4 Things You Must Know to Get a Better Night’s Sleep

Posted on by Tammy

By Keri Nola, MA, LMHC

The bad news is millions of people struggle to get a restful sleep each night. If you’re one of them, you know the tremendous effect this can have on your mental, emotional and physical functioning throughout the day. The good news is the majority of factors influencing quality sleep are within your realm of control. Any symptom you have (including difficulty sleeping) is a powerful communicator, trying to get your attention about something. If you’re willing to listen, you can be empowered to make small shifts that can make a significant impact in the experience of your sleep time.

Here are 4 things you must know to empower yourself to have a better night’s rest.

1. Sleep preparation begins the moment you wake up. Be mindful of your choices throughout the day that welcome peace, calm and relaxation to avoid being so overwhelmed at bed time that it keeps you from being able to fall asleep swiftly and easily. Eat well balanced meals that resonate with you, meditate, spend time with people you enjoy, breathe, get some movement, and get out in nature. These are just a few ideas that can help you prepare for restful slumber.

2. Ask yourself questions. Exploring the metaphors present in sleep difficulty can be a powerful way to provide you with insight about the various ways your body may be communicating with you. Consider asking yourself: What does my body want me to be more awake to in my life? Do I have unresolved issues from the day or from my past that are asking for my attention?

3. Create a sacred sleep space. The physical environment in which you sleep holds the energy of all the items you choose to have present and how you have things organized. When you walk into your sleep space, do you feel held, comforted, relaxed? If not, consider making some small changes that can invite big change in your emotional reaction. What colors, images, scents, textures and/or temperatures relax you? How can you bring some of those into your bedroom to support your sleep?

4. Establish a bedtime ritual. Developing a bedtime ritual that helps your mind, body and soul prepare for rest can be a surprisingly helpful resource. Mindfully consider a combination of behaviors and activities that support your peaceful sleep. For example, choose a few things from this list: take a bath, drink a cup of herbal tea, turn the lights down, journal about your day, meditate, complete a progressive muscle relaxation, or share gratitude with your family members, friends, roommates.

Click HERE to grab your FREE Sacred Sleep Space Audio Meditation download.

Author of “A Year on Your Path to Growth: Daily Inspiration to Reconnect With Your Soul,” and “44 Holistic Tips for Peaceful Sleep,” Keri Nola is a highly regarded psychotherapist, and Founder of Path To Growth LLC, an integrative healing center based in Central Florida. She combines traditional and holistic techniques to create products and experiences that help people access their inner wisdom and create a healthy mind, body and spirit to live their most inspired lives. Her real life experience paired with her extensive education and work background makes her a compassionate, balanced, and sought-after professional in the areas of personal and spiritual growth and development. For more information, visit www.pathtogrowth.com; follow Keri on Twitter @PathtoGrowth; or on Facebook.

VIDEO: My Yoga Online Offers Free Classes May 12-31

Posted on by Tammy

Online video company, My Yoga Online is unlocking its entire inventory of classes starting Mother’s Day, May 12, 2013 through midnight on May 31. This includes more than 1,000 video session available via laptop, iPad, Apple TV, Roku, Samsung and more.

“My Yoga Online is throwing open the doors to our site for 20 days this May to help people everywhere re-balance and de-stress with our 1,000 online yoga, Pilates, meditation and wellness classes from more than 100 of the world’s best instructors,” says Jason Jacobson, CEO and co-founder, My Yoga Online.

The classes can be streamed or downloaded 24 hours a day, anywhere in the world. Normally the videos are available for a monthly membership fee of $9.95. The site also provides expert information on healthy living, workplace wellness, green living, health advice, a Q&A forum with experts, and more. To access My Yoga Online’s free classes from May 12 to 31 visit www.myyogaonline.com/yogaonthego.

For more information, see the video below:

Pema Chodron Live Video Streaming Weekend Event in May

Posted on by Tammy

The Omega Institute is welcoming Pema Chödrön to its Rhinebeck Campus May 17-19, and since the in-person event sold out, the organization is offering live video streaming for only $59 to those who sign up by April 30.

Chodron is widely known for her insightful and down-to-earth interpretation of meditation and Tibetan Buddhism for Western audiences, and will explore the four truths of impermanence, egolessness, suffering, and peace through talks, guided meditations, and question-and-answer sessions along with Tim Olmsted, according to Omega.

Registration after April 30 is $79, and an archived video of the weekend will be available for 60 days after the event.

