A Guide to the Healing Arts in Idyllwild - Idyllwild Town Crier

Winter-Spring 2009
Mind, Body, Spirit
A Guide
to the
Healing
Arts in
Idyllwild
Idyllwild Tai Chi
instructor Trudy Levy
Photo by James Larkin

Page 2 - Mind, Body, Spirit - Winter-Spring 2009
Green Therapy and Mental Health
By John Samuels
There is much that can be done in a positive way, without
medication, that can help persons to make gains in
mental health. Bipolar disorder, depression, ADHD, and
anxiety disorders can all be positively affected through
natural methods. The Association for Natural Psychology
discusses these methods on its newly formatted Web site.
See www.winmentalhealth.com for similar articles. This
short article on Green Therapy gives one example of how
mental health issues can be addressed in a non-pharmaceutical
context.
Inside
Green Therapy & Mental Health ........... 2
Mountain Harvest Market &
Mile High Fitness ................................. 3
Vitality Through Plants ......................... 4-5
Tai Chi ........................................................ 6
Mudra Massage ......................................... 7
Community Acupuncture ........................ 8
Cover photo of local Tai Chi instructor Trudy Levy.
Photo by James Larkin.
Idyllwild Town Crier staff who compiled “Mind, Body,
Spirit” are Publisher-Editor Becky Clark; Operations
Manager Jim Crandall; Staff Reporter Marshall Smith;
Contributor William Waddell; Production Assistant
James Larkin; Copy Editor/Production Assistant Beth
Nottley; Advertising Sales Manager Grace Reed;
Advertising Sales Representative Kathy Bryson; and
Office Manager Sandy Burns.
Time outdoors may help relieve symptoms of depression
and ADHD, as well as help stabilize OCD and Bipolar
Disorder. It can bring some relief to other disorders as
well.
Regular exercise and outdoor activities, unstructured
“green time,” have been found to help children with
ADHD and depression as well. Psychology Today reported
in its March/April 2004 issue that children with ADHD
who schedule regular time for outdoor activites, such as
walking in the park or hiking, exhibit less of the symptoms
associated with ADHD.
Similarly, a recent study found that more than 70 percent
of those who took time for this type of “green therapy”
felt less depressed than those who did not. On the
other hand, those who spent an equal amount of time at a
shopping mall felt more tense and depressed afterwards.
Richard Louv’s recent book on Nature Deficit Disorder
similarly documents the beneficial effects of “green therapy”
for children with symptoms of ADHD and related
mental health disorders.
Studies have found that brisk walking 30 to 60 minutes
daily is more beneficial for treating depression than medicine
in both the short and long term. Additionally, cognitive-behavioral
therapy is more effective than medicine
as well in treating depression. See the Web site of The
Association of Natural Psychology for more details at
www.winmentalhealth.com.
John Samuels has taught health and science in Newark, NJ
public schools, and is currently active in education in that
area. He writes on mental health and children’s issues.
How to reach us
Village Center
Counseling
Robyn Winks, MFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Individual & Family Therapy
Marital Counseling
Depression, Anxiety & Stress
Trauma Resolution/EMDR
Offices in Idyllwild & Hemet
(951) 659-7003
Phone:
(951) 659-2145
or toll-free:
1-888-535-6663
Fax: (951) 659-2071
E-mail: itc@towncrier.com
Web site:
www.towncrier.com
Idyllwild Town Hall
25925 Cedar Street
Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday
8:30-9:30 a.m.
Monday, Wednesday
10:00-11:00 a.m.
Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday
5:30-6:30 p.m.
Cindy Luna
951-659-2855 • cell 951-288-2369
Babysitting available Monday-Friday
(Except Mondays & Wednesdays 10:00-11:00 a.m.)

Mind, Body, Spirit - Winter-Spring 2009 - Page 3
Entrepreneurs Open Two Needed Businesses
By Marshall Smith
In a rare occurrence in the history
of Hill startups, entrepreneurs Doug
Yagaloff and Scott Douglas opened
two new businesses they felt the Hill
both lacked and needed — Mountain
Harvest Market (MHM), an
organic “community-based” market,
and Mile-High Fitness (MHF), a
full-service gym with equipment
comparable to any high-end gym
off the Hill. Together, the two businesses
literally feed and build the
body, mind and spirit.
