Finding Peace of Mind. Isn’t that what we all want? Yesterday I went to my first clinical hypnosis therapy session. I posted about the process last week but hadn’t experienced it until now. Told you I’d follow up on it.
The practitioner is in the process of writing a book on the subject of which she has been practicing for 16 years. Her office was calming as expected, her music soft and relaxing and her voice ever so soothing.
It was a case of deep relaxation while opening the subconscious to work with the mind in order to achieve a peaceful feeling to overcome symptoms such as (in my case) anxiety, some stress and loss of sleep. Others use it to manage pain, kick bad habits such as smoking and change harmful attitudes. If you’re familiar with meditation and make it your practice you will find it much easier to achieve an hypnotic state.
I decided to do this because someone very close to me has a recurring cancer and I wanted to offer support and something positive to go along with the auto-immune therapy that this person is undergoing. A therapy not yet approved here in Canada, only successful in 4 cancer types with a 30% success rate and a multitude of possible side effects. After yesterday I realized the hypnotherapy could help me deal with the situation as well.
This could not have come at a better time for me because I had no more than one hour of restful sleep the night before for no apparent reason other than over-thinking and worry. But you can train your mind to push worry aside with training and diligence.
Most people in general find it easier to attain a restful body but the mind seems to stay active. The idea is to quiet the mind while a part of your subconscious guides you along to a restful place to offer helpful suggestions. It’s not meditation. Meditation is a blank state while in hypnosis part of your mind stays awake.
woman meditating on the beach in the Caribbean
The session lasted one hour. The tiny group of two other people and I were told that 15 minutes of hypnotherapy is the equivalent of 4 hours of restful sleep. We were under for at least 30 minutes so I figure by way of this, I was able to get my full 8 hours after all. I actually felt much more rested after the session ended. Good thing too because I had a very full day ahead and was able to make it through remaining alert (along with some coffee).
I will continue this journey longer by going to sessions and setting aside a specific time (5 to 15 minutes a day) to sit back, relax, imagine my colour (we choose a colour theme – mine was shades of fuchsia before she said to make it a relaxing colour so it became violet), a vision (private although I shared it with the others in the room) and see where this guides me. I can tell you that my set visual is the most wonderful inspiring sensation.It wasn’t this but I love this dream like illustration and since I live partially in a dream world it inspired me to include it.
Have you tried this?
Practitioner: Louise Evans Address: Suite #205, 2902 West Broadway Phone: 604 773 5595 Website: sparkhypnotherapy.com
This week I want to focus on the old cliché in a few different areas. I want to start with Hypnosis because it’s something that has always fascinated me. Maybe I just want to be a control freak.
My dad used to say corny things to my mom like “you hypnotise me with your eyes“
When I was little my dad took me to see the stage illusionist and hypnotist Raveen who came to Montreal quite regularly. All I remember is lots of people going up on stage and then after being hypnotized, they did some crazy things like bark like dogs or cluck like chickens. I remember wanting to find out if I could be hypnotized but not wanting to find out later that I ran around naked onstage or something equally (no; that’s the worst) humiliating.
And who can forget Woody Allen in the screwball movie Curse of the Jade Scorpion where his character is hypnotized into stealing jewels after hearing only one word by a crooked hypnotist. Case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is intriguing to think about…I mean if you had the power to actually play with people’s minds and try to control them. (not like it hasn’t been done before by some crafty players.) I would like to wave the wand and be like: you are getting sleepy, you are under my spell. Now give me your sandwich! But realisticaly….
It’s time to put aside all the illusions about what a hypnotist can do. A stage hypnotist might, for the purposes of entertainment try to make you bark like a dog or take off your clothes (I don’t think they really do that but I would if I had the power and wanted to see someone naked) but clinical hypnotherapy is not entertainment. It is therapy undertaken in a state of hypnosis.
I’m just beginning to find out because two people close to me have started seeing a clinical therapist to experience hypnosis for therapeutic and medical reasons. Next week I’m tagging along to see for myself how the process works. The mind is a powerful tool so if this helps someone deal with pain or a psychologically stressful issue, it can’t be harmful. It appears that it can also benefit anyone dealing with a friend or significant other who has a medical issue and the accompanying stress that goes along it. Apparently this kind of hypnosis makes it easier for your subconscious mind to understand how you can get the results you want.
