Elise Mitchell

Viewing entries posted in 2015

The Gift of Loving Kindness Meditation

Posted by Elise Mitchell, Health & Wellness Coordinator on December 11, 2015 | 0 comment(s)

Elise MitchellWhen I’m in the field working in a group and I look at a face of apathy, I’m looking at the 17 year old Elise. I remember feeling so done with the world around me. Yup, my depression in a nutshell.

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Being at the Oasis

Posted by Elise Mitchell, Health & Wellness Coordinator on September 24, 2015 | 0 comment(s)

There exists a perpetual tug-o-war amongst our clients’ perceptions of The Oasis. There are those who love the extra creature comforts like hot showers, less hiking, time to practice yoga or cooking. Contrarily, there are those who detest “sitting around” and would much prefer doing over being any day. Even staff, especially during the first few months of operating the Oasis, asked why we’ve created it and is it necessary.

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Gazpacho!

Posted by Elise Mitchell, Health & Wellness Coordinator on August 26, 2015 | 0 comment(s)

Elise MitchellWhen temperatures are in the 90s, the body isn’t looking for steak and potatoes for dinner. So how do you satisfy the growling stomach with something that is cool and refreshing while being hearty and nutritionally dense? GAZPACHO! This is one of my favorite dishes adapted from my mom’s classic summer recipe. The reception from students and clients in the field entertains me often. More times than not, the raised eye brows and grimaces from the dedicated junk food aficionados are replaced with surprise and delight after tasting the flavors in this chilled soup. Tangy, salty, fresh, spicy… a taste bud extravaganza!

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Black Pepper Cauliflower Salad (Serves 10)

Posted by Elise Mitchell, Health & Wllness Coordinator on July 15, 2015 | 0 comment(s)

Elise MitchellDon’t judge a book by its cover. Cauliflower is often over-looked as a boring vegetable – not in this recipe! We made this at the Oasis this week while exploring what it means to cook for others. The act of giving to our peers, friends, family can change our mood and sense of self with just a quick sauté and dash of salt!

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Kale Waldorf Salad (Serves 10)

Posted by Elise Mitchell on June 18, 2015 | 0 comment(s)

Elise MitchellAn important part of comprehensive health and wellbeing is how well and how consciously we nourish our body. Poor physical health, poor mental clarity, low energy can cause and perpetuate depression, anxiety, and a host of other afflictions. We teach our clients the importance of nutrition and that adopting healthy eating can be easy, healing, meditative, CREATIVE and FUN! “Eating your greens” has never been easier with this salad! So dense and full of protein (yes…protein), minerals, antioxidants, and most importantly, FLAVOR! We create this salad using all of our senses: How does it look, smell, taste? Do we need more salt or more sweetness? It’s all about not taking a recipe too seriously, relying on personal preference and letting the creativity fly!

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Healing Trauma with Yoga: A Personal Story

Posted by Elise Mitchell, Health & Wellness Coordinator at Entrada on May 14, 2015 | 7 comment(s)

Elise Mitchell“How could a handstand invite so much emotional upheaval?” I thought as I came down softly, with the help of my instructor, resting and sobbing in Child’s Pose. I was back in another yoga teacher training after breaking my neck only 9 months earlier. I had done so much work healing the body and mind after my near-fatal car accident. My upper body was stronger than it was before the accident. I had gone to a therapist to deal with some of the fear and anxiety I felt from the experience. Had even undergone Rapid Eye Therapy to help “unlock” more subconscious levels of the trauma. But here, in a moment of turning my body upside down which I had done hundreds of times in my life, I was pouring tears like a geyser erupting from somewhere unspeakably deep within me. And my teacher was amazing. He was gentle, present, compassionate. I rested and spoke little the remainder of the day while still being with my peers of the teacher training.

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Sacred Circles: Finding Community In Parent Workshops

Posted by Elise Mitchell on January 21, 2015 | 2 comment(s)

I remember being so baffled by Chief Saba and his family’s ability to drop everything to spend time with me. He was a man slight in stature but mighty in reputation. The chief of roughly 250 thousand Batongan people of Southern Zimbabwe, faced with starvation, disease and political violence, respected by other tribal leaders but despised by Mugabe, the country’s president. He was humble, soft-spoken, loved an occasional beer and cared deeply about his family. I always felt awkward and self-conscious driving unannounced into his territory knowing that he and his many wives, brothers, and children would stop working in the fields, stop taking care of, what I saw as, the most crucial aspects of life in the harsh, sandy terrain of Kariba just to say hi. I finally asked him once why he was okay with stopping their daily chores to spend hours with me. His reply has haunted me to this day, “We survive because of our connections to each other. Don’t forget that.” These words became a torchlight that guided me, subconsciously, to Second Nature.

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An Oasis Moment: Brazilian Black Bean Stew (Serves 10)

Posted by Elise Mitchell on January 15, 2015 | 0 comment(s)

It’s definitely winter in the high desert! Time to light the internal fires to stay warm and support that sense of comfort from the inside out! It never fails to amaze me how food can so easily and directly affect well-being. Beyond the benefits of tasty, nutritious meals, the very act of creating something that is unique, requiring a skill set (new to many of our clients), and inviting the cooperation from the entire group creates an almost electric environment where individuals can thrive! The hope is that our clients bring the simple pleasures they cultivate, like cooking under the stars with friends and mentors, into their next chapter after Second Nature.

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