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3 Ways to Improve Your Sleep Cycles During Winter

28/2/2018

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3 Ways to Improve Your Sleep Cycles During Winter - Brittany Wright

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According to the Ayurvedic calendar, winter is ruled by the Vata dosha. Vata combines the earth elements of air and ether, or space. The cold and dark days of winter are often characterised by feelings of dryness, fast-paced movement, and lightness—all qualities of Vata’s earth elements.


Individuals with an already-strong Vata constitution may find it difficult to get good sleep during winter. This is a tell-tale symptom of Vata imbalance.


However, even those with strong Vata influences need not be sentenced to sleepless nights all winter long. Use the following three tips to find more restful sleep.


1. Limit Artificial Light

Your body is regulated by hormones, which follow a regular pattern known as circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms help normalise day-to-day functions, including hunger/satiety, energy, and the sleep/wake cycle. In their natural state, your circadian rhythms follow the pattern of the sun. The body is naturally flooded with the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin when the sun goes down and it is time to sleep. That same melatonin is suppressed when the sun rises, helping you wake up feeling refreshed.

The first hours of sunrise are flooded with blue light rays, which suppress melatonin. This helps you wake up. However, electronic devices emit similar blue light, which also tells your body it is time to wake up. This can be problematic when using a laptop, tablet, or smartphone in the hours before bedtime.

To help reset your circadian rhythms, try the following:
  • Take a “weekend reboot.” A quick Internet search will reveal the time of sunrise in your area. Set an alarm to wake up at sunrise. Get out of bed and start your day with the rising sun. When the sun goes down, try using no artificial lights. Put away the electronic devices, and read or do basic chores by natural light such as a candle. You will likely find yourself feeling sleepy earlier than normal. Go to bed when you feel tired, and set an alarm to wake with the sun.
  • Go camping. Camping outdoors for anywhere from two days to two weeks helps to naturally attune your body’s melatonin levels to the rising and setting of the sun.
  • Put away electronic devices two to three hours before bedtime. Devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones emit blue light similar to the blue light rays present in the first hour of sunrise. This tricks the body into thinking it should be waking, when you are actually about to fall asleep.

2. Limit Between-Meal Snacking
The standard American eating pattern of frequent, small meals leads to a constant fluctuation of blood glucose levels. The body consistently burns glucose for energy, which is delivered through your mouth to your belly in a seemingly unending dose. These blood glucose fluctuations then continue after you fall asleep. The body has a hard time staying in deep sleep. As soon as your blood sugar falls, your body wants to wake up and find its next dose of carbohydrates.

Ayurveda recommends eating three meals daily, with little snacking. By limiting eating instances per day, the body burns through glucose and then relies on fat metabolism to make it to the next meal. Blood glucose fluctuations during fat metabolism are much more even than those of glucose metabolism. By allowing the body to burn through excess carbohydrates without replenishing with constant snacking, you set yourself up to be able to sustain a long, uninterrupted sleep.

If you do choose to have a bedtime snack, try to rely solely on a whole-food source (such as fruits and vegetables). Whole foods contain beneficial food components such as protein, fat, and fibre, which promote a slow-release response, and more even blood glucose fluctuation during digestion.

3. Eat Seasonally
In nature, the way to balancing a season’s qualities and affects can usually be found in foods naturally produced or consumed during that time of year.

During winter, it is common to rely on heavy/high-protein foods, nonperishable or canned vegetables, and citrus. Not surprisingly, many of these foods are also high in melatonin and tryptophan, a neurotransmitter directly responsible for the release of melatonin in the body.
The following seasonal winter foods can help promote a healthy sleep cycle:
  • Nuts and seeds—oily and high protein (protein is constitution building and also warming)
  • Dairy, including milk and cheese—provides animal protein (Pitta) and also promotes moisture (Kapha), both of which balance out Vata. The probiotics present in yogurt and aged cheese also help the body to digest the heavier foods of winter.
  • Meat (chicken, fish, turkey, red meat)--animal proteins provide high-quality amino acids to help build your constitution. In addition, their digestion is slightly acidic and, therefore, warming and Pitta-increasing
  • Whole grains (oats, rice, barley)
  • Eggs
  • Bananas
  • Citrus (pineapple, oranges)
  • Canned or stewed tomatoes—the skins especially are acidic and promote Pitta

Try to include foods from this list in each meal. A sample menu of seasonal, winter foods might look something like this:
  • Breakfast: Cooked oatmeal, topped with sliced banana and a handful of walnuts
  • Lunch: Salmon with pineapple salsa and seasoned brown rice
  • Dinner: Broiled bell peppers, halved and stuffed with a tomato/rice/ground turkey filling
  • Bedtime snack (optional): 6 oz. warm milk with cinnamon

​It is never too late to become re-attuned to nature’s natural rhythms. By syncing your routine with the sun, limiting snacking, and eating seasonally, you can help your body find rejuvenation—and uninterrupted Zzz’s—in winter.




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The Do's and Don'ts of an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

27/2/2018

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The Do's and Don'ts of an Anti-Inflammatory Diet By Deepak Chopra, M.D. and Rudolph Tanzi, Ph.D.

Inflammation has always been a medical mystery, but now it has become an enemy of long-term health. On the one hand, when your skin turns red, swollen, and painful after you burn yourself, which triggers acute inflammation, the response is normal and beneficial. Extra red blood cells, immune cells, and antioxidants are rushing to the wounded site to heal it. But carried too far, inflammation can be fatal, as when someone is too burned to recover.


Only in the past few decades has it dawned that low-level chronic inflammation, which usually goes completely unnoticed plays a part in many lifestyle disorders such as hypertension, heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s. Chemicals known as inflammation markers can enter the bloodstream in various ways: from the intestinal tract (so-called leaky gut), as a reaction to infection, or through the action of the immune system in other internal ways. The slow drip, drip of inflammatory markers can take years to create major impairment, which means that each person must tailor his lifestyle to counter them. 

Diet alone isn’t enough to keep chronic low-level inflammation at bay, but it’s a good start. By adopting an anti-inflammatory diet, you aim at two positive results: keeping the microorganisms in your intestines healthy and flourishing, and thereby preventing the seepage of toxic chemicals into the bloodstream. There is also the indirect benefit that a healthy digestive system sends signals of wellbeing along the vagus nerve to the heart and brain.

The millions of bacteria that inhabit the intestinal tract are an essential part of our total DNA, contributing thousands of separate genomes. Together this vast colony is known as the microbiome. Here are some essential points to know.

  • The gut microbiome is different from culture to culture. In each of us it is constantly shifting in response not just to diet, but to stress and even emotions.
  • Because of its genetic complexity, a “normal” gut microbiome hasn’t been defined yet.
  • It is generally believed, however, that a flourishing, healthy gut microbiome is founded on a wide range of natural foods rich in fruits, vegetables, and fiber.
  • The modern Western diet, which is low in fiber but high in sugar, salt, fat, and processed food, may be seriously degrading the gut microbiome.
  • When the gut microbiome is damaged or degraded, bacteria begin to release so-called endotoxins—the by-products of microbial action. If these toxins leak through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, markers for inflammation are triggered and persist until the toxins are no longer present.



