Friday, November 17, 2006

7 Ways on How to Avoid the Risks Associated with HRT

Does hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for your menopause makeyour blood run cold? Many women are faced with the potentialrisks associated with HRT. First, let’s take a quick look at thethree stages of menopause.

Menopause begins in your early 40s as your ovaries graduallyproduce less and less of the hormone estrogen. Your periodsbecome erratic sometimes skipping a month or alternating betweenlight and heavy.

The next period of time is the transitioning to actual menopause.During this time you may continue to have erratic periods andthe “fun stuff” begins to settle in for a long visit. Yes, funstuff like hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood swings and insomniaare some of the symptoms.

The final and actual onset of menopause usually occurs in yourearly 50s and is represented by the absence of your period for afull 12 months. It’s those in between years that can wreak havocin your life.

Are there natural alternatives for chemical HRT? The good newsis yes! It’s a sad fact that less than two percent of doctorseven mention alternative therapies and that most of them feelthere is no benefit. Thousands of women would disagree. Hereare just a few of the many natural alternatives:

Try adjusting your diet to include vegetables and fish that arehigh in Omega-3 as they contain nutrients that can help your bodydeal with menopause naturally. Conversely, there are foods thatcan make your menopausal symptoms worse. Caffeine, sugar, fattydairy products, salt, alcohol and saturated oils can aggravatethe symptoms.

Be sure and take a daily multivitamin making certain that thevitamin contains 100% of the daily allowance for nutrients. Justbe aware that vitamins are no substitute for following a healthydiet.

If menopause causes mood swings, it only makes sense that it’spossible to experience extreme responses for stress. Try usingdeep breathing techniques, meditation or some other methods ofrelaxation that works for you and practice the technique for 10to 20 minutes per


day. You will be left feeling calmer, moreable to cope and more in control.

Exercising regularly can also help alleviate menopausal symptoms.Scheduling at least 30 minutes of exercise three times a weekwill relieve hot flashes. You will be able to think more clearlyand reduce your risk of osteoporosis and heart disease.

Some women have found relief through yoga and acupressure. Bothare mainstays of practitioners of eastern medicine.

Last, but not least, we come to herbal treatments. Beans andcertain other plants have a mild estrogenic activity in theirmakeup thanks to "phytoestrogens." These are compounds thatinclude isoflavins, lignans, phytoseterols and saponins. Inadditional to helping your body through menopause, animalexperiments show they are significantly effective in preventingtumors of the breast tissue.

Without sending you off for a medical dictionary to understandthe compounds listed above, here are some of the foods and herbsthat contain healthy compounds: Soy, black cohosh, licorice,alfalfa, chasteberry, Chinese angelica, red clover, strawberry,celery stalks, dates, elder, false unicorn root, fennel, Honduransarsaparilla, lady’s slipper, liferoot, Mexican wild yams,passion flower, pomegranates and sassafras.

The foods, of course, are available from your local grocery. Visit your local health food store where you should be able tofind the herbs and methods to include them in your daily diet.

The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to medically diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any health care program.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emily Clark is editor at Lifestyle Health News and Medical Health News where you can find the most up-to-date advice and information on
many medical, health and lifestyle topics.

"7 Surprising Keys to Happiness"

Have you ever had one of those days where you just wish you
were in a better mood? Perhaps you tried to shift your state
of mind to something better but struggled to achieve it.

Sometimes we get stuck in our own 'stinking thinking' and
forget how easy it is to feel happier, so here are seven
simple ways to lift your mood that many people have found
useful and some of them may surprise you!

1. Go for a walk.

Most folk know that going for a short daily walk is one of
the best forms of exercise. If you can, go into a natural
environment with flowers, trees and birds. What will you
notice first? The different shades of greenery, the fresh
smell of country air, the bird sounds, or the sunlight
shining through the tree foliage.

2. Listen to some quality music.

Music creates magical effects. It can shift the listeners
state
within moments. Why not dig out that album you haven't
listened to in ages or why not tune in your radio to
something you've never listened to before.

3. Think of others less fortunate.

The fact that you are reading this article suggests that you
are probably much better off than many, many people on this
planet! What if you were to imagine being in space looking
down on the amazing beautiful earth, noticing all the oceans
and lands with the clouds above... And then thinking about
the fact that there are many human beings that are starving,
homeless and in lots of pain... Allow your compassion for
them to grow.

