The Art Of Conscious Living Retreat


Discover Harmonic Well-Being

ACHIEVE
VIBRANT HEALTH
TRUE ABUNDANCE
DEEPER SPIRITUALITY
WONDERFUL RELATIONSHIPS

“We must inspire each other to be aware of:
What we think
What we eat
What we do
What we breath
What we say”

So please join us as we express the Art of conscious living!

Confirmed Presenters, Facilitators and artists:
Dr Carl Carrozzo – Po Seng Tong, Acupuncture and Herb clinic
Nori Rao – Centerofbeing.org
Damaris Cruz – A gift of Touch
Rev. WILL I AM – Centerofbeing.org
Melissa Bridges, M.S.- Couplesonthebrink.com
Ashanti Roman, M.S. – Bebalance.net
Dr. Paul Veliyathil – One Planet United
Eric Dez – centerofbeing.org
L Condor-Tribalink.org
Teri Catlin-Tericatlin.com
Susan Q Wood-Event Fine Artist

Topics:
Conscious Language, Living Foods, Herbs, Breath-work, Organic Products, Universal Laws, Energy Healing, Eco-Geopathic awareness, Sustainability and Biogenic Living.

Additional Activities:
Shamanic Fireside Chat, Sacred Drumming, Acoustic Music, Trance Yoga, Guided Meditations, Sufi Dancing and much more.

Don’t miss this wonderful experience.
Register NOW!

Delicious prepared vegetarian meals.

Onsite Childcare Provided 10am- 6pm
Children 12 and under free for daytime events

Secrets of Meditation For Better Health

Greetings seekers of Light!

I received this wonderful article about Meditation and was driven to post it in LoveDriven.com to share it with you all. Read and enjoy!
Adriana

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Matt Clarkson here, from SecretsofMeditation.com with a new article I thought you might enjoy.
Recently, I was asked by the Editor of Balance Magazine to write an article about Meditation. So I’ve included a condensed version for you to read.

Meditation can improve your health, increase energy levels and maximize your enjoyment of life. Without a doubt, more people would benefit from meditation if they took the time to practice the simple exercises used to calm the mind, reduce stress and increase energy levels.

So What Is Meditation?
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Meditation is a way to transform and heal ourselves. When we meditate, we allow the swirl of ideas and thoughts to slow down to the point where we find a calm and positive connection with ourselves. Although there are many different ways to meditate, all styles teach the directing of the attention in order to re-connect with the part of yourself that is most real and most true.

Why We Need To Meditate
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Unfortunately, we do not walk through the world as children do. We all face difficult and stressful situations throughout the course of life. But rather than beginning each day afresh, we tend to gather the world and carry the negativity of the past with us. The happy and contented person you were becomes covered over by these emotions. Suddenly you feel unhappy and dissatisfied, and even worse; often the process is so subtle, you don’t know why.

Meditation is a way of cutting through those layers of past emotion and excessive thinking. Instead of our minds and bodies being at the mercy of life, we take back control. We focus the attention in a deliberate way, and slowly see the false layers of ourselves begin to dissolve as we return once again to the source of our happiness.

Although meditation is an ancient art dating back thousands of years, modern scientific research now confirms what ancient wisdom discovered long ago. Study after study shows that meditation brings about improved perception, focus, memory and creativity. Regular meditators are healthier, happier, more relaxed, and more productive.

The True Purpose of Meditation
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The seductive appeal of mystic visions, psychic intuition and heightened mental functioning can be very alluring. While some meditators report esoteric experiences, the experiences themselves should not be the primary reason for practice.

The purpose of meditation is to transform the state of our hearts and minds and bring us back to ourselves. As we become healthier, happier and realize greater self-awareness, more benefits begin to follow naturally — improved mental functioning, greater intuition as well as greater access to unconscious resources and abilities.

The Best Style of Meditation
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Always keep an open mind in your learning. Never accept a teaching without verifying the truth of it in your own experience. On the other hand, reserve making judgment in advance of having the experience for yourself.

The best style of meditation is the one that feels right for you. There are many different systems of meditation including, but not limited to Concentration, Mindfulness, Zen, Visualization and Devotion. You may decide to experiment with a few different styles and see how they feel. Find one or two styles that you like and then major in those. Above all, pay attention to your self and make sure your meditation feels right for you.

