20-Minutes of Hatha Yoga Improves Brain Function, Study Shows

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Can a 20-minute session of Hatha yoga actually improve brain function?

Neha Gothe and her colleagues at the University of Illinois student performed a study with 30 female, undergraduate students to show it can, and the findings were published in the “Journal of Physical Activity and Health.”

Participants in the study improved speed and accuracy on tests of working memory and inhibitory control – two measures of brain function associated with the ability to maintain focus, take in, retain and use new information, Business Standard reported.

“Yoga is an ancient Indian science and way of life that includes not only physical movements and postures but also regulated breathing and meditation,” Neha Gothe, who led the study while a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign said in the report. Gothe is now a professor of kinesiology, health and sport studies at Wayne State University in Detroit. “The practice involves an active attentional or mindfulness component, but its potential benefits have not been thoroughly explored.”

The study revealed participants had more improvement in their reaction times and accuracy on cognitive tasks after yoga practice compared to after an aerobic exercise session, which showed no significant improvements on the working memory and inhibitory control scores.

“It appears that following yoga practice, the participants were better able to focus their mental resources, process information quickly, more accurately and also learn, hold and update pieces of information more effectively than after performing an aerobic exercise bout,” Gothe said.

Editor’s Advice: Calling In Elevated Reinforcements

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By Tammy Mastroberte, Founder, Elevated Existence Magazine

Imagine you had a genie in a bottle available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and his only job was to make your life easier. Whether it was giving a presentation for work, finding a parking spot close to the grocery store in the middle of a rainstorm, or helping to potty train your two-year old, the genie would set up each situation to achieve the best possible outcome.

And what if the only thing you had to do was take the time to shake the bottle and ask for help?

I’m guessing most of you would say, “This sounds pretty easy! All I have to do is shake the bottle, make a request and I can get help? Where do I sign up?”

Well this help is available right now, this second, and no genie or magic bottle is required. The help I’m talking about is what I call “Elevated Reinforcements.” To “reinforce” something means to strengthen by additional assistance, and to elevate is to lift up or make higher. So “Elevated Reinforcements” are those who assist from a higher level.

They can be guardian angels, archangels, spirit guides, members of your soul family who are on “the other side” of the veil, or any higher source you believe in. It can even be referred to as calling in the power of source or the universe. But there is a very distinct catch to this help … you need to ask for it.

Elevated Reinforcements need to be called in, and it can be done just as easily as shaking a genie out of a bottle. Here is an example of what happened to me recently while trying to give my cat, Phoebe, a homeopathic remedy.

Those of you with cats understand they are not very fond of taking any type of medication, and are much harder to trick then a dog! The homeopathic remedy required me to squirt it into her mouth using a syringe. Now, Phoebe is 13 and a half years old, not a lap cat by any means, and a few years back, when I had to use a similar method for medication, it required catching her in a towel with only her head peeking out. Then a second person had to squirt the liquid into her mouth! Eventually she got wise to the towel and would run any time she saw it, so I was lucky the medicine was only for 10 days.

But this homeopathic remedy required me to give it to her every day for months, and I was in a total panic! I was desperate to get the medication into her so she could start feeling better, but had no confidence in my ability to do it. After a couple of terribly unsuccessful attempts, it suddenly hit me – Elevated Reinforcements!

So I mixed more medicine, filled the syringe, took a deep breath and said:

“Dear angels and guides, and all those in my soul family – only those of the highest vibration – please help me right now. I need to give this cat her medication so she can get well, so please help her to realize this, and please help me be able to do this easily.”

Phoebe saw the syringe – and probably felt my nerves – and took off to hide under the dining room table. After I crawled under to force her out, the most amazing thing happened … this cat just walked over to me, and laid down on the floor in front of me as if to say, “go ahead and do what you have to do.”

I knew right away a force beyond me helped with this situation, and I immediately said ‘thank you, thank you, thank you!” It has now been a couple months and giving her the medication has just become easier and easier. She opens her mouth and doesn’t even flinch!

So I have to ask you – have you called in your Elevated Reinforcements to help you lately? Don’t make them stand in the unemployment line – give them a job to do! Then watch the miracle unfold!

Tammy Mastroberte is a three-time, award-winning writer, founder of Elevated Existence, and publisher and editorial director of the multi-award-winning Elevated Existence Magazine. She started the new age, spiritual and self-improvement publication at age 30 – eight years after the sudden death of her mother from a brain aneurysm only three days after Christmas in 1999. This tragedy led her down a synchronistic path to discover her purpose and the meaning behind many of the events in her life – including her mother’s death. She now shares her guidance, and the wisdom of today’s top authors and spiritual celebrities through Elevated Existence Magazine. Follow her on Twitter: @ElevatedTammy or on Instagram: elevatedtammy. For more information, visit www.tammymastroberte.com.

Do You Believe in Love at First Sight?