4. Read something radical!

How many different types of magazines can you get these
days?! Have you ever waltzed into a big newsagents and just
browsed through the magazine racks? It's incredible. Why not
buy a magazine you wouldn't normally


buy. You never know you
may discover something wonderful!

5. Laughing at laughter.

Have you ever had the experience when you just laugh for no
good reason? Isn't it great! Laughter is one of the best
ways to lift your spirits. Can't think of anything funny?
Try grinning at yourself insanely in the mirror and notice
how difficult it becomes to control your giggle muscles!

6. Simple breathing meditation.

A great exercise that you can do anywhere is a simple
breathing meditation. No need to dress in orange robes.
Simply find yourself in a comfortable sitting position with
your back straight. Now close your eyes and become aware of
the flow of air into and out of your nostrils. That's it! Do
this for 10/15 minutes and you'll find yourself pleasantly
surprised how you feel afterward.

7. Doodling just for fun!

Remember when you were young and you used to doodle with
crayons for hours. Kids love drawing silly little pictures,
why not adults? So get some pens, pencils, crayons or
whatever you have and just draw - doodle away until your
state of mind shifts.

You might agree that these are all pretty simple and that's
what's so good about them. Making changes, mundane or
profoundly life-changing, are easily and quickly achieved by
putting into action simple ideas, methods, tools and
techniques.

About the Author

Colin G Smith is a licensed Master Practitioner of Neuro-
Linguistic Programming (NLP) and author of 'The NLP
ToolBox', a personal development book that enables the
reader to master any area of their life with amazing speed.
Complete information on Colin G Smith's books are available
at his website, including a FREE personal development eBook.
http://www.NLPToolBox.com
7 Keys to a Happy Life

The following text is copyrighted. You may reproduce exactly as is with credits and footer, any other reproduction is illegal.


1. Do not act in order to receive a payoff.

This is what is causing much of our discomfort as individuals and a society. As soon as you act with the purpose of receiving something, you have removed love from the act. The goal is to act as if all your needs are met, then all your thinking and behavior comes from a different perspective. You also find that you act more effectively to get those things that you truly want, because you are acting and thinking as if you already have them. The alternative is acting and thinking as if you don't, and guess what, you don't. The state of mind of having something creates it, not the other way around.


The place you see this most is in relationships. The more you need in relationships, the less you get. This is simply because you are saying that you are not whole until someone else meets those needs that can never be met. Often what happens is that you eventually get the opposite because you are trying to show yourself that you must look inside. Once again, in relationships you must look to be loving, respectful, and accepting, because this is saying that you have all these things to give. In the end these things will be overflowing from you. Remember if you want to have something, give it, because you must have it if you can give it.


Abundance is another area this concept plays a major role. The more you say you need and operate from a place of not having enough, the more that state of mind will be created physically. This is why the very wealthy can sometimes feel impoverished, and the very poor can sometimes feel wealthy. Remember that perception is everything and that your thinking, feelings, and actions come from those perceptions.

2. You are the only judge of your life and what you will judge in the last moment of your life, is how well you loved.

Believe it or not, you do not really care what you accomplish in your life. How much you acquire, and how successful you are will not mean a thing when you decide to leave your body. Imagine that you are all living your own movie. Each movie has different characters, a different plot, and a different setting, yet the goal for each conclusion is the same. The happy ever after ending for every movie, is that the main character loved well at least once in their life in spite of circumstances. You have probably noticed that people on their deathbed, do or say something loving, often out of character, before they go. This is because they are closer to their spirit and may finally realize that to love well was their goal. Imagine if you lived with that consciousness while you were healthy and had time. Everything else physical comes to an end when you die, but people can take your love with them long after you die.

3. You are perfect, were perfect, and always will be perfect.

To the degree that you believe this, is how much physical success you will have. The people who believe in themselves and their ability are the ones who have lasting success in their lives. Belief creates reality. Some people have success for fleeting periods of time, but it doesn't last if their belief in themselves is dependent on what they do or what others think of them.