Upon coming to Idyllwild, Yagaloff
and Douglas started slowly
learning the community, seeing its
needs and working with locals to
create two niche businesses. Yagaloff
came first, from Palm Springs, and Doug Yagaloff (top)
bought a cabin in 2001, drawn to and Scott Douglas.
the Hill by “its peace, forest, serenity
and charm.” Yagaloff had a computer consulting firm in
San Francisco and had been commuting twice a week between
the desert and the city. That changed in 2002 when
Yagaloff moved to the Hill full-time.
Douglas, a ceramics artist, had been living in Ann Arbor,
Mich.
They made a mutual decision, as a couple, to make
Idyllwild their home. In early 2003, Douglas joined the
local produce buyers’ club. After repetitive occasions of
sorting produce in members’ garages, during freezing
weather, the two started talking about the lack of a local,
full-service health food store. “We watched the competition
closely,” said Yagaloff. “There was no commercial
commitment to the organic.”
They considered opening a store and wondered if the
local buyers’ club would support a store if they opened
one. It did, enthusiastically. Volunteers showed up regularly
to stock the store, which opened in February 2004 in
The Fort as Idyllwild Green.
Yagaloff said the vision they had for the store was that it
would be the town’s, reflecting its character and its needs.
“We would just be the grumpy caretakers,” he laughed.
“The store started by being open just one day a week,
Fridays from 3 to 7 p.m. Within six months we were open
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five days a week. The growth happened because customers
asked for things. It was incremental evolution. I don’t
think we had any idea where it would go. It is just this
community force that keeps it growing.”
Sitting in a section of the expansive Mountain Harvest
Market, a full-service organic market in Strawberry Plaza
that is Idyllwild Green’s successor, Yagaloff marveled at the
difference between the two. “When we opened Idyllwild
Green, goods were displayed on sawhorses and plywood,”
he said. In contrast, MHM is as modern and full-service as
any fully stocked small grocery store.
The other “what if” business idea Yagaloff and Douglas
turned into a reality was a full-service gym. “We kept saying
wouldn’t it be great if Idyllwild had a full-service gym,”
he remembered. “Then when we moved to Strawberry
Plaza, we saw the space downstairs — a perfect place for
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a gym — and we said, ‘Let’s just fill it.’” Yagaloff explained
that MHF is currently pushing a program with the town’s
innkeepers to provide guest passes to lodgers. They’re also
offering corporate plans and would like to see more local
business people getting healthy at reduced corporate rates.
Yagaloff and Douglas worry about the town’s welfare
and do their part to improve it. “I wish the economy were
stronger and that Idyllwild was prospering more,” he said.
“We want the town to be better. We have a strong commitment
to bringing the benefits of our businesses back to the
town.”
Yagaloff and Douglas are major supporters of the Summer
Concert Series, Jazz in the Pines and the HELP Center,
to which they regularly donate food.
Marshall Smith can be reached at marshall@towncrier.com.
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Page 4 - Mind, Body, Spirit - Winter-Spring 2009
Vitality and Mood Enhancing Plants for Winter
By William Waddell
Five vitality-enhancing plants for the winter are He
Shou Wu (restores vitality and virility), Siberian Ginseng
(promotes an overall sense of well-being), Holy Basil (antioxidant),
Wolfberries (super food, anti-inflammatory),
and Golden Root (relieves the symptoms of anxiety).
He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum) has
been used for more than 1,000 years in China
and is named after an old man who was ill
and could not father children. He noticed that
the roots of the plant mingled together during
the night, and this suggested it might help
him have the same ability with his wife. After
consuming the plant for several years, the old
man’s hair had turned black again, his health
was restored, and he was able to father children.
He Shou Wu contains lecithin, a phospholipid
found in cell membranes. Long-term replenishment of
this important antioxidant is thought to contribute to the
youthfulness of the body’s cells. He Shou Wu also contains
polyphenols, which are found in green tea and are thought
to give it its antioxidant properties, as well as protection
from heart disease and cancer (Journal of the American
College of Surgeons, May 2006).
