Salt: An Overview
As a nation, we’re making dangerous choices. Every day we choose between convenience and our health even our very lives.
It may seem unbelievable, but it is indeed true. Increasingly, we rely on processed foods for the mainstay of our meals. But who can blame us? It’s a proverbial jungle out there! Between the rigors of work, the hectic schedule of our family lives there’s precious little time for anything else. Who wants to take the time to cook a full-fledged meal? It’s all we can do to just get through the day in one piece. Anything we can do to make our lives even a little easier is well worth it.
But what if you were told that the amount of salt the average American uses in one day is nearly twice the maximum recommended limit? And, what if …
Meditation: How to Start
If you’re considering mediation, keep in mind that no matter the style, all forms have four common elements. The first is a distraction-free environment. Especially if you’re just starting a meditation habit, you’ll want to choose a location that is as free of noises and interruptions as possible. The quieter your environment is the better. As you develop your skills, you may be able to block out the noises and be able to meditate in public places, like waiting rooms, airport lobbies or other areas.
Some suggest you employ the classic Eastern pose sitting upright, spine straight, legs crossed in order to maximize your benefits. The NCCAM, however, explains that meditation can be performed in just about any posture, including sitting, standing or lying down. The Center also explains that you can even meditate while walking.
In fact, there is …
Meditation: Brain Wave Changes
Legends have grown around Eastern Yogis who become so adept in the practice that they appear impervious to cold weather. These individuals survive most notably in the higher elevations as the legend goes in sub-zero weather with nothing but a light covering.
Among the most notable of these was Milarepa a Tibetan Buddhist monk whose name derives from this exact ability. Born Mila, meaning “good news”, his mentor adds the “repa” meaning cotton. Milarepa had the ability which seems amazing to many Westerners of keeping his body at a fixed temperature that he only needed a cotton cloth even in the coldest of times.
Of course, Western science has always been skeptical of such claims, but recently, technology has been able to get a good picture of what happens to the brain when it engages in meditation.
The brain is, science now knows, an …
Meditation: Health Benefits
Meditation has increasingly come under the scrutiny of Western medicine and seems to be holding up remarkably well. Scientific studies have confirmed its effectiveness at helping various medical conditions.
Today, it’s not unusual for hospitals and health-care practitioners to use meditation as one method of treatment to reduce complications associated with increased stress. One of the adverse side effects of stress on the body is a compromised immune system. Increasingly, there is a growing trend in conventional medicine to recognize that mental and emotional aspects of a person’s life, indeed, contributes to many types of illnesses.
Among Western researchers who pioneered the health benefits of meditation is Dr. Herbert Benson, now of the Mind-Body Medical Institute, an facitility that’s not only association with several Boston are hospital, but also with Harvard University. He reports that meditation produces very real physical changes in a person’s …
Meditation: Two common types
There are two common types of meditation: mindfulness and Transcendental Meditation.
Mindfulness meditation has its origins in Buddhism. It’s based on the concept of raising your awareness level and your acceptance of the present moment. In this form of the ancient practice, you bring all your attention to the ebb and tide of your breath as you exhale and inhale. Many explain that the intention of this is to focus your attention on the experience at hand, without either reacting to it or judging it. The ultimate goal of this is to be able to transfer that nonjudgmental attitude into the daily actions of your life.
This form of meditation has often been advocated as a form of therapy for medical and psychiatric conditions, especially chronic pain and stress-related conditions. In fact, the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry published an article that shows …