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By Amy Leigh Mercree

Fairy tales and romantic comedies often tell stories of two people meeting, sharing a look and instantly falling deeply in love for life. These stories ignite our hearts with hope of a love so vast and all encompassing – where we feel like we found our missing piece. Who can forget the much quoted Jerry Maguire line: “You complete me.”

Why does a part of us innately seek completion from another instead of finding it within? Perhaps, we are really seeking the divine outside of ourselves instead of delving into the truth of it being within all along.

That being said, I do believe in love at first sight! I believe in the unexplainable alchemy between souls and in the unknowable, sometimes undefinable, strands that connect us in love to another – whether we just met or have known each other for years.

There is a certain charge that can mean soul level familiarity and oftentimes when we feel it, we know. Frequently, it transcends the romantic connotation of soul mates and delves into the territory of soul friends and soul family. How beautiful is it that we can have soul-deep caring in our lives from not only our romantic partners, but also from close friends and family. We are all abundant of the heart if we choose to let love in.

With love at first sight, besides soul connection personal and chemical compatibility come into instantaneous play. Personal compatibility can be as simple as liking one another and as complex as developing a communication style that resonates with both partners. Sometimes in the first minutes of knowing someone this can click or not. I believe we can sense part of what may come with personal compatibility when we first see a person. In reality, we are all immensely intuitive people and intuition can contribute to our love at first sight experiences.

The ever-present, intensely complex world of chemical interaction between people is massively at play in love at first site scenarios. Even from a distance we can imperceptibly smell our chemical compatibility with a potential partner and a complex cacophony of scents and pheromones pull us in or repel us instantly.

But what about the couples who meet virtually first? Do they get the chemical benefit of love at first sight? Answering that question, at this point in time, is 100-percent conjecture. No studies have been done on the topic, but I’ll tell you my observation as a dating and relationship coach for the past 15 years. Sometimes, the chemical becomes the psychic and people receive the same cues at a distance as they do in person. I have heard some pretty amazing stories of the psychic sense of smell affecting romance and attraction across the miles.

The real truth is love, whether at first, second, 200^th sight, is an unstoppable force of nature. Soul connected people magnetize each other at the right times in myriad magnificent ways. Our hearts can be stirred and nourished from within and without, and it is living in true abundance to graciously accept all the beauty that comes our way.

Love at first sight is real, and it happens all the time.

Amy Leigh Mercree is an expert dating & relationship coach, entrepreneur, adventure guide and internationally acclaimed author of “The Spiritual Girl’s Guide to Dating: Your Enlightened Path to Love, Sex, and Soul Mates.” This June, Mercree is teaching “Spiritual Romance: Reawakening the Sacred in Your Love Life,” at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. See more information on the seminar here. And visit her Web site www.spiritualgirlsguide.com for you complete evolved dater’s toolkit!

8 Healing Uses for Tea Tree Oil

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From Walgreens, CVS and Walmart to Vitamin Shoppe or Amazon, tea tree oil is very easy to find, and well worth the purchase because of its many uses. It’s a natural antiseptic, antibacterial and antimicrobial, and can be used to clean a yoga mat, heal cuts and burns and help with dry scalp.

Here are five of the ways you can use tea tree oil for healing:

Acne – Apply it directly on acne blemishes as an alternative to benzoyl peroxide.

Athlete’s Foot – Adding 20 drops to a small tub of water to soak the feet can offer antifungal effects.

Cuts and Burns – As a natural antiseptic, it can be used to treat small cuts, razor burns and even sunburn. It is recommended to dilute with water for less potency.

Dandruff or Dry Scalp – Mix a few drops of the oil with your shampoo – about 10 drops for 8 ounces of shampoo.

Laryngitis – Add three to four drops of tea tree oil to one cup of warm water and then gargle with the solution twice daily without swallowing.

Lice (Prevent or Treat) – As with dandruff or dry scalp, tea tree oil can be added to your shampoo to treat and prevent lice.

Respiratory Ailments – Whether it’s a sore throat, sinus congestion or chest infection, inhaling the vapors of tea tree oil can help. Simply boil water, add two to three drops of tea tree oil, remove from the heat, and inhale steam with a towel over your head.

Toothache – It can temporarily relive a toothache while waiting for a dentist appointment by applying it directly to the tooth with a cotton swab.

Meditation and Stretching Ease PTSD Symptoms & Normalize Stress Hormones, Study Shows

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Practicing a form of meditation and stretching can help relieve symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and normalize stress hormone levels, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

More than 7 million adults nationwide are diagnosed with PTSD in a typical year, which is the mental health condition triggered by a traumatic event. It can cause flashbacks, anxiety and other symptoms. PTSD patients have high levels of corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) and unusually low levels of cortisol – two hormones used to regulate the body’s response to stress.

Although levels of the stress hormone cortisol typically rise in response to pressure, PTSD patients have abnormally low levels of cortisol and benefit when these levels increase. The study found cortisol levels responded favorably in subjects who participated in mind-body exercises for an eight week-period, the study stated.