In our new book The Healing Self, we give complete details about setting up your own personalized anti-inflammatory diet. You can start by adopting individual changes, working up to a complete regimen.

We divide our advice into Do (adding something good to your diet) and Undo (taking something bad out of your diet). We tell people to choose only one change at a time, seeing how well they can follow it, and only then moving on to the next change.

Do
  • Add some anti-inflammatory foods to your diet (see below).
  • Include more organic food to your grocery shopping.
  • Increase the fiber in your diet.
  • Take a probiotic supplement (widely available a health food stores).
  • Switch to olive or safflower oil.
  • Drink coffee 1 to 5 times a day.

Undo
  • Cut down sharply on your sugar intake.
  • Cut out junk food and fast food.
  • Throw out stale food, including stale cooking oils and leftovers more than a day old.
  • Reduce overall fat intake.
  • Reduce salt intake.
  • Use no alcohol or at most one drink a day (there is some evidence that a single drink is anti-inflammatory while adding more alcohol is definitely inflammatory).

A natural, organic, whole-food diet should be maintained over a lifetime to keep low-level inflammation at bay, but nutritional research has uncovered specific foods that have anti-inflammatory properties.

Foods that Fight Inflammation
  • Fatty cold-water fish (such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring)
  • Berries
  • Tree nuts (such as walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, etc., but excluding peanuts, a groundnut)
  • Seeds
  • Whole grains
  • Dark leafy greens
  • Soy (including soy milk and tofu)
  • Tempeh
  • Mycoprotein (from mushrooms and other fungi)
  • Low-fat dairy products
  • Peppers (e.g., bell peppers, various chilies—the hot taste isn’t an indication of inflammatory effects in the body)
  • Tomatoes
  • Beets
  • Tart cherries
  • Ginger and turmeric
  • Garlic
  • Olive oil

In their online health publications, Harvard Medical School adds a few other items to the list:
  • Cocoa and dark chocolate
  • Basil and many other herbs
  • Black pepper

Other listings add the following:
  • Cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower)
  • Avocados
  • Hot sauce
  • Curry powder 
  • Carrots
  • Organic turkey breast (substitute for red meats)
  • Turnips
  • Zucchini
  • Cucumbers

Leaving aside their anti-inflammatory effects, these are all healthy, whole foods, and making them a mainstay of your diet can only be beneficial. However, the science is still out on whether all of these foods actually have an anti-inflammatory effect in the body, and also what effect, if any, they have on the microbiome.
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Still, fighting chronic low-level inflammation isn’t incidental or just one in a long list of positive lifestyle changes. It could be the key, along with stress reduction, to enjoying wellness for many decades into a healthy old age. There is every reason to go down this road and no reason not to. 



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Allergies and Herbs

26/2/2018

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Once Spring is here, then the vital reproduction of trees, flowers and grasses will produce copious, amounts of pollen and for those prone to hay fever (allergic rhinitis) the list of irritating symptoms from itchy eyes to headaches, runny nose and difficulty breathing will also be copious, so thinking ahead and considering extra support can be wise.
 
All allergy symptoms are essentially an over-reaction of the immune system and so a two-pronged approach can help; firstly a long-term immune support strategy and secondly chosen herbs just for the ‘acute’ stage of pollen irritation. These strategies work not just for hay fever but other allergic responses to ‘irritants’ as well.

With Best Wishes
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Jill Davies 
Co-Director & Herbal Practitioner at Herbs Hands Healing

​Reach for the Herbs - Lorna Driver Davies

​There are many herbs that can help and bring relief and those chosen will lessen mucous and soothe and reduce inflammation as well as helping the liver work better. A real winner is nettles (Urtica dioica) which are brilliant for hay fever but also ‘allergies’ in general. In fact, feedback suggests that nettle works better or at least the same as antihistamine drugs. This is how it works.

Nettle as a winner for allergies
Nettles contain histamine and will block the body’s own histamine production. Plus it will slowly desensitise the pollen's effects, whilst its anti-inflammatory abilities will calm and soothe, making a big difference to all the irritating symptoms of itchy eyes, runny nose etc. Nettle is also uniquely able to increase urine production and thus speedily remove the collected toxins which are essential to start feeling better.
Note: Using gloves you can pick the tips of young nettles and put into smoothies to avoid the sting.

Other Anti-allergy Herbs
Supporting the work of the nettles must be herbs like dandelion, burdock, chicory and rosemary (PolliTox Capsules). Dandelion root supports the crucial ‘detoxification process’ which moves allergens on and out with speed. Whilst both burdock root and chicory root help to remove and neutralise pollens and other allergens via the liver and bloodstream, again at speed.

Plantain leaf is also very useful (either Plantago lanceolata or Plantago major) as they help to astringe and dry-up the overly active mucous membranes helping to calm inflammation. Plantain is a good allergy all-rounder and if you can reliably identify and pick clean source leaves in spring, you can add these to salads. (Older ones later in the season are too stringy for salads but fine in smoothies).
 
Liver Support will be Vital
Liver herbs can really help reduce the severity of chronic allergies (and hay fever) as I mentioned in the introduction. Having a well-functioning liver will ensure a speedy removal of pollen and other allergens and this will ultimately give you more energy. Try milk thistle seeds on their own, or our formula called ‘Milk Thistle and Dandelion’ or our lovely bitter ‘Lemon and Artichoke’ Concentrate.Generalised Immune Support in the Kitchen for three Months Minimum.

This kind of immune support needs time, so starting now, ahead of the main hay fever season will be useful. You can eat your way to a more stable immune system and this can underpin all your focused work with herbs (used for a shorter period of time) and for this it would be ideal to choose anti-inflammatory foods. These are usually rich in flavonoids and are often colourful berries and vegetables of red, yellow, purple (and yes green) hues. Quercetin is a flavonoid of special interest as it has been shown to stabilise mast cells (specialised immune cells that produce histamine and other inflammatory compounds in response to an allergen). Quercetin can particularly be found in red onions, citrus fruits, watercress, kale and buckwheat. Pineapple contains ‘bromelain’ which is a good anti-inflammatory and nasal decongestant, whilst honey is, of course, a well known ‘must’ as it helps to de-sensitise your immune reaction to pollen in particular. Find a local honey if at all possible and choose a ‘natural’ and unheated version. Tonic botanicals are also important, here’s why.

Tonic Botanicals help control the cortisol response
Medicinal mushrooms like ‘Reishi mushroom’ (Ganoderma lucidum) and Cordyceps (Cordyceps sinensis) are immune-modulators and work as a ‘tonic’ for the immune system, helping to lessen the immune systems ‘overzealous’ response to allergens. So adaptogenic herbs like ‘Siberian ginseng’ will be important as they strengthen and balance both the adrenal glands and immune system (EnergiRevive Powder). The more histamine that is released, the more cortisol it takes to control the inflammatory response and the harder the adrenals have to work to produce more cortisol. Those already weak and exhausted will have an especially challenging time and extra support will be vital.

Breathe Easy
Breathing can become very laboured with the congestion of the sinus and lungs etc so herbs like peppermint and eucalyptus can really help to open up the lungs making more oxygen available and often giving instant relief. Ask for a sample of our ‘Breath and Clear Tea’ if you’d like. This tea can also help you feel a bit brighter in yourself. Being tired is also a common symptom of allergies.

