Dr Mark Hyman podcast interview with Kelly Noonan Gores on The HEAL Podcast

 This  has such Great information, I had to share it! 

Here is the description from Kelly's The HEAL Podcast:

Dr. Mark Hyman is a practicing family physician and an internationally recognized leader, speaker, 14 times New York Times bestselling author, educator, and advocate in the field of Functional Medicine. He has devoted his life to helping others discover optimal health by addressing the root causes of chronic disease through the power of functional medicine. Dr. Hyman believes that our biggest risk factor for disease, disability, and death is our diet, with the western diet being among the most detrimental to our health.

Today, I sit with Dr. Hyman to discuss his latest book, The Pegan Diet and how food is medicine, which can heal or harm. We break down the issues with dairy, wheat, and meat, and delve into many of the common misconceptions surrounding food as a whole. By making the right choices in our food (which can be done on a budget!) we can reverse chronic disease and heal our bodies, ultimately inviting us to see and use our local grocery store as a FARMACY.

Straw Bale Gardening

In my humble opinion, the best way to know what you're eating is to grow it yourself. I've had flower gardens for decades, and have been growing vegetables for about seven or eight years now. Not always successfully, I admit, but for every thing that does not work, I learn how to do it differently and try new things. 

Some years, I've had patio or balcony gardens with everything growing in pots, some years I've had in-ground gardens. I have wanted to try this straw bale technique for a while. Maybe next year! 

 

 Latest edition of Joel Karsten's book.

 

Joel Karsten's website

Straw Bale Garden Club

Resonant Frequency Breathing Promotes Wellness

This is a short (demo) version of a breathing exercise used in our research studies to train the participants to breathe at near resonant frequency (6 bpm) with both visual and audio aids.... You may try this technique when you feel nervous, stressed or anxious, or just want to relax. This program is based on the findings from studies of heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback, and the longer version (15 to 20 min) has been used in clinical studies of treatment of hypertension, panic, asthma, major depression, fibromyalgia, and anxiety disorders....

- Dr Kevin Chen

Pharma Not in Business of Health, Healing, Cures, Wellness

Something I've been saying for years; medicine in the US is not about wellness, it's about selling drugs that don't cure anything, just mask symptoms while they cause even more due to detrimental side effects. Here's a lady who was on the inside, speaking out on the secrets of a pharmaceutical saleswoman.

'Green' exercise quickly 'boosts mental health'

This is a reprint from BBC News. The original may be found at

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8654350.stm

Of course this makes a lot of sense! Getting outside into fresh air and sunshine (without the sunscreen, if you please!) is wonderfully uplifiting mentally, not to mention all the great things it does for you physically.

Mentally, the quiet alone reduces stress and worry reducing levels of stress hormones, and the sounds of the birds and animals is enjoyful which raises levels of good hormones. Just breathing fresh air is uplifting! Water sounds are always soothing - they often take us back to that primal water sound we were so comforted by in the womb. 

Physically, natural Vitamin D from sunshine supports many health functions in the body, and fresh air can do worlds of good in making sure your body is properly oxygenated.

Can you imagine just how great it would be to meditate or do qigong (Chinese moving yoga) in a beautiful, restful outdoor setting?! It sure would do a lot more than "boost mental health"!

Enjoy the article!

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Just five minutes of exercise in a "green space" such as a park can boost mental health, researchers claim.

There is growing evidence that combining activities such as walking or cycling with nature boosts well-being.

In the latest analysis, UK researchers looked at evidence from 1,250 people in 10 studies and found fast improvements in mood and self-esteem.

The study in the Environmental Science and Technology journal suggested the strongest impact was on young people.

The research looked at many different outdoor activities including walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming in locations such as a park, garden or nature trail.

The biggest effect was seen within just five minutes.

With longer periods of time exercising in a green environment, the positive effects were clearly apparent but were of a smaller magnitude, the study found.

Looking at men and women of different ages, the researchers found the health changes - physical and mental - were particularly strong in the young and the mentally-ill.

Green and blue

A bigger effect was seen with exercise in an area that also contained water - such as a lake or river.

Study leader Jules Pretty, a researcher at the University of Essex, said those who were generally inactive, or stressed, or with mental illness would probably benefit the most from "green exercise".

"Employers, for example, could encourage staff in stressful workplaces to take a short walk at lunchtime in the nearest park to improve mental health."

He also said exercise programmes outdoors could benefit youth offenders.

"A challenge for policy makers is that policy recommendations on physical activity are easily stated but rarely adopted widely."

Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, said the research is yet further evidence that even a short period of green exercise can provide a low cost and drug-free therapy to help improve mental wellbeing.

"It's important that people experiencing depression can be given the option of a range of treatments, and we would like to see all doctors considering exercise as a treatment where appropriate."

Mind runs a grant scheme for local environmental projects to help people with mental illness get involved in outdoor activities.

Statin Crazy: Don't Be Duped by Their Newest "Benefit"

It is known, though not well known, that one of the reasons your liver makes and sends additional cholesterol to accumulate in your arteries is because there is potential arterial damage afoot. Cholesterol acts like a bandage on an area of arterial inflammation. Removing cholesterol without addressing the cause of inflammation is like removing the bandage from an open wound leaving it vulnerable. (By the way, typically, you ingest 20% or less of your cholesterol from food. If your cholesterol is high, one of the reasons could be because your liver is working to protect your arteries. Statin drugs subvert the normal, natural function of your liver as it works to protect your arteries.)

Here, briefly, is how statin drugs work. The following paragraph was taken from an interview posted at the Mayo Clinic website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/statin-drugs/CL00035 with Mayo Clinic cardiologist Gerald Gau, M.D.

"Dr. Gau: Statins work directly in the liver. There is a system in our liver that produces cholesterol. Cholesterol is necessary in our body, and the statin mechanism, it creates bile — it's one of the mechanisms of bile creation — and bile is necessary in our digestion and absorption. So the liver makes cholesterol to make this happen. It can also remove cholesterol from the blood for this purpose. Statins work by attacking in the liver the enzyme system that produces the cholesterol in the liver. And that forces the liver cells to pull it from the blood and thereby lowers your cholesterol. And so our cholesterol comes down because we stop the production in the liver."

I ask you, Is this what God and Nature intended? Sure isn't holistic, and sure hasn't addressed the reason for the high cholesterol in the first place, and sure has not admitted that high cholesterol really is not a marker for heart disease anyway (see information from the Framingham Study http://bewellwithmichelle.blogspot.com/2009/03/high-cholesterol-from-your-food-not.html ), and that the side-effects of the drugs can be worse than having high cholesterol.

There is an enormous mound of misinformation on the high-cholesterol vs statin-drug topic, and I hope that the article below will help clear up some of those points. Enjoy!

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Statin Crazy: Don't Be Duped by Their Newest "Benefit"

Reprinted from Bottom Line Secrets newsletter of March 26, 2010

By Mark A. Stengler, NMD
La Jolla Whole Health Clinic

Statins have gotten a lot of press. Researchers made headlines when they found that rosuvastatin (Crestor), a cholesterol-lowering drug, reduced the risk for heart attack and stroke in people who had normal cholesterol and high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a sign of inflammation. The recent JUPITER trial (which stands for Justification for the Use of Statins in Primary Prevention: An Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin) was lauded as a breakthrough. The findings were found to be so positive that the trial was cut short -- to allow even the placebo group to receive the purported cardiovascular benefits of the drug. We are accustomed to thinking about statins in terms of lowering cholesterol, but this study caused some cardiologists to think statins -- already a best-selling class of drugs -- should be prescribed even more widely.

Ready to get a prescription? Hold on. In my opinion, the researchers duped other doctors and their patients. In terms of statistics, Crestor did reduce the risk for a heart attack or stroke by half, but in terms of real-world risk, only one person out of 120 actually would benefit from the drug as the trial indicated. Worse, 25% more patients taking Crestor developed type 2 diabetes compared with the placebo group, a fact that was not widely reported.

