Filed under Wellbeing by on Sep 1st, 2010. 
Life isn’t the sweetest candy. Sometimes, when I feel like the world is just too heavy, I look around and find people who continued to live fascinating and wonderful lives. And then thoughts come popping into my mind like bubbles from nowhere – “How did their life become so adorably sweet? How come they still can manage to laugh and play around despite a busy stressful life?” Then I pause and observe for awhile. I figured out that maybe, they start to work on a place called ‘self’.Read more on Real Happiness Comes From Within…
Filed under Wellbeing by on Aug 29th, 2010.
PMS, or premenstrual syndrome, is experienced by an estimated 85 percent of all women at some point during their lives. PMS is an umbrella term used to describe a number of physical and emotional changes that women undergo in the days between ovulation and the onset of the monthly period. These changes are attributed to changing hormone levels in the body.Read more on PMS…
Filed under Wellbeing by on Aug 26th, 2010.
Puffy eyes, dark circles, and shadows under your eyes?
When you get older it happens more often. It is just one of the many things that happen with age. However, there are products that help reduce the signs of aging other than having to rely on expensive surgery.
One of the first things you will need to do is reduce your consumption for sodium. Add Vitamins A, C, and E to your diet. Make sure you are getting enough sleep as well.
There are many methods that grandma used and swears works. Some of the popular ways to remove the puffiness and darkness are to apply tea bags, fresh cut cucumbers, and Preparation H. The tea bags and cucumbers to work but stay away from the Preparation H since it will cause eye damage.
When locating products for puffy eyes, look for ingredients with Horse Chestnut (as it promotes micro-circulation), Aloe (as it soothes and hydrates), Ivy (to decongest and eliminate excess water), Caffeine (to decrease the swelling), Green or white tea (to soothe the redness and inflammation), Cucumber (to reduce the inflammation) and Liquorice (to reduce the puffiness and soothe irritation).
When you are seeking a longer fix there are injectable wrinkle fillers such as Juvederm and Restylane used by experts. The filler is injected around the puffy area to remove the indentation as the result of the puffiness. There is also Botox that is commonly used to smooth out the fine lines and wrinkles. They all have the same effect of creating a younger appearance to the eyes. The methods last about nine months and you need to have the procedure repeated for the cost of several thousand pounds each time.
Some people have the daily morning darkness referred to as raccoon eyes that is near the underside of their eyes making the person appear tired, older or ‘drugged out’. The fact that some people have it, regardless of sleep patterns or lifestyle choices, leads them to seek alternative products to remove the dark circles. Look for products with Vitamin K to stimulate the blood flow and repair the broken capillary walls near the eyes, Vitamin A, C, and E to reduce the free radicals and to increase the antioxidant protectors, Peptide technology to promote collagen synthesis to firm the eye tissue and Hesperidin to strengthen the capillaries and reduce the leaking and blood pooling as well as improving the micro-circulation in the eye region. Also Konica Acid to lighten the skin areas from discoloration and Eyebright, pearls and light diffuser to visually filter light and to brighten and illuminate the eye regions.
To camouflage the darkness use a peach or salmon coloured concealer. For the puffiness use nylon concealer brush to add a thin layer of a product in the creases below the puffy area. Afterwards you add a concealer a few shades darker than your foundation. )Apply the foundation before the concealer.)
Filed under Wellbeing by on Aug 11th, 2010.
Bad breath is not a simple condition that you can easily shrug off and pretend it is not there. Although it does not always cause serious dental and medical conditions, it can bring you more trouble than you expected. Bad breath is a source of acute embarrassment and a condition that can lose you your confidence. Watching people back off, or worse attempting not to, when you’re talking to them is mind-numbingly embarrassing. This kind of situation can bring you psychologically and emotionally down.
Why bad breath occurs?
The most common cause why bad breath, or halitosis, develops is food particles lingering in the mouth. These get trapped between teeth, in the lining of the mouth and on the tongue. There are bacteria in your mouth that keep themselves busy trying to prevent bad bacteria from forming from these leftovers. However, when you don’t clean your mouth and teeth to get rid of these particles, bad bacteria are immediately attracted causing them to form a community inside. Bad bacteria carry compounds which cause your breath to smell foul. Another cause for bad breath is a lack of water intake as the lack of moisture means they have less work to do. A dry mouth is a popular place for bad bacteria to gather. Smoking also causes your breath to smell bad. Not only that. It can cause tartar and plaque, another reason why breath smells bad, to build up. Infections such as tonsillitis, sinusitis, and other similar conditions are also factors in bad breath. Infections carry compounds which are absorbed down the mouth and cause the breath to smell bad. Aside from this, there are certain medical conditions that trigger halitosis such as kidney problems, diabetes, periodontitis, and others. In addition, a person taking prescription drugs can vunerable to developing halitosis. There is a wide variety of prescription drugs, which when taken orally, cause breath to smell bad.
How to Avoid Bad Breath
Bad breath can be avoided. One of the things that you can do is practice regular oral dental hygiene. Brushing and flossing twice a day is a simple but effective way to avoid bad bacteria forming a community inside your mouth. To completely clean your mouth and breath, mouthwash is also recommended. Since brushing and flossing alone do not completely vacuum your mouth, the rinse scrapes off any debris left around the lining of the mouth and tongue. Tongue scraping is also a great way to prevent bacteria from reproducing, creating breeding grounds in the mouth for bad bacteria. Keeping your mouth hydrated by drinking water all throughout the day helps these bacteria busy working; thus, avoiding the breeding of bad compounds.
Checking with your physician and dentist is a must once you are plagued with the condition. If bad breath continues even if you practice proper oral dental care, there is something wrong with your medical condition. If this is the case, the right person to diagnose and provide treatment is your physician or medical doctor.
Talking with your dental hygienist is a big step towards curing halitosis and gaining your confidence afterwards. Bad breath is never a simple thing to consider. If you don’t want to be affected by the negative things it comes with, take care of your own hygiene and check regularly with your dentist.
Filed under Health & Healing, Wellbeing by on Jul 27th, 2010.
Those who have used essential oils before becoming pregnant will probably want to use them during their pregnancy. Some people will want to try them for the first time while expecting. However, it’s important to know how to use essential oils safely during pregnancy
There are many essential oils and blends of oils that just aren’t safe to use during pregnancy. Some herbs that are used in cooking should be avoided in their essential oil forms during all nine months of pregnancy. These include basil, bay leaves, sage, thyme, and oregano. Others are clove, marjