Source: http://frugaldad.com

Join Jan Jensen for a fab Nia workout
at EveryWOMAN in
White Rock – March 10, 2012

Inspiring Women Through Physical Activity, everyWOMAN invites women (all ages, shapes, sizes) to choose from over 50 fitness-oriented and interactive wellness workshops. Featuring Yoga, Nordic Walking (Chicks on Sticks), African Dancing, Nia with Jan Jensen, Hip Hop, Pilates, Zumba, Salsafit, Belly Dancing, Pole Dancing, Core Training, Clearing the Clutter, Laughter Yoga, Personal Goal Setting and much more.

“The whole concept is to provide a platform for women to gather, engage and get healthy in a fun and supportive environment” says everyWOMAN co-founder Kerri Carlson, a former World Championships Gymnast. Co-founder Lynn Kanuka agrees. “We love to be active together, and we know that physical activity inspires passion and brings balance to our busy lives.”

Jan Jensen has been involved with this great event since it started in 2003. She most recently presented Nia to a class of 65 wonderful women who danced for Every Woman. Her Loving the Body You’re In workshop was very well received, with Every Woman interested in reconnecting with healthier lifestyle awareness and choices.

For more information

to register for everyWOMAN in White Rock – March 10, 2012 click here

Come join me for a life-changing Nia class and more!  I’m super excited about every WOMAN – South Surrey/White Rock:  A Day of Activity March 10th – I’m all registered and would love it if you came too!Registration will end this Sunday March 4th!Here’s an opportunity to try fitness, dance and wellness workshops in a comfortable setting ALL IN ONE PLACE! Over 20 introductory workshops to choose from… everything from yoga to ‘Loving The Body You’re In’ to Nia to Groove Fit! You’ll receive a welcome bag, enjoy the marketplace, tea lounge, and much more!  Click hereto check out the workshops - seriously fun!No experience necessary.  All shapes and sizes welcome. Humour recommended.  Movement guaranteed.  Register today.Come on down – have a blast trying new activities together!

~Inspiring through physical activityInspire yourself.  Inspire others.  Take time to…Play.  Dance.  Walk.  Bike.  Climb.  Jump.  Stretch.  Think.  Laugh.  Breathe.

OR to register for EveryWOMAN in Whistler – April 27 to 29, 2012  click here.

The Myth of the eight-hour Sleep

By Stephanie Hegarty BBC World Service

We often worry about lying awake in the middle of the night – but it could be good for you. A growing body of evidence from both science and history suggests that the eight-hour sleep may be unnatural.

In the early 1990s, psychiatrist Thomas Wehr conducted an experiment in which a group of people were plunged into darkness for 14 hours every day for a month.

It took some time for their sleep to regulate but by the fourth week the subjects had settled into a very distinct sleeping pattern. They slept first for four hours, then woke for one or two hours before falling into a second four-hour sleep.

Though sleep scientists were impressed by the study, among the general public the idea that we must sleep for eight consecutive hours persists.

In 2001, historian Roger Ekirch of Virginia Tech published a seminal paper, drawn from 16 years of research, revealing a wealth of historical evidence that humans used to sleep in two distinct chunks.

His book At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past, published four years later, unearths more than 500 references to a segmented sleeping pattern – in diaries, court records, medical books and literature, from Homer’s Odyssey to an anthropological account of modern tribes in Nigeria.

Much like the experience of Wehr’s subjects, these references describe a first sleep which began about two hours after dusk, followed by waking period of one or two hours and then a second sleep.

“It’s not just the number of references – it is the way they refer to it, as if it was common knowledge,” Ekirch says.

During this waking period people were quite active. They often got up, went to the toilet or smoked tobacco and some even visited neighbours. Most people stayed in bed, read, wrote and often prayed. Countless prayer manuals from the late 15th Century offered special prayers for the hours in between sleeps.

And these hours weren’t entirely solitary – people often chatted to bed-fellows or had sex.

A doctor’s manual from 16th Century France even advised couples that the best time to conceive was not at the end of a long day’s labour but “after the first sleep”, when “they have more enjoyment” and “do it better”.

Ekirch found that references to the first and second sleep started to disappear during the late 17th Century. This started among the urban upper classes in northern Europe and over the course of the next 200 years filtered down to the rest of Western society.

By the 1920s the idea of a first and second sleep had receded entirely from our social consciousness.

He attributes the initial shift to improvements in street lighting, domestic lighting and a surge in coffee houses – which were sometimes open all night. As the night became a place for legitimate activity and as that activity increased, the length of time people could dedicate to rest dwindled.

In his new book, Evening’s Empire, historian Craig Koslofsky puts forward an account of how this happened.

“Associations with night before the 17th Century were not good,” he says. The night was a place populated by people of disrepute – criminals, prostitutes and drunks.

“Even the wealthy, who could afford candlelight, had better things to spend their money on. There was no prestige or social value associated with staying up all night.”

