Health & Wellbeing Archives - Page 8 of 9

How to Change the World

In a previous post, I alluded to the idea that what we experience is a kind of echo of our inner world. In this post, I would like to explore this idea a little further.

Those who act on the world never, I notice, succeed. The world is a strange instrument, not meant to be handled.

This stanza from the Tao Te Ching suggests that to attempt to change the world is never a wise thing to do. Of course, people try to control the world all the time – we try to control our kids, our parents, our spouses, our careers, our health … this list goes on.

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The Essential Guide to Stress Relief

By Aaron Gaul / 53 Comments

Stress is bad, right? Or is it good? Well, if you talk to the experts, they’ll say both are true. You need some stress to just get out of bed in the morning. And when you drive to work in your car, you need stress to stay alert and respond to what is in front of you. So stress has its place. But what if a high level of stress goes on and on? The doctors tell us that ongoing stress becomes Chronic Stress. Chronic Stress is bad news. It shuts down your immune system so you are susceptible to illness, and it robs you of a good night’s sleep.

Fortunately there is a solution. The key is to learn how to inhibit the Stress Response and enter into the Rest Response. If you want to change your stressful-ways, you need to develop and use new stress relief skills. Learn the techniques to direct your mind and body away from stress and into a restful state. Notice I said, “Learn.” That is because stress is automatic; it comes with the human operating system. However, rest and relaxation need to be learned and practiced — they do not come naturally.

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The Illusion of Time

By Patrick Mathieu / 22 Comments

On October 10th, 2006, at the age of 36, I suffered a stroke. Thankfully, it wasn’t a major stroke and I was able to make a full recovery after spending a week in the hospital!

In the weeks that followed, I can’t count how many times I heard the phrase:

“But you’re too young to have a stroke!”

My answer to this was always the same:

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7 Foods That Make You Happier

By Mary Ward / 15 Comments

Our mood can affect everything in our daily life. When we’re in a bad mood or depressed, we don’t feel like ourselves and we have a hard time concentrating or just making it through the day. When we’re happy, we feel on top of the world and ready to take on anything. The food we eat can have a great impact on our mood, and if you want to look and feel good then you need to be sure to include some of the foods that will naturally lift your spirits. Here we look at several foods that are sure to raise our spirits and make us feel happier overall.

1. Milk: those foods that are rich in calcium will naturally help to boost our spirits. Those that suffer from depression are told to take a calcium and Vitamin D supplement, and the good news is that 1-2 glasses of milk a day can be a natural mood booster that can help a person to feel happier and more productive.

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The Beauty of Breathing

By Stephen Cox / 13 Comments

Breathing is the one thing we all do the moment we emerge into the world and it’ll be the last thing we all do right before we leave. Breathing as we all know is a constant necessity for continued physical existence. We must all breathe a number of times a minute and when you take a moment to consider the beauty of breathing a number of important facts become readily apparent and can act as a grounding force to bring you back from being caught up in day-to-day trivialities.

For instance, when I contemplate breathing the very first thing that strikes me is how very interdependent the whole process is. The breath is actually the main method of waste disposal used by our bodies. We expel what to our bodies are toxins and take in what we need to live. The toxins we expel are used by other organic life forms such as plants and they in turn expel the oxygen we need to live. The deeply interconnected and lovingly symbiotic relationship is there for each of us to see and fully experience each and every moment.

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Learning To Listen To Our Inner Wisdom

By Christopher R. Edgar / 18 Comments

One of the most disturbing things in my life right now is that I know several people who feel the need to drug themselves in order to go to work. In the morning, they drink, use prescription drugs, or even take painkillers or sedatives to make sure they stay composed, and keep themselves from having “emotional outbursts,” while in the office. Without a little something to take the edge off, they don’t feel like they could function.

These may sound like extreme examples, but in some way most of us are “taking the edge off” to deal with the stresses of working and other aspects of our lives. When we get home, for instance, most of us immediately turn on the computer, radio or TV, craving an escape from the anger, fear or despair we experience in our working lives. Like “hard drugs,” these activities temporarily distract us from, or numb us to, how we’re feeling. The fact that most of us do this in the evening to “wind down,” as opposed to doing it in the morning to “gear up,” doesn’t seem like a very meaningful distinction to me.

