Experience Life is committed to developing relationships with like-minded folks and organizations that share our values and interests. Here are the trusted experts and relied-upon resources that we believe in and count on.
Marilee Adams, Inquiry Institute
Marilee Adams, PhD, is the founder of the Inquiry Insitute, a consultancy based in Lambertville, N.J., whose work is based on the unconventional wisdom that great results begin with great questions. Adams is the creator of the QuestionThinking™ System and the author of Change Your Questions, Change Your Life (Berrett-Koehler, 2004) and The Art of the Question (John Wiley & Sons, 1997). She has been featured as an expert source for Experience Life multiple times.
Dan Buettner, Blue Zones
Dan Buettner is the founder of Blue Zones, an organization that explores the five places around the world where people live the healthiest, longest lives. Buettner and his team use what they learn in these “Blue Zones” to educate others about what they can do to be healthy and energetic for the long haul, too. Buettner is also the author of The New York Times bestseller The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest. Read more about him in “Forever Young” and “Into the Wild Blue Yonder,” both featured in our July/August 2006 issue. Find out more about his work at www.bluezones.com.
Chris Carmichael, Coach and Author
Founder and CEO of Carmichael Training Systems, Chris Carmichael is a coach and trainer who has spent more than two decades in the sport of cycling. He coached cancer survivor Lance Armstrong to several Tour de France victories, and is the author of Food for Fitness: Eat Right to Train Right (Berkley Publishing Group, 2004) and Five Essentials for a Winning Life (Rodale, 2006). www.chriscarmichael.com. (Go here to listen to his appearance on Pilar Gerasimo’s Get A Whole Life radio show.)
Majora Carter
Majora Carter is a pioneer in green-collar job training and placement systems. In 2001, she founded the nonprofit Sustainable South Bronx to achieve environmental justice through economically sustainable projects. Today, she is president of the Majora Carter Group, LLC, which advises cities, foundations, universities, businesses and communities on unlocking their green-collar economic potential. She is a MacArthur “Genius” fellow and a 2007 recipient of the New York State Women of Excellence Award. Read more about her in “An Artful Activist” (October 2008); learn more about her work at www.majoracartergroup.com.
Deepak Chopra, Mind-Body Expert
A pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine, Deepak Chopra, MD, is a prolific author with over 50 books and more than 100 audio and video recordings translated into 35 languages. He founded the Chopra Center over a decade ago to create a place where people could balance, heal and transform. Today he continues to revolutionize common wisdom about the crucial connection between body, mind, spirit and healing as an international presenter and keynote speaker. Learn more about Chopra here, and find information about the online coaching program based on his bestselling book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success (Amber-Allen, 2007) at experiencelife.com/healthy-learning-resources.
Mallika Chopra, Intent.com
Mallika Chopra is the founder and CEO of Intent.com, a new media company focused on personal, social and global wellness. Mallika is a published author and the president of Chopra Media, a company she launched with her father, renowned author and wellness guru Deepak Chopra, and brother, Gotham. At Chopra Media, Mallika produced two PBS television specials on her father’s work, as well as films. Her experience includes launching MTV in India and Michael Jackson’s Heal the World Foundation. Mallika’s intent is “to connect with others by sharing and listening to each other’s stories.”
Marc David
Marc David is a visionary nutrition expert, author, teacher and consultant with specific expertise in the psychology of eating and mind-body nutrition. David is the founder and director of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating and the author of The Slow Down Diet and Nourishing Wisdom. He earned his MA at Sonoma State University, specializing in the psychology of eating, and trained at the Harvard Mind-Body Medical Institute and SUNY Upstate Medical School. Today, he consults, speaks, writes and serves on the editorial staff of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. Learn more at www.marcdavid.com.
Michael Gelb
Michael J. Gelb is the world’s leading authority on the application of genius thinking to personal and organizational development. He is a pioneer in the fields of creative thinking, accelerated learning and innovative leadership, and the author of numerous books, including the New York Times bestseller How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day, and the more recent Innovate Like Edison: The Success System of America’s Greatest Inventor. He is currently working on a series of articles that will appear in Experience Life in 2009. Learn more about him at www.michaelgelb.com. (Photo by Jook Leung)
Connie Grauds, Author and Healer
Connie Grauds, RPh, is president of the Association of Natural Medicine Pharmacists, the director of the Center for Spirited Medicine and director of The Spirited Medicine Alliance, a nonprofit program that works to balance the science of the Western world with the healing wisdom of indigenous cultures. Grauds is also the author of The Energy Prescription and Jungle Medicine. She teaches and lectures internationally on natural and spirited medicines, and offers spirited medicine healing workshops in Peru and the United States.