If there is anything useful resulting from this study, it is that mainstream medicine recognized the importance of CRP and the role of inflammation in heart disease. This is a topic that holistic physicians have been talking about for years. I wrote about inflammation and heart disease in the very first issue of Bottom Line Natural Healing back in 2005.

Statins may reduce symptoms of heart disease by lowering cholesterol and inflammation, but they do not address the source of the inflammation, as natural therapies do. Although statins have a place in the conventional treatment of patients, including those with a history of heart attack or very high CRP levels, they are expensive -- costing hundreds of dollars a year -- and can cause serious side effects, such as muscle pain and damage, fatigue, liver and kidney damage, diabetes and memory impairment. They may even increase cancer risk.

Important: Most of us can lower CRP levels naturally by losing weight if we need to and by exercising if we don’t already do so. But perhaps the most powerful factor influencing inflammation is what we eat. We also can supplement with specific nutrients to further reduce inflammation.


The Inflammation Connection

About 10 years ago, Harvard University physicians demonstrated that chronic low-grade inflammation throughout the body could damage blood vessels and was a better indicator of risk for cardiovascular disease than cholesterol. The researchers developed a laboratory test for CRP to measure low-grade inflammation in the body. An elevated CRP level doesn’t just affect the heart. It hurts the whole body. Several years ago, a health author whom I know and respect, Jack Challem, wrote The Inflammation Syndrome. He described how "every disease, every ache and every pain... revolves around inflammation... " and how many inflammatory diseases are related to one another. For example, having periodontal disease (which inflames the gums) or rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis increases heart disease risk. Similarly, being overweight or having type 2 diabetes increases CRP levels and heart disease risk.


Diet Comes first

To reduce inflammation, it’s best to start with what you eat. Your body makes both inflammation-promoting and inflammation-fighting substances called eicosanoids, compounds derived mostly from the fats you eat. Consuming a lot of sweets and unhealthful oils, such as corn, safflower and soybean oils, and trans fats found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils ramps up the body’s inflammatory eicosanoids. In other words, junk food increases inflammation.

However, if you consume fish (the best choices are cold-water types, including salmon, trout and sardines), free-range meats and health-promoting cooking oils (such as extra-virgin olive oil, macadamia nut oil and avocado oil), you can increase your body’s production of anti-inflammatory eicosanoids. Eating a lot of vegetables, such as romaine lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower, and fruits, such as blueberries, raspberries and kiwifruit, also helps maintain normal CRP levels. These foods are high in fiber and rich in antioxidants, nutrients that neutralize harmful molecules called free radicals.

Make sure that the vast majority of foods you eat are fresh -- not out of a box, can or jar. You’ll be avoiding packaged foods, most of which have been adulterated with added sugars, salt, refined carbohydrates and unhealthful fats.


Supplements THAT HELP

For many people, healthful eating habits are not enough to lower CRP levels. Some of my patients have greater needs for specific anti-inflammatory nutrients.

First step: Insist that your doctor measure your CRP level annually. Ask for the high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) test, the newest form of the test. It’s a simple blood test and relatively inexpensive (about $25 to $50). Some insurers will cover the test.

Multivitamin. Several studies have found that taking a multivitamin can lead to impressive reductions in CRP. One study conducted at the Cooper Institute in Dallas showed that a daily multivitamin lowered CRP by 14% after six months.

Many individual vitamins, including vitamins C and E, have been shown to reduce CRP. Niacin (a form of vitamin B-3) also lowers CRP.

Important: While many individual vitamins are beneficial, I recommend a multivitamin because it contains numerous vitamins that can reduce inflammation.


Omega-3 fish oils. The omega-3s form the biochemical basis of some of the body’s anti-inflammatory eicosanoids. They benefit cardiovascular health in a number of ways, including mildly thinning the blood, slowing the heart rate, lowering levels of triglycerides and improving blood vessel flexibility. Look for fish oil that contains both eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

One good choice: Krill oil, a type of fish oil made from shrimplike crustaceans. Krill oil contains the antioxidant astaxanthin, which also is good for the heart.


Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). This essential fatty acid in plant oil is the principal anti-inflammatory compound in the omega-6 family of fats. It works by shifting a major part of the omega-6 biochemistry from inflammatory to anti-inflammatory activity. In the process, it increases production of anti-inflammatory eicosanoids. GLA and fish oils are synergistic -- they work better together than either on its own.


Curcumin. This extract of the spice turmeric, common in South Asian cuisines, blocks inflammation. More than 2,000 studies have documented the benefits of curcumin for such inflammatory diseases as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. It also may prevent cardiac hypertrophy, a type of enlarged heart. Given the anti-inflammatory nature of curcumin, research is likely to uncover more heart-healthy benefits.


Pycnogenol. This proprietary ingredient, extracted from the bark of French maritime pine trees, has powerful anti-inflammatory effects. It has been shown to improve circulation, to work as a mild blood thinner and to reduce the need for angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor drugs that are used to treat high blood pressure and congestive heart failure.


Vitamin D. Half of Americans are deficient in vitamin D. A recent study in Archives of Internal Medicine found that men with low vitamin D levels were two and one-half times more likely to die during the next eight years than those with the highest levels.


Red yeast rice extract. This is one of my favorite supplements because it can lower levels of CRP and LDL (bad) cholesterol. It is sold at most health-food stores and contains trace levels of a naturally occurring statin compound. In these small quantities -- a fraction of what’s in drugs -- statins are safe. Studies have found that red yeast rice extract can lower CRP levels by up to 50%. Statins (perhaps even natural ones, such as red yeast rice extract) are known to deplete coenzyme Q10, an antioxidant necessary for heart health. If you take red yeast rice extract, supplement daily with 100 mg of coenzyme Q10.


About the author:Mark A. Stengler, NMD, a naturopathic medical doctor and leading authority on the practice of alternative and integrated medicine. He is editor of Bottom Line’s Natural Healing newsletter, author of The Natural Physician’s Healing Therapies (Bottom Line Books), director of the La Jolla Whole Health Clinic in La Jolla, California, and adjunct clinical professor at the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. To learn more about his work, visit www.drstengler.com and www.lajollawholehealth.com.

Creative Health Tip February 22 2010 Intuition

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So much is written about intuitive healing these days; you can buy dozens of books telling you how good and effective it is, and visit intuitive healers who will tell you what you need to do to be healthy. What I find humorous (and somewhat sad) about all this is that you are told you must consult someone else's intuition when it is your own you should be cultivating and listening to!

The following is a true and somewhat scary story, but it illustrates the importance of listening to your intuition for your good health and wellbeing. This incident occurred about a year ago to the friend of my friend.

My friend's friend – I'll call her Mary – experienced the accumulation of fluid in her body. She had what was thought to be a seizure and was taken to the hospital where the doctor wanted to perform a CAT scan. At first, Mary refused to recline on the bed of the machine. She had very strong feelings that if she did, she would die. She told the doctor this, and argued with him for almost an hour before he finally convinced her that she was in the hospital, she would be safe. Against her intuition, Mary reclined on the bed of the machine and immediately died. Luckily, the doctor was able to revive her, and she is presently recovering from her illness.

Your experiences with intuition may not be as dramatic as Mary's but they are every bit as important if you are to live in harmony which cultivates happiness which creates health in the physical world.

Knowledge of yourself is not something you must be taught, it is something you can sense. Mary didn't study medical books to learn that she would be in danger if she reclined on the bed of the CAT scan machine. Her intuition told her, and it was right on; she knew her life would be jeopardized if she reclined on the bed, but she was talked out of listening to that intuitive inner voice and almost paid a dire consequence.

The more you learn, academically speaking, the more you become separate from inner knowledge. In fact, you are often taught that intuition is false and unreliable, a teaching to which I think Mary in the hospital would most vehemently disagree! Your most important lessons come from observing nature, both inner and outer, and living in harmony with yourself and all that surrounds you.