He Shou Su
Long-term use of the root (and the bark of
the stem) of Siberian Ginseng (Eleutherococcus
senticosus) makes one feel happy and vigorous,
and helps to retard aging. Modern
studies have shown that Siberian Ginseng
helps the body extract nutrients from
foods and, in so doing, combat the symptoms
of fatigue and listlessness. In clinical
studies, Siberian Ginseng has been shown to
lower LDL cholesterol (often called “bad” cholesterol),
relax the arteries, and provide an effective treatment
for stress-induced hypertension. Regular use of this
plant strengthens the immune system and reduces
the incidence of colds and other common infectious
diseases. Athletes use Siberian Ginseng
to improve endurance, increase stamina and
enhance mitochondrial activity.
Combined with Golden Root, it improves
alertness and mental function for those under severe
stress due to having to work long hours. After nearly
1,000 studies, Siberian Ginseng has been shown to support
the glandular system. The glandular system is involved in
the regulation of mood, growth and development, tissue
function, metabolism and sexual function. Ingestion of a
fluid extract from the plant was shown to enhance shortterm
memory and increase visual perception and visual
Siberian Ginseng
sensitivity (Arushanian, 2003).
Holy Basil (Ocimum Sanctum), revered in
India as a rasayana (an herb that nourishes a
person’s growth to perfect health), is well
known for its anti-bacterial, anti-viral and
antioxidant properties. Essential oils from
this herb have been shown in numerous studies
to enhance immunity and metabolic function.
It is also known to protect against the effects of
various forms of harmful radiation. (A water extract of
holy basil protected mice against radiation damage to
the liver and chromosome damage to the cells.)
Recent studies indicate that Holy
Basil lowers blood sugar levels,
helps prevent gastric ulcers,
and enhances antibody production
while inhibiting the
symptoms of allergies (Winston,
2007). In India, the daily
use of this herb is believed to help
maintain the balance of the chakras
(energy centers) of the body.
Wolf Berries (Lycium chinensis) are super
foods. According to ancient Chinese
Holy Basil
writings, eating the fruit and leaf makes
one feel happy and vigorous. This fruit may be eaten daily
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Pilates + Craniosacral = A Sophisticated
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Judi Way — a Fitness Specialist here in Idyllwild has
studied Pilates and Craniosacral now for over 10 years of
her 25 years in Health and Fitness. By combining both, she
can create a “whole healing experience”
for you. Pilates directs energy
through the use of your deep core
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to strengthen
weak muscles
and ligaments.
It is rich in carotenoids
and
flavonoids, which
help to stabilize
the small capillaries
in the eyes. It
is used for people
Wolf Berries
with poor night vision, dry,
red or painful eyes, and macular
degeneration. Lycium contains zeaxanthin, a carotinoid
selectively absorbed into the retinal mucula lutea (a part
of the eye specialized for high acuity vision), where it is
thought to provide antioxidant and protective light-filtering
roles. Due to its ability to strengthen capillaries it can
be used to treat cold hands and feet.
The red berry ripens in autumn. It contains 18 amino
acids, 11 essential dietary minerals, six essential vitamins
and eight polysaccharides. Polysaccharides (many
sugars) are important in the prevention of degenerative
diseases, including cardiovascular disease and Diabetes
Type 2. They work to reduce LDL levels and increase HDL
(“good” cholesterol) levels. Lycium protects liver cells and
has been shown to enhance the effects of radiation therapy
and chemotherapy by protecting against the lowering of
white blood cell counts. White blood cells, or leukocytes,
are cells of the immune system defending the body against
both infectious disease and foreign materials.