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The 4 Worst Energy Zappers in Your Life

By Stephen Cox / 33 Comments

When I was 20 I caught the Epstein Barr virus which eventually resulted in debilitating chronic fatigue. At the height of my war with chronic fatigue it was like my life was over. I slept 17 hours a day and barely left my room during the rest of the time. It took a long time and a lot off effort and fantastic support for me to finally become well again.

I only tell you this because I want you to know that I have extensive personal experience with the phenomena of fatigue in terms of experimenting and listening to my body. My practical experience has taught me what makes fatigue worse and what helps overcome fatigue. Today I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned so that you can avoid certain key energy zappers and, I hope, improve the quality of your life.

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The Connection Between Health and Personal Growth

By Stephen Cox / 8 Comments

“Your body is precious. It is your vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care” – Buddha

It was Aristotle who made the students in his philosophy school train with the wrestlers and other Olympic athletes. The legendary Indian monk Bodhidharma, who traveled to China to teach Buddhism, is credited with being the source of the famous muscle tendon change and bone marrow washing classics. The exercises contained within the two classics are said to aid physical strength, health and wellbeing.

Today we can learn from the examples set by two of the worlds wisest and most lauded thinkers. Many people – such as those who believe in the Law of Attraction – believe we are what we think. I agree, however I also believe some take this thinking too far in rejecting the old adage that we are what we eat. To reject this adage, to my mind, is to fall into an extreme view.

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Change Your Thinking, Change Your Fitness

By Scott Bird / 10 Comments

In 1952 a young English runner named Roger Gilbert Bannister found himself in the 1500m final. The race was to prove one of the most dramatic in Olympic history, and the outcome was not decided until the final metres. Bannister finished a disappointing fourth. Over the next two months Bannister considered a number of dramatic changes to his training; and even the idea of giving up running altogether. To say he was frustrated is an understatement. Ultimately, he decided on a new goal – he would run a mile in less than four minutes. At that time, nobody had ever achieved this. In fact, this was several seconds faster than the world record. Over the next couple of years he gradually took slices off his times. By the start of 1954 he was running a mile in just over 4min2secs. The day that was to change his life came in May 1954, during a meet in Oxford. In front of 3,000 incredulous spectators, Bannister ran the mile in 3min 59.4sec. He had finally done it.

A new way of thinking

The astonishing part is not just Bannister’s achievement (although that’s a big thing in itself); it’s how quickly other runners were breaking the same barrier. Just 46 days later – in a meet in Turku, Finland – Australian John Landy broke the record with a 3m57.9s . Others soon followed. This to me outlines the power of a mental barrier to limit goals; particularly when it comes to fitness. The fact that something hasn’t been done certainly doesn’t mean it can’t be done. It also highlights the importance of putting hard numbers in the goal. Whenever I’ve tried to ‘lose a few kilos’, ‘increase my overall strength’, ‘run without gasping for breath’ I’ve seen slight improvements at best. Aiming to ‘lose 10kg’, ‘deadlift 200kg’ etc has proven far more effective.

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Kitchen Success: How to Plan for Body Transformation

By Scott Bird / 17 Comments

If you’ve ever tried a bit of body transformation (losing weight, gaining weight, redistributing it), you know what it’s like. It can be a frustrating, disheartening process. Still, it doesn’t have to be that way. As with anything, a bit of preparation makes all the difference. No matter what your body transformation goals are, here are the components of kitchen success.

Clean out the cupboard

You know what it’s like. You’ve been sticking to the plan for a while now, eating healthy meals and steering clear of the bad stuff. One day you notice a lonely packet of potato chips in the back of the cupboard, and it’s game on. Before you know it you’re scouring the room for the simplest, tastiest ready-made snack you can find. Solution : clean out the cupboards before you start, and remove anything which doesn’t fit in with your intended eating plan. No need to go overboard here, just get rid of the obvious ‘shouldn’t have’ items. NB : if you’re sharing the kitchen with others, just put your food – as much as possible – in a separate place.

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Infinite Possibility, Infinite Flow

By Mark David Gerson / 20 Comments

In recent weeks, several friends who are experiencing financial challenges have posed this question to me:

Why is that so many aspects of my life seem to be flowing, but when it comes to money, I feel so stuck?

Or,

Why is it that when I’m meditating, creating, writing or “in the zone,” I feel alive and vibrant, as though I’m living at the highest of frequencies, but when it comes to finances, I come crashing back to earth?

These are important questions and the answers are both simple and complex.

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