Make Meditation A Daily Practice
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You can be stronger in your self. You can be happier, more balanced and compassionate. You can manifest the changes you truly want to see in your life through meditation. You don’t need to give up all your worldly passions or retreat to a Himalayan monastery either!

A daily ten-minute practice can make all the difference. It’s not much time to dedicate when you consider all the time spent caring for your physical appearance. After all, you wouldn’t go out to an important meeting or social occasion without clean clothes and brushing your teeth.

What about the mind and body — the instruments through which we perceive and interact with reality? Does it not make sense to take the time to clean up our attitude and the way we feel as well?

— By Matt Clarkson
Author of Secrets of Meditation, Energy and Manifestation
www.SecretsofMeditation.com
Copyright – All rights reserved. SecretsofMeditation.com

Magic Words That Make You Rich

The Power of Magical Words: September 2006
by Sheila Edwards

Do you want to attract excellence, success, happiness, and love
to your life?
If you do, then take a moment to enjoy this new FREE lesson!

A major factor in creating a life you love has to do with the way you speak about your life.

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Speak and Attract Life’s Riches
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What you say creates what you believe, and what you believe impacts how you behave, the choices you make and the way your life will be.
Learn how to create the life you want by focusing on what you say and how you say it!

Follow these easy steps to change your vibration with words:

– Notice what you say on a daily basis that is causing your life to be more of a struggle.

– Do you refer to situations and experiences as hard, tiring, frustrating, annoying, etc?

Some popular phrases are:

“It is so hard.”
“I am so tired of that happening.”
“I am so frustrated.”
“That is so annoying.”
“This is so unfair.”

STOP using your most popular and favored words and phrases
that are limiting you.

As you put that language in to your daily reality, guess what? You just keep getting more of what you DON’T WANT!
These words and phrases create barricades you impose on your life by the way you talk about things.
Focus on replacing negative limiting words and phrases with affirmative words and phrases, to help switch the flow of your life.

Write statements like the following on your bathroom mirror to get you going for the day:

“It is coming to me easily.”

“I am so excited for all the good that flows my way.”

“That is great.”

“I guess they are doing the best they know how.”

“I accept my life for what it is and am committed to putting forth the effort to change it.”

“I am believing that the best is possible.”

“I am seeing the good in all things.”

“I am seeing more of the good in myself.”

The power of intentional language can change your life, so use it! You will be grateful!
It’s simple, just give it a try!

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September Magical Words
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Don’t be carried by the wave, repeat to yourself as often as you can: “I have to come back to earth”

Grab the bull by the horns, you will have a lot to do in September; say to yourself: “I can handle this, I always have a solution”

Gemini must detach a little. Repeat: “I will relax and I won’t get too involved”

If you are a Cancer, in September you will know how to dominate your emotions: “I will not let sensibility decide instead of ration.”

Leave you guard down, dear Leos; the magical words for you this month are: “I will be more open minded for those who need me”

Virgos must settle with an idea they may not like: “I might spend more than I can afford”

Libras, you can’t live in peace because of a threat; say: “I live here and now, the past is left behind”

If you are a Scorpio, this moth the following phrase suits you: “I’m paying attention and I will take advantage of any chance that may come up”

Sagittarius, don’t let the situation get out of control: “I have to take care who I’m talking to and what I’m saying”

For the Capricorn there’s nothing better than: “I will do my best to be impartial if there are problems at work”

Aquarius, don’t hurry: “I won’t let my thoughts be messed up by eagerness”

Pisces, these are the key words for you: “I’m ready for a restless social life and for the changes that are taking place”

You are powerful, believe it!

To your success,
Sheila Edwards

Vitamin For The Mind

by Jim Rohn

PLANNING

I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change.

If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they may have planned for you? Not much.

The reason why most people face the future with apprehension instead of anticipation is because they don’t have it well designed.

The guy says, “When you work where I work, by the time you get home, it’s late. You’ve got to have a bite to eat, watch a little TV, relax and get to bed. You can’t sit up half the night planning, planning, planning.”

And he’s the same guy who is behind on his car payment…….

