In need of a good laugh then the Laughing Yoga Video might be the gift for you. Laughing Yoga is the new hot yoga practice based on the premise that laughing is good for us.
Unlike other forms of yoga, Lauging Yoga does not have a thousand year pedigree. It in fact was started in 1995 by Dr. Madan Kataria, a Mumbai physician, who noticed that there were definite physical benefits to those of his patients who took his prescription to laugh regularly seriously. He proceeded to develop the yoga with his wife, a yoga teacher, and they designed a series of breathing exercises that teach you to laugh that isn’t dependent on jokes.
Doctor Kataria notes that by the time we have reached adulthood, we laugh only 12 times a day in comparison with children who laugh 300 - 400 times a day. The Laughing Yoga movement has spread all over the world to Europe. There are laughter clubs Scandinavia, the East, North America and Denmark.
This isn’t a new idea and we’ve heard it many time. Laughter is the best medicine. This age old saying has much truth to it, and scientists are still keen on studying the positive effects of laughter on health.
Recently, a team of scientists from the University of Maryland School of Medicine showed that laughter helps blood vessels function better. In this study, volunteers were shown funny movies to test the effects on their blood vessels. The volunteers were then shown disturbing movies and the results compared.
And indeed there was a difference. Upon laughing, the endothelium, which is the tissue that forms the inner lining of blood vessels, expanded in order to increase blood flow. However the opposite happened when the same volunteers were shown a movie that produced stress. In this case the endothelium constricted and reduced blood flow. This confirms studies that show that stress actually narrows the blood vessels, and is potentially unhealthy and can cause cardiovascular illness.
“The endothelium is the first line in the development of atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries, so, given the results of our study, it is conceivable that laughing may be important to maintain a healthy endothelium, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease,” says Michael Miller, M.D., director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
“At the very least, laughter offsets the impact of mental stress, which is harmful to the endothelium.”
Not only does laughter help your heart and blood flow, but a team at Stanford University in California peeked inside the heads of volunteers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and found that laughter has a similar effect on the brain as cocaine does. When the subjects read cartoons, certain parts of the brain, in particular the nucleus accumbens, actually lit up. This are of the brain is where the feel good chemical dopamine resides.
The promotion of laughter as a medicine has become very popular. In fact there are thriving business behind the trend. Not only do you have Laughing Yoga Videos, there are audiocassettes, books, magazines and newsletters devoted to the healing power of medicine. Not keen on doing it alone? There are laughing groups, special workshops and entire conferences devoted to the promotion of laughter as a tonic for health.
As Shakespeare wrote in The Taming of the Shrew, “And frame your mind to mirth and merriment, which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life.”
The diet according to blood type is introduced by Peter D’Adamo in his book Eat Right 4 Your Type. In it he writes that you should eat according to your ABO blood type and that the different blood types each have different dietary needs.
D’Adamo’s theory revolves around the lectins in our food. Lectins are food proteins and D’Adamo states that they react differently with each of the ABO blood types antigens. Because of some of the harmful ways the lectins will react, he advocates different foods for the 4 different ABO blood types A, AB, B, and O. In this diet food is classified as: highly beneficial and promoting health, foods allowed and do no harm and foods not allowed - foods that harm. Read the rest of this entry »
There are many symptoms of depression. Remember that depression has to be checked by a medical professional. He or she will do a full screening and assessment - this is a good thing. Symptoms of depression will vary from person to person.
Remember, you do not have to have all the depression symptoms for you to be diagnosed with depression or treated for depression. But if you or your loved one exhibit these symptoms, you may consider treatment for depression.
Here are some common symptoms of depression:
Long bouts of sadness. This can be grief that will not go away. The person is not interested in doing things, in going out with friends, or doing things that used to be enjoyable before.
Feeling of hopelessness. The person believes there is no hope for the future and has a pessimistic negative outlook on life and the future. The mind is stuck in a “negative thinking patterns” and there is nothing to look forward to, and no way out to change things.
Feelings of guilt that are persistent and strong. The person feels so guilty that they do not believe they deserve to be happy. Feelings of sadness overwhelm then and there is a loss of self worth. Again, there is a hopelessness about the situation.
Helplessness and the inability or unwillingness to affect change. The person feels they have no control to do anything, that no matter what they do it won’t matter, nothing will go your way.
Inactivity and doing less and less. The person stops partaking in hobbies or activities that used to give them pleasure. Things that they used to love to do no longer interest them. They stop going out, stop participating, and generally withdraw from life.
Extreme fatigue or loss of energy. They have lost interest, and seem to have lost physical strength. Change in sleep or eating patterns - they either sleep too much or can’t sleep enough, or will gain or lose weight.
Trouble with concentration. This symptom of depression causes one t0 lose track of things, to be forgetful, to not be mindful of responsibilities, or to just be disinterested and inattentive.
Suicidal thoughts. It is important to remember that depression can be serious. Severely depressed people have suicidal thoughts, as they do not see a way out of their sadness. They will talk about death, and or talk about wanting to die.
Remember to see a health specialist if you have these symptoms of depression and the feelings persist. Depression is treatable and there are many treatments and ways to cope with depression available to people today.
Good health means all around health. You can’t be fat and healthy. Fat compromises health. If you don’t want to believe that, there are a lot of fat reducing pills out there that you can go buy now. Or go watch a diet and exercise video.
Mr. Low Body Fat did not buy fat the hype, promises or miracle cures in pills. Nor did he buy other malarchy.
Mr. Low Body Fat AKA English professor Muata Kamdibe took the high road to weight loss. He watched what he ate and he walked an hour a day to start. Read the rest of this entry »
If you are looking for a health tonic - a fast and quick remedy to rid yourself of your stress, pain, illness and other health problems, then keep looking. There is no magic pill for health. Oh we want one, a wonder drug that will cure us of all that ails us - and people try to sell us these pills that promise to cure our illnesses, but for the most part heath does not come in a bottle.
But that doesn’t mean there is no answer for good health. The fact is that good health is the result of many factors. It’s the result of a lifestyle that allows our minds and bodies to do what they are meant to do…and not get in their way.
Some think of it as a balancing act. Others as a healthy lifestyle. It doesn’t matter what you call it but the fundamentals of health and wellness are pretty basic. The amount of care, attention and gentleness you put in can be attributable to the health you enjoy. This is not always the case, but think of a plant. Give it room to grow, exposure to the sun, some water and it thrives. Forget to feed it, put it in the shade, and it starts to look a bit gimpy.
There are many ways to restore health and balance to ones life. The trick is to find the ones that work for you or you will feel like you have sentenced yourself to a life of penance and drudgery. Now that definitely won’t feel good - and you know what - it will just be a matter of time before you rebel and revert back to unhealthy patterns.
The trick is to be nice to yourself…just like a small plant that we will nurture and grow - we have to gently nurture our health. We can’t be mean to ourselves and yell and beat ourselves into good health.
Gentle health - it’s the tonic way.
So - breathe deep. And trust. You are all ready on the path to good health.
