Is it ok to meditate?

                                     Is it ok to meditate? 

Yes! Its fine to meditate, its great for relieving tension.!!!

The benefits of practicing  Meditation (or mindfulness as it now more commonly referred to) seems to be in the news  more and more on a regular basis. It seems that the benefits achieved through the regular practice   of meditation are still yet to fully realized. 

A recent study led by a team of Harvard -affiliated researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital  and supported by the BBC (1)  that  monitored the brain with magnetic resonance imaging (MR) showed that as well as meditation providing those who engaged in it, an increased sense of relaxation and peacefulness, it also showed changes in the brains grey matter (neuroplasticity.) In the study participants reported reductions in stress correlated with decreased gray-matter density in the amygdala which is known to play an important role in anxiety and stress .The  analysis of MR images, which focused on areas where meditation-associated differences were seen in earlier studies, found increased gray-matter density in the hippocampus, which is known to be important fro learning and memory and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion and introspection.  

5 Reasons to meditate:

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(1) Jan .30 issue of Psychiatry Research:Neuroimaging      

The doctor...

"The doctor of the future, will give no medicine, but will interest his or her patients in the case of the human frame, in a proper diet and in the cause and prevention of disease."

Thomas A Eddison

Personal Training in Exeter and North London

As a personal trainer working in Exeter and North London, I got to thinking how lucky we are down in Devon, the fresh air, the open green fields all around us and of course the easy access to the beaches dotted all around us. Its worth noting that as we focus on our personal fitness, taking charge of our mind and body our body reacts to things like loud noise,loud music, deadlines, losing your car keys, misplacing your handbag, children coming home too late, missing the bus, the same way as it would if we were being chased by a lion, its all stress and our bodies reaction to stress is to dump toxic chemicals into the blood.
Every time we encounter a perceived threat our brains (the amygdala and hypothalamus) press the buzzer and set of the alarm releasing a surge of hormones into the bloodstream in response to the perceived threat. The problem is that the brain is merely sending an alarm signal to the body and not informing you about the particular danger that you're facing.
Periods of time spent in stressful situations can rob us of energy, lower our immune system increase our blood pressure, lead to increased risk of heart attack and these are to name just a few of the symptoms!

Stress is an internal response to an external event, so to decrease the stress in your life and improve your health starts once again at the level of thought and your emotions attached to stress are down to your thinking.

Mind and Body coaching Exeter offers Personal training in Exeter and throughout Devon as well as Muswell Hill North london. For more information on stress management, healthy living or fitness and personal trainers in Exeter call 0797 55 797 11           

Easter is coming..

Easter is coming again..the celebration of the Goddess Esther her fertillity and the awakening of life once again (spring) is of course celebrated objectively by eating Esthers eggs!    Many adults and children around the world will be consuming large amounts of chocolate which of course contains sugar.. sugar is the number one addiction, even above coccaine and other very addictive drugs. Paul Chek the world renowned  Holistic health practitioner states that sugar is actually classified as a class 1 (A) drug, in the same class as cocaine and heroin.

The following ponts are taken from Dr Mercolas website :
76 Additional Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health


In addition to throwing off your body's homeostasis and wreaking havoc on your metabolic processes, excess sugar has a number of other significant consequences.



Nancy Appleton, PhD, author of the book Lick the Sugar Habit[5], contributed an extensive list of the many ways sugar can ruin your health from a vast number of medical journals and other scientific publications.



Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.[6] [7]

Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body: causes chromium and copper deficiencies and interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.[8] [9] [10] [11]

Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.[12] [13]

Sugar can produce a significant rise in total cholesterol, triglycerides and bad cholesterol and a decrease in good cholesterol.[14] [15] [16] [17]

Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.[18]

Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder and stomach.[19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]

Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose and can cause reactive hypoglycemia.[26] [27]

Sugar can weaken eyesight.[Sugar can cause many problems with the gastrointestinal tract including: an acidic digestive tract, indigestion, malabsorption in patients with functional bowel disease, increased risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.[29] [30] [31] [32] [33]

Sugar can cause premature aging.[34] In fact, the single most important factor that accelerates aging is insulin, which is triggered by sugar. 1

Sugar can lead to alcoholism.[35]

Sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.[36] [37] [38]

Sugar contributes to obesity. [39] 1

Sugar can cause autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis, asthma, and multiple sclerosis.[40] [41] [42]

Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections) [43]

Sugar can cause gallstones.[44]

Sugar can cause appendicitis.[45]

Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.[46]

Sugar can cause varicose veins.[47]

Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.[48]

Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.[49]

Sugar can cause a decrease in your insulin sensitivity thereby causing an abnormally high insulin levels and eventually diabetes.[50] [51] [52]

Sugar can lower your Vitamin E levels.[53]

Sugar can increase your systolic blood pressure.[54]

Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.[55]

High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs),which are sugar molecules that attach to and damage proteins in your body. AGEs speed up the aging of cells, which may contribute to a variety of chronic and fatal diseases. [56] 1

Sugar can interfere with your absorption of protein.[57]

Sugar causes food allergies.[58]

Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.[59]

Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.[60]

Sugar can cause atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.[61] [62]

Sugar can impair the structure of your DNA.[63]

Sugar can change the structure of protein and cause a permanent alteration of the way the proteins act in your body.[64] [65]

Sugar can make your skin age by changing the structure of collagen.[66]

Sugar can cause cataracts and nearsightedness.[67] [68]

Sugar can cause emphysema.[69]

High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in your body.[70]

Sugar lowers the ability of enzymes to function.[71]

Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson's disease.[72]

Sugar can increase the size of your liver by making your liver cells divide, and it can increase the amount of fat in your liver, leading to fatty liver disease.[73] [74]

Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney such as the formation of kidney stones.[75] [76] Fructose is helping to drive up rates of kidney disease. 1

Sugar can damage your pancreas.[77]

Sugar can increase your body's fluid retention.[78]

Sugar is enemy #1 of your bowel movement.[79]

Sugar can compromise the lining of your capillaries.[80]

Sugar can make your tendons more brittle.[81]

Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.[82]

Sugar can reduce the learning capacity, adversely affect your children's grades and cause learning disorders.[83] [84]

Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves, which can alter your ability to think clearly.[85]

Sugar can cause depression.[86]

Sugar can increase your risk of gout.[87]

Sugar can increase your risk of Alzheimer's disease.[88] MRI studies show that adults 60 and older who have high uric acid are four to five times more likely to have vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s.1

Sugar can cause hormonal imbalances such as: increasing estrogen in men, exacerbating PMS, and decreasing growth hormone.[89] [90] [91] [92]

Sugar can lead to dizziness.[93]

Diets high in sugar will increase free radicals and oxidative stress.[94]

A high sucrose diet of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.[95]

High sugar consumption by pregnant adolescents can lead to a substantial decrease in gestation duration and is associated with a twofold-increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.[96] [97]

Sugar is an addictive substance.[98]

Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.[99]

Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.[100]

Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability.[101]

Your body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.[102]

The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.[103]

Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).[104]

Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.[105]

Sugar can impair the function of your adrenal glands.[106]

Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in normal, healthy individuals, thereby promoting chronic degenerative diseases.[107]

Intravenous feedings (IVs) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to your brain.[108]

Sugar increases your risk of polio.[109]

High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.[110]

Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.[111]

In intensive care units, limiting sugar saves lives.[112]

Sugar may induce cell death.[113]

In juvenile rehabilitation centers, when children were put on low sugar diets, there was a 44 percent drop in antisocial behavior.[114]

Sugar dehydrates newborns.[115]

Sugar can cause gum disease.[116]

It should now be crystal clear just how damaging sugar is. You simply cannot achieve your highest degree of health and vitality if you are consuming a significant amount of it.



Fortunately, your body has an amazing ability to heal itself when given the basic nutrition it needs, and your liver has an incredible ability to regenerate. If you start making changes today, your health WILL begin to improve, returning you to the state of vitality that nature intended.