More Energy
I hope all this information can help you feel more energized, less congested and able to enjoy our warmer weather better.

Please ask for samples of PolliTox Capsules, Nettle Tea/Powder, Breath and clear tea and EnergiRevive Powder, just phone in or email us. Finally, I’m doing a blog on herbs that help inflammation in March which will give even more detail on how to help de-inflame the body.

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How to Trust Your Flow and Own Your Power

25/2/2018

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How to Trust Your Flow and Own Your Power - Louise Laffey

The idea of being in flow is meant to conjure up images of feeling calm and relaxed, of being at peace with the world. It’s meant to make you feel good, to feel better, which is why so many people crave it. Deep down you know that being in flow is the ultimate high. But the truth is, being in your flow is not meant to only make you feel better. It’s meant to make you better at feeling: at feeling all of your feelings. In learning how to get better at feeling, you learn how to tap into your ultimate source of power, your true well of being that is the unlimited source of abundance.


Sit, Be, and Feel 
If you want to discover how to be more in your flow, take some time to sit in all the messiness and discomfort of your negative thoughts and feelings. You may initially feel like running, kicking, and screaming away from them, but try to stay with your feelings, to not abandon yourself into your normal patterns of thinking and doing. Validate that what you feel in this present moment is real for you, and acknowledge that there is nothing that you need to think or do in this moment to fix how you feel. Simply sit with your feelings, warts and all.

This is unlikely to be an easy path to follow when you start. Feeling your feelings can be challenging; you may want to give up on more than one occasion, but be willing to stick to it. Ten minutes first thing every morning before you get out of bed and 10 minutes before you go to sleep at night, lie in bed and feel your feelings without judgement. Consistency is key.

Synchronicity Starts
Pretty soon you may notice things in your life start to shift. Without seemingly thinking or doing anything, personal situations that previously troubled you may start to unexpectedly resolve on their own. Business opportunities that seemed out of reach may drop into your lap. Synchronicity after synchronicity may unfold with a new level of speed and precision, and life may begin to flow with more ease and grace.

Be Open to Opportunities
By feeling your feelings, you let go of your need to interfere with the present moment. What you may interpret as unwanted feelings of discomfort and confusion become opportunities to integrate threads of unresolved energy that may keep you feeling stuck and stagnant. The more you practice your experiment, the more deeply rooted you become in your Self, and the more your confidence and contentment will grow. 

When you start to take 100 percent responsibility for the quality of your feelings in any given moment, you start to discover the truth that nothing you experience is outside of you. The outside world as you know it is a reflection of your inner state of being, a mirror held up to show you the vibrational patterns you hold within.

So when those feelings of self-abuse begin to creep in—the self-imposed fear of getting it wrong or the false stories you're telling yourself that you aren't good enough—remember to take a step back, learn from these feelings, and come back to your authentic Self. When you choose to fully own your feelings, you choose to take your full power back. To paraphrase English poet William Ernest Henley, you choose to become the captain of your soul, the master of your destiny. 

Feel Love, Feel Yourself
Universal love has a powerful way of calling out anything on its path that is 'not love' so it can be seen and felt—all the negative thoughts, all the bad feelings, all the resistance blocking its flow. By being willing to feel all of your feelings, you learn to trust all of your flow, including the natural process of unravelling any unresolved energy that will follow. You may not always understand how this 'magic' process works, but with patience and practice, you will come to feel its truth.

Don’t try to abandon thinking and doing for simply feeling and being. You have responsibilities and obligations you must continue to honour—places to go, people to meet, bills to pay, mouths to feed. But you can experiment by taking a different path, a path less travelled, a path that will lead you back to your power, even if just for a moment or two. Take 10 minutes first thing in the morning and 10 minutes last thing at night to commit to your experiment and sit with your feelings—without judgement. As you do, remember to connect with your breathing—slow, continuous breaths.
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Only by being in your feeling experiment will you know if the magic is true for you, too. Listen to your Self and trust your flow. After all, you’ll never know until you try!


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Everyday Mindfulness

24/2/2018

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Everyday Mindfulness - Adam Brady

Establishing a formal meditation practice is a powerful way to tap into stillness, manage stress, enhance your overall well-being, and explore the spiritual layers of life. Dedicating time daily to practice meditation creates a habitual retreat into stillness that can serve as an anchor to a deeper level of awareness and keep you from drifting too far out to sea in the turbulent and chaotic activity of daily life. A regular, daily practice is ideal, but with busy lives it can sometimes be challenging to make the time to sit down and meditate.

Fortunately, with some minor tweaks to your attention, everyday activities can become a fertile field for cultivating awareness and present-moment witnessing. It becomes a matter not of what activity you’re engaged in, but rather the quality of attention you bring to that activity. When you begin to shift out of your repetitive thought stream, any activity can become a more conscious and profound experience. Let’s explore the following steps as tools to make everyday experiences more mindful.

1. Intend to Infuse Your Activity with Attention
Think of anything you do on a daily basis and ask yourself how often you set a clear intention prior to beginning that task. Your intention is an almost subconscious autopilot that runs behind the scenes. However, if you bring forth a conscious intention for the activity you’re engaging in, it will activate additional attention on what it is you’re doing. Better yet is to have the intention for increased attention on the task at hand. Begin your activity with the following affirmation: I am awake and aware; I choose to be fully present as I ___________.

2. Be Aware of Your Breathing 
One of the reasons so many meditation traditions focus on the breath is because it is always with you; as long as you live, you breathe. The breath, therefore, is an ever-present anchor to the present moment. By bringing your awareness into the fullness of each breath, you ground yourself in the here and now. Deep, full breathing calms the mind, soothes the body, and takes you into the timelessness eternity of each moment. In the middle of any activity that is pulling your mind into the past or the future, settle into your breath and come home to the now.

3. Place Your Attention in Your Body 
It’s important to remember that you don’t have a body and a mind—you have a body-mind. The body-mind is a unified, inseparable whole being that is in a state of constant communication with itself at every level. Described by the yogic sage Patanjali as the Annamaya Kosha, the physical body is the sheath or layer of life made of food that serves as your most intimate instrument for experiencing the physical world. When you shift your attention to your body, you begin to eavesdrop on a symphony of sensations, textures, pressures, temperatures, and movements. Think about it, nearly all of your waking energy is directed outward. When you turn your awareness inward (as you do during the practice of yoga), you begin to have a genuine in-body experience. Feeling the body during any activity or experience helps you to be more mindful and aware of the here and now.

4. Focus on One (or More) of Your Senses  
Your sense organs are gateways through which the external world is metabolised into your own subjective experience. Each sense is a wonder to behold, a universe in itself. By shifting all your attention to the input received by one specific sense, you become aware of all the subtle nuances, vibrations, and levels contained within just one small sliver of your perceptual apparatus. You also begin to recognise the sheer magnitude of information pouring into your senses at any given moment. This blend of sensory impressions is totally unique, moment by moment. It has never been before and will never come again, so be sure to give it your most precious resource—attention.

