Join Dr. Kendra Pearsall in a demonstration of the power of EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) for harnessing your food cravings so that you can attain your ideal weight.

Janice VanDusen talks about her craniosacral work and how craniosacral therapy can have an impact on someone’s life.

“You’re dealing with the membranes that are inside the skull and also the cerebral spinal fluid, and you’re using the skull as a handle and you’re modifying the membranes and thus you’re enhancing the whole system, the whole facial and connective tissue system, and that membrane goes right now and pretty much envelopes the whole spinal cord.”

Most of what we know about our relationships we’ve learn from TV, movies or even romance novels. For many women, the idea they will meet their Prince Charming and live happily ever after is something they are brought up believing is true. As a society, we are lead to believe that one day we will meet the man or woman of our dreams, fall in love, get married, have children and live together forever in an idealist world only found in fairy tails. And for a small number of couple this is the case. For the vast majority of us, once the honeymoon is over, what was once thought to be fun, easy and carefree turns into being work, an aspect of a relationship no one really ever considers. Thus instead of addressing the changes that are taking place in our relationship space, where we need to nurture ourselves and our relationship, we instead find ways of diminishing or destroying it.

In a marriage, or any kind of relationship, whether personal or professional, agreements, both spoken and unspoken, are created. For example, at work, we agree to work hard, show up on time and to follow the directives established by the company. In our marriage, we agree to be loving, supportive and faithful. In turn, if someone breaks or violates any of the agreements, we may try to convince ourselves that their bad behavior was ok, but in the end the hurt we experience simply accumulates and over time, we come to the conclusion that enough is enough. Instead of discovering how we can win back our mate’s love an approval, we often times go to our own corner, lick our wounded pride and project an attitude of “I can do it without him” or “I don’t care”.

There is a song sang by Brooks & Dunn called “Husbands & Wives”. If you are not familiar with the song, it goes like this:

Two broken hearts lonely looking houses
Where nobody lives
Two people each having so much pride inside
Neither side forgives

The angry words spoken in haste
Such a waste of two lives
It’s my belief pride is the chief cause in the decline
Of the number of husbands and wives.

We are taught that pride is a good thing. We are proud of our country, our football teams, our children and our accomplishments. This is the good aspect of pride. It helps us to identify who we are, what we value and helps us create a balanced sense of self. For many of us, however, pride or should I say ego is also mixed with our need to compare ourselves with others. Am I richer, smarter or even better looking than the people around me? Now granted, there are some that are convinced of their superiority over others, but it isn’t the overt sense of pride we are talking about here, but instead the kind that works to protect us from ourselves and our self-doubt.

In a relationship, pride and ego are the enemy of love. Pride, ego and self-esteem are all important aspects of ourselves…yet too much pride can be a bad thing, especially if it means that my needs, my honor, my values come first. This is especially true when we insist that we are right and are unyielding, regardless of the cost to ourselves and others. In the end, no one gets what they want, and neither party is happy.

Let’s look at a relationship from another perspective – from an energetic perspective. Relationships are about creating a dynamic of give and take or as how many people have heard it described, it should be 50-50. Both parties have to be willing to commit their time and energy into making a relationship work. At first this is easy. When we meet and fall in love, everything is new. It is easy for us to put a great deal of ourselves into the relationship. In addition to wanting to spend time with our new love, we will find ourselves thinking about him or her throughout the day and look forward to the time we will spend together.

This is a normal part of the process. As we get to know our significant other, we enjoy the process of opening and deepening the feelings of mental and emotional closeness. We can see and feel ourselves getting closer to our partner and this is one of the best parts about falling in love.

This state of drawing closer, over time, begins to shift. It changes from big easily acknowledgeable steps closer to smaller, less noticeable ones. To many, this slowdown feels like the forward movement within the relationship has stopped or even as if they are growing apart from their partner. And while they may still love their spouse, they can find themselves feeling as if they are “falling out of love”.

So what has happened. Well first off, the relationship isn’t new anymore. We are no longer easily allured by the new learning’s, the new feelings we experienced when the relationship first started which allowed us to effortlessly pour our energy into the relationship. What happens for most of us, this drive fades away and instead of devoting our attention to our relationship, other things start to claim our attention, our time and our energy, which in the end takes away from the energy dynamics we have with our partner. What we find is instead of it being easy, we now have to make a conscious choice to contribute to the relationship – and this is often where a relationship will fail.

In a healthy relationship our partners need two things from us – our time and our attention. Of the two, our attention is more important. Without paying attention to their wants, needs and desires, we are inadvertently saying to them that they are low on the totem pole. And so even thought we might be spending time with them, this act does not let them know that they are valued in our eyes.