When calm and connected, your mind works for the health of your body, not to mention seeking harmony with your surroundings, through the process of intuition, knowledge of nature and natural process without instruction.

Your emotions manifest in the physical world, and for good or ill, your ongoing emotional state will eventually be reflected in your physical body. In order to be physically healthy, you must first cultivate mental and spiritual calmness and harmony and one way to do that is to listen to your intuition. It will always steer you down the path that leads to health and wellness.

Creative Health Tip January 25 2010 Beliefs and Creative Power

I have a couple of quotes today to share about your power to create your health.

First is Napoleon Hill from the book Think and Grow Rich. He said, "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve."

How many of you believe that statement as you apply it to cars, homes, jobs, or relationships? I imagine most of you do.

How many of you believe that statement as you apply it to your physical body, to your health and wellbeing? Not as many, I'll bet.

You have been indoctrinated to believe that your mind has no power over your body. Now, I know the word "indoctrinated" carries a negative connotation, but all it means is: "to instruct in a doctrine, principle, ideology, etc., esp. to imbue with a specific partisan or biased belief or point of view." (Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.)

You have been taught from infancy that your body operates on its own power and own agenda, and you don't really have a lot to say about it. That is a pretty biased belief, and nothing could be further from the truth.

It has been proven that your thoughts and emotions can control which of your genes is turned on and off, thereby controlling the expression of any at-risk genetic tendencies like heart disease, osteoporosis, and cancer. Basically, this means that if you are at risk for any disease that is linked to genetic traits or "runs in families," you can control whether that disease manifests or not.

For more information, see my post "You Control Your Genes, Your Genes Don't Control You" http://portal2creativehealth.blogspot.com/2009/09/you-control-your-genes-your-genes-dont.html

We hear about medical miracles every day: how a woman with mortally traumatic injuries recovers to walk and talk again after being told she might not survive her injuries; how cancer spontaneously goes into remission after a person has an experience that changes his or her whole outlook on life. There are even stories of children who have lost a limb and that limb has begun to grow back until they hear their parents being told, "Your child isn't re-growing a limb, that's not possible, they can't do that!" Not knowing any better, the child accepts that doctrine as the truth, and the belief is set.

That brings us to the second quote in today's Creative Health Tip that tells you that your only limitation to healing is your beliefs.

This quote is from the Daily Quote emailed from the Abraham-Hicks Publications. You may subscribe to the Daily Quote on this webpage:
http://www.abraham-hicks.com/lawofattractionsource/dqsubscribe.php

The Daily Quote for January 24, 2010 reads:

Someone asked us recently, "Is there any limitation to the body's ability to heal?" And we said, "None other than the belief that you hold." And he said, "Then why aren't people growing new limbs?" And we said, "Because no one believes that they can."
--- Abraham

Excerpted from the workshop in San Rafael, CA on Saturday, February 27th, 1999 #329

Our Love,
Jerry and Esther

©1997-2009 Abraham-Hicks Publications.


Science is discovering this very thing. We know that you can lose 75% of your liver and it will grow back. It once was believed that if you lost a portion of your brain, you were out of luck. We now know that brain cells grow back. A doctor in India discovered that heart cells grow back, too. (See link to article below.)

There is an article on the CBS News website (see link below) that in part says, "Dr. Atala, one of the pioneers of regeneration, believes every type of tissue already has cells ready to regenerate if only researchers can prod them into action. Sometimes that prodding can look like science fiction.

"Emerging from an everyday ink jet printer is the heart of a mouse. Mouse heart cells go into the ink cartridge and are then sprayed down in a heart shaped pattern layer by layer.

"Dr. Atala believes it's a matter of time before someone grows a human heart.

""The cells have all the genetic information necessary to make new tissue," Atala explained. "That's what they are programmed to do. So your heart cells are programmed to make more heart tissue, your bladder cells are programmed to make more bladder cells.""

In my opinion, what the doctors and scientists have not yet figured out is that you don't need technology nor any sort of intervention to prod your cells to regenerate. The Abraham-Hicks quote has told you how to do it: all you need is the belief that you can!




Heart Cells Grow Back:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life/health-fitness/Heart-cells-grow-back-finds-Indian-doctor/articleshow/4352633.cms

Medicine's Cutting Edge: Re-Growing Organs
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/22/sunday/main3960219.shtml

Creative Health Tip November 16 2009

Today's tip is about using Imagination and Inspiration

Do you realize that there isn't one thing we have today that was not first created in someone's imagination. Just think about that for a minute…..every single man-made thing we have, from spoons and forks to space shuttles, started as a gleam in someone's eye! Here is the best part: once the eye "saw" the creation, the mind opened to the inspiration of how to accomplish the idea or manifest the project.

I call this the "Ah-ha! Instruction Manual." It's the inspiration that delivers into your mind all the diagrams and instructions on how to manifest your idea into physical reality.

You can do this with wellness, too. Your body is the creation of your mind and emotions.

Use this creative connection to spend time every day imagining your increasing wellness. I do not advise trying to go from where you are, presuming you are unwell, to imagining perfect health. For one thing, there really isn't any such thing as "perfect health!" Every moment of the day, your body is regenerating, disposing of used cells, creating new ones, and your immune system is working to protect you from whatever bacteria or virus you've just been exposed. You never reach perfection; health and wellness is an ongoing process!

So, each day, spend time using your imagination to create wellness. You may even use a statement or affirmation that you repeat (and say it out loud, please!) that goes something like, "Every day, I feel happier and become more healthy and strong." Repeating your statement out loud gives it even more power and believability than just reading it.

Here is the Inspiration part: once you have made this statement and commitment to your wellness, it will "suddenly occur" to you to do things. This may include changing your diet to organic foods, or eliminating dairy, or eating more whole grains. You may also be inspired to start walking outdoors for 15 or 30 minutes a day, or to go swimming twice a week, or visit with friends more often, go to lectures at the library, or engage in some other activity you enjoy, some activity that makes you Happy!

I stress happy because feelings are a crucial aspect of how this Imagination/Inspiration program works and how you create wellness. You simply can't create wellness when you are feeling fear, depression, anger or other negative emotions. When you feel unhappy, your body reacts with stress which immediately undermines the immune system and produces a host of other unhealthy physical reactions. Happiness restores immune system strength and helps your body to engage in health-restoring activities, both inner activities like the increase of revitalizing hormones, and outer activities like choosing good nutrition and lifestyle habits.

For a little while every day, remember to use your imagination to create wellness, and let inspiration be your guide on how to there from here!

Creative Health Tip November 2 2009

This article about Tonglen was originally published on one of my blogs back in January 2007, but I have known of and have successfully used the practice since 2005.

Tonglen is an ancient healing practice that is getting some much-deserved publicity these days and deserves another “day in the sun” here. Though I wrote this over a three and a half years ago, and originally sent it to an email group I once belonged to, I do continue to use the practice when in need of self-healing. I hope you find it useful!

Tonglen (sometimes spelled "tonglin" for folks who would like to do some research of their own) is apparently a practice that comes to us from Tibet.

It is practiced entirely through breathing. As the fellow in the book (cited below) says, "If you can breathe in and out, you can practice tonglin."

As you inhale, you think of people you want to help who are suffering. You can visualize those people if you know them, or think of their names and locations if you do not. You may work on specific problems, or do general work.

As you think of them, you inhale and bring into yourself their pain and suffering. Do not worry that you will somehow be contaminated by their problems; you will transform and exhale the problems almost immediately.

You exhale, and send with the outgoing breath healing, relief, or compassion. (Compassion is one of the most powerful emotions in the universe.) When you exhale, imagine and see your breath as flowing expansively outward, reaching all the people whom you are trying to help.

It's not a forceful practice (you don't "suck in" as much air as you can and then force it across the room as you exhale), but it is deliberate; you should pay attention to each inhale and exhale, and breathe with the intention and purpose of accepting suffering of, and sending healing to, others.

