Yoga and Meditation

Dieting and losing weight is a constant cycle that many people have to go through for self-image, sport, and longevity. It’s important to feel good about yourself, and yet it is not always easy to shed unnecessary pounds and keep them off.

Natural food supplements are one easy and effective method for promoting weight loss. Ayurvedic herbs are some of the most used and most effective natural food supplements available.

An ancient system for health, Ayurveda uses natural therapies and remedies to help people achieve optimal quality of life. Achieving proper body weight and body fat ratio is one of the key elements to perfect health, and Ayurvedic herbs work quite well for this.

Weight loss was not as much of a problem 5,000 years ago when food was less readily available and people did not eat so many processed sugars and fats, so Ayurvedic herbal remedies were originally developed to combat certain diseases. More recently, it has been discovered that many of these herbs are great for losing weight naturally.

Gymnema is a popular Ayurvedic herb for weight loss, and is known as a sugar-destroyer. Excess sugars in the body play a large roll in gaining weight, so it is important to minimize sugar intake and try to use alternatives.

Gymnema not only helps by destroying sugar, but can also be used as a sweetener. This is a powerful benefit for people who do not want to stop eating sweet foods.

Another common herb in Ayurveda used for weight loss is Guggul; this herb is a fat destroyer. By increasing the metabolism, Guggul rids the body of unnecessary fat and effectively achieves proper body weight.

Guggul also supports one’s health by keeping normal levels of cholesterol, increasing cellular energy, increasing the number of white blood cells, and aiding in tissue regeneration.

Ayurvedic herbs are very effective for weight loss, however it is important to implement proper diet and exercise along with taking the appropriate remedies. These herbs are not magic pills, but great facilitators of good health and will work dynamically with positive changes in lifestyle and routine.

An incredibly powerful blend of Ayurvedic herbs for weight loss is called DietCare. This tonic includes the herbs Sallaki, Nagarmoth, Bavchi, Su. Guggul, Chitrak, Vavding Punarnava, and Sunth. DietCare works effectively to promote normal appetite and good digestion, balance the metabolism, increase hemoglobin and red blood cell count, suppress cravings, cleanse toxins from the body, serve as a gentle laxative, facilitate purification with potent antioxidants, reduce water content in the body, oxidize fat, and stimulate enzymatic secretions for better digestion.

Nicole Kerala has been studying Ayurveda and alternative medicine for over 10 years. Nicole has found that using ayurvedic herbal remedies has helped countless people to enhance their quality of life. More information about Ayurvedic herbal treatments can be seen here: Natural Ayurvedic Care

If you want to learn about the concept of chakra balance you have to understand chakra’s in general first. Chakras are our energy stations or centers. Chakras are your openings in your body for life energy to flow in and out of your aura.

One of their main functions is to vitalize our physical body and also to bring about the development of your self-consciousness. Chakras are also associated with our mental, physical, and emotional interactions.

Now how about what chakra’s look like? In most depictions you will notice a chakra is a funnel of sorts, and there are also smaller funnels within the larger funnel. Sometimes chakras have been referred to looking almost like a lotus flower.

Each individual has seven chakra centers, which associate with their own specific corresponding color. Here you will learn each chakras physical location within the body, as well as the beneficial gifts of chakra balance, the means of enhancing your life and well being by relieving a good deal of stress and anxiety that we as humans experience on a daily basis.

The seven chakras are the root, sacral, solar plexus, heart and throat chakras as well as the brow or third eye chakra and the crown chakra. They line up in the center of your body, beginning at the base of your spine and follow up to the top of your head.

To achieve chakra balance, you should eat specific foods that encourage the grounding and revitalization of energy to your chakras. You may find this list of foods helpful for balancing your chakras.

The root chakra finds benefit from eating tofu, carrots, beans, potatoes, meats, parsnips, eggs, radishes, garlic and beets.

Sacral chakra can be feed by melons, mangos, strawberries, almonds, honey, cinnamon and more.

Solar Plexus Chakra: Cereals, cheese, flax seed, ginger, milk, mints as well as many other foods. These types of food increase your self esteem.

The heart chakra benefits by eating thyme, sage, spinach, basil, broccoli and green teas, since they encourage the healing of emotional upsets.

