Thursday, January 6, 2011
In the Heart of the Moon
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Humming Improves Sinus Health- Not Just for the Happy and Carefree
Remember how much you enjoyed humming as a child, fascinated by the sounds and vibrations it produced. Remember the joy attached to your sense of wonder that you were creating these sounds. Ask any child to hum their favorite song and they enjoy it so much it's hard to get them to stop. For most adults the fascination with the human body has diminished and we suffer from the body more than we take joy from it. Well, kick the adult worries aside and get humming, it's good for your sinus health.
The New York Times reported on two new studies conducted in Europe that indicated the simple act of humming provided enough stimulation to the sinus cavity to improve its health function. So humming on a regular basis could help prevent a cold from becoming a sinus infection. Scientists discovered that humming caused dramatic increases in the levels of nitric oxide in the sinus cavity than when the breathing was silent. The studies focused on the levels the nitric oxide which its biological function acts to promote the relaxation of smooth muscle and improve blood flow to the area.
Yoga practices have a deep understanding of the subtle effects of chanting on the mind and body but in addition to the rapid exchange of gases which promote relaxation and blood flow of the nasal passages, humming stimulates the hypothalamus gland which regulates the immune system. Thus humming and chanting can help to fight a cold before it even begins.
It's winter and the colds are aplenty, so if you've been too shy to try the Om's in a yoga class, open up and say ahhhhh to the benefits your head will receive unless you prefer the fogginess of a cold. If you already chant Om, try a home practice of 11 rounds of Om to see feel how chanting for longer periods brings you into deeper levels concentration and really opens the lungs, throat, and head. Feel good this season and hum your way to better health.
The New York Times reported on two new studies conducted in Europe that indicated the simple act of humming provided enough stimulation to the sinus cavity to improve its health function. So humming on a regular basis could help prevent a cold from becoming a sinus infection. Scientists discovered that humming caused dramatic increases in the levels of nitric oxide in the sinus cavity than when the breathing was silent. The studies focused on the levels the nitric oxide which its biological function acts to promote the relaxation of smooth muscle and improve blood flow to the area.
Yoga practices have a deep understanding of the subtle effects of chanting on the mind and body but in addition to the rapid exchange of gases which promote relaxation and blood flow of the nasal passages, humming stimulates the hypothalamus gland which regulates the immune system. Thus humming and chanting can help to fight a cold before it even begins.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Create the Life you Want!
We live in an ever-expanding universe. This macrocosm can be cultivated within your own consciousness through a number of ways. The first step is always to stop and discover your own personal state of being. Are you tired and sluggish from long hours at work? Are you uninspired from your monotonous daily routine? Are you wired from the caffeine or jittery from the sugary snacks? Are you daydreaming of being anywhere but here? Am I breathing shallow or deep? Am I slouching or sitting up tall?
When we begin to take the time to look within ourselves and allow the honest answers to arise, if we listen carefully, we will be surprised at how just slight changes can improve our lives.
The most common conversations I have with friends and acquaintances revolve around how to change one's perspective. This also happens to be one of my biggest passions and greatest challenges, which is why I study so much about this topic.
I remember during the Blackout of 2003, when the entire Northeastern powergrid went down, I remember meeting a new group of friends because we all shared this experience. During our long walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, my friend spoke about how his life was successful financially but terribly boring and routine. The frustration of his soul is what I remember most, he felt trapped but the routine nature of his life. The advice I gave him was to try simple things to change his experience of the everyday. For instance because we live in NYC where we all walk to our destinations, which is in itself a blessing for keeping our bodies in use, I suggested that he try walking a different way to the office and a different way home. Rather that walk the same way, taking the same route, seeing the same shops and people, just turning a different corner may alert you to a new discovery. Something that brings joy to you and that you never knew was right around the corner because you simply never walked that way.
I ran into this friend a year later and his life had completely changed. He looked happy and was living more proactively. He told me he started walking a different way to work and one day he ran into an old college friend who alerted him to an opening available at a design firm. He applied and was offered the new job and now loves the work he is doing. He thanked me and went on his way.
The lesson being that because we are creatures of habit, it's easy for us to become complacent, especially if life affords a certain amount of comfort.
We recreate our lives every day we wake up from sleep. No, it's not a completely blank slate, that would be too much. But the little ways we create our days begins when we wake up. Taking a minute to say I love you to yourself when you look in the bathroom mirror to walking or driving a different way to work. Try saying hello to stranger and be surprised by the extend of power you have to respond to the world around you.
May you be blessed to experience more of joys and wonders of life.
When we begin to take the time to look within ourselves and allow the honest answers to arise, if we listen carefully, we will be surprised at how just slight changes can improve our lives.
The most common conversations I have with friends and acquaintances revolve around how to change one's perspective. This also happens to be one of my biggest passions and greatest challenges, which is why I study so much about this topic.
I remember during the Blackout of 2003, when the entire Northeastern powergrid went down, I remember meeting a new group of friends because we all shared this experience. During our long walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, my friend spoke about how his life was successful financially but terribly boring and routine. The frustration of his soul is what I remember most, he felt trapped but the routine nature of his life. The advice I gave him was to try simple things to change his experience of the everyday. For instance because we live in NYC where we all walk to our destinations, which is in itself a blessing for keeping our bodies in use, I suggested that he try walking a different way to the office and a different way home. Rather that walk the same way, taking the same route, seeing the same shops and people, just turning a different corner may alert you to a new discovery. Something that brings joy to you and that you never knew was right around the corner because you simply never walked that way.
I ran into this friend a year later and his life had completely changed. He looked happy and was living more proactively. He told me he started walking a different way to work and one day he ran into an old college friend who alerted him to an opening available at a design firm. He applied and was offered the new job and now loves the work he is doing. He thanked me and went on his way.
The lesson being that because we are creatures of habit, it's easy for us to become complacent, especially if life affords a certain amount of comfort.
We recreate our lives every day we wake up from sleep. No, it's not a completely blank slate, that would be too much. But the little ways we create our days begins when we wake up. Taking a minute to say I love you to yourself when you look in the bathroom mirror to walking or driving a different way to work. Try saying hello to stranger and be surprised by the extend of power you have to respond to the world around you.
May you be blessed to experience more of joys and wonders of life.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Self-Healing through Repairative Medicine
Krista Tippet on Being is a radio program broadcast by American Public Media on National Public Radio. In New York City, her program is aired on Sunday mornings from 7-8am. I know there are podcasts that I can download and listen to whenever I want but there is something special about the ritual of waking up early on a Sunday and have a hot cup of coffee and thinking about the deeper quests of understanding life and our place within the greater sphere of existence.
Tippet's program name has recently changed from "Speaking of Faith" to "Being", a curious but seemless shift in language that doesn't alter the material of the program but gives it stronger roots in the present. Today's program was about stem-cell research and the remarkable insight that Doris Taylor still doesn't understand the cell but is able to watch it renew itself. She says we could spend the next 30 years trying to figure out how they work or we could allow the cells to do what they know how to do and save lives. This program also goes into the amazing observation that the blood changes to create positive cells during meditation. The second part of the program focuses on the healing potential of the body and the positive effects of meditation on the body's stem cells.
Hearing this additional information reminds me of a remarkable experience on the Ms Westerdam during one of the meditation workshops I had given.
Eloise, a graceful passenger and former nurse, was attending the workshop to explore a practice that has been recommended to her by her doctor to lower her blood pressure. Out of the 10 participants, 4 were currently suffering from high blood pressure. Yogi Bhajan always said not to believe him on faith but to try the practice for yourself and see what it can do for you.
Eloise brought her portable blood pressure monitor and tested the four for their blood pressure before the meditation practice and then she tested everyone afterwards. Well not only did they simply feel relaxed and happy, their blood pressure had dropped significantly to healthy levels.
It was a small and informal test of the possibilities for the body to heal itself if we give it the opportunity to do so. Too often we get in the way of our own healing because we refuse to TAKE THE TIME OUT that the body needs to repair itself.
It doesn't take a lot of time but it takes intention and discipline but the changes you can impart in simply three minutes of one's life can change the outcome of the stress we receive. Instead of destroying us, we can renew ourselves and truly reach for a greater, more fulfilling life.
Tippet's program name has recently changed from "Speaking of Faith" to "Being", a curious but seemless shift in language that doesn't alter the material of the program but gives it stronger roots in the present. Today's program was about stem-cell research and the remarkable insight that Doris Taylor still doesn't understand the cell but is able to watch it renew itself. She says we could spend the next 30 years trying to figure out how they work or we could allow the cells to do what they know how to do and save lives. This program also goes into the amazing observation that the blood changes to create positive cells during meditation. The second part of the program focuses on the healing potential of the body and the positive effects of meditation on the body's stem cells.
Hearing this additional information reminds me of a remarkable experience on the Ms Westerdam during one of the meditation workshops I had given.
