What the Orient Can Teach Us About Diet & Exercise!

1. What the Orient Can Teach Us About Diet & Exercise! • Mediterranean Diet • Oriental Dance Jahanara 1 World Dance

2. Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet • Reduces the risk of stroke • Reduces the risk of cancer • Reduces the incidence of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Disease • May provide protection against skin cancer

3. Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet • Promotes healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels • Reduces the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes • Reduces the risk of heart disease

4. What is the Mediterranean Diet? • Eating primarily plant-based foods • Replacing butter with healthy fats • Using herbs & spices instead of salt • Limiting red meat to no more than a few times a month • Eating fish & poultry at least twice a week • Drinking red wine in moderation (optional)

5. Italy, Greece, Spain & Morocco

6. Moroccan Dishes • Chicken & couscous (or couscous & vegetables) • Lentil Soup • Liver or lamb kebobs • Pastilla (chicken/almonds/seafood) • Zaalouk – cooked mixture of eggplant & tomatoes) • Moroccan Mint Green Tea • Baklava • Bessara – fava bean dip • Hummus – chick pea dip

7. Benefits of “Belly Dance” • Reduces Fibryomyalgia Symptoms • Social dance 2 times a week reduces risk of Dementia & Alzheimer's by 76% • Cross-lateral movement improves reading rates • Social Dance decreases ADHD Symptoms & Depression • Core muscle workout • Reduces back pain & need for medication • Improves bladder control • Improves balance & stability • Makes it easier to do most physical activities

8. Benefits of “Belly Dance” • Non-impact and low-impact moves mean all ages can do it • Strengthens pelvic & deep abdominal muscles needed for child birth • Improves confidence and body image • Improves sleep • Women with social connections outside of family experienced less pain and greater recovery rate (breast cancer)

9. The Psoas: “Muscle of the Soul”by Danielle Prohom Olson based on Liz Koch's work • More than a core-stabilizing muscle • Composed of bio-intelligent tissue directly linked to “reptilian brain” • The deepest muscle of the human body, affecting structural balance, muscular integrity, flexibility, strength, range of motion, joint mobility, and organ functioning

10. The Psoas: “Muscle of the Soul”by Danielle Prohom Olson based on Liz Koch's work • A deep muscle we can't see involved in complex moves & communications through the core and lower part of the body. • A tight psoas continually signals your body you are in danger. • A relaxed psoas is the mark of play & creative expression

11. The Psoas: “Muscle of the Soul”by Danielle Prohom Olson based on Liz Koch's work • Koch believes that by cultivating a healthy psoas, we can rekindle our body's vital energies by learning to reconnect with the life force of the universe. • “The psoas, by conducting energy, grounds us to the earth...As gravitational flows transfer weight through bones, tissue, and muscle, into the earth, the earth rebounds, flowing back up the legs and spine, energizing, coordinating and animating posture, movement and expression. It is an uninterrupted conversation between self, earth, and cosmos.”

12. Let's Dance!