated in different events held in all three of the residence halls and last semester she even began to have a weekly session where students can get together in one big space to sit down and relax via the power of meditation. These sessions do not focus solely on completely clearing ones mind as she knows this can be hard for beginners but just giving people a moment during the day where they can just stop and relax.

Initially, her meditation sessions were held in Sullivan Lounge, a space she quickly realized was not the ideal spot for meditation. This semester, she holds the weekly session in Bowman Hall room 201 between 12 and 12:30 p.m. Thomas has had a much better student turnout this semester; she said shes had as many as nine people show up.

I put on relaxing music, we do about tenminutes of movement to help people slow down, feel their body and breath, turn their attention inward, she said, and then I guide them through about 15 to 20 minutes of meditation.

Thomas is an Austin, Texas native who joined MCLA in 2016 from Austin Riggs, a psychiatric hospital in Stockbridge, Mass. She holds a masters degree from Lesley University in clinical mental health counseling. Over the course of her time as an undergraduate student, Thomas went to six different colleges. She first started off at Simmons College for a year, before she decided to take a year off and go to Barcelona, Spain. Thomas remarked that going into college right after graduating high school was not the best decision at the time for her.

After a year and a half, I thought well I really should get my life together, she said. I decided to come back [to the United States] and went to a community college in Oregon for two years, and then the closest college, for me, was in Boise, Idaho.

At Boise State University, she studied voice performance. While preparing to go to graduate school for music, she taught at a high school for a year. As she taught voice lessons and took graduate courses, Thomas found herself talking about people and their lives in an hour-long music lesson.

She soon realized singing wasnt what she wanted to do with her life. Thomas found herself much more interested in learning about peoples stories; she knew she wasnt in the right field for her and decided to switch into studying to become a therapist. It took her about fiveyears to decide on a graduate program; she ended up at Lesley University.

Its such a good experience to do something completely new, said Thomas, and as an older student, I appreciated it so much more and I wasnt burnout. After being in the work world it was so much fun to go to classes, and to learn, write papers, read and to do group projectsI was a much better student in my 30s than in my 20s.

Thomas participated in an internship at Lesleys counseling center; her husband moved out to the Berkshires to take on a job at Williams College. Thomas joined him a year later, taking a position at Austin Riggs before joining MCLA. She had been looking for a while to move back into a college setting.

In her free time, Thomas loves to be outside hiking with her dog and even snowshoeing.

Read more:

Sonora Thomas: Healing minds through meditation - The Beacon

15 hours ago.

The latest salvo from the Centre on the shock and awe demonetisation excercise is that the move did not have an adverse impact on Indias buoyant economic growth story. This is contrary to the pessimistic expectations of economists, statisticians and bankers the world over and not just those from the Left that the sudden withdrawal of 86% of the currency in circulation before November 8 would cripple the countrys economy.

According to estimates of the Central Statistical Organisation, Indias Gross Domestic Product was a respectable 7.1% in the October-December quarter the period that was expected to show starkly the impact of possibly the most disruptive economic policy decision in the Indian republics history. The official figures, released last week, suggested that India grew entirely according to pre-demonetisation expectations and faster than even China.

In his election speeches in the later phases of the prestigious Uttar Pradesh polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his closest lieutenant, Bharatiya Janta Party Chief Amit Shah, were conspicuously silent about the note ban, presumably based on ground reports of widespread discontent and disaffection among the poor and the enormous human and economic costs of demonetisation.

But after these growth estimates were announced on February 28, Modi was quick to taunt his critics for their gloomy prophesies. At a rally in the state on March 1, Modi said that hard work is more powerful than Harvard, targeting globally respected economists like Amartya Sen and his predecessor Manmohan Singh who had strongly criticised the note ban although Singhs alma mater was Cambridge. Characteristically wearing his modest origins on his sleeve, Modi declared that he was a humble son of an impoverished mother who had studied instead in the school of hard work and was proved right when his learned critics were demonstrated to be wrong.

The upbeat government growth statistics have met with celebration on one side and scepticism and puzzlement on the other. Even before this, there was distrust of official figures, especially those pertaining to economic growth. Many observers greeted the announcement of this latest calculation with disbelief, and suggested that these had been massaged. Senior journalist MK Venu declared in an acerbic tweet that India had now entered the era of post-truth economics. Others compared it to the opaque and exaggerated economic data put out by erstwhile socialist countries.

But even if we wish to desist from challenging the integrity of Indias economic reporting, a less uncharitable interpretation of the figures would be that the very method of calculating GDP and economic growth is deeply flawed.

An approximate nine out of 10 workers form the countrys informal work force and they contribute almost half the countrys GDP. That the massive lay-offs of informal workers, the closing of petty and small businesses and a huge crunching of spending by the poor because of demonetisation does not create even a ripple in the GDP estimate does not negate the huge distress and suffering of millions of Indias poor. Instead, it comes as a long-delayed wake-up call for us. It begs us to examine closely the ways we calculate GDP and economic growth, to understand if these are by design biased against informal workers and the vast countryside, especially agriculture which still employs nearly six out of 10 workers.

In the second month after the note-ban was announced, the Centre for Equity Studies organised a survey of its impact in rural India, studying villages in Bundelkhand, Western Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat and Assam. We found that among the worst hit everywhere were landless agricultural workers. Villagers said wage rates abysmal even otherwise had fallen to half and employment was much harder to find. Many said that they were paid in old notes; they wasted several days in queues in distant banks but still could not convert their notes and finally exchanged them at a discount through moneylenders.

Retrenched migrants were returning home empty-handed from distant states because work opportunities had collapsed in every part of the country. Small units were being shut down as employers had no cash to pay their workers. In Odisha, labour contractors who would recruit workers after the harvesting season every year to toil in distant brick kilns, for the first time in living memory, had not come to villages this year because they did not have the cash to pay to them advances. The workers employment in semi-bonded conditions in brick kilns every year was extremely exploitative, but far worse than even exploitative employment was no employment, because only hunger would stalk their homes and families.

Farmers in every state we surveyed talked about being forced to sell their produce at distress rates because people had too little cash to buy: paddy, wheat, maize, chilli, vegetables sold at a third, sometimes even a tenth of their regular price. Dairy producers in Anand were earlier paid daily in cash when they sold milk to their cooperatives, but weekly payments are now made to their banks. They have to wait sometimes two weeks before they can draw this cash, because bankers insist that their dues must rise to Rs 2,000 as they will not issue cash to them in smaller denominations.

Farmers in all these states too said they could not draw the cash they needed from their banks to buy seeds and fertilisers or pay farm workers, and instead were forced to run up huge private loans at usurious interest rates.

Petty village shopkeepers spoke despondently of sales falling sharply to a half or a third. Their customers were denying themselves all but the most essential purchases and everyone wanted to buy on credit because they have no cash to spare. But how much credit can the shopkeeper give? They too have to replenish their stocks.

Small weavers in Shamli in Uttar Pradesh were shutting down their looms. A truck driver said that for long stretches of driving on the highway he could not buy food as he had only some old notes and no plastic card.

Villagers in the precarious char or river islands in Assam always survive at the edge, but demonetisation has tipped them over. To reach the nearest bank branch, they would have to cross the river by boat, then wait for hours for road transport, but bankers would most often refuse them. They could neither buy nor sell their produce, nor get remittances from the young men in their families who migrated.

In all the states, few people had ATM cards, fewer knew how to use these, and the ATMs were distant and rarely had money to dispense. So the only option was long bus rides and endless bank queues day after day, and being turned away because the banks had run out of cash. Or they were given Rs 2,000 notes, which were nearly useless because their daily purchases were for much smaller amounts and no one could give them smaller change.

Old and disabled people were hardest hit. They had to wheedle and depend upon younger and able-bodied relatives or neighbours to take them to the bank, but no one had time for them as they were all struggling with problems of their own. Women often did not have their own bank accounts, and if they did had no experience in operating these, therefore they had to depend on their husbands and sons. Single women had no one to turn to.

In the early weeks after the note ban, the prime minister, his senior ministers, party colleagues and senior officials continued to defend the policy vigorously. Yet, there were clues that they were aware of both the failures as well as the disruption and pain the policy had caused. This was seen in the changing language of their public discourse and announcements and their shifting goalposts and metaphors.

The prime ministers initial speeches after the note ban were triumphalist and he spoke of his unprecedented attack (and it was always his personal attack rather than that of his government or central bank) on black money and terror funding. In their initial proclamations about demonetisation, Prime Minister Modi and his supporters often described it as a surgical strike. This dramatic medical and military metaphor implied that the intervention would be swift, targeted, effective and relatively painless, tactically achieving its goals with minimal collateral damage.

Within the first weeks, as the attack on black money and terror funding gradually receded from their discourse, we were told instead the goal was a shock and awe thrust of the country towards a cashless economy. There were of course no answers about the fairness and equity of a policy coercion towards cashlessness in a country in which millions were educationally, digitally and financially excluded. There was also no discussion on how people and small businesses could be forced into forms of financial transaction that impose costs on them and translate into windfall profits for private companies.

When there was growing public discontent about the measure, Prime Minister Modi asked the people of the country to give him 50 days. In this time, the suffering of the people would ebb, and he would demonstrate the great public gains from this policy.

But as it became increasingly evident that demonetisation had instead unleashed mammoth suffering to millions across the country, Modi chose a different metaphor during his New Year Eve address to the nation, that marked the end of the 50-day window to exchange old currency notes.

He no longer spoke of a surgical strike instead, drawing on emotive Hindu Vedic imagery, he described demonetisation as a yagna, suggesting sacrifice, devotion and worship. In a yagna, devotees give up something of value for the gods. But demonetisation could not be legitimately compared to a yagna, as Modi did. Firstly, it was not a voluntary act of sacrifice. It is also unclear for whom which god this sacrifice was extracted. It was endlessly touted that this pain was imposed on the Indian people for the cleansing of the nation, as though the nation was somehow above and separate from the mass of its poorer citizens. And it is now clear that little of this claimed cleansing was ultimately accomplished.

The stories from everywhere of intense distress reminded me of the early stages of creeping famine conditions that I have encountered over the years in drought-stricken regions. Except this time, it is not nature that has afflicted the people but reckless, heartless and arrogant public policy. People everywhere spoke of cutting down on food consumption, especially of vegetables and pulses, and surviving on two meals or even one meal a day. They were increasingly forced to depend on sky-high interest loans from private moneylenders.

The union government has carefully avoided disclosing so far how much cash was finally deposited into bank accounts after demonetisation. It is still being counted, we are told! Even Prime Minister Modi has remained eloquently silent about this. Indeed, he has little to say about any concrete benefits from his high-shock dose.

As a result of this excercise, the way we run our economy as well as how we measure its performance has been shown up to be nearly blind to this enormous disruption and suffering of millions of Indias poorer people.

Credible reports estimate that 90% to 97% cash has returned to the banks. This means that this enormously painful economic measure has failed spectacularly in mopping up and eliminating black money from the economy.

After more than twice the 50 that the prime minister sought for the positive impacts of his measure to become visible, there is no evidence that this measure has had any demonstrable impact on the black economy or on counterfeit currency.

The optimistic official growth figures that the prime minister celebrated in an election rally in Uttar Pradesh cannot erase the evidence from around the country. This affirms Sens description of demonetisation by one of Indias most insightful economists (who also teaches at Harvard): that it is a despotic act. It is one that has unleashed untold travails on already long-suffering people and is a callous and pointless journey of sorrow with no early end in sight.

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What growth? The GDP numbers don't account for the first-hand accounts of pain and suffering - Scroll.in

Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at 11:03 a.m.

Vegan food is about to have a moment in Long Beach. With so many anticipated restaurants all planning to open soon, it feels inevitable. Under the Sun, the new cafe from the gals at Rainbow Juices, is a few months away from its spot on Third Street. A second outpost for L.A.s The Grain Cafe, at 4th and Ximeno in Belmont Heights, is also imminent. The recent announcement of Seabirds going in on 4th Street (across from a McDonalds, no less) only sealed the city's fate as an emerging vegan destination.

Then, as if those werent enough, chef Soozee Nguyen, operating under The Wild Chive, returned from working at an acclaimed vegetarian kitchen in Brooklyn and started hosting a vegan brunch pop-up at Portfolio Coffeehouse every Sunday.

According to her website, Nguyen who grew up in Texas eating meals prepared by both her traditional Vietnamese mother and experimental, fusion-loving father became vegetarian at 19 but still craved the flavors and textures she had eaten before. Not so much the actual food, but more what that food meant, it says. So began an obsession with making vegan-friendly versions of international classics that even meat-eaters would want to dig into.

Tie a napkin 'round your neck, chri, and meet Bonjour Banh Mi! Making a special appearance at our vegan brunch debut, Sunday, January 29th, and Every Sunday thereafter from 9am-2pm. Crispy bacon, grilled ham, soft scrambled tofu, pickled veggies, fresno chile, fried shallots & zesty chive-cilantro aioli on fresh baked french baguette. #nomnomnom #thewildchive #veganbrunch #portfoliocoffeehouse #longbeachvegan #veganbanhmi #vegansoulfood #veganpopup #whatveganseat #veganfoodshare #lbvegan #longbeachvegans #losangelesvegan #vegansoulfood #veganfood #veganfoodporn #vegans #foodie #veganbreakfast #veganvietnamesefood #banhmi #vegansofinstagram #veganlove #vegansofig #vegancuisine #veganeats #whatveganseat

A post shared by The Wild Chive (@thewildchive) on Jan 18, 2017 at 2:32pm PST

After moving to Brooklyn, Nguyen worked her way up the line at Champs Diner, a vegan restaurant known for its animal-free comfort food (biscuits and gravy, grinders and more), before becoming executive chef at the Black Flamingo, a tropical-themed nightclub with an impressive DJ setup on the bottom floor and a vegetarian restaurant and bar on top.

She debuted The Wild Chive last June at the Long Beach Vegan Food Festival with an oyster mushroom po boy that had enough crusty cornmeal nuggets to look just like the real thing. For weeks afterwards, she taunted Instagram with pictures of the cooking experiments she was undertaking: saffron-infused soyrizo paella, vegetable-stuffed pho, buttery Texas toast for bourbon barbecue jackfruit sandwiches, a vegan Cuban sandwich with meatless ham and house-made pickles. Occasionally, The Wild Chive would pop-up at Crema Cafe in Seal Beach or another vegan food fest.

In November, Portfolio started stocking The Wild Chives pre-made forearm-sized soyrizo breakfast burritos, marking the first time any of Nguyens dishes became more permanently available in Long Beach. The burrito is stuffed with tofu forked so fluffy and kale cooked down so softly that it became real competition for Portfolios own breakfast burrito, itself a neighborhood staple. Wild Chives not-too-oily vegan mac and cheese and a colorful kale cobb salad also make consistent appearances in the busy shops pastry case.

Last month, the retail run went big, turning a few pre-packaged items a day into a full weekly pop-up, where Nguyen now makes Sunday brunch with a team out of the Portfolio kitchen. From the flaky biscuits with wild mushroom gravy to a sugary-but-still-vegan fruit-stuffed French toast, its already one of the most interesting brunches in the city.

That soyrizo burrizo is on the menu, this time made fresh while you wait. As is Nguyens must-try banh mi, a crunchy baguette filled with her soft-scrambled tofu, hickory bacon, vegan ham, and all the requisite fresh and pickled toppings. On a recent Sunday, a maple-dipped monte cristo had just been added to the lineup and it arrived as a towering stack of Texas toast oozing with melty Daiya yellow cheese.

Long Beachs vegan food scene has come a long way in just three years, when the closure of the citys second vegan restaurant, the comfort-food-focused Long Beach Vegan Eatery, dealt a blow to the nascent animal-free food scene. Now, the citys first vegan restaurant, Zephyr, operates as the similarly-minded Ahimsa and a handful of new concepts will open this year to fill the void. Nguyen is already setting herself apart from the others in the mix by popping up with her decadent brunches at one of Long Beach's most beloved coffee shops. That all the food happens to be meat, egg and dairy free is just a bonus.

The Wild Chive vegan Sunday brunch at Portfolio Coffeehouse, Sundays 9 a.m.- 2 p.m., 2300 E. 4th St., (562) 434-2486, thewildchive.squarespace.com

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Eat Monte Cristos and Breakfast Banh Mis at This Vegan Sunday Brunch in Long Beach - OC Weekly

Posted on March 8, 2017 By collin IN The Loop, News You Can Eat

By Isadora Pennington

Falafel, a fried ball of chickpeas or fava beans, is a popular vegan dish with ancient origins. The truth behind its creation is hazy, although its origins can be traced back to Pharaonic Egypt where it may have been invented as a meat substitute during Lent. The dishs long and complex history is a testament to its steadfast popularity. Throughout the years the recipe has remained more or less the same, though with some evolution brought on by technological advances and cultural influences.

Not only is it tasty, but it is also a great source of fiber, protein, complex carbohydrates, and vitamins, which makes it a viable meat alternative for vegetarians and vegans. Served hot, typically as a street food, one usually finds them wrapped in pita or served on a plate alongside salads and other sides.

The dish is a longtime favorite of mine, and throughout the years Ive had the pleasure of tasting some of Atlantas best falafel dishes. This month I stopped by a few of my favorite restaurants to sample their versions of this classic meal, so whether youve tried these delectable patties of tasty fried goodness or are looking for a new spot, I recommend stopping by these great local restaurants.

Ali BabaFalafel Wrap: Deep fried chickpeas (garbanzo and fava beans), vegetables, tahini, and a blend of seasonings served in a pita with hummus, babaganush, pita, tabouli, grape leaves and Mediterranean salad.1099 Euclid Ave. NE, 30307.alibabaatlanta.com or (404) 223-1445

Aviva by KameelFalafel Kameel Style: Hummus, baba ghanoush, tabouli, cabbage salad, tahini, hot sauce.225 Peachtree Street, Suite B-30, 30303.avivabykameel.com or (404) 698-3600

YallaFalafel Pita Wrap: traditionally served with chickpea fritters, hummus, labne, Israeli salad & pickles, zhug, tahini, herbs.99 Krog Street, 30307.yallaatl.com or (404) 506-9999

Mediterranean GrillFalafel Plate: falafel, rice, tahini, salsa and salad.985 Monroe Drive NE, 30308.mediterraneangrill.com or (404) 917-1100

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Falafel Time: Tasting Intown's popular vegan and street food dish - Atlanta Intown

It can be a challenge to think ofdelicious vegan lunch options that arent sandwiches withhummus as its star ingredient (though, lets be real: There are some pretty unique recipes out there these days). But with a few key foods, your midday meal can geta satisfying, delicious makeover. Save your hummus for crudite, and employ these 21 vegan sandwiches, from French-dip subs to Asian-inspired wraps.

1. Chipotle Baked Tofu Sandwiches With Pineapple Guacamole: Chipotle marinated tofu takes on a chewy-crispy texture after being baked. Its spiciness is offset by a slightly sweet pineapple guacamole in this sandwich. (via Connoisseurus Veg)

2. White Bean Salad Pitas: Made with dairy-free yogurt, this white bean salad is surprisingly creamy. Pop it into a pita with some crunchy veggies for a satisfying lunch. (via Veggie Inspired)

3. Ultimate Rainbow Veggie Sandwich: Eat the rainbow with this sandwich. Its filled with a crunchy combo of carrots, beets, avocado, almond ricotta, and more. (via Scaling Back)

4. Strawberry Avocado Chickpea Salad Sandwich: Chickpea salad is a vegan lunchtime favorite, but it can get kind of boring. Jazz it up with the addition of strawberries and avocado and youll fall in love all over again. (via Emilie Eats)

5. Tofu Banh Mi Sandwich: Marinated tofu adds protein and flavor to theVietnamese sandwich. Then, theyre loaded with pickled vegetables, vegan mayo, and jalapeos for a complex and tasty meal. (via B. Britnell)

6. Sweet and Spicy Tempeh Sandwich: Sweet, smoky, and spicy tempeh is a sandwich filling vegans and omnivores alike will enjoy. Slather it with carrot aioli and youre really in business. (via The Green Life)

7. Vegan Winter Sandwich:Sliced cauliflower, beets, and kale are combined with sweet potato satay hummus for a meal that hits all your favorite flavor notes. (via Radiant Rachels)

8. Thai Green Curry Sandwich:Mixed with chickpeas, mango, and cashews, Thai green curry pastemakes for a sandwich spread that delivers a spicy, tangy, nutty, and sweet finish. (via Contentedness Cooking)

9. Pan Fried Chai Cranberry Tofu Sandwich: If you love making sandwiches from Thanksgiving leftovers, this ones for you. Spiced chai cranberry sauce and crispy pan fried tofu combine for a sandwich thats *full* of flavor. (via Diary of an Ex Sloth)

10. Lentil Loaf Sandwiches: Make this lentil loaf for dinner, then combinethe leftovers with caramelized onions and a creamy garlic spread to create a bomb lunch. (via Catching Seeds)

11. Quinoa Meatball Sub: Skip the takeout, and make this meat ball sub instead. Quinoa meatballs are joined by grilled peppers, onions, and tomato sauce for a hearty meal. (via Connoisseurus Veg)

12. Blueberry Grilled Cheese Sandwich: Sweet and salty pairings always make us happy. This blueberry grilled cheese sandwich, topped with frizzled red onion, will make your midday meal a little brighter. (via Contentedness Cooking)

13. Vegan Pulled Pork and Black Bean Po Boy: Jackfruit, when cooked just right, is a delicious pulled pork substitute. Sweet, tangy, and savory, its paired with black beans, veggies, and avocados in this scrumptious sandwich. (via Pineapple Pineapple)

14. Balsamic Sweet Potato, Mushroom, and Arugula Sandwich: Marinated grilled veggies are always a good bet in a sandwich. Here, theyre paired with vegan herbed cheese to add some creaminess into the mix. (via Herban Yums)

15. Jalapeo Tempeh Cheese Sandwich: Tempeh crumbles are a hearty sandwich filling on their own. When theyrecombined with vegan cheese and spicy jalapeo, it makes for a lunch thats much better than a veggie burger. (via Kiip Fit)

16. Grilled Eggplant Sandwich:Eggplant gets sandwiched between two halves of a fluffy ciabatta roll along with roasted red peppers and melted vegan cheese. (via Gourmandelle)

17. Buffalo Tempeh Ranch Wrap: Buffalo chicken is out, but buffalo tempeh is SOin. (via One Ingredient Chef)

18. Cauliflower Rice Pesto Sandwich: Cauliflower rice isnt just a side dish. It makes for a mean sandwich filling too! (via Contentedness Cooking)

19. Asian-Inspired Crispy Tofu Wraps: Crispy tofu is rolled up with cabbage slaw and guacamole to make these Asian-inspired wraps. (via The Hungry Herbivores)

20. Cranberry Walnut Chickpea Salad Sandwich:This cranberry walnut chickpea salad sandwich will help sate any cravings for this deli favorite. (via The Simple Veganista)

21. Vegan French Dip Sandwiches: Rich and flavorful, these sandwiches do double duty as lunch or dinner. The secret to their success is a quick dip in a savory vegan au jus. (via Connoisseurus Veg)

For more exciting lunch time inspiration, follow us on Pinterest.

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21 Vegan Sandwiches That Make Lunch the Best Part of Your Day - Brit + Co

Stress and other reasons why you cant sleep

Insomnia is due to a variety of reasons. Here are some of them, according to MediCard President Dr. Nicky Montoya.

Stress

Stress as well as overthinking can keep you from getting a good nights sleep. To ease anxiety during bedtime, try to meditate and exercise during the day. If you wake up in the middle of the night and cant fall back to sleep, get out of bed and do something that relaxes you like reading a book or listening to music until you feel sleepy again.

Nighttime distractions

Noise, complete silence, temperature and mobile devices can also be reasons why you cant sleep. Make sure the temperature in your room is conducive to sleeping and opt for a night light instead of bright bulb. Avoid using your gadgets before bedtime as they emit a type of blue light, which can make you more alert. For those who have trouble sleeping in total silence, try listening to relaxing music of leave the electric fan on.

Irregular sleep schedule

Sleeping and waking up at different times, or sleeping in on weekends to make up for lost sleep on weekdays may be confusing your body clock thus you have trouble falling asleep on a regular schedule. To combat insomnia, make sure to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.

