Light #6

Stephen Anderson:

If you do things that create happiness for you, that oftentimes can offset any sort of physiological detriment. If you do it with joy and don't do it out of a sense of laborious movement, the outcomes are going to be so much better. Really clear body and mind.

David Herring:

Even if you run into some challenges with the kids. A meltdown on the way into the hut. It's only two miles and so you're going to be there before long and it's all going to be good once you settle into the hut and get some hot chocolate rolling and sit in front of the fire.

Scott Manthorne:

It was a true paper napkin idea that is developing a life of its own, as I think a lot of things do. It's silly, it's fun, takes a lot of time and effort, but feels good, feels right.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Hello, this is Dr. Lisa Belisle. Welcome to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast airing on October 23, 2011. This week's theme is light. We will be speaking with Steven Anderson from the Body Architect, David Herring from Main Huts and Trails and Scott Manthorn from the Ski Boot and Stiletto Challenge. When I think about the theme of light, I think about a lightness of being. Last week we spoke about glow and sunrise and setting. A spark of fire that we see externally that lights us up from within. When we have this inner light, we do have a sense that we're one with the world. It's joyful, it's freeing. It's like watching children play. There is that lightness of body that we can all experience this time of year. We experience the lightness of body by looking around us and seeing the golden glow of the leaves and the trees that are set afire by the sunlight. We can bring this lightness into our lives by experiencing things like Qigong as described by Steven Anderson, or going from skiing from hut to hut as described by David Herring. Or we can do something light and fun, like participating in the Ski Boot and Stiletto Challenge. As Scott Manthorn will describe, we can also engage in playing, playing with our food, playing with our bodies, exercising, and just really bringing the joy into our lives that so lights us up from within. We hope you enjoy our show. Thank you for listening. Each week on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and podcast, we have a segment we call Food and Sustenance. We were calling it Food and Nourishment. Our co host, Genevieve Morgan, who's sitting here with me, she doesn't really like the idea of nourishment. I'm not sure why.

Genevieve Morgan:

It's not that I don't like the idea, just somehow the word seems so formal. Food, more nourishing instead of just eating right.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, this is perfect because we're going to talk about why you don't have to be formal with food, why you can be playful. And our whole. Our theme of the show today is about light and the lightness of being, the ability to play with your life a little bit. We get very serious about what we need to do, what we should do. We should exercise, we should eat. Right. But really, when we get so serious, then it detracts from our ability to find joy in our lives. And that's kind of not the point. Life is very short. We should enjoy what we can whenever we can.

Genevieve Morgan:

Absolutely.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Speaking of joy, you and I were meeting yesterday, getting ready for the radio show, and I love having these conversations with you, but, you know, we got into a scheduling thing. You know, I was working with my patients, and I got into this sort of, oh, my gosh, I'm feeling kind of tired and overwhelmed. I thought, maybe I'll go get some caffeine. But instead, I drove home and I took out all this food that I had gotten from Whole Foods, and they're our sponsor for this segment, and I started playing with it. I love playing with food. And you said to me, you know what? After our segment last week, you went home and you did some playing with food as well.

Genevieve Morgan:

I did. I did. You inspired me to go home and just see what I could make with what was in my refrigerator. And it was really fun. And like you said, I didn't need that cup of coffee because it was invigorating. Right.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And I often, when I first started teaching myself how to cook, and this is when the Bountiful blog began, I think in 2008, I did a lot of, like, research, and I read the macrobiotic books. I read the Vegetable books. And I still have a lot of really great resources. But over time, after I kind of kept playing with my food over and over again, I just knew what things went together. I started experimenting with things. And now the great thing is I go to Whole Foods and I see what's locally grown and I start just seeing what happens now. It doesn't always turn out very well, as you might say. That's not true, Lisa.

Genevieve Morgan:

I'm sure it's always delicious.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

No, you have to talk to. Well, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. And some people will always get me feedback. Like we gave you and John, our audio guru, we gave you some of the bean and corn salad last week, and John. John's giving the double thumbs up. And you liked it, so that worked out well. But even when it doesn't work out, it's just food.

Genevieve Morgan:

I think Julia Child says something like that, don't be afraid of your food.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Right. And you can always put it in the compost pile and the crows can come eat it or whatever. It can go back, back to the earth. But speaking of our foray to Whole Foods, this week, we're still just overflowing with food. I can't even believe what the local farms are still bringing in for us. You've still got apples from Ricker Hill and apple cider. We now have cranberries that are local, which is.

Genevieve Morgan:

Oh, I saw that there was a big crate. Big scoop.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yes.

Genevieve Morgan:

So pretty.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yep. And so I'm thinking Thanksgiving already. We have gourds. I came back with this enormous bag full of gourds and squashes and pumpkins, and I'm looking forward to making some soup next week.

Genevieve Morgan:

You really are going to have to talk me through that because gourds are. They end up sitting on my counter for months.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, stay tuned because we're going to talk about that.

Genevieve Morgan:

Okay. Yeah, I'm going to keep you to that.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Okay. Yes, we'll definitely go back to that. I bought some root ginger, which is interesting. There was, you know, a lot of people think of powdered ginger. You know, you just get a spice and get it out of your cabinet. But ginger is a root, and it's a very healthy root. And last week we talked about cooking up some eggplant and some daikon radish and the pungency of that and ginger and some garlic. And on this week, I used and chopped up my root ginger, and I put in some red baby bok choy from Rippling Waters Farm in Standish, and I added some and baby bok choy, just like the broccoli that I added is a cruciferous vegetable. Cruciferous vegetables. I don't remember if we talked about this or not, but those are very good for.

Genevieve Morgan:

We did. We talked a little bit about broccoli and cancer fighting qualities of cruciferous vegetables. But let's talk more.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, this is, I mean, basically that is what we know is that cruciferous vegetables, those tend to be the ones that kind of keep your bodies nice and cleaned out. They're good for preventing all kinds of cancer, specifically breast cancer. And of course, we just came out of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we talk over and over and over again on WLOB on the segments I've done with their radio show for the past two years about cruciferous vegetables. So bok choy is one, kale is one

Genevieve Morgan:

is cauliflower.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Cauliflower is one, yeah. And what I know is that some people will smell these things cooking and they get a little bit of reaction.

Genevieve Morgan:

Brussels sprouts.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yes, Brussels sprouts is another one. Right. So these are all cruciferous vegetables. And this is what I was putting together in my ginger. I used this time instead of using onions, I used garlic and a leek and some chopped up ginger. I used some baby bok choy. I threw in a little bit of arugula at the end. We talked about arugula. Last week I steamed up some broccoli. I put that in there. But one of the root vegetables, which was not actually local but was mushrooms. And mushrooms are a very healing food in Chinese medicine. And actually they've been used in cancer treatment, nutrition as well.

Genevieve Morgan:

What are the nutritional qualities of mushrooms?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, they're known to be an immune booster. And there's a lot of research being done in Western medicine now to sort of back up the thousands of years of traditional Chinese medicine that talks about the immune boosting properties of mushrooms. So this was a package of baby, I think they were sliced up baby Bellas shiitake. Shiitake is specifically good for immune boosting. So this was sort of the core of my baby bok choy recipe that I put together this week. And it was fun. It was fun to play with that. And I was also thinking, when I was thinking about mushrooms, I was thinking about boosting the immune system. And we talked about the wired and tired and the need to sort of stay healthy. And we've talked about the upcoming cold season.

Genevieve Morgan:

Yes, yes. I know a lot of people who are sick right now.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Right. And this is the season in Chinese medicine. This is the season of the lung. This is the autumn season. Every season has an organ system associated with it. I think we said that, we talked about in the past that the kidney is associated with the winter. We talked about the spring is associated with the liver. This is the season of the lung. So this time of year a lot of people are starting to get sick. They're starting to get head colds and wheeziness and asthma.

Genevieve Morgan:

A lot of sinus infections.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

A lot of sinus infections. And if you remember, we talked about daikon radish being very good for clearing that out. So when people come into my practice, they want to sort of throw some Sudafed at it or throw some prescription

Genevieve Morgan:

medication at their colds to get rid of the symptoms.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Right. But that doesn't always work very well. So on our website, and I'll link back to this, we actually gave some tips for fighting the colds and actually boosting your immune system. And these include things like cold season tea, which you can buy in the local grocery store. I think it's put out by Yogi teas and it has this special blend of Ayurvedic and Chinese, these medicinal herbs. And I don't love the smell of it, but it's not so bad and it's not a bad way.

Genevieve Morgan:

That's better than getting the flu for three weeks.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yes, that's right. So there's a lot of other things that people can do that are non medicinal that I will point people to the website to read up on in addition to.

Genevieve Morgan:

But what else can you eat?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What else can. Oh, well, ginger. We've talked about cayenne pepper. Cayenne pepper is very good for this sort of thing. In fact, lemonade with cayenne pepper strangely is a very good sort of warming up. And it's also got that sort of astringent.

Genevieve Morgan:

So hot lemonade.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yes, I would say warm. Don't want to, don't want to burn your tongue. You can also. You also want to add in if you're trying to fight off a cold or. I have some patients who have cancer and I'm trying to get them to boost up their immunity. I try to get them to eat brown rice on a regular basis, other whole grains. I try to get them to cut down on the dairy products that are in their diets and increase their antioxidant and vitamin rich foods, which is usually fruits and vegetables.

Genevieve Morgan:

What effect do the dairy products have on respiratory and sinus?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, it's kind of unproven in western medicine. But we know that there are. First of all, there's a lot of people who have an allergy to.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, I know that. I feel it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah.

Genevieve Morgan:

If I have a lot of dairy, I feel kind of flemmy.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Kind of flemmy and congested. Yeah. And we know in Chinese medicine that these are very sort of cold and damping kind of foods. So if you are prone to having allergies or asthma or you're getting a kind of a cold or. We know that before you sing, because I sing and before you sing, you're not supposed to have dairy because it just kind of. It just kind of coats things. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with dairy per se. It's just something to be thinking about. If you have a cold coming on, try to maybe go towards more your clear broths, your lemonade with your cayenne, your cold season tea.

Genevieve Morgan:

The more astringent.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah, more astringent, more pungent, as we've talked about. Also kind of interesting. You can use. You know, there's the. A lot of people have used Vicks VapoRub. You know, this is an old fashioned, old timey recipe. You know, put a little Vicks on your chest. Well, there is some method to that madness. Your grandma might have been right. I don't love specifically the Vicks vapor rub. I like Toms of Maine because they're more of a natural product. They're not petroleum based, but you can put a little bit of that on your chest. Another old fashioned remedy is to put some on your feet and wear some socks, especially if you have a cough. So I don't know if it works or not. I think, you know, it's worth trying. Why not? It's not gonna hurt you.

Genevieve Morgan:

What about horseradish?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, that again, that's very sort of pungent and that can kind of bring things to the surface. So that, that would probably work as well. And the season of the lung and Chinese medicine. In fact, I was just teaching the Dragon's way class last night, which is a qigong based and Chinese medicine based class. And we were talking about the spicy things. And so, you know, if you, if you're getting a cold, then you go to a place like Zapoteca here in Portland or you go to El Rayo and you have some Mexican food.

Genevieve Morgan:

Load up on the hot.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Exactly. Get some, get things moving in you. So. And I think that that's really also. It's just kind of a fun way to deal with this bogged down phlegmy feeling. It's a way to sort of bring lightness back into yourself. And again, we're talking about light this week. It's true.

Genevieve Morgan:

Yeah. I mean, that is probably one of the most significant feelings you get when you have a cold or when winter's coming and you're starting to feel that chilly cold season. You just feel bogged down. Things are moving slowly.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah. So this is so doing things that are fun and remembering that there is light for many hours of the day still, whether you're going to maybe learn something like Qigong as Steven Anderson will talk about, or maybe you're going to go out on the Hudson trails, or maybe you're going to be doing ski boot and stiletto challenge. I mean, any of these things add lightness. And another thing that we can do is we can eat Dr. John's brainola. And I just wanted to bring this up, I know it's a little random, but Dr. John Herzog is our newest sponsor for the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour. And he, he's a very funny guy to talk to. He's in Falmouth, he's an orthopedic guy, but he has an interesting view on medicine. He's going to come in and talk to us, actually, not because he's a sponsor, but because he's really interesting and

Genevieve Morgan:

he's funny and he makes granola.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, yeah, except he calls it brainola. He's all about the plant based diet. His slogan is feed your mind, not your behind.

Genevieve Morgan:

That is true because granola has quite a bit of a calorie punch. Yes.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And he doesn't want that. He wants you to continue to be light. So we welcome Dr. John on the scale. Exactly. We welcome John as one of our sponsors. We love our sponsors. As we've talked about many times, we welcome the people that are coming in this week to talk to us about various ways of bringing lightness into our lives. And thanks again for being here with us, Jen.

Genevieve Morgan:

Oh, I'm so pleased. Thank you for having me, Lisa.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This morning on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, we have with us a special guest, Steven Anderson from the Body Architect up on Munjoy Hill. Stephen has a B.S. in Physical Education and Health and an M.S.C.A.S in Psychophysical Movement, a unique discipline that combines psychology and Exercise science from Springfield College, Stephen was athletic director, department head of physical education, department head of health and coach at Fisher Island School, New York. In Portland, he worked as the city's wellness coordinator for several years. In 1992, he founded the Body Architect Personal Training, followed by the Body Architect Fitness Studio in 1997, and in 2004, expanded to the Body Architect Fitness center at its Current location at 34 Romasco Lane in Portland's East End. Stephen Anderson's training technique, psychophysical movement will gradually establish self correction and self regulation of body mechanics, improve posture and mind, body interactions, release muscular tensions, and more. The routines developed by Steven draw upon a variety of techniques, including Pilates, yoga, and Qigong. Good morning, Stephen.

Stephen Anderson:

Good morning, Lisa. How are you?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I'm great. And we have with us, I believe, your old friend Genevieve Morgan.

Stephen Anderson:

Yes, she is.

Genevieve Morgan:

Hi, Steven.

Stephen Anderson:

Good morning, Genevieve.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Now, Stephen, I'm so fascinated by the work that you do because you and I have had conversations before. You know that the type of work that I do in my medical practice has to do with Chinese medicine and qigong. Today, we're talking about light. That's the focus of our. That's the focus of our show. There's a huge relationship between light and qigong, and we were talking about that before we came on air. Give me some thoughts.

Stephen Anderson:

Well, the thing I like about light, in reference to qigong is taking in sort of these gentle movements. And when you take in light and you take in warmth, that sort of expresses out to others as well. So when you start moving gracefully and your presence sort of lifts the boats of everyone else around you. So I like that. And as people start moving more gracefully, they hang on to their energy and they spend it wisely.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And I've been to your studio, and this is. Genevieve and I were talking about this. It's beautiful. There's windows everywhere. There's a sense of airiness and yet solidity. It looks out not only to Portland's back bay, but also towards the water. Did you do this on purpose?

Stephen Anderson:

We did. When we first saw the space, we thought it would be just a perfect healing environment. So there was windows on four sides. We mirrored a lot of the surfaces to bring the outside in. So our intent was, when people stepped off the elevator was to do something healthy, whether that was through exercise or sitting on the couch and reading the paper. We just wanted to create a healthy environment where they would feel good when they came in.

Genevieve Morgan:

I think it's really interesting that both of you look at exercise from a healing perspective, because most People look at exercise as just a way to get fit and build muscle. But you have a very different idea about that.

Stephen Anderson:

I do. The most important thing for me is for people to feel good. Their breath, their posture and their alignment, essentially. So if they are focusing on those things, and we've talked about mindful movement, if they're in the moment exercise and doing the correct body mechanics. And I try to teach those mechanics that are interrelated and not isolated. So it mimics the way the body naturally moves on the outside. And then those people just pick up the side benefits of strength and flexibility and cardiovascular. But if they focus on the feeling good aspect first, to me, that's perfect.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Which is what I notice about my running. I'm a runner. I go out every morning and people will. They'll say, oh my gosh, you work so hard. It's so hard. It's so hard. And I say, but that's not really why I do it. I wake up, I see the sunrise, I run around and look at the ocean. And I think that is the thing. It's playing. You really want your body to be able to play truly.

Stephen Anderson:

And if you do things that create happiness for you, that oftentimes can offset any sort of physiological detriment. If you do it with joy and don't do it out of a sense of laborious movement, the outcomes are going to be so much better. Really clear body and mind.

Genevieve Morgan:

Is that why people like sports so much, playing games?

Stephen Anderson:

I think they do. There's a couple of things. They have that camaraderie of being with others, and there's personal performance, but then that's woven in with everybody else. So it takes collectively everyone to do their best, so the whole can accomplish. And that's a nice analogy for exercise as well.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Do you see that when you help people align physically, it enables them to align emotionally, spiritually, and come back to where they need to be in their lives most?

Stephen Anderson:

Definitely. That's a perfect question. Oftentimes when I'm sitting down and speaking with people before we start, a lot of these issues come up and we're about holistic and looking at the entire person because you really can't fragment or segment the person. I call it again, exercise in the moment. So there are so many issues that people may want to work on. But if we start with the physical part, I oftentimes see that the other health aspects tend to fall into place. So it really is sort of physical therapy. I'm almost like a health counselor when I'm out there. And I think my background in psychology and counseling helps as well. So when they're doing that and they're in the moment, they're not worrying about preparation of their next meal or paying their bills. They're really there for them and healing

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

really takes place, which certainly is a very Eastern idea, the mindfulness and being present. And it's something that in this country, sometimes we have difficulty with because we're very distracted by so many different things. So do you find that if you are able to at least give them 20 minutes of in the moment at your gym, then they can leave and do this on an ongoing basis of their lives?

Stephen Anderson:

Yes, because we have many busy professionals and we really have to weave this into their lifestyle. So it doesn't need to go by certain numbers or time. Essentially, I tell people that it's all about the quality of the movement. So if you give me a particular amount of time, I just fill that time up with the best movements for that, that individual. So everything counts, essentially. Then they take that information and there's this residual. So I want to make sure that anything we do behind those doors is usable on the outside. So that's why the term functional training is such a buzzword now. But truly to be functional when you step out so that you can use it in your everyday situation. To me, that's sort of the ultimate

Genevieve Morgan:

program, Stephen, when you watch children playing, not necessarily in a competitive sport arena, but just playing tag or they have such a lightness and agility in their body. And I know it's something that I strive for in my yoga practice, this sense of lightness in your body, and it's something that you really teach in your fitness center. Can you speak to that?

Stephen Anderson:

That's a very good point, because often I will use children, sometimes babies, as examples of perfect movement. They're doing functional training in their play. So it's very fluid. They're very happy. So I think we kind of take it a little too serious, really don't have to. So we can lighten up in terms of our attitude towards exercise and be more playful. When we're doing that, essentially, then our bodies like that, that inner child, really, really comes out. So I think it's very important that we take lessons from our children as well. And when we're moving lightly, like I've been speaking about, we really hold on to our energy. We don't really waste it, because with the demands of life, there's so many things to put your energy on. So you want to make sure you do that. That wisely. Fortunately, in my generation, I never thought I'd be saying those words. But we didn't have all the video games and all the other distractions. So all we had were movements outdoors when we would come home from school. We just played sports all the time. And so that sort of got me, that sort of got me in a certain direction. But there's also an interesting story about that. Growing up in northern Maine, my family, they were big hunters and my father was a Maine woodsman. And that didn't really align with me shooting animals. But I didn't want to disappoint him. I had two other brothers and they followed that same course. So I was trying to figure out, how do I not go hunting? And so it came to me that if I decided to play sports in school, there was practice every day after school and there was always a sport every season. So by doing that, it was my way of not having to do hunting and shooting things. And so that I got very good at that because I didn't want to go the other way. And so I just participated in sports. I was athlete of the year my senior year, and that just, I was good at that. So I stayed that route.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

One of the things we wanted to touch on is this idea of bringing the light sort of indoors. We know that the light, the number of hours is decreasing. We've passed through the autumnal equinox. We're not quite at the winter solstice. So people are starting to get maybe, oh, it's 6:30, it's dark. I'm not really motivated to exercise. Do you have suggestions for people who are struggling with that?

Stephen Anderson:

Well, the best thing, a lot of people, if they can start their exercise fairly early in the day or earlier in the day, if it fits the. Fits their schedule, they get that piece done. But I also like to always impress upon them that everything really counts. That's why we have a lot of different classes at different hours in the day. So if they came in for a qigong class at six o' clock in the evening, even though it's dark, they have something to look forward to that really connotates light. So they're more attracted to come in and participate. I think our facility being so welcoming and we have such wonderful people there that you're surrounded by this collective energy. You just feel good just going in. So I think that draws people in because they also are aware of that. They want to make sure they're getting light even though the day is getting shorter.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What do you have in addition to qigong glasses?

Stephen Anderson:

We have yoga. We have several styles of boot camp for a little higher level of intensity. And again, if you've seen our studio, and it's sort of like a glorified physical therapy, so there's a lot of wonderful toys to play with. So no matter what class, people are getting that same sort of philosophy. Then we have qigong. I think that's it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And you have a nutritionist that comes in. Is that true or am I making that up?

Stephen Anderson:

We don't. We would like to add that to our itinerary as well. I do nutritional awareness with people. I make it very clear that I'm not a registered dietitian, but I give them information if they choose, essentially in terms of being aware of the fuel that they're putting in their body for the performance that they're looking for. So water is huge for us, sort of. As a general statement, I like to have people get at least half their body weight in ounces of water. I find that a lot of people have dehydration issues, so we really try to look at that as the base of the pyramid and then go up from there with Whole foods, essentially.

Genevieve Morgan:

I also know, Stephen, that you are excellent at helping people recover from injury. Can you speak to that a little bit? Because it's a very specialized thing that you do.

Stephen Anderson:

Yes, a lot of people, when they come to see me, they have muscular imbalance. So we just try to get the body back into that balanced state. So when I talk about posture, we want to exercise from a state of good posture every time. So we set people up we talk about how they should move from the center outward, essentially. So if we can place people in an adequate environment, the body will take over and will help to heal. So breath is so important. Oftentimes I'll say that during the course of this session, you may take a couple of hundred deep breaths. That in and of itself is tremendous. And then just going through proper body alignment and getting the right muscular strength, essentially, because if a muscular system is off, it can pull on the skeletal system. So it has this chain effect. If we can go back to the root of the problem and get the body responding the way it was designed originally, then it sort of tends to take care of itself.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

In past shows, we've talked about the idea of a kidney QI deficiency and this underlying. Marcel Pick came on and she wrote the book called are you tired and wired. Exercise does tend to be a little draining. And the kidney qi is so important, the kidney energy, that really basic energy. How can you help people when they're completely drained by the stresses in their lives, but also need to exercise? What are your recommendations?

