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Guest Post: Time to Cleanse your Chakras

10 Jan

Thanks to Amanda for this guest post!

If you need help with chakra balancing, you will benefit from this chakra cleanse ritual.

Chakras are the energy centers of the soul. Are your chakras open or blocked? There are many reasons for the blocking of a chakra, including trauma, bad habits, and injury. If you handle the stress in your life in an improper manner, you could have a blocked chakra, resulting in physical and emotional health issues.

A person who is balanced is in touch with their physical needs and takes good care of their body, feeding their mind, spirit and body, healthy thoughts, emotions and nourishment. They are peaceful and serene; they are healthy and active. they are conscious of their feelings and the feelings of those around them, and they can facilitate their own processing of feelings as well as determine how to handle the feelings of the people in their sphere of influence. They are spiritually minded and feels that they are one with the universe. They speak their truth honestly and without hindrance, and they are able to listen to the needs and desires of others as well. They are creative and solution-oriented.

If your chakras are imbalanced, you can balance your chakras through a combination of yoga, meditation, color therapy and the use of stones.

Choose one stone from each of the following categories so you will have one stone for every chakra:

First Chakra – Black, Red or Brown Stone
Black Tourmaline – Good for when you feel your ability to survive is threatened
Hematite – Protects your emotional space if others feel invasive
Tiger’s Eye – Physical security

Second Chakra – Red or Orange Stone
Bloodstone – Energy
Carnelian – Sexual energy or creativity
Red Jasper – Flowing energy of earth
Ruby – Passion

Third Chakra – Yellow, Coral, Yellow-Green Stone
Argonite – Calming
Citrine – Manifest abundance
Golden Calcite – Personal empowerment
Malachite – Creativity, solar plexus

Fourth Chakra – Pink or Green Stone
Aventurine – Heart health
Emerald – Love
Green Tourmaline – Opens the creative aspect of the heart
Lepidolite – Calms the heart, relieves stress
Pink Calcite – Release emotional pain, learn to love again
Rose Quartz – Self Love

Fifth Chakra – Blue Stones
Aquamarine – Serenity while communicating
Blue Topaz – Fearless communication
Chrysocolla – Confidence in self expression
Larimar – Deep, vulnerable, honest communication

Sixth Chakra – Dark Blue or Purple Stones
Amethyst – Tranquility
Azurite – Release old beliefs and form new ones
Charoite – Overcome fear
Kyanite – Sense of Purpose

Seventh Chakra – White or Clear Stones
Clear Calcite – Spiritual perspective
Danburite – Serenity when life is difficult; eternal perspective
Herkimer Quartz – Dissolves chakra blockages

The one crystal you will really want to have for a chakra cleansing ritual is Herkimer quartz – this stone clears all chakra blockages.

You can either wear the stones or perform a ritual where you place the appropriate stone on the appropriate chakra and meditate. Follow this ritual with a regular yoga practice, ask your yoga instructor to teach you how to perform poses that will open and balance your chakras.

About the author: Amanda Tradwick is a grant researcher and writer for CollegeGrants.org. She has a Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Delaware, and has recently finished research on grants for graduate students and free federal education grants.

dogs like essential oils too

5 Jun

A few weeks ago we noticed our dogs, Winston and Lincoln, were obsessed with my lavender compress.  They kept sniffing it like crazy, so we did a little research and it turns out that many essential oils are not only safe for dogs, but can actually help repel fleas, tics and mosquito.

We feed our dogs all-natural food, but we’ve haven’t been as diligent about researching natural options when it comes to flea control.  Something about those pesky buggers and pressure from the veterinarian scares us into purchasing expensive (and often irritating) pharmaceuticals.  But it makes sense; plants like lavender, lemongrass, eucalyptus, rosemary, peppermint, cedar and citronella “produce essential oils as their own survival technique to repel bugs. This makes essential oils great insect repellents for animals (and humans, too)*.”

Lavender also has a calming effect (and our crazy puggles can use all the calming-down they can get), so we were very excited to try it.  We got a blue glass spray bottle from Whole Foods and combined 10 drops of lavender and 10 drops of peppermint and then filled the spray bottle with water (probably about 3 ounces).  We’ve started spraying the pups with the mix before and after they go for a walk or to the park and whenever they get a little stinky. This combo also makes for a great natural air/fabric freshener. So far they seem to like it and smell amazing!  It hasn’t been long enough to truly notice the effect on fleas, but I will keep you posted in the coming weeks!

*For more information about essential oils for pets and specific formulas, check out The Whole Dog’s Aromatherapy for Animals page. For more information about essential oils and products for humans, check out Noelle Katai’s Vim Essentials.