Belief in yourself is not like what you consider ego or arrogance. To truly believe in this perfection, you must also believe in the inherent perfection of all people and things. Remember how all things were created. Therefore you do not believe you are better than anyone, even though you may act better and have more success because you know the truth about yourself. You never have to judge or be right because you know that you cannot make anyone believe in themselves, though you can show them what it looks like. Your belief in the constant perfection of creation allows you to know that you are successful always because you cannot be anything else. Then what you choose to create will be a success and you know you can create anything.

4. You act based on what you know.

This sounds simple but is actually very profound. In order to act in a truly loving way, you must know what love really is. To be successful at anything, you need to know what success is. How many people are attempting to be successful in relationships, but don't know what to do because they have never learned what a loving, successful relationship looks like. If you do not know what to do, you will do what you have learned, or try something that you think might work, sometimes getting lucky.


You cannot program a computer without knowing what actions you must perform. If you must learn things because it is so difficult to remember in your physical state, perseverance, patience, and belief in yourself come in handy.
Sometimes you have housed yourself in a body which does not allow you to be successful at certain physical endeavors. This you do because you choose to limit yourself so that you can focus on your higher desire to succeed at something else. If you were physically capable of the other things, you may not choose to do the thing that you really want to accomplish on a spiritual level. Many handicapped people know this and don't like it when people feel sorry for them. They may not know why they don't like sympathy, but they know it feels wrong.
Believe this. You have chosen the body conditions, and situations you experience. This is done on a spiritual level and for good reason. Your goal is to find out what you can do with it, not feel bad about what you cannot do.
So if you want to run a marathon, but your legs don't work, don't focus on not running a marathon. Find out what you can do because you cannot run a marathon.

5. Fear is your biggest enemy, and can only be conquered by faith.

Fear tells you that to only love will not be enough. Fear and faith cannot coexist or control behavior together. One or the other has to take over. Believe it or not, which one takes over is your choice. This may not appear so, because many of you have developed a habit of acting on your fear. Remember that you can act with faith even though you are feeling fear. Which habit have you developed?
This goes back to the role of emotions and how you have developed a script, so to speak, about which behaviors go with which emotions. When you say you are depressed, you are really labeling your set of behaviors and thoughts. A good experiment is to consciously act in a way that your feeling does not describe. For instance, if you are angry, try smiling and saying something nice. If depressed, exercise and tell someone what a beautiful day it is. Most importantly, if afraid, do the thing that you are afraid of if it is in your best interest (jumping off a building may not be included in this).


You may find that these strategies make you feel like a fraud, but they will show you that you can do whatever you choose in spite of what you are feeling, including loving. Remember to use the feeling as a message, but choose the behavior that most effectively and lovingly responds to the message. Knowing that you can choose gives you real power over your life.

I understood the concept of faith. To me it is a powerful word that literally leads to mental invincibility. I was really beginning to feel it in my life.

The next principle takes from the last and is perhaps the most difficult for all of you.

6. No action is involuntary, including your thoughts.

Many of you may have at least come to believe that this is true for overt behaviors, but still struggle with applying it to thoughts. The scope of this principle is out of most human conception. There is not even a body function that is completely involuntary, though the medical profession would like you to believe that they are. Most of you simply do not know the force that controls your so-called autonomic nervous system. Once you really learn where and how thoughts work, you will know this force.


Many of the things you say you are (shy, stupid, alcoholic, etc.), have


(depression, diabetes, cancer, attention deficit disorder, etc.), or feel (sad, angry, love, etc.), are actually verbs, not nouns. Whether you are doing a behavior, having a body function, or thinking, you are on some level doing something voluntarily. All of it, every event that happens in your life, and in your body, is a product of thought.


You are probably thinking that there is no way that you could voluntarily be doing cancer, but it does begin with a thought, and your body is completely controlled by thought. Do you ever wonder why you don't die in dreams very often? Because if you really think you are dead, you are. After being diagnosed with cancer you have more thoughts about that, then more thoughts about your prognosis and course of disease. If you could examine a record of every thought you have ever had, conscious and unconscious, you could find the explanation of everything you experience in your life. We have talked about thought and belief before, but what is important is that you know what is having these thoughts and how you can be the decision maker about the thoughts you have.