Stephen Anderson:

Oftentimes I see a lot of people, they over train, and health and fitness are two different categories. So oftentimes people will sacrifice their health for their fitness, and they really have to go kind of hand in hand or compliment one another. So I tell people, you have this bank account of energy. You want to spend it wisely. If you spend it too much, you'll have nothing left at the end of the day. So by moving correctly with that alignment, they're really saving their energy. Then by throwing in some specific qigong exercises designed to get the energy flowing to certain body parts. Essentially, that's really helpful. But everything is also linked to an emotion. So again, if I can get them feeling good, they will make better choices in their life, no matter what that is, whether it's eating or their relationship with their loved ones. And then that also has a great healing effect.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You mentioned yourself you do yoga once a week.

Stephen Anderson:

I do.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And you talked about how you got very, very strong. And Dr. May said, okay, you're a little bit too strong. You're not quite flexible enough.

Stephen Anderson:

Yes.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Is this a problem that's more male than female, do you think?

Stephen Anderson:

I think it is. In our society, we've been taught, especially in the fitness world, that more is better. And that's not necessarily the case. Smarter is better and sort of knowing where you are and knowing your strength. And again, as we continue to age, we do have to be a little bit smarter. We can maintain our strength well, into our older years as well. But we just have to be a little smarter about it. We have to be okay with where we are and then build on that. But I do see a lot of men just working too hard and it's really not as necessary. So I try to put that across.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Do you have any differences in the way that you approach male and female training, or is it really just very person based?

Stephen Anderson:

It's very individual. And the information in terms of how the body aligns and how it moves can be very similar. So I just basically try to get them back in their original intention, then move correctly from there.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Original intention, what does that mean to you? What does that word mean?

Stephen Anderson:

Original intention is the way the body was designed to sort of move properly through space and have the energy flowing through it. Through living, we tend to contort our body slightly and the body only works on hierarchy. Just really wants to survive. So it lets you get away with so much improper movement. But eventually there's a price to be paid. So the sooner that we can uncover that and get back into original intention the way the body was designed, and when you're in that original intention, energy courses through your body. You're feeling good, you're moving fluidly, and life feels pretty good.

Genevieve Morgan:

And light.

Stephen Anderson:

And very light as well. Yeah.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Steven, how can people learn more about the work that you're doing and the Body Architect?

Stephen Anderson:

Probably the best way is to look us up on our website, thebodyarchitect.com it gives sort of a virtual tour and it will go over a lot of our different philosophies and the features and the classes that we offer. Then we just welcome people to come on up and take a tour. We're a no pressure club, so they just walk around. If it fits for them, it's great.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I think we've learned a lot today. We're leaving all of us feeling a little bit lighter for the conversation with you. Steven, thank you so much for coming in today.

Stephen Anderson:

Thank you for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And we wish you all the best. You're doing great work at the Body Architect, you and Antonia. And I think there are a lot of lessons that people could be learning for the type of work that you're doing. So I hope people take a chance to look at your website, maybe go visit you and see what you have to offer up there.

Stephen Anderson:

Thank you so much.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Now we have our Maine Magazine minutes, hosted by Genevieve Morgan of Maine Magazine.

Genevieve Morgan:

Thanks, Lisa. I'm really excited today because we are welcoming into the studio David Herring from Maine, Hudson Trails he is the Executive Director, the first executive Director of Maine Huts and Trails and has served in that capacity since 2005. Over the last five years, Maine huts, Huts and Trails has built and opened three backcountry lodges and more than 50 miles of non motorized trails for free year round use by the public here in our beloved state. Nearly 10,000 people have visited the huts and trails since the first hut, Poplar Stream falls, opened in 2008, including our very own Sandy Lang, who skied Hut to Hut last winter and wrote about it in our upcoming issue, which will be coming out at the end of this month. So welcome David. It's so nice to have you here.

David Herring:

Thank you. It's great to be here.

Genevieve Morgan:

I wanted to start off by asking you what was the inspiration for building huts in Maine?

David Herring:

Well, it's kind of a long story, but to boil it down, I think that the concept was to create a nature based tourism destination in western Maine so that we could bring economic development to the region and create jobs, but also draw upon the strengths of the region being its natural resources. And our founder, Larry Warren, who has been involved in lots of activities, economic development and otherwise in western Maine and in particular in the Sugarloaf area, started kind of talking this idea around of a hut to hut system decades ago, honestly, and started to just generate excitement amongst friends and business people in the area. And over the last few years, five or so years, it's really taken off with the hiring of staff and building of huts and trails and attracting people and all that.

Genevieve Morgan:

Now you have three, am I correct?

David Herring:

Correct. Yep. Our vision is for up to 10 or 12 and 180 miles of huts. I'm sorry, 180 miles of trails with huts along the way. But we currently have three. Yep.

Genevieve Morgan:

How far apart are they?

David Herring:

They are about a day's hike or ski apart, which typically means about 10 to 12 miles between them. But it's important to note that they're really accessible in that each hut essentially has its own trailhead which is typically two to two and a half miles from that hut. So you can do just into the hut from the trailhead in a nice short trip, or you can do hut to hut if you want longer trips.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, this is really exciting, don't you think, Lisa? Because we are talking about light in our show today and one of the ways that people can get exercise in winter is to go out and actually enjoy the outdoors, which you make much more accessible. Sandy's article was all about cross country skiing hut to hut, but I know there are many other sports you can do and many other ways you can get to the huts.

