<?xml version="1.0"?>
<rss version="2.0"  xmlns:gf="http://www.glam.com/schemas/feedext">
  <channel>
    <title><![CDATA[Glam Media Network Blog Posts for - Mind, Body, Spirit]]></title>
    <link>http://www.glam.com/</link>
    <description><![CDATA[Current Glam Media Network Blog Entries for - Mind, Body, Spirit]]></description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <pubDate>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:02:38 PST</pubDate>
    <generator>Glam Media Publishing Engine</generator>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[How Cold Weather Affects Your Weight]]></title>
      <link>http://www.blisstree.com/articles/how-cold-weather-affects-your-weight/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No, it&#8217;s not a magical Frosty the Snowman type thing, but cold weather can make you gain weight. And that weight gain, however small, may creep up on you over the years, putting you at risk for obesity.
There are several different ways that cold weather may contribute to gaining weight, and once these methods are exposed and swimming around in your thoughts, you may avoid them.
For the skinny on weight gain in the winter, read Tom Venuto&#8217;s article below. He&#8217;s the author of The Body Fat Solution, a book which takes a look at weight gain from many different angles (including emotional or psychological), not just the purely physical take.
After reading, leave a comment if you&#8217;re surprised by any of the insights on weight gain in the winter.
Does Cold Weather Make You Store Body Fat?
By Tom Venuto,
Author of The Body Fat Solution: Five Principles for Burning Fat, Building Lean Muscle, Ending Emotional Eating, and Maintaining Your Perfect Weight
Do you get fatter in the cold weather? It&#8217;s a good question right now, and the answer is yes!
First there&#8217;s the psychological explanation: in warm climates, people are wearing less clothes and enjoying the outdoors and people want to look good when they&#8217;re exposing more flesh! In the cold, you&#8217;re covered up, so there&#8217;s less self-consciousness and no public accountability. Therefore, most people tend to stay on a diet more diligently and train harder when summer rolls around.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) has been studied at length by psychologists. Often more than just the &#8220;winter blues&#8221; but an actual type of depression, SAD occurs during the short days and long nights of winter and fall, when there&#8217;s less sunlight and colder temperatures. Symptoms include depression, cravings for specific foods, loss of energy, hopelessness and oversleeping. Obviously, these types of symptoms can contribute to weight gain.
Because of their tendency for fall and winter weight gain, many people have suspected that cold temperatures influence weight gain on a metabolic level, not just eating more. Exposure to cold temperatures can cause a shivering thermogenesis which means there&#8217;s an increase in metabolism to produce more heat (heat production = calories burned).
However, if you just got the bright idea of turning off the heat in your house, or going for a swim in the cold surf every day to &#8220;burn more fat&#8221;, I wouldn&#8217;t recommend it. Deliberate exposure to the cold, either cold air or cold water doesn&#8217;t pan out into real world fat loss results, even though there are actually &#8220;fat loss gurus&#8221; who recommend it.
Here&#8217;s why:
If your body uses some energy for shivering or heat production, it can compensate later for that energy loss by increasing your appetite. Not only that, research at the hyperbaric environmental adaptation program at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland reported that, &#8220;The combination of exercise and cold exposure does NOT act to enhance metabolism of fats . . . Cold-induced vasoconstriction of peripheral adipose tissue may account, in part, for the decrease in lipid mobilization.&#8221;
It&#8217;s just not practical to freeze your butt off in an attempt to speed up your metabolism a tiny little bit, so your fat loss scheme wouldn&#8217;t last long if you tried.
A great example of how cold temperatures affect energy balance is in the case of swimming. For years, people thought swimming actually made you fat. There were all kinds of theories, like, &#8220;it makes you retain a layer of fat for insulation, like seals.&#8221; Actually, the most recent research shows that swimming is a perfectly good fat burning exercise, except for one thing: Swimming, especially in cold water, increases appetite dramatically.
The seasons affect your activity levels too. Pedometer research published in the journal Medicine &amp; Science in Sports &amp; Exercise uncovered a huge difference in the number of steps taken between the summer and winter:

7616 steps per day in summer
 6293 steps per day in fall
 5304 steps per day in winter
 5850 steps in spring

Most people blame winter weight gain on the food, but it&#8217;s not just the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year&#8217;s celebration feasts, it&#8217;s less winter activity that also contributes to the holiday pounds.
You have to keep up your training and nutrition program in the winter, or else.
Although studies have found that seasonal weight gain is usually very small, it&#8217;s the type of slow weight creep that goes unnoticed. Over a period of 10, 15 or 20 years, it&#8217;s enough to accumulate into overweight or obesity.
Thus many men and women wake up one morning at age 40 or 45, look in the mirror and ask themselves, &#8220;How did I get so heavy?&#8221; Answer: just a pound or two a year, after each winter season, left unchecked.
To stay lean all year round, you have to remain alert about increases in your appetite and decreases in your activity. This is a YEAR-ROUND LIFESTYLE! Stay active, stay diligent about nutrition, stay accountable, and if you start to experience weight gain, nip it in the bud &#8212; fast!
 2010 Tom Venuto, author of The Body Fat Solution: Five Principles for Burning Fat, Building Lean Muscle, Ending Emotional Eating, and Maintaining Your Perfect Weight
Author Bio
Tom Venuto is a fat-loss expert, nutrition researcher, and natural, steroid-free bodybuilder. Since 1989, Venuto has been involved in virtually every aspect of the fitness and weight-loss industry &#8212; as a personal trainer, nutrition consultant, motivation coach, fitness model, health club manager, and bestselling author of the popular e-book Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle, as well as other digital programs such as MP3 teleseminars and weight-loss membership websites. He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Visit the author&#8217;s website at: BodyFatSolution.com.
(Image via stock.xchng; Book cover Penguin Group)




