7 Mind-Body Practices to Transform Your Relationship with Stress

7 Mind-Body Practices to Transform Your Relationship with Stress

If you were to eavesdrop on the conversations taking place around you, stress would likely be one of the most common words you would hear. People talk about feeling stressed about their work, the economy, global politics, deadlines, their relationships, and just about everything else. Many suffer from the emotional and physical consequences of chronic stress, which include accelerated aging and increased rates of heart disease, anxiety, cancer, depression, migraine headaches, and other serious disorders.

While stress is considered an epidemic problem, I’ve never believed that it exists in the environment or in external situations. At the Chopra Center, we define stress as our response to what is happening. It’s not the overdue payment, traffic jam, or fight with our spouse that causes stress

—

It’s our thoughts and the story we tell ourselves about an event or circumstance that create the emotional upset, racing heart rate, shallow breathing, surging adrenalin, and other symptoms of the stress response.

The analogy of a surfer is useful here: If you’re a skillful surfer, every wave is an exhilarating adventure or at least an opportunity to learn something new. If you’ve never learned how to surf, on the other hand, every wave is a terrifying potential disaster.

Surfing the Waves of Change

Fortunately, learning how to deal effectively with stress doesn’t require any athletic ability—it’s a skill that anyone can learn. With a little practice, instead of continually being triggered into a stress response by outside situations and thoughts in your mind, you can learn to spend more time in your own natural state of well-being.

Here are a few of the most effective tools we teach at the Chopra Center for navigating life’s ongoing waves of change.

1.) Meditate

Meditation is a simple yet powerful tool that takes us to a state of profound relaxation that dissolves fatigue and the accumulated stress that accelerates the aging process. During meditation, our breathing slows, our blood pressure and heart rate decrease, and stress hormone levels fall. By its very nature, meditation calms the mind, and when the mind is in a state of restful awareness, the body relaxes too. Research shows that people who meditate regularly develop less hypertension, heart disease, insomnia, anxiety, and other stress-related illnesses.

We are all engaged in a continuous internal dialogue in which the meaning and emotional associations of one thought trigger the next, usually without our being consciously aware of the process. Buddhist psychology describes this process as samskaras, which can be seen as grooves in the mind that makes flow thoughts in the same direction. Your personal samskaras are created from the memories of your past and can force you to react in the same limited way over and over again. Most people build up their identity on the basis of samskara without even realizing they are doing this.

In meditation, we disrupt the unconscious progression of thoughts and emotions by focusing on a new object of attention. In the practice of Primordial Sound Meditation taught at the Chopra Center, the “object of attention” is a mantra that you repeat silently to yourself. A mantra is pure sound, with no meaning or emotional charge to trigger associations. It allows the mind to detach from its usual preoccupations and experience the spaciousness and calm within.

The more you practice meditation, the more you are able to experience expanded states of pure awareness. In the silence of awareness, the mind lets go of old patterns of thinking and feeling and learns to heal itself. If you’re interested in learning Primordial Sound Meditation, I encourage you to visit www.chopra.com to find a certified teacher in your area.

2.) Resolve the Stressful Situation If Possible

You may not have much control over many of the sources of stress in your life, but if there is action you can take to resolve a stressful situation, do it! Talk to friends about what you can do to change a situation or gain a new perspective on it. Consider getting help from a conflict resolution expert if necessary.

Conscious Communication

One skill that is extremely helpful in preventing and eliminating stress is conscious communication, also known as nonviolent communication. It’s a way to clearly communicate your needs in a way that improves the likelihood that they will be met. With practice, you can learn to express your needs, ask for what you want, and create more fulfilling, stress-free relationships. At the Chopra Center, conscious communication is part of the core curriculum for our staff members and is also taught at several of the workshops and programs we offer. To learn more, the book Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg, is an excellent place to start.

3.) Practice Mindful Awareness of Your Body

While the mind is constantly flitting to thoughts of the future and memories of the past, the body lives in the only moment that truly exists: the present. One of the best ways to relieve stress is to tune into your body. Your first and most reliable guide to balance, harmony, and happiness is your body. When choosing a certain behavior, ask your body, “How do you feel about this?” If your body sends a signal of physical or emotional distress, watch out. If your body sends a signal of comfort and eagerness, proceed.

What can you do to start listening to your body? The most basic elements are as follows:

Feel what you feel. Don’t talk yourself into denial.