David Herring:

Yep. Yeah. I think the unique thing about our system here in Maine is that it's multi season and multi sport, so you can use it in all seasons and use it using many different means of access to get there. So in the winter, primarily, people are skiing, cross country skiing and snowshoeing, but also hiking on groomed or ungroomed trails. And in the summer and fall, people are hiking, they're mountain biking, they're paddling. Those are kind of the primary uses that people are using the system. And winter, honestly, February, March, they are our busiest months. So when you talk about getting out and being active in the winter, that's when most people are using the system.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, we actually have more sunny days in the winter than we do in the summer, which is something that a lot of people in Maine don't know. But Lisa is shivering here beside me thinking, oh, that sounds so cold.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And as I told you, I used to race in high school. I was on the high school ski team. And yet I still think. And I run every morning in the winter, and yet I still think, oh, my gosh, snowshoeing from hut to hut, that seems really cold. But you told me that's not really true. It's really more comfortable than that. Is that so?

David Herring:

Yeah, I mean, it's all about preparing for the conditions. And if you wear the proper clothing and layers and you're being active and traveling hut to hut, whether you're snowshoeing or skiing, you're gonna stay warm. And the beauty of the huts is that at the end of the long day, you can take off your sweaty clothes and put them in a drying room and put on something cozy and sit in front of the fire and have a glass of wine or tea or beer and just relax and enjoy a heated lodge.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And it's really getting better by the minute as you're describing this.

David Herring:

I mean, it's important to note, too, that they're really more like lodges than huts. People are sometimes confused by the word hut, and it can mean a variety of different things to a variety of different people, depending upon your perspective and experience. But they're really kind of comfortable lodges.

Genevieve Morgan:

And you have a. They're staffed.

David Herring:

They are, yep. We have two primary seasons. Our summer season, which runs from June through the end of October, and then we have our winter season, which runs from mid December through the end of March. And those two seasons are our full service season. So we have a staff of four at each of the huts who cook meals and welcome guests. And, you know, they're essentially kind of running their own little inns in the woods in western Maine.

Genevieve Morgan:

Tell me what it's like to sleep in the hut. I mean, are you in bunk beds with a bunch of strangers or, you know, what's it like?

David Herring:

Not quite that exciting.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Okay, wait. It actually just got worse again there, so. But you're going to make it better. Tell me how. Try to sell me on this one, David.

David Herring:

Exactly. So when we designed the system and designed the huts, we looked at a variety of different systems around the world. And you know, in Europe, if you go to huts in the Alps or wherever, a lot of times you'll find kind of large bunk rooms with lots of bunks and very social, kind of a hostile, like, experience. Well, we Americans like our privacy maybe a little bit more than others around the world. And so we've designed the huts to have several rooms at each hut. So you can have private accommodations if you want them, or you can do shared accommodations and meet people and be social. Just kind of depends on what you're looking for. The rooms themselves have bunks, some of them double, some of them single. We have mattresses and fleece blankets and pillows, and they're heated and people just need to bring a pillowcase and either sheets or a light sleeping bag. The rooms are heated to 60 degrees, so. So it's not like you need to bring a 30 degree down sleeping bag. But sometimes people in the winter, they sleep cold and they want that, and that's fine, too. And it makes it feel more like a backcountry experience, which it is, but it's also comfortable and sheets would do fine.

Genevieve Morgan:

How far in advance do you need to make reservations?

David Herring:

That's actually an important question now, Genevieve, because a couple of years ago when we opened, people could call maybe the day of or two days before, and there was always space. But. But word has gotten out about main Hudson trails, and that's certainly been what we've been working on over time. And we actually have more than 500 reservations already for this coming winter. And there are many Saturdays where people could not find a space that they maybe would be looking for. So it's imperative now that people kind of start to plan their hot trips in advance. And the two to four week thing is really more like two to four months if you're looking for that prime space. Saturdays and holidays and vacation periods midweek, you're likely still to be able to find the space that you're looking for, but it's important to plan ahead.

Genevieve Morgan:

Does that apply to day trippers coming up from Sugarloaf for lunch?

David Herring:

It does not. No. You can, you can come up on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We have lunch from 11:30 to 1:30 or actually 11 to 2. And you don't need reservations if you wanted to come up during the week. We don't offer daily lunch service Monday through Thursday unless we know you're coming. So it's important that we knew somebody was coming. But even if you showed up, we'd still be able to fix you some soup or some warm brownies or something.

Genevieve Morgan:

In addition to Sandy's article coming out in the upcoming issue of Maine Magazine, what other exciting things are happening at Maine Hudson Trails?

David Herring:

Well, we're waiting with bated breath to find out when we're going to be covered in the New York Times travel section because we had a writer and a photographer come out last winter, I think around the same time that Sandy did. And as excited as we are about this feature in Maine Magazine, we're also quite excited to see ourselves covered in the New York Times travel section.

Genevieve Morgan:

That is exciting. But you're not going to forget about us homies, are you?

David Herring:

No way. Not a chance.

Genevieve Morgan:

Sandy Lang, who is a writer at Maine Magazine, makes it sound like the most fun thing one can possibly do on cross country skis. But I'm wondering, for those of us who are less experienced, how accessible is it to get to the huts? Can you bring your kids?

David Herring:

Definitely. It's very accessible. I mean, that's kind of a big part of why we designed the system the way we did. We wanted to try and create outdoor experiences for everybody, but especially for the general recreationists. So for people who maybe haven't done big backcountry ski trips in Colorado or wherever it's accessible, you can rent skis at a local shop or the Sugarloaf Outdoor center and head to the trailhead. And in a couple of miles you'd be at a hut. And especially our Flagstaff Lake hut, which is it's a little bit less than two miles in from the trailhead and there's very little elevation gain. There's some really nice views. And we found that and I have a young child and lots of my friends have young children. We found that that's a great place to bring young kids and it's kind of a great introductory to the hut system and to being outside in the winter. Because even if, even if you run into some challenges with the kids, a meltdown on the way into the hut, it's only two miles and so you're going to be there before long and it's all to going, going to be good once you settle into the hut and get some hot chocolate rolling and sit in front of the fire and relax. And it's important that kids have those kinds of experiences early on in their lives that are positive with the outdoors to create the connection that will want them coming back and get them coming back outdoors.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Which we actually talked about in a somewhat different way with Steven Anderson. He was talking about the importance of play and exercise and letting children sort of feel this lightness in their place body. And he was connecting it specifically to sports. But you're talking about this with regard to the outdoors as well.