And here is a very interesting point about this practice if you are doing it for yourself. If you can breathe in the suffering and pain of other people who are experiencing the same thing as you, you are sharing the burden of your suffering and thereby reducing it ("a burden shared is a burden lessened" as they say). As you breathe out healing, you heal not only others with the same affliction, but yourself.

I believe the key here is to set aside the "I" and merge with the "us." It is not recommended that you work on just yourself; you should include others who are experiencing the same thing you are. You need not do this on an individual or personal basis (you may not know the name or location of a person with the same problem), but there are 6 billion people in the world today: whatever you are experiencing, you are certainly not alone.

To work on yourself, when you inhale, say or think or intend something like "I breathe in the suffering of all of us who have a pain in their left arm" (or whatever your problem is.) Your problem need not be physical, this practice may be used to relieve anger, sadness, grief, or other emotions.). Exhale and say/think/intend "I offer (or send) healing to all of us."

If, at the end of your practice for the day or session, you should feel that you are still connected to someone else's suffering or problems, disconnect by saying "I am done now," or simply "Good-bye!" Repeat if necessary. (Sometimes, if we are working on an emotional problem that triggers us, it will bring up troubling things which we must dismiss for the time being. You could always work on it again during another healing session if needed.)

FYI, I learned about this in a book by Andrew Weiss titled Beginning Mindfulness, New World Library, Novato CA, 2004, ISBN 1577314417. The book presents a ten-week mindfulness course, and the practice for the tenth week is tonglen. There is a Buddhist slant to the material, but the author incorporates other practices as well.

A couple of anecdotal stories:

I used the tonglen method four days ago (Thur, Apr 14, 2005) on my arm; I have carpal tunnel, and have had pain of one kind or another in my hands every day for the past three years. (I am having massage therapy for the condition. That helps quite a bit, but sometimes I move the wrong way, or grasp something the wrong way, and it aggravates the condition.) The other day, my left arm, from the heel of the hand to the shoulder, was just about killing me. I did this tonglen practice for ten to fifteen minutes, and my left hand has been completely pain free ever since....and I do mean completely pain free which is nothing short of a miracle! It may start bothering me again, but the last four days have been heaven as far as my left hand is concerned! :-)

As an update (Sunday, May 22, 2005) I'd like to add here that I have been having some carpal tunnel problems lately (mostly because the keyboard is at the wrong height again...will have to fix that!), but a few minutes doing Tonglen relieves the pain admirably.

Further update (Monday, June 13, 2005): in the past couple of weeks I've also used this method to relieve an annoying tooth problem. I walk every evening for 10 to 15 minutes, and I practice this healing method while I walk, breathing in pain and breathing out healing. It's an incredibly wonderful practice.

Here is some of the feedback I received on this post:

Massage therapy helped my carpel tunnel without surgery too. Due to neck & back problems from a fall from a tree when I was a child, I had been going to the chiropractor 2-3 times a week, then got it down to once a week or less....then realized my Buddhist practice, which includes some tonglen, relieved me of having to go to the chiropractor. I had learned of tonglen practice from reading Pema Chodron. She also has a CD which explains tonglen.

I like your version/explanation of tonglen best..... :-)......much more simplified than Pema Chodron's. However, if someone wants to read/study Pema Chodron's, I recommend her CD which, for me, was easier to understand than her book. Her book is "Start Where You Are". The CD, book & daily inspiration cards are in a set titled "The Compassion Box.”

~SB~

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I just wanted to Thank You for this Tonglen Healing. This morning coming in from watering, I slipped on the tile and twisted a muscle in my shoulder blade. I thought, good excuse to go and do the Tonglen Technique. I did, I sat and did the breathing and letting it heal through. I like that you add others into the technique as well. It made me feel real good… The muscle now barley has any little twinge left in it at all. I am just taking it easy and continue to do the breathing. Thanks again and I will definitely add this easy technique to my list of uses!

~J~

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I tried Tonglen once, on my stomach ache, and it really did work!
Thanks for sharing with us that wonderful technique. :)

~ASP~



Have a great week!

Creative Health Tip 19 October 2009

I have a wonderful teaching for you today about Nature. The direction this came from is somewhat unusual, but that’s the thing about Wisdom; you just never know what direction it’s going to come from, so always keep your eyes and ears open!

I am doing some editing for a friend of mine who I’ll call Richard since that’s his name. Richard is a retired Doctor of Chiropractic who now devotes his time to his Golden Bridge Seminars where he shares the wisdom Abraham as channeled by Esther Hicks who writes books and travels with her husband Jerry.

One of the main teachings of Abraham is to “go with the flow,” or “go downstream.” To get what you want out of life, to be where you want to be and in the circumstances and relationships and prosperity and places that are right for you, you do not need to struggle. Struggling is considered to be going upstream. You paddle and paddle and struggle and struggle, and where does it really get you? Nowhere.

Now, the reason I mention Richard today is that I am editing a manuscript for him. There is a miracle described in there, and you are going to have to read the book to learn what that is, but meanwhile….

While working on his manuscript, I came across a simple sentence that leapt off the page and just sort of hit me right between the eyes. I don’t know if this philosophy came to Richard before or after his interest in the Abraham-Hicks teachings manifested, but if it were before, I certainly can understand his attraction to the Abraham teachings and the Law of Attraction.

Richard’s philosophy is simple, and – as these things often are – simply profound: “Nature needs no help, just no interference.”

Just think about that for a moment and how it could relate to your health. Your wellness is in the hands of your immune system. Think about the ways you may be interfering with Nature and compromising your immune system by being exposed to household chemicals, eating an unhealthy diet, and living a stressed-out lifestyle. Certainly, none of those are in alignment or harmony with Nature or her “go with the flow, go downstream” advice.

As a Doctor of Chiropractic, Richard’s main interest was wellness, and his philosophy is a perfect reflection of his belief, and certainly aligns with the Abraham teachings as well!

If you are floating downstream, you are not “helping” Nature by paddling, and likewise, if you are floating you are not interfering with or hampering your harmony with Nature. Floating means letting Nature take its course

In the area of wellness, what this means is that when your body’s immune system, which is Nature’s way of keeping you healthy, is operating at peak efficiency, it can handle any disease to which you are exposed, either externally such as the flu or strep throat, or internally such as cancer or even arthritis. It is only when Nature – meaning your immune system – is compromised that you fall prey to disease.

If you want real wellness, there are two things you should do. First: Expect miracles, for that is how you create them. Second: Don’t get in Mother Nature’s way when she’s working to restore your health! Support your immune system by getting enough sleep, eating healthy, organic foods, and minimizing the stress that suppresses proper immune system function.

Seriously, I am going to post this statement where I can see it and be reminded of its wisdom every day, and I hope you do, too!

Remember: “Nature needs no help, just no interference.”

Thank you, Richard, for that!


Have a great week!

Creative Health Tip 12 October 2009

Today’s tip is an excerpt about the healing power of love.

This is a quote from pages 285 – 287 of the book Spontaneous Evolution by Bruce Lipton, PhD. In this segment, he’s talking about a man who is a medical doctor turned energy healer after receiving the message "Your work is to heal with love" during meditation.

That doctor’s name is Leonard Laskow, and his website where you may learn more about him and his book Healing With Love, as well as read articles, interviews and research papers is http://www.laskow.net/index.shtml

Lipton’s book describes some scientific experiments that Dr Laskow did with cancer cells in Petri dishes and the healing power of love, and that is what I’ll share with you here today.

"Laskow held three culture dishes that contained tumor cells in his hand while maintaining a state of focused healing consciousness. As an experimental control, a non-healer in another room held in his hands three other Petri dishes, inoculated with the same tumor cells. The non-healer was assigned a reading task while holding the cultures so that he would be distracted from influencing the cultured cells with his own intentions.