Accept what you feel. Don’t judge what’s actually there.

Be open to your body. It’s always speaking. Be willing to listen.

Trust your body. Every cell is on your side, which means you have hundreds of billions of allies.

Value spontaneity. Emotions change, cells change, the brain changes. Don’t be the policeman who stops the river of change by blocking it with frozen, fixed beliefs.

Enjoy what your body wants to do. Bodies like to rest, but they also like to be active. Bodies like different kinds of food that are eaten with enjoyment. Bodies like pleasure in general.

One of the most basic ways to be aware is by grounding yourself in the body. There is no mystery to it. Simply feel your body whenever you’ve been distracted. Let’s say you’re driving a car, and somebody cuts you off. Your normal reaction is to be agitated or angry; you jump out of the calm, relaxed focus that connects you to the mind-body field. Instead of being overshadowed by this disruption, just go within and feel the sensations of your body. Take a deep breath, since that is an easy way to come back to body awareness.

Keep your attention on these sensations until they disappear. What you’ve done is cut off the stimulus response with a gap. A gap is an interval of non-reaction. It stops the reaction from fueling itself. It reminds the body of its natural state of harmonious, coordinated self-regulation.

4.) Understand Your Unique Stress Response

Your mind-body constitution (known as your dosha in Ayurveda) plays a great role in how stress affects you. Ayurveda offers specific recommendations for each mind-body type, including the most effective ways to cope with stress.

Here are the stress patterns of the three doshas:

Vata: Those with predominantly Vata constitutions have the greatest tendency toward anxiety and worry. Normally creative and enthusiastic, in the face of stress, Vatas tend to blame themselves for their problems and become extremely nervous and scattered.

Pitta: Pitta types are usually warm and loving, but if they’re out of balance, typically react to stress by finding fault with other people and becoming angry.

Kapha: The most even-tempered dosha is Kapha. Those whose mind-body type is predominantly Kapha are usually easygoing and gentle, but when faced with overwhelming conflict or stress, they may withdraw and refuse to deal with the situation.

If you don’t know your dosha, you can take the Chopra Center’s online Dosha Quiz to identify your mind-body type and get more information about how to stay in balance and manage stress.

5.) Get Plenty of Sleep

Restful sleep is an essential key to staying healthy and vital. When you’re well-rested, you can approach stressful situations more calmly, yet sleep is so often neglected or underemphasized. There is even a tendency for people to boast about how little sleep they can get by on. In reality, a lack of restful sleep disrupts the body’s innate balance, weakens our immune system, and speeds up the aging process.

Human beings generally need between six and eight hours of restful sleep each night. Restful sleep means that you’re not using pharmaceuticals or alcohol to get to sleep but that you’re drifting off easily once you turn off the light and are sleeping soundly through the night.

You can get the highest quality sleep by keeping your sleep cycles in tune with the rhythms of the universe, known as circadian rhythms. Ayurveda teaches that the optimal sleep routine is to rise with the sun and go to sleep when it’s dark out, or at least by 10 p.m.

Ideally, eat only a light meal in the evening, before 7:30 if possible, and then go for a leisurely walk. The body’s digestive powers are strongest between the hours governed by the Pitta dosha (10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). By eating a light dinner, instead of focusing all its energy on digesting a heavy meal, your body can use the Pitta cycle to detoxify the body and get the deep rest it needs. You can go for a leisurely walk after dinner and then be in bed by 10 p.m.

It’s also very helpful to download your thoughts from the day in a journal before going to bed so that your mind doesn’t keep you awake.

6.) Practice Yoga

Yoga is another timeless healing practice for releasing stress and the damaging effects of the fight-or-flight response. Not only is yoga an excellent physical exercise that increases your flexibility and strength, but it also balances the mind and body, calming the nervous system, increasing the production of stress-relieving hormones, and releasing stored toxins.

You don’t need a lot of expensive equipment or to be in tiptop shape to start practicing yoga. All it takes is loose clothing, a mat (some classes will provide mats) and the desire to learn.

There are many different styles of yoga. Most use a series of postures designed to stretch and strengthen muscles and also use focused breathing to quiet the mind. One of the most popular styles in the U.S. is hatha yoga, a relatively slow-moving, gentle style. Other styles such as Ashtanga and power yoga are more vigorous. The Chopra Center teaches a unique style of yoga known as the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga, which focuses on body-centered restful awareness.