Dr. Elson Haas
Elson M. Haas, MD is a medical practitioner with more than 35 years experience in patient care, always with an interest in natural medicine. For the past 30 years, he has been instrumental in the development and practice of Integrated Medicine at the Preventive Medical Center of Marin in San Rafael, Calif., which he founded. He has authored several books, including Staying Healthy With Nutrition (Celestial Arts, 2006) and The New Detox Diet (Celestial Arts, 2004). www.elsonhaas.com
Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks, Authors and Relationship Experts
Gay Hendricks, PhD, and Kathlyn Hendricks, PhD, have served in the field of relationship transformation and body-mind therapies for more than 30 years. Together they run the Hendricks Institute, with the mission of helping individuals and couples develop core skills for conscious living. Together they have coauthored multiple bestsellers, including Conscious Loving and Lasting Love: The 5 Secrets of Growing a Vital Conscious Relationship. The Hendricks have also been featured on Oprah, CNN, CNBC, and hundreds of other television and radio shows. Gay Hendricks is the cofounder of The Spiritual Cinema Circle. Read more about their work in “No Show, No Glow” and check out our review of Gay’s most recent book, A Year of Living Consciously, here.
Cheri Huber, Author and Zen Teacher
Cheri Huber has been a student and teacher of Zen for over 30 years. She is the author of 19 books, including Transform Your Life (Keep It Simple, 2007), Making a Change for Good (Shambhala, 2007) and The Depression Book (Keep It Simple, 2004). She is the founder of the Palo Alto Zen Center and the Zen Monastery Peace Center, and the founder and director of Living Compassion, a nonprofit organization dedicated to peace and service. www.cherihuber.com
Karen Hurd, Nutritionist
When Karen Hurd’s 18-month-old daughter was poisoned by a household pesticide in 1989, doctors gave her only a year to live. As the baby’s organs and immune system began to fail, Hurd researched alternative therapies and put her daughter on a new diet. Within six weeks, her condition improved dramatically, and she is now a healthy adult with no signs of permanent damage. A veteran of the Military Intelligence Corps, Hurd attended the American Academy of Nutrition after her daughter’s ordeal and is currently working toward her PhD in nutrition. Her website, www.karenhurd.com, and book And They Said It Wasn’t Possible document stories of people who recovered from illness using nutrition. She maintains a private practice and lives with her husband and children in Fall Creek, Wis.
Dr. Mark Hyman, UltraWellness
Mark Hyman, MD, is the editor in chief of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, the best-selling author of UltraMetabolism: the Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss (Scribner, 2006) — among other books — and one of the pioneers in the emerging field of functional medicine. Find out more about Dr. Hyman and his innovative health-and-wellness approach through his Web site, www.ultrawellness.com. (Listen to his appearance on Pilar Gerasimo’s Get A Whole Life radio show.)
Van Jones, Attorney/Human-Rights Activist
Van Jones is the founder of the Bay Area-based Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a strategy and action center designed to bring justice, opportunity and peace to urban America. Jones, who appeared in the December 2007 issue of Experience Life, is also working to create a green economy and “green collar” jobs that not only help preserve the environment, but enhance the well-being of workers and their families.
Cindy Joseph, Model
Once a professional makeup artist for famous models and actresses, Cindy Joseph was “discovered” as a model herself when she was 49. The silver-haired beauty has since appeared in campaigns for Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and DKNY — to name a few — and graced the cover of Experience Life twice (in December 2005 and July/August 2004). A role model for healthy aging who lives life according to what brings her pleasure, Joseph shares her perspectives with us in her guest blog at blogs.experiencelife.com/just-cindy.
Byron Katie, The Work
Byron Katie designed and now teaches a method of inquiry called The Work, which helps relieve suffering. Born out of Katie’s own decade-long struggle with depression, The Work is a process of self-questioning that helps people uncover stressful beliefs — and stop believing them. Katie says The Work has changed her life forever, and she now devotes her time to helping other people heal and find happiness. She is also the author of three bestselling books. Learn more about Katie and The Work here, and find information on the interactive program based on The Work at experiencelife.com/healthy-learning-resources.