Golden Root (Rhodiola rosea) is noted for its stress
adaptogenic properties. Adaptogens are known for their
ability to increase the body’s ability to adapt to environmental
and internal stress by strengthening the immune,
nervous and glandular systems. Golden Root contains
compounds called salidrosides, thought to be responsible
for the antidepressant and anxiolytic (relieves the symptoms
of anxiety) properties of the plant. Rhodiola may
prevent or treat immune depletion caused by overwork,
excessive physical training, chemotherapy or radiation
therapy. Rhodiola helps
balance blood sugar levels,
relieves muscle stiffness
and spasms, and enhances
male and female
reproductive function. In
both animal and human
studies, rhodiola has been
Golden Root
shown to have substantial
benefit for the heart
— in part, by improving the
strength of the heart muscle. Finally, in a study involving
cadets, those who received rhodiola had significantly reduced
levels of mental and physical fatigue.
A good source for these remedies is your local health
food store. Another source of information on where to get
these plants and how to use them, including what form to
take them in, is a doctor of naturopathic medicine.
As with all herbal remedies, be sure to consult your physician
or health professional before using them.
Mind, Body, Spirit - Winter-Spring 2009 - Page 5
William Waddell has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry
and physics, a master’s degree in biology with an emphasis
in ethnobotany of the Pai Indians of the Southwest, and a
master’s degree in community college education. For 30 years
he taught mathematics and science at high school through
university levels, and currently teaches at the Idyllwild Arts
Academy. He focuses on the plants used by healers in indigenous
cultures. He can be reached at will@greencafe.com.
Susan K. Foster, Ph.D.
Jungian Archetypal Psychology
Dream Groups
Children, Adolescents & Adults
Grief Counseling
(loss of loved ones, including pets)
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Massage Therapy
Swedish 4 Aromatherapy
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Jennifer McCaghren-Morton
P.O. Box 1018
Idyllwild, CA 92549
(951) 852-6742
Yokoji-Zen
Mountain
Center
Sunday Program
9:30 am - 1:00 pm, every week
Including silent meditation, Buddhist
service, lecture and lunch.
Meditation instruction available.
More details at www.zmc.org
ph: (951)659-5272
email: zmc@zmc.org
web: www.zmc.org
58900 Apple Canyon Road, Mountain Ctr, CA 92561
YZMC is a Zen Buddhist training and
retreat Center, under the direction of
Charles Tenshin Fletcher, Roshi.
YZMC offers introductory classes,
meditation retreats and a residential
training program. People from all
spiritual traditions welcome.

Page 6 - Mind, Body, Spirit - Winter-Spring 2009
Empty the mind and find your balance
Idyllwild
Providing affordable
care for the health
of our community
By Marshall
Smith
Trudy Levy
teaches Tai Chi
and she’s happy.
She believes
those facts are
closely related.
A Palm Springs
native who
grew up in San
Diego, went to
university at
the University
of California,
Berkeley, has a
master’s degree
in education,
taught elementary
school,
wanted to be a
Supreme Court
justice when
she was a child,
thought about
going to law
Trudy Levy
school, worked
for immigration
attorneys in San Francisco, throws pots, has traveled
the world, and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, Levy is
a renaissance woman who is drawn to Tai Chi because of
its health-enhancing properties.
In Chinese medicine and philosophy, Chi is the vital
energetic force that circulates within all living things.
Many Chinese disciplines, and notably Tai Chi, are practiced
to balance chi within the body, remove impediments,
both physical and psychological, to its free circulation, and
produce a sense of internal harmony and well-being in the
practitioner.
Levy began teaching Tai Chi nine years ago, although
she has practiced for twice that time. “I enjoy teaching
because it’s a gift I’ve been given,” said Levy. “Tai Chi was
given me by masters with a huge generosity of spirit in
the transmission. For me, it’s a privilege to pass that on to
others.” Tai Chi, says Levy, truly teaches one to integrate
body, mind and spirit and to balance the complementary
Community
Acupuncture
Kristin Ethier
L.Ac., Dipl. OM
E-mail: kethier@verizon.net
(951) 659-2500
54445 N. Circle Drive
P.O. Box 1985
Idyllwild, CA 92549
opposites of yin (fullness and substantiality) and yang
(emptiness or insubstantiality). She explained that the
movements, the Tai Chi forms, continuously progress
from full to empty — a strong, firmly planted stance of
one leg, with an absence of strength in the other, like moving
water.