According to an article I read online. It stated that: “Giving time without attention is sort of like leaving a seventeen cent tip at a restaurant… it lets the other person know that you didn’t forget, you just didn’t think they were worthy of more. It’s insulting, whether done consciously, as with the tip, or subconsciously, as with spending time with your significant other without giving them your full attention.”

How do we give our partner attention? We talk to them, we buy them a nice gift, we make them something, we do something with them. Bottom line, we show them through our thoughts and deeds that we are thinking about them, considering them and we have their welfare in mind.

While not fully on point, let me give you an example. Many years ago I had what I considered a very close friend. As customary, we exchanged gifts for Christmas. That year our relationship was very strained. He was spending a lot of his time and energy making hand made crystal rune sets for everyone he knew – well that is except for me. It was my hope I would be given a very very special set of runes for Christmas – especially because of the close relationship we had. Instead, however, he gave me a silver and turquoise bead bracelet with matching earrings. Now don’t get me wrong, it was nice….but to anyone, and I mean anyone who knew me, they could readily see that it was something I would never ever wear.

This experience left me feeling devalued, that he wasn’t thinking about me at all. Through his actions or lack of consideration it really hurt our long standing friendship. And I’m sharing this, because he was just a close friend. Just think about how much more devastating something like this can be when it happens in your relationship with your spouse.

Our mental involvement in our relationships is critical. If we don’t show our mate that we were thinking about them specifically, it loses some if not all of its value in their eyes.

Thankfully, we can all fall in love again. A successful relationship requires that we place our partner ahead of our wants and needs, our likes and dislikes. By doing so, we will find that our partner will respond (that is unless the relationship is too damaged) in turn. This happens when we wake up one day and realize that our partner has fallen from our attention for too long, when we recognize that we need our spouse in our lives or that we want to share our lives with them.

As we begin to put our attention back into our relationship, we can again close the gap that has opened between us and our spouse. This will create feelings of falling in love and help to rekindle the feelings of love that were once shared. It opens the flow of energy from one person to the other and helps to create a state of love and joy within the marriage.

This flow of energy supports us as we let go of the ravages and walls that our ego and pride have constructed. As our heart melts, we can again begin to feel the love that was already and always there. When we feel loved, we feel safe and secure enough to open our hearts and minds to another. It gives us the opportunity to express our essence and share feelings of peace, serenity, happiness, compassion and patience with them. It is then that we can begin to celebrate our union and oneness with another and truly go riding into the sunset and live happily ever after.

© Copyright Body, Mind & SoulHealer – www.soulhealer.com 2007. All rights reserved.

If you are reading this article, chances are, you have back pain, or have had it in the past. Don’t be alarmed! Data indicates 80% of all Americans will have some form of back pain during their lifetime.

Back pain is not a conventional disease – by that I mean, it’s not caused by some bacteria or virus. So it cannot be easily cured by medication. Drugs can certainly take away the pain, but it cannot kill the reason of the pain. Let’s examine the common causes of back pain. Broadly, back pain can be of 2 types: Simple back pain that can be addressed by you and complex back pain that will need an expert’s attention.

Complex back pain is those that are caused by injury to the muscles and ligaments of the back, injury to the spinal cord, pregnancy and post natal back pain, arthritis, and the pain that is caused due to problems in other parts of the body. Simple back pain is caused by factors like a bad posture (sitting at a desk or in a car for long hours), wearing high heels, using gym equipment without a trainer’s supervision, bad digestion, dehydration and even every day stress. I know I am categorizing this as simple, though the pain is acute. The good news is that there are simple exercises (yoga) and remedies (ayurveda) that can help alleviate and completely rid you of this pain.

For most kinds of back pain it is recommended that you do not do strenuous workouts, lift anything heavy, play games that may cause one to make sudden movements, etc. In fact, most doctors will recommend little physical activity, at all. Here is where yoga is most effective and it is a fact that some yoga asanas (not all) are most effective in relieving common back aches. I will not get into which asanas are best suited to help a person with back pain. Instead I suggest you consult a yoga therapist who can guide you based on your area of pain and comfort level with yogasanas.

Back pain is also effectively cured by ayurveda. Ayurveda is a form of holistic medicine that originated in India, that is based on the presumption that a body begins in perfect balance. There is only one aspect then, that can impair the balance of the body – what goes into and what goes out of the body. Even modern science recognizes that every day the body replaces millions of cells. This process is sometimes interrupted by our habits, diet, and other lifestyle choices we make, as discussed earlier. This results in toxins being retained in our bodies. These toxins solidify and crystallize and accumulate in joints, muscles and bones, the digestive tract, arteries and the like.