“Mind-body exercise offers a low-cost approach that could be used as a complement to traditional psychotherapy or drug treatments,” said Sang H. Kim, PhD, of the National Institutes of Health and the study author. “These self-directed practices give PTSD patients control over their own treatment and have few side effects.”

The randomized controlled clinical trial studied the impact of mind-body practices in nurses, a group at high-risk of developing PTSD due to repeated exposure to extreme stressors. Twenty-eight nurses from the University of New Mexico Hospital, including 22 experiencing PTSD symptoms, were divided into two groups. One took 60-minute mind-body sessions where participants performed stretching, balancing and deep breathing exercises while focusing on awareness of their body’s movements, sensations and surroundings – a form of meditation called mindfulness. The control group did not participate in the twice-weekly class.

The predominantly female participants underwent blood tests to measure their stress hormone levels and completed the government’s PTSD checklist for civilians. Among those who were enrolled in the mind-body course, cortisol levels in the blood rose 67 percent and PTSD checklist scores decreased by 41 percent, indicating the individuals were displaying fewer PTSD symptoms. In comparison, the control group had a nearly 4 percent decline in checklist scores and a 17 percent increase in blood cortisol levels during the same period.

“Participants in the mind-body intervention reported that not only did the mind-body exercises reduce the impact of stress on their daily lives, but they also slept better, felt calmer and were motivated to resume hobbies and other enjoyable activities they had dropped,” Kim said. “This is a promising PTSD intervention worthy of further study to determine its long-term effects.”

What is Constipation & How Can We Fix It?

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By Catherine Stack, Journey II Health, LLC

When assisting one in overcoming constipation, I often find her or she is likely to be constipated in other areas of life besides their intestines. It may be in relationships, finances, fear, anxiety and even spirituality. A great example would be to compare the constipated individual to a hoarder. They can’t let “it” go. They hold on for no good reason, which clutters up other areas of their life. When they learn to let go of their poop, they often let go of emotional baggage as well. You might not consider this a beautiful experience, but it is!

Because more than 63 million Americans suffer from chronic constipation, close to 700 million dollars each year is spent on constipation relief remedies. Doctors, gastrointestinal specialists and other health care providers typically offer little assistance when it comes to helping, often referring patients to take laxatives or eat more fiber. Some even suggest pooping every three to four days is normal – and I assure you it is not. Please don’t ever settle for that kind of normal!

The problem with fiber is when given to the constipated individual, it tends to backfire, leaving them in a state of pending explosion. Fiber is a bulking agent and the last thing the constipated person needs it to be “bulked up.” Don’t get me wrong, foods high in fiber such as fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds do a great job in preventing constipation, but when constipation is well established even these healthy options will struggle to get through. Once an individual is constipated, he or she must be a bit more proactive and creative when it comes to reestablishing healthy bowel movements, which by the way, is more than one bowel movement daily.

How it Starts
Missing your window of “poopertunity” is where the problem begins for many who tend to shy away from going in public places. This bad habit may have started during the early school years. Once constipated, they become very self-conscious about the smell and sounds that may erupt from a public toilet—so they choose to hold. This ultimately leads to an over distended colon that is not easily reversed if the constipation is longstanding.

Also, not drinking enough water is an aggravating factor for some, and dietary intolerances, mostly wheat and dairy, are contributing factors when it comes to what constipates us. However, convincing people to give up their bread, cheese and milk doesn’t always work.

Based on my own patient population, I can estimate that at least 15 percent of the population is anatomically incorrect. What lies within their abdomen, fails to resemble the pretty pictures of the colon in the anatomy books. These are the toughest cases to treat, and they must learn to stay proactive and switch things up often. Prior abdominal surgeries predispose the individual to scar tissue and adhesions that may result in strictures and changes within the colon as well. Medications are rarely considered, but often a contributing factor that may be over looked.

Additionally, parasites should be considered, as they are not an uncommon finding in the constipated individual. If you grind your teeth when you sleep, have dark circles under your eyes or maybe a dull ache in the lower right quadrant of your belly, parasites are likely.

For those suffering from long-term constipation, the above information paints a pretty bleak picture when it comes to finding help. But there are many supplements, foods and other remedies that can help. These include Cape Aloe, magnesium, probiotics and therapies such as colon hydrotherapy, which can have an individual “moving well” in no time. The transformation is amazing to watch. Literally, the cloud lifts, energy soars and the feeling of wellbeing becomes addicting.

Catherine Stack ND, CNM is the author of the brand new book, “Free Yourself from a CONSTIPATED Life.” The owner, facilitator and Doctor of Naturopathy at Journey II Health, LLC in Niagara Falls, established in 2007, Stack has been employed at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital as a Certified Nurse Midwife for more then 14 years. Specialties include individualized nutrition, colon hydrotherapy (colonics), digestive health and bio-identical hormone replacement for women. For more information on her book, visit, http://constipatedlife.com.