The intention of the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga is to integrate and balance all the layers of our life so that our body, mind, heart, intellect, and spirit flow in harmony. As we expand our awareness through the practice of yoga, we become more capable of perceiving the richness that life offers.

Find out about the different kinds of yoga that are offered at classes in your area. Choose the style that fits your goals and level of fitness. You can also get started by using a good instructional book or DVD at home, although it’s usually better for beginners to start with a class.

Whichever style of yoga you choose, take it slowly at first. Don’t try to force yourself into difficult poses at the beginning. After a while, you will develop more flexibility, strength and stamina. Your teacher shouldn’t push you to do poses that aren’t comfortable. If your teacher is going too fast, talk to him or her, or look for a class that is a better fit.

With a regular practice, you will begin to experience a sense of calm and wellbeing that extends beyond the yoga mat into your daily life.

7.) Do Activities You Enjoy

Part of being stressed out is feeling that you never have enough time, so adding more activities to your schedule might seem like the last thing you need. But if you make even a little bit of time for an activity you really enjoy, the payoff can be huge: You feel calmer and happier and can deal with work and other demands better. Whether it’s playing music, doing a craft, or working on your car, do something that absorbs and relaxes you.

The goal in all of these practices isn’t to try to control the flow of life so that you’ll never experience stress or frustration again; the secret is to be patient and offer yourself compassion as you learn to respond to challenges from a place of peace and calm.

Original article and pictures take www.corespirit.com site

7 Fertility-Boosting Tips from Traditional Chinese Medicine

7 Fertility-Boosting Tips from Traditional Chinese Medicine

Want to give your chances of getting pregnant an all-natural boost from the world of Traditional Chinese Medicine? Here’s the scoop on TCM…

The Scoop

At a fertility seminar in New York City’s ultra-hip Park Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn (Michelle Williams and Maggie Gyllenhaal are just a few of the famous moms who calls the place home), acupuncturist and natural fertility specialist Alexander Goldberg highlighted the role Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and mind/body techniques can play in boosting a woman’s odds for having a baby. Couldn’t make the talk? Here are Goldberg’s top seven tips for improved fertility:

1. Increase blood flow to your reproductive organs: TCM practitioners say that a stressful lifestyle pulls the body’s blood flow and attention away from reproductive, baby-making organs and funnels it instead to your arms and legs (part of the body’s “fight or flight” response). To change this course, use acupuncture to help reproductive organs receive optimal blood flow, or try focused relaxation (i.e., mentally going to your “happy place”), massage, or a de-stressing yoga session.
2. Get your hormones into balance: Conception becomes tricky when your reproductive hormones are off-kilter. And what’s often the culprit behind a hormonal imbalance? Again, it’s stress: women with high-stress lifestyles may produce more of the hormone prolactin, which may them impede ovulation. Besides using strategies to cut down on stress in your life, certain herbs from TCM may be beneficial—as can simply eating a healthy diet and exercising, two of the best ways to bring the body’s hormones back into balance.
3. Improve emotional health: According to TCM, two of the most common organ systems addressed in fertility are the liver and the lungs. The liver is related to anger, frustration, stress, and desire. So, it’s no wonder why one of the most common TCM diagnoses for infertility is Liver Qi stagnation. The lungs are related to sadness, grief, and holding on. How to get the fertility “chi” flowing? Make sure to find time to calm your mind through acupuncture, yoga, or meditation.
4. Avoid dampness: Dampness accumulates in our bodies and causes blockages in the form of cysts and fibroids that can make getting pregnant difficult, says practitioners of TCM. If you’re trying to become pregnant, eliminate damp food like milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream, greasy foods, and alcohol. Wet clothing, humid environments, and moist basements should also be avoided.
5. Chart your cycle: Charting your basal body temperature can help you determine when you’re ovulating, whether ovulation occurs on the optimal day and if your body is at a temperature conducive for fertility. Western medicine believes in this one, too! Look for special basal thermometers at your local pharmacy.
6. Make sure your body is receptive to conception: The perfect woman? If we go by what we see in magazines, she’s very thin, muscular, and extremely active. According to TCM, these values do not support the concept of fertility, which is warm, enveloping, holding, and supportive. If you are constantly expending all of your energy working out or following the latest fad diet, there may not be enough energy left to support new life. In other words: everything in moderation.
7. Don’t obsess: The more emphasis we put on our tries for a baby not succeeding in any given month, the more stress and frustration we create for ourselves. This in turn, may create more fertility hurdles. In TCM, it is thought that having a passive attitude toward your outcome and being more conscious of the process are what will help you maintain balance and, ultimately, give you the results you want.