"Laskow experimented with several different emotional intentions while holding the cells, all of which sought to activate the natural force of coherence in the Universe. The most effective intention, the one that caused the cancer cells to diminish their growth by 39 percent, was "Return to the natural order and harmony of the normal cell line." When Laskow added visual imagery to the intention, the healing effects doubled.

"So, what's love got to do with it? As Laskow reports in his book Healing With Love, his intention was not to destroy the cancer cells but to allow them to exist as part of universal creation. Love, he explained, is the "impulse toward unity, non-separation, wholeness. While love can take many forms, its essence is relatedness." Laskow believes that the opposite of love is not hate but separation. While there are many different modes for accessing and using healing energy, Laskow's protocol involves connecting with the condition instead of separating from it."

"When we experience an illness or a life condition that we would prefer not to have, our first impulse is to cast it out. We tend to think of illness as a foreign invader that attacks us rather than something we co-create. However, when we truly own our participation in the condition, even if we don't understand the reason, we become responsible participants in directing our fate.

"With the awareness that our mind shapes our biology, we can recognize that we have the opportunity to change our minds and, thus, create a healthier biology. Given what we now know about the intelligence and functionality of our cells, maybe we can begin by humbly apologizing to our inner citizens and thank them for putting up with us! When we take the step of consciously loving our cells, we affirm that we are co-creating participants, not victims of life.

"An illness or disharmonious condition occurs when something is misformed or deformed. Healing, therefore, involves transformation to change the dysfunctional form. Here is Laskow's simple four-step transformational healing process:

"Step One: Inform yourself about what has already materialized in form. Telling the truth is the first step toward responsibility.

"Step Two: Conform to the condition by loving it rather than creating separation. Resonating with the form allows us more influence over its organization.

"Step Three: Unform the condition by releasing it. "It is this observer's intent," said Laskow, "that converts particulate matter to its wave form and its wave form back into matter."

"Step Four: Reform the released energy to conform to our purpose and desire. This is the letting go part where we send our intention into he Universe without attachment.

"Even when releasing the diseased condition, there is connection and not separation. Laskow wrote: "When you accept and love the parts of yourself you want to reject or change, you create an opportunity to discover the positive live force behind them." That old Biblical word atonement can be reinterpreted as at-one-ment through which we make ourselves at one with whatever condition we would have otherwise rejected.

"In the quantum Universe where everything is connected, love is the glue that holds things together. Said Laskow, "Love is a universal pattern of resonant energy." In this sense, two or more tuning forks vibrating together are in love with each other, just as two or more humans can resonate in a palpable field of connectedness, joy, and even ecstasy. Love, he said, "is the universal harmonic.”

End quote.

We all have the capacity to do this. I hope that along with whatever healing modalities you use, you will include the healing power of love to bring you back into harmony, happiness, and health!


Have a great week!

Creative Health Tip 21 September 2009

Since tomorrow is the Autumnal Equinox, it seems appropriate to talk about balance.

What balance is not, is a state of frozen equilibrium. Balance is all about living in harmony with life’s up and down cycles.

Think back to playing on a see-saw or teeter-totter when you were a child. If you sat there in perfect balance, going neither up nor down, that was no fun. The fun was swooshing up when you pushed off with your feet, and then landing with a bump when you came back down.

Life is a dynamic process, and the fun is often found in the many activities that fuel your busy schedule like work, sports, family outings, and running those seemingly endless errands we all have on our To-Do lists.

However, in order to create or maintain excellent health, you don’t want to be landing with a bump at the end of the day or the end of the week. That’s what robs you of good health.

When you have a few busy days in a row, schedule some down time to relax and rejuvenate, finish reading that book you started, or call an old friend to catch up on the latest news, or go for a leisurely walk in the woods or a park to get some fresh air.

If you have to dine on fast foods while dashing between appointments most of the week, treat yourself to a home-made dinner of fresh foods on the weekend. Don’t look at cooking as a chore, see your meal as a gift to yourself of healthy nutrients!

Take some time out to meditate, even if it’s only a few minutes a day in which you focus on your breathing. The effects of meditation are cumulative; the more often you do it, the longer-lasting are the benefits of improved focus and attention, healthy blood pressure levels, and greatly reduced levels of stress hormones that deplete your immune system and leave you vulnerable.

So, have fun on that teeter-totter because that’s what life is all about; it should be fun, but make sure you are in control of how hard you land!

Have a great week!

You Control Your Genes, Your Genes Don't Control You

This is an article with two videos from the website of Dr. Joseph Mercola. He, as well as Roger Jahnke, a Master in Taiji and Chinese Medicine, have published several interviews and reports on scientific discoveries and studies that show you are not at the mercy of your genes, and that genetic expression of diseases for which you are "at risk" can be averted when you know that your emotions have far more control over your genetic expression than was ever dreamed possible.

In other words, living in joy and harmony instead of being stressed out and crazy can mean the difference between being healthy and getting cancer!


Here is the latest article from Dr Mercola's website and two videos that accompany it. Enjoy!


The New Biology- From Victim to Master of Your Health

(7 minute 36 second video)





The Four Myth Perceptions of the Apocalypse (www.Mercola.com)

(6 minute 30 second video)



Dr. Mercola's Comments (on the second video):

This is my second interview with cellular biologist Bruce Lipton, PhD., who is one of the leading authorities on how emotions can regulate genetic expression, as explained in his excellent book The Biology of Belief, which was published last year.

Dr. Lipton’s new book is Spontaneous Evolution, which was just published just a few days ago.

In this interview, he discusses “the four myth perceptions of the Apocalypse.” These are the myths that society has bought, up to now, as actual science.

However, over the last two decades or so, leading edge science has shown them to be not only flawed, but entirely false, providing such profoundly different answers that it will undoubtedly change the way we live in the future.


Myth # 1 : You Live in a Mechanical Universe

The first myth perception is that the world, especially biology and medicine, operates through Newtonian physics. It says you live in a mechanical universe.
According to this belief, your body is a physical machine, so by modifying the parts of the machine, you can modify your health.

As a physical machine, your body responds to physical “things” like chemicals and drugs, and by adjusting the drugs that modify your machinery, doctors can modify and control life.

Now, with the advent of quantum physics, scientists have realized that this theory is flawed because quantum physics show that the invisible, immaterial realm is far more important than the material realm.

In fact, your thoughts may shape your environment far more than physical matter.
Einstein himself is quoted as saying: “The field is the sole governing agency of the particle.” What that means is that invisible energy is the sole governing agency of matter (the physical world).

It’s interesting to note that the word ‘spirit’ by spiritualists, and the word ‘field’ by physicists, use the same definition for those two words.

So, the new science is actually taking us back, and shows that your thoughts, your attitudes, your beliefs, and the invisible environment, are more primary in shaping your life than anything in the physical world is.


Myth # 2: Your Genes Control Your Life

In his book, The Biology of Belief, Dr. Lipton explains the foundation of epigenetics, and how the true secret to life does not lie within your DNA, but rather within the mechanisms of the cell membrane. In this way – which is contrary to conventional medical science – it is actually the cell’s membrane -- operating in response to environmental signals picked up by the membrane’s receptors -- that control the “reading” of the genes inside.

What does this mean?

It means that you are not controlled by your genetic makeup. Instead, your genetic readout (which genes are turned “on” and which are turned “off”) is primarily determined by your thoughts, attitudes, and perceptions!

The major problem with believing the myth that your genes control your life is that you become a victim of your heredity. Since you can’t change your genes, it essentially means that your life is predetermined, and therefore you have very little control over your health. With any luck, modern medicine will find the gene responsible and be able to alter it, or devise some other form of drug to modify your body’s chemistry, but aside from that, you’re out of luck…

The new science, however, reveals that your perceptions control your biology, and this places you in the role of Master, because if you can change your perceptions, you can shape and direct your own genetic readout.

It places YOU in the power position, for better or worse.