When you are born, there is one source of thoughts, your soul, spirit, higher self, God, whatever you choose to call it. This source has all the ultimate truths. Over time (and not a very long time) another aspect of consciousness emerges, which you can call the learned self. This is like an observer who begins to notice that you are separate, have needs for physical survival, and can experience pain. This part continues to define itself through experience. It also defines everything and everyone around it. Within a short time, by about six years, this learned self has all but completely taken over, and is giving commands to your body and the universe by its constant thoughts. Once a thought or belief is established, it may never again be consciously verbalized in your mind again. You may call these echo thoughts because they are no longer conscious, but like an echo, they continue to fill every space available. These thoughts or beliefs are usually in the form of a conclusion and are the most constant, therefore most creative thoughts of all. They begin to operate behind the scenes very powerfully and without conscious attention.


Thought is the creative force of the universe, but it needs to have conviction and consistency to manifest in physical reality. Thought is like hammering a nail. Usually one hit will not put it all the way in. You must decide where you want it and hit it until it is all the way in so it can't easily be pulled out. This is how the echo thoughts work. They continually hammer at the nail until it is very hard to get out. Unless they are recognized, even if you try to pull them out by replacing them with other thoughts, the echo thoughts will hammer themselves back in even if they are part way out.


This is why it is so difficult for you to change your life circumstances. You are not often aware of the echo thoughts which continually maintain the circumstances. Even if you do things to change the situation, you will find yourself in a similar one at some point if the echo thought does not change.
How do you change an echo thought if it is out of awareness? Remember that everything in the universe is a manifestation of thought. If you are unsure what your echo thoughts are, there are two ways to find out. Both of these require guessing and detective work.


First, you could simply look at the circumstances throughout your life and ask what a person with this life might believe. Ask people close to you who know about your life, what they think you believe about yourself and the world. Most people will come up with similar guesses if they have some information about your situation and they are willing to be honest. This is simply working backwards from the manifested to the manifesting thought. Even if you doubt that these beliefs are present, remember that you have lost conscious awareness of them. Therefore act as if they are true based on the evidence in your life, and you will benefit anyway. If you do not challenge a belief, you will provide evidence for it in your life, period.


A second way to accomplish awareness of your echo thoughts is to look at the major messages you got from your parents, or whomever raised you. One or both parents taught you to make conclusions about yourself, the world, and other people, by their words, actions, or other more subtle means. You likely took these conclusions and accepted them as real guiding principles in your life. You wore them like glasses which you saw everything through, and they determined how you acted, thought, and reacted throughout your life. It is then inevitable that the consequences of these accumulated acts will give you what you have today.


Most important among the echo thoughts are the I am commands that are constantly working in your self-talk. These almost always come from the pre-adult years with evidence being provided throughout your teens and adulthood. Some of the more common commands you people are giving yourselves are… I am stupid… I am a quitter… I am worthless… I am a loser… I am weak and powerless… I am fat and ugly. You also make conclusions about the future: I will never be successful; I deserve to be punished and treated badly, My life sucks; I will never be happy; I always screw up; There are no decent men out there.


All of these have endless variations which may be more specific or more general. You were fortunate to discover these as your energy blockages or bumpers as you called them. Meditation and an honest inner enquiry can also give you the awareness you need.


Once you have this awareness, you can apply the sixth principle, that all thoughts and behaviors are voluntary. This is where you must be completely dedicated to find another echo thought and corresponding behaviors. This requires daily practice in all situations with conscious intent. This must take priority over all else for you to manifest these new things in your life. The hardest part is persevering until you see results. Remember that for many years you have burned the old ways in to the universal framework. The old thoughts have become like a template which will be used until another one is complete and more prominent.

7. Gratitude is the antidote for unhappiness.

This is perhaps the easiest yet most powerful truth. When there is gratitude their can be no other feeling than joy. There is always something to be grateful for even in the most dire of situations. You must find a way to focus on that which you have and are grateful for at all times. Even if you have to look at the fact that you are breathing because you can't find anything else. Gratitude brings with it more things to be grateful for. The universe is waiting for you to be grateful so that it can give you more.