The Doorway to Your Subconscious
To be a good subject you need to want to cooperate and you need to be able to focus and follow instructions (a challenge for me but I will make a mental state of focusing attention). The reason to use clinical hypnosis is to help you become receptive to suggestions for solving your problem (s) and to help you have more control over your symptons. It is not mind control. You cannot be made to act on suggestions that are not acceptable to you. You are not asleep during the process. You cannot be hypnotized against your will. It involves helping you experience a pleasant state of relaxed concentration during which your conscious mind can relax and the “doorway” to your subconscious mind can be opened with your consent. In this relaxed state (almost a meditative state – something else I want to explore) your openness to suggestion and your mental focus may be increased. Sensitivity to feelings, sensations, sights, sounds, smells and tastes can be made more or less intense. Also, your imagination can often be easily used for making helpful suggestions work for you. I have a very active imagination so this will be interesting.
Hypnosis can be used as a tool to help you:
Experience Deep Healing Relaxation, Identify what you want and how you can get it, use your imagination to help you solve your problem, become more open to helpful suggestions and ideas, gain relief from bothersome symptoms such as physical pain and anxiety, gain more control over how you deal with such symptoms, learn how to more effectively manage stress, control your mood swings, supercharge your motivation to make positive changes in your behaviour, free yourself from harmful habits such as smoking, have better sleep, become less depressed and less anxious, let go of self destructive resentment and guilt, solve emotional conflicts that hold you back from getting better, and change harmful attitudes, beliefs, feelings and behaviours.
I will follow up on this and if it turns out that I can bend people to my will, I hope I can do some good.
CHIA vs FLAX?I don’t know if one is better than the other so I use both.
Chia Seeds
Both are considered super-seeds. At least Flax was spared the humility of being sold as a pet. Let’s focus on chia seeds for now.
Not so long ago chia seeds were most well known for being spread onto terracotta pottery so that they would grow fur to resemble some kind of animal. I never had one of those and thought them to be in the same category as the useless pet rock.
But then we found out that the seeds are much more useful than for making novelty items; they’re incredibly beneficial for your health. So to be on the healthy safe side I put a handful into my vitamix to add to smoothies and top granola and oatmeal with the potent little seeds that have similar benefits to Flax except they don’t have to be ground prior to consumption, and they don’t go rancid as quickly either.
Chia seeds, along with mint, were a prized food to the ancient Aztecs and Mayans. “Chia” is the ancient Mayan word for strength, and the tiny seeds were valued for their energy-boosting properties.
A Rich Source of Healthy Fats and Nutrients
Chia seeds are a quick and easy-to-use source of protein, healthy fats, dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants, all rolled into one neat package. That’s a lot to boast about.
In addition, chia seeds contain a number of additional phytochemicals, each with its own unique benefits. This includes myricetin, quercetin, and kaempferol, known for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties, and caffeic acid.
As it goes with the latest “IT” health boosters, you can buy it in other forms like the “Mamma Chia” energy drink shown here which has other added health benefits like spinach, kale, mint & spirulina and tastes similar to bubble tea.
It’s like Spring cleaning but for your body, and many of us partake at this time of the year right after several weeks of over indulging in food + drink. We say this year will be different, we won’t stuff ourselves nearly so much at the office parties and celebratory get togethers around Christmas and New Years but how many of us really have the strong willpower to say NO to that scrumptious looking piece of chocolate cake? Having said that…
Are you confused about the difference between a detox and a cleanse?
Many people use the terms detox and cleanse interchangeably. But there is a slight distinction between the two. It’s that distinction that will help you to make the appropriate investment of your time and resources to reach your optimal health goals.
In a detox, the goal is to remove the foods and food categories that are muddying the waters. We’re taking out the substances that slow you down, make you sick, clog your sinuses, cause bloating, make you retain unnecessary weight and leave you feeling tired and foggy. Who wants any of that?! Sometimes the things we’re removing are foods and sometimes they’re more than foods. . . behaviors or beliefs, patterns and habits that are holding us back. The protocol all depends on the intent of the specific detox.
So if that’s a detox, what’s a cleanse?
A cleanse is all that and more. We’re definitely removing the substances that leave you feeling high and dry in the ways I mentioned above. Yet we’re also going in a bit deeper. We’re delving into a certain area to detoxify and actually working to CLEAN it. We use food and supplements and herbs and practices to get those internal organs functioning to the best of their abilities. And because many of our organs are so easily regenerated, the healing you bring through these intense cleanses serves you well throughout the entire year.