Your Fertility

Will these tips work for you? A growing number of doctors in the US are fans of techniques like acupuncture for treating a host of health conditions, including infertility, while some remain skeptical. Thinking about taking herbs or other medicines from the world of TCM? Check with your doctor first to make sure they don’t interfere with any other medications you may be taking. But advice to follow a healthy diet? Thus is something you should be doing anyway!

Original article and pictures take www.babble.com site

6 Eastern Cures for Western Workout Problems

6 Eastern Cures for Western Workout Problems

Ease sore muscles, relieve pain, and recover faster with these Chinese treatments

Charlotte Hilton Andersen

The high of going all-out during a workout and the results you see make you feel amazing—the achy or tight muscles that can also result? Not so much. And while foam rolling, heating and icing, and pain relievers can all help, sometimes modern cures aren't enough.

Traditional Chinese Medicine has been used for thousands of years to treat pretty much any ailment—and some of the remedies may help boost your fitness, TCM experts say. Here's the scoop on six treatments for active women.

RELATED: Wanna change an "ow" to "oh!"? Try these six unconventional ways to treat sore muscles.

You can boost flexibility—key for improving range of motion so you can get the most out of your workouts—without stretching or yoga.

During gua sha, a practitioner lubricates the body with oils and then uses a round-edged instrument such as a Chinese soup spoon, a blunt bottle cap, or even an animal bone to firmly scrape the skin with repeated strokes. The treatment can be soothing or quite aggressive depending on the person performing it and intensity of the desired treatment; either way it results in small red or purple spots called “sha,” which are actually subcutaneous blemishing, bruising, or broken capillaries based on how much pressure is used, and may take several days to weeks to disappear.

While generally performed over certain energy spots or “meridians” over the entire body, gua sha can be used to treat specific areas as well. In addition to increasing flexibility, it can help relieve muscle tension and stiffness from a hard workout, says Lisa Alvarez, co-founder of Healing Foundations, an Oriental medicine practice. She adds that it also helps with other conditions caused by tight or sore muscles such as TMJ and tension headaches.

Your workout is only as good as your recovery, as muscles grow when you’re resting. You may be able to speed up all of this with acupressure, the needle-less cousin of acupuncture.

"Using fingers or a tool to apply firm pressure to energy points of the body balances circulation and stimulates the body’s natural healing abilities,” Alvarez says. Each spot is thought to correspond with specific ailments, injuries, or pain, so pressing somewhere on your foot may in fact help with tight hamstrings.

Acupressure is so simple you can treat yourself, Alvarez says, and get some immediate relief instead of waiting for an appointment. One of her favorite points for athletes is the large intestine 4 acupoint found on the hand between the thumb and forefinger. “Applying pressure to this area is great for relieving any type of pain in the low back, whether it’s from deadlifts or PMS,” she says.

Sometimes you push a little too hard or stretch a little too far, and while there's no break or sprain, something’s most definitely out of whack. If you can handle the intensity, Active Release Technique (ART) may help.

During a session, the therapist manipulates muscles and other soft tissues, and moves or leads the patient through specified movements. This all separates scar tissue from the underlying muscle, which helps reestablish proper, healthy mechanical functioning and improves flexibility, says Craig Thomas, a massage therapist and acupuncturist. In order to relax patients and open up the body to maximize the benefits, some practitioners also incorporate shiatsu, a Japanese form of acupressure, and Thai massage, wherein they user their body weight—often leaning against or even sitting on the client—to pull and push.

This is perfect for treating the overuse injuries lifelong athletes often incur, Thomas says, because it not only fixes the immediate source of the pain but also corrects the underlying structural problems that allowed the injury to happen in the first place.

A massage can be super relaxing and relieve sore muscles—if you're not self-conscious about lying naked underneath just a sheet. But the Japanese have a solution for the shy: Reiki is a form of touch therapy based on the belief that energy can be channeled through the practitioner’s hands to heal the spirit of the patient, which promotes deep relaxation, revitalizes, and resets the body’s energy field, Alvarez says.