Lack of exercise

Engaging in physical activities are beneficial to the body as they help fight off stress. Be wary though, and do not exercise prior to bed, as this wont give your body enough time to cool down, making it difficult to sleep. Work out three to six hours before bedtime to get the maximum sleep benefits.

Midnight snack

Late night snacking or eating a heavy meal before you sleep can cause insomnia, as metabolism is slower at night. Its best not to eat within two to three hours before sleeping as well as drinking less water at night to avoid getting up to go to the bathroom.

Things you need to know about heart attack

Heart attack remains one of the main causes of death every year. It happens when theres a lack of oxygenated blood flow to the coronary arteries due to plaque of buildup, causing permanent damage to the heart. It can strike anytime, reason why its crucial to know the important things about it.

The warning signs

Some heart attacks are sudden and intense while others start slowly. Thats why you need to spot its early warning signs and symptoms: chest discomfort, shortness of breath, nausea or lightheadedness, cold sweat, and pain in one or both arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach. Even if youre not sure that youre experiencing symptoms of heart attack, it is better to consult your doctor about it because patients usually make the mistake of ignoring these signs or waiting too long before they ask for help.

Silent heart attack

It can be as dangerous as a recognized one because the attack often leaves scarring and serious damage to the heart. Signs of a heart attack can easily be shrugged off because they are common aches, like experiencing extreme fatigue, indigestion, flu-like symptoms and jaw, shoulder or neck pain. People who experienced silent heart attacks realize it only after going through tests like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) or electrocardiogram (EKG). Further, those who suffered silent heart attacks are at risk of having potentially greater and fatal heart attacks.

First aid

Acting quickly and getting help immediately can help lessen heart damage and heighten the chances of survival. First, dial the emergency hotline immediately. If the person is unconscious, administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). If you are the one suffering a heart attack, do not attempt to drive on your own. Keep calm and chew an aspirinwhich can prevent blood clottingif you are not allergic to it.

Heart attack prevention

Maintaining a healthy blood pressure, monitoring your cholesterol, quitting smoking, exercising, eating a balanced dietwhich contains fruits, vegetables, fiber-rich whole grains and fish that are rich in omega-3 fatty acidsand most importantly, having regular check-ups are some of the several ways to prevent heart attack.

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Stress and other reasons why you can't sleep - The Standard

Colin Hay has spent half a lifetime establishing hard-won success under his own name. He left Men at Work behind with his 1987 solo debut, Looking for Jack. Stadium-sized crowds dwindled to scattered souls in small clubs during lean times. Thirtyyears later, however, Hay packs theaters like Park West or the Vic; hellperform March 10 at Thalia Hall. Audiences are now populated with devotees pining for solo gems like Waiting For My Real Life to Begin and I Just Dont Think Ill Ever Get Over You, possibly outnumbering those craving definitive 80s classics like Overkill or Who Can it Be Now?

Theres no question that thats gratifying, says Hay. For a lot of people who have been coming to see me for a long time, though, its always been somewhat conspiratorial. When it was fewer people, they werent necessarily coming to hear Down Under. They wanted to know what I was doing now. I think they even liked the fact that it was really a secret. The old songs travel with you, though, and you embrace them.

Fierce Mercy is Hays lucky 13th solo album, and finds him in top form. At 63, his voice remains impossibly youthful, easily hitting the high notes of captivating roots-pop melodies for songs like Come Tumbling Down. As an expert storyteller with a knack for bringing characters to life, Hay has infused his new material with warmth and wry humor.

Some of his subjects are close to home. Like Did You Just Take the Long Way Home from 2015s Next Year People, She Was the Love of Mine is a tender devotional to Hays late mother Isabel. She loved to live so much, he says. She was a very colorful person; very willful. In the last year of her life, when she knew she was dying, it really annoyed her. Her attitude was, I dont have time for this death nonsense. I got to spend a lot of time with her at a flat in Melbourne that I have, overlooking the bay. We would go out onto the little balcony and watch the Spirit of Tasmania go out of the port as the sun went down.

The recent documentary film Waiting For My Real Life describes Hays rocket ship to stardom and ensuing crash, and years lost to alcohol. It also illustrates his steady, incremental return, with a portrait of creativity as his salvation. One Fierce Mercy song called Im Going to Get You Stoned reveals Hays perspective on the value of time. These days, hes determined to squeeze the essence from each moment: Sure beats lying in the sun, he sings.

I always fantasize about relaxing, says Hay. Im actually not that bad at it. Its just that I like to relax in the studio. Youre surrounded by sexy red blinking lights and guitars and drums and a piano. Its a great place to be. I like diving in the ocean, but the idea of just lying around is not for me.

* Colin Hay, 8 p.m. Mar. 10, Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport, $29-$65; thaliahallchicago.com.

Jeff Elbel is a local freelance writer.