5. Notice the Details  
Look around you. What do you see? At first glance you may see objects or people in your environment, the large ‟stuff” of the material universe. But look deeper. Everything you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel is made up of molecules, atoms, vibration of energy within an infinite field of consciousness. Details stacked upon details organised in hierarchies from the invisibly small to mindbogglingly large, all governed by the laws of nature. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, let your awareness penetrate deeply into everything you notice. A vast universe of amazing complexity and fascinating detail lies in front of you, waiting to be unmasked.

6. Ask Yourself, “Who Is Having This Experience?” 
A version of the profound soul question, “Who am I?” this question shifts your attention away from the experience itself to who is having it. In the middle of any activity, put your attention on who it is that is experiencing the activity. In doing this, you cultivate the witness—not just as a function of your consciousness, but as an actual presence, your soul. In this experience, known as Atma Darshan or “glimpsing the soul,” all your roles, titles, labels, positions, and possessions fall away and you know yourself simply as the ever-present witness to the awareness at the core of your being, all beings, and the entire universe.

7. Cultivate Metacognition 
Metacognition means thinking about thinking, knowing about knowing, or becoming aware of your awareness. It is essentially the act of putting your attention on your thinking process and understanding the manner in which your mind generates and perpetuates your moment-by-moment thought stream.

Ask yourself another question—how often do you watch or pay attention to the activity of your mind? Unless you’re trained in some form of contemplative practice, it is unlikely that you do this very often. Instead, you often are led around by your mind, the repetitive thoughts you have day to day, and the karmic programming that hums along in the background. When you put your attention on the content of your thoughts, however—where the thoughts came from, their associations, or how they make you feel when you think them, for example—you step out of the thought stream and are able to witness those thoughts without judgement. As the philosopher Krishnamurti once said, “Observation without judgement is the highest form of intelligence.” In mindfulness traditions, this state is also known as open monitoring. This practice can be performed during any activity and will bring a meditative quality to any experience.

Now that you have the tools to enliven awareness during activity, think of the following everyday activities as a playground for mindfulness. On the surface they may appear mundane, or even boring, but if you look closer you see that each contains a bounty of present-moment opportunities, just waiting to be embraced.
  • Doing the dishes. Unless you like dirty pots and pans piled high in your sink, washing dishes is a task that always needs to get done, but that you likely don’t enjoy. Yet when you infuse the doing the dishes with your full attention this activity filled with opportunities for presence. The sensations of hot water, soap, and rinsing—all anchored to the breath—are deeply mindful moments. In addition, this practice also provides the chance to experience gratitude for the meal or food that was prepared or served from those dishes.
  • Waiting in line. Society gives you ample chances to wait in line. At the grocery store, doctor’s office, or in traffic, these pauses in your activity are a perfect time to look deeper, feel your body, or tune into the witness within. You likely fight against the wait and often cause yourself to suffer with impatience. Instead, why not use waiting as a chance to connect more deeply with the present moment?
  • Taking a shower. A daily shower is often an activity you rush or plot through as you mindlessly follow a set routine for cleaning your body. But consider all the opportunities for tuning into your senses as you wash your hair and body—the possibilities for paying attention to the sounds, sights, and sensations of the water, or as the witness experiencing it all.
  • Driving to and from work. Your daily commute is often an autopilot experience with a regular route, radio station or music, or perhaps a meal or coffee along the way. Instead, why not use the daily drive as a chance to focus on the experience of driving? Consider consciously controlling a 2-ton vehicle with all its intricate parts, the physics behind the internal combustion engine, or marvel at how your mind is able to perform the complex act of driving in rush hour traffic with thousands of other motorists.
  • Eating a meal. Mindful eating is a practice unto itself. Suffice it to say that using the tools mentioned above to practice mindful eating opens entirely new dimensions in your relationship to food and how you nourish your body. In addition, it is an incredible opportunity to practice stillness and go within during an inherently social activity.
  • Walking a pet. Walking a dog or cat adds a new level of experience to the practice of mindful walking. It provides opportunities to enliven your senses, notice the details, and focus on your breathing, all while interacting with your pet and the environment. In addition, animals are much more deeply rooted in the present moment, providing yet another doorway into deepening the awareness that connects you.
  • Doing the laundry. While some consider doing the laundry and exercise in drudgery, infused with attention, this activity can also be a portal into higher awareness. Whether it’s the feel of the clothing, the smell of the clean (or dirty) garments, or contemplating the complex and far-reaching chain of events that led to you owning a particular item, you are free to experience any moment from a deeper perspective.

​Although these are common examples of everyday mindfulness, these tools can be applied to any activity. When you make everyday experiences mindful, you take the ordinary ‟stuff” of your life and transform it into a pathway toward enlightenment.


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3 Lessons in Having Purpose from Those Who Live to 100

23/2/2018

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3 Lessons in Having Purpose from Those Who Live to 100 - Melissa Eisler

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In the first part of this series about lessons from those who live to 100, we learned about people who live in Blue Zones (areas in the world where there is a high rate of centenarians.) Part One focused on how cultivating a healthy diet is one of the factors involved with increased longevity.


To recap, this series is based on a 2004 study led by author and explorer Dan Buettner. Along with a handful of anthropologists, demographers, epidemiologists, and other researchers, Buettner travelled around the world to examine communities with high percentages of people living into their hundreds. They identified the following five spots, now referenced as the “Blue Zones,” where there is a high rate of centenarians:
  • Loma Linda, U.S.
  • Nicoya, Costa Rica
  • Sardinia, Italy
  • Ikaria, Greece
  • Okinawa, Japan



Buettner and the researchers found that seniors in these widely separated regions share a number of key habits, despite many differences in backgrounds and beliefs. These universal healthy habits can be broken down into the following:
  • A healthy diet
  • A purpose
  • Frequent exercise
  • Focus on family/community



This article will focus on the second factor: Having a purpose.


Why Is Having a Purpose Important?

A common thread across the Blue Zone communities is having a sense of purpose. “The Okinawans call it ‘Ikigai’ and the Nicoyans call it ‘plan de vida;’ for both, it translates to ‘why I wake up in the morning.’” said Buettner. “Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy.”

Here are some of the many benefits that Buettner’s findings and the Blue Zones research shows about having a purpose in life:
  1. It gives you direction. It’s easy to fill your life with a bunch of tasks and plans, but if you don’t get clear on your purpose, you may head down an unfulfilling, unhappy, or painfully wrong path. When you have a clear purpose—a reason to get you up and excited every morning—you can then set the right goals and take the right steps to create your most meaningful life.
  2. It reduces mortality risk. Studies have shown that having a purpose in life is an indicator for healthy ageing.
  3. It increases your resilience. Having a purpose in life may motivate you to reframe stressful situations to deal with them more productively. In the long run, this will help you facilitate recovery from stress and trauma. Purpose can also positively affect pain management--a study in The Journal of Pain found that women with a stronger sense of purpose were better able to withstand heat and cold stimuli applied to their skin.
  4. It improves quality of sleep. Studies have shown that a higher level of meaning and purpose in life among older adults is related to better sleep quality. It can also be protective against symptoms of sleep apnea.
  5. It helps you achieve success (in your terms). When you discover your purpose, you will have the motivation to pursue it. All your successes, however you define them, along the way will be a direct result.
  6. It cultivates a positive outlook. For successful Nicoyan centenarians, their “plan de vida,” or reason to live, propels a positive outlook among them and helps keep them active. “[They have] a strong sense of purpose,” says Buettner. “They feel needed and want to contribute to a greater good.”