	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	


Post from: Blisstree
How Cold Weather Affects Your Weight]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:32:11</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Lively Women]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://livelywomen.com/</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Wellness Products We Like]]></title>
      <link>http://www.myyogaonline.com/blog/2010/02/wellness-products-we-like/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[We have had the opportunity to try some great products by good people.  Enjoy our review of yoga and wellness products we like.
Passport to Prana
Enjoy trying out a large number of yoga classes at a fraction of the price of regular drop-in rates.  Great way to source out a new studio or to practice with new yoga teachers.  Available in San Francisco, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa (and they are expanding). 
Desert Essence Organics
A really line of organic body care products.  We just tried the organic lavender hand soap - great fragrance and did not dry out the hands.  All of the products are 100% vegan, biodegradable, manufactured using windpower, cruelty and
wheat/gluten free. And contains no parabens, sodium laurly/laureth sulfates, phthalates, artificial fragrances or colors, silicones, EDTA, glycol or petroleum based ingredients.
The Great Indian Yoga Masters by Birad Rajaram Yajnik
This book traces some of the prominent yoga masters through history with a beautiful selection of photographs.  The book has been photographed and documented across nine countries and consists of over 200 visuals that outline the spread and practice across the world of this ancient art form.
No Tags]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:31:55</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[My Yoga Online]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://www.myyogaonline.com</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Acupuncture During Pregnancy for Depression]]></title>
      <link>http://www.blisstree.com/articles/acupuncture-during-pregnancy-for-depression/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[New research has been unveiled today that shows acupuncture during pregnancy is a promising treatment for depression.
&#8220;Depression during pregnancy is an issue of concern because it has negative effects on both the mother and the baby as well as the rest of the family,&#8221; said Dr. Schnyer, one of the study authors.

Is depression during pregnancy a common problem?
Around 10% of pregnant women suffer from major depression, and almost 20% have increased symptoms of depression during pregnancy. Even though rates of depression in pregnant women are similar to rates among non-pregnant women the same age and women who&#8217;ve just given birth, there are far fewer treatment studies of depression during pregnancy.
Some women are also reluctant to take anti-depressants during pregnancy, so alternatives like acupuncture may be welcome. Study participants included 150 pregnant women who met the DSM-IV criteria for Major Depressive Disorder. The women in the study didn&#8217;t know if they were receiving acupuncture designed for depression or if they received control acupuncture (not specific for depression). One group received massage instead.
The women in the study who received the acupuncture specific for depression experienced a significantly greater decrease in severity of depression compared to the control groups. Fewer women in the massage group reported side effects, yet those side effects reported by some of the participants in the acupuncture groups were mild and passed quickly.
Study results were presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine&#8217;s (SMFM) annual meeting in Chicago.
If you&#8217;re concerned about depression during pregnancy, please speak with your doctor. Pregnant women should exercise caution with acupuncture during pregnancy, using only certified and experienced acupuncturists.
(Image via stock.xchng)




	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	


Post from: Blisstree
Acupuncture During Pregnancy for Depression]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:06:02</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Lively Women]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://livelywomen.com/</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Unlocking Mysteries of PCOS]]></title>
      <link>http://www.blisstree.com/articles/unlocking-mysteries-of-pcos/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;re gaining weight, but haven&#8217;t changed your eating habits and you&#8217;re still exercising, the cause may be something your doctor hasn&#8217;t checked.
Some women may go years before being diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a metabolic disorder that may lead to infertility. Around 5 million US women are affected by PCOS.

Andrea Dunaif, MD, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said that some women will go to as many as four doctors before being diagnosed. She notes that women may be told that there&#8217;s nothing wrong with them or that they&#8217;re fat. Symptoms of PCOS, caused by excess levels of male hormones, may include irregular periods and excess hair on the face, chest or back.
Dunaif was recently awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue her research into the genetic causes of PCOS. She&#8217;s currently recruiting women with PCOS and their daughters, brothers and fathers for participation in her studies. For more info, call 800-847-6060 or visit the PCOS page at Northwestern University.
PCOS is a complex genetic disease with risks that last throughout a woman&#8217;s life. Risks associated with PCOS include obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, endometrial cancer and heart disease. According to Dunaif,
brothers and fathers of women with PCOS have a greater prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome.
While PCOS gets its name from small ovarian cysts, not all women with PCOS have these cysts. Dunaif said she&#8217;d like to rename PCOS &#8220;Syndrome XX&#8221; to get it into the spotlight.
(Image via stock.xchng)




	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	


Post from: Blisstree
Unlocking Mysteries of PCOS]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:56:03</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Lively Women]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://livelywomen.com/</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Too Much Internet Linked with Depression]]></title>
      <link>http://www.blisstree.com/articles/too-much-internet-linked-with-depression/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Excessive Internet use has been associated with depression, but it&#8217;s a chicken and egg question. Do depressed people use the Internet too much, or do people become depressed from excessive Internet use?
&#8220;What is clear, is that for a small subset of people, excessive use of the Internet could be a warning signal for depressive tendencies,&#8221; said Dr. Catriona Morrison from the University of Leeds.

Morrison is the lead author of a new study examining the link between Internet usage, depression and addiction. It&#8217;s the first large-scale study of Western young people to take up the subject. Researchers found that people who spend excessive amounts of time surfing the net are more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms.
Most people using the Internet aren&#8217;t addicted, so don&#8217;t worry too much! Only 1.2% or 18 people in the study were found to be addicted to the Internet. However, that percentage is enough to raise brows regarding mental health issues relating to overuse of the Internet. When Internet usage regularly takes the place of real, in-person interaction, that&#8217;s a cause for concern.
Morrison noted that the research findings reinforce previous public speculation that overusing social networking sites and chat rooms in a manner that replaces normal social function could be associated with disorders like depression and addiction.
In the study, younger people were more likely to be addicted than middle-aged Internet users. The average age of the addicted group was 21. Study participants included 1,319 people aged 16-51. Study findings will be published next week in the journal Psychopathology.
Do you think you know an Internet addict?
(Image via stock.xchng)




	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	


Post from: Blisstree
Too Much Internet Linked with Depression]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:19:56</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Lively Women]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://livelywomen.com/</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Ever Evolving]]></title>
      <link>http://epicself.com/2010/02/03/ever-evolving/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[
Glancing back on the past 8 months of my whirlwind existence I can&#8217;t say much was consistent beyond my love for good quality whole foods. As I dabbled in nomad living in Australia and tested my own definition of lifestyle design I continued to tinker with my diet and discover what works for my body. As I floated through various locations I continually had to reevaluate what I was putting in my mouth and be honest with how much exercise I was doing to stay in shape.