2011 Yoga Teacher Telesummit

10 May


All you yogis (or aspiring yogis!) out there – be sure to check out the 2011 Yoga Teacher Telesummit.  It’s free and sounds like an amazing way to connect with world-renowned yoga teachers (Kathryn Budig, Ally Hamilton, Sadie Nardini, and Mark Whitwell, to name a few!) and the greater yoga community.

…”Telesummit is designed to motivate, inspire, and educate yoga teachers and dedicated students from all over the planet; to connect and share and inquire; to provide tools for teachers, studio owners, and other yoga-related entrepreneurs to become more authentic and more sustainable, to broaden their reach and focus their attention on what really matters; to create a dialogue between many different styles, traditions, and schools of Yoga to find our common ground, the shared pscyho-spiritual ‘trunk’ that roots the yogic tree into the cosmic ground of our being.”

I will definitely be participating and sharing my learnings!  Big thanks to Jamie Koonce of Superhero Healthcare for passing this along!

guest post: how yoga can help improve arthritis

29 Apr

Special thanks to Mariana Ashley for this guest post!  Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online college. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031 @gmail.com.

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According to statistics, one in every 5 Americans is diagnosed with some sort of arthritis. In fact, nearly 50 million adults in the United States are arthritis suffers. In short, arthritis is a condition that causes inflammation, stiffness, and pain in joints. The disease is commonly associated with those that are 65 and older, but arthritis can effect even those as young as 18. While there is no cure for arthritis, there are simple and practical ways that can reduce the pain associated with arthritis, including participating in yoga. This may seem like an implausible idea—after all how can one who can barely get out of bed position themselves into a pretzel? But contrary to popular belief, researchers say yoga movements and its breathing exercises can help bring fresh blood and nutrients to muscle tissue which helps reduce inflammation, help build cartilage, strengthen joints and improve overall health.  Continue reading below to learn some simple and gentle yoga moves to help alleviate the pain of arthritis—no acrobatic skills needed.

(Disclaimer: While experts suggest practicing yoga for one to two hours per week, make sure to consult your physician to discuss plans first.) (more…)

Guest Post: Music Therapy in Wellness

21 Oct

Thanks to Maria for this awesome guest post!!

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If you’re seeking to work toward balancing your mind, body, and spirit, music therapy may be a helpful tool to consider. You can engage in solitary music therapy yourself by listening to relaxing recordings at home, attending concerts or recitals, and choosing soothing radio stations or CDs to reduce stress while driving. However, many advocates of music therapy acknowledge that holistic benefits are better achieved when interacting with a therapist. Professional music therapists can also help you decide how best to maintain personal wellness with music, improving overall physical coordination, motivation to become engaged in wellness treatments, emotional support, and willingness to express feelings. No matter what your unique wellness needs might be, music therapy can provide a way to help you become a happier, more balanced member of society.

The Benefits of Music Therapy

Because music can have such a profound effect upon people and their wellness, some of the benefits are simply incalculable. Those that can be measured are defined by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) as follows: promoting wellness, managing stress, alleviating pain, expressing feelings, enhancing memory, improving communication, and promoting physical rehabilitation. The benefits of music therapy are so widespread that they affect every aspect of the mind, body, and spirit, providing a perfectly balanced approach to cumulative wellness.

How Music Therapists Can Help

There are many different ways in which music therapists can use their expertise to enhance your wellness, including diagnostic procedures to determine which areas of wellness might need attention in your unique case. They can use your responses to musical stimuli to assess physical health, emotional well-being, social functioning, communication abilities, and cognitive skills, then design individual and/or group music therapy sessions based on your needs. These sessions may include musical improvisation, song writing, discussion of lyrics, receptive music listening, combinations of music and imagery, learning through music, and music performance. In addition to these staple components of music therapy sessions, your therapist may have innovative ideas to add and you could experience something that’s even better tailored to fit your needs. Many music therapists also invite you to participate in planning
your own interdisciplinary treatment, including other types of therapy, and join them in consistently evaluating your wellness progress. You can ask your therapist to help you decide on ways to continue music therapy at home between sessions or if you decide to discontinue your visits. When you choose to try music therapy, you’re retaining control of your wellness and simply enlisting professional help to maximize the efficacy of your treatment plan and help you to achieve your goals.

About Your Professional Music Therapist

Professional music therapists hold BAs or higher in music therapy and have studied musical, clinical, and music therapy foundational principles. They’ve spent 1200 hours in clinical training, including a supervised internship, and have studied AMTA Professional Competencies. All professionally practicing music therapists have passed the national board certification exam, obtaining MT-BC (Music Therapist – Board Certified) credentials from the Certification Board for Music Therapists. They follow specific standards of clinical practice and a code of ethics determined by AMTA, so you can trust them to help you improve your wellness. You can request a list of certified music therapists in your area by calling AMTA at (301) 589-3300 or e-mailing the organization at findMT@musictherapy.org.