David Herring:

Definitely one of the really cool things that you'll see at the huts. And I had this experience this summer with a niece and a nephew of mine. We went up there and their parents stayed at home with some other family members. And I took them up there and over the course of a couple hours, the adults were kind of hanging out on the dock or inside reading or whatever. And the kids were honestly just kind of having unstructured playtime. And it was incredible to watch them kind of running around outside and kind of just taking part in unstructured playtime outside and having a great time and just making up games. And, you know, I just think that there's less and less of that going on these days. And it's. We think it's crazy important for kids to have those experiences. And I think the system really creates those opportunities for people because it's accessible, because there's people out there and because we have the huts there.

Genevieve Morgan:

Important for kids and adults.

David Herring:

Definitely.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

David, I'm a little scared. Are there wild animals out there?

David Herring:

Well, yes, but you don't need to be scared. More often than not, people may not realize this, but the wild animals are much more afraid of us than we are of them. But that being said, you will have an opportunity potentially to see moose. People oftentimes see moose along the shore of the lake or in boggy areas. There are black bears, as there are all over Maine, but there's also beavers and eagles and loons and all sorts of things. Lots of birding.

Genevieve Morgan:

Now, not many people know that Maine Hudson Trails is actually a nonprofit organization and that you do rely on donations and volunteers as well as your paid staff and reservations. So how can people, if they want to get involved or if they want to do something for Maine Hudson Trails?

David Herring:

Well, you can start by going online, just like any nonprofit business business these days. We've got a good website, I think, and there's lots of opportunities for people to get involved. There's volunteer days. Almost monthly. We'll have something going on. In fact, this month, we've got two volunteer days coming up on the weekends. They're wood stacking days. The old New England proverb is that wood warms us three times when we stack it, when we split it, and when we heat it or use it. And so people will have the opportunity to take part in this first two ways, this couple coming weekends, coming up. So there's volunteer days. There's volunteer days in the summer to work on the trails or in the huts. There's membership. You can become a member. And there's lots of great benefits of becoming a member. You get free use of canoes and kayaks at Flagstaff during the summer, and you get discounts on lodging and invites to our free barbecue in October. And lots of great ways to kind of be part of an active outdoor community who cares about what we're doing. And. And then, of course, you can consider main huts and trails in your philanthropic giving. If that's something you're inclined to do and have the means to do, you can certainly do that. We've got a trails appeal going on right now through the end of the year, and we're almost half the way to our goal. So you could go online and take a look at that and see what you could help us create, right?

Genevieve Morgan:

And every dollar builds another hut, right?

David Herring:

Yeah, kind of. Every dollar times a certain number.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

David, what's the easiest way to make a reservation?

David Herring:

You could do it two ways. You could do it online@mainhuts.org and all the information is on there. But if you'd rather speak to somebody about main huts, you can certainly call our reservation line. We've got a staff person there ready to answer your questions and help kind of customize your trip and talk you through kind of where to go and where to start and how to prepare and all that kind of stuff. We want to make it really easy. So online or over the phone?

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, it sounds like a great way to add a little lightness to those dark winter months.

David Herring:

We think so.

Genevieve Morgan:

I'm gonna get Lisa out there on snowshoes. Just you wait.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Listen, I've been out on snowshoes. I've lived in Maine most of my life. I know what this is all about. I'll go. I promise. Especially since you were talking about Brownies but thank you. Thank you so much for coming in. David.

David Herring:

Thank you.

Genevieve Morgan:

For more on Maine Hudson trails, read Sandy Lang's article Cross Country Kara Bassett in the November December 2011 issue of Maine Magazine or visit us@mainmag.com.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Each week on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, we read a quote from Our Daily Tread. Our Daily Tread was created in 2008 in honor of my late Bowdoin College classmate Hanley Denning, who founded the organization Safe Passage, which educates children whose families earn a living outside of the Guatemala City dump. This is the organization that my son Campbell is spending the year volunteering at. This is the organization that I will visit over the week of Thanksgiving and learn more about. For those who are interested, you can go to islandportpress.com and purchase a copy of Our Daily Tread. All proceeds from this book continue to benefit Safe Passage. This week's quote comes from Sydney J. Harris the whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows. This goes well with our theme of light and the idea of reflection of light and the mirrors that send the light back to us and the windows that bring in the light. This week we're talking with Scott Manthorn from the Ski Boot and Stiletto Challenge and he will describe his event, which is also all about light and the lightness involved in doing something for a good cause and raising awareness even in the face of potential tragedy.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Each week on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast. We have a segment we call Give Back because we recognize that there is a correlation between individual health, community health, family health and the health of the world around us. Today we have Scott Manthorn, who is the creator of the Ski Boot and Stiletto Challenge. This unique fundraiser has become an annual event. Each year they choose local charities to benefit. Their goal is to promote each bring the community closer and have fun in doing so, Scott, thank you so much for coming in today.

Scott Manthorne:

Thank you for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I'm fascinated by this, this ski boot stiletto. You know, I've run in a lot of races. I have never worn stilettos. Today I'm wearing heels, but I wouldn't run in them. Wouldn't necessarily run in any sort of ski boots. And Jen Morgan, who's sitting next to

Genevieve Morgan:

me here, I would definitely not run in ski boots.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Right.

Genevieve Morgan:

Or stilettos.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Exactly. So what's the deal? What was the brainchild here? Who was coming up with this?

