Macrobiotic Gifts

Macrobiotics is a holistic protocol, premised on correcting the balance of yin and yang energies. It addresses diet, exercise and stress to reverse symptoms of disease. Followed by health-conscious individuals, the macrobiotic practice encompasses a specific group of foods and exercise. Family and friends can support a devoted macrobiotic follower with a macrobiotic gift. Those unfamiliar with macrobiotics may wonder about an appropriate macrobiotic gift. Gift possibilities are abundant and limited only to the preference of the recipient.

Services

• Shiatsu uses pressure points to relieve stress.

  Macrobiotic meals incorporate specific foods and cooking techniques to bring the body to proper health. Macrobiotic-trained chefs are knowledgeable and artfully create meals ranging basic to gourmet. Many macrobiotic chefs offer on-site home-cooked meals. A week's worth of meals cooked off-site are available with home delivery or for pickup. For a recuperating person or a macrobiotic new mother, a macrobiotic chef's gift certificate is invaluable.

  Macrobiotic Shiatsu, a gentle form of Japanese bodywork massage, focuses on pressure points and stretches to bring harmony to the body and relieve stress. Gift certificates for a single session or a series make great gifts for executives and busy individuals. A gift certificate to a macrobiotic center can include seminars, cooking classes and individual consultations with a certified macrobiotic practitioner. Give couples a romantic night out to a gourmet macrobiotic restaurant.

Products

• A pressure cookers is an essential cooking tool in macrobiotics.

  Pressure cookers are a staple in a macrobiotic kitchen to optimize the nutritional quality of foods, particularly whole grains. Juicers are good gifts for macrobiotic individuals who also incorporate raw foods. Electric stove tops and microwave ovens are considered contraindicated and harmful for macrobiotic practice. Gifts of gas burners for apartment dwellers with electric stoves can be helpful. Ceramic cookware for baking and woks for sauteing also make great gifts for individuals keeping a macrobiotic kitchen.

Trips

• Guests at Mapleki have access to the Salmon river for kayaking

  Every year the Kushi Institute, located in Becket, Massachusetts, hosts an adult summer camp where guests can learn about the macrobiotics lifestyle in residence for a week. The Institute also offers separate "Relax and Renew" stays. As of publication, Relax and Renew stays, including three macrobiotic meals and room, were priced at $65.00 per night. The George Ohsawa Foundation also hosts an annual summer camp.

  Selected as one of National Geographic's top 100 "best World Wide vacations to enrich your life, " "Holistic Holiday at Sea" offers seven-day cruises with gourmet macrobiotic cuisine, on deck yoga classes, seminars and entertainment. Macrobiotic guests incorporating a raw foods diet can also have raw foods available. Past itineraries included Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Puerto Rico; U.S. Virgin Islands and the Bahamas.

  In existence since 1986, according to their website, Mapleki Forest and Spirit Waters is a holistic bed and breakfast located in Ontario, Canda. Mapleki offers organic meals and a full range of spa treatments including reflexology, shiatsu and aromatherapy. Yoga classes are conducted outdoors next to Cade Lake.

Books

• Macrobiotic book titles range from cookbooks to philosophy.

  Macrobiotics informs all facets of life, so macrobiotic titles range from cooking to fertility. Two books for beginners are different in style but with good information. "Pocket Guide to Macrobiotics" by Carl Ferre is a postcard-sized primer filled with basics to guide the beginner in food selection and cooking tips. Ferre is the president of the The George Ohsawa Macrobiotic Foundation since 1998.

  "The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics" by health blogger Jessica Porter is quirky and irreverent. Additional titles that would make good gifts are "Zen Macrobiotics" by George Ohsawa, touted as "the book that started it all," and "Calendar Cookery," a unique cookbook-diary by Cornelia Aihara that records one calendar year of Aihara's macrobiotic meals.