With that said, here are some ways you can find, accept, and live out your purpose, and reap the benefits, too!

1. How to Find Your Purpose
Finding your life purpose is no easy feat. According to the Okinawans, everyone has an ikigai—but finding it requires a deep and time-intensive search of self. However, once they discover their ikigai, a deeper sense of meaning is added to their life. Examples of ikigai include work, hobbies, spirituality, and family/friends. In his 2009 TEDTalk, Buettner described the ikigai of three Okinawan centenarians:
  • A 102-year-old karate master who said practicing the art is his ikigai.
  • A 100-year-old fisherman whose ikigai is to bring the daily catch home to his family.
  • A 102-year-old woman who said holding her great-great-great-granddaughter was her ikigai.

In Ayurveda, your life purpose is called your dharma. The spiritual Law of Dharma states that for every special talent, the world has a unique need that can only be filled by the expression of that talent. In other words, there’s at least one thing you can do better than anyone else on the entire planet.

To discover your purpose/ikigai, here are some questions you can ask yourself:
  • What do you love?
  • What are you good at?
  • What does the world need from you?
  • What can you get paid for?

These four questions can be associated with a Venn diagram; where they overlap is called your ikigai. Take some time to really think about your answers to the questions; it may require some soul-searching.

2. How to Put Your Purpose into Action
Once you are clear on your purpose, the next step is to find a way to live out your purpose every day, if possible. For Okinawans, “Knowing what your ikigai is not enough,” said Buettner. “All of these people put their purpose into action.”
  • The first thing you want to do is commit to your purpose. Commit to listening to your inner voice and following through, however you can, to honor it. This may require vulnerability and the ability to pour yourself into something that means the world to you. But once you start taking the steps to fulfill your purpose, you will feel satisfaction, comfort, fulfillment, passion, and certainty.
  • The next step is to create a plan on how to incorporate your purpose into your life. If your purpose is something you can practice every day, then add it to your schedule. Maybe you include it in a morning meditation so that you are mindful of it throughout the day. Maybe your purpose is a plan that requires baby steps and achieving milestones throughout your life. Either way, get clear on the actions you need to take to live out your purpose.
  • The final step is to put your plan into action. Until it becomes a habit, this may take more energy and effort on your part at the beginning. The good news is that you will be fueled by passion and motivation to live out your purpose.

3. How to Reassess Your Purpose
Just as people change with time and other factors, your purpose can change, too. It’s a good idea to reassess your purpose every so often to ensure you are still living out your highest sense of self and purpose.  

Check in with step 1 at least once each year to ensure the answers you came up with are still meaningful, relevant, and feel right to you. If your answers shift, the sooner you find out, the better. As circumstances, motivation, and the definition of your purpose changes, make sure to revisit steps 2 and 3 as well.

By finding, accepting, and living out your purpose, you can optimise your lifestyle—and may gain extra years of good life you'd otherwise miss.
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*Editor’s Note: The information in this article is intended for your educational use only; does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Chopra Center's Mind-Body Medical Group; and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition and before undertaking any diet, supplement, fitness, or other health program

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How to Become a Morning Person

22/2/2018

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How to Become a Morning Person - Karson McGinley

While it’s true that some people are naturally larks (morning people) and others are owls (night people), you need not restrict yourself to being one or the other. Yoga and meditation practices can teach you to be flexible and adaptable in body and mind, but what about habit?

If you want to take advice from the research that says morning people are more productive, happier, and healthier than people who stay up late, try these 10 steps to becoming a lark in less time than it takes you to throw your alarm clock across your bedroom.  

1. Stop Saying You’re Not a Morning Person

First and foremost, watch how you talk to yourself and to others. If you’ve made it part of your identity that you thrive late at night and you are most certainly not a morning person, you’ll have a harder time breaking free from your self-imposed limitations. The more you lament morning time (and roll your eyes at people who are chipper at dawn), the worse off you’ll be.

To become a morning person (yes, it’s possible!), you will have to shift your habits of thought and speech, as much as you will your habits of action and your body clock. Watch your self-talk, and take it for a positive spin. Rather than saying, “Ugh, I’m not a morning person,” say “I’m learning to become a person who makes the most of his/her mornings.”

2. Consider the Rewards of Shifting Your Routine
Shifting the self-talk must come from a true desire to greet the potential of earlier and more productive mornings. So, get clear about why you want to make this change. Is it because you’re tired of dragging yourself to work half-asleep and grumpy? Is it because you crave some time to yourself before your kids wake up? Is an exercise or meditation routine a priority for you, and you know it won’t get done if you wait until day’s end?

Clarify your motivation and put it down in writing. Talk to friends and family for whom morning time is precious, and find out how they do it (and why). Read blogs and books about the power of the early hours, like Hal Elrod’s The Miracle Morning. Keep coming back to the potential rewards of waking up earlier, and light the fire inside of you that desires growth and expansion.

3. Commit to Doing What It Takes, Not Just to “Trying”

So, you know why you want to wake up earlier, but are you really wiling to do what it takes? Most people who feel defeated by the alarm clock only “tried” to wake up earlier; they didn’t commit. Make your wake-up time a non-negotiable. When you avoid using willpower to wake up early (because it’s a habit, you’re perfectly capable, and you’re going to do it no matter what), you store up your willpower reserves for other activities (like eating well, being patient, and following through on your fitness goals).

Don’t “try” to go to bed earlier, just go to bed earlier. Don’t “try” to turn your devices off one hour before bed, just turn them off and go to bed. Obviously, things happen that might throw you off course, but part of being a mature adult is setting proper boundaries and not making excuses when you know you could do better.

4. Set Your Alarm and Don’t Hit Snooze

There are few things that feel as empowering as waking up on purpose, before the sun rises, to do something your future self will thank you for. Like a good work out or a solid meditation practice, getting up early feels really good once it’s done. When you arise just before sunrise, you align yourself with nature, which Ayurveda says will help even out your energy levels all day long.

Set your alarm for your desired wake-up time (by 6 am, if possible), place the phone or clock across the room, and get into bed. When your alarm goes off in the morning, do not snooze. Get out of bed, put your feet on the floor, turn off your alarm, and honour yourself for getting up and following through on your intention.

5. Say Your Bedtime Affirmations
Before you go to sleep at night, make the last thoughts you think be positive ones. If you look at the clock and tell yourself, you will only get X hours of sleep, and go to bed worried or anxious about how tired you will be when you wake up, the first thought you will have in the morning will be one of dread.

Instead, affirm to yourself that the sleep you’re about to enjoy will be restful, refreshing, and give you all the energy you need for your upcoming day. Your system will listen to you!

6. Brush Your Teeth/Wash Your Face
Once you are up and out of bed (congratulations, you did it!), head straight to the bathroom to brush your teeth and wash your face. These 2 to 5 minutes of self-care will remove the toxins in your mouth and on your face that have developed overnight, not to mention it will leave you feeling more alert and refreshed.