If you are dying, be grateful for your life. If someone you love is dying, be grateful for the time you had with them. If you are broke, be grateful for your health and other's prosperity. If you are lonely, be grateful for the time with yourself. It is up to you to find and focus on gratitude. If you are envious of what someone else has, remember you are all one and be grateful for what they have.


In the end you have a choice to be grateful or not. If you choose not to, don't expect to be happy for any great lengths of time. If you choose to be grateful because the sun comes up, you can be happy all the time in spite of your circumstances, and you can choose to change your circumstances without need because you are already grateful for what you have. If you want more, that is fine, but be grateful for what you have until you have more.


Finally, always be grateful that you know the truth about yourself and your connection to all things including God, for these things are everlasting.


This article was written in 2003 by Sean Harder, author of Earth Wisdom, and founder of WholeLifeGym

http://www.wholelifegym.com
Sean has been a therapist and life coach for 13 years. He is a published author and founder of WholeLifeGym.com
7 Easy Creative Rituals to Spark Your Imagination and Inspire Your Soul

Creativity is a mysterious force that visits us with great ideas, new ways of seeing the world and the courage to do things differently. Revitalizing your creative talents will help you in the most unexpectedly wonderful ways: a new business idea, a renewed commitment to self-care, an appreciation for the beauty that lies all around us.

Finding a small bit of time each day to feed this force will not only reward you with increased creativity, but also an expanded sense of appreciation and gratitude for the creative process.

The following list highlights simple yet powerful actions you can take to spark your creative energy from the inside out.

1. Keep a Daily Journal
Use a journal to jot down the meandering thoughts of your mind. Write, draw, doodle, paste collages together. Stuck between your great ideas are random thoughts, mental notes, and menial observations. Use your journal as a place to deposit these thoughts, keeping your creative mental workspace clear. Think of it as feng shui for the mind, a way of keeping the creative juices flowing.

2. Create Sacred Space
Find a place in your home to keep inspiring, motivating and spiritually significant objects. Remind yourself that creativity flows like water and wind, that it is steadfast like earth and powerful like fire. Collect objects from nature to remind you of this. Place things that awe and inspire you, projects you’re most proud of, and photos of people who support and encourage your creative action.

3. Reflection.
Reflection can be a minute of appreciating someone or something, or it can be a day of meditation and writing. Find ways to incorporate reflection into your daily routine, noting how experiences and interactions help you grow as a creative person. This is great for surveying what inspires you and what blocks you, what attracts you and what doesn’t.

4. Get Away.
If you can, find


some time to sneak away and enjoy a creative pleasure. It can be an hour wandering through a craft store, window shopping, a hike in nature or a visit to a special place. If you have kids and can’t get away alone, don’t worry. Enjoy the outing and reflect on it together. There are no rules to creative getaways. It is whatever touches you at that moment.

5. Do Something Loca.
What’s something crazy you’ve always dreamed of doing but didn’t because of insecurity, fear or intimidation? Make a pact with yourself to get to know your Inner Loca (or loco for you guys reading this) and find ways to let her out to play each and every day.

6. See the World Through a Child’s Eyes.
Children have the amazing ability to be open to the possibilities of just about anything. Give yourself playtime to see the world through the eyes of a child. Sometimes it can be simply sitting on the floor and looking at a room from a new angle, or giving yourself permission to laugh and have fun.

7. Chart Your Course
It’s one thing to dream of creative things and it’s another thing to make them happen. Look at all the wonderful ideas you have and pick one to act upon. Make a commitment to do at least one daily action to support this idea. Doing the footwork to make your dream a reality will show you how easy it really is to turn ideas into action.

Ritual is a series of repeated acts. By incorporating creative ritual in your life, you will increase your innovation and creativity in ways that will surprise and delight you. Try at least one of these actions and feel your creativity grow!



About the Author

Nancy Marmolejo is a life and business coach for creative women and the owner of Comadre Coaching. To contact Nancy, email info@comadrecoaching.com or call 714-777-1216. Sign up for Nancy’s award winning newsletter, The Pocket Comadre, by visitng http://www.ComadreCoaching.com.
6 Ways to Slow Down the Adult ADD Brain

If you have adult ADD, then you know that sometimes, slowing down is a very hard thing to do. There are so many tasks to accomplish and so little time to get them done. So your mind goes into high speed, trying to accomplish it all and more, or worrying about the fact that it seems impossible to get it all done. As a result, you spend a lot of time stressing, and very little time enjoying life.

