Meditation: Getting Started

"A few basic exercises on focusing your attention.

- Begin by sitting on a cushion with your legs crossed or, if that's uncomfortable, in a chair or even lying on your back, but always with your back straight and body relaxed. Your eyes may be closed, half-closed or open.
- Be at ease. Be still. Be vigilant.
- Take three slow, gentle, deep breaths, breathing in and out through the nostrils. Let your awareness permeate your entire body as you breathe, noting any sensations that arise. Now settle your respiration in its natural flow. Observe the entire course of each in- and out-breath, noting whether it is long or short, deep or shallow, slow or fast. Don't impose any rhythm on your breathing. Let the body breathe as if you were fast asleep, but with your mind vigilant.
- Thoughts are bound to arise involuntarily, and your attention may also be pulled away by noises and other stimuli from your environment. When you note that you have become distracted, instead of tightening up and forcing your attention back to the breath, simply let go of these thoughts and distractions. Don't get upset. Just be happy that you've noticed the distraction, and gently return to the breath.
- Continue the practice initially for 24 minutes a day. If necessary, beginners can use the mental training wheels of counting each inhale, up to 21. Each time the mind wanders, return to one again."

- Psychology Today

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Mental Reserves Keep Brains Agile

- Novelty is crucial to providing stimulation for the
aging brain. The brain requires continued stresses to maintain or enhance its
strength.
- Those who pursued the most
leisure activities of an intellectual or social nature had a lower risk of developing dementia. The more activities, the lower the
risk.
- Continued
social interactions helped protect against dementia. The more extensive
an older person’s social network, the better the brain is likely to
work. Especially helpful are productive or
mentally stimulating activities pursued with other people, like
community gardening, taking classes, volunteering or participating in a
play-reading group.
- Physical exercise improves ‘executive function,’ which is the set of
abilities that allows you to select behavior that’s appropriate to the
situation, inhibit inappropriate behavior and focus on the job at hand
in spite of distractions. Executive function includes basic functions
like processing speed, response speed and working memory, the type used
to remember a house number while walking from the car to a party. Just walking fast for 30 to 60 minutes several times a week can
help.

From The New York Times

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Relax naturally

"Kava kava is a tropical plant that has been dubbed "Nature's Valium." South Pacific Islanders have used it for hundreds of years as a calming nectar and in religious ceremonies. In addition to soothing anxiety, kava kava is also used as an antispasmodic and pain reliever. Women suffering from menstrual cramps sometimes find relief by taking kava kava."

- Psychology Today

Staying a Step Ahead of Aging

While you will slow down as you age, you
may be able to stave off more of the deterioration than you thought. Researchers say that you should be
able to maintain your muscles as you age, including the muscle enzymes
needed for good athletic performance, and you should be able to
maintain your ability to exercise for long periods near your so-called
lactic threshold, meaning you are near maximum effort.

But you have to know how to train, doing the right sort of exercise, and you must keep it up. Train hard and train often. Do things like regular interval training,
repeatedly going all out, easing up, then going all out again. These
workouts train your body to increase its oxygen consumption by allowing
you to maintain an intense effort.

When you have to choose between hard and often, choose hard.

The reason people become slower, though, is that oxygen consumption declines with age.

In large part that is because, as has long been known, the maximum heart rate
steadily falls by about seven to eight beats per minute per decade. It
happens with or without training, in sedentary and in active people. As a result, the heart
cannot pump as much blood at maximum effort.

From The New York Times

Bread salad

1 pound stale country bread or baguette, cut in thick slices

1 small red onion, sliced very thin

Cold water

1 pound ripe tomatoes, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar (more to taste)

1 large garlic clove, minced or crushed in a mortar and pestle

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. If your bread is very hard, douse the loaf with water and cut it into a few pieces that will fit into a medium bowl. Cover with the onions. Add enough cold water to cover the pieces and let sit for 20 minutes. Lift the onions off the bread, and rinse in a strainer. Drain the bread, squeeze out excess water and crumble the bread into a salad bowl.

2. Add the tomatoes, basil and parsley to the bowl. Mix together the vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil, then toss with the bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate for one hour or longer before serving.

Yield: Serves six

Advance preparation: This can be assembled several hours before you wish to serve it. Add the herbs close to serving time, so they won’t fade.

From : The New York Times

Honey Cleansing Scrub

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon of honey
2 Tablespoons finely ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice.


Method
- Mix honey with almonds and lemon juice.
- Rub gently onto face.
- Rinse off with warm water.

Get life confident

"Don't avoid whatever makes you nervous, instead build up to it. If you have a presentation coming up, make sure you practice, first on your own in front of a mirror, then in front of a friend, then perhaps in front of a small group. Feeling prepared is the first step to feeling confident"

- Psychologies

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The Amazing Power of Honey

Honey is a fantastic antibacterial agent. Here are a few natural remedies using honey.