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In the music spotlight: Colin Hay - Chicago Sun-Times

FX

Composer Jeff Russos psychedelic work complements the FX seriess themes

Though the shows are drastically different in most ways, FX's Fargo and the network's new Marvel series Legion have remarkably similar approaches to music. In Fargo, which began airing in 2014, composer Jeff Russo who also helms Legion's soundtrack uses a wondrous orchestra to depict the show's mountainous, wintry geography with swooping, scenic string arrangements that suggest a feeling of awe and smallness. In Legion, the daunting peaks are within the psyche of the show's lead character, David Haller (played by Dan Stevens). Since he was a toddler, David has been convinced by doctors and relatives that the hallucinations and projections caused by his latent telepathic and telekinetic powers are symptoms of schizophrenia, and thus unreal, rather than genuine abilities produced by his mutant gene. After being defined by mental illness for most of his life, only to have the bubble suddenly burst, David questions his observable reality, just as we in the audience wonder how much we can trust the events we're watching.

If Legion sounds convoluted, well, duh. It's an X-Men spin-off, so multiple, interlacing timelines, parallel universes, and pointed sociopolitical messaging are all fair game. But the show uniquely reiterates these longtime themes by positioning the audience inside the troubled perspective of its lead character. Russo's sublime compositions which have been available to stream as a 20-song soundtrack since late last month, and will be available in stores on March 24 are a major part of this, daring the listener to engage with the flimsiness of our own senses. Even without visual imagery or dialogue, Russo's high-flying string quartets and psychedelic synth arrangements push us to hear an altered reality.

Russo's work for the Legion soundtrack invites us to consider the evolution of a single psyche, from twinkling beginnings to mind-shattering nadirs to moments of revelation. Things begin innocuously enough with "Young David," which plays out the hope of a new life, with atonal ambience lightly kissed by xylophone flourishes and twinkling pianos. A distant, muted bugle signals David's arrival in the world around the four-minute mark, and strings rise upward with the wide-eyed curiosity of a toddler reaching for the stars. The mood shifts on "David in Clockworks," as wordless, reverbed vocalizations introduce an element of menace. The album's third track, "174 Hours," ups the ante further: It opens with soft synths, setting a tone of quiet melancholy, before pivoting midway into loud, wordless vocals and maximalist orchestral runs that ratchet the anxiety to claustrophobic levels.

The soundtrack isn't necessarily an easy listen. This isn't an introspective or meditative instrumental album, or relaxing background music it's a piece of art that demands attention. With some judicious trimming, it could work as its own entity apart from Legion. The metronomic drum ticks on "The Caper 2" generate a thick, broadening tension that's worth listening to even if you know nothing about the show. "Choir and Crickets" uses programmed cricket chirps to suggest a similar tension, then loops in sleepy choral harmonies to soften the track. There are superhero jingles here as well this is still a Marvel franchise, after all. "Run" is formidable chase music that could be packaged with nearly any film or series involving a dramatically important footrace. The mid-album track "Clockworks" (not to be confused with the earlier "David in Clockworks") is a run-of-the-mill screech-and-squelch with little in the way of a distinct sonic character. Thankfully, these strictly functional tracks are among the soundtrack's shortest.

Russo is at his best when he's at his most playful which often happens when the music is at its most fraught. "Seeing Things Hearing Things" sounds like it was written during a tense lie-detector test, with an undercurrent of mistrust running through the sterile electric pings. It's impressive to hear how Russo evokes unease with such simplicity. While listening to the nearly five-minute track, you start to imagine being interrogated by an unknowable stranger, as the vague silences, the scratch of the pen against the graph paper, and the discreet yet audible hurr of a machine begins to plunge the mind into madness.

Part of what makes the Legion soundtrack thrilling is that it doesnt require telepathy or even guesswork, really to become enveloped in its world. In a sense, the soundtrack is a throwback, owing much of its genetic makeup to Pink Floyds 1973 masterpiece Dark Side of the Moon. (Russo has even discussed purchasing the same synthesizer, the EMS VCS3, to get closer to the albums warbly, analog psychedelic sound.) Much like that record, the Legion soundtrack succeeds by fucking with the listener. It answers questions with more questions, and presses the idea that our perceptions of time and material reality are sketchy and manipulable. Its jarring, sometimes scary stuff, but the empathy that ultimately runs through the soundtrack makes this journey to the dark side of the mind worth the fright.

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The Legion Soundtrack Is A Trip Worth Taking - MTV.com

Is organic food better for us? A growing number of scientific studies suggest that it is.

And now, the latest evidence to support this claim is a new report from the European Parliament, written by scientists at universities across Europe, including one who is also a professor at Harvard. The team reviewed the existing science on both organic food and agriculture and concluded that an organic food system offers clear health benefits.

Previous reports have looked selectively at the potential benefits of organic food and agricultureits environmental sustainability or whether it contains certain pesticide residues, for example. This report, however, takes an unusually comprehensive look at the full range of possible benefits, from nutrition to absence of toxics. Its also based on hundreds of studies that include food analyses and epidemiological and laboratory studies.

Their findings are clearest when it comes to minimizing exposure to pesticides and to antibiotics used in livestock production. But the report also found that organically grown produce tends to contain less of the toxic metal cadmiumwhich the authors note is highly relevant to human health.