While you lie fully clothed on a massage table, the reiki practitioner places their hands on or slightly above areas on the front and back of the body, most often where illness or pain is felt. In Western versions of reiki, practitioners usually focus on the seven chakras that run from the crown of the head to the end of the spine, while in traditional Japanese reiki, the focus is on the energy or balance meridians, which are found over the whole body.

Reiki is often used in conjunction with other treatments such as acupuncture to “provide a deeper healing and rejuvenating experience," Alvarez says. She adds that its many fitness benefits include overall relaxation, pain management, reduction of soreness, and even aiding more Western therapies such as physical rehab by helping the person relax and remain open.

The mind is a powerful tool, but as anyone who's gobbled a chocolate doughnut while on a diet can confirm, getting it to work for you and not against you can be half the battle when it comes to making healthier choices. One way to help rule your thoughts is emotional freedom techniques (EFT), a method based off of acupuncture, neuro-linguistic programming (a behavior modification technique), energy medicine, and Thought Field Therapy (a psychological technique that uses tapping on certain meridians).

“The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system,” says Gary Craig, the founder of one popular style of EFT. Whereas treatments such as acupuncture are primarily focused on physical ailments, EFT focuses on emotional issues and involves performing a prescribed series of tapping or pressing on acupressure or meridian points on the body while repeating a mantra. Sometimes other steps are involved such as counting backward, singing a song, or moving the eyes in specified ways, as instructed by the therapist.

As it’s designed to complement other types of Eastern methodologies, simple to learn and perform, and doesn’t require any special tools or equipment, EFT can work for almost everyone, Craig says, to enhance willpower and focus to help you stay on course with your healthy living goals.

When you’re struggling to eke out that last squat, pollution is likely one of the last things on your mind. However, according to Alvarez, air quality actually impacts your workout because internal and external toxins accumulate in the body over time and can significantly affect your muscle endurance.

To release this toxic buildup, she recommends cupping, a treatment where 1- to 3-inch glass or plastic cups are placed strategically over your body. The practitioner creates a vacuum in the cup by briefly holding a lit cotton ball underneath it or using a hot water bath, rubber ball, or other mechanism, and then lays the cup mouth-side down on the body. The slight vacuum is said to extract toxins by increasing blood flow to the muscle and tissue underneath, thereby helping the body cleanse itself, reduce inflammation, and stimulate healing. Alvarez says it’s like a “reverse” massage: “Instead of pushing the muscles into the body to get them to relax, suction is used to gently pull the muscle tissue upward to help it release.”

Cupping is often used for athletes to treat sore muscles, but it can also help with injuries and pain, including strained shoulders. Alvarez says many of her clients see results both in their comfort level and in the gym in just one session.

Original article and pictures take www.shape.com site

5 Steps to Recover from Illness

5 Steps to Recover from Illness

Ayurveda and Yoga, given as sister sciences thousands of years ago, help us find balance in our lives, bodies and minds. In modern times, when we are pulled from one urgent task to the next, find relief in “vegging out” and eat for convenience, these ancient teachings of balance have never been more relevant.

Continue Reading >

Far too often, I see clients who come to me to address chronic health concerns that are the result of many years of asking their bodies to do more with less. I hear stories of people who are sick with the flu but continue to go to work every day, or people who are recovering from surgery trying to go right back to their old jogging regime. Illness is a sign—a big red flag on the highway of life—of an imbalance in our bodies. When we overlook that important state of recovery, we throw our bodies into a deeper state of imbalance that can lead to more serious issues in the long term.

About 12 years ago, I felt several lumps on my side. I had also lost a significant amount of weight but hadn’t realized it. My father had just passed and it was a drawn out event.

I was diagnosed with leukemia, but opted out of the traditional chemotherapy and radiation and instead used my training in Ayurveda and Yoga to guide my healing.

I knew that the most important thing I needed to do was to give myself the space to heal and not pretend that I was exactly the same as I was before this imbalance had emerged. I changed my dinacharya, daily routine, to allow more time for rest, daily abhyanga, meditation and intuitive energy practice, along with eating daily meals of kitchari or kunyi. After six months, I felt well enough to begin surfing again. And though my recovery wasn’t complete, I knew I was going to be okay.