Whole Foods and my beloved Trader Joes were not just a quick six block walk and fridge space to store such goodies was vehemently fought over in packed hostels. No date on your grocery bag = no food next morning. Brutal when you just spent your last five bucks on greens and tomatoes because you want a salad instead of instant noodles. 
Let&#8217;s just say since I&#8217;ve been back in San Francisco I couldn&#8217;t feel more blessed and privileged to have such incredible variety of locally grown, organic produce and products. Though I knew it growing up, we Californian&#8217;s have it good!

Since the beginning of EpicSelf I have pushed the importance of balance in nutrition. Offering a mix of Eastern and Western approaches to the subject while showing you how to eat for optimum nutrition and performance without the cost. Whilst traveling, I must admit, trying to define how I eat and my personal philosophy on food became a nightmare. I experimented a lot and now have found what balances perfect with my current activity levels, energy needs, season and aesthetic. The trick&#8230;our nutritional needs are ever evolving. We have to constantly re-evaluate! What keeps you lean and mean now won&#8217;t work forever. Not by a long shot.

The more I read the more I realize that each person needs to experiment and do what feels right for their specific body at that time in life. Experimenting and trial and error with food is the only way to truly find what approach satisfies and energizes your unique make-up. We must learn to adapt and ebb with changes in age, metabolism, allergies, and overall demands of life, like stress.  
There is no magic bullet nutrition plan that works for everyone at every moment. You can stop dieting and start loving food again if you take the time to understand your own body. For some, dairy is not an option. As I discussed in Dare We Eat Dairy? the milk industry and it&#8217;s role in our national food pyramid is up for heated debate. For others, gluten, wheat and white flour are the culprits. You might choose to eliminate certain foods all together just because you have more energy, feel less bloated, etc, without them. That&#8217;s okay! You are building mind-body awareness. 
Let the scientists fight over whether eggs actually increase cholesterol or coffee is a must drink super bean. There is so much back and forth it&#8217;s ridiculous and infuriating. I say absorb the info and then make your own decisions based on how your body feels. 
What&#8217;s soothing my soul at the moment is a blend of raw, vegan, non dairy eating with some eggs and an occasional night out for sushi (raw fish). Meat isn&#8217;t quite out of my life yet. I just can&#8217;t give up sashimi! Loads more to come on my transition into more raw, vegan living!
Next Up: Video Interview with raw food expert Natalie Lussier the Raw Food Witch. 
What are some of your unique dietary needs and how have they evolved with your ever changing lifestyle?  I&#8217;d love to hear what works for you!
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:07:44</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Epic Self]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://www.epicself.com</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Gum Disease Bad for Heart]]></title>
      <link>http://www.blisstree.com/articles/gum-disease-bad-for-heart/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[During American Heart Month, treat your heart right by taking care of your gums. At the end of January, I reminded you about Wear Red Day (Feb. 5) and all the widely discussed risk factors for heart disease. However, another risk factor may be lurking inside your mouth. The good news is that it can be taken care of.

A large number of Americans have some form of gum (periodontal)  disease. If it isn&#8217;t treated, it may possibly lead to heart disease. Researchers believe that if you have periodontal disease, you may be twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease compared to people without periodontal disease. Managing gum disease may help reduce the risk for heart disease.
New guidelines, part of a consensus paper published in the American Journal of Cardiology and the Journal of Periodontology, encourage cardiologists to perform oral health exams. Periodontists are also encouraged to ask about patient heart health and family history of heart disease.
&#8220;There&#8217;s no longer any question about the strong relationship between the two diseases, and patients with one condition should be checked immediately for the other,&#8221; says Dr. Edgard El Chaar, DDS, MS, a periodontist based in New York City. Dr. Chaar specializes in the prevention and treatment of gum disease, and he&#8217;s an advocate for educating patients about the perio-cardio connection and the new treatment guidelines.
It&#8217;s not known exactly how gum disease can lead to heart disease, but researchers have a couple of theories. Inflammation from gum disease increases plaque build-up and may contribute to swelling of arteries. Also, bacteria in the mouth can enter into the blood stream, attach to fatty plaques in the heart blood vessels, possibly paving the way for a heart attack after clot formation. Read more at perio.org.
Dr. Chaar says that heart disease isn&#8217;t the only area of concern when it comes to your gums. He notes that researchers have linked gum disease with respiratory conditions, premature births and diabetes from bacteria traveling throughout the body.
If you have symptoms of gum disease (bleeding, tender or receding gums or persistent bad breath), Dr. Chaar encourages you to not only consult a periodontist, but also consider discussing your symptoms with a primary care physician.
(Image via Dr. Chaar)




	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	


Post from: Blisstree
Gum Disease Bad for Heart]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:09:07</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Lively Women]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://livelywomen.com/</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Ask the Skinny Scoop: Valentines Love]]></title>
      <link>http://www.blisstree.com/articles/ask-the-skinny-scoop-valentines-love/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A new site focused on user-generated surveys and answers is on the scene. It&#8217;s theSkinnyScoop.com, and it&#8217;s tailored to women who want to know (and women who want to share).
The Skinny Scoop allows you to post engaging questions on just about any topic from health to sex. The community (which is free to use) allows women to share their life&#8217;s expertise with each other. Here&#8217;s an example of a recent poll on Valentine&#8217;s Day at the Skinny Scoop:
45% of women said their ideal Valentines Day gift would be to spend a night at a hotel or another getaway destination.
20% said they would like their partner to do something homemade and personal (put together photo album, write a poem, etc).
65% of women believe its the mans job to do something special for Valentines Day (I disagree with this one, how about you?).
One member at the Skinny Scoop said,
I am all about women being equal so maybe this is a double standard but&#8230;I really wish my husband would take the lead on Valentine&#8217;s Day. In reality we women usually do the bulk of kiddie stuff as well as plan most of the social calendar even if we work full-time. So this is a nice one to take off our shoulders.
It seems that these poll results and comments should be shared with men too! Here are some more juicy tidbits from the Valentine&#8217;s Day poll:

57% of women feel they are obligated to have sex on Valentines Day
93% of women said that if they were to make a 2010 sex resolution, it would be to have more sex
79% would rather have a massage than sex
77% have had sex on a first date

I&#8217;ll end with this comment from one member at the Skinny Scoop: A foot massage is an orgasm and then some! Hmm&#8230; fetish?
(Image via stock.xchng)




	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	


Post from: Blisstree
Ask the Skinny Scoop: Valentine&#8217;s Love]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:13:45</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Lively Women]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://livelywomen.com/</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Is a Top-rated Hospital Always Better?]]></title>
      <link>http://www.blisstree.com/articles/is-a-top-rated-hospital-always-better/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[You&#8217;ll hear lots of attention focused on the best hospitals, as rated by the U.S. News and World Report &#8220;America&#8217;s Best Hospitals&#8221; and the HealthGrades &#8220;America&#8217;s 50 Best Hospitals&#8221; and other groups.
Yet, do those ratings and all that attention really mean you&#8217;ll get better care?

According to new research in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, patients can achieve similar outcomes to top-rated hospitals at high-volume hospitals closer to home.
The new research is the first such study to tackle the very interesting and important question of whether surgical outcomes at highly rated hospitals are indeed better than the outcomes at other US hospitals. After accounting for hospital volume, researchers found that the hospitals ranked highest by U.S. News and World Report no longer had significantly lower 30-day mortality rates for four cardiovascular procedures (abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, coronary artery bypass, aortic valve repair, mitral valve repair) compared with that of other hospitals.
&#8220;Both the U.S. News and World Report and HealthGrades quality rating systems are frequently used for hospital marketing. Our study shows that current hospital ratings systems are no better in judging the quality of hospitals than are procedural volumes,&#8221; said Nicholas Osborne, MD of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Osborne noted that continued research is needed to find better ways to help consumers measure surgical quality. Researchers indicated that while current ratings systems may help patients identify good hospitals, relying too heavily on the ratings may mean that some patients pick hospitals or other facilities that are farther from their homes instead of equally performing, high-volume hospitals that are closer.
(Image via stock.xchng)




	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	


Post from: Blisstree
Is a Top-rated Hospital Always Better?]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:09:17</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Lively Women]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://livelywomen.com/</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Book Review: Be The Change]]></title>
      <link>http://www.blisstree.com/articles/book-review-be-the-change/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Meditation has a lot to do with everything. Or it can, if you let it. People practice meditation for many different reasons. Some of the health reasons noted for meditating include helping to conquer anxiety, stress, depression and pain. For some, meditation is part of religious practice.
Ed and Deb Shapiro, authors of Be The Change, contend that meditation can do so much more: It can open the door to loving kindness, to helping each other, to getting outside the world our minds have made for us to find reality. By using meditation, we can learn to see others in a different light and be more open to helping them, instead of focusing on our own stories.
Does that sound deep?
It is deep. After all, a forward for Be The Change was written by HH The Dalai Lama. The book contains what I&#8217;m calling &#8220;thought excerpts&#8221; from more than 100 meditation practitioners from many different walks of life. The contributions could also be called mini stories. You&#8217;ve heard of some of the contributors (Jane Fonda, Ed Begley, Jr.), but you can read more about any of them in the contributor bios in the back of the book. The contributors explain how meditation has profoundly touched their lives. (Disclosure: I received a courtesy copy of the book for review.)

The thought excerpts are interspersed with text from Deb and Ed, a married couple dedicated to meditation. They&#8217;ve written more than 16 books on personal development, social action and meditation. They&#8217;re also corporate consultants, bringing peace to stressed execs.
So, does this book teach you how to meditate?
Yes, in a way. And it does a bit more than that. For much of the book, the authors and contributors explain what meditation is and what it can do. That may sound boring, but it&#8217;s not. The final section of the book focuses more on actual meditation practices. You won&#8217;t learn how to meditate just by reading the book. You&#8217;ll have to practice what you&#8217;ve learned. As HH The Dalai Lama said in his forward, &#8220;Treat this book as you would a cookery book. You wouldnt merely read recipes with approval, youd try them out. &#8230; Like cookery, meditation only makes sense if you put it into effect.&#8221;
I recommend Be The Change for anyone wanting to explore meditation, or for anyone just looking to become a kinder person and make a difference in this world.
(Cover Image, Sterling Ethos)




	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	


Post from: Blisstree
Book Review: Be The Change]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:52</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Lively Women]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://livelywomen.com/</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Are You Part of a We Couple?]]></title>
      <link>http://www.blisstree.com/articles/are-you-part-of-a-we-couple/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re planning a vacation this summer. We&#8217;re hoping to buy a house. We love pets. We like taking walks in the park.
Do you think it&#8217;s obnoxious when couples use &#8220;we&#8221; speak?
I&#8217;ll admit it&#8217;s confusing to hear someone use &#8220;we&#8221; when the other half isn&#8217;t around, especially if I don&#8217;t know the other half. However, using &#8220;we-ness&#8221; language may indicate a happier couple! 