Natural Oils have the property of penetrating the body tissue and releasing the toxins deposited in the body. A good analogy would be to view the human body like a mechanical robot. In time, dust will deposit on the robot, it will rust and the moving parts will at first, start to creak, and eventually stop moving altogether. If a little bit of oil or grease is applied to the affected areas, and the parts are gently stirred, the parts start to move well again. The natural oils used in ayurveda, perform a similar kind of function.

Those suffering from back pain can either have an abhyanga massage or a kati basti treatment. An abhyanga massage is administered on the full body with deep rhytymic strokes that help soothe and revitalize the mind and body. A steam bath after an abhyanga massage is recommended.

Kati Basti is another treatment that is used exclusively for back pain. In Kati basti, which means “(oil) retained on the back”, warm oil is applied only to the painful area of the back, by sealing it off using dough. As the oil cools, it is replaced with fresh warm oil, for 15-20 minutes. This allows the oils to penetrate deep into the affected area and its healing properties release the pain causing toxins. Ayurveda suggests that the oil so applied, draws energy from the navel area and distributes it in the back. A few kati basti treatments should alleviate most kinds of back pain. I myself have benefitted from this treatment. Here is what one of my customers had to say about “I had been having lower back pain for about five months. I tried standard massage therapy, even saw a chiropractor 3 times a week for a month. No help. My massage therapist recommended I try Pranaa’s Kati Basti - after the 1st session, I was about 25% better. Now after four sessions, no lower back pain at all. It definitly was a miracle worker for me.”

Once you have managed to rid yourself of your back pain, take care to not fall back into bad habits again. If you have a desk job, ensure your chair supports your back and waist well. Every once in a while, get up and stretch the back. Likewise, sleep on a hard mattress and small soft pillow. Have your ayurveda consultant prescribe a diet for you. Watch your weight. Avoid rigorous exercises and weight training. Do yoga exercises instead. All these will surely help your back.

Pranaa Ayurveda Spa and Yoga, offers Abhyanga massage, steam swedana and kati basti treatments administered by qualified therapists. Ayurveda Consultants can also discuss your body type and recommend oils and diet. Pranaa conducts a weekly yoga session, specifically for back pain. Additionally, qualified yoga practitioners can discuss problems specific to you in pre booked private classes.

About the Author:
Renuka Srinivasan is the co-owner of Pranaa – Ayurveda Spa & Yoga center located in LakeSide Market at 4017 Preston Road, Suite 532 Plano, TX – 75093. Tel 972-608-0402 website: www.pranaa.com

Until recently, the very mention of erectile dysfunction or impotence could bring about a blush to even the most manly of men. Embarrassing as it may be, erectile dysfunction affects more than 18 million men in America. It can vary in severity from an inability to achieve, maintain and sustain an erection, to an inability to achieve an orgasm, even though a healthy sexual desire exists. Because of the sensitive nature of this disorder, it often goes unreported.

Achieving a normal erection is a complex process. It involves psychological impulses from the brain, adequate levels of testosterone (male sex hormone), a functioning nervous system, and healthy vascular tissue of the penis. Electrical impulses from the brain, when stimulated, cause the nerves in the penis to release nitric oxide. This, in turn, increases the production of guanylate MonoPhosphate (cGMP) in the muscle cells of the corpora cavernosa (the tissue of the penis, consisting of smooth muscles, fibrous tissues, spaces, veins and arteries). The cGMP triggers the muscles of the corpora cavernosa to relax and fill with blood, which causes the penis to expand.

Because of the intricate nature of the physiological processes involved, a number of different factors can interfere with a man’s ability to achieve a normal and healthy erection. The most common of these is aging. As a man gets older, his ability to produce nitric oxide decreases, thus affecting the proper functioning of the corpora cavernosa.

A number of health issues can also underscore this disorder. The most frequently seen are diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Diabetes, for example, can damage the sensory nerves in the body. In turn, individuals who suffer from hypertension exhibit low nitric oxide production. Other factors that can contribute to erectile dysfunction include cardiovascular disease, nerve or spinal cord damage, cigarette smoking, low testosterone levels, prescription medications, depression, stress and anxiety.

Until recently, it was believed that little could be done to help a man who is suffering from erectile dysfunction, but there are a number of natural alternative health remedies that can be tried before having to rely on the “little blue pill”.

Recommendations For Wellness