Your gut is your deep-seated intuition. Intuition tells me that healing the gut is the very first step in remedying almost any health issue.
As you are well aware there are many, many cleanses out there to choose from. The most well known is the Master Cleanse. But for convenience sake I’m going to direct you to the trustworthy website belonging to none other than Gwyneth Paltrow. You know the one I’m talking about. I believe that she (and the people who work on her site) will have one of the best cleanses to tell you about. I mean who better to give us advice on a 21 day or a mini 3 day (for newbies) post New Years cleanse? But to be on the safe side, always check with your doctor beforehand.
The following recipes come courtesy of my good friend Kaeli Bauman who, as a holistic wellness coach helps women the world over tackle their nutritional demons so that they can live a healthy, vibrant life. Kaeli says:
What you put inside your body for beauty is far more important than what you put on the outside. Breakouts and sluggish looking skin are usually caused by an overburdened digestive system due to less than optimal food choices like heavily processed sugar and rancid fats. This is something that even the most expensive, highest quality skin product couldn’t repair. These quick little beauty elixirs are simple to make and have immediate healthy, beautifying benefits. When taken in the morning on an empty stomach or with breakfast, they absorb right into your bloodstream working their magic – detoxifying, energizing, regenerating, and adding a sweet glow to your skin.
Kaeli Bauman
Glow
(I’ve been making a very close version of this simple recipe every day for almost a year now. Only difference is that I slice a few pieces of ginger very thinly & add less than a tsp. of virgin coconut oil and a little honey. Sometimes I even add a tsp. of apple cider vinegar). Didn’t realize I was concocting a revive/glow mix but in any case it gives a good start to the day & gets me glowing (ha, ha).
Ingredients:
1 Lemon juiced
Dash of cayenne pepper
1 inch of juiced ginger
Dash of cinnamon
Why? Cinnamon controls your blood sugar levels, ginger has anti-inflammatory properties, cayenne revs up your metabolism, and lemon is an awesome liver detoxifier. Together they create a magical potion that will have you glowing all morning.
Revive
2 Tbsp of Apple cider vinegar
Dash of turmeric
1 tsp of raw honey
1 lime juiced
Why? Limes are full of citric acid which help detox the kidneys, raw honey is rich in minerals, turmeric has anti-inflammatory and anti-aging compounds, and apple cider vinegar has a pH similar to skin, which helps restore and balance your skin.
Skin
1 tbsp of raw cacao
1 tsp of maca
1 tbsp of maple syrup
1 tbsp of flax oil
Why? Cacao contains antioxidants which help protect collagen in the skin, maca helps balance hormones (which can contribute to breakouts,) Maple Syrup contains active ingredients which help skin cells regenerate, and flax oil is rich in omega-3’s which help maintain skin’s plump structure.
I’ve belonged to the same gym which is located a very short walking distance from where I live for more years than I want to admit. If I really stop to think about it, If I went every single day since day one, my body would be in perfect shape right now. But because I only go a few times a week instead, it is in almost perfect fairly good shape right now with room for improvement..always. My criteria is location, equipment, cleanliness and classes. The classes are excellent and I go to the varied yoga classes with different instructors and practices. I must admit that as much as I want to love working out with weights I don’t. I tried and tried and liked seeing the results because weights really do work but I didn’t enjoy it. I have some weights at home that are still sitting on the floor waiting to be picked up…someday. I don’t even enjoy spinning because I’d much rather ride a bike outside and I don’t like to sweat very much. So spinning is out. Running, Yoga and Dancing (tango/swing) works for me right now. And I always walk. I can walk and walk and walk for miles as long as my footwear is comfortable. Basically I feel better about myself when I’m doing a physical activity to improve my body, but sometimes…
No matter how dedicated you are to fitness, sooner or later, it’s going to happen: You’re going to skip a workout… and another… and another. Maybe you can blame a vacation, a mile-high pile of paperwork at the office or just your run-of-the-mill funk. Whatever the reason, before you know it, you’re out of shape.
A running buddy helps you to get motivated
Neglecting the gym every once in a while is nothing to worry about—after all, sometimes your body needs to rest and recover. But, when you hit pause on your workouts for more than a week, you might actually be throwing your fitness level into rewind. Here is an article I read on thedailybeast.com
How Fast Will You Fall Out of Shape?