While slowing down is a difficult skill to build, it can be done. Here are 6 proven ways to slow down the adult ADD brain:

1. Leave Work
Set your business hours and stick to them! Although sometimes it's necessary to work late, don't do it unless you absolutely have to! You'll work more efficiently during the day when the time you have to accomplish your tasks is limited. And take weekends off (or at least 2 days a week)! You deserve it.

2. Plan a Night Out with Others
Nothing is more fun than a night out with people you like. This could be coworkers, friends, family, or members of a group you belong to. Enjoy yourself.

3. Make a Weekly Commitment (Like Taking a Class or Participating in a Group)
Get an excuse to get out of the house and out of the office every week! Take a class, preferably learning something you always wanted to know how to do. Make sure you *pay* for the class in advance so you won't be tempted to skip it!

4. Journal
Journaling forces you to stop, reflect and process. It helps you manage stress and gain


clarity. Make the decision to do it every day - even if it's just for 10 minutes! Don't worry about grammar, spelling, punctuation, or flow because no one else ever has to see it.

5. Meditate
There are many different ways to meditate, but I prefer mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness meditation is simply the act of being in the present moment - whether you are working, walking, or doing the dishes! Try to keep your mind in the moment, and don't follow stressful or worrisome thoughts when they arise. It's okay to begin slowly by doing 5 minutes of mindful meditation a day, and then building on your practice as you become more comfortable.

6. Turn off Your Computer 2 Hours Before Bed
Computers are quite stimulating, especially for ADDers. Oftentimes, you'll find yourself sitting at your computer at 3 o'clock in the morning totally engrossed in researching something completely random. You just can't step away from it to go to sleep, and that's because the computer wakes up your brain. Turn the computer off two hours before bed in order to properly wind down, and slow down, at night.

About the Author

Jennifer Koretsky is a Professional ADD Management Coach who helps adults manage their ADD and move forward in life. She offers a 90-day intensive skill-building program, workshops, and private coaching. To subscribe to Jennifer’s free email newsletter, The ADD Management Guide, please visit http://www.addmanagement.com/e-newsletter.htm
6 Steps to Relieve Stress

We get over-stressed now and then. It's a natural response under certain conditions. We need to be concern when our stress is getting out of hand and interfering with our lifestyle. What problems can too much stress cause?

· High Blood Pressure · Colds and the Flu · Allergies · Diabetes · Damage Relationships · General Bad Health

The list goes on….

Getting over the stress is what we want to strive for. How can we go about this? Taking the natural approach is probably the best way to start. Here are a few ideas to begin with.

Exercise: It may be difficult to begin an exercise program but once you start it will become easier. Exercise helps to blow off steam and gets rid of excess stress. So you benefit by reducing your tension and obtaining a workout as well. Of course talk to your physician before beginning an exercise program.

Relax: Yes it is hard to relax when you are stressing. Try taking in a deep breath slowly. Now as you breathe out picture all the stress leaving you. You may find that doing relaxation techniques on a regular basic when you aren't stressed out to be beneficial.

Learn relaxation techniques such as: · Meditation · Yoga · EFT · Z-Point · Bio-Feedback · Listening to some soothing music. · Prayer · Asking for Assistance · Joining a Support Network

Look into what causes your stress: You may not know what is inducing you stress. Try to understand where the source is coming from if possible. Once you understand what is causing your stress you can try to modify these problem areas. If you can't, can you substantially reduce them? Maybe you can look at these stressors in a different way.

Have a Positive Attitude: Always look on the bright side of things. Don't think about what may go wrong.


Take positive steps to improve yourself, your business and your spirit. Work on your ambitions. Find methods to enhance your routine activities. At the end of the day understand that you have done all you can to maintain a healthy lookout on life. Now you can relax and enjoy the remainder of the evening either by yourself or with family and friends.

Nutrition: A healthy diet with the proper nutrition is one key to balancing you physical, mental and emotional health. Frozen TV dinners or Big Macs are not good choices. You need to consume as much unprocessed food as possible. Try to eat as much organic products as possible to eliminate pesticides from your diet. Eat plenty of fresh vegetables, raw if possible, and some fruit. Drink plenty of clean water to keep those brain neurons communicating.

