Natural Health Alternative - Remember to Breathe!

Natural Health Alternative - Remember to Breathe!

I wanted to take a moment and point out an important part of our daily lives. Breathing. Yes I know we do it instinctively and we don't really NEED to think about doing it. Or do we?

I have found that a good, long, slow, and deep breathe around some fresh (or fresher) air can be very relaxing. This is especially important when you are stressed. A deep breathe such as this can help to relieve tension and help reduce stress.

And why shouldn't it? Most of the time we run around taking short breathes to give us just enough air to breathe and not to relax.

So next time things are getting really hectic, with the kids, your job, or just general life. Take a moment and enjoy a long deep breathe of fresh air. You'll be glad you did ;D

Natural Health Alternative - Daily Dose of Relaxation

Natural Health Alternative - Daily Dose for Relaxation

Stress is the curse of living in modern times. Everyone suffers from stress. And the stress we suffer takes a heavy toll on our bodies, emotions and minds. Feeling stressed out, worn out by fatigue or just simply having a miserable day, the best thing to do is relax.

Watching television may be a form of relaxation for some, but is not a recommended method by experts. When we watch TV we are bombarded with commercials, ads, sounds and images. So how do we achieve relaxation? If there are thousands of ways we can get stressed, one of them is not meeting deadlines, there are also many ways we can relax.

In recent studies, experts have determined that heart disease is linked to anger and irritability is linked to mental stress. Too much stress brings about ischemia that can lead to or cause a heart attack. Relaxation takes on added importance in light of this matter. Managing your anger and attitude is significant to heart health, and relaxation can help you manage stress.

One way of relaxation is transcendental meditation. Recent studies have also shown that this method might reduce artery blockage, which is a major cause for heart attack and stroke. People practice transcendental meditation by repeating uttering soothing sounds while meditating, this is to achieve total relaxation. The researchers found that practitioners of transcendental meditation significantly reduced the thickness of their arterial wall compared with those who didn't practice transcendental meditation.

Another study on another method of relaxation, acupuncture, seems to reduce high blood pressure by initiating several body functions for the brain to release chemical compounds known as endorphins. Endorphin helps to relax muscles, ease panic, decrease pain, and reduce anxiety.

Yoga is also another method for relaxation and may also have similar effects like acupuncture. In another study, participants were subjected to several minutes of mental stress. Then they were subjected to various relaxation techniques, such as listening to nature sounds or classical music. Only those who did Yoga significantly reduced the time it took for their blood pressures to go back to normal. Yoga is a form of progressive relaxation.

Breathing is one of the easiest methods to relax. Breathing influences almost all aspects of us, it affects our mind, our moods and our body. Simply focus on your breathing, after some time you can feel its effects right away. There are several breathing techniques that can help you reduce stress.

Another easy way to achieve relaxation is exercise. If you feel irritated a simple half-hour of exercise will often settle things down. Although exercise is a great way to lose weight, it does not show you how to manage stress appropriately. Exercise should also be used in conjunction with other exercise method.

One great way of relaxation is getting a massage. To gain full relaxation, you need to totally surrender to the handling and touch of a professional therapist. There are several types of massages that also give different levels of relaxation.

Another method of relaxation is Biofeedback. The usual biofeedback-training program includes a 10-hour sessions that is often spaced one week apart.

Hypnosis is one controversial relaxation technique. It is a good alternative for people who think that they have no idea what it feels like to be relaxed. It is also a good alternative for people with stress related health problems.

These relaxation techniques are just some of the ways you can achieve relaxation. Another reason why we need to relax, aside from lowering blood pressure in people and decreasing the chances of a stroke or a heart attack, is because stress produces hormones that suppress the immune system, relaxation gives the immune system time to recover and in doing so function more efficiently.

Relaxation lowers the activities within the brains' limbic system; this is the emotional center of our brain. Furthermore, the brain has a periodic need for a more pronounced activity on the right-hemisphere. Relaxation is one way of achieving this. Relaxation can really be of good use once a relaxation technique is regularly built into your lifestyle. Choose a technique that you believe you can do regularly.

Natural Health Alternative - Energy Healing

Natural Health Alternative - Energy Healing

You have probably come across exotic-sounding terms such as “chakra”, “prana”, “aura”, and “tantra” in your course of reading books on spirituality, sex, and healing in the New Age literature section of the bookstore. But what’s the real scoop behind these exotic vocabularies?