Reiki Can Never Cause Harm

Because Reiki is guided by God Consciousness, it can never do harm. It is both powerful and gentle. It always knows what each “receiver” needs and will adjust itself to create the appropriate effect. There is no need to ever be concerned whether or not to give Reiki, as it is always helpful. In its long history of use it has played a primordial part in the aid and healing in virtually every known illness, dis-ease and injury, such as heart disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis, also skin problems, cuts, bruises, broken bones, headaches, flu, sore throat, fatigue, insomnia and impotence.
Becaused Reiki energy is a channeled healing, from Divine-God, after a session one’s left surrounded by loving feelings of harmony, well-being and overall joy.
Reiki can be complimentary, as it works harmoniously with all other types of treatments. It is known to act to reduce negative side effects, for example, from strong medication, chemotherapy and surgery. Reiki quickens healing time, and reduces or eliminates pain. Reduces stress and increases creative awareness.
Reiki has also been used in partnership during psychotherapy treatments and the healing of emotional trauma, among others. Great for memory improving and to increase one’s self-esteem.
Furthermore, Reiki performs splendidly in spiritual healing, recharging one’s energy field, leaving the person feeling whole and refreshed.
Visit Reiki.Org for Reiki Stories.

–Adriana Zotelo, Certified Reiki Practitioner under the Usui Reiki method.

Reiki For Fertility

Care for pregnancy
The concept of motherhood is extolled in many cultures. It is sanctified and women are expected to feel fulfilled by it. Yet women have an ambiguous attitude towards it. Some look forward to it with joy. Others would rather not have a baby as they feel it would ruin their figure or they are convinced that they would die during delivery.
The more aggressive women would simply dismiss it as unwanted responsibility. The attitude would make all the difference to the way in which the woman handles her womanhood and pregnancy. The attitude would also impact the unborn child in more ways than one.
Reiki clinics are flooded with women who have physical and psychological problems related to pregnancy. Reiki alleviates many of the symptoms of pregnancy such as morning sickness, excessive tiredness and backache. Reiki helps them adjust to the changes in their body and gives them a positive attitude towards the birth of the child. It emotionally supports the mother and makes her aware of the meaning of motherhood. It also helps the fetus grow normally and often delivery becomes easy for those who have had Reiki just before or during the course of delivery. Reiki improves the bond between the mother and child.
Fathers who wish to support their wives through the pregnancy and develop a bond with the unborn child should consider taking a course in Reiki. They can assist the mother nurture the fetus and ensure its psychological and physical well being by giving Reiki to their wives during pregnancy and delivery. Many fathers who have participated in this exercise have excitedly reported that they can actually feel the fetus move towards the energy when Reiki is given. They have also reported that their bonding with the child is better and they feel that they have contributed to the nurturing of the child in the womb.
If you are serious about learning Reiki, check out www.Discover-Reiki.com