A new study from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that spouses who use &#8220;we&#8221; may be better able to resolve conflicts than those couples who don&#8217;t.
Researchers studied conversations between 154 middle-aged and older couples. The conversations revolved around points of disagreement in the marriages. UC Berkeley researchers found that couples who used &#8220;we,&#8221; &#8220;our&#8221; and &#8220;us&#8221; showed less physiological stress and acted more positively toward one another.
However, couples emphasizing separateness with &#8220;I,&#8221; &#8220;me&#8221; and &#8220;you&#8221; were less satisfied in their marriages. The finding was particularly true for older couples. When the older couples used &#8220;separateness pronouns,&#8221; there was a strong link to unhappy marriages.
The study findings, published in the journal Psychology and Aging, also suggest that older couples use &#8220;we&#8221; more than middle-aged couples. Researchers believe that can be explained by older couples having faced more obstacles and challenges together, leading to a greater sense of shared identity. Previous studies have shown that &#8220;we-ness&#8221; or &#8220;separateness&#8221; pronouns are strong indicators of marital happiness in younger couples. 
Of course, using &#8220;we&#8221; doesn&#8217;t make you part of a happier couple, it&#8217;s just a sign. 
&#8220;Individuality is a deeply ingrained value in American society, but, at least in the realm of marriage, being part of a &#8216;we&#8217; is well worth giving up a bit of &#8216;me,&#8217;&#8221; said UC Berkeley psychology professor Robert Levenson, a co-author of the study.
I tend to use &#8220;we&#8221; more when I&#8217;m with family or close friends. Do you use &#8220;we&#8221; speak?
(Image via stock.xchng)




	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	


Post from: Blisstree
Are You Part of a &#8220;We&#8221; Couple?]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:17:42</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Lively Women]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://livelywomen.com/</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[New Nutrition Articles-Learn about Leeks and Kale]]></title>
      <link>http://www.myyogaonline.com/blog/2010/01/new-nutrition-articles-learn-about-leeks-and-kale/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[My Yoga Online has added 2 new great nutrition article by Carol DiPirro: The Nutritious World of Leeks and Kale-Veggie Superstar
Leeks, a member of the onion and garlic family, have long been grown and cooked in Europe and the Mediterranean. Historians claim Nero ate leeks in soup regularly, thinking they were good for his singing voice. He may have gotten the notion from Aristotle who claimed the clear cry of the partridge was due to its diet of leeks. Only recently have they become popular in the United States.
An average size leek contains approximately 40 calories and 305 mg of salt which is 13% of the daily requirement. They also contain significant levels of manganese (15%) and iron (8%). Leeks are believed to fight cancer, especially colon and prostate cancer. They contain quercetin and other compounds which inhibit carcinogenic development and also restrict the spread of cancer. Leeks also contain kaempferol, a substance which has been shown to reduce ovarian cancer in women. The green parts of leeks are especially nutritious, containing B vitamins and loaded with protective antioxidants such as carotenoids and lutein. 
Read more about the health benefits and a recipe with leeks:The Nutritious World of Leeks
Kale, a descendent of the wild cabbage, is thought to have originated in Asia Minor and to have been brought to Europe around 600 B.C. by groups of Celtic wanderers. Curly kale played an important role in early Europe, having been a significant crop during ancient Roman times and a popular vegetable eaten by peasants in the Middle Ages. English settlers brought kale to the United States in the 17th century. Both ornamental and dinosaur kale are much more recent varieties. Dinosaur kale was discovered in Italy in the late 19th century. Ornamental kale, originally a decorative garden plant, was first cultivated commercially in the 1980s in California. Ornamental kale is now better known by the name Savoy.
Read more about the health benefits of Kale and a great Kale Chip recipe:Kale - Veggie Superstar
No Tags]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:03:41</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[My Yoga Online]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://www.myyogaonline.com</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Flame Retardants May Impact Fertility]]></title>
      <link>http://www.blisstree.com/articles/flame-retardants-may-impact-fertility/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Sure, we don&#8217;t want stuff catching fire, but are flame retardants, called PBDEs, really safe to be around?
And what are PBDEs anyway?
Defining PBDE is simple, but figuring out the impact is not so easy. A class of organobromine compounds, PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) have been commonly used since fire safety standards were implemented in the US decades ago.
PBDEs are contained in electronics, fabrics, foam furniture, carpets, plastics and other household items.

Research has indicated that household dust often contains PBDEs. The chemicals are known to leach into the environment, accumulating in human fat cells. It&#8217;s believed that around 97% of Americans have detectable levels of PBDEs in their blood.
Plus, Americans supposedly have 20 times the amount of PBDEs in blood than Europeans. Because of strict flammability laws, people in California are thought to have the highest levels of PBDEs in the country.
New research using PBDE levels in blood samples from 223 pregnant women has shown that high levels of PBDEs in blood may mean that it takes longer for women to become pregnant.
The study was published this week in Environmental Health Perspectives. The results revealed that a 10-fold increase in blood concentration of four PBDE chemicals was associated with a 30% decrease in the odds of conceiving each month.
In other words, women wishing to become pregnant may have a longer wait if they have higher levels of PBDEs in their blood. Researchers aren&#8217;t sure why the chemicals impact fertility. However, all women in the study were eventually able to become pregnant.
&#8220;Although several types of PBDEs are being phased out in the United States, our exposure to the flame retardants is likely to continue for many years,&#8221; said Brenda Eskenazi, principal investigator in the study and UC Berkeley professor of epidemiology.
While the new study raises awareness about PBDEs, it doesn&#8217;t really give us any answers to the problem. It&#8217;s time for chemists and medical researchers to communicate with each other a bit more.
(Image via stock.xchng)




	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	


Post from: Blisstree
Flame Retardants May Impact Fertility]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:54:10</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Lively Women]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://livelywomen.com/</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Chia Pets, Aztec Warriors and Your Health]]></title>
      <link>http://epicself.com/2010/01/26/chia-pets-aztec-warriors-and-your-health/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[
Chi- chi- chi chia! At some point in life you probably ended up with a ceramic head, cow, or bunny and a pack of chia seeds. Oh the lovable Chia Pet. Usually intended as a quick gag gift that might sprout once in it&#8217;s brief home on your kitchen counter, the nostalgic earthen wear surprisingly harbors an Aztec worshiped super food! 
Forget about the grass. The tiny black Chia seed is oozing with Omega-3&#8217;s and fiber. Even higher levels than flaxseeds. This Mexican and Central American native was the main component of the Aztec and Mayan diets and were the basic survival ration of Aztec warriors.