New Children’s Book: “Dreams Come True, All They Need is You,” by Mike Dooley

Posted on by Tammy

Mike Dooley, author of books on the law of attraction, including “Leveraging the Universe: 7 Steps to Engaging Life’s Magic,” and “Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living Your Dreams,” published his first children’s book called Dreams Come True… All They Need Is You!

It tells the story of three young friends who lift off in a hot air balloon during a dream one night, to experience “a wonderland” of dolphins and islands. Using rhyming, Dooley lays our life lessons for children to understand how they play a role in their own destiny and how the thoughts they think become the life they live.

For more on Dooley, visit www.tut.com.

Editor’s Advice: Lessons Learned at a Satya Jewelry Mala Workshop

Posted on by Tammy

By Tammy Mastroberte, Founder, Elevated Existence

NOTE: Listen to my recent radio interview on Conscious Inquiry with Alexis Brooks here!

PHOTO: (Left to Right) Satya Scainetti and Tammy Mastroberte

Sometimes the most amazing lessons can be found in a simple creative task. This happened to me recently while attending a Mala & Meditation Workshop for Healing given by Satya Scainetti, the founder of Satya Jewelry at Golden Bridge Yoga in New York, where all of the participants learned to create a mala by hand.

The workshop started with Satya explaining how she began her company after a dream one night. She completed 30 days of yoga teacher training, and had been given her spiritual name Satya, which meant “truth.” The dream showed her she needed to start making jewelry to reflect all truths, and donate money to help children around the world. She woke up, immediately called her best friend, and they started the company. Today it has more than 50 employees, and has donated millions of dollars through the Satya Foundation.

Leading the group through an intention-setting meditation, Satya explained how each gemstone represents a different energy and healing quality, and we could choose the one we wanted to work with that day. I chose Angelite because I’ve always loved the stone. It facilitates contact with one’s angels and guides, as well as the higher self. It also works with the throat, third eye and crown chakras.

With Kundalini yoga music in the background, we all listened to instructions from Satya on how to create the knots between each bead – making sure they sit right on top of the bead so there is no movement. She also explained how creating a mala can reflect life experiences – it can be challenging and frustrating, and sometimes you get a knot (or hit a bump in the road) that needs to be worked out, smoothed over and redone. But if done with calmness, mindfulness and focus, the task is much easier.

I’ll admit, I was a bit worried I would never get the hang of it, and still be there hours after the workshop trying to finish the necklace! But once we all started, the process just seemed to flow. We chatted with one another at my table as we weaved our necklaces together, and the four-hour workshop flew by. Before I knew it, I had a completed Angelite mala infused with my intentions, and I felt a huge sense of accomplishment.

The experience was challenging, but relaxing at the same time, and it brings you into the present moment because you are concentrating only on each knot and each bead. If we could approach every day life this way – in the present moment, calmly removing the knots we encounter and starting again – the results would be amazing. And my Angelite mala necklace is proof!

For more on the company, visit www.satyajewelry.com and for more information on the Satya Foundation, visit www.satyafoundation.org.

Blessings and love!

Tammy Mastroberte
Founder, Publisher & Editorial Director
Elevated Existence Magazine
Twitter: @ElevatedTammy
Instagram: elevatedtammy

Essential Oils May Help Heal Acne

Posted on by Tammy

Do you suffer from acne, but don’t want to use prescription or over the counter medications that may cause side effects or use harmful ingredients? Essential oils may provide some help, according to Dr. Patrick B. Massey, medical director for complementary and alternative medicine for the Alexian Brothers Health System, who recently wrote an article on the topic at DailyHerald.com.

There are a number of medical studies exploring the use of essential oils on skin conditions, especially acne, and while prescription and some over the counter medications are effective, they often have side effects and may contain preservatives, stabilizers and other synthetic compounds that may not be safe for long-term use, Massey explained.

Essential oils, on the other hand, are derived from plants and many have well-documented medicinal properties. In a 2012 study published in the medical journal Alternative Medicine Review, a double-blind placebo-controlled study showed the essential oil copaiba (South American tree) was significantly better than a placebo in reducing acne, Massey stated.

Another 2012 medical study showed essential oils from orange and sweet basil were also very effective, demonstrating “the inhibition of bacterial growth.” And tea tree oil has also been studied for acne, showing “a significant antibacterial activity especially for the acne-causing bacteria Propionibacterium acnes,” Massey noted.

For more on Massey, visit his Web site, www.alt-med.org.