Case Study
Ms.R did not want to have a baby. She became pregnant by accident and her pregnancy was diagnosed too late to do anything about it. The Doctors refused to abort the fetus as the pregnancy had gone beyond a six week period and her husband was opposed to the idea and refused consent. She therefore, developed a lot of negativity towards the child. She insisted that “the thing” had taken over her body and was playing havoc with it. “The thing” was constantly moving around and making her uncomfortable, queasy and the laughing stock of all her friends. She refused to go out of the house till she could get “the thing” out of her body and be free of its influence! She would scream at her husband and hold him responsible for the predicament she finds herself in. In the extreme she would threaten to kill “the thing” by piercing her abdomen with a sharp instrument.
Her husband was very worried and desperate. He did not know how to convince her that the baby was a blessing and would bring joy into their lives. He wanted the child and was afraid for his wife. He tried talking to her, convincing her of his love and that the child would bring them closer. She refused to listen. Her mother tried talking her out of her skulks to no avail. She hated the baby and refused to regard it with any kind of open mindedness. When Mr.R had finally given up hope of improving the situation he heard about Reiki from some of his colleagues and decided to try it. However, he was not very sure that he would be able to get his wife to visit the clinic.
One day he dropped in after office hours for a casual chat with me. He wanted to know how Reiki worked and whether we were certain it would work for his wife. Fortunately, there was another pregnant mother at the clinic who had come in with a similar problem and had immensely benefited from the treatment. She volunteered information on how it helped her through the most difficult period of her pregnancy. Mr.R was very hopeful at the end of the discussion and promised to persuade his wife to undertake treatment.
A week later, Mr and Ms R visited the clinic together. It was obvious from the expression on Ms R’s face that she was a reluctant visitor. She was about five months pregnant at that time and very weak and irritable. She was pale and had dark circles under her eyes and there were worry lines cracking up her forehead and corners of her eyes. She held herself very awkwardly and gave an impression that she was trying to pull in her stomach and hide her pregnancy. Her feet were swollen, but she had squeezed them into an over tight shoe in defiance of the swelling. On the whole she appeared uncomfortable, sick and dispirited. I felt that the usual pep talk may not help in her case.
As I was wondering about alternate approaches, Mr.R volunteered “Madam my wife has decided that she will take up your offer and help you with your patients in this clinic. She says she can type up your cases and generally potter around for a week and see how she likes it.” He accompanied this with a wink. I took up his cue and welcomed her and told her how hard pressed we were for help. We would be very grateful to her for whatever help she can extend. The expression in Ms.R’s face lightened slightly. She said a little diffidently, “I thought he was bringing me to some kind of clinic for a checkup. He keeps doing that all the time these days. I am fed up with Doctors and clinics. I don’t mind helping you. It will keep my mind off this “horrible thing” that is destroying my life.” Mr.R looked very distressed. I quickly told him “ Please do leave Jane with us. We will have plenty of work for her. You can pick her up on your way from work. We will take care of her.”
Ms.R spent the next few days with us. Her husband would drop her off in the morning and pick her up in the evening. Initially, she was very diffident with us. As we continued to be friendly and cheerful, she relaxed and accepted us as her friends. We never spoke to her about her reaction to the pregnancy or her attitude to life. We appeared to accept her as she was. This made her feel at home. We gave her the task of gathering basic bio data from the patients and categorizing them according to the problems. We told her to sit in the visitor’s room and chat with the patients who came in so that we could get information about the psychological make up of the patient. She enthusiastically took up the task of questioning the patients with a predefined set of questions. She faithfully recorded their replies and sometimes even identified factors that could be the cause of some particular reaction on the part of the patient.
As the promised week slipped into the next, we could see that she was getting interested in all that we were doing. She asked us if she could continue coming. We expressed our gratitude and told her how helpful she was. She was very pleased and informed her husband that she liked the work and would continue to come for some time.
As the days passed her curiosity got the better of her and she asked some of the attendants on what Reiki was all about and even wondered what it felt like to have Reiki done to you. She began questioning the patients as they left the clinic on their experience with Reiki. At the end of the second week she came to me with a request that she would like Reiki done to her—just to see what it felt like. I agreed and immediately started the treatment. At the end of the session, she was very quiet. When she got ready to leave, I asked her curiously what she thought of Reiki. She said honestly “It was very nice. I feel very energized but confused”. “Confused? Why?” I asked. She thought for a while and replied “I don’t know. I feel peaceful and more positive about life. I was so depressed about my pregnancy and could not think that life would ever be the same again. Now I am not so sure. It will not be the same I know, but I feel ready to accept the change. It is all very strange. Does Reiki do that to you?” So I explained “Reiki is a positive energy. It does help you getter a better perspective on life and a greater grip on situations. I am glad you enjoyed it. Would you like to continue this treatment for some time? It will help you over the physical problems of pregnancy.” She said she needed time to think about it.
The next day when she came in, she said she would like to try the treatment for some time and see how it impacts her physically. We agreed and registered a slot for her on the busy schedule of the day. What followed is history. Her attitude to her pregnancy gradually underwent change. The child ceased to be “the thing” and became “My baby”. She enjoyed the sensation of the baby moving within her. She even began looking forward to the day when the child would be born and she would hold it in her arms. At the end of the month she was thinking up names for her baby. The rest of the pregnancy was spent calling him (she was sure it was a boy) Mark. He soon acquired an identity in her life and she would greet her husband joyfully every evening with reports on what Mark had done to her today. Mr R was overjoyed at the change Reiki had brought into their lives. He could not thank us enough. He enrolled himself and his wife for the first degree and spent the rest of her pregnancy sharing wonderful “Reiki moments together”. Ms.R comes to the clinic often to help us out. Mark now two years old, accompanies her sometimes and is completely spoilt by everyone at the clinic and is given complete license to do what he pleases. We all feel a bond with the child who acquired an identity and personality in the clinic. Ms R and her husband are part of our team and will rush over to the clinic whenever we need additional hands.
Reiki is a gentle energy that brings about transformation of attitudes and even the personality of an individual. Reiki provides the required stimulus to access a different level of awareness and the patient no longer experiences the discomfort and attitudes of the former level of awareness.