In my recent efforts to perfect my nutrient intake and lean up, I broke down and grabbed a bag of the pricey warrior seeds to replace my flax fix. I happily add a tablespoon to my morning oat muesli and almond milk knowing that Chia seeds&#8230;
1.) Are rich in vital Omega-3&#8217;s. More than flax seeds!
2.) So high in antioxidants that the seeds don&#8217;t deteriorate and can be stored for long periods without becoming rancid.
3.) Don&#8217;t have to be ground, like flax seeds, to make their nutrients available to the body.
4.) Are full of these goodies: fiber (25 grams give you 6.9 grams of fiber) as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc.
Just Add Water! When added to water and allowed to sit for 1/2 an hour, chia forms a gel. Researchers suggest this occurs in the stomach and slows down the break down of carbs into sugar. Which means you feel satisfied longer and insulin doesn&#8217;t spike as much. A nutty tasting concoction called the &#8220;chia fresca&#8221; is a traditional drink that utilizes this energy stabilizing technique. 
Quick recipe: 1 tablespoon of seeds, water, lemon or lime juice and raw sugar. Yum!
How To Use Chia: use these powerful little guys like you&#8217;d use flax seeds. Sprinkle ground or whole seeds on cereal, on top of yogurt, in salads, smoothies or just munch as a snack. Grind for use in flours for baked goods as well.

As you all know I adore super foods and live by the quality over quantity golden rule. I am constantly tinkering with my own diet and am excited to see how Chia seeds make me feel. With the scary high levels of mercury in fish and my persistent efforts to eat lower on the food chain, I have turned to nuts, seeds and the one and only Acai berry for my Omega-3 fix. 
Where do you get your omega-3&#8217;s from? Nuts, seeds, or their oils? Fish or fish oil supplements? There&#8217;s a wide variety of options and the debate on which is better will forever unravel. This works for me at the moment. What works for your body? 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:42:05</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Epic Self]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://www.epicself.com</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Full-body Scanners Safe]]></title>
      <link>http://www.blisstree.com/articles/full-body-scanners-safe/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[While the debate continues about whether full-body scanners at airports protect privacy, experts from American College of Radiology (ACR) say that the devices are safe.
The full-body scanners that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wants to use at security checkpoints in US airports produce anatomically accurate images, allowing the ability to detect items concealed by clothing. Two different types of scanning systems have been used. One is millimeter wave technology which uses low-level radio waves similar to a cell phone, and the other is backscatter technology that utilizes weak X-rays which deliver  the radiation equivalent you would receive inside an aircraft flying for two minutes at 30,000 feet. The backscatter radiation is so weak that it doesn&#8217;t penetrate the skin or show internal organs.

According to ACR, a cross-country airline passenger is exposed to more radiation during the flight than from either of the full-body scanning systems. The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRP) has said you&#8217;d need to have 2,500 backscatter scans a year to have what they classify as a Negligible Individual Dose. If you&#8217;re still concerned about radiation, TSA would give you the option of a pat-down instead of the scan.
Even if the radiation dose you&#8217;d receive from a full-body scan is safe, is your privacy protected? TSA has said that the images are deleted from the system after the operator views them in a separate room. The person viewing the images can&#8217;t see the actual person being scanned, and no other devices like cameras are allowed in the room with the operator.  However, CNN has reported that a privacy group is raising concerns that TSA isn&#8217;t being forthcoming about the machine&#8217;s ability to store images.
According to a Gallup poll earlier this month, only 20% of Americans disapprove of full-body scans at airports. How do you feel about the use of full-body scanners at airports? Do you think other measures that would better protect privacy without radiation exposure should be used?
(Image via stock.xchng)




	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	


Post from: Blisstree
Full-body Scanners Safe]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:27:31</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Lively Women]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://livelywomen.com/</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Interview: MS Patient on Treatment]]></title>
      <link>http://www.blisstree.com/articles/interview-ms-patient-on-treatment/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[To give you a personal story of what it&#8217;s like to use the NESS L300, I interviewed Nicole, a mom and fashion expert with multiple sclerosis (MS). If you missed it, read my overview of the NESS L300.
Could you briefly explain how MS has affected your life, including any activities youve had to avoid?
Nicole: I was always a very active person, biking, working out, hiking, tennis, etc., living in major cities and working in the retail division of the fashion industry. I had moved to slow my lifestyle down and had to leave my job because I could no longer do long days of work on my feet.
I schedule my days strategically because MS causes me fatigue and a loss of my mobility. So most of my daily activities, workouts, grocery shopping, etc. have to be done in the a.m. when I am strongest.
Because my children have activities (sports) in the evenings, I need to make sure I get an afternoon nap or else I have a real hard time in the evening. My favorite activity that I can no longer participate in is tennis. Because I walk with a cane it doesn&#8217;t work real well on the court; however, I get to the gym three to four times a week, and that&#8217;s one time when the NESS L300 really comes in handy for my training. Other than physically, MS has not and will not break my spirit. I live each day to the fullest and enjoy having my family and friends around me.
How important is it to you to be able to walk again without the assistance of a cane?
Nicole: I love my independence of not always needing a cane. I can get around the house without one but, because my balance is so affected by MS, I still use a cane with my NESS L300 unless I am out with someone whose hand I can hold.
Why did you decide to try the new NESS L300 wireless rehabilitation technology?
Nicole: I was at my scheduled visit with my MS doctor and I saw a pamphlet in his waiting room that was showcasing the device, so when I met with my doctor we talked about the device and he scheduled an appointment with a therapist who was trained with the NESS near me. The physical therapist wasn&#8217;t sure if this was a good match for me because most of my lesions are on my spinal cord. Thankfully it worked like a charm!
Has NESS L300 been helpful to you since beginning treatment?
Nicole: It makes a huge difference in my lifestyle and my confidence. When I become exhausted, but have to do something that requires walking, I get drop foot, or as I call it, &#8220;drag foot&#8221; because it feels like I am dragging my foot behind me, and with the NESS L300 it continues to raise the front of my foot so I don&#8217;t trip or fall which I used to do often.
It also helps with my workouts because it has a training mode where it raises your foot every 10 seconds, so it helps with leg lifts as well as other leg exercises, and of course for walking on the treadmills. With MS, exercise is very important because the old motto &#8220;if you don&#8217;t use it you&#8217;ll loose it applies.&#8221;
Are there any downsides to using NESS L300?
Nicole: Other than price (about $6,500) and the fact that insurance companies don&#8217;t cover it, I really can&#8217;t think of anything that I don&#8217;t love about the device. If vanity has anything to do with downsides, you can&#8217;t wear short shirts unless you don&#8217;t mind the device showing. It&#8217;s an incredible product.
Would you recommend the new technology to others with MS? If so, why or why not?
Nicole: I have and will continue to recommend the NESS L300 It is an incredible device, and I feel if you have MS and struggle with mobility, this is definitely a product to try.
(Image via Nicole in NC; Equipment image via Bioness)