When our bodies are healing from an illness, whether it is surgery, the flu or cancer, they are working twice as hard to bring us back to a state of balance. In order to feel better—and by better, I mean better than you felt before you got sick—it’s critical to give your body the time and space it needs to rejuvenate. That comes from changing your dinacharya during and after illness to provide your body extra support to come back to your optimal state.

A regular dinacharya consists of times for bodily care, meditation, exercise, eating and sleeping. When you are sick, a supportive dinacharya can bring your body back to a state of balance. Here’s a simple dinacharya that can help you recover from illness and feel better than ever.

1. Make rest your first priority. When you are sick, your body is hard at work healing. This means you need to give yourself plenty of time in a relaxing environment away from stressful activities. Let your work responsibilities—neither you nor your job will benefit from pushing beyond your abilities—and aim to get between 8-9 hours of sleep. Typically sleeping during the day is not recommended in Ayurveda, but in a state of recovery from acute illness or surgery, naps can help your body recover faster.

2. Nourish your body with abhyanga. Applying warm oil to your skin every morning rejuvenates your tissues. Your skin is your biggest organ, so oleating your body replenishes the unctuous elements that have been lost, plus it’s a wonderful practice in self-care. Abhyanga is especially helpful when the oil is decocted with herbs that address imbalance.

3. Drink your fluids. Start your day with a cup of hot water to liquefy any stagnant kapha and ama, or toxins, and get your agni moving. Sip ginger tea (just a couple slices of fresh ginger in warm water will do) or tea made with cumin, coriander and fennel throughout the day to improve your digestion and help your body release ama.

4. Go within to heal. Spend more time in meditation and inward contemplation. Focus on living in the present moment, releasing fear and patterns that no longer serve you. Look for the emotional aspects of the imbalance and let them go without judgment. If you have a regular pranayama practice, hold off during your recovery. In a state of weakness, your energy channels are not at their optimal level. Pranayama can push your body to expend energy that it needs for healing.

5. Eat well to feel better. You may not be hungry, but eating at regular times throughout the day gives your body the fuel it needs to heal. Be very supportive to your digestion by eating plain kitchari with no vegetables (you can find a recipe here) or kunyi, a soupy rice mixture made with a ratio of 6:1 water to white basmati rice, a teaspoon of ghee, a pinch of turmeric, and salt. Stop eating at your first burp, since that is your body’s signal that it is full and overeating taxes your body with extra work. About 10 minutes before each meal, get your body ready to digest by chewing a ginger appetizer made from ¼ tsp. fresh, grated ginger with 2–3 drops of lime juice and a pinch of mineral salt.

Recovering from illness or surgery can take time, especially if it is chronic or the result of a longstanding imbalance. When you feel anxious or scared, take 12 deep breaths to rebalance. Don’t push yourself to go back to your normal routine until you have fully recovered. And remember – no matter where you begin, there is always a path to your natural state of health.

About the Author

Myra Lewin is a certified NAMA Ayurvedic Practitioner and master Yogini who has studied and worked alongside people of great wisdom in Ayurveda and Yoga for more than two decades. She has presented at conferences worldwide, holds workshops and retreats internationally, and leads teacher trainings on the island of Kaua’i, Hawaii. Myra is the founder of Hale Pule Ayurveda and Yoga, a community of health, healing and learning. See more on her blog and Facebook.

You May Also Like...

The tradition of dinacharya (daily routine) is one of the single most powerful Ayurvedic tools for improving overall health and wellbeing. Even if you are brand new to Ayurveda, it won’t be long before you hear something about the importance of doing a number of things—like eating, sleeping, and working—at roughly the same times each day. Continue Reading >

Original article and pictures take www.banyanbotanicals.com site

5 Elements

5 Elements

Sign up with Yahoo

Original article and pictures take s.yimg.com site

5 Easy Ways To Restart Your Metabolism With Ayurveda

SHARE ON: Save

At one point or another, just about all of us have tried to lose weight. With almost 75% of the American population either overweight or obese, this challenge is becoming seemingly more insurmountable every day. The typical quick diet programs and colon cleansing programs rarely provide any long-term benefit. The weight lost during those programs is usually gained back within weeks.

One of the main reasons for not being able to lose weight effectively is because the body’s metabolism is not up to speed. According to Ayurveda, the body’s main digestive fire, or Agni, is responsible for the remaining 12 sub-types of digestive and metabolic processes at various levels. Metabolic disruption in any of these can impede weight loss and overall health.