She assures those who are new that her existing students
love new students. “They get to hear me teach it again,
enriching their practice, and allowing them to incorporate
it at a deeper level,” she said. “The most important thing
before one begins is to try
to empty the mind. Everything
starts with intention.
Before you do the movement,
you intend the movement.
As you do the first
move, the only thing you’re
focusing on in your mind is
the movement that comes
next.”
Levy explained that Tai
Chi is a very old discipline,
more than 2,000 years old.
The movements are externally
soft, though internally
vigorous. Research has
shown that Tai Chi reduces
anxiety, depression and
chronic pain conditions,
enhances the immune system,
and is a powerful stress
management tool.
Levy teaches three days
a week at 3:30 p.m. On
Monday, she teaches the
85-movement long form;
on Wednesday, the martial
art fan and sword forms;
and on Sunday, the 24-
movement short form. Four
classes cost $45; eight $85.
Call Levy at 659-9548 for
class location.
Marshall Smith
can be reached at
marshall@towncrier.com.
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Mind, Body, Spirit - Winter-Spring 2009 - Page 7
It’s All in the Mudra, According to Jennifer McEwen
By Marshall Smith
Jennifer McEwen emigrated west in 1992 from Crested
Butte, Colo. to Idyllwild, but provides massage and yoga with
a graceful nod to the East. McEwen, founder of Om Sweet
Aum Yoga Studio, started her journey with Indian massage
techniques while practicing India infant massage for her baby
daughter 30 years ago.
She incorporates “mudra,” a Sanskrit word that means a
symbolic or ritual gesture, usually involving the hands and
fingers “that locks and guides energy flow and reflexes to the
brain.” (“Transitions to a Heart Centered World,” Guru Rattana,
Ph.D.)
Much of alternative medicine recognizes and utilizes Eastern
traditions of manipulation, or balancing “chi” or “qi,” the electrical
energy circulating throughout the body. It is sometimes
called “vital” energy inasmuch as Eastern tradition views it as
the life-sustaining force. A healthy physiology is thought to
have free-flowing and balanced chi.
“The tension in our bodies that comes from stress manifests
as congested energy, stagnated and unmoving,” said McEwen.
“Massage, by increasing the circulation, begins to move this
stagnated energy and supports the body in its natural ability to
detoxify and heal.”
McEwen, who has studied traditional forms of massage,
practices her own distillation — mudra massage. A massage
practitioner for 20 years and a yoga teacher for 15, McEwen
describes her massage practice as intuitive, in which she recognizes
areas of energetic disconnection through massage, and
seeks to restore proper, balanced and healing energetic flow
through her practice. McEwen says mudra massage “generates
a stillness of mind and focused concentration” in her clients.
She provides her services while being “respectful and fully present
with the wisdom nature” of the bodies of her clients.
“I’ll talk to a client for a bit and let them tell me what it is
important for me to know, whether physical problems, stress
levels or whatever. The body holds its own history,” McEwen
said. She will suggest clients pay attention to what the body
says or releases during the massage. “They don’t have to talk
about it, unless they want to, just pay attention to what comes
up for them.”
McEwen suggests that winter is a perfect time to imitate the
hibernating natural world. “It is a perfect time to slow down
and go inward, a time to rest, restore and reflect,” advised McEwen
— and a perfect time to avail oneself of massage and yoga.
Anyone interested in beginning yoga classes or mudra massage
may call her at 659-4705.
Marshall Smith can be reached at marshall@towncrier.com.
Level I–II
Level II
Level I–II
Level I
Level I–II
Monday 5:30 pm
Wednesday 9 am
Wednesday 5:30 pm
Friday 9 am
Saturday 9 am
Jennifer McEwen
Jennifer M C Ewen • (951) 659-4705
Single Session $15
8 Session* $100
15 Session* $150
*60-day expiration
Rev. Dr. Betty Jandl
Sunday Service
~ 10:00am
Wonderful musical soloists ~ Congregational singing
~ Inspiring messages ~ Teen group ~ Youth church ~
Much love & inspiration for all!