Get Enough Rest: Getting enough sleep at night is crucial to keeping stress at bay. Try to relax the best you can in the evening. Exercise early so that you aren't all wound up. If you watch a movie ensure it's not too violent are exciting. It may be better to watch a comedy, read something soothing or listen to soft pleasant music.

If your stress is so severe and you can't seem to find relief regardless of what you try then you may desire to request professional help.

So there you have six ideas that will help you reduce stress and enjoy life more. Don't delay. Start on these recommendations right away. Don't stop there. Keep looking for new ways to manage your stress and genuinely enjoy life once more.

Copyright 2005 Think Healthy

About The Author

Lambert Klein is the owner of Think Healthy supplements and products.

http://www.coral-cure.com
5 Time-Tested Ways to Beat Stress

Most of us can attest to the fact that stress is reaching epidemic proportions in modern society. Balancing work, family, health, money, etc. is a challenge that many of us feel ill equipped to face. Eighty percent of the doctor visits in our country are stress related. Our quality of life and health is largely determined by how we adapt and relate to daily stressors. Here are a few ancient techniques for eliminating stress, increasing energy, and creating emotional balance. These are some of the most powerful tools we have for achieving optimal health and preventing future disease.

1) Meditation: Practiced for thousands of years in many Asian cultures, meditation has long been recognized as one of the most powerful tools we have for cultivating peace of mind and balance. Numerous studies have proven the incredibly positive effect that meditation has on stress reduction. There are literally hundreds of meditation techniques taught around the world. For beginners, the most helpful approach is to start with basic mindfulness techniques that develop both relaxation and alertness. Once a basic ground of awareness has been stabilized, then more advanced meditation practices can be undertaken. If you need help getting started, please go to http://www.havinghealthnow.com/meditationcd.html

2) Yoga: This ancient practice has also been utilized by millions of people throughout history. Yoga is typically considered a form of meditation that involves putting the body into a variety of poses in combination with deep breathing to induce mental clarity, increased energy, and physical strength and flexibility. The healing benefits of yoga have been repeatedly documented by a variety of clinical studies. There are many forms of yoga and it is best to experiment to determine which form feels the most helpful for your needs.

3) Acupuncture: One of the pillars of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture has been practiced for at least 2,500 years. Perhaps one of the last truly holistic forms of healthcare remaining on the planet, acupuncture works with the Qi (life force ) of the body in order to induce a variety


of therapeutic effects. The safety and efficacy of this practice are well documented which accounts for its incredible surge in popularity in the Western world. Acupuncture is considered one of the most powerful treatment options for stress reduction. Only seek acupuncture treatment from licensed acupuncturists ( as opposed to chiropractors or MD's who practice acupuncture).

4) Herbal medicine: There are a variety of both Chinese and Western herbal formulas that have been clinically proven to reduce stress and create emotional balance. Herbs are much less concentrated than pharmaceuticals, which is why they have far less side effects (but can still be as effective). If you are interested in this treatment option, many acupuncturists can skillfully prescribe herbal formulas. This is recommended over buying herbs over the counter with little knowledge of their intended usage.

5) Nutrition: Eating a diet high in antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and low glycemic carbohydrates can go a long ways in healing stress. The standard American diet (high in processed foods, saturated fat, sugar, and transfats) has been linked to anxiety, depression, and increased stress in numerous studies. Change your diet to an organic, whole foods approach and both your body and mind will reward you beyond measure.

Making these lifestyle changes may not be easy in the initial phases and it is often helpful to seek out the support of a health care practitioner to guide you through these transitions. Once you start feeling the enormous payoff of making such changes, there truly is no turning back. Your stress will dissolve, your weight will decrease, and your energy will skyrocket. Isn't that enough to warrant making a few changes?





About the author:

Kevin Doherty, L.Ac., MS is a licensed acupuncturist in private practice in Superior, Colorado and the staff acupuncturist for the integrative care center at Exempla hospital in Lafayette, Colorado. Kevin treats a variety of stress-related health concerns in his practice. For more information, please visit http://www.havinghealthnow.com