Scott Manthorne:

Well, you know, I don't think any idea is original, but I was surfing the Internet looking for something fun to do in Maine to raise money, and came across a stiletto race being held in, I think, Washington, D.C. and I thought how fun that would be to do up here in Maine.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Scott, tell me about the organizations that are being benefited by the ski boot and stiletto challenge.

Scott Manthorne:

So we have three organizations, two local, one national. The national is Lift up foundation, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. That's an organization that helps to support families of children that have pediatric cancer. The second one is Stepping Stones, which is a subset of MAPS Worldwide, and that's a local organization that helps support families in need. And the third is plga, which is an organization that helps support pediatric cancer research and that's more specific in the brain area for children.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And for you, one of these has a personal link.

Scott Manthorne:

Lift up foundation is an organization that was created by a friend of mine named Amy Potvin down in Charlotte. Her daughter Ellie was diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2008. She battled for two years and lost. The battle passed away last June. And I've had a personal connection with them, and this is why I picked them as one of the three charities for the event.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Ellie's the same age as your daughter Alexandra.

Scott Manthorne:

Yeah. Ellie and her twin sister Grace were born October 31st. So they've got a tough date to deal with here in another two weeks. That was one of the reasons, I think, why I had that personal connection between her and myself.

Genevieve Morgan:

Really impressed at how you've brought so much lightness and joy to a very somber topic. And I really, my heart goes out to that family in Charlotte.

Scott Manthorne:

As does mine.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Scott, you alluded to your daughter Alexandra, and of course, you've been coaching my daughter Sophie along with Alexandra for the last few years. They're both 10. You also talked about the importance of, of understanding what's real and what's, well, important in the world and children. Our theme this week is light and we talk about playfulness. Tell me how this ski boot and stiletto challenge, tell me what this is going to look like and how this is going to embody this theme of lightness.

Scott Manthorne:

Well, I think everyone will be laughing for one, so there's some light for you. The event is going to be hundred yard dashes in your choice of ski boots or stilettos. It'll go by pretty quick and we'll try and utilize that one hour window to raise a little bit more awareness and funds for these three foundations and then go and party to last conpict afterwards. I think over the last six months or so that I've been advertising it, it's one of these events that is going to provide continuous momentum and interest not only in what we're doing, but in these other entities. So we get to talk about them the whole time before, during and after. And I think that's probably as important as the event itself.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So it's the raising of awareness. It's not just the raising money.

Scott Manthorne:

Yeah, you know, money can be raised in a lot of different ways, but the awareness is a piece that I think a lot of charities and a lot of endeavors have a hard time dealing with. So if we can use this as a shameless platform to bring those to light, then we're going to do that.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I think it's especially important in a situation where you're talking about childhood cancer. I mean, that's not a very light topic.

Scott Manthorne:

It's not. And you know, we come from a town that's had a few tragedies. Another one of Sophie and Alexandra's soccer teammates had their mom pass away two years ago to cancer. And so it's rampant around us. It's the silent killer that I don't think anyone likes to talk about, but everyone is touched by in some way, shape or form.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah, it is interesting as Scott's talking about this. I've lived in Yarmouth for a good portion of my life and we seem to have had more than our fair share of not only childhood cancers, but very young parent cancers. And it is, it's very challenging as a parent to try and have this conversation with your children and and yet not scare them. So it's interesting that again, you're bringing together this lightness of event to raise awareness and money for something that's not quite so light.

Genevieve Morgan:

Scott, if you don't want to race, are there other ways people can get involved?

Scott Manthorne:

Absolutely. This is an open event. Anyone can come and watch. We will be soliciting donations at the event. One of the raffles that we'll do will be for eight tickets that were donated by Saddleback. Eight lift tickets early season and anyone who does register will also get a lift ticket. We've had over 200 donated by Saddleback. You can also go online portsportsmain.com or you can visit us on Facebook at the Ski Boot and Stiletto Challenge.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Scott, it's been really great to talk to you. We've appreciated your coming in. What you're doing is so important. Building awareness, raising some funds and I love the idea that you're also doing this as a means of building a community around yourself and Alexandra and and we wish you all the best.

Scott Manthorne:

Thank you very much.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This is Dr. Lisa Belisle on previous weeks I have discussed my Bountiful blog. I began the bountiful blog in 2008 as a way to learn about food and nourishing myself, feeding myself, cooking for myself, playing with food. And it was all about a very physical way of nourishment. It has become, over time, more about spiritual nourishment and community nourishment and well being. This week's Bountiful blog post is about Autumn Light. This was the post from October 17, 2011. One day last week the leaves came alive, or at least that is how it seemed. Driving through the backroads of Maine. It was as if the countryside had suddenly, suddenly lit up. Sun sparkle danced through the tree branches, strands of burnt umber wove around and across the maroons and golds adorning the horizon line. Autumn, previously heralded by date, had manifested truly. Pumpkins sprung out from under now desiccated vines. Cornstalks stood near mailboxes in proud bunches. Apples departed the orchards in the hands of school children, and after several days of rain, the world was once again bright. Light was all around us, under and over, pulling forth the light that shines within each of us. The light of joy, of a sense of belonging to the world. The light of autumn, sumptuous and ripe. Read this blog post and other blog posts on bountifulpath.com this week on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, co hosted by Genevieve Morgan, we had three guests who helped us explore the theme of light. We began with Steven Anderson from the Body Architect, who discussed the importance of finding the inner light through physicality, through spiritual means of knowing oneself. We discussed the lightness that one experiences in the great outdoors with David Herring from Maine's Huts and Trails. And we also had a conversation with Scott Manthorn of the Ski Boot and Stiletto Challenge, in which we had a little fun with raising money and awareness for three important organizations. It's all about inner light, finding what makes us light within our own lives, within the community at large, and knowing that life is about joy and playfulness and being truly present. Life is about the light in Autumn this is Dr. Lisa Belisle. Thank you for being a part of our world. May you have a bountiful life.

Scott Manthorne:

Sa.