7. Drink a Cup of Room Temperature Lemon Water
Jump-start your system by drinking a full glass of room-temperature water first thing in the morning. Better yet, add lemon wedges to your water to stimulate your digestive fire (agni), which will boost your metabolism. The water will naturally get things moving, and help you enjoy a mindful and healthful morning.  

8. Follow the Plan to Do Something that Enlivens You
So now what? You’ve gotten up early, you’ve washed your face and hydrated your system. Now, what do you do with all this extra time? Prioritise this precious first hour of the day, and then follow the plan. This is where the rubber meets the road. Your first hour of the day becomes your dedicated personal development hour, your spiritual practice, and your opportunity to do what successful people do.

Choose meaningful activities that inspire you and have a strong return on investment. Create a routine around something you’ll be excited to do, like pulling oracle cards, reading that book you’ve been wanting to delve in to, and doing those online yoga videos you’ve been putting off all year. The Miracle Morning suggests the acronym Life SAVERS (Silence, Affirmations, Visualisations, Exercise, Read, Scribe/Journal) to give yourself the most bang for your morning buck.

9. Be Consistent!
Now that you’ve got the hang of this morning thing, remind yourself that consistency is key. The more you reinforce your morning habits, the more you’ll grow to love them. A key step to any habit is regularity, so try to keep it up, even on the weekends and while you travel.

Despite feeling like you “deserve” a morning to sleep in on the weekends, try looking at the weekend morning routine as an even more special gift to set the tone for an enjoyable and relaxing day. Anytime you disrupt your positive efforts, you delay the formation of the habit itself. Set a goal of waking up earlier for 30 days in a row, and see if the results are all the motivation you need to keep it up.

10. If at First you Don’t Succeed, Guess What … You’re Perfectly Normal!
Stick with it, even if (when) you fall off the wagon. It will likely be imperfect, as most things are, but just on the other side of the most challenging bits lays the transformation. If you want to become a morning person, become one! You’ll be glad you did.  






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Reasons to Be Mindful with Your Partner

21/2/2018

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Reasons to Be Mindful with Your Partner - Sara Schairer

What might happen when mindfulness becomes a priority in your relationship? Mindfulness means “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally,” according to creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Jon Kabat-Zinn, in his book, Wherever You Go, There You Are.


Not judging, being present, and paying attention seem like ingredients to a healthy relationship. But what does mindfulness need to look like? 


Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer, Ph.D., says that noticing is the key to mindfulness. “If you’re actively noticing things—so you’re going to go home tonight and, if you live with somebody, notice five new things about that person. It’s very—it can be very specific. And what will happen is, the person will start to come alive for you again, and that facilitates the relationship.”


Imagine if your partner could “come alive” for you again and again. If you infuse your relationship with mindfulness, that’s one of several benefits you might experience.


Here are ten possible outcomes if you add mindfulness to your relationship.


1. Increased Happiness

A 2010 Harvard study indicated that being in the present moment makes you happier than if your mind is wandering. In fact, it doesn’t matter if you are doing a mundane task or something incredibly exciting—if you’re in the moment, you will feel happier.

If you and your partner work on cultivating present-moment awareness, you can each be happier. Happy partners are key for happy relationships.

2. Improved Intimacy
Sociologist and relationship counsellor Jennifer Gunsaullus, Ph.D., says that mindfulness can improve physical intimacy and sexual satisfaction between partners. “Many of us carry sexual insecurities, whether shame, embarrassment, or performance concerns.” One research study found that increased mindfulness skills were correlated with lower sexual insecurities, which was then related to greater sexual satisfaction.

3. Slows Time
Time flies when you’re having fun, but sometimes life may seem to rapidly pass before your eyes. Neuroscientist David Eagleman’s research indicates that time seems to pass more quickly when you experience predictable events. If you notice the unexpected, however, time seems to pass by more slowly.

To cherish and make the most of your time with your partner, keep an eye out for the unexpected. If you are mindful and present, each moment may offer something new and exciting.

4. Prompts Compassion
According to Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, recognising suffering is the first step to prompting the cascade of compassion. When you focus on your partner and take in his or her cues, you can more easily recognise if he or she is suffering.

If your mind constantly wanders, or if you’re distracted by your smartphone, you won’t notice if your partner is suffering. Therefore, you won’t begin the cascade of compassion.

5. Cultivates Self-Compassion
Similar to compassion for another, self-compassion relies on mindfulness. Self-compassion researcher Kristin Neff, Ph.D., says, “The most important step in self-compassion, actually, is mindfulness of your own suffering.”

It makes sense, because you can’t tend to your own suffering if you’re not aware of it.

Research indicates that self-compassionate partners experience more positive relationship behaviours than those who lack self-compassion.

6. Lessens Emotional Reactivity
If your arguments heat up quickly, mindfulness may help. According to research, mindfulness correlates to less emotional reactivity. By creating a space between your feelings or emotions and your response, you can choose a more skilful action.

What does this look like in day-to-day life? Let’s say you notice that your partner forgot to take out the trash. Perhaps your normal reaction is to raise your voice without thinking first. A mindful approach, however, involves noticing your physiological response of anger or frustration, which may look like an increased heart rate and reddened face. If you can notice these feelings and emotions non-judgmentally and don’t allow them to carry you away, you’ll be able to respond skilfully.

7. Keeps You Physically Healthy
Mindfulness is not simply a tool for psychological health. If you don’t want to be a partner who is literally sick and tired, mindfulness may help. Studies show that mindfulness may improve your immune system.

8. Reduces Distractions
Are you thinking about bills that you need to pay, mentally coming up with your grocery list, or planning tomorrow’s workday? Your wandering mind may be pulling you away from your partner. Imagine what your conversations will be like when you both acutely focus on each other without letting your minds carry you away.

9. Keeps Things Exciting
A daily routine with your partner can get monotonous and, frankly, boring. By taking Langer’s advice and noticing five new things about your partner each day, you are constantly in discovery mode.

What can you notice? You can pay attention to details in your partner’s appearance. Is there a freckle you hadn’t noticed before? What colors can you see in his or her eyes? What about paying attention to the way he or she laughs? Have you noticed how your partner introduces himself or herself to others?

Find out what happens when you tune into what makes your partner unique.

10. Enhances Communication
Being present with your partner allows you to truly listen. Psychologist and mediator Marshall Rosenberg, author of Nonviolent Communication, defines mindful listening as “receiving emphatically.” When you fully listen without interrupting, without trying to fix the problem, and without judgement, your partner will feel heard.
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Experiment with mindfulness this month, and see what happens. See if your partner “comes alive” when you begin to notice new things about him or her!    


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Sleep: The Most Overlooked Key to Vibrant Health

20/2/2018

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Sleep: The Most Overlooked Key to Vibrant Health - Deepak Chopra, MD

Getting abundant, restful sleep is one of the best ways to improve your physical health and emotional well-being. As you slumber, your body may seem inert, but in fact it’s actively engaging in many processes to repair and renew itself, such as:
  • Eliminating accumulated stress and physical toxins, including the amyloid that can build up in the brain and lead to Alzheimer’s disease
  • Repairing and regenerating cells and tissues
  • Strengthening immune function
  • Balancing your hormones, particularly leptin and ghrelin, which regulate your metabolism and appetite and help you maintain your ideal weight
  • Consolidating short-term memories into your long-term memory

If you are perpetually sleep deprived, you are more likely to have a weakened immune system and chronic inflammation, which is associated with many diseases, including Alzheimer’s, obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, digestive disorders, and some kinds of cancer. A lack of sleep also contributes to accelerated ageing, including premature ageing of the skin.