Throat Chakra: Apples, kiwi, lemons, lemon grass, limes, plums, pears and salt, since these foods and spices aid in speaking your truth.

Brow Chakra: Black berries, blueberries, lavender, poppy seeds and red grapes encourage the awakening of the sense of the third eye.

For the final chakra your crown chakra, this will help to open and clear spiritual communication try the following incense sage, copal, myrrh, frankincense, and juniper.

Keep in mind this list is only a fraction of the types of spices, drinks and food products useful for chakra balance. To achieve a chakra balance, however, you will need to learn to gain better focus on the chakra centers of your body.

You can also do a chakra balance by using gemstones and placing the gemstone on each chakra point, with each point you can do an individual chakra balance and leave a gemstone on your chakra for three to five minutes depending on the amount of balance you feel you need to accomplish. You would start at the root chakra when doing this.

Since everyone is different you may find that some individuals recommend a specific gemstone for individual chakra centers, however, you can use any type of gemstone that feels right for you personally. By experimenting with various gemstones you can find the right one for your personal chakra work. You will know if you are using the right gemstone for you, after you place the gemstone on your chakra, when you experience a good feeling or notice a low humming. However, if you do experience any negative feelings or if the gemstone does not feel right, actually some gemstones will remove themselves if they are not right, by falling away from the chakra point. Any time you find they are not the right gemstone, you should not use them for chakra balancing.

Experiment with various gemstones until you find the one that provides you with the best feelings and then make a list of the chakra and the type of gemstones you use. For example, you may wish to use a black onyx on your root chakra, which is popular with many individuals, however, it may not be the best choice of gemstone to use for your chakra. Never assume that a suggested gemstone is the best choice for you to use, since what works for some, may not work for others. Experiment until you find your perfect gemstone.

You can balance all of the chakra centers at the same time, by placing your gemstones on each chakra point for approximately three to twenty-five minutes, depending on how much balance you feel your chakras need.

Many people are finding that the easiest and quickest way to achieve chakra balance is by using the latest audio technology which balances your own chakras by reproducing the sound frequency associated with each one.

Just by listening to the special sounds on headphones your chakras become instantly balanced!

What is Chakra According to the ancient Hindus?

The human body consists of 88,000 chakras, also referred to as continuously spinning or active energy points that act as portals to receive, interact and transmit life forces between an individual and his surroundings. Chakra is Hindu for spinning wheel. Of the bodys 88,000 energy points, seven are regarded to have major importance in the overall function of our being.

These seven major chakras are root/base chakra, sex/navel chakra, stomach/solar plexus chakra, heart chakra, throat chakra, brow/third eye chakra, and the crown chakra. These major chakra points in our body take in and transmit energies to and from the general surroundings including the people and elements around us. As such, they directly influence and affect an individuals corporeal, psychological, intellectual/emotional and spiritual/mystical activities.

Chakras are defined in various ways but there is one common thread among all of the definitions and explanations whether from the Chinese medicine point of view, the Hindus mystical understanding of an individuals internal and external experience or modern psychologys explanation of human our consciousness and thought processes.

The chakra unceasing interaction with our body and the environment even during our sleep gives them a direct influence over our physical structure and appearance including our bodily processes, health and our emotions. A glitch of any one of the major chakras is an indicator that something is wrong with our physical/emotional health which may directly or indirectly be noticeable.

Each of these energy points have a direct influence on a particular endocrine gland in our body which is how imbalance and ill health can be made known to us.

Maintaining the Optimum Functions of our Chakras Using the foundations of the ancient Hindus and Chineses understanding and interpretation of the functions of our bodys energy points, especially the seven major ones, we can safely arrive at the conclusion that not all our illnesses are viral; some are very likely related to the malfunction of one or all of our chakras. Physical symptoms of illness may not be present or minimal at the very least, but our feelings of discontent, stress, excitement are signs that something is wrong with us either on the physical, spiritual or emotional levels.

Since not all of our illnesses may be physical, they can also be on the emotional level brought on by repressed incidents that brought us undue pain or disappointment during our lifetime to eating the wrong types of foods and being obese for example. Lack of self confidence and self esteem can also be considered an illness in the broadest term. Certainly, there is only one way to combat these illnesses and that is to remove their physical or emotional triggers from our system.