	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	


Post from: Blisstree
Interview: MS Patient on Treatment]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:52:01</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Lively Women]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://livelywomen.com/</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[MS Treatment to Improve Mobility]]></title>
      <link>http://www.blisstree.com/articles/ms-treatment-to-improve-mobility/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[One non-drug treatment option for increasing mobility in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is the NESS L300. It automatically senses changing terrain, foot position and walking speed. This is a case of a picture being worth a 1,000 words, so take a look at the NESS L300. It&#8217;s rather cute for medical equipment!

Coming up next, I have an interview for you with a patient who has been using the NESS L300, but first, let&#8217;s cover exactly what this NESS thing does. The L300 makes use of mild functional electrical stimulation (FES) to treat foot drop in people with mobility issues that may be caused by conditions like MS, stroke or traumatic brain injury. It may not be appropriate for everyone with foot drop, but your doctor can tell you if it could work for you.
Clinical studies have suggested that using the L300 could enable increased walking speed and  balance in some people. And that could translate into greater social participation and confidence when walking around the neighborhood. A study from 2008 showed that foot-drop sufferers had fewer falls when wearing the L300.
The NESS L300 is non-invasive, always a good thing. It&#8217;s worn on the body and may be easily turned on and off as the patient desires. The L300 is available for home use, as well as at inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation settings.
Three main components of the L300 communicate with each other. The lightweight leg cuff is worn just below the knee, and it contains electrodes that are designed to place stimulation where it helps you most. The gait sensor attaches to the shoe and talks to the leg cuff so it knows if the heel is on the ground or in the air. A handheld remote control allows users to adjust the level of stimulation and turn the unit on and off.
Read my interview with Nicole who has used the NESS L300 to for MS.
(Image via Bioness)




	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	


Post from: Blisstree
MS Treatment to Improve Mobility]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:43:49</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Lively Women]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://livelywomen.com/</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[New Belly Dance Power video on My Yoga Online]]></title>
      <link>http://www.myyogaonline.com/blog/2010/01/new-belly-dance-power-video-on-my-yoga-online/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[My Yoga Online has added a new 30 minute Belly Dance Power video with Gillian Cofsky.  Experience a well-rounded belly dance class which includes a brief warm-up/stretch, muscular conditioning for the legs and core, and the break down and drilling of some basic bellydance moves which are strung together at the end to create a short choreography. Great for core conditioning while still maintaining the focus on femininity, sensuality, and encouraging your body to move in ways it may never have before. Note: Bellydance is very safe for most body types, however pregnant women should avoid doing any fast shimmying in the hips, because of the downward pressure on the uterus that occurs during this move.
Click to enjoy our latest video: Belly Dance Power
About Gillian Cofsky:
Gillian began her bellydance journey on Vancouver Island in 2002 at the age of 15. Since then she has become well known in the dance community through teaching, performing, and eternally learning. Gillian is a BCRPA Group Fitness Leader, and certified &#8216;Bellyfit&#8217; instructor, and currently teaches several Bellyfit classes around Vancouver.
No Tags]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:26:53</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[My Yoga Online]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://www.myyogaonline.com</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Get More Out Of Your Workout With These Pilates Principles]]></title>
      <link>http://epicself.com/2010/01/19/get-more-out-of-your-workout-with-these-pilates-principles/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[
A few days ago I introduced you all to the first three fundamental Pilates principles and how you can utilize them in all your various workouts and activities. We learned how breath work, centering and focusing the mind on the body&#8217;s precise actions will build awareness and depth to any movement. Emphasizing quality versus quantity is the key to all mind/body work. Below are the last three final principles and how you can easily use them to feel the burn today!


Flow: Quiet possibly my favorite aspect of Pilates is the amount of flowing motion. Unlike certain forms of yoga where you are holding asanas (poses) isometrically, the Pilates method aims to keep a continuous flow in the body. The transitions between lets say a core exercise and a hamstring piece, are equally as important as the &#8220;main&#8221; exercises. This way the body never has a chance to stop, settle and then regroup. You constantly have what I like to call &#8220;a simmering of energy&#8221; going on.
How You Can Use It: When you find yourself hopping from machine to machine, to weights, to elliptical, to the mat, etc&#8230; at the gym become aware of what your body is doing between each &#8220;set.&#8221; Instead of collapsing on the bench after killing yourself with dead lifts, stand up with erect posture and clear focus on your next task at hand. Put exercises back to back or if that&#8217;s too much just add little movement segments in between that don&#8217;t use a ton of energy, but just keep you moving. This could be as simple as heel lifts! The point is to stay in your body, focused and aware of how the body is feeling and responding to what you are putting it through. You&#8217;ll waste a lot of energy stopping and starting, which over time, will really wear on the joints.

Opposition: This is the idea that in a given movement there are two lines of energy flowing. For example, if you are doing a typical bicycle abdominal exercise you are reaching out the extended leg while the opposing elbow is reaching in the opposite direction. When you reach out of both the foot and the opposing elbow you are creating that oppositional energy that creates length and more control and stability in all the muscle groups involved. This idea can be applied to all movements and helps integrate the entire body in even something as simple as a tricep press.
How You Can Use It: I personally love using opposition in relation to the spine and posture! In any given squat, or lunge action think about the opposing energy lines from the feet all the way to the crown of the head. If you are squatting imagine shooting beams of energy through your heels at the same time you are lengthening the back of the neck and the crown of the head to the ceiling as you press the legs straight. In a plank, feel the heels reach in opposition to the crown of the head, zip up your belly and drop your shoulders long down the sides. Use your internal energy to lengthen the body!