Aging skin : Make a face mask by combining honey, cornflower and limejuice. (Source : ISBN 8122307485, 9788122307481)

Sore throats, coughs and colds : Mix honey with lemon juice and use as a cough syrup (1:1). (Source : ISBN 8122307485, 9788122307481)

Leg ulcers, pressure sores : Use honey dressings. Also good for wounds/ulcers resulting from radiation therapy. (BBC)

Eczema/psoriasis: A natural combination of honey, olive oil, and beeswax can provide significant benefit. Combine equal parts of raw (unprocessed) honey, beeswax, and cold pressed olive oil. Start with a small amount of each ingredient (e.g., one or two tablespoons). Begin by melting the beeswax in a small pan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Once melted, remove it from the heat and mix in the honey, then the olive oil, stirring the mixture until well blended. While the mixture is still warm, pour it into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. The mixture should keep for up to three months. A few drops of vitamin E oil (from a gel cap) may be added to each batch for longer shelf life, and to enhance its healing properties. (Bastyr Centre for Natural Health)

Honey made from the flowers of the manuka bush, a native of New Zealand, has antibacterial properties over and above those of other honeys. Look for registered suppliers of UMF manuka honey in New Zealand
. (BBC)

Here’s another set of recipes I received by email. They use honey and cinnamon to cure a range of diseases. I am still researching these.

Heart disease : Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, spread on bread instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also good for those who have had a heart attack as it relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat.

Arthritis : One cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder to be taken regularly.

Bladder infections : Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it.

Toothache : Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply on the aching tooth. This may be applied three times a day until the tooth stops aching.

Cholesterol : Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of cinnamon powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient were found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. Pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.

Colds : 1 tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days.

Upset stomach : Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.

Gas : Take some honey with cinnamon powder.

Immune system : Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacterial and viral attacks.

Indigestion : Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.

Flu : A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural ingredient which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.

Longevity : Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Take four spoons of honey, one spoon of cinnamon powder and three cups of water and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age.

Pimples : Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water. If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.

Skin infection : Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts, cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.

Weight loss : Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast on an empty stomach and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. Drinking this stops fat from accumulate in the body.

Cancer : Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month three times a day.

Fatigue : Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens, who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 p.m. when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, increases the vitality of the body within.

Bad breath : Gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water.

Hearing loss : Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restore hearing

Beyond Botox

"Competition is coming.

The Injectables : Reloxin—known as Dysport in 21 countries across Europe, Asia, and South America, where it's been used since 1991—is the front-runner due to the fact that it's got the best track record and it's furthest along in trials, eagerly anticipated to debut here early next year. The buzz so far is that it has a quicker "onset of action" (i.e., while Botox can take around seven days to take effect, Reloxin takes only about three); it may last longer by a month or so (the jury is still out); and, the element producing the most derm chatter: It may diffuse more, meaning it spreads out differently than Botox upon injection, potentially covering a larger area, explains New York/Miami-based dermatologist Fredric Brandt, M.D., who is leading Reloxin's clinical trials. "Assuming your injector is good," says Manhattan dermatologist Patricia Wexler, M.D., this can be a plus, since "you can use less of the toxin and get a smoother result." In terms of integrating Reloxin into her own practice, New York dermatologist Lisa Airan, M.D., believes its increased diffusibility may make it an "area specific" treatment, ideal for covering large surfaces like the armpit (for sweating) or the periorbital area—crow's-feet. "Right now you need three to four injections of Botox for crow's-feet. If you could just do one of Reloxin, that could be a benefit," says Airan. But when precision is called for, migration can be a serious downside: "When something diffuses in the wrong place, you end up with an eyelid droop," Marsha Gordon, M.D., clinical professor and vice chairman of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, flatly states. One thing is for sure: Since Reloxin behaves differently, it will require a refined injecting technique, and "it's going to be on the doctor to learn," she says.

The Gel-Cream : What if you could dab on Botox just like a moisturizer, and it worked—just like an injection? No needle required. That's what the brainiacs at Revance Therapeutics, a Mountain View, California, biopharmaceutical start-up founded by two Stanford cardiologists and a molecular biologist, dreamed up three years ago and have been working on ever since. (Medicis, the superpower that is developing Reloxin and is also behind the filler Restylane, has invested $20 million in Revance.)

Their brainchild, which is just going into clinical trials and has no name as yet, is a topical form of botulinum toxin type A—similar to the other injectable toxins but a much smaller molecule—that goes on as a gel-like cream and penetrates the layers of the skin, arriving at the muscle thanks to a cutting-edge, targeted delivery system.

But perhaps the most meaningful aftershocks of the topical-botulinum-toxin breakthrough are the new possibilities the transfer technology opens for other areas of aesthetics and, more important, medicine. "Once we put a molecule like Botox into a cream, it's not that big a leap to think we can do it with other things," says Beer, who cites everything from hyaluronic acid and collagen to steroids and "even chemo" as examples. "It could mean good things for drug delivery."

The Machine : GFX, which stands for "glabellar frown relaxation" (of the line between the brows), employs radiofrequency, the same heat technology used in the skin-tightening treatment Thermage, to selectively weaken nerve function. In other words, Botox-like effects without the Botox. An insulated probe is inserted beneath the skin (while the patient is either fully sedated or in a Valium/Vicodin/local-anesthesia haze), first isolating the nerve to be treated by causing a contraction and then delivering a controlled, 30-second dose of heat energy to effectively knock it out of commission.

Most nerves will regenerate their fibers "to a degree," says Newman, though they may have a permanent "relaxed effect," and the process of regeneration will take from twelve to eighteen months."

- Vogue

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