Chakra Healing is Good for Our Body We can directly influence our chakras and their functions and through them our health and lives by employing techniques such as Reiki healing, aromatherapy, color therapy, chakra balancing with the aid of a pendulum, crystals or gemstones.

Simple and straightforward practice of color and aroma therapy, controlled breathing exercises and rhythmic exercise routines, Reiki healing and directed meditation with the use of audio even crystals and gemstones are but some of the ways we can do on our own to influence the process of interaction of our bodys energy points.

For example, the practice of Yoga and directed meditation are but two of the commonly used healing methods to align and enhance our energy points in order for us to achieve total relaxation and concentration regardless of where we are. This is very helpful in relieving stress and enhances the bodys natural healing processes.

Despite the fact that we can see or touch our energy points, aside from the above there are other ways that we can keep them healthy in order for them to better support our body.

Since our diet affects our body and our system, they also affect the stability and synchronization of our major energy points. The food we eat can either make them work better, slowly or not at all!

The first energy point, the root, is nourished by tubers and food rich in protein. The navels energy point on the other hand is benefited by our diet of sweet fruits and nuts while our energy point in our solar plexus chakra gets nourishment form wheat products, dairy and cereals.

Green, leafy vegetables, plenty of liquid, fruit juices and green tea are beneficial for our heart and throat chakras.

Blueberries and grapes are the primary source of nourishment of our energy point for the third eye. It is also helps if we drink wine or grape juice.

The spiritual and emotional center (our crown chakra) of the human body however does not need nutrients but requires detoxification by means of fasting.

With these simple methods of influencing our bodys energy points (chakras), we are at the same time also influencing our physical wellness towards a more responsive way of life completely with our body and our environment. They are very simple ways but very effective at the same time in order for us to achieve a goal of physical and emotional wellness.

Acupuncture and Oriental medicine practices have been coming to the forefront of medical treatment options in recent years. With a documented history of 5000 years, this ancient healing art provides us with an alternative to conventional medicine and the side effects that are all too often experienced.

Acupuncture is considered a ‘functional medicine’ in that it addresses the underlying root causes of disease and is very personalized to each individual. For example, two people may receive acupuncture treatments for headaches, but because their ‘root cause’ is individual and unique to each person, their treatments may be vastly different. In treating the root cause, the symptoms either disappear completely or are greatly reduced.

Acupuncture is a method of curing illnesses through the insertion of needles in targeted points in the body for improved stimulation. The needles used for acupuncture are very thin. They are only a little thicker than a human hair. The main purpose of acupuncture is actually to normalize the flow of blood and balance the yin and yang in the body but, because it is very effective in curing certain diseases, it is now used as an alternative healing method.

In acupuncture the Chinese terms jing luo means meridian or channel and qi (chi) means natural energy or vital energy and xue mean acupuncture points or acupoints. It is believed that qi or energy circulates throughout the body through the jing luo or the channels or meridians of which there are about 12 main ones and about 8 minor ones. The acupuncture points are the locations of the meridians or channels found close to the surface of our body. There may be about 2000 of these acupoints used for various treatments.

There are relatively few complications using acupuncture but there are certain risks involved if acupuncture is not used by trained and qualified acupuncture practitioners. Improper use of needles could result in certain organs being pierced, fainting, convulsions, nerve damage and also the onset of infections and also allergic reaction. If the needle is not placed properly, it can cause soreness and pain. If the needles are defective, blunt or if the patient moves, this could also lead to pain. If you have acupuncture when you are pregnant, there is possibility of harming the fetus as stimulation of the production of the hormone adrenocorticotropic and oxytocin which affects labor may take place

There are various methods in using acupuncture, because curing different forms of illness through this procedure requires different acupuncture techniques. But generally different acupuncture methods share the same concept, which is to cure illnesses through the insertion of needles in acupuncture points in the body. One method of acupuncture involves the use of moxa which is a Japanese herb used for treating certain conditions such as arthritis, bronchitis and diarrhea. This method is particularly effective in removing coldness from the body. Another method of removing the cold is cupping. This method makes use of a glass cup with a burning paper inserted into it to create a vacuum and makes the cup attach to your skin. Cupping increases blood flow in the area being treated, so this is effective in treating fibrositis and bronchitis.