As Dr. Lipton says,

“This is very relevant to the world that we are in because we have to take back a belief that we have power over our lives. Because our current perception is that we are victims, and since perceptions control life, if you believe you are a victim, you become a victim. When we change our perceptions, we can become masters. So we are moving out of “victimhood” into mastery.”


Myth # 3: Life is Based on Survival of the Fittest

The third misperception is the Darwinian belief that life and evolution is based on the survival of the fittest, which is an inherent competition and a struggle for existence that goes on forever.

The new science, however, shows that this is incorrect; that evolution was not based on competition, but rather on cooperation.

This is a profound difference, and it tells us that if we want to evolve as a species, we must stop competing, and begin to recognize our coherence – that we evolved to live as a harmonious community of people, living on this planet as one living “thing” called humanity.


Myth # 4: Life Evolved as a Random Process

This is another Darwinian theory. The significance of this myth is that, based upon it, you have no purpose here, and humans are somewhat disconnected from the environment altogether.

It says that you got here by accident, and since humanity was accidental, humans have no real purpose here on planet earth.

The new biology, on the other hand, reveals that you are in fact an extension of your environment.

In fact, every time an organism is introduced into an ecosystem, its function is to balance it and keep it stable. When viewed from this perspective, you realize that the function of your existence here on earth is to create harmony and stability within your environment.

Says Dr. Lipton,

“… humanity evolved as a compliment to an environment. The very scary situation is, if we destroy the environment that created us, then essentially, we are destroying the foundation of our existence.”


New Solutions for Old Problems

I have long maintained that your emotional state plays a role in nearly every physical disease -- from heart disease, to depression, to arthritis and cancer. Even the conservative Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that 85 percent of all diseases have an emotional element.

If your thoughts and emotions play such a significant role in modifying your biology and your health (and I believe they do), then treating your emotions becomes an essential part of optimal health.

Terms like “energy medicine” and “energy psychology” are terms that have sprung up in response to these shifts in perception of reality, and I’ve long been an advocate of energy psychology tools to address underlying emotional traumas that can trigger disease, or keep you locked in a disease pattern.

Meridian tapping techniques, for example, which works on several levels of your collective mind-body-spirit simultaneously, can help you get a better handle on your emotions and buried pain, including the stress from unexpected tragedies.

Optimal health might really hinge on dealing with, and resolving your emotional traumas as quickly as possible; not letting old emotional wounds linger and fester.

In severe cases you might not be able to perform the techniques satisfactorily on yourself, in which case I would highly recommend you seek out a trained professional. Dr. Patricia Carrington provides a list of certified practitioners across the world, plus helpful advice on how to choose a practitioner that is right for you.


*** end of article ***

I'd just like to add that Affirmation Movies are also a great way to get a handle on your emotions, and work through conflicts in beliefs that are a major cause of chronic illness. To learn more about that, please visit Affirmation Movies.

If you would like to know more about Affirmation Movies, write to me at affirmationmovies@gmail.com

Creative Health Tip 14 August 2009

This week, I am sharing a video with you from the Abraham-Hicks selection on YouTube. The topic is weight loss, and in terms of Creative Health, the advice given by Abraham through Esther Hicks certainly offers the best in Mind-Body Creation of a healthy attitude toward food and the attainment of your perfect weight: it has to be in the mind before it can manifest in the body!

Here is the description of the video:

"Abraham, translated by Esther Hicks, responds to a question from a woman has tried every diet, done every exercise, and still cannot lose weight.

"Sidestepping the usual - and often frustrating - approaches to the problem, Abraham lays the foundation of a mental attitude that brings to bear the power of Law of Attraction to create the most effective technique ever presented for losing weight.

"Excerpted from the 2 hour and 20 minute program "Think And Get Slim: Natural Weight Loss" which is available on DVD and CD from Abraham-Hicks.

"Recorded September 8, 2006 in San Antonio, TX."

If you are in Bend, Oregon and would like to learn about local Abraham-Hicks gatherings and workshops, please visit the website of Golden Bridge Seminars at http://www.goldenbridgeseminars.com/


Have a great weekend!

Michelle

Creative Health Tip 24 July 2009

Today's Creative Health Tip is Your Mind: The Natural Cure For What Ails you!

Why is it that most people have no difficulty believing the mind can cause illness through negative thoughts and emotions, but won’t believe the mind can cause wellness through positive thoughts and emotions? Have you ever heard the saying, “You can do anything you put your mind to”? The natural power of the mind, through the processes of conscious direction and sustained attention, can create anything, including perfect health!

Your mind is a very powerful creator that does not judge its creations as good or bad, it just creates. Illness and wellness are a matter of perception, a matter of how the creation that is the physical “you” is influenced and judged by your emotions. Your thoughts influence your emotions; your emotions influence your physical body. If you are not sure that is true, you can test it right now. Take a moment to think a neutral thought like “the sky is blue.” You have very little reaction to a statement of fact that is not part of your personal creation. Now, think of a sad or angry experience you had and notice how your body suddenly feels tense and uncomfortable. Now, think of a happy experience you had and notice how your body changes to feel relaxed and comfortable.

You have the natural ability to choose illness by thinking negative thoughts and having negative feelings that create disease, or choose wellness by thinking positive thoughts and having positive feelings that create a healthy body. The natural state of your body is health and wellness; it wants to work harmoniously with you to return to that state of good health.

The last four lines of verse 51 of the Daoist philosophical book the Dao De Jing (Peter Merel interpolation) offer some suggestions on how to use your mind to effect your own healing.

“Bearing without possessing,” Carry the illness, but don’t own it. Every time you think or say “my disease” you are holding on to it and confirming it is a part of you. If you have to refer to it at all, call it “the disease.” Do your best to not think of it at all. When you stop feeding the disease with the energy of your thoughts, you will deny it the energy it needs to exist.

“Nurturing without taming,” Take care of yourself without trying to change the nature of the illness. Don’t try to make the illness something you can “live with.” If, in your mind, you decide you can live with it, you won’t cure it. Always try to nurture yourself back to perfect health.

“Shaping without forcing,” Shaping in this sense means creating your healthy body without resistance. Self-doubt is resistance, disbelief is resistance. If you must work so hard to convince yourself of the healing power of your mind, all your energy goes toward the convincing and none toward the healing. Making statements like “I’m going to do this or else!” is resistance which can set up an internal power struggle or fear of failure that may do more harm than good. Create good health persistently but gently.

“This is harmony.” Give yourself permission to allow your body to follow its natural tendencies. Spend time influencing your body with intentional and sustained positive thoughts as if you have already created health by saying and believing: "I am perfectly healthy!" Say it with gusto: "I Am Perfectly Healthy!!!"

Fill yourself with health and there will be no room for disease.


Have a great weekend!

Michelle

Creative Health Tip 15 May 2009

Here is your Heaven On Earth Creative Health Tip for this week, a writing I found on the website of the Napoleon Hill (author of many books on the creative power of the mind) organization website:

Monthly Message from Dr. Napoleon Hill
Science of Success

August 10, 2005 http://www.naphill.org/foundation/message2.asp


BE GENEROUS by W. Clement Stone
Source: Success Unlimited, August 1964, p. 2.

BE GENEROUS! Give to those whom you love; give to those who love you; give to the fortunate; give to the unfortunate; yes – give especially to those to whom you don’t want to give.

Your most precious, valued possessions and your greatest powers are invisible and intangible. No one can take them. You, and you alone, can give them. You will receive abundance for your giving. The more you give – the more you will have!

GIVE a smile to everyone you meet (smile with your eyes) – and you’ll smile and receive smiles . . .

GIVE a kind word (with a kindly thought behind the word) – you will be kind and receive kind words . . .

GIVE appreciation (warmth from the heart) – you will appreciate and be appreciated . . .

GIVE honor, credit and applause (the victor’s wreath) – you will be honorable and receive credit and applause . . .

GIVE time for a worthy cause (with eagerness) – you will be worthy and richly rewarded . . .