Precision: There is an appropriate placement, alignment relative to other body parts, and trajectory for each part of the body in any given Pilates movement. This gets back to the importance of sustained awareness of where the body is in space and how it feels from the inside out.
How You Can Use It: Check out your form in the mirror. If you don&#8217;t know what good form looks like ask for assistance or google it. It&#8217;s important that we work our bodies in ideal bony alignment. This means not letting knees twist and torque or the back sway and/or hunch. When you perfect your form and perform a given exercise to the best of your ability you&#8217;ll only need a few reps! Save your time, energy, and joints by focusing on quality.
My Expert Tip: Use dynamics! Instead of just slogging through several mindless bicep curls, go for a few slow reps using full range of motion, followed by some tiny pulses (small range of motion), followed by more vigorous full length reps, etc&#8230; Varying the dynamic of a movement (fast, slow, small and large) works both slow and fast twitch muscle fibers and hones in on tiny stabilizer groups.
Try some of these ideas out today and let me know what you feel, find and discover in your body. Keep moving, breathing and flowing!
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:07:01</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[Epic Self]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://www.epicself.com</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[The Yoga Path: The Silver Lining of Soul]]></title>
      <link>http://www.myyogaonline.com/blog/2010/01/the-yoga-path-the-silver-lining-of-soul/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The very heart of the spiritual path is a search for inner peace and when you practice your daily discipline you help translate your individual realization to the larger whole.  Society is comprised of its members just as your body is composed of its cells. When you take responsibility for your actions, words and deeds you build a gateway towards the slow, steady realization of true peace one breathe at a time. If a united global consciousness is to succeed each person on Earth must live, act, feel and think with the highest level of awareness possible at each moment. That means you and me too. If you cannot live for one full week without letting your anger get the best of you, then how can you expect whole nations to remain peaceful for any length of time? Simply put, your state of mind matters to everyone.
It seems that there have always been wars between nations, lovers spats and family feuds as long as humanity has been on Earth. Where humans go, drama is soon to follow. Yet underneath the soap opera emotional rollercoaster is the enduring dream of final and lasting peace. Sometimes it is those who are the most deeply entrenched within the drama of their own lives that most desperately search for salvation. For centuries humanity has turned to organized religion to answer the deeper questions, yearnings and aspirations of life. Now the search for spirituality takes prominence in the public domain and your participation in activities like yoga and meditation heralds a major spiritual revitalization of society.
Living life on the spiritual path allows you to tap into the magical underlayer of existence and it is in this space that the dream of unity and peace exists. The real fabric that hope is made of comes not in careless absent-mindedness but in patient, heartfelt dedication day after day, week after week and year after year. Practicing yoga is not some panacea for all your personal problems and certainly not the ills of the world, however, if you practice yoga you may just find a way to live a more peaceful and meaningful life before your time here is over. What unique and valuable contribution you make to the world is not always measured in terms of grandness, but sometimes in terms of how many smiles you share each day.
In the stormy clouds of lifes inevitable series of setbacks you will find the silver lining of your soul. It isnt when everything in your life clicks along in an upbeat winning streak that you ask the toughest questions of your life. The search for meaning walks hand in hand with the reality of struggle. When its cheap, free and easy, its can also be meaningless, light and unbearable. Sometimes people fundamentally reevaluate their lifes purpose, direction and drive after a life-threatening illness. Others do so after a momentous or inspirational meeting with a person, mentor or role model. Many have also voluntarily chosen to face the deluge of bad news that arrives at their doorstep through the power of yoga.
Eckhart Tolle says that every single person interested in spirituality today has suffered and it is the suffering that created their interest in the deeper dimension of life. So it is that yoga as a spiritual path offers a unique kind of salvation, one that promises not to remove you from your suffering but one that teaches you how to love, live with and accept the reality of life as it really is, good and bad days just the same. You see, the bad news comes knocking at your door and threatens to pull you under a permanent shadow of depression, anger or defeat completely uninvited. If you run from it, fight it or try to escape, youre doomed to fail someday. Every person on Earth has a day thats better off spent in bed no matter how cheerful, sunny and bright their disposition might be. The glitteratti, celebrity and royalty all have bad hair days. Yogis, priests and saints get angry. And theres nothing with that. Inner peace is more a discipline of the mind than mere good luck. With the power of yoga you see the truth of life, that is, that there is nowhere to run, no place to hide, and no one to save you. All thats left to do is begin walking along the slow, steady spiritual path, the path of freedom, truth and lasting peace.
It is when life tests you by offering the challenge of hardship that you know exactly what youre made of. Strength and steadiness of character are defined not in moments of ease, but in moments of great duress. In the context of yoga, it is not what comes naturally and effortlessly to you that holds the greatest power of transformation. That which is far from your sense of normal has the ability to make you a new person for it is in these moments that you will have a mirror with which to see yourself clearly. Much of my personal journey in yoga has been about developing strength and steadiness both of the body and mind. At moments of great challenge, my first inclination is to quit, give up and grow melancholic and self-pitying. One of yogas greatest gifts to me is the awareness that exactly when I want to throw in the towel is exactly when I need to push through, not harshly with unnecessary crass force, but from the core of my being, gently, powerfully and with exactly the right amount of strength and grace.
About Kino MacGregor
Kino MacGregor is a small business owner (www.miamilifecenter.com), yoga teacher and freelance journalist who has produced two yoga DVDs and is currently working on her first book, Inner Peace, Irresistible Beauty to be released late April 2009. For complete details please see www.ashtanga-awareness.com.
No Tags]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:24:31</pubDate>
      <gf:blogName><![CDATA[My Yoga Online]]></gf:blogName>
      <gf:blogUrl>http://www.myyogaonline.com</gf:blogUrl>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>
