Most people associate yoga with an asana practice, but yoga isn't just about flowing through a series of poses, twisting yourself up like a pretzel, going upside down and sweating your butt off (although that part can be super fun and highly beneficial both physically and mentally in its own right). What I have come to learn is yoga is most importantly about how you live your life in all contexts.

The word ‘yoga’ signifies any form of connection and that when applied to the human experience, can be used to celebrate the union between the mind, body & spirit. At its most practical level, yoga is a process of becoming more aware of who we really are. As such, yoga is a process of self-discovery. Through its practices, we can still the mind and merge into oneness with the divine; to act with truth and authenticity. We are able to discern who we really are and what our purpose is. Hooked yet?

Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening.Treat it with care. ~ Buddha

When we are at our weakest, we must be our most vigilant. When we are ill it is so easy to lose our bearings. We push ourselves beyond the breaking point ignoring all the self-care habits that are critical toward living our most authentic lives.

Being ill drains us physically, mentally, and spiritually. It’s at these low points that we tend to fall backwards on much of the progress we are making as we move into our most authentic lives. We say to ourselves that our new habits can be left by the wayside while we try and mend, and then we don’t go back to them. Or we find that balancing healthy, self-nurturing behaviors with a compromised body is simply too overwhelming.

Separate self syndrome

All of us are waves in the same ocean, different experiences on the same journey. Separate self syndrome is a common condition that leads to disease and suffering. It is caused by the belief you are an independent self separated from the world, at the mercy of vast uncontrollable forces. This sense of a separate self gets deeply ingrained in habitual patterns that take up all your attention and energy. You become scared of death, consumed with desire. Your separate self strikes out against the "other" it believes is trying to destroy it. It fills itself up with things promising to satisfy and sustain you, wearing you down into crisis and disease, always searching for answers.

In the Bathroom

Bathrooms are generally small spaces that are filled with heat and humidity which can promote the growth of mould, human body soil and waste, and chemicals from personal care and cleaning products. Health hazards may lurk on nearly every surface and in the air.

The biggest health dangers come from:

• Improper cleaning and hand washing that leaves bacteria like E.coli and viruses on surfaces.
• Cross-contamination from shared use of towels and bathmats that can spread bacteria and fungi like Athlete's Foot.
• The use of harsh cleaning chemicals, spray air fresheners, and limiting fresh air.
• Poor water quality

Can you remember a time when you weren’t in a good mood?

At a Food Revolution Network retreat, I asked team members to say three words about how they were feeling. When it was my turn, one of the words I used was sad.

Looking at me, you would have never known that’s how I felt. On the outside, I looked happy — I was even laughing not long before we started the exercise. But how I looked was a far cry from what was going on in my heart and in my mind.

Can You Boost Your Mood Naturally?

The truth is, we’ve all felt sad or even “down in the dumps.” And sometimes, no matter how hard you try, it’s hard to turn that frown upside down.

If you ever feel down, or lonely, you’re hardly alone. We live in a world where depression is at an all-time high. Worldwide, depression affects 322 million people.

What do their faces say to you?

The Practice:
Welcome faces.

Why?

As our ancestors evolved over millions of years in small bands, continually interacting and working with each other, it was vitally important to communicate in hundreds of ways each day. They shared information about external "carrots" and "sticks," and about their internal experience (e.g., intentions, sexual interest, inclination toward aggression) through gestures, vocalizations - and facial expressions. Much as we developed uniquely complex language, we also evolved the most expressive face in the entire animal kingdom.

Many of us are juggling so many responsibilities and challenges in life that our own health and self-care ends up on the back burner. From long workdays and endless obligations to putting others’ needs before our own and ignoring our inner voice and intuition, we’re like robotic race cars racing around on the verge of running out of electricity. (Mind you, our cars are at least environmentally friendly.) We don’t want to pull over to allow our engines to recharge because we might get behind in the race. Yet, if we stop to think about it, we aren’t quite sure what the race is ultimately for in the first place!

I’ve had so much going on lately it’s got me thinking about self-care and healing. Many of us are struggling with something these days—whether exhaustion, illness, allergies, pain, depression, anxiety, or a cold that doesn’t want to go away. Beyond those more obvious symptoms, so many of us just feel stressed and out of balance.

Wouldn't be nice to not just react and place yourself outside the situation? Especially during stressful situations.

New research (cited here & below) reveals that in times of stress, talking to our selves in the third-person helps control emotions and enables our conductor-mind to manifest harmony (i.e., health) within our organ “orchestra” .




For example, say Bruce is stressed-out and is emotionally reactive when addressing himself in the first person: “Why am I distressed?” Bruce has a completely different response when he expresses his feelings in the third-person: “Why is Bruce distressed?”