That changed in the wake of the Reformation and the counter-Reformation. Protestants and Catholics became accustomed to holding secret services at night, during periods of persecution. If earlier the night had belonged to reprobates, now respectable people became accustomed to exploiting the hours of darkness.

This trend migrated to the social sphere too, but only for those who could afford to live by candlelight. With the advent of street lighting, however, socialising at night began to filter down through the classes.

In 1667, Paris became the first city in the world to light its streets, using wax candles in glass lamps. It was followed by Lille in the same year and Amsterdam two years later, where a much more efficient oil-powered lamp was developed.

London didn’t join their ranks until 1684 but by the end of the century, more than 50 of Europe’s major towns and cities were lit at night.

Night became fashionable and spending hours lying in bed was considered a waste of time.

“People were becoming increasingly time-conscious and sensitive to efficiency, certainly before the 19th Century,” says Roger Ekirch. “But the industrial revolution intensified that attitude by leaps and bounds.”

Strong evidence of this shifting attitude is contained in a medical journal from 1829 which urged parents to force their children out of a pattern of first and second sleep.

“If no disease or accident there intervene, they will need no further repose than that obtained in their first sleep, which custom will have caused to terminate by itself just at the usual hour.

“And then, if they turn upon their ear to take a second nap, they will be taught to look upon it as an intemperance not at all redounding to their credit.”

Today, most people seem to have adapted quite well to the eight-hour sleep, but Ekirch believes many sleeping problems may have roots in the human body’s natural preference for segmented sleep as well as the ubiquity of artificial light.

This could be the root of a condition called sleep maintenance insomnia, where people wake during the night and have trouble getting back to sleep, he suggests.

The condition first appears in literature at the end of the 19th Century, at the same time as accounts of segmented sleep disappear.

“For most of evolution we slept a certain way,” says sleep psychologist Gregg Jacobs. “Waking up during the night is part of normal human physiology.”

The idea that we must sleep in a consolidated block could be damaging, he says, if it makes people who wake up at night anxious, as this anxiety can itself prohibit sleeps and is likely to seep into waking life too.

Russell Foster, a professor of circadian [body clock] neuroscience at Oxford, shares this point of view.

“Many people wake up at night and panic,” he says. “I tell them that what they are experiencing is a throwback to the bi-modal sleep pattern.”

But the majority of doctors still fail to acknowledge that a consolidated eight-hour sleep may be unnatural.

“Over 30% of the medical problems that doctors are faced with stem directly or indirectly from sleep. But sleep has been ignored in medical training and there are very few centres where sleep is studied,” he says.

Jacobs suggests that the waking period between sleeps, when people were forced into periods of rest and relaxation, could have played an important part in the human capacity to regulate stress naturally.

In many historic accounts, Ekirch found that people used the time to meditate on their dreams.

“Today we spend less time doing those things,” says Dr Jacobs. “It’s not a coincidence that, in modern life, the number of people who report anxiety, stress, depression, alcoholism and drug abuse has gone up.”

So the next time you wake up in the middle of the night, think of your pre-industrial ancestors and relax. Lying awake could be good for you.

This is S-O-O easy and quick, and satisfying! You just have to watch that you don’t bake them too long. In my convection oven at 325 degrees F, it usually takes about 15 minutes.
2 apples, cored
2 pears, cored
Set fruit upright in a baking dish, sprinkle with a lot of cinnamon and bake. The pic above shows a variation: a stick of cinnamon (that’s lots) surrounded by blueberries. I’m salivating just typing this …

Also try baking them so that they’re starting to soften but still firm – that way you get the comfort factor of warm fruit with the health factor of more nutrients still available.
To be extra fancy, I have used my apple coring gadget to cut the fruit in a spiral. I keep it in one piece, set each one upright in the baking dish and then enjoy eating the spiral. No extra nutrition from this tip – just more fun!
Eat and smile…

***Substitute Nia for jumping jacks

Via: Medical Billing And Coding

Tickle your taste buds and energize your life with Jan’s wheat-free and dairy-free recipes that are delicious and good for you too! Smoothies, breakfast suggestions, appetizers, spreads & sauces, wraps and rolls, salads, dressings, soups, dinner delights and, of course, yummy sweets.

In all her recipes, Jan aims for the highest value of good, healthy food with the least fat or empty calories possible ~ and the most delicious flavours. She searches out organic foods with no or little processing, grown as close to home as possible. This means that there are not a lot of recipes for tropical fruit or other exotic ingredients. However you will find dates or bananas in sweet treats instead of processed sugar, resulting in exceptional taste with higher health benefits.

Recipes for Loving the Body You’re In

Wheat-free, dairy-free whole food recipes

Tickle Your Taste Buds ~ Energize Your Life!

From mindful movement to the tastiest healthy food, Jan Jensen has sourced what makes a body feel great:

As a Nia instructor Jan knows the value of a well-nourished body, mind and spirit.