Chakra or energy center is a term used in Pranic healing, an ancient Hindu system of energy healing. “Prana” means life energy. “Aura” is another terminology traced to Pranic healing. Aura is a non-physical body that consists of energy, which exists along with our physical body. The aura that covers our body is said to have seven layers pertaining to the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of an individual as manifested by energy. Studying the color and thickness of auras give ideas on the state of the health of individuals. Six colors are associated with aura and interpreted into six personalities. These colors are all present in an individual but one or two are usually more pronounced.

Green: ambitious achiever
Blue: spiritual peacemaker
White: unconventional chameleon
Red: activist
Orange: creative communicator
Violet: psychic

"Tantra," is popularly associated with the practice of sex and spirituality, it is another method of energy healing. It comes from the word “tan” which means to spread or expand. The concept of connectedness is a recurring theme in Tantric writings on sex and spirituality. As a method of healing, spirituality, and sex prominently. It is presupposed that the union of man and woman can reach spiritual levels during orgasm, which removes the body and mind off collected impurities. These impurities being negative energies can in turn manifest as physical illnesses.

Unlike Pranic and Tantric healings, which have Hindu origins, Reiki originated from Japan. It is relatively younger than Pranic and Tantric healings have been rediscovered in the early 1900’s. Reiki stands for universal energy, an energy brought forth by higher intelligence. Students of Reiki are taught how to tap this energy to heal physical, emotional, and mental illnesses.

Although Pranic, Tantra, and Reiki are all systems of energy healing, they differ in the type of energy tapped for healing: life energy, sexual energy, and universal energy respectively.

The concepts of the connectedness of mind, body, and spirit; the connection of individuals to all living and non-living things around them and to the universe; and how energy impacts physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being are some of the similarities of these three healing methods.

Pranic, Tantric, and Reiki are considered alternative methods of healing. In spite of the availability and relative accessibility of modern medicine, how come more and more people are being drawn to them? Here are some possible reasons:

· Energy healing worked where modern medicine failed.

For several reasons both explainable and unexplainable, modern medical treatment failed to heal ailments and conditions in several if not many persons. Research or data may not be able to support this statement. But for the families of the dying as well as for the dying patient, they would take the risk of using alternative methods ranging from herbals and organics, faith healers, witch doctors, and New Age healing techniques just to be get well.

· People perceive modern medicine to be isolating.

Medical treatments are oftentimes focused on the disease and its causative agent, which can make a patient feel isolated and treated like a mere host of the disease. Although recent developments in hospital practice are gradually promoting the holistic treatment of a patient, the perception still persists. Unlike in energy healing, since energy and spirituality are intimately linked, the patient feels that all aspects of his health are being attended to.

· Energy healing is non-obtrusive and natural thus it is safer.

Repeated surgical procedures are physically and emotionally traumatic for most patients. It is but a logical and attractive option for both the patient and their families to look for less stressful health interventions. Moreover, with the rising popularity of New Age religions, using alternative healing methods is becoming more socially acceptable.

· Energy healing is a good way of relieving stress.

Meditation is part of energy healing methods and this is an added come-on for highly stressed people. Sophisticated equipment is not required thus it becomes all the more convenient for students and future students of energy healing.

The battle between alternative healing and mainstream medicine continues as both present the benefits of their approach. But in the final analysis, what matters is the restoration of good health. Who knows in the near future we may live in a medical world were both approaches are taken to help aid a person instead of just one or the other. Only time can tell.

Natural Health Alternative - Natural Medicine

Natural Health Alternative - Natural Medicine

When was the last time you got sick? Or came down with something nasty? Where did you go? Well maybe you waited a little while but if it's real bad you went to the doctor right? After a quick look, or some long tests the doctor eventually does what? Prescribes medicine right? Right?! You then get home, you take the medication, and then you get better. Hopefully, but that's basically how it works right.

That is sort of the cycle of things, you get sick, your get prescribed, you get better, and we don't know a better way... or do we? What if someone was to give you same natural herbs for a condition you might have been going to the doctor to get treated for what would do? Not take them, and some of us out there might call the police.