You worked hard to get fit, whether by logging regular runs, or striving for new personal bests in your bench press. When your workouts fall by the wayside, how fast you fall out of shape depends on more than just how much time you spent away from the gym. Your overall fitness and the type of workout you’re missing will also impact your losses, says James Ting, M.D., a board-certified sports medicine physician with the Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Irvine, CA.
As a general rule, the fitter you are, the longer it will take your muscles turn to flub, he says. Your physique doesn’t like change; it’s constantly trying to achieve homeostasis. So the longer you have been exercising (and the fitter you are), the more time it will take for your body to say, “Well, I guess we don’t need to build muscle anymore.”
If it’s only been a week since you broke a sweat, don’t stress. Whatever your workout history, it’ll take more than seven days for your body to soften. But two weeks? You might not get away with that as easily. One Journal of Applied Physiology study suggests that easing up on your workouts for just 14 days can significantly reduce your cardiovascular fitness, lean muscle mass, and insulin sensitivity. Meanwhile, it can take two months or longer to see complete losses of your fitness gains, according to Ting.
Endurance vs. Strength: Which Will You Lose?
Your body will react differently depending on whether you’re skipping endurance exercise versus strength training, says exercise physiologist and trainer Marta Montenegro, M.S., C.S.C.S.
That’s because your muscles contain both type I (slow-twitch) and type II (fast-twitch) muscle fibers. Type I fibers contribute to endurance performance. Type II fibers are more powerful, and their “fast-twitch” capabilities help you power through high-intensity exercise or strength training.
During your day-to-day activities (like walking, talking, sitting at a desk, etc.), your type I fibers are contributing to the bulk of your efforts. But you really have to work to get your type II fibers to switch into gear. So, when you take a break from exercise, your type I fibers are likely still being used, helping to prevent them from breaking down. But some of your type II, fast-twitch fibers may be rarely, if ever used, if you aren’t working out, she says.
That may explain why type II fibers tend to atrophy more quickly than type I fibers, she says. In other words, your max bench press will suffer before your 10K time does when you’re slacking. If you’re taking a break from strength work or high-intensity intervals, you’ll notice a huge difference when you finally do go back to the gym.
Endurance athletes aren’t entirely out of the woods, though. When you perform regular cardio, your type II muscle fibers gradually change from type IIx to type IIa, Montenegro explains. Type IIa fibers are key to endurance performance: They are powerful, but don’t tucker out as quickly as IIx ones, meaning they can help power your long runs. When you take a break from your long runs and rides, this essentially reverses, and your percentage of type IIa fibers decreases, while your IIx fibers increases, she says. So prepare to tire out way faster.
Breaks Aren’t All Bad
Before we terrify you into heading to the gym right now, know that it’s actually good for you to skip workouts from time to time. In fact, if you train hard , taking a break can actually help improve your strength, muscle development and aerobic fitness, says certified strength and conditioning specialist Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., assistant editor-in-chief of the Strength and Conditioning Journal.
Days off can also improve your mental fitness. “Your body and mind both need time to recover for overall health and in order to achieve optimal performance,” says Ting. “Failing to recognize this and training too hard can lead to fatigue and, ironically, underperformance, the so-called overtraining syndrome.”
If you’re sore more than 72 hours after a workout, you’re feeling ill, or your fitness progress is stalling, it may be time to back off. How long should your break last? “There’s no hard and fast rule for how long a ‘break’ from exercise should be,” Ting says. “It may be as short as a few days, but it’s important to realize as well that it can also be up to one to two weeks without any significant detriment or loss in previous fitness gains.
Just remember that taking a break from exercise doesn’t (and shouldn’t) equate to gluing your butt to the couch and Netflix-binging. “Taking up some light activity that isn’t part of your typical training regimen, such as yoga or even a long walk or leisurely bike ride, can all constitute a ‘break,’” Ting says. (Oh, I see…I’ve been taking breaks all this time instead of actually working out).
How to Jump Back Into Your Workouts
Depending on how long you took off—and lazy you were—you might not want to jump back into your workouts, but rather ease into them. If you’ve taken any more than a couple weeks off, you’ll probably notice some differences. After a month or more, you’ll definitely want to get started with a less-intense version of your regular workout, Ting says.
“The most important thing is to back off a little for the first week,” Schoenfeld says. “Choose a weight where you will be able to stop several reps short of failure on your sets. The following week you should be able to train at your previous level, assuming the reason for stopping wasn’t an illness or injury.” Meanwhile, if you’re getting back into running, start at a pace at which you can run comfortably and are able to speak in short sentences. After a week, try turning up the speed.