GIVE hope (the magic ingredient for success) – you will have hope and be made hopeful . . .

GIVE happiness (a most treasured state of mind) – you will be happy and be made happy . . .

GIVE encouragement (the incentive to action) – you will have courage and be encouraged . . .

GIVE cheer (the verbal sunshine) – you’ll be cheerful and cheered . . .

GIVE a pleasant response (the neutralized of irritants) – you will be pleasant and receive pleasant responses . . .

GIVE good thought (nature’s character builder) – you will be good and the world will have good thoughts for you . . .

GIVE prayers (the instrument of miracles) for the godless and the godly – you will be reverent and receive blessings – more than you deserve!

Be Generous! GIVE!



Have a Heavenly weekend!

Michelle

Practicing qigong can change your gene's response to stress

Below are some excerpts from "Researching the Benefits of Mind-Body Practice by Investigating Genetic Expression" by Roger Jahnke, OMD.

The full report on this exciting breakthrough in how practices like qigong can actually change gene expression is available on his website at www.instituteofintegralqigongandtaichi.org/pdfs/Qigong_GeneExpression.pdf

I have included a link to one of my earlier articles on telomeres, the protective caps on immune cells, and have made a few comments about holistic practices at the end of the quote.

First: Just what is "Gene Expression?" This, from wikipedia Gene expression is the process by which inheritable information from a gene, such as the DNA sequence, is made into a functional gene product, such as protein or RNA.

Regulation of gene expression is the cellular control of the amount and timing of appearance of the functional product of a gene. Any step of gene expression may be modulated, from the DNA-RNA transcription step to post-translational modification of a protein. Gene regulation gives the cell control over structure and function, and is the basis for cellular differentiation, morphogenesis and the versatility and adaptability of any organism.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_expression

So, with that in mind, here is the feature article:

*** Begin Quote ***

Page 4 – 5

In a number of press releases the authors of Genomic counter-stress changes induced by the relaxation response made a number of comments that are easily applicable to all three studies. They state that:

"This study provides the first compelling evidence that the RR [relaxation response] elicits specific gene expression changes in short-term and long- term practitioners."

Actually the other studies were earlier and they all suggest this.

The Genomic Counter-stress authors wrote that their findings suggest:

"Consistent and constitutive changes in gene expression resulting from RR may relate to long term physiological effects," and that "Our study may stimulate new investigations into applying transcriptional profiling for accurately measuring RR and stress related responses in multiple disease settings."

It is likely that these studies portend a “sea change” in research and will trigger an outpouring of similar research. Dr. Herbert Benson, professor emeritus of Harvard University and director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute and co-senior author of the study said:

"Now we've found how changing the activity of the mind can alter the way basic genetic instructions are implemented," said Benson.

Dr. Towia Libermann, director of the BIDMC Genomics Center and also co-senior

author of the study added:

"This is the first comprehensive study of how the mind can affect gene expression, linking what has been looked on as a 'soft' science with the 'hard' science of genomics.” "It is also important because of its focus on gene expression in healthy individuals, rather than in disease states," explained Libermann.

The authors said their study showed that the relaxation response changed the expression of genes involved with inflammation, programmed cell death and the handling of free radicals. Free radicals are normal byproducts of metabolism that the body neutralizes in order to stop damage to cells and tissues.

Page 5 – 6

Probably the most compelling statement from the article on the findings of the study was “It is becoming increasingly clear that psychosocial stress can manifest as system-wide perturbations of cellular processes, generally increasing oxidative stress and promoting a pro-inflammatory milieu. Stress associated changes in peripheral blood leukocyte expression of single genes have been identified. More recently, chronic psychosocial stress has been associated with accelerated aging at the cellular level. Specifically, shortened telomeres, low telomerase activity, decreased anti-oxidant capacity and increased oxidative stress are correlated with increased psychosocial stress and with increased vulnerability to a variety of disease states.”

These 3 studies strongly suggest that Mind-Body practices, especially those that trigger a sustained and accumulative RR effect – a counter stress effect – can prevent and ameliorate disease. This effect of Mind-Body practice on gene expression transforms the landscape of scientific exploration and launches an entirely new direction for the investigation for the emerging field of health maximization based integrative medicine.

Page 21 – 22

It is becoming increasingly clear that psychosocial stress can manifest as system-wide perturbations of cellular processes, generally increasing oxidative stress and promoting a pro-inflammatory milieu [23]–[25]. Stress associated changes in peripheral blood leukocyte expression of single genes have been identified [26]–[28]. More recently, chronic psychosocial stress has been associated with accelerated aging at the cellular level. Specifically, shortened telomeres, low telomerase activity, decreased anti-oxidant capacity and increased oxidative stress are correlated with increased psychosocial stress [29] and with increased vulnerability to a variety of disease states [30]. Stress-related changes in GEP have been demonstrated by microarray analysis in healthy subjects, including up-regulation of several cytokines/chemokines and their receptors [31], and in individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, including inflammation, apoptosis and stress response [32] as well as metabolism and RNA processing pathways [33]. The pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-kappa B (NF-κB) which is activated by psychosocial stress has been identified as a potential link between stress and oxidative cellular activation [34].

[For a brief explanation of the connection between telomeres (the protective caps on the ends of immune cells) and stress, see my post "Scientists identify mechanism behind mind-body connection" http://successstressrelief.blogspot.com/2008/07/scientists-identify-mechanism-behind.html on my Stress Relief for Savvy Women blog.]

The RR is clinically effective for ameliorating symptoms in a variety of stress-related disorders including cardiovascular, autoimmune and other inflammatory conditions and pain [15]. We hypothesize that RR elicitation is associated with systemic gene expression changes in molecular and biochemical pathways involved in cellular metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation/generation of reactive oxygen species and response to oxidative stress and that these changes to some degree serve to ameliorate the negative impact of stress. Genome-wide evaluation of PBL GEP is a reasonable approach to survey the transcriptional changes that are involved in elicitation of the RR. The GEP of RR practitioners presented here reveals altered gene expression in specific functional groups which suggest a greater capacity to respond to oxidative stress and the associated cellular damage. Genes including COX7B, UQCRB and CASP2 change in opposite direction from that in the stress response [31], [32].

Our findings are relatively consistent with those found in a study of Qi Gong [17], a practice that elicits the RR. In their study of 6 Qi Gong practitioners and 6 aged matched controls, practitioners had down-regulation of ubiquitin, proteasome, ribosomal protein and stress response genes and mixed up- and down-regulation of genes involved in apoptosis and immune function. We find a similar pattern of GO categories that are significantly over-represented in GO or enriched in GSEA in our cross sectional comparison, M vs. N1. However, in our data-set ribosomal proteins were up-regulated.

Overall, similar genomic pattern changes occurred in practitioners of a specific mind body technique (Qi Gong) as well as in our long-term practitioners who utilized different RR practices including Vipassana, mantra, mindfulness or transcendental meditation, breath focus, Kripalu or Kundalini Yoga, and repetitive prayer. This indicates there is a common RR state regardless of the techniques used to elicit it.

Footnotes included in the above quoted materials:

15. Astin JA, Shapiro SL, Eisenberg DM, Forys KL (2003) Mind-body medicine: state of the science, implications for practice. J Am Board Fam Pract 16: 131–147.

17. Li QZ, Li P, Garcia GE, Johnson RJ, Feng L (2005) Genomic profiling of neutrophil transcripts in Asian Qigong practitioners: a pilot study in gene regulation by mind-body interaction. J Altern Complement Med 11: 29–39.

23. Irie M, Asami S, Nagata S, Miyata M, Kasai H (2002) Psychological mediation of a type of oxidative DNA damage, 8-hyDr.oxydeoxyguanosine, in peripheral blood leukocytes of non-smoking and non-Dr.inking workers. Psychother Psychosom 71: 90–96.