Did you know that tests have been and and are being done to legitimize the truth about herbal medicine?

Natural Medicine, herbal remedies, home remedies, its almost all the same. Its curing ills with regular plants or treatments without the use of prescribed drugs. Of course there has been a lot of hush hush about this because pharmaceutical companies make BIG money on prescribing you drugs for the rest of your life don't they?

The Chinese actually use herbal medicines in their hospital along with a few other holistic approaches such as acupuncture, Reiki, and chiropractic practices.

If we think about this for a minute we come to realize something herbal medicine has been around for a while. I mean what did our ancestors do when they got a headache? Or came down with a cold? They didn't run to the doctors office to bet prescribed medicine did they? They had shamans or other forms of holy men that would help "diagnose" there problem and prescribe appropriate healing methods. Of course they might have been crazy but some of it most of worked. And with modern science we can now see the actual effects of some of the methods.

Did you know that even some of today's over the counter medicines are actually derived from herbal products, they just have been "chemically" created by science instead for example opium, digitalis, quinine, and aspirin all have their roots in traditional medicine. (Now not all of these are medicine, but you get the point)

Before we continue, it is important to stress that not all the natural remedies are legitimate. It would help to only try those remedies which have been thoroughly studied and are relatively risk free. You can usually find a holistic practitioner in your area by easily searching the web, this would be the best course of action unless you are receiving training or learning about it from some form of master.

Take herbal medicine for example. There are many well-documented and studied herbal remedies available. However, only those that deal with minor ailments such as cough, colds, fever, skin rashes, and its ilk are likely to be recommended by health professionals. These remedies are sometimes superior to synthetic medicine. This is because herbal medicines are less likely to cause negative side effects.

Currently there are numerous organizations that study the effects and advocacy of natural medicine – among which is herbal medicine. Some governments and health agencies openly advocate the use of natural methods since they are inexpensive and relatively risk-free.

As their studies compile, more herbs and treatments are added to the list of accepted medicines. However, many herbs and treatments have been proven to be bogus medicine. This represents a challenge for both the user and the agencies because they have to ascertain that the treatments they either use or advocate are legitimate.

There exist today many alternative medical treatments that fall under natural medicine. However, not all of them have been proven to be effective. You could mention homeopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and other alternative medical treatments. It would pay to consult the experts as to the legitimacy of these treatments.

Natural medicine should also be thought of as an accompanying medicine. Right now, the current collective medical thought suggests that natural medicine be used only to supplement accepted modern medical practices. In that case of minor ailments your expert we actually advise you to take natural therapies instead.

The practice of modern medicine revolves around diagnosing an illness and prescribing treatments for such. Natural medicine is helpful because it suggests that treatment be not necessarily given only when sick. Natural medicine strives to make each patient practice good health habits. These habits include good diet, healthy living, and the regular natural treatment.

It is this same line of thought that leads our parents to tell us to eat our vegetables. Yes, a healthy lifestyle and will do no harm to our well-being. And this is the foundation of natural medicine – may it be massage, herbal medicine, aromatherapy or others.

It is funny but true that science, in its quest for excellence, is studying the knowledge of sages past. This, surprisingly, leads us back to the remedies nature offers. The possibilities of finding remedies to everyday illnesses in natural medicine are encouraging.

We can only hope that as time passes that the pharmaceutical companies that may or may not be preventing this from happening well let down their guard and let people live a happier life with little to no side effects and not a life full of medications and prescribed drugs!

Natural Health Alternative - Boxing for Fitness!

Natural Health Alternative-
Benefits of Boxing Training for Fitness

You may improve your health and have a physically fit body by getting into boxing training fitness programs. This is the best way for you to have a stronger body and gain confidence. Boxing workouts can help you to be at your best fighting form as well.

Many people see positive results from boxing trainings. You may build stronger and more defined arms and legs. These programs and classes also help you to gain a sense of inner strength and emotional balance.

Boxing training classes got across to the mainstream of physical fitness training a few years back. They have seen the benefits on the cardiovascular and toning of the muscles by these boxing training workouts. Tae bo work out videos also popularized these boxing and kickboxing exercises.

Cardio boxing training classes and the innovative variations of the sparring jabs, power punches, defense, and fitness has all blends of aerobics exercises. You will learn the proper execution of the punch and kick combinations for a more intensive workout that can help you become stronger and more confident.

