Yoga – It’s More Than Just Stretching
Monday, May 26th, 2008I remember when I first started doing yoga, my father-in-law became extremely agitated, fearing that I was drifting off into some spiritual practice that would have me and my family sitting in a lotus position and chanting mantras all day.
“Why don’t you just call it ’stretching,’” he suggested.
“Whatever,” I thought to myself as I continued to practice my poses and breathing exercises.
Over the years, however, I’ve discovered that Yoga is much more than merely “stretching.” The benefits of this practice go far beyond the physical dexterity that comes with the increased flexibility of relaxed and elongated muscle tissue.
Study Shows Video Game Exercise Not As Healthy As Real Thing … Duh!
Saturday, January 12th, 2008Sometimes the world of “research” baffles me a bit. For instance, I just ran across an article in the New York Times reporting on a recent “study” financed by Cake Media and a public relations consultant for the Nintendo gaming company that shows that children playing the Wii video games simulating sports activities don’t expend as much energy as if they actually played the games in real life.
I don’t don’t know about you, but my first reaction after reading this was … Duh. I mean, come on, I don’t think that takes a lot of sparks humming around the grey matter to figure that one out.
Exposure to Sunlight – Is It Good or Bad?
Sunday, December 30th, 2007In almost every culture since the beginning of time, the sun has been seen as a source of life, health and vitality. The ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks and Romans, the Mayans, Aztecs and Incas, and even the early Chinese, Japanese, and Indian cultures all believed that sunlight was beneficial. Sunlight was seen as a type [...]
Easy Ways to Quit Smoking
Saturday, December 29th, 2007The problem with many of the smokers that I know is that although they want to stop smoking, they don’t want to give up something they think they enjoy.
They are afraid of what the nicotine and other poisons are doing to their health, but they hold on to the pleasure their habit offers them [...]
Does Depression Increase Risk of Breast Cancer?
Thursday, December 27th, 2007A recent study reported by MSNBC suggested that women who are sad or suffer from mild depression have a higher risk of getting breast cancer.
The research also suggested that the longer a patient suffers with feeling of sadness or being depressed, the stronger the relationship with breast cancer becomes. The research is published in the [...]
Think Positive Thoughts – You’ll Live Longer
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007I saw an interesting post on the internet recently that cited a study done by the Mayo Clinic indicating that optimists tend to live longer than pessimists.
The research began in the 1960s where groups were tested and categorized as being either optimists, pessimists or a combination of both.
Over 40 years later, researchers have revisited the [...]
Light May Cure Seasonal Depression
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007The holidays can be a joyous time of year. But for many people, the winter festivities are often accompanied by an onslaught of negative feelings and emotions that leave them feeling depressed. Recent studies indicate that these feelings may be linked to a lack of light rather than emotional associations.
The New York Times reported recently [...]
The Science Behind Feeling Cold
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007With December well under way, many of us are being subjected to temperatures that send a chill cutting through our body. But what exactly is going on when this happens? Is it the actual temperature? Or something else?
Researchers at the University of Southern California have isolated a single protein (TRPM8) that is responsible for our [...]
Body, Mind and Spirit – Balance Is The Key
Friday, December 14th, 2007When thinking about what "total health" means, you need to consider not only your physical health, but your mental and spiritual health as well. There is a natural tendency in our culture to focus exclusively on physical health, but our life as a whole is much richer and more complex than the just the material [...]