24. Yamaguchi T, Shioji I, Sugimoto A, Yamaoka M (2002) Psychological stress increases bilirubin metabolites in human urine. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 293: 517–520.

25. Zheng KC, Ariizumi M (2007) Modulations of immune functions and oxidative status induced by noise stress. J Occup Health 49: 32–38.

26. Glaser R, Kennedy S, Lafuse WP, Bonneau RH, Speicher C, et al. (1990) Psychological stress-induced modulation of interleukin 2 receptor gene expression and interleukin 2 production in peripheral blood leukocytes. Arch Gen Psychiatry 47: 707–712.

27. Glaser R, Lafuse WP, Bonneau RH, Atkinson C, Kiecolt-Glaser JK (1993) Stress-associated modulation of proto-oncogene expression in human peripheral blood leukocytes. Behav Neurosci 107: 525–529.

28. Platt JE, He X, Tang D, Slater J, Goldstein M (1995) C-fos expression in vivo in human lymphocytes in response to stress. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 19: 65–74.

29. Epel ES, Blackburn EH, Lin J, Dhabhar FS, Adler NE, et al. (2004) Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 101: 17312–17315.

30. Epel ES, Lin J, Wilhelm FH, Wolkowitz OM, Cawthon R, et al. (2006) Cell aging in relation to stress arousal and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Psychoneuroendocrinology 31: 277–287.

31. Morita K, Saito T, Ohta M, Ohmori T, Kawai K, et al. (2005) Expression analysis of psychological stress-associated genes in peripheral blood leukocytes. Neurosci Lett 381: 57–62.

32. Zieker J, Zieker D, Jatzko A, Dietzsch J, Nieselt K, et al. (2007) Differential gene expression in peripheral blood of patients suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. Mol Psychiatry 12: 116–118.

33. Segman RH, Shefi N, Goltser-Dubner T, Friedman N, Kaminski N, et al. (2005) Peripheral blood mononuclear cell gene expression profiles identify emergent post-traumatic stress disorder among trauma survivors. Mol Psychiatry 10: 500–513, 425.

34. Bierhaus A, Wolf J, AnDr.assy M, Rohleder N, Humpert PM, et al. (2003) A mechanism converting psychosocial stress into mononuclear cell activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100: 1920–1925.

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Bottom Line: Qigong, mindfulness meditation, the use of mantras and other chants, and other mind-body practices can change how your genes respond to stress! If this occurs at the cellular level, it is an indication that qigong and other mind-body practices can actually change your cells or cellular activity.

As a stress-relief consultant and qigong instructor, I can help you to use these methods, enabling you to be healthier, avoid "a variety of stress-related disorders including cardiovascular, autoimmune and other inflammatory conditions and pain" (see above), age slower, look younger, live longer, and life a fuller and happier life!

Contact me through the form in the sidebar or through my email address in my profile. I am committed to helping you relieve stress in the natural and holistic ways that work best for your mind, body, and spirit.

Discover Your Natural Beauty Using Simple Ingredients In Homemade Recipes

With the onslaught of revelations in the news these days of increasing illness and danger from the toxic chemicals you are exposed to on a daily basis, many of these found in your personal hygiene and beauty products and absorbed through your skin, it makes a lot of sense to get back to nature with our health and beauty products!

In case you need a reminder, here is an article listing just a few of the chemicals and the illnesses they can cause: "The Chemical Cocktail of Skin Care" By Ananda Mahony http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Chemical-Cocktail-of-Skin-Care&id=1571132

Not only are natural products better for your health, they are better for you wallet, too! For a facial mask, for example, you can buy a few pounds of oatmeal that will provide you with mask material for a long time and be much less expensive than the 8-ounce tube of cosmetic facial mask that lasts for a couple of weeks at best. Natural products are versatile, too! You can eat the oatmeal for breakfast and it will help lower your cholesterol. I'll bet your chemical cosmetic mask won't do that!

One thing I do is to use baking soda as toothpaste. It doesn't taste like much, but that is a momentary disadvantage. It has a long history as a toothpaste, and does a fantastic job of whitening teeth. I can add as a testimonial that both my 91 year old father and 89 year old aunt have used it lifelong, and they both still have most of their real teeth and have had fewer cavities than most of their counterparts who used the best and brightest of toothpastes!

Below is an article containing some great, easy, you-probably-already-have-the-ingredients-in-your-kitchen recipes for health and beauty products for hair and skin care. Though these are very basic, they will do an admiral job for you! If you are interested in something more exotic, but still all-natural and homemade, check the link at the end of this post.

For your health and beauty:

Homemade Beauty Products by Rachel Paxton Sept 24, 1999

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/creative_homemaking/25934

Have you ever wondered what people used to use as beauty products before you could so readily buy them in the store? I also sometimes wonder what all of the complicated sounding ingredients are in a lot of the products I use. Everything from body cleansers to shampoos to facial scrubs--you can invest a small fortune in this personal part of your life. Sometimes it's fun to try something homemade. It's cheaper, you know what's in it, and if you don't like it you have nothing to lose. You might come up with your own combination of ingredients that you may prefer over the ones I have suggested. Many of these ideas are not new and have been around for a long time. Have fun with them and save yourself some money at the same time!

I have made every attempt to only include instructions that include easy to find, relatively inexpensive ingredients. Depending on your skin and hair type, different people may get different results with these home preparations. Please use a little caution and a lot of common sense when trying them out. Always test a little on a small area of your body first to check for allergic reactions. I hope you enjoy these beauty preparations as much as I have enjoyed trying them out for myself. These easy ideas are also included in The Creative Homemaking Guide to Skin and Hair Care, a make-it-yourself booklet that contains more than 50 beauty preparations you can make yourself at home. To order, send $3.95 to Creative Homemaking Beauty Guide, 6407 Haag St., W. Richland, WA 99353.

Moisturizer

Beat 2 eggs in a chilled bowl. Continue to beat while slowly adding 1 cup of olive or vegetable oil. When the mixture begins to thicken, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar. Keep refrigerated. Use as you would a regular moisturizer.

Skin Cleanser

Sprinkle baking soda on a damp wash cloth and use it to gently scrub your body while showering. The baking soda will help neutralize odors and smooth and soften your skin.

Toner

Apple cider vinegar makes a great toner for your face. Just mix a little with warm water and store in a spray bottle and mist your face lightly with the mixture. The vinegar also helps restore your skin's natural pH-balance, and seems to have a positive effect for acne sufferers.

Facial Scrub

Make a paste from a little oatmeal and water. Apply to face and allow to dry. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Facial Mask

Grind 1 tablespoon almonds into a fine meal in a blender or food processor. Mix almond meal together with 1 tablespoon honey and 1 egg white. Apply to face and let set for about 15 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Bath

Place approximately 8 herbal tea bags of your choice into a small amount of very hot water in your bathtub. Steep about 10 minutes, then remove tea bags and add the remaining bath water.

Shampoo

In a blender, combine 1 ounce olive oil, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar. Use as regular shampoo.

Hair Setting Lotions

Try dissolving a teaspoon of gelatin in a cup of warm water and use this as a setting lotion before styling hair. You can use this as a liquid or chill it and use it as a gel.

Conditioners

Mayonnaise is a great conditioner for dry hair. Depending on the length of your hair, apply approximately 1/2 cup of mayonnaise to your dry hair. Work into hair really well and then cover your hair with a plastic bag, allowing to set for about 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and then shampoo as usual. [Remember, mayonnaise is made from egg and olive oil! ~Michelle~]

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There is also another website with some more fun and somewhat exotic homemade bath and beauty products, such as:

Cucumber Hair Drench
Aphrodite Apple Mask
Cucumber Honey Toner
Kiwi Facial Cleanser
Chamomile Lip Balm
Honey Almond Scrub
Lavender Honey Milk Bath

All of these, and more, can be found at:

Homemade Beauty Recipes
~ Hair / Skin / Body ~

http://allnaturalbeauty.us/hbr_hair_skin_body.htm