Sandra T. Avendano Speaks!

In Quebec , we are lucky to celebrate two national holidays one week apart from each other.     While everyone across Canada celebrates our nation’s birthday on July 1 st , we in Quebec , kick off a week of celebrations with our own Saint-Jean-Baptiste holiday on June 24 th .   How will you be celebrating a week's worth of festivities? Picnicking or Packing? In Montreal , we also call July 1 st Moving Day.  Dating back many years, and considering our long winters and school schedules, this is the day in Montreal when most leases are renewed. Statistics from 2011, show that an average of 130,000 people move residence on July 1 st every year, while the rest of us our enjoying picnics with family and friends.  Learn  30 tips that will help you make moving day easier.  While Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day kicks off packing week, recruiting friends and family to help, arranging truck and pizza deliveries, for many, Canada Day is all about m...

The big sleep is over!  As the spring rainfalls cleanse the last signs of winter, we need to adopt seasonal rituals that do the same for our bodies as we are, after all, part of the nature that surrounds us.   Spring is not only about nature’s awakening, but a time for us to cleanse our bodies, purify our minds and nourish our soul through detoxifying diets and practices to remove and release stagnant energies trapped over the long winter months. What does it mean to cleanse (or detoxify) your body? To detoxify or cleanse your body means giving your body a break, especially your digestive system. You give your intestines (the headquarters of your immune system) the time to flush out the extra toxins accumulated in the liver through the winter season. Traditional Chinese Medicine supports the idea that spring is the time of year when the liver and gallbladder work the hardest cleansing the blood – which is the first step in detoxification.  The liver is t...