It can be frustrating to exercise at anything less than your max effort, sure, but gradual is the way to go to prevent injury. The last thing you want is to walk into the gym after a month off, try to squat your “usual” load, and throw out your back. (Hello, another month off.)
Luckily, when it comes to getting back into your pre-break shape, you do have muscle memory working for you, Schoenfeld says. There are two aspects to muscle memory. One involves your ability to carry out movements in a coordinated fashion. Wonder why your first rep on the bench press looked so sloppy? It’s because your body was learning which muscle fibers it needed to recruit, and which ones it didn’t, to properly perform the exercise.
Then second component of muscle memory involves your cells. “Muscles have satellite cells—basically muscle stem cells—that help to drive protein synthesis. Resistance training increases satellite cells and these changes remain for years,” he explains. “So even if muscle is lost from taking time away for many years, a person can regain the lost muscle much more quickly after an extended layoff.” Score.
Exactly how long it takes will vary from person to person, but by and large, you can expect to be back in fighting shape in a few weeks.
What kind of exercise do you do on a regular basis?
Source: K. Aleisha Fetters, Life by Daily Burn (thedailybeast.com)
I like to make my smoothies NAKED Have you tried this juice? As far as juices go it’s pretty complete.They label it a juicesmoothie so you can drink it asis but if you have a Vitamix and add a few extras it’s perfect! It has a high percentage of fruit mixed with all the power greens including garlic & ginger for good measure. 140 calories per 8 fl. oz. so it’s not without calories. Also has plenty of vitamins but no fibre – although you can add fibre to it. It has naturally occurring sugars (from the fruit) but that’s what gives you the energy boost. It’s perfect right after a run, workout or for a pick-me-up. I love trying out new healthy smoothie recipes that are simple to make. Here, half the work is already done for you in one bottle.
My own concoction for a quick ‘n delicious Energy Smoothie for two:
NAKED (Green Machine)
ORANGE JUICE
FROZEN MANGO CHUNKS
1 BANANA
SCOOP OF*PROTEIN POWDER
SCOOP OF *FIBRE
FILTERED WATER (adjust to desired consistency)
MONKEYS (optional)
Start with 1 cup each of the juices, add 1 cup of mango and go from there. *I use Brad King’s Ultimate Vegan FibreLean and Ultimate Vegan Protein Powder. I also added a couple scoops of Vitamin C with L-Lysine (Medi-C Plus) for additional anti-sickness protection.
far outweigh the non-benefits of being unhappy. But who is happy all the time? Being happy all the time is just as not normal as being sad all the time!Life throws you some curveballs and it seems almost everyone I know right now is carrying a heavy personal load in some way be it with their family, love relationship, health, finances or job. I know a family whose house burnt down on Thanksgiving day no less. They’re just thankful that they made it out alive & now they’re lucky to have found their cat that ran out when the firemen arrived. Their personal belongings gone. The situation is not a happy one but they themselves are generally happy people and other than being shaken up by this devastation they’re dealing with it in an emotionally stable manner even with having to soon face starting all over again from scratch. It will not be as easy as looking for a new job. Which leaves me with the conclusion that aside from family, if you strip yourself of all your worldly belongings and material goods you are left with only yourself in your own skin and your bare emotions. That is really all you have that is your own. My thoughts are if you are an emotionally balanced person you will be able to face any negativity that comes your way in a more graceful and stable manner to be able to get through it faster than someone who is not. I believe your emotional health is at the crux of your quality of life. Without happiness, hopefulness and well-being, it’s difficult to reach your full potential and embrace each day as it comes. Even though some days leave you listless and it can be really hard to get through them. But you’ve got to suck it up and get on with it or get over it! If anything, I’ve always been hopeless hopeful. Hope gives you; well….it gives you possibilities. You can see yourself succeeding instead of failing. Maybe you’ll end up failing but the thing is you expected not to. You’ll pick yourself up, brush yourself off and start again because you have faith in yourself and your abilities. Mainly you have faith in yourself that you can and will overcome temporary setbacks. This is what John Lennon had to say about it:The following is what Dr. Mercola has to offer on the subject:
Your emotional health is also intricately tied to your physical health, such that an emotionally imbalanced person will be at a greater risk of chronic diseases and acute illnesses like colds and flu.