Happiness..

Happiness is not a destination, its is not a place at which you'll finally arive, happiness is entirely a subjective thing.

Happiness is a state of mind..states unlike your elbows and arms are not real things..states are literally all in your mind. In James Borgs book Mind Power, it says, "someone once said that happiness in life can be attained by a simple formula : increasing the moments of joy and shortening the moments of pain and discomfort." 

We move in the direction of our most dominant thoughts...

Energy flows where attention goes...whatever you do..dont think about a blue elephant,now! You have to think about what it is you shouldn't be doing before you can not do it. Often when I ask peole what it is they want..they start of by telling what it is they don't want and more often than not find it easier to list all of the things they don't want instead of what they do want. By focussing on what you do want your setting a direction for your brain to move in and creating a direction purposefully.

The benefits of drinking water daily

The Benefits of Drinking Water Daily


You body has a great filtration system. Your kidneys, liver, and intestinal tract do a great job of getting toxins out of your body. Our busy lives, the stresses at work, not having enough time to get proper nutrition, and even play and exercise makes our internal filters work hard. Then taking into consideration that we eat a lot of processed foods, our bodies often can't handle all the toxins that we take into our bodies.



In order to make sure that these toxins are flushed out of our systems properly, it is important that we drink plenty of water every day, at least eight, eight ounce glasses. Of course this isn't an exact measurement, each person has their own needs, and there are other factors that have to be counted such as exercise routines, stress, and what your body size is. Now, you may have been told that any liquid counts towards this total, but realistically, if you want to get the full benefits of flushing your body, drinking things like coffee and soda don't count. Coffee is full of caffeine, and so is soda, plus these can contribute to the toxins.



Like it or not Water is the essence of life and is needed by every cell in your body. Approximately 60%-70% of your body is made up of water. It is the main ingredient of all body fluids, blood including lymph, digestive juices, urine, tears and sweat.



Now there are those of you who do routine workouts and exercise and think that drinking power drinks to replenish your electrolytes is part of this intake. Yes, when you are working out you need to do this, but you also need to drink plenty of water as well, because drinking electrolyte enriched drinks is just not enough. First of all, while drinking these does help you, your body can still only absorb so much. These too can act against you if you take in more than you need.



Not drinking enough water makes you dehydrated, and you will find yourself tired and have reduced energy. Drinking plenty of water revitalizes you, allows for your cells to work properly, and helps your internal filters. Water is a large part of you, and you need to drink plenty of water to keep yourself healthy. You can find water in juice drinks, but you should make sure that the juices you drink are all natural, with no additives and full of vitamins and antioxidants. If you can, try to find a juice maker. That way you know exactly what is in the juice, and you can even mix things up, like fruit and vegetable juice, things like that.



Here are just some of the other health benefits possible from drinking plenty of water. An increase in energy, more life vitality, glowing and clearer skin, better digestion, better concentration, less painful menstruation and good regular bowel movements!



If you are suffering from constipation, headaches, menstrual problems, insomia, acne and or dry itchy skin you will find benefits from drinking more water. If you've got dry skin, drinking water will give it more moisture but that's not all. Water flushes toxins out of your body and anything else that shouldn't be there so it clears your skin of any dirt and bacteria.

Drinking plenty of water elevates your metabolism, and you will burn more calories when you are working out. Water can also help with weight loss.Great news for anyone trying to lose a few pounds - water naturally reduces your appetite.

A lot of people confuse feeling thirsty with feeling hungry so they eat when their body wants them to drink something. When you're dehydrated, fat cells become harder to break down and so anyone actually trying to diet will find it a lot harder if they don't drink very much.

Water is one of the best natural ways to help slow the aging process, and is a great moisturizer. Drinking plenty of water makes the skin fuller, and helps to stop wrinkles. Water also helps regulate your internal temperature, and not having enough water will make you feel colder, or at times hotter than usual. Your brain also needs water in order for it to work properly, keep you alert and thinking clearly.