Acupuncture for memory poor circulation is an effective method. Usually poor circulation leads to chronic headache, migraine and nausea. Acupuncture inserts needles on various points of the meridian and thereby reduces all types of diseases. With improved blood circulation enhanced by acupuncture, you are also benefited with sharper mental clarity, enhanced concentration, enriched sleep, positive feelings about life and healthy appetite.

Acupuncture is very important for treating insomnia, depression, and anxiety. Insomnia is a disease that prevents people from getting proper amount of sleep throughout the day and night. Acupuncture involves inserting needles on various points of the body and reducing energy blocked in the veins. This helps in sending a series of complex signals to the brain, which promotes relaxation and sleep.

At one time, Western medical circles were very skeptical of the Chinese practice of acupuncture (inserting needles into special places on the body called acupuncture pionts). But after decades of study, it is starting to be embraced (albeit carefully) by conventional as well as alternative healers around the world. Although it looks very painful, a trained acupuncturist knows where to insert the needles painlessly. Acupuncture works for animals, even the notoriously skittish Thoroughbred racehorse, often making the animal go into a deep state of relaxation.

Acupuncture is very important for treating insomnia, depression, and anxiety. Insomnia is a disease that prevents people from getting proper amount of sleep throughout the day and night. Acupuncture involves inserting needles on various points of the body and reducing energy blocked in the veins. This helps in sending a series of complex signals to the brain, which promotes relaxation and sleep.

You should not be surprised if your acupuncturist uses different techniques in treating you in every single session. An acupuncturist’s techniques may vary because if one particular area is stimulated too often, that area may become desensitized and the treatment won’t be effective anymore. You can also note that an acupuncturist will use different variations in inserting the needle at different stages of the treatment. For example, the acupuncturist may insert the needle in one area for a few seconds then insert the next needle in another area for several minutes. But ultimately, acupuncture will only be effective in that it becomes successful in balancing the flow of energy in your body.

It is actually very difficult to find the cause of certain diseases through acupuncture alone, because you will have to observe how a person responds to treatments and stimuli very closely. Therefore it will take a very talented and experienced acupuncturist to correctly diagnose an illness. You should also note that acupuncture is not only used to cure diseases, it can also be used to relieve back pain, muscle pain, or to just stimulate the flow of your blood so you feel energized. For example, a symptomatic treatment is a very difficult procedure because it requires that the acupuncturist remove the symptoms of an illness. The acupuncturist must know the critical acupuncture points he should stimulate and he must be knowledgeable about how the point relates to other parts of the body.

There are two common terms in the traditional Chinese medicine system. They are yin and yang. Yin is thought to be the cold, passive or female principle whilst yang is thought to be the hot, active or male principle. They are two opposite forces. A state of harmony is said to be achieved when these two opposing forces are in balance. If there is an imbalance of the two, the flow of vital energy or natural energy is blocked and it is believed that disease and all other ailments come about as a result of this imbalance. This imbalance can occur when a person is depressed, due to grief, anger or fear, stressed or when it is very cold, very hot, humid, windy or dry. Factors such as an improper diet, exhaustion, overwork and too much sex can bring about this imbalance as well.

Acupuncture is a method of curing illnesses through the insertion of needles in targeted points in the body for improved stimulation. The needles used for acupuncture are very thin. They are only a little thicker than a human hair. The main purpose of acupuncture is actually to normalize the flow of blood and balance the yin and yang in the body but, because it is very effective in curing certain diseases, it is now used as an alternative healing method.

Acupuncture is a holistic medicine and addresses all aspects of existence: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Almost any health issue can be addressed by using acupuncture and nutritional therapies. God created our bodies to heal themselves. It’s up to us to provide the environment for the healing to happen!

Acupuncture and Oriental medicine practices have been coming to the forefront of medical treatment options in recent years. With a documented history of 5000 years, this ancient healing art provides us with an alternative to conventional medicine and the side effects that are all too often experienced. Acupuncture, which can be used to treat a broad range of conditions and is a treatment which encourages the patient’s body to cure itself, is one of the oldest medical procedures in the world. It had its origins in China, more than 2500 years ago; some even believe it to be as long as 4000 years ago.