The combinations you perform on the blocks, jabs, and kicks are executed to an imagined opponent. You may see classes where participants throw punches and kicks on the air. You will also find training camps that have quality equipment such as punching bags and you may also have the option of getting a partner that has padded hands.

You may also enjoy more benefits aside from the physical aspects of boxing trainings. Cardio kick boxing workouts allow you to burn out 350 to 500 calories in just an hour. It also helps maintaining the heart rate at 75 percent to 85 percent regular beat. This has been proven to be good and is the recommended range if you are exercising or into training.

Moreover, these boxing training classes improve your speed, resistance, and strength. Flexibility and the reflexes of the muscles are also enhanced. Repetitive motion on arms by sparring and jogging while you punch helps your arms and legs gain strength and power.

These workouts also enable your joint movements to build very efficient fitness results.
These movements require you to develop balance and coordination that enables your body to be stable and maintain a good form.

These physical benefits you gain from boxing and kickboxing are just few of the many benefits that they can provide. You will be able to learn more about defense mechanism skills, which you may use in case of unwanted instances. You will also feel the satisfaction when you punch or kick. Relaxation and self-motivation is also developed.

You will feel a sigh of relief and feel that you are released from stressed. It also helps you to get rid of that anger that is inside of you. Once these things are releases, you may feel lightness into your body and peace of mind as well.

Many aerobic and fitness experts recommend boxing training lessons for beginners. It allows you to workout on your desired pace and body condition. Boxing classes let you to push yourself to the limit as long as you are safe and well conditioned.

Positive results await you with boxing training. You will enjoy a physically fit body and will keep you in better shape. You have the option working out and exercising at your preferred level and skill. Enjoy the fun of these boxing training programs.

Natural Health Alternative - Herbal Remedies

Natural Health Alternative - Herbal Remedies?

This is an older article I found that still has relevance, although I fount it as a PLR (private label rights) article. The information is still valuable and so I have posted it here in its entirety, read below!

Many people nowadays are turning to “organics” and “naturals” otherwise known as herbals. The rising popularity of herbal supplements has created a new fad if not a new health lifestyle. But before you join the bandwagon, here are some things you need to know about the “green” dietary supplementing machine.

What is the difference between a drug and a dietary supplement?

According to the definition set by food and drug administrations in different countries, drugs are chemicals that can prevent, prolong the life, treat other effects of a health condition, improve the quality of life, and/or cure ailments and diseases, or alter the function of any part or chemicals inside the body. These drugs have approved therapeutic claims. For example, paracetamol is a drug given to bring down the body temperature in fever. Ascorbic acid is indicated for the treatment of scurvy. Iron supplements are given to treat mild cases of anemia.

Herbal supplements are not classified as drugs but as dietary supplements. The main difference is that they do not have approved therapeutic claims unlike in the case of drugs. Moreover, dietary supplements could either contain vitamins, minerals, herbals, or amino acids, all aimed to add to or supplement the diet of an individual. They are not intended to be taken alone as a substitute to any food or medicine.

Most of the manufactured medicines we now have once came from animals and plants. Through the years, chemists isolated the life-saving or life-curing components and separated them from the harmful ones. This lead to the further drug research and drug development that lead to the production of a different variety of drugs for many ailments and conditions from synthetic sources. But still we have semi-synthetic drugs, as well as drug that more or less approximate more natural composition. Since herbal supplements are made from a mixture of crude herbs reduced into powder or gel form, and later on packaged as tablets and capsules, there is a possibility that life-threatening or at least body chemistry-altering components are still present, thus the expression of concern from the medical community.

Is there a growing concern with the use of herbal supplements?

Yes. With the rising popularity of using and consuming anything herbal or organic is the proliferation of fake herbal supplements that threaten to endanger lives. If that’s the case, then why are herbal supplements given drug administration approvals? One way of ensuring the safety of the people is to have all candidate drugs, food, drinks, and dietary supplements registered with the proper authority. Otherwise, they would pose more risk with these things being sold in the black market for a hefty sum. We could ensure the quality and safety of herbal supplements if they get proper classification with the food and drug administration. Moreover, people may be able to file the proper complaints in the event a worsening of health condition is proven to be linked to the use of a particular herbal supplement.