Warmest regards,

–Peter Tremayne
Article Alley

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Uteral Malignancy Healed
My workmate Denise was diagnosed with a growth in her uterus. They took blood samples, biopsies, and ultrasounds. They showed a malignancy. She is just twenty-one and has five-year-old twin daughters and is one of the hardest workers I have seen, completing four certificates in tourism and a diploma in youth counseling in the years since having her daughters. She also works full time. I gave her two short treatments of Reiki hands-on and also each night I sent her Reiki. I also asked friends to pray for her and told them we had a month to heal her before the surgery to remove the growth. I also asked Archangel Raphael to heal her.
The surgery was scheduled for this week and she had to go in for a pre-op consultation. They couldn’t find the lump. They redid all the tests and searched and they found a little bit of scar tissue where the lump had been and no further signs in her blood. Thank you to all who became involved and helped this dear girl, and Thank You to Raphael.

–Margaret McGuire
Reiki.Org

Turmeric And It's Healing Properties

Curcuma longa

Also known as Turmeric, is a spice commonly used in curries and other South Asian cuisine.
Turmeric is also used to give a yellow color to some prepared mustards, and other foods (often as a much cheaper replacement for saffron). It makes a poor fabric dye as it is not very lightfast.
Turmeric, a representative of plant genus Curcuma, is a member of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae.
In Ayurvedic medicine, turmeric is thought to have many healthful properties. It is taken in some Asian countries as a dietary supplement, which allegedly helps with stomach problems and other ailments. It is popular as a tea in Okinawa, Japan. It is currently being investigated for possible benefits in Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and liver disorders. It serves as a strong anti-inflammatory, blood purifier, hepatitis, inflammatory bowel diseases, bruises, colic, ulcers, haemorrhages, and yeast infections, antiseptic. It can be used internally and externally to heal wounds, relieve pains in the limbs and break up congestion.
Turmeric makes an excellent arthritis tea.

Turmeric Arthritis Tea Recipe
– ½ tspn Turmeric
– 3 cardamom pods (optional)
– ¼ cup water.
– Simmer 5 to 8 minutes, then add:
– 1 cup of milk
– 2 tbps almond oil (cold pressed)
– Bring just to the boiling point (do not boil).
– Add honey to taste (optional)

Sit back and enjoy!

For more information about Turmeric – Curcuma longa visit Holistic online

Happy sipping! 🙂

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Improve sexual intimacy with Yoga

by Leslie George
Scientists claim to have found the chemical reactions in our brains that cause sexual desire, but seem to know little, if anything, about what causes 21st century sexual dysfunction ?- attraction without affection, passion without tenderness, attachment without closeness, infatuation without love. “What’s missing from our culture,” says Mark Whitwell, the author of Yoga of Heart: The Healing Power of Intimate Connection (Lantern Books, 2004), “is sexual intimacy that is truly loving and healing and gracious from both sides. That’s the only satisfactory sex, the only actual turn-on. The rest is painful.”
Whitwell, who has been teaching yoga for more than 20 years, says practicing yoga can get couples to a place of sexual healing and love. “Normally, couples rush at each other and focus on orgasm, using sex as a stress-release mechanism,” he says. Instead, he claims, sex can be more intimate and loving if both partners commit to a daily 20-minute yoga practice. “You begin to have better sex because you start to feel your whole body. Sex becomes about enjoying your partner as life, as feeling,” he says. “That’s the point.

Leslie George: In your book Yoga of Heart you write that practicing yoga can bring intimate couples closer, which results in better sex. How does it work?

