Kombuchat

Why you should take that vacation to India NOW

When you think of meditation, you think India.

Which is why India is home to some of the world’s most famous and beautiful meditation retreats.

From Shreyas in Bangalore to Ayurveda in Coonoor, there are some spectacular options for meditation and yoga, from the glamorous on the water to the low-key tucked away in green tea forests.

It’s on many people’s bucket lists to visit, and if you get a chance to make the trip, it’s something that can truly take your breath away.

So why wait to take a vacation that can truly change your life?

Is Kombucha growing faster than soda?

Kombucha is rapidly gaining popularity these days, and mostly because it’s something you can make at home (more than can be said for sodas and expensive juices).

While the poor economy and worries about health and the environment have diminished the national thirst for soda and bottled water, sales of kombucha and other “functional” juices in the United States topped $295 million last year, up 25 percent over a two-year period, according to SPINS Inc., a market researcher.

It’s good to see more people finding out the benefits of kombucha and trying it out for themselves. When I started drinking it a couple of years ago (I believe first as a hangover cure), I was surprised at how focused it made me feel, more than coffee or normal tea. I encourage those who haven’t tried it to take it for a spin.

The 4 simple meditation tricks they don’t tell you

Meditation, like many alternative medicine practices, is constantly subject to myths. In fact, the average person likely believes that meditation is crossed-leg chanting.

Here are four myths of meditation that keep many people in the dark:

1. You don’t have to turn off your brain.
2. It doesn’t have to take a long time.
3. You don’t have to tune out sounds.
4. Sitting up straight isn’t required.

Meditation can be done anywhere, anytime, as long as you’re able to focus and calm yourself. It doesn’t need to be strict. Find what works for you and go for it!

Iso tanks: hype or health benefit?

Isolation tanks, which originally were developed for scientific research, are gaining appeal as therapeutic devices.

They consist of large, dark water tanks filled with Epsom salts. You lower yourself inside them and float around for an hour or so, and the quieting effect is supposed to open and significantly calm your mind.

According to one user:

This is the closest you will ever come to having a drug-like experience without taking drugs. Though you will have no crazy hallucinations (at least, I didn’t have any—your hallucinatory mileage may vary), you will understand your brain in an entirely new way.

The effect is essentially a sensory deprivation technique, removing light and sound, two of your most powerful senses, from being used.

The result?

Your mind essentially goes through a short retinue of “things that have to be done” until it hits a dead zone—when your mind is simply open and empty. The ability for your mind to feel a certain kind of calm is said to be “one-of-a-kind”, so much so that many first time iso tank users end up buying them for their homes.

They’ve also been used for specific types of therapy, like managing chronic pain, to great success.

According to one tank owner:

We had a Zen master who visited my lab once, and he asked to go in the tank for an hour. Most of his life he had meditated every day for four or five hours or more. And he thought the depth of meditation he reached in the tank was on par with a level he reached maybe once a year in his normal meditation environment—which was not exactly the middle of Times Square. He was amazed.

If you’re looking for the deepest level of meditation—this may be your calling card.  Isolation tank centers are located in many large cities, and as will hopefully become more popular as they become more readily available.

Is kombucha the new yogurt?

Kombucha is sweeping the nation as a popular health food.

Its rise is similar to that yogurt, which has gained incredible popularity in recent years.

The “trendy, fizzy drink” is considered to be:

a new way to get the beneficial bugs that people are looking for in yogurt, kefir and other probiotic dairy drinks. Kombucha also provides a source of prebiotics, which helps fuel the growth of helpful microorganisms in your digestive track.

Digestive tract*, interesting to see this misspelling from a registered dietician.

Kombucha is being seen as “the new yogurt”, in that it’s a quick and easy way to get probiotics into your system and keep everything balanced.

Remember—not all bacteria is bad!

Is your favorite celebrity drinking Kombucha?

Kombucha has experienced an explosion in popularity in recent years, thanks to some high-profile celebrity devotees such as:

  • Madonna
  • Halle Berry
  • Gwyneth Paltrow
  • Lindsay Lohan

They usually sport GT Kombucha, which at around $4 a bottle, is great in a pinch, but a little pricey. It’s simple to make at home, and it’s easy to see why celebrities call this a wonder tonic.

I notice greater focus and concentration when drinking kombucha, and it also makes my tummy feel good.

How does kombucha make you feel A-list?

The simplest way to make homemade kombucha

Kombucha is a fermented tea popular in Russia and China that’s gaining widespread appeal in the US.

And you can actually make it at home, for pennies on the dollar.

All you need is to brew around a gallon of black tea, add a cup of sugar, seal it in a jar with some “scoby” (the kombucha starter tea, available at your local health food store) and in a few days you’ll have delicious, homemade kombucha that’s far cheaper than the $4 bottles at the store.

No two kombuchas taste alike.  You can even add fruits and herbs to add flavors, giving your kombucha a special flavor.

It’s that simple!

This new chiropractic technique can NEUTRALIZE pain

Chiropractors can be lifesavers for those with back pain.

And with the prevalence of people doing office work, where your back can be strained by staying in the same position all day, chiropractors are more important than ever.

In Los Altos, CA, Dr. Mary Reimer uses a special technique on her patients called the Graston technique, which is “a manual modality that releases scarred or trapped muscles and connective tissues”.

When muscles are injured, scar tissue forms. But the scar tissue can overdevelop, impairing muscle movements and causing more pain than the initial injury. This overgrowth of scar tissue is known as an “adhesion”.

The Graston technique for correcting this problem is based on the use of stainless-steel instruments that enable the practitioner to detect and release adhesions. The instruments are coupled with emollient cream (Gaston cream) allowing the instruments to glide easily. With Dr. Reimer’s expert stroking technique, the procedure is literally painless and very effective.

It has a “75 to 90 percent success rate”—making this form of muscle manipulation is the next generation of chiropractic techniques.

Want to improve your poker game?

Meditation gets rave reviews for the payoffs it can provide for a lot of people.

It’s now being applied in a new arena—poker.

According to Mish Schaffer, of “Meditation with Mish”: “our thoughts can affect the experiences in our lives, the results that we produce, and even our physical being.”

And this is especially true for poker, where concentration and a clear mind are deeply valued at facilitating a good meditative state.

The best thing? It’s easy to practice meditation, even with a limited schedule, and the benefits are huge.

So leave your sunglasses at home next time you play Texas Hold ‘Em–you may be able to meditate your way to a Royal Flush!

Why haven’t you tried meditation yet?

Meditation used to seem like the practice of only the most devoted Buddhists and spiritualists.

Now, “[t]here are many free or low-cost downloads available and classes at meditation centers, universities and such sites as Kaiser Permanente, which offers meditation programs for members and employees.”

If you feel more comfortable doing it at home, try sitting still for just ten minutes. No sound, no interruptions, no sleep, just stillness.

If you can take ten minutes out of your day to do a few times a week, and then work up to every day, then congratulations!  You’ve established a healthy practice you can use the rest of your life.

So the only question is, why haven’t you started yet?