Is using herbal supplements worth the risk?

Yes. It cannot be discounted that many who have tried herbal supplements experienced an improvement in their health—whether this is due to the herbals themselves or due to a placebo effect, as long as they do not worsen the condition of an individual, then using them is worth the risk. But of course, certain things must be considered before taking those herbal supplements:

Your doctor knows best.

First of all, clear your condition with your doctor. Ask him/her if taking a particular herbal supplement is safe given your health condition. People with heart, liver, or kidney trouble or malfunction, are usually not advised to take these, or at the minimum is to take these herbals in minimum amounts. All substances pass through the liver and kidney to be processed and filtered respectively. Kava, which is used to relieve people from stress, has been pulled out from the Canadian, Singaporean, and German markets because it contains substances that cause liver damage. Certain herbals such as Ephedra used for losing weight, contains chemicals with heart-inducing effects that can increase heart rate, which in turn can exhaust the heart and cause heart attacks in several documented cases by the American Medical Association.

Follow the directions for use.

No matter how the product pamphlet or the label of the bottle sounds about how it has been found to be helpful in certain health conditions, these herbal supplements are not therapeutic. So do not substitute these for the medications prescribed by your doctor for the treatment of certain diseases, or for the maintenance of blood pressure, lowering of blood sugar and cholesterol, and fight off infections."

Natural Health the Alternative way!

Natural Health Alternative - Self Improvement and Motivation

Natural Health Alternative - Self Improvement and Motivation

Here are some essentials for those who want a little self improvement and motivation!

First things first! We must ask the question what are Three key elements to self improvement and motivation the natural health alternative way?

First key: Inspiration!

In order to stay motivated in improving yourself you need inspiration! Everyone needs the reason why or the inspiring image that makes them do! This is critical to your success, which is why it is the first key!

Lets do a self examination, how inspired are you? Are you inspired about your daily activities or are you more of a zombie slowly moving through the day? If you are a zombie maybe you should re-think your current situation and get into a schedule that is more inspiring for you. Most people just do to do and don't think about finding something that might inspire them instead.

In order for us, as people, to get through the day to day without feeling like we are going nowhere we need this inspiration in our daily lives to make things worth doing. If you don't have such thing a suggest you find it!

Second Key: Settings Goals!

On a personal or professional level we need a way to monitor our progress. The only way we can HONESTLY do this is by setting goals.

There are two types of goals you need to set, and I am sure you have heard of them before, they are long term and short term goals. Both are essential in your daily life! Goals help us realize our dreams and as we reach our goals int he short term they will help to motivate and inspire us to finish our long term goal! See how easy this is? But without these goals we have no way of knowing how close or far we are from the long term goal and we have no constant reinforcement to motivate and inspire us from the short term goals.

Short term goals can be very very short, such as a few hours or just a few days. Your long term goal should be yearly and you should have short term goals for every day, week and month. Just think how easy it would be to say, get into shape the Natural Health Alternative way, if you had a set goal each day of the amount of food to eat. Even shorter a goal of doing exercise for 30 minutes to hour. Once you complete that goal you can look back and know that you have finished one the goals you have outlined. The long term goal, of having a healthy body will be much easier to reach this way, looking at the short term goals, but you still need the long term goal to help understand why you need to complete the short term goals! See how they work together?

Third Key: Socializing! (also known as networking)

If you want to stay inspire and motivated its good to have a few people who are in or order the same boat as you. So if you want to lose weight look for other people who are also trying to lose weight and set up days to meet during the week and and make sure you call the people who are no shows! This kind of peer motivation can help you stay on track and stay motivated when your own personal motivation might be running a little low!


Most people have a hard time doing anything by themselves, but with a small network of friends or peers it is alot easier to get things done! So always try to look for like minded individuals. If you are having a hard time finding people just look around the community, most towns have free advertiser that inform people of local events or groups that might do exactly what you are trying to do. joining them can be free, sometimes they ask a small fee but the benefit you will get through having a network of people who are backing you up in reaching your goal can be infinite!

That's it! Doesn't sound so hard now does it! Once again the three keys to self improvement and motivation are 1st Key: Inspiration, 2nd Key: Setting Goals, 3rd Key: Socialize or Networking.