Mark Whitwell: Practicing yoga ?- moving your body to your breath ?- energizes your system, just as a lover does. Your breathing is related to lovemaking in the way that it teaches you to love and feel as a whole body. You feel the intimacy of your own body, breath and life, and that allows you to move with ease into a relationship with another with energy and full participation. It is loving bodily like this that heals the wounds of unlove.

LG:How does breathing create more intimacy?

MW:Inhaling develops your ability to receive, acknowledging your feminine aspects of nurturing, receptivity and softness. Exhaling comes from your base, acknowledging your male quality of strength. The energetic movement of the inhalation moves from above, down the soft front of your body and can be felt through the whole body. The movement of the exhale moves from the base up your back. The downward movement of the inhale merges with the upward movement of the exhale at your heart. When you breathe and move in a yoga practice, you participate in unifying these polarities. Yoga moves the energy in you and makes you more sensitive to your own body and breath. Hatha [a combination of the Sanskrit words for “sun” and “moon”], strength-receiving, the merging of opposites. It brings the opposites within you into balance and has a wonderful and immediate effect. You feel peace, completeness, wholeness, autonomy. Everything you need in life is already given by nature and you feel it. You get the sense you have already been given everything that you neeed.

LG:What are the polarities of life which you talk about in your book?

MW:We each have the full range of female/male, yin/yang qualities in us and yearn to express both. The fact is we are opposites in union in every way. That’s how the universe works. The negative and positive poles, the left and the right, the front and the back, above and below, inner and outer, inhale and exhale, the female and male are all in union as the form of life itself. This is how the universe works. Participating in these polarities, it reveals the heart. Yogic awareness is the heart, not the head. The openness of the whole body reveals the open heart.

LG:What do you mean by “whole body” loving?

MW:That’s when we embrace as the whole body, and everything is in cooperation with everything else. Unlike conventional sex, there is not a focus on the genitals. We embrace from the heart and head as the area of primary focus. The whole body relaxes. The pleasure of making love is in the desiring and the flow of feeling, the circulation of energy between mutual lovers, not in the fulfillment or ending of desire. But, don’t think of this as method, technique or attainment of anything. It is about love. It is about what two bodies do who love each other. Our bodies know what to do.

LG:Besides yoga what are the other ways to create intimacy?

MW: Nothing can replace sincere feeling and heartfelt attention to your lover. A vital part of intimacy is relaxed time together. Make appointments with each other and see that you are practicing your loving. In the context of intimacy, in every kind of play, make love. Do everything that brought you together in the first place ?- your shared interests ?- and make love. Just like yoga practice, it is a very natural discipline of pleasure, but it requires attention. Do your loving; make a tangible physical link. The energy will move.

LG:Why is sexual intimacy so difficult to achieve for many couples?

MW: Many people feel guilty about their sexual need and feel bad about themselves when they have sexual feelings. Guilt must be removed from each person’s desire to feel sexual! We must learn and understand that sexual desire is a good, honest, natural, positive and loving human activity. Sex is a function of the human condition. Experience it and don’t deny it. Let the desire happen. Let us become sensitive to what our bodies feel and become intimate with our bodies as feeling systems. Let us end the suppression around relationship, including and especially sexual intimacy ?- which is yoga.

LG:What’s the best way to begin a yoga practice?

MW: Find a teacher who can adapt a yoga practice to you. Yoga needs to be fitted to exactly who you are. Just remember that yoga should not be a struggle. It should not be obsessive. It should naturally support your life, like a daily shower or breakfast. The only reason to do yoga is for the pleasure, the literal pleasure of your system relaxing and filling with energy.

LG: How do you find a good teacher?

MW: Look for a teacher who practices yoga themselves. Make sure they have a good teacher. And find a teacher who cares about you and is not arbitrarily imposing a standardized practice, philosophy or culture on you. Also, find a teacher who understands and places importance on the breath. You do the postures (asanas) for the breath, not the other way around. Your body’s movement is the breath movement, and the breath movement is the body movement. Let the breath initiate and envelop each movement. It’s true that your inhale and exhale move to and from the core of your body, but your whole body, extending from your spine, also participates in each breath.

