Food, Karma, Yoga & Health
by Renee Y. Chan
I am pinching myself to make sure this is the Canadian Yoga Alliance that I am writing for and it is not just a dream. I am a Registered Dietitian but dreamt of creating a shared space where people could learn the joy of healthy cooking while embracing yoga. Since my 200-hr. certification, I’ve opened a studio in Vancouver to provide city folks yoga classes without suffering city-like prices. |
I am the founder of The True NOSH Company Ltd. and provide an organic and vegan food line, made in Vancouver, without using sugars, syrups or artificial sweeteners and I teach sugar-less cooking classes. Our yoga studio offers by-donation classes. We need to nourish our own body for it to love us back. Our own health gives us the strength to help others — self karma is the basis of practicing karma.
True NOSH was created because I lost my father from complications due to a controllable epidemic: diabetes. This disease is now prevalent throughout the world as one of the leading killers. I realized it was difficult for my father, who loved food so much, to handle diabetes with neither a medical education nor an innate desire to adopt a perfect diet and exercise regimen. Girls like me deserve to have their fathers at their graduations and be there on their wedding days. At True NOSH, people don’t have to do it alone; their loved ones can come along to learn and have fun while doing it.
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We are here to listen, but also help put you into action!
Many of my patients admitted to hospitals are victims of a heart attack, coma, amputation or cancer. I saw first-hand, while working in these institutions, how good nutrition practices and physical activity helped people recover and adopt a healthier lifestyle. Why do we need to almost die in order to wake up? It comes down to testing the limits of our bodies and being comfortable indulging in our everyday, busy routines until it costs us everything. You are not saving any money buying that large bag of chips at Costco when you have to pay it back in health care bills later.
I began practicing yoga about 8 years ago at a karma-based studio in New York and, ever since, I became a believer in giving myself that hour to allow my brain to rejoin my body and deepen my breath while strengthening my muscles, reinforcing my joints and lengthening my tendons. I continued with my practice after I changed careers to become a chef.
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After working in restaurants under renowned chefs and in Michelin starred venues, I know that the appearance of food creates someone’s appetite and stirs their emotions. I am working hard to create a fun food and beverage line that adds joy into eating without feeling guilty!
I spent a few years as a cook in New York, a farmer in the south of France and a teacher’s assistant at a Chinese cooking school before becoming operations manager at one of the most well-known frozen yogurt chains in Hong Kong. I returned home to Vancouver to start up True NOSH in 2015. My products range from our core Asian sauces and hot sauces to compotes to granola and some drinks. Our whole line is currently vegan and gluten free and I do not use any kind of processed sugars, sweeteners or syrups while sourcing ingredients locally.
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Fruits and vegetables make up the bulk of our products, making them higher in fiber and protein. Every serving contains less than 5% of your daily value from carbohydrates (based on a Health Canada’s nutrition labelling guidelines).
We are currently selling our products via our online shop, at local farmers’ markets and at some neighbourhood cafes and pharmacies. I teach weekly cooking classes where 10% of the net revenue goes to support Diabetes Canada. We want to offer yoga classes daily and we are currently looking to add more instructors to the schedule. We want to help alleviate disease and motivate movement in our population. Email us at [email protected] or call 778-869-9920 for more info. We give you the pleasures of guilt-free eating, because you are too sweet for sugar!
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