Bio:  Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, researching various online programs and blogging about student life issues. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

bad news can bring good opportunities

27 Feb

I’m often torn about whether or not to share personal stories on my blog. While it’s relatively anonymous, there are readers who know who I am and I always feel a little bit vulnerable sharing things that are close to my heart.  But after thinking about this post for the past week or so, I decided that it was important to me and others who might be going through something similar to share – so here goes.

I got one of those phone calls you never really like to get from my health insurance company last week- my bi-annual Pap smear came back irregular.  The reason I get bi-annual exams is because I’ve been through this before (and I thought I beat it) and my doctor wants to watch to make sure my irregular cells don’t progress to cervical cancer.  Last time we watched it for 2 years, and when it progressed to CIN3, one step below cervical cancer, I had a LEEP procedure and cleared the offending cells. It’s been just over a year and one clear Pap since then, and here we are again.

And while the news isn’t that bad (in fact, many cases regress on their own or are stopped well before they become cervical cancer and there are so many people with such worse health problems that I feel very lucky), it’s still not fun.  Perhaps one of the most annoying aspects is the fact that there are things I can be doing to keep the cells from progressing to a worse state.  But having not done enough research and not been told about preventive practices by my physician (don’t get me started on our current American state of “health” care – it’s really sick care run by pharmaceutical companies, but that’s another post for another day), I’ve been sitting and waiting – letting things get worse. The good news is that all that is changing – I’m doing my research and I’m using my lifestyle choices to make this go away.  As Hippocrates said, “Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food.”

Our bodies are amazingly powerful, especially when given the right fuel – and I’m determined to do just that. I’ll post more specifics on my diets and experience as I go, but the changes involve juicing; raw, organic veggies at each meal; folic acid, vitamin E, and green tea catechin supplements; multivitamins; aloe juice; lots of water; no coffee but extra white and green teas; dedicated yoga practice; fresh air; less stress and more love!

And the timing couldn’t be better -  I’ll finish my clinical nutrition certificate program in June and get my yoga certification by October, and we have some fun vacations with family and friends planned.  Here we go!

tidbits from nutrition class: garlic and flax

3 Feb

I’m sitting in nutrition class right now (shh!) and thought I’d share some quick facts we’re learning about garlic and flax – two great super foods!

Garlic

Garlic is a great natural remedy and can be used for almost everything!  It’s detoxifying, can lower cholesterol, helps to eliminate parasites, can be used as a natural remedy for ear infections, keeps away mosquitoes, and helps improve the immune system.  Eat your garlic and read more about it at Spark! Wellness.

Flax

Flax seems to be in everything these days!  My favorite crackers from Trader Joe’s are covered with flax seeds and are soo yummmy!! Flax seeds (and oil) are great for your health: they have anti-inflammatory power, lower cholesterol, supply omega 3s, and may prevent some cancers. Read more at HealthCastle.

breatharian

9 Dec

I’d never heard the term breatharian before my nutrition class tonight, so I thought I’d share with you guys.  The below definition is courtesy of our lovely lecturer, Dr. Laura Thompson, CEO and founder of the Southern California Institute of Clinical Nutrition.

Breatharian:

- Refers to a being who does not eat but draws nourishment directly from the atmosphere in which it is placed

- Can obtain nutrition from the gases that make up air: hydrogen, nitrogen (for protein), carbon dioxide and oxygen

- Some yogis and high spiritual leaders are said to exist on the “air that they breathe.”  They live off their Prana or Chi.

This beautiful piece is artist Robert Pasternak’s “Breatharian.”   Talk about a diet, huh?!

Mmm Acupuncture!

25 Nov

I had my first acupuncture session a couple of weeks ago and totally loved it!  My friend from work, M (who is traveling the world on amazing adventure – I’m so proud and happy for her!), recommended Adrian Bean, from the Healing Point and my boyfriend and I made appointments. We couldn’t have picked a better person for our first session.  Adrian has a great presence and energy about him, and explained the theory and process thoroughly and in a way that made sense to me in the context of my life and practices. (more…)

My first colonic

17 Oct

It’s been a couple of weeks – light, healthy feeling weeks – since I did it.  Yup, I got a colonic.  A lot of people get them (they’re really not a big deal), but a lot of people feel weirded out and/or curious about them, so I thought I’d share my experience for anyone who wants to read.  (more…)

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