Mark Whitwell says he is interested in developing an authentic yoga practice for the individual, based on the teachings of T. Krishnamacharya and his son TKV Desikachar. Whitwell has taught yoga in the United States and abroad for more than 20 years and was the editor and contributor to TKV Desikachar’s classic book, The Heart of Yoga.
Whitwell is the author of Yoga of Heart: The Healing Power of Intimate Connection. For more information, go to YogaofHeart.com

Article taken from iVillage, who recently spoke to M. Whitwell from his home in New Zealand

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Benefits of Aloe Vera

FOR BURNS
Remember what grandma use to say: “that plant is good for everything!”… Keep a potted aloe on your widnow sill. It requires no care, except a weekly watering and, of course, love. For minor burns, snip off a leaf, slit it open and scoop out some gel from the inner leaf. Apply it to the burn.

ALOE VERA AND THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Aloe Vera has been recognised for centuries for its remarkable health-enhancing properties. Although known specifically for external application to the skin, Aloe Juice is now widely used to help a variety of conditions of the digestive tract.
It is important at this stage to stress that, as with any medical condition, a pain in the abdomen should be referred to a medical practitioner in the first instance.
Research work carried out over many years points conclusively to a toxic colon being the cause of a very wide range of illnesses, from minor to very serious. It is widely recognised that problems of the bowel are on the increase with many millions of people suffering a range of conditions including colitis, diverticulitis, Crohn’s disease and spastic colon – this latter condition more commonly known as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
IBS is considered to be the most common of these disorders and symptoms are varied, including exhaustion, lower back pain, constipation, diarrhoea and indigestion. The condition can be most distressing and can continually recur in spite of orthodox treatment.
The digestive tract is designed to ensure nutrients from food are absorbed into the blood stream whilst dispensing with the unwanted waste. Bacteria plays a major role in achieving the breakdown of food matter but, in doing so, also produces toxins. This is perfectly normal and in a healthy system the level of toxins is controlled. Nowadays our diet includes many unwanted substances including various chemicals, fats, insecticides etc. which can result in a high level of toxins, some of which can be poisonous. If these are absorbed into the blood the effect can give rise to a variety of conditions including lethargy and even food poisoning.
The bowel can gradually ‘fur up’ with a lining of unabsorbed food residues. These deposits become impacted and prevent essential nutrients from our diet being absorbed. This situation gives rise to nutrient deficiency which in turn can cause lethargy and exhaustion whilst the affected colon can be the cause of lower abdominal pain, diarrhoea or constipation.
Colonic irrigation is a technique which loosens and washes out these residues. Some practitioners are finding that Aloe Vera Juice, if taken daily for a period of several weeks, helps to ensure that the irrigation process is greatly facilitated. However, it is more usual to find that a regular, daily course of Aloe Vera Juice is sufficient to gently and gradually break down, loosen and assist in the natural dispersal of these residues.
Detoxification also takes place and the results are often most gratifying with reports of ability to enjoy a wider range of foods, relief from pain, reducing or dispensing with prescribed bulking agents or antispasmodic drugs and also a greater feeling of well-being and an improvement in the quality of life.
In establishing a regime of a regular daily dose of Aloe Vera Juice it may not only be found that the effects are gradual, gentle and with no irritant or harmful side effects, but also blood condition will be improved due to Aloe Vera’s ability to detoxify. Also, being a natural healer, any internal ulcers or lesions will be soothed and healing will be enhanced.

ALOE VERA AND ARTHRITIS
Aloe Vera is a stimulant to the immune system, a powerful anti- inflammatory, an analgesic and is able to speed up cell growth. Aloe Vera contains a large number of mucopolysaccharides (basic sugars) which are found in every cell in the body. Aloe also contains large numbers of nutrients including vitamins E, C, B1, 2, 3, and 6 as well as iron, manganese, calcium and zinc. Seven essential amino acids and fatty acids are also found in Aloe Vera.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful, debilitating condition. It manifests itself as stiff, swollen joints with varying degrees of associated pain caused partly due to nerve damage and partly by the pressure of the swollen area.
The swollen area is normally red in colour and described as inflamed. The redness is caused by the blood supply to the ‘damaged’ area being increased.
Conventional treatment includes use of anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids, typically cortisone injections or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These certainly can ease the painful effects but unfortunately do not repair damaged tissues. There can also be undesirable side effects, particularly thinning of the skin and osteoporosis. Although many NSAIDs are available, each one has the potential to cause stomach ulcers.
Repairing damaged tissue by regenerating cells is a function at which Aloe Vera has been shown to be most successful. It not only relieves the painful symptoms but also helps to disperse damaged tissue – a type of detoxification process. Aloe Vera may be taken both internally as a juice or as a gel applied to the painful joint. Here Aloe Vera’s deep penetration may show benefit.
The degree of success with this treatment varies considerably from person to person. With some, relief and improved joint flexibility is virtually immediate – an apparent ‘magical’ cure, whereas in others, the process can take much longer and the degree of recovery may not be so great.
In any event, an important fact must be remembered: Aloe Vera has no known adverse side effects. It is an extract from the leaf of the Aloe Vera plant, known throughout the world where it grows naturally as the ‘First Aid Plant’, the ‘Burn Plant’, the ‘Miracle Plant’ and the ‘Medicine Plant’.