Nathan Lyon, Chef and TV Host
Nathan Lyon is a celebrated chef, TV personality and advocate for preparing and eating local, seasonal food. As host of the Discovery Health Network’s A Lyon in the Kitchen, he debunks the myth that cooking with fresh ingredients is intimidating or complicated, and brings his passion for fresh food to every meal. Read more about Lyon in “Local Hero” (May 2008); learn more about his show at www.health.discovery.com/fansites/nathan-lyon/nathan-lyon.html.
Deborah Madison, Renowned Vegetarian Cookbook Author
Deborah Madison is one of the country’s premier vegetarian chefs, as well as a renowned cookbook author. In 1979, Madison partnered with the San Francisco Zen Center to open Greens, one of the first major vegetarian restaurants in the country. In 1987, she published her first cookbook, The Greens Cookbook, and has since published eight more, including the ever-popular Local Flavors. Madison currently blogs for Gourmet and Culinate; her most recent book, What We Eat When We Eat Alone, was released in April 2009.
Marc Middleton, Growing Bolder
Marc Middleton is the founder and CEO of Growing Bolder, an online intergenerational community. It got its start after Middleton and a team of friends became frustrated by the refusal of mainstream media to recognize the 50-plus demographic as a real power in today’s economy and society. At www.growingbolder.com, they tell the stories of men and women who are smashing the stereotypes of aging and prove that it’s not really about age, but attitude. Watch GBTV videos or listen to GB Radio at www.growingbolder.com.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, Surgeon and Author
In addition to being a renowned cardiothoracic surgeon at the New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, Dr. Mehmet Oz is a best-selling author and Oprah regular. With Michael Roizen, MD, he coauthored YOU: The Owner’s Manual (HarperCollins, 2005), the first in the YOU: book series. In March, he appeared on the cover of the “Get a Whole Life” issue of Experience Life. You can learn more about his work at www.realage.com.
Cheryl Richardson, Life Coach
Cheryl Richardson is the author of several New York Times bestselling books, including Life Makeovers (Broadway Books, 2000) and The Unmistakable Touch of Grace (Free Press, 2006). She was the first president of the International Coach Federation and holds one of their first Master Certified Coach credentials. Listen to her weekly radio show at www.hayhouseradio.com. www.cherylrichardson.com
Tim Sanders
Former Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo!, Tim Sanders is now an author and consultant who specializes in inspiring businesses and public leaders to participate in social responsibility, sustainability and employee development projects. He believes that companies that nurture people, communities and the planet will have stronger brands, better sales and healthier bottom lines. His most recent book is Saving The World At Work: What Companies and Individuals Can Do To Go Beyond Making a Profit to Making A Difference (Doubleday Business, 2008). Learn more about his work at www.timsanders.com.
Simran Sethi, Eco-Journalist
Simran Sethi is a freelance journalist who focuses on social and environmental sustainability. Sethi is the co-host of the Sundance Channel’s The Green, the anchor of EcoBiz and creator of the web series, The Good Fight, which highlights global environmental justice efforts and grassroots organizers. Learn more about Sethi, who was featured in our May 2007 issue, in “Real Alignment,” or at www.simransethi.com.
Sara Snow, Natural Lifestyle Expert
Sara Snow grew up surrounded by organic gardens, compost piles and a family with a passion for green living. An Emmy-winning TV producer and news anchor, Snow went on to become the creator and host of two Discovery series: Living Fresh and Get Fresh With Sara Snow. This year, she released her first book, Sara Snow’s Fresh Living, and today reaches millions through her shows, book, regular segments on CNN.com Live, her blog on Treehugger.com, and other projects. She appeared in the January/February 2008 issue of Experience Life. Learn more about her at www.sarasnow.com.
Kathie Swift, MS, RD
Kathie Swift, MS, RD, is one of the foremost clinical nutritionists in the country. The codirector of Food As Medicine, a nutrition training program sponsored by the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, and a nutrition consultant at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Mass., Swift helped to create the Functional Medicine program at Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires, where she served as nutrition director for over a decade. Most recently, Swift joined Dr. Mark Hyman in creating the UltraWellness Center in Lenox, where she stayed on as nutrition director for three years.
Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska
Now in its third season on PBS, Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska is dedicated to helping you enjoy a healthier, more sustainable, better quality of life. Wanda, the show’s host and co-creator, believes in reducing stress, clutter and waste in favor of a more enjoyable, authentic life experience. Read more about editor in chief Pilar Gerasimo’s appearance on Simple Living in Wanda’s Diary. www.simplelivingtv.net
Dr. Andrew Weil, Pioneer in Integrative Medicine
Andrew Weil, MD, is a world-renowned expert in the field of integrative medicine, a healing-oriented approach to healthcare that encompasses body, mind and spirit. He is editor of www.drweil.com and is the director of Integrative Health & Healing at Miraval Life in Balance Resort. Weil is also a frequent guest on Larry King Live, Oprah, and the Today Show, and is the best-selling author of books like 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, Eating Well for Optimum Health and The Healthy Kitchen. Read more about Weil’s work with integrative medicine in “The Promise of Integrative Medicine.”
L. Greg Voisen, The Voisen Cooperative
Greg Voisen is a consultant, speaker and entrepreneur with a passion for life. After spending 25 years as a financial consultant, Voisen felt unfulfilled and decided to focus on what really mattered. Voisen and his son Sean, inspired by a desire to share their vision coupled with Sean’s cancer diagnosis, became the founders of The Voisen Cooperative — an organization that aids individuals and organizations in creating positive change and pursuing their highest potential through coaching, consulting, workshops and retreats. Voisen has a master’s degree in spiritual psychology from the University of Santa Monica and is a celebrated author. Learn more about Voisen at www.voisen.com.
The 3/50 Project
In response to the recent economic downturn, retail consultant and professional speaker Cinda Baxter has made it her mission to strengthen independent brick and mortar businesses by founding The 3/50 Project. By asking consumers to spend $50 a month at three small businesses that they would hate to see disappear, The 3/50 Project aims to return revenue to local businesses as well as to demonstrate the importance of innovation in hard times. Learn more about the 3/50 Project at www.the350project.net.
Adventure.Travel
Adventure.Travel is a hub of physical, spiritual, cultural and nature-based travel adventure, as well as an extensive guide for locating tried and tested tour operators all around the world. If you already have a destination in mind, Adventure.Travel provides you with a plethora of adventures awaiting you at your chosen location. If you’re unsure of where to go — but know what you want to do — they make it easy to find the best spots for any activity. Learn more at www.adventure.travel.
Care2.com
Care2.com is a nonprofit Web site devoted to making it easier for everyone to live a healthy and green lifestyle. It aims to help people make the world a better place by finding their own voice and making an impact — whether it be by starting a petition, founding a group, posting a news story or writing a blog post. The people behind Care2.com believe that everyone can make a difference, and they make it easy to find and learn more about the causes you care about. Learn more at Care2.com.
Center for a New American Dream
The Center for a New American Dream is a nonprofit organization based in Takoma
Park, Md., that helps Americans consume responsibly to protect the environment,
enhance quality of life and promote social justice. www.newdream.org
Green America
Green America, formerly known as Co-op America, is a nonprofit membership organization based in Washington, DC, that aims to harness the economic power — the strength of consumers, investors, businesses and the marketplace — to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society. They work for a world where all people have enough, where all communities are healthy and safe, and where the bounty of the Earth is preserved for all the generations to come. Learn more at www.greenamericatoday.org
Healing Quest
Healing Quest is a weekly television series that focuses on the latest in integrative health and natural approaches to total well-being. Featured on PBS and hosted by Olivia Newton-John, Judy Brooks and Roy Walkenhorst, the show’s mission is to provide mainstream TV viewers with useful, well-researched information on the expanding array of new choices available to help them achieve optimum health — health that transcends the mere absence of illness and instead encompasses maximum well-being of mind, body and spirit. Experience Life is a sponsor of the Healing Quest series. Learn more at www.healingquest.tv.
Ideal Bite
Founded by Heather Stephenson and Jen Boulden (see the July/August 2009 issue), Ideal Bite offers bite-sized ideas for light green living — ideas for real people who lead busy lives and want to make small changes that add up to big results. Their Daily Tips cover everything from biodynamic wine to eco-pet products to organic cosmetics. The mission of Ideal Bite is to create a more sustainable world by connecting enlightened companies with responsible consumers who are ready to make small changes that add up. Learn more about Ideal Bite at www.idealbite.com.
Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health
Located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, Kripalu is an educational institution that was formed in 1966 to promote yoga and uplift the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of individuals. It offers more than 750 educational programs and spiritual retreats led by world-renowned teachers, as well as prominent visionaries, authors, artists and inspirational speakers. www.kripalu.org
Live Dynamite
A personal-growth company based in Independence, Minn., Live Dynamite makes it easier for people to achieve more: happiness, health, wealth and success. Their 12-week program is based on proven life-coaching principles and is all about cultivating positive energy, setting meaningful goals, moving into action and maintaining momentum. www.livedynamite.com
LOHAS
The acronym for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, LOHAS is a market segment of conscientious consumers who have a strong interest in personal health and wellness, as well as environmental and social concerns. The $209 billion LOHAS marketplace includes everything from organic foods and body care to socially responsible investing, alternative healthcare, renewable energy, and energy-efficient cars and appliances. The LOHAS organization (www.lohas.com) hosts the annual LOHAS Forum and publishes the LOHAS Journal. Experience Life is recognized as one of the Top 10 LOHAS magazine titles.
MyWayForward.com
MyWayForward.com is the Internet’s first and only comprehensive resource designed to help survivors manage the complex challenges and responsibilities created by the death of a loved one. MyWayForward.com provides relevant, practical information to help survivors organize and understand their new financial, governmental and legal roles and responsibilities in an easy-to-use, professionally designed site. They can access printable tools and checklists, useful articles and blogs written by experts, and reference other helpful resources on the Web. To join, visit www.mywayforward.com.
Omega Institute for Holistic Studies
Founded in 1977, the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies is a nonprofit organization that offers diverse and innovative educational experiences, which inspire an integrated approach to wellness and personal and social change. Omega welcomes more than 20,000 people to its workshops, conferences and retreats on its beautiful 195-acre Rhinebeck, NY campus and at locations around the world. Learn more at www.eomega.org.
Brian Johnson’s PhilosophersNotes.com
Brian Johnson, creator of eteamz, Zaadz (now Gaia Community) and PhilosophersNotes, is a self-proclaimed (professional) student of life who’s inspiring and empowering others to discover and live at their highest potential. His mission is to distill the universal truths of the world’s greatest philosophers, mystics and psychologists and to share their wisdom via www.philosophersnotes.com.
Pounds for Poverty
Pounds for Poverty is health improvement and weight-loss program based on the principles of mindfulness and altruism. The mind-body methodology uses altruism to transform participants’ unconsciousness about their overconsumption into an awareness of what that same money could do for those in the world who are hungry. Pounds for Poverty cultivates this consciousness by asking participants to make a donation to a hunger-relief charity instead of over consuming.
Survivors’ Training
Survivors’ Training is a Minnesota-based nonprofit organization that aims to raise awareness of the importance of exercise for cancer survivorship and to promote regular physical activity as an essential therapy for those diagnosed with cancer. Founder Wendy Rahn is a breast-cancer survivor, and she started the organization to close the gap between the research findings and everyday reality for women living with cancer. Read her blog, and learn more at www.survivorstraining.org.
SustainLane
SustainLane is an independent online media company that creates social media properties intended to inspire, entertain, educate, and build community. Coming from a belief that all change starts with small steps, their work is committed to the support of healthy lives, strong local economies, and a restored planet. Learn more at www.sustainlane.com.
I as your magazine in my doctor’s office and found it interesting. However, now hat I see you’re partnered with and advocating Byron Katie and her disgusting victim-blaming ideas, I don’t think I’ll be coming back. Her awful book has childhood victims of sexual abuse blaming themselves for their abuse.
Hi Suzanne,
We respect your opinion and choice. While we are fans of Byron Katie’s work, we don’t necessarily agree with all aspects of her teachings. That’s why we choose to feature and partner with a wide variety of experts and organizations from across the health, wellness, nutrition and fitness spectrum — to share as many perspectives and philosophies as possible so that readers like you can decide on their own what they agree or disagree with. To that end, we hope that you’ll reconsider your choice, and explore the wide array of articles at our site.
Warmly,
Jamie Martin, Experience Life Manager of Digital Initiatives