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| photo courtesy of 30daysofhealthandwellbeing.com.au |
Eloise brought her portable blood pressure monitor and tested the four for their blood pressure before the meditation practice and then she tested everyone afterwards. Well not only did they simply feel relaxed and happy, their blood pressure had dropped significantly to healthy levels.
It was a small and informal test of the possibilities for the body to heal itself if we give it the opportunity to do so. Too often we get in the way of our own healing because we refuse to TAKE THE TIME OUT that the body needs to repair itself.
It doesn't take a lot of time but it takes intention and discipline but the changes you can impart in simply three minutes of one's life can change the outcome of the stress we receive. Instead of destroying us, we can renew ourselves and truly reach for a greater, more fulfilling life.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Depression linked to Cholesterol Levels
Finding this article has opened my eyes to a biological function that could be responsible for one of my greatest adversaries, depression and anxiety.
I am proactive with my physical health as well as my mental and spiritual health. I practice mind-body disciplines of yoga and Tai Chi and have a regular meditation practice. These do wonders for my moods and overall well-being. After a period of time on earth, one encounters many experiences that test the endurance of one's spirit. I have come to think of my occasional surprise visit by the dark cloud of depression or anxiety as a normal human condition. It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago and this past week when I read the connection between cholesterol and depression that I have begun to consider this a hindrance due to biological function as well.
Part of my pro-active plan is to take a daily Fish Oil supplement to build up my cholesterol levels and monitor my mental outlook over the course of the month.
An excellent result would be overall improved mental outlook with a simple change of diet. It may have a placebo effect but even placebos work. :)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Live a Great Life
With the new Fall season upon us, many changes are sweeping through our lives like the wind.
Here's to living a Great Life, a life of passion and fulfillment through the incorporation of our many aspects. May we all reach a place of balance where our mind, our hearts, and our bodies are in harmony with the cycles and movement of life.
Here's to living a Great Life, a life of passion and fulfillment through the incorporation of our many aspects. May we all reach a place of balance where our mind, our hearts, and our bodies are in harmony with the cycles and movement of life.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Never Say “Diet”
Are you someone who thrives on the regiment of a strict diet for a short period of time only to rebound to your old eating habits? This is a common behavior that continues as long as you support the imbalance in your relationship to eating. Diet is one of those words that I hear constantly as a fitness instructor and it’s a word that always makes me cringe. This word sends shivers up my spine when I hear it because it is directly linked to a person’s self esteem and their feelings of control in their life.
Atkins vs. South Beach, the Cabbage Diet vs the Raw Diet, Vegan vs. Vegetarian. All of these diets encourage extremes in one’s eating behavior. The word “diet” emphasizes the negatives in one’s life. It’s best to throw out the word diet with the dishwater and replace it with the commitment to healthy eating.
Most people intuitively know their weaknesses when it comes to food. Craving salty or sweet are the most common preferences leading to over consumption of candy and desserts or processed snack foods like chips. Of course, if you have serious issues with obesity and its related diseases like Type 2 Diabetes, you need to regulate your health with a medical professional who can construct an appropriate dietary plan tailored to your specific needs.
The first step to support changes to healthy eating habits is by using positive psychology to reinforce your new habits. Relate to yourself and your food with gratitude and enjoyment rather than self-loathing and resentment. I say a prayer of thanksgiving for every meal placed in front of me because there are millions across the world who are far less fortunate when it comes to meal time. The simple act of giving thanks for the food in front of you begins to change the emotional relationship to the meal you are about to consume. Remember the old adage: You are what you eat.
Bon appetit.
Atkins vs. South Beach, the Cabbage Diet vs the Raw Diet, Vegan vs. Vegetarian. All of these diets encourage extremes in one’s eating behavior. The word “diet” emphasizes the negatives in one’s life. It’s best to throw out the word diet with the dishwater and replace it with the commitment to healthy eating.
Most people intuitively know their weaknesses when it comes to food. Craving salty or sweet are the most common preferences leading to over consumption of candy and desserts or processed snack foods like chips. Of course, if you have serious issues with obesity and its related diseases like Type 2 Diabetes, you need to regulate your health with a medical professional who can construct an appropriate dietary plan tailored to your specific needs.
The first step to support changes to healthy eating habits is by using positive psychology to reinforce your new habits. Relate to yourself and your food with gratitude and enjoyment rather than self-loathing and resentment. I say a prayer of thanksgiving for every meal placed in front of me because there are millions across the world who are far less fortunate when it comes to meal time. The simple act of giving thanks for the food in front of you begins to change the emotional relationship to the meal you are about to consume. Remember the old adage: You are what you eat.
Bon appetit.
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