Recent studies of sleep and genes are finding that even just a few days of sleep deprivation can have a profound effect on your genes. For example, one study by U.K. researchers found that after only one week of getting fewer than six hours of sleep a night, study participants experienced changes in more than 700 genes, including genes that affect metabolism and inflammatory, immune, and stress responses.

Sleep deprivation can also impact your mood, causing you to feel irritable and emotionally reactive. In fact, a recent study published in The Lancet suggests that inadequate sleep may be an underlying cause of depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders.

How Much Sleep Is Enough?
Most adults need between seven and nine hours of restful sleep every night. This means natural sleep that is not induced by over-the-counter or prescription sleeping medications, alcohol, or other other drugs. Sleeping medications do not provide the deep level of rejuvenation that comes with natural sleep, and they come with serious side effects and risks, including addiction.

If you fall asleep easily, sleep soundly, and wake up feeling refreshed and alert after seven to nine hours, you are getting enough restful sleep. If not, here are some steps you can take to get the deep rest you need.

1. Align with Nature’s Rhythms
You can get the highest quality sleep by aligning your sleeping times with your circadian rhythms, which are your body’s own natural rhythms of physical and mental activity. Governed by your body’s internal clock, your circadian rhythms regulate feelings of sleepiness and wakefulness, as well as body temperature and various hormonal changes, over a period of approximately 24 hours.

Our circadian rhythms are aligned with nature’s cycle of light and dark, which is why our body is naturally alert and awake when the sun rises. As the day wanes and it becomes dark, our body naturally slows down, increasing its production of natural chemicals such as melatonin in preparation for sleep.

You’ve probably noticed that if you sleep eight hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., you feel more rested than if you sleep the same number of hours between midnight and 8 a.m. This is because our circadian rhythms follow nature’s rhythms, and we therefore feel most invigorated by sleeping when it’s dark and rising with the sun.

If you’re used to staying up through the wee hours, getting to bed by 10 and waking early may be a challenge, but is one of the most beneficial habits you can adopt.
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Tip: Try adjusting your sleep schedule in 15-minute increments. For example, if you normally get up at 7 a.m., but want to start waking at 6 a.m., set your alarm and wake up at 6:45 a.m., then 6:30 a.m., and so on. If you need to make more immediate shifts in your sleep schedule, try 30-minute increments.

Evening Sleep Routine

Here are a few suggestions that will help you fall asleep by 10 p.m. and experience restful, restorative sleep:
  • Eat a relatively light dinner no later than 7 p.m. Avoid late-night meals or snacks, and don’t go to bed with a full stomach because this interferes with sleep and your body’s nocturnal detoxification processes.

  • Take a leisurely stroll after dinner.

  • Avoid intense mental activity or emotional interactions, such as balancing your checkbook, arguing with someone, or watching the news before you go to bed. Also avoid devices with self-illuminating electronic displays, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops, at least two hours before bed. The blue light suppresses melatonin and can trick your brain into thinking that it’s daytime and that you need to be awake and alert. There are some computer programs and apps that can block the blue light of your screen display based on your location and time.

  • Take a warm bath to relax your body and mind. You can add a few drops of a calming aromatherapy oil such as lavender, sandalwood, or vanilla.
  • Enjoy some light or inspirational reading and listen to soft music.

  • Sleep in a totally dark room because darkness helps increase melatonin. Even dim light, such as a glowing clock display, can interfere with your circadian rhythms and melatonin secretion and disturb sleep.

  • If your mind is very active, journal for a few minutes before bed, “downloading” some of your thoughts and concerns so you don’t need to ruminate about them when you shut your eyes.

  • Once in bed, close your eyes and simply “feel your body.” This means focusing on your body and wherever you notice tension, consciously relaxing that area. Then, simply watch your slow, easy breathing until you fall asleep.

Rest and sleep are so critical to your ability to thrive that it’s well worth the effort to take a careful look at your sleep habits and make any changes needed to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep.

Tip: If you find yourself tempted to stay up late surfing the Internet, watching TV, or posting on social media sites, establish a set time (such as 7 p.m.) to disengage from your electronic devices, including your phone, computer, tablets, and TV.

2. Move Your Body
An important part of following nature’s rhythms is moving your body and getting physical exercise on a regular basis. Physical activity enhances the flow of energy and information throughout your body and releases the stress that can keep you awake at night. Your body was designed to move, breathe, and stretch, and when you do so on a regular basis, you’ll find it easier to fall—and stay—asleep.

Keep in mind that it might take a few weeks to notice the benefits of exercise on your sleep patterns. For example, in one study of sleep and exercise, researchers found that when adults with insomnia engage in moderate aerobic exercise for 30 minutes for three or four times per week, after 16 weeks their sleep quality and duration improved significantly, and they experienced a decrease in daytime sleepiness.

3. Meditate
One of the leading causes of disturbed sleep is stress. Even though our body is tired and craves rest, we lie in bed ruminating about something that happened earlier in the day, or worrying about something that might happen in the future. Whenever we perceive physical or psychological threats, we activate our body’s stress response. Our blood pressure rises, our heart beats faster, and we release stress hormones such as cortisol. These symptoms of stress can keep us awake.

In addition to getting regular physical exercise, daily meditation is one of the most powerful ways to release stress and calm your mind and body. In meditation, you go beyond the mind’s noisy internal dialogue and experience the stillness and silence of expanded awareness. Your heart rate and breathing slow, and you activate the body’s parasympathetic system, releasing accumulated stress. After your meditation session, you carry this sense of greater calm with you into your activities, allowing you to stay more centered in the face of life’s inevitable stresses—and helping you to drift peacefully to sleep when it’s time for bed.

Keep in mind that you don’t need to meditate for hours to benefit from the practice. Even if you meditate for just five to ten minutes each day, you will receive many healing benefits.

Meditation Practice: Observing the Breath
Observing the breath is a simple meditation technique that cultivates peace, clarity, and present moment awareness.
  • Find a comfortable seated position with your legs uncrossed and your back erect but not rigid.
  • Close your eyes, which helps turn your attention within.
  • Take a few deep breaths and then breathe as you normally do.
  • Now observe your breath. Feel the sensations in your body as you inhale and exhale.
  • This is an effortless process. When you notice that your attention has wandered away from your breath, gently return it to your breath, without trying to concentrate or force it.
  • Do this breathing meditation for two minutes, gradually extending the time as you feel comfortable.

​When the time is up, sit with your eyes gently closed, taking a moment to rest in the stillness and silence. When you emerge from your meditation, you will carry a little bit more peace into all of your daily activities … including your night’s sleep.



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Reasons to Eat Eggs

19/2/2018

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15 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Eat Eggs

Eggs might just be the easiest, cheapest and most versatile way to up your protein intake.

