Michael Kalmanovitch: An Inspiration For Change

In April this year, I got to spend some time interviewing Michael Kalmanovitch - owner and founder of Earth's General Store here in Edmonton. While the purpose of the interview was to prepare a piece for print, it never got published, which I always thought was a shame. A shame because it's a good piece but more so because Kalmanovitch is deserving of every bit of publicity he gets. After reading Prana's most recent monthly newsletter in which Earth's General Store was mentioned, I decided that I'd very much like to share my original piece on Kalmanovitch, so here it is:

Michael Kalmanovitch displayed his usual, friendly demeanour when I met with him on an overcast Monday morning, inviting me to sit in the quiet corner of his store that is the library - an impressive collection of books and DVDs on social justice issues. I’ve long been a fan of Kalmanovitch’s establishment, Earth’s General Store, located at 9605 82^nd avenue. I first stumbled upon it at the old location, above Gordon Price Music on 108^th street and 82^nd avenue. I love visiting Earth’s General Store, so much so that in the past, I hauled my son up the many stairs to the old location in his stroller and back down again just to browse. Kalmanovitch was equally friendly back then, once offering to help me down the stairs with the stroller and often engaging in small talk. Modest and unpretentious, you’d never know he was the owner unless he told you so.

Kalmanovitch was born in Sarnia, Ontario, spent his teenage years on the Isle of Wight in England, and moved to Edmonton in 1973 for a summer job. Kalmanovitch doesn’t hesitate to tell me that from then, he worked in the oil sands in Fort MacMurray until 1977, after which he pursued work in the heavy equipment, mining and warehousing industries. His honesty is a reflection of authenticity and testament to what he stands for the most – change. 
Kalmanovitch’s personal movement towards change began when he was about 12 years old and perceived that his house was "lit up like a Christmas tree" - this had a profound affect on him. In 1969, he moved back to England where he contributed to gathering coal for his and his family’s energy needs. His actual change in consciousness really began to take hold when he read Canada as a Conserver Society, a report published by the Science Council of Canada over viewing the importance of implementing more sustainable policies for the future. Throughout the 80s, Kalmanovitch got into composting and bicycling as his primary form of transportation. In 1986, he got involved with the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters. In and around that time, he was doing workshops on a well-rounded approach to a more environmental lifestyle for the Environmental Resource Centre.

This brings us to 1990, a year that Kalmanovitch calls the start of the “second wave of environmentalism”. It was the 20^th anniversary of Earth Day, which drew in record numbers of interested earthlings. Kalmanovitch reflects, “People were hungry for the shift, realizing that we are all consumers and a lot of consumers are looking for better options”. At this point, Kalmanovitch drew up a plan for Earth’s General Store, which he conceptualized as being “a tool to help create change”. Earth’s General Store opened in 1991. The store had “tough times” and Kalmanovitch worked in Nunavut as a mineworker to make ends meet. The tough times have morphed into a flourishing and effective business that has expanded over 3 times its original size.
 
I asked Kalmanovitch how he stays grounded in the midst of city life and within a society driven by consumerism, to which he responded, “I don’t”. He explained that, “if I let it all in – all the sadness – it will kill me”. How then does Kalmanovitch deal with “all the sadness”? Action. Kalmanovitch affirms that “the antidote to sadness is action” and he’s always taking action. These actions don’t have to be huge to have an impact. Kalmanovitch is a firm believer that little changes can collectively affect the whole. He mentions the Hundredth Monkey Effect, a phenomenon that explains the potential for shifting of the collective consciousness once a portion of the population achieves a particular awareness. According to Kalmanovitch, small things we can all do to impart big change are composting, picking up litter, avoiding idling, which he considers to be “crippling”, “pre-thinking” by always carrying your own travel mug and bringing your own plate and cutlery to events like Heritage Days, sharing, so as to reduce consumption, eating organic and buying locally. Most stirring is Kalmanovitch’s suggestion that the greatest small move of all is to, “of course, love lots more. Because with love comes caring, compassion, empathy and nurturing.” 
 
Kalmanovitch speaks passionately on the topic of politics, throwing in a couple expletives to express how mind-boggling he finds politicians’ salaries to be when “they’re not even doing a good job!” On this note, we discuss that if he could rid the world of one thing, it would be avarice, which is defined as insatiable greed. Kalmanovitch is most offended by avarice at the expense of others. He encourages people to vote so as not to perpetuate the disenchanting status of our current political platforms and aspires to adopt a more positive approach, possibly even getting involved one day.
 
