I know I normally cover ideas for getting up and doing something active, but this week I thought I’d cover a related and very important topic: eating well.

As a Registered Massage Therapist, I don’t council people on nutrition, but I can point you all at resources to help you eat more healthy. So here is a list of some local stores that sell organic or otherwise healthy foods.

Fiesta Farms – Located just south of us at Christie and Essex, they are a local independent grocery store that stocks a lot of locally grown produce, along with a large selection of organic goods.

Organics on Bloor – Located on Bloor a bit east of Bathurst, they concentrate on local and organic produce. They also stock a variety of other local products, like dairy, meat, and boxed foods like cookies, breads and granola.

Bloor/Borden Farmer’s Market & Dufferin Grove Farmer’s Market – There are farmer’s markets all over the city, but these two are located the closest to us. Both offer a selection of produce and other products grown or created by local farmers and bakers. Worth checking out!

Taste of Nature – Located a bit west of Spadina on Bloor, they stock a lot of organic dried goods such as flours, oats, grains and spices. They also have a selection of eco-friendly cleaning and body care products.

Karma Co-op – On Palmerston Ave just north of Barton, they are a co-op, so membership is required. However, you can book a tour of the store to decide if joining the co-op is right for you. Like many of the businesses I’ve listed, they offer a wide range of organic, locally grown products and eco-friendly household cleaners and body care items.

Noah’s – Four locations in the GTA, with the closest to us being at Bloor and Spadina. A small selection of organic produce can be found here, along with a larger selection of other organic products.

Panacea – A 100% vegan shop, but don’t let that stop you from shopping there if you aren’t vegan! There are some great eco-friendly products available here. They don’t stock any produce, but they do have a variety of boxed and canned goods and some frozen meals, ice cream, and that sort of thing.

Toronto Vegetarian Association – Ok, so this one isn’t a store, but I wanted to mention them anyhow. The Toronto Vegetarian Association is a local charity that seeks to promote healthier, greener eating and living through vegetarianism. However, even if you aren’t vegetarian, their resources will still be of use to you! They have a large list of eco-friendly and vegetarian-friendly restaurants and shops in Toronto, and they also sell a vegetarian association membership discount card, which gets you discounts at lots of stores (including restaurants) in the city. Their website is worth checking out even if you just want to eat more veggies and less meat.

And finally, don’t forget that most big grocery store chains offer a decent selection of organic foods. My only word of caution is that many of them have shipped in their organic produce from the United States, so if you’re looking to eat local and sustainable, you may want to look at one of the other options listed.

Have a great week!

I’m pleased to announce I finally worked out the details for my infant massage class:

Date: Saturday, July 18th
Time: 11am-12:30pm
Location: Right here at Halcyon Health, 677 Dupont, 2nd Floor.
Cost: $35 per family (baby plus up to two adults)^*.
Supplies you’ll need: Just your standard ‘out and about with baby’ stuff – extra diapers, a changing pad, receiving blankets if you use them, etc. Comfortable mats, pillows, oil (canola) and sheets will be provided.

This is a great class for parents and their baby, but it’s also fun for other caregivers – grandparents, aunts and uncles, close friends, etc. If you are a single parent or your partner doesn’t want to attend, you are welcome to bring one other adult who is important in your baby’s life!

If you are currently pregnant and would like to take the class before having your baby, that is possible too – we’ll just teach you using a doll or a teddy bear. Just let me know when you register so I can make sure I have a doll for you (or you can bring you own if you prefer).

The cost includes the price of an infant massage booklet, which is yours to keep and refer to at home. Payment must be sent at the time of registration in order to hold your spot in the class. You can either arrange a time with me to pay in person (Visa, Mastercard, Debit, cash or cheque are all ok), mail me a cheque, or send me an Interac email money transfer for the class fee.

To register, either email me, or self-register with my online booking. Just click on ‘Events’ at the top to display the Events calendar, then choose the month (in this case, July), then click on ‘Infant Massage Class’ for the date you want.

Please note: Due to space limitations, we cannot accommodate large strollers. Because the clinic is located up a flight of stairs, I recommend just bringing your car seat, or a sling or other ‘baby wearing’ device.

If you have questions about this class, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

^*If you have twins, please contact me for class cost details.

Ok ok, you’ve got me – this isn’t really a weekly feature anymore. After almost a year of doing the posts I had trouble finding enough content to do it weekly, so consider this a ‘weekly or maybe not’ feature.

This week I do have some fitness stuff for you all, though:

Esther Myers Yoga has a yoga and ravine hike coming up in July. Outdoor yoga and hiking, that sounds lovely! For information, check out their website.

Octopus Garden Yoga has a 10-Day Asana Intensive taking place at the end of July and into early August. For details and pricing, check out their website.

The MNJCC has some summer fitness classes coming up, including Zumba, Osteofit, and some kids summer camps (which have some fitness stuff in them). For details, just go to their website.

Registrations just started at Body Harmonics for their summer schedule. Classes on the schedule start the week of July 6th. Contact them directly for more details.

Yoga Therapy Toronto has a variety of classes and workshops available, but what caught my eye is a prenatal yoga class. It’s already started for this session, but you may be able to join in a few weeks late, or you may be able to sign up for whenever their next session starts. If you’re interested, just check out the details on their website.

And finally, Flow Yoga, which I’ve mention many times before, is undergoing some changes in late August/early September. They will no longer have drop-in classes and will also have a grand ‘re-opening’ at that time, which will include free classes. For full details, check out their news page. I know it’s a few months away, but I thought I’d mention it anyhow.

As many of you have probably heard about, the Ontario government recently announced plans to harmonize the GST with the PST, forming a new tax, the HST. This means that you will be charged both taxes on all products you purchase and on all services that were previously taxable under GST regulations.

Massage Therapy is one of the few regulated health professions in Ontario that must charge GST on services. This means that starting in July 2010, your massages will start costing you more.

The Ontario Massage Therapist Association is fighting to have massage listed as an exemption under the new HST regulation. An exemption means that while Massage Therapists will be required to keep charging GST (as this is a federal tax), they will not have to charge the full 13% HST. The provincial government is currently examining the tax and its impact, and will be publishing a list of exemptions at a later date.

I believe that no regulated health care professional should have to charge taxes on his or her services. I also don’t want to charge more tax to my clients! If you agree that you shouldn’t be paying more for massage therapy, please check out the following link and sign the petition. You can either just fill out the online form, or even better, contact your local MPP and let him or her know you don’t want to be charged the HST on massage therapy.

http://www.omta.com/default.asp?ID=1766

I know Canada Day is still three weeks away, but I wanted to let everyone know I am working Canada Day (Wednesday, July 1st) from 11am to 4pm (last 1 hour slot starts at 3pm). If you’re interested in booking, please do let me know – since this is a holiday, chances are the appointments will book up fast!

I will be taking Friday, July 3rd off instead.