5 Easy Ways To Restart Your Metabolism With Ayurveda

In conditions which cause an excessive accumulation of adipose or fatty tissue, the medo dhatu agni (fat tissue metabolism) is invariably compromised. To reactivate it, there are a number of Ayurvedic therapies which can be done both internally and externally. Here are some of the easiest ones to try at home:

1. Add one teaspoon of Trikatu, Pancha Kola, or Hingu Ashtaka powder to meals.

These powders are three of the best classical digestive appetizers. They promote the main digestive fire (Agni), which then helps to stimulate metabolism throughout the body. They also help to metabolize remnant toxins (Aama) in the digestive system and purify the alimentary canal. These powders can be added to a bowl of soup or rice and used for flavoring.

2. Massage your body with sesame oil and sit in the sun.

Over time, the accumulated adipose or fatty tissue begins to harden, making it all the more difficult to remove. Sesame oil helps to penetrate the micro-channels of the skin and increases circulation to the underlying tissue, thus promoting metabolism and the removal of toxins. Self-massage should be done for 15-30 minutes in a warm room, and then the body should be exposed to moderate sunlight until it sweats. Cover the head with a hat, and only stay in the sun until comfortably warm. Then rest for 10 minutes in the shade before taking a warm shower.

3. Take a hot salt-water bath once a week.

Generalized swelling throughout the body can impede the removal of toxins, particularly from the lymphatic system. Usually this is due to an accumulation of the Kapha dosha (liquid element) in the body. Bathing once a week in a hot, salt-water bath helps to draw out these toxins through the sweat glands. The body, but not the head, should stay submerged until you feel comfortably warm and you sweat. After the bath, wear enough clothes to continue sweating and increase the excretion of toxins.

4. Dry massage with Triphala powder.

Triphala powder is one of the greatest Ayurvedic remedies for a wide range of conditions. Its ability to break up toxins and scrape them away can be very useful to reduce fatty tissue all over the body. Take a warmed handful of powder and rub it firmly over the area against the direction of the hair follicles. Repeat this for up to 45 minutes and then brush the remaining powder off of the body.

5. Drink hot water.

One of the simplest, most inexpensive, and effective ways to increase metabolism is to drink plain hot water. You can also spice it up by boiling the water for a few minutes with ginger, clove, cardamom, cinnamon and black pepper. Keep a hot flask of this water readily available in the kitchen or office. Clear green tea is also good but can cause excessive hunger when taken frequently.

Sources for this article include:

Charaka Samhita, Sutra sthana & Chikitsa sthana, Chowkhamba Publishers (Sanskrit text and translation by Dr. RK Sharma and Dr. Bhagawan Dash)Ashtanga Hrdaya, Sutra sthana, Chowkhambha Krishnadas Academy (Sanskrit text and translation by Dr. K.R. Srikantha Murthy)

Ashtanga Hrdaya, Sutra sthana, Chowkhambha Krishnadas Academy (Sanskrit text and translation by Dr. K.R. Srikantha Murthy)

http://www.naturalnews.com/033194_skin_brush…

Originally published on naturalnews.com on September 8, 2011.

Original article and pictures take ayurvedanextdoor-ayurvedanextdoor.netdna-ssl.com site

4 Masters of Chi Reveal Their Secrets

4 Masters of Chi Reveal Their Secrets

Of all the ideas and practices available to us for finding good health, peace of mind and happiness in this crazy world, the Chinese and Daoist internal arts of Tai Chi, Qi Gong and energy meditation are unrivaled in their value in improving overall wellness and catalyzing personal transformation.

Masters of Chi are the stuff of legend, capable of performing amazing feats of healing, concentration, and strength, and their secrets are no longer so closely guarded in the Shaolin temples of China. Many dedicated teachers of these arts have spread throughout the world and share their expertise freely with Westerners, making their teachings available in print and in video, offering an immense body of knowledge and instruction on these practical transformative arts.

Referred to as ‘internal arts’ because they emphasize the inward direction of intention for healing, energy cultivation and physical development, there are an infinite number of exercises, techniques and teachings available for study.

In my personal journey of transformation and self-healing I have found tremendous benefit in many of the exercises, meditations and ideas offered by the 4 modern masters of Chi mentioned below. Their teachings encompass a wide variety of physical movements, forms, meditations, breathing exercises and invocations, and include gentle restorative techniques as well as rigorous and physically strenuous practices. Within their collection of written and recorded materials, they have revealed their secrets for the benefit of anyone.