BY GRANT STODDARD & OLIVIA TARANTINO

Beyond easily upping your daily protein count—each 85-calorie egg packs a solid 7 grams of the muscle-builder—eggs also improve your health. They’re loaded with amino acids, antioxidants, and healthy fats. Don’t just reach for the whites, though; the yolks boast a fat-fighting nutrient called choline, so opting for whole eggs can actually help you trim down.

When you’re shopping for eggs, pay attention to the labels. You should opt for organic, when possible. These are certified by the USDA and are free from antibiotics, vaccines and hormones. As for colour, that’s your call. The difference in colour just varies based on the type of chicken—they both have the same nutritional value, says Molly Morgan, RD, a board certified sports specialist dietitian based in upstate New York. (Interested in more egg-specific facts? Don’t miss these Things You Must Know Before Buying a Carton of Eggs.) Below, we’ve rounded up the 15 incredible effects adding the mighty egg to your diet can have on the human body.

And to blast fat fast—and live your healthiest, happiest life—don’t miss these 50 Ways to Lose 10 Pounds—Fast!


1 Boost Your Immune System

If you don’t want to play chicken with infections, viruses, and diseases, add an egg or two to your diet daily. Just one large egg contains almost a quarter (22%) of your RDA of selenium, a nutrient that helps support your immune system and regulate thyroid hormones. Kids should eat eggs, especially. If children and adolescents don’t get enough selenium, they could develop Keshan disease and Kashin-Beck disease, two conditions that can affect the heart, bones, and joints.

2 Improve Your Cholesterol Profile

There are three ideas about cholesterol that practically everyone knows: 1) High cholesterol is a bad thing; 2) There are good and bad kinds of cholesterol; 3) Eggs contain plenty of it. Doctors are generally most concerned with the ratio of “good” cholesterol (HDL) to bad cholesterol (LDL). One large egg contains 212 mg of cholesterol, but this doesn’t mean that eggs will raise the “bad” kind in the blood. The body constantly produces cholesterol on its own, and a large body of evidence indicates that eggs can actually improve your cholesterol profile. How? Eggs seem to raise HDL(good) cholesterol while increasing the size of LDL particles (which are thought to be less dangerous than small particles).

3 Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease

Not only have eggs been found to not increase risk of coronary heart disease, but they might actually decrease your risk. LDL cholesterol became known as “bad” cholesterol because LDL particles transport their fat molecules into artery walls, and drive atherosclerosis: basically, the gumming up of the arteries. (HDL particles, by contrast, can remove fat molecules from artery walls.) But not all LDL particles are made equal, and there are various sub-types that differ in size. Bigger is definitely better — many studies have shown that people who have predominantly small, dense LDL particles have a higher risk of heart disease than people who have mostly large LDL particles. Here’s the best part: Even if eggs tend to raise LDL cholesterol in some people, studies show that the LDL particles change from small and dense to large, slashing the risk of cardiovascular problems.

4  Have More Get-up-and-go

Just one egg contains about 15% of your RDA of vitamin B2, also called riboflavin. It’s just one of eight B vitamins, which all help the body to convert food into fuel, which in turn is used to produce energy. Eggs are just one of the 25 Best Foods for a Toned Body!
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5 Skin and Hair Improvement

B-complex vitamins are also necessary for healthy skin, hair, eyes, and liver. (In addition to vitamin B2, eggs are also rich in B5 and B12.) They also help to ensure the proper function of the nervous system. For more foods full of B vitamins, click here for this list of the essential 40 Best Foods for Muscle and Strength!

6 Protect Your Brain

Eggs are brain food. That’s largely because of an essential nutrient called choline. It’s a component of cell membranes and is required to synthesise acetylcholine: a neurotransmitter. Studies show that a lack of choline has been linked to neurological disorders and decreased cognitive function. Shockingly, more than 90% of Americans eat less than the daily recommended amount of choline, according to a U.S. dietary survey.

7 Save Your Life

Among the lesser-known amazing things the body can do: It can make 11 essential amino acids, which are necessary to sustain life. Thing is, there are 20 essential amino acids that your body needs. Guess where the other 9 can be found? That’s right. A lack of those 9 amino acids can lead to muscle wasting, decreased immune response, weakness, fatigue, and changes to the texture of your skin and hair.

8 Reduce Stress and Anxiety

If you’re deficient in the 9 amino acids that can be found in an egg, it can have mental effects. A 2004 study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences described how supplementing a population’s diet with lysine significantly reduced anxiety and stress levels, possibly by modulating serotonin in the nervous system. For more relaxing foods, check out these 20 Foods That Keep You Slim for Life!

9 Protect Your Peepers

Two antioxidants found in eggs — lutein and zeaxanthin — have powerful protective effects on the eyes. You won’t find them in a carton of Egg Beaters — they only exist in the yolk. The antioxidants significantly reduce the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts, which are among the leading causes of vision impairment and blindness in the elderly. In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, participants who ate 1.3 egg yolks per day for four-and-a-half weeks saw increased blood levels of zeaxanthin by 114-142% and lutein by 28-50%!

10 Improvement in Bones and Teeth

Eggs are one of the few natural sources of Vitamin D, which is important for the health and strength of bones and teeth. It does this primarily by aiding the absorption of calcium. (Calcium, incidentally, is important for a healthy heart, colon and metabolism.) For more easy metabolism-boosting tips, check out these 55 Best Ways to Boost Your Metabolism!

11 Feel Fuller and Eat Less

Eggs are such a good source of quality protein that all other sources of protein are measured against them. (Eggs get a perfect score of 100.) Many studies have demonstrated the effect of high-protein foods on appetite. Simply put, they take the edge off. You might not be surprised to learn that eggs score high on a scale called the Satiety Index: a measure of how much foods contribute to the feeling of fullness.

12 Lose Fat

Largely because of their satiating power, eggs have been linked with fat loss. A study on this produced some remarkable results: Over an eight-week period, people ate a breakfast of either two eggs or a bagel, which contained the same amount of calories. The egg group lost 65% more body weight, 16% more body fat, experienced a 61% greater reduction in BMI and saw a 34% greater reduction in waist circumference! For more ways to lose weight, don’t miss these 16 One-Second Weight-Loss Secrets.

13 Protect Your Liver

B-vitamins aren’t the only ovular micro-nutrients that contribute to eggs’ beneficial effects on liver health. Eggs are also rich in the nutrient choline. (One large egg contains between 117 and 147 milligrams of the nutrient, depending on your cooking method of choice). A recent review explained that choline deficiency is linked to the accumulation of hepatic lipid, which can cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Luckily, a Journal of Nutrition study found that a higher dietary choline intake may be associated with a lower risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver in women.

14 Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Another side effect of choline deficiency and the subsequent accumulation of hepatic lipid is an increase in your risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

15 Lower Inflammation

Eggs are a major source of dietary phospholipids: bioactive compounds which studies show have widespread effects on inflammation. A recent review published in the journal Nutrients connected dietary intake of egg phospholipids and choline with a reduction in countless bio-markers of inflammation. Lowering inflammation has widespread health benefits that range from lowering risk of cardiovascular disease to improving the body’s ability to break down fat. If you’re looking to lower inflammation, look no further than adding these 30 Anti-Inflammatory Foods to your diet.



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