It’s thought that genetics account for about 50 percent of your “innate” happiness while life circumstances make up another 10. The rest is under your control, and the first step to harnessing it is to choose it and believe you can be happy.
Research shows, for instance, that when people were told to attempt to feel happier when listening to music, they were (as opposed to those who were told to simply relax).
It was the intention to become happier that made a difference.
It might help to consider your emotions as a form of energy. According to Dr. Bradley Nelson, when you feel an emotion, what you’re really sensing is the vibration of a particular energy. Each emotion has its own vibratory signature, and when intense emotions are felt, they can become trapped in your body, much like a ball of energy.
These “balls of energy” can become lodged just about anywhere in your body, where they can then cause disruptions in your body’s energy system, which underlies your physical system much like an invisible matrix.
Your body cannot tell the difference between an actual experience that triggers an emotional response and an emotion fabricated through thought process alone—such as when worrying about something negative that might occur but has not actually happened, or conversely, thinking about something positive and pleasant.
The latter, of course, will help your body to express many of the health benefits associated with happiness, while ruminating or focusing on negativity can literally manifest disease.
The Health Benefits of Happiness
Happiness not only feels good… it’s physically good for your body, too. For instance, past research has found that positive emotions –including being happy, lively and calm — appear to play a role in immune function. One study found that when happy people are exposed to cold and flu viruses, they’re less likely to get sick and, if they do, exhibit fewer symptoms.
The association held true regardless of the participants’ levels of self-esteem, purpose, extraversion, age, education, body mass or pre-study immunity to the virus, leading the lead researcher to say:
“We need to take more seriously the possibility that positive emotional style is a major player in disease risk.”
Further, in a study of nearly 200 heart failure patients, those with higher levels of gratitude had better mood, better sleep, less fatigue, and less inflammation, which can worsen heart failure, than those with lower levels.
What this means is that investing in your own happiness should not be viewed as a self-indulgent luxury. It represents an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to piecing together your overall health.
Your mind can only take so much stress before it breaks down, yet many neglect to tend to their emotional health with the same devotion they give to their physical well-being.
Strategies to Stay Emotionally Healthy
It’s clear that your emotional state is intricately tied to your physical and mental states. So what can you do to stay emotionally healthy? Like achieving physical fitness or a healthy weight, this is an ongoing process… something that must be tended to each and every day. The good news is that small steps add up and can make a major different for your emotional health. Tips for emotional nurturing include:
Be an Optimist
Looking on the bright side increases your ability to experience happiness in your day-to-day life while helping you cope more effectively with stress.
Have Hope
Having hope allows you to see the light at the end of the tunnel, helping you push through even dark, challenging times. Accomplishing goals, even small ones, can help you to build your level of hope.
Embrace Your Quirks
Self-deprecating remarks and thoughts will shroud your mind with negativity and foster increased levels of stress. Seek out and embrace the positive traits of yourself and your life, and avoid measuring your own worth by comparing yourself to those around you.
Stay Connected
Having loving and supportive relationships helps you feel connected and accepted, and promote a more positive mood. Intimate relationships help meet your emotional needs, so make it a point to reach out to others to develop and nurture these relationships in your life.
Express Gratitude
People who are thankful for what they have are better able to cope with stress, have more positive emotions, and are better able to reach their goals. The best way to harness the positive power of gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal or list, where you actively write down exactly what you’re grateful for each day. Doing so has been linked to happier moods, greater optimism and even better physical health.
Find Your Purpose and Meaning
When you have a purpose or goal that you’re striving for, your life will take on a new meaning that supports your mental well-being. If you’re not sure what your purpose is, explore your natural talents and interests to help find it, and also consider your role in intimate relationships and ability to grow spiritually.
Master Your Environment
When you have mastery over your environment, you’ve learned how to best modify your unique circumstances for the most emotional balance, which leads to feelings of pride and success. Mastery entails using skills such as time management and prioritization along with believing in your ability to handle whatever life throws your way.
Exercise Regularly
Exercise boosts levels of health-promoting neurochemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which may help buffer some of the effects of stress and also relieve some symptoms of depression. Rather than viewing exercise as a medical tool to lose weight, prevent disease, and live longer – all benefits that occur in the future – try viewing exercise as a daily tool to immediately enhance your frame of mind, reduce stress and feel happier.