Considering Kalmanovitch’s ultimate sense of purpose, to inspire change, he can be proud of the impact he’s had in Edmonton. With many Edmontonians visiting Earth’s General Store and sharing how they’ve changed because of the store, Kalmanovitch will be missed if he decides to relocate to Ottawa where he believes he can influence even more change. Regardless of where he goes, based on the Hundredth Monkey phenomenon, Kalmanovitch’s efforts will be lasting and reverberate throughout the collective consciousness of Edmonton and beyond.

Roberta Shepherd for Prana Holistic

Killing Crazy Candida!

I've had quite a few clients recently report that they've struggled with chronic yeast infections over the years. Most recently, when I shared with a client how I eradicated chronic yeast in the past, she reflected on how my methods might be ones she'd be interested in pursuing as she gets really annoyed with taking the over-the-counter remedies, especially since they mess her system up for a few days afterwards. In deed, taking over-the-counter remedies like Canesten, Monistat, and the one-day oral remedy, Diflucan, are all solutions to riding yourself of symptoms of a yeast infection, but none of them relieve the root issue of the infection.

When you're at a point where you're getting frequent yeast infections, it means that the bacterial balance in your body is thrown off. There is an abundance of "bad" bacteria in the system and this "bad" bacteria has overthrown the "good" bacteria, creating a breeding ground for bacterial infections such as yeast. The source of the bacterial imbalance is in the digestive system and, if left untreated over time, the "bad" bacteria becomes systemic in nature, meaning that it's now traveling throughout your system and manifesting itself as a yeast infection, athlete's foot, jock itch, thrush, bladder infections and cystitis (irritation and inflammation of the bladder), skin rashes in skin folds including diaper rash, toe and fingernail fungus. Besides these more obvious manifestations, there are a plethora of symptoms related to systemic bacterial imbalance, commonly called candidiasis. Some of these symptoms include: sensitivity to smells, difficulty concentrating, intense sugar cravings, itchy skin and skin problems like acne and/or eczema, headaches, digestive problems and discomfort such as gas and bloating, chronic exhaustion, irritability, anxiety, rectal itching, depression, low sex drive, sinus problems and sore throats. The reason this bacterial imbalance happens at all is due to overuse of antibiotics and/or corticosteroids, both of which kill off the "good" bacteria in the gut and compromise the immune system, poor diet and lifestyle such as excessive consumption of alcohol, simple sugars and starches. Bacterial imbalance has also been associated with the use of birth control pills.

I'm here to tell 'ya to ditch the quick fix over-the-counter remedies! The only thing that will permanently rectify your chronic yeast problems is a candida cleanse with accompanying herbs and a lifestyle change! Yes, that's right, once again I'm the bearer of challenging news - there is no overnight solution to chronic yeast. The solution is doing some work over time. I did my first candida cleanse about 10 years ago and, knock on wood, I haven't had a single yeast infection since! When I DO get a slight twinge of one or some other symptoms that point to yeast, I alter my diet and use herbs to clear it up.

Here are the basics of a candida eradication program:

1. Only take antibiotics when absolutely necessary.
2. Use probiotics every day. Probiotics are healthy strains of bacteria in capsule format that will help to re-populate the "good" bacteria in the digestive tract.
3. Pursue a strict diet that eliminates all sugars and yeasts, including natural sugars as found in fruits and colored vegetables like carrots (basically any vegetable that's not green or white).
4. Take herbs that are anti-bacterial in nature that will work to kill off the "bad" bacteria.

Here at Prana Holistic, I do cleanse counseling, where I tailor make a cleanse just for you including herbs uniquely suited to your needs. After the cleanse is made up, I also provide guidance for you upon your cleanse program, meeting with you weekly or so in order to answer questions and offer support during your process. I would be happy to help you get rid of a build-up of "bad" bacteria in your system in order that your body function more optimally. If you suspect you have candidiasis, please give us a call today to set up your cleanse consult and/or your cleanse counseling package. 780.454.5299

*Please note - there are a lot of schools of thought on candida cleansing and you will find many on the internet. The cleanse guidelines that I offer each person are based on my own personal research, experience, my education in the field and a collection of opinions from my teachers and other trusted and reputable practitioners.