Strawberry Creek
Center
(951) 659-3464
(951) 659-3145 fax
P.O. Box 1896
Idyllwild, CA 92549
cenposliv@verizon.net
www.idyllwildchurch.com
PHARMACY HOURS:
Mon.-Fri.: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sat.: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Closed Sunday
Idyllwild
Pharmacy
Serving Our Community Since 1977
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Page 8 - Mind, Body, Spirit - Winter-Spring 2009
Ethier Debuts a New Community Acupuncture Model
By Marshall Smith
“Community Acupuncture” is not just the name of
Kristin Ethier’s new Idyllwild business. It is a new approach
to making acupuncture more available and affordable
to a wider spectrum of people, not just in Idyllwild,
but nationwide. Instead of
receiving treatment singly,
in separate rooms, patients
receive treatment in groups
— reclining in loungers, in
softly-lit rooms with soothing
music playing.
Pioneered in Portland,
Ore. by Lisa Rohleder and
Skip Van Meter at Working
Class Acupuncture, the
intention of this expanding
model is twofold: to reduce
the cost for each treatment
and, by reducing cost, to
Instead of receiving
treatment singly, in
separate rooms, patients
receive treatment in
groups — reclining in
loungers, in softly-lit
rooms with soothing
music playing.
make possible repetitive treatment for a greater number of
participating patients. “Join the Revolution!” proclaims a
banner over the doorway to Working Class Acupuncture
trumpeting the revolutionary concept of affordable health
care for the masses.
Eastern medicine — whether Tai Chi, Qigong, acupuncture,
acupressure, Chinese herbology or meditation — is
promoted by practitioners as process oriented, wherein
healing occurs in increments over time through repetition.
“I come from a working-class background,” said
Rohleder, “Eventually I came to realize that there’s no
model available that would allow me to treat my neighbors
and extended family.” So, she devised one — a low-cost,
high-volume communal healing model, more common to
the Orient, that is catching on all over the U.S.
Ethier, who had been practicing in Idyllwild in the traditional
fashion of treating patients singly and charging
in the range of $65 a treatment, heard about Rohleder’s
new model. “As soon as I read about it I began, non-stop,
voraciously learning about it. It soon became increasingly
difficult to practice the way I had. I know how this medicine
works best — with frequency of treatment. It became
frustrating to me because I could see what was needed. Because
of cost of treatment when you treat patients singly,
patients would come for a couple of treatments and that
was it. I don’t want cost to be an issue for my patients.”
Dr. Patricia James
Is Pleased to Announce
the Opening of Her Practice
Internal Medicine
& Primary Care
University Park Village
36-921 Cook Street, Ste. 102
Palm Desert, CA 92211
(760) 836-9066
NOW ACCEPTING MEDICARE
Scheduling appointments now
Conveniently located near Cook and Hwy 10
Kristin Ethier
Keiko Suzuki
951-527-5074
Ethier went to Portland to see the Working Class Acupuncture
model firsthand. She visited and received treatment
in all five clinics in Portland using the Working Class
model. She attended a late October workshop for practitioners
interested in pursuing the new model. She came
away impressed, determined to make affordable, communal
acupuncture available in Idyllwild.
On Nov. 1, Ethier opened Idyllwild Community Acupuncture
at 54445 N. Circle Drive. “I love working this
way,” said Ethier. “It’s just as financially viable for me as
it was before. I stay out of the way in doing what I do and
the group creates the healing energy.”
For first-timers, Ethier suggests it is important to understand
that acupuncture is a process. “If you don’t come
in often enough or long enough, acupuncture probably
won’t work for you. Commitment to the process of treatment
will yield the best results. The purpose of the sliding
scale is to help you make this commitment.”
Idyllwild Community Acupuncture treatment costs are
based on a sliding scale of $20 to $45, with a first-time paperwork
charge of $10. One-on-one sessions are available
by appointment at $65 per session. Call Kristin Ethier at
659-2500.
Marshall Smith can be reached at marshall@towncrier.com.
T raditional P ath
of East and West
• Tai Chi
• Chinese Brush Painting
and Calligraphy
(Instructor at Idyllwild Arts)
• Moxa (Opening energy channels with
herbal heat)
Teaching
Focus, Silence, Centering, Harmony,
Balance and Confidence
in yourself