Practice Mindfulness
Practicing “mindfulness” means you’re actively paying attention to the moment you’re in right now. Rather than letting your mind wander, when you’re mindful you’re living in the moment and letting distracting or negative thoughts pass through your mind without getting caught up in their emotional implications. Mindfulness can help you reduce stress for increased well-being as well as achieve undistracted focus.
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We all want to feel good. A stream of studies in the last decade have focused on oxytocin’s effects on body and mind.
the best things in life are these
Like antennas picking up a signal, oxytocin receptors are found on cells throughout the body.
Oxytocin has long been called the “love hormone” (although it sounds more like a laundry detergent) — responsible for attachment, bonding and plenty of those feel-good moments we have with other people and our pets. The naturally-occuring chemical is thought of as an anti-anxiety drug and used in couples counselling. But, new research shows the hormone isn’t all hearts and roses — there may be a dark side.
Like love, this powerful hormone is a complicated thing and it affects men and women differently. Here’s how the oxytocin is affecting your relationships, from sex to breakup recovery.
1. It Makes Breakups Worse
Have a painful memory of your ex that never seems to go away? A new study found that oxytocin has the ability to enhance anxiety and fear for stressful events in the future. So, when something is negative, like your failed relationship, oxytocin activates a part of the brain that intensifies, even prolongs your bad thought, which increases the chance it’ll become a long-term, painful memory. Ouch. As if breakups weren’t bad to begin with.
2. It Puts You In The Mood
A drug that gives you a better sex life? Nope, not talking about Viagra. Oxytocin, along with it’s ability to facilitate hugs and touches, has also been proven to boost sexual arousal. In a study from the University of California, men who sniffed a nasal spray containing oxytocin became more affectionate, had a stronger libido and they even were more satisfying lovers. Naturally, the wives weighed in for that one.
3. It Makes You Fall Head Over Heels … Sometimes Too Quickly
Released during sex, oxytocin is what connects us to our partner. The chemical accelerates an emotional connection right after a physical one. Studies suggest the bonding hormone is more powerful in women, making them attached to the men they sleep with — whether they’re a friend with benefits or a husband. Sound familiar? Your Tango expert Moushumi Ghose writes that there may be a such thing as an oxytocin overdose. And, studies show that too much oxytocin can cause men to be even less interested. “In this all too common scenario, one person may feel attached and therefore chase, while the other will run away.”
4. It Strengthens Your Relationship
The bonding hormone has been known to increase trust, make us generous and keep us supportive, but it’s also keeping you there for the long haul. The chemical is also responsible for the longevity of a relationship. A study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology discovered that couples with high-oxytocin levels laughed more often, touched more frequently and even finished each other’s sentences than those with low levels of the hormone.
5. It Makes You A Better Mother
The powerful hormone isn’t just affecting your romantic love — it’s responsible for maternal love, too. It plays an essential role in helping moms give birth and bond with their babies. Not only does it help induce labour, post-birth, it’s makes moms affectionate with their little ones. Researchers at Bar-Ilan University in Israel found a strong connection between the levels of oxytocin and the amount of attention new moms paid to her baby. In fact, it was the first trimester of the pregnancy that was most significant in predicting the mother-infant bonding behaviour. Higher levels of the hormone during that time period correlated to more bonding and embracing after the birth.
6. It Helps Resolve Your Arguments
Several studies have found that increased oxytocin levels can improve facial reading, empathy and how we determine others’ emotional states. But it might go beyond understanding our partner’s feelings better. Researchers from the University of Oxford argue that giving oxytocin nasal spray to couples may end marital conflicts, decrease stress hormones and boost the relationship.
7. It Makes Men Monogamous
Oxytocin is an essential hormone for monogamy in the animal kingdom and it’s been proven to foster trust in humans, but a recent study reveals it may also be what’s keeping your man faithful. Researchers in Germany found that oxytocin may be strengthening your bond even when you’re apart. The study found that attached men who were given a oxytocin-filled nasal spray kept a significantly greater distance between themselves and attractive women than the single participants did. Good work, oxytocin.
Now, where to get that nasal spray??
It works the same way with our pets.
What is it about the bond between human and dog that is not like the relationship between parent and child?
KIRA , I will definitely miss our sleepovers. XO
Now science offers a new explanation for the similarity. When our dogs gaze into our eyes with that “you are everything to me” look, our bodies — and theirs as well — are flooded with oxytocin, the hormone of love and nurture that cements the bond between people.
It wasn’t this but I love this dream like illustration and since I live partially in a dream world it inspired me to include it. 
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 
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