We get up in the morning and become more and more active. Then we get to a point when, it seems, the sun gets stuck high in the sky, so we can have either activity or stagnation. What we choose for lunch determines whether we become more active in the afternoon or stagnate. Now many people have hypoglycemia and become useless in the afternoon. They have to start out in the morning and do as much as they can, be as productive as possible until they get to that point, and that is it for the day. Then they just kind of coast and try to get a good start the next day.

If you want to be active in the afternoon, there are two key points; beginning lunch at noon rather than at one or two, and eating a simpler rather than more elaborate meal. The sandwich is the lunch food which has conquered the world. It is very unique, very ingenious and good for lunch. Of course this depends on the filling, how much, the type of bread, etc. Some good sandwich ideas are humus or steamed tofu. You can come up with many bean or vegetable based sandwiches. In macrobiotics we have introduced rice balls, brown rice with some umeboshi plum in the center and toasted nori wrapped around the outside. That is very good and very simple. We should look for things that are more simple and light but also nourishing and complete.

If you want to have a leisurely afternoon, then have an elaborate lunch.

The meal is a natural cycle, like the sun or the moon.

The macrobiotic diet is back — again. It may not be a health panacea, but it’s a pretty nutritious way to eat.

Macrobiotic living — a one-with-nature philosophy heavy on the whole grains and vegetables — is riding the wave of interest in organic and healthy foods to new popularity.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-macrobiotic25-2009may25,0,2313416.story

The first question to ask in developing an exercise program is “is this exercise part of my life or is it separate?” If it is separate, then we should do something to bridge the gap to integrate it into our lives, to make it actually a part of our lives. Basically, activity is a type of exchange. When we are active, what do we exchange? We exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide. We are exchanging energy. We are exchanging feelings. Whether activity is by ourselves or with friends, or within natural surroundings, this is the case. Activity is really a way to bring further balance and harmony into our lives. It is a way of exchanging, similar to our various social activities, which are, in fact, part of exercise.

Exercise is actually a way of creating balance in our life. That means it has to be consistent with yin and yang. Yang people always choose yang exercises and they like the stimulation but they end up more and more yang and then find more need to exercise. Yin people choose more and more yin activities, with the end result that they end up doing nothing. The basic principle of exercise or activity is returning us to balance in a safe way. We can’t separate activity from our life. In the same way we can’t separate food from our lives. They go together and are not separate in any way. They have to be looked at together.