1. Dr. Yang, Jing-Wing

Dr. Yang is the author of many books and videos including the excellent work, The Root of Chinese Qi Gong: Secrets of Health, Longevity & Enlightenment. He is the founder of YMAA, an association dedicated to preserving traditional Chines Kung Fu and Qi Gong, which publishes books and training materials, and offers advanced Kung Fu training programs at their retreat center in Northern California, including his 10 year program for serious students.

Dr. Yang has produced an impressive collection of instructional videos, including Simple Qi Gong: Exercises for Back Pain which is hands down the most effective program for treating chronic back pain, especially lower back pain, that I have ever come across.

Other excellent training videos by Dr. Yang include his standing and seated series of gentle moving meditations, Qi Gong: The Eight Pieces of Brocade, which is perfect for sunrise and sunset meditations. His DVD series Tai Chi for Beginners with Master Yang is an excellent introduction to Tai Chi, and Five Animal Sports Qi Gong is an outstanding long form qi gong sequence that includes the traditional five element healing sounds from Chinese medicine.

His YouTube channel features segments from his many lectures and instructional presentations and for the more hardcore student out there, Dr. Yang’s traditional Kung Fu training videos are packed with tons exercises and drills to supplement any serious martial arts practice.

2. Grandmaster Hua-Ching Ni

Grandmaster Ni is a living Daoist master and the author of over fifty books in Chinese, and forty in English on philosophy, Chinese medicine, Tai Chi, and Taoist meditation. He is a sage philosopher, chosen as a child to study the wise hermits who lived away from mainstream society, now dedicated the transmission of knowledge from an unbroken succession of 74 generations of Masters dating back to 200 A.D.

Teacher of The Integral Way, Master Ni’s works include many enlightening spiritual books include Workbook for Spiritual Development of All People, and Tao, the Subtle Universal Law and the Integral Way. Master Ni has also published I Ching The Book of Changes: And the Unchanging Truth, one of the best translations available of this classic in divinity.

Similar to Yoga in some ways, Master Ni’s series of Taoist internal arts includes the book and practice, Attune Your Body With Dao-In, a series of invocations, gentle physical exercises, postures and different meditations. I practice this series 3-4 times a week early in the morning as the sun rises, to great benefit.

3. Shifu Yan Lei

Shifu Yan Liu is a real deal Shaolin Monk who has been training, performing and teaching his entire life. He shares his vast knowledge with the world on his website. In addition to producing serious training programs and videos for kick-boxers and fighters, Shifu Yan Lei regularly emphasizes the need for even the strongest warrior to train in the internal art of Qi Gong in order to develop balance, concentration and health.

His video series Shaolin Warrior includes the excellent introductory series, The Way of Qi Gong, and many of his teachings can be previewed on his YouTube channel.

4. Grandmaster Mantak Chia

Mantak Chia is the author of dozens of best-selling books on taoist energy practices, chi, sexual energy, cosmic energy and healing and also the founder of the Universal Healing Tao System, which offers an extraordinary body of knowledge and practices for the cultivation of personal energy, as well as training in many types of Qi Gong, massage, and detoxification techniques.

The simple meditation principles in Mantak Chia’s book Awaken Healing Energy Through The Tao: The Taoist Secret of Circulating Internal Power, were very effective for me in awakening my powers of concentration and my ability to become sensitive to the subtle energies which enliven the universe in and around us. The techniques found in Iron Shirt Chi Kung are an example of some of the advanced esoteric trainings he offers, and his book Chi Self-Massage: The Taiost Way of Rejuvenation is one his most important healing techniques.

Many of Mantak Chia’s lectures and instructions can also be found on YouTube.

Conclusion

In my continuing journey for health and happiness, the internal arts are a major part of my daily practices in cultivating peace, wellness and abundant positive energy.

Certainly there are many more accomplished teachers that could and should be mentioned here, but these are four that have found me somehow and I regularly incorporate many of their techniques into my personal daily practice. Studying in person with a master is preferred, however, with the instruction and tools made available by these 4 masters and others, anyone practically anywhere can begin to integrate these profound healing arts into their daily life.

Original article and pictures take www.corespirit.com site