Most striking in its findings is the evidence suggesting organic food can help protect children from the brain-altering effects of some pesticides. And while there is evidence of greater nutrient content in some organic foodparticularly milk and meatas health benefits, these differences appear to be less significant than organic foods lack of hazardous chemicals.

When it comes to pesticides, antibiotic resistance, and cadmium exposure, the authors write, If no action is taken, an opportunity to address some important public health issues would be missed.

The report was prepared for a European audience, but its findings clearly apply to the U.S. They did a really comprehensive job of a global literature search, so I dont think anything in the report wouldnt be applicable, said Boise State University assistant professor of community and environmental health Cynthia Curl, who researches links between diet and pesticide exposure.

Pesticides Can Damage Childrens Brains

The immediate benefit of organic food and agriculture is to avoid pesticide exposure that can damage early-life brain development, said report co-author Philippe Grandjean, a professor at the University of Southern Denmark and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

While some pesticides are allowed in organic agriculture, most of the widely used toxic ones are not. And those that are allowed are far more limited in quantity. (Food testing has confirmed that organic foods have far lower pesticide residues than conventionally grown food.) One class of pesticides that organic farmers must avoid is organophosphates. These are among the insecticides most widely used on U.S. produce and include chlorpyrifos, which is commonly applied to dozens of crops, including grapes, citrus, tree nuts, broccoli, spinach, blueberries, and strawberries.

Organophosphates are highly toxic to the nervous system. Several long-term studies have examined the impacts of chlorpyrifos exposure on childrens brain development, finding that virtually any level of exposure can adversely affect their IQs.

Scientists have also found that prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure can physically alter the development areas of the brain that control behavior, emotion, language, and memory. Prenatal exposure has also been found to cause arm tremors in children, another sign of nerve damage. Exposure to chlorpyrifos has been linked to behavioral problems, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In an interview on Harvards website, Grandjean called these impacts quite scary.

People who eat organic foods, on the other hand, have been found in multiple studies to have lower and fewer pesticidesincluding organophosphatesin their bodies than those who ate conventional food. And while such studies cant make definitive links with health impacts, they do show that eating organic food reduces pesticide exposure.

Even though the scope of this observation is limited, it is apparent that both pesticide exposure and the calculated health risks are far lower for organic products than for conventional products, says the report. As a consequence of reduced pesticide exposure, organic food consequently contributes to the avoidance of health effects and associated costs to society, write the authors, noting that research suggests these costs are currently greatly underestimated.

Organics Can Make a Dent in Antibiotic Resistance

When it comes to antibiotics, We are seeing a worrisome increase in resistant microorganisms, and agricultural uses are part of the reason, says Grandjean. He noted that World Health Organization (WHO) director Margaret Chan has called the global rise of antibiotic resistance a global crisis. Indeed, according to the WHO, more antibiotics are now used in food production than in medical care.

The report explains that organic animal agriculture is often less concentrated, crowded, and allows more space per animal. It cites studies demonstrating for these reasons and others that raising food animals organically has several positive consequences in relation to animal welfare and health, including reduced incidence of diseasehence reduced used of antibiotics. And it adds, With regards to antibiotic use, U.S. organic standards are stricter than EU standards. Generally, no animal that has received any antibiotic treatment may be labeled organic in the USA.

When practiced, the authors conclude, organic production may offer a way of restricting and even decreasing the prevalence of antibiotic resistance. Yet they acknowledge that organic production is only part of a solution to the antibiotics resistance issue.

Cadmium: Theres More in Conventional Food Than We Thought

Although its not often discussed, food is a major source of cadmium (Cd) exposure. In the U.S., leafy vegetables, potatoes, peanuts, and grains are all a primary source of cadmium exposure, says the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Cadmium is a probable human carcinogen thats also toxic to kidneys, lungs, bones, and to childrens brains, particularly if theyre exposed prenatally or through breast milk.

The report found that organically grown produce tends to have lower amounts of cadmium than conventional produce, due to differences in soil and fertilizer use. Low soil organic matter generally increases the availability of Cd for crops, and organically managed farms tend to have higher soil organic matter than conventionally managed farms, the authors explain.

Some fertilizers, including those designed to add phosphorus to soil, canbecause of their mineral contentsalso add cadmium to crops. While there is much research to be done in this area, the report says that organic agriculture could help reduce food as a source of cadmium exposure.

An Endorsement of Organic, but More Work Needed

The reports authors are clear about the fact that both individuals and public health can benefit from organics. But accessibility is still a big question. And when it comes to pesticide exposure, the scientists say more must be done to prevent ongoing harmful exposures.

Pesticide uses are changing and we need to ensure that the pesticides used from now on do not constitute a danger to children and pregnant women, said Grandjean. As it is now, pesticides are not routinely tested for effects on brain development and we ought to change that.

Boise States Curl agrees. We should have a food supply that is equally safe for everyone regardless of what they buy, she said.

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Can Organic Food Prevent a Public Health Crisis? - Civil Eats