As a food-lover Jan has been teaching herself about good food and great ways of preparing it since her early twenties. Read more

To order, call Jan at 604-885-3363 or use our handy contact form.

Savoury ‘n’ Sweet Treats for Every Occasion

Wheat-free, dairy-free whole food recipes

Holidays and special family or friend occasions are when most of us step off whatever wagon we’re on, throw caution to the wind, and eat massive amounts of foods that disagree with our bodies or are just plain junky. My sensitivities to wheat and dairy products make social occasions even more of a mine field when it comes to the eating part. This recipe book is my answer to that story. Read more

To order, call Jan at 604-885-3363 or use our handy contact form.

Join me in White Rock as we play our way through the 5 Sensations of Fitness.

Energize your body as you recognize and build these sensations – to live your life with a Fabulous Vitality!

• Strength
• Stability
• Mobility
• Agility
• Flexibility

Leave the playshop feeling inspired, strong and centred.

When: Sunday March 25, 2012  ~  1 – 3 pm

Where: Kwomais Point Centre, South Surrey/White Rock

Fee: $35  – Please pre-register as space is limited

Sponsored by South Surrey Community & Recreation Services

For registration contact 1-604-501-5100

OR register on-line

Questions? Call Jan: 604-885-3363

In order to help you live the fabulously vital life you crave, I have joined with Shelley Harrison Rae, local writer, international presenter, and director of the Wordlink Lounge.  She believes “writing has nothing at all to do with writing, but everything to do with giving yourself the permission to start”.

Together we will help your body unwind, playfully shake out the words below the surface and lead you gently to your creative self.

Where: Davis Bay Hall, Davis Bay Road

When: October 16, 1-4 pm

Fee  $75  (pre-registration required)

For more about Shelley Harrison Rae go to www.wordlink.ca

For more info about me click on any page!

To register contact:

or call 604-885-3363

Access the mind-body connection through movement to reveal your writer’s voice.

I know my recipe for feeling good and I’ll help you find the simplest way to your recipe for feeling good.

Join our last  class: Saturday October 1   

  11 am – 2 pm  at 5642 Osprey St, Sechelt
(above Christine Bird’s Chiropractic office)

$65

-what to buy to fill your live food pantry
-how to build an fast, energy-building breakfast including Jan’s
Breakfast Smoothy and Over the Top Omelet

-quick lunches and snazzy desserts, including Fast Dairy-free Pizza
and yummy Chocolate Hazelnut Torte

-easy dinners for company and busy days.
-slow cooking that makes fast meals, including the incredibly
versatile Creamy Tahini Sauce and Curried Black Bean Rave

And just in case you can’t wait to taste great food, try this easy vinaigrette on any and every vegetable you want!

Balsamic Mustard Vinaigrette

2/3 c Balsamic vinegar

1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

1 heaping tablespoon mustard with or without horseradish

1/8 t Himilayan Rock Salt or Bragg’s

Whisk all ingredients together and drizzle over your favourite salad.  Please note: you can add fresh garlic and/or ginger for more great flavour.  Are you wondering why so little oil?  This is still enough oil to stick to the vegetables with the benefit of reduced fat.  A little goes a long way.

To register or for more info, contact Jan at 604-885-3363 or

Focus on your whole BodyMindSpirit self through relaxation and contemplation with Nia classes
and movement meditations.

Visit seaside village of Sayulita and enjoy the surfing, or while away an afternoon in quiet Yelapa.

Tickle your taste buds at Jan’s favourite traditional Mexican restaurant tucked in the back streets of Puerto Vallarta.

Take your body-mind to a whole new level while exploring your values and beliefs around health and wellness.

Expand your awareness of sensation with

movement, sound and visualization.

Choose to explore the jungle or the

ocean … or relax by the pool …

“Fierce and fabulous is how I felt after a week — no, after the first day — of

...a day trip ...

participating in Jan’s Nia week in Mexico. Imagine a dream of dancing on a beach, luxuriating by a pool, and drinking margueritas while being serenaded at night. This dream can be your reality. Not only does Jan lead you through the physical pleasures but she also gently leads you through a self exploration each day to learn to recognize the connections between body and mind. What a great opportunity to ‘meet’ yourself and other fierce and fabulous women who share the journey with you. Jan is a great teacher and her students are lucky to have her on the Sunshine Coast”.
~ Yvonne Stich

Love, nurture and support yourself so that you are more energized to live your life to the fullest!

Nia in Mexico:
January 15 – 22, 2012
Grand Mayan Resort in Nuevo Vallarta
Investment: $885  Last day to register is November 15, 2011!

Cost includes double accommodations at The Grand Maya Nuevo Vallarta (spacious suites with kitchens, spa facilities), daily Nia classes, Fabulous Vitality sessions, and more . . .

For questions and registration contact Jan: 604-885-3363 or e-mail
Please check website for upcoming deadlines.

Last day to register is November 15, 2011!