Yogis have better sex, study finds

December 31, 2008

Eastern enlightenment proved to be sexually beneficial for men and women

Another year, another batch of resolutions: eat right, exercise more, pay bills on time etc. All good in theory, but potentially dull in practice.

In 2009, then, resolve to have better sex. According to a recent review article in the Dec. 3 issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, sexually unsatisfied women who practiced the Eastern techniques of mindfulness and yoga reported improvements in levels of arousal and desire, as well as better orgasms. In addition, yoga has been found to effectively treat premature ejaculation in men.

Read the complete article by Sally Law…

Keywords: yoga, meditation, tantra, taoism, qigong

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CNN Health: The top 10 healthiest diets in America

December 29, 2008

If losing weight is at the top of your resolution list, you’re not alone. An estimated 80 million Americans go on diets every year, spending more than $30 billion annually on programs and products.

That’s a lot of money, a lot of advice, and a lot of emotional investment. So, which diets really work — and work safely? To find the weight-loss programs with that golden balance of nutrition, calorie-control, motivation, and activity, Health harnessed a panel of experts to put more than 60 well-known diets to the test and narrow them down to the top 10.

Here’s the list:

• The Structure House Weight Loss Plan (Fireside) – Gerard J. Musante
• The Step Diet (Workman Publishing)
• Weight Watchers
• The EatingWell Diet (The Countryman Press) – Jean Harvey-Berino
• The Volumetrics Eating Plan (Harper Collins) – Barbara Rolls
• The Best Life Diet (Simon & Schuster) – Bob Greene
• The Solution (Collins) – Laurel Mellin
• You: On a Diet (Free Press) – Mehmet Oz & Michael Roizen
• The Sonoma Diet (Meredith Books) – Connie Gutterse
• The Spectrum (Ballantine) – Dean Ornish

Read the complete article at CNN.com…

Keywords: diet, weight-loss, obesity

CNN STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Panel: Weight Watchers offers strategies that will work for every dieter
• Dr. Ornish’s newest plan, called The Spectrum, has a holistic approach
• The Sonoma Diet uses staples of Mediterranean eating such as olive oil

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Asian Medicine Health Tips for Winter

December 26, 2008

In the Wu Xing or Five Phases of Daoist philosophy, the months of WINTER (November 7 – February 3) correspond to the Water phase and the Kidney and Urinary Bladder organs. In this season the life in all things is hidden. The weather turns cold. Water freezes. It is a season of storage, quietude, and recuperation.

"Go to bed early and sleep late (until after the sun rises.) Keep your mind peaceful and your body warm. Avoid perspiring in the cold." Warm meals like vegetable soups with grains, beans, and root vegetables (e.g. carrots, onions, and turnips) are appropriate. Moderate amounts of garlic, ginger, and cayenne are beneficial when the climate is cold. Conserve your Qi now and you will be healthy in the spring. Mindfulness, qigong, acupuncture, and yoga are always beneficial.

Read more at http://www.melchiorre.com/eNews/winter08.htm

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De-Stress Kit for the Changing Times

December 26, 2008

Doc Childre, founder of HeartMath, a leading stress research institute, and the inventor of the emWave biofeedback device, used clinically by Mark Melchiorre, has written a free booklet "De-Stress Kit for the Changing Times." It provides simple practices to help one manage stress during periods of challenge and uncertainty.

Doc asked me to share it with you. De-Stress Kit for the Changing Times is a 15 page PDF file and may be downloaded here:

De-Stress Kit for the Changing Times

Blessings and healthy regards…Mark M.

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One-Minute-Shift "True Healing" featuring Larry Dossey

December 23, 2008

Healing is something far more profound than curing disease. In this video, medical pioneer Larry Dossey shares how healing is a process of connecting with our infinite non-local nature, which helps us transcend our fear of death and alleviate suffering at the root level.

http://oneminuteshift.com/videos/larry_dossey_video/true_healing

Keywords: healing, cure, disease, fear, death, suffering, ions

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As going gets tougher, Americans discover laughter

December 20, 2008

With the US economy slumping, the going has got very tough, but the tough are no longer shopping. They’re laughing. Not just any old laughter, but laughter yoga, a form of exercise that blends bold belly laughs and noisy “meditation” with rhythmic clapping, waddling around like a penguin or taking part in a conga line, and deep yogic breathing.

Read the complete article…

Also see www.laughteryoga.org

Keywords: meditation, yoga, laughter, Madan Kataria, Madhuri Kataria

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Different path: Herbal remedies leading type of alternative therapy

December 19, 2008

While therapies like herbology and reiki meditation have been used to treat medical conditions for thousands of years, these and other alternative medicines are being included more and more in mainstream health care.
In a report released last week by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the National Center for Health Statistics, 38 percent of adults and about one in nine children are using some form of complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM.

Read the complete article by Elena Grimm…

Keywords: herb, reiki, meditation, acupuncture, cam, complementary

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More Adults are Relying on Alternative Medicine

December 18, 2008

Older adults are frequent users of complementary and alternative medicine, which includes vitamin and herbal supplements, chiropractic manipulation, meditation, acupuncture, and massage. According to a survey by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly one in four U.S. adults used some form of complementary and alternative medicine in 2007.

More specifically, 41% of adults in the United States aged 60 to 69 sought unconventional medicine techniques. Back pain was the leading reason for using complementary and alternative medicine, followed by neck and joint pain, including arthritis. Female gender and higher levels of education were associated with increased likelihood of turning to complementary and alternative medicine options. Interestingly, 12% of children under the age of 18 also used some form of complementary and alternative medicine. The most common category of unconventional medicine used was natural products, such as herbal medicines or dietary supplements.

Source: NIH News, National Institutes of Health press release, December 12, 2008.

Read the complete article by June Chen, MD…

Keywords: meditation, acupuncture, massage, herbal medicines, dietary supplements

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Ritual Outside Religion: The Power of Group Meditation

December 18, 2008

A few years back I discovered that meditation or contemplative practices done in a group setting are quite different than practices done alone. At the time, I was reading Steven Strogatz book ‘Sync’ about the science of synchronicity (the phenomenon of naturally arising sync in nature) and saw that the group experience was a syncing of individual transformative experiences.

The acronym SIT (Synchronized Individual Transformation) seemed perfect for describing this effect as it often arises when we sit together in meditation or contemplation.

Read the complete article by Susan Smalley…

Keywords: group meditation, meditation, synchronized individual transformation, contemplation

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