Roberta Shepherd for Prana Holistic

Doing The Work

I am pursuing yet another of Kristi's Goal Ninjas programs, Get More Sh-t Done. As an accompanying gift to those enrolled in the program, Kristi gave out the book Do The Work, by Steven Pressfield. I am on my second time through this awesome little ditty and am beginning to get more and more of a grasp on what it really means to do what it is that you actually want in life. Seems like it should be so simple - you want to do something that you know makes you happy, you do it, you're happy. End of story. Yeah, not so much. At least not in my world. My story goes more like this: I want to do something that I know makes me happy (let's call it "my goal"), I fantasize about it, I make up stories as to why and how I probably can't achieve my goal, I do some personal work to heal and improve myself, I start taking risks and making some moves towards my goal, I get on a roll, I'm feeling great and getting closer to my goal, I'm doing good so I tell myself that I deserve "a break", I start to slack off on doing the work, I fall completely off the wagon, I wallow in self-defeat, self-deprecation and self-loathing, I struggle for what feels like a long time to get back up, dust myself off and do more personal work to heal and improve myself, and the whole cycle starts all over again.

I am in the midst of repeating this cycle yet again in my life and am at the "struggle for what feels like a long time to get back up and dust myself off" stage, and dealing with some residual self-defeatist and self-deprecating thoughts and behaviors. I can tell that despite my repeating this redundant cycle, I've definitely progressed in the big picture because I have absolutely no desire to feed energy to the completely falling off the wagon and wallowing in my own crap stages. Previously, I would talk about my seeming failures as though they were a pervasive disease - and I suppose they can be if we spend too much time focusing on them. Of course, talking about my falls and the accompanying self-loathing only works to make those things persist. Just last night, I heard myself say: "I'm so sick of hearing myself talk!" - this was with regards to the potential of talking to anyone about what I have recently perceived to be a failure in my life. At this rate, I'd rather just do the work, which is what Pressfield's book is all about.

The stages of my cyclical story from "I'm doing good so I tell myself that I deserve "a break" to "I struggle for what feels like a long time to get back up" are all about resistance. AND, resistance is completely normal! Hurray! I'm "normal"! Pressfield notes that resistance is "most commonly elicited [in response to]...any act that rejects immediate gratification in favor of long-term growth, health, or integrity." So...perfect, right? Anything we seek to do that is "good" and that seeks to improve ourselves will be met with incredible resistance. Sounds daunting. Part of me just wants to hang up my self-improvement kit and call it a day. For good. The other part of me is finally showing a desire to rise to the challenge. At the very least I can know that based on the amount of resistance I'm currently experiencing, I'm on the right track. Pressfield's "Rule of thumb" confirms that I'm on the right track: "The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it."

Pressfield does a really good job of letting readers know that failure is not only normal, but a good sign. I mindfully wiped my brow when I read the following that absolutely deserves to stand on it's own:

"A crash means we have failed. We gave it everything we had and we came up short. A crash does not mean we are losers. A crash means we have to grow. A crash means we're at the threshold of learning something, which means we're getting better, we're acquiring the wisdom of our craft. A crash compels us to figure out what works and what doesn't work - and to understand the difference."

And the final point? Do the work. And keep doing the work. Keep getting up and brushing yourself off. Keep pursuing personal work to heal and improve yourself. Don't give up.
I've often wished there was a more glamorous final point. Something more along the lines of: pass go, collect $200, sit on the beach with a margarita and your goal will fall at your feet. But oh no, pursuing your unique calling and your personal and lasting happiness is like being 21 and working 3 jobs to save up to go traveling - you never rest. But once you get to Europe, it's all the more wonderful 'cause you did the work to get there! It was hard and long and you were tired, strung out and uncomfortable, but you did it! (Well I did anyways and in deed, Europe was awesome.)

If you'd like support doing your work, I'd certainly suggest investigating any of Kristi's Goal Ninjas programs as well as Steven Pressfield's book, Do The Work. Beyond those resources, there are a wealth of things you can do to heal and support yourself as you move more and more authentically towards the life of your dreams. Give us a call at Prana Holistic today to explore your options.

Roberta Shepherd for Prana Holistic