for more info on Aloe see Positive Health

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Gardening -Why getting down and dirty feels so good

“It’s a great source of exercise, not to mention nutrition”, experts say!

You may not be able to tear your boss’ hair out — but you can snatch the weeds from your flowerbeds.
You may not have the desire to schlep to your gym’s power-lift class — but you can lug bags of soil and push your wheelbarrow around.
You may not be able to dictate what your office looks like, but you can have flowers and trees in your yard that directly reflect your personality.
And then there’s the control — all those little plant lives are in your hands.
With warmer weather here, more people are charging into their yards and gardens, or maybe thinking about it.
And health experts couldn’t be happier.
There are oodles of benefits — both physical and mental — that come from the range of activities associated with gardening.
The most obvious benefit is exercise, said Dr. Julie Roth of the Wellness Institute at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. And anyone who has planted trees, created a flowerbed from bare lawn or hauled slate to design a walking path will tell you that dominating Mother Nature is hard work.
“It’s going to give you a good way to burn calories that’s an enjoyable activity for most people,” Roth said, adding that studies show that working in your yard or garden can burn between 250 calories and 500 calories an hour, depending on your level of activity.
Diane Relf, a professor emeritus with Virginia Tech’s Department of Horticulture, said trimming shrubs or trees requires about the same amount of exertion as walking at a moderate pace. Raking the lawn takes as much energy as a leisurely bike ride or water aerobics. And mowing the lawn with a push mower or tilling a garden can equal the exertion you would expend swimming laps, she said.
“Gardening is moderate — and sometimes strenuous — exercise that incorporates many important elements of accepted exercise regimes, such as stretching and stance, repetition and movement,” Relf said. “Some gardening even involves resistance principles similar to weight training.”
And while some people just can’t bring themselves to climb on a treadmill for an hour, it might help to know that when you “feel the burn” in your garden, you’ve actually produced something in the end — besides a toned backside.
Beyond physical exertion, gardening also offers a level of serenity that can help a person’s mental health, experts said.
“For a lot of people, it’s a very soothing activity,” Roth said. “You’re out in nature, which is a very soothing location. You can turn on whatever music you want. It’s a good way to break away from the daily rigor we all go through.”
Relf said just spending time in your garden can provide health benefits.
She noted a study from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City that found that women recovering from breast-cancer surgery discovered that walks in the garden helped restore their ability to concentrate and reduce their depression.
“After a hard, tense day at the office, a slow cruise around the yard will do wonders to restore your perspective,” Relf said. “As you discover seedlings emerging, flower buds opening, even the damage of the tomato hornworm, you forget about the day’s worries.”
And don’t underestimate the stress relief that comes from spending time outdoors after driving your desk in an office all day.
There are several theories why time spent gardening is so soothing, Relf said.
It might be that plants provide a simple aesthetic joy, or that people are responding to ingrained psychological and physical cues borne of thousands of years of evolution. It also may be that caring for plants satisfies the human instinct to nurture and provide support, rewarding good gardeners with colorful and fragrant flowers or luscious, ripe fruits and vegetables.
Which leads to the last reason why gardening is such a health activity — when it’s all said and done, you benefit from a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables.
“It gives you direct access to healthy food,” Roth said. “Whatever you put in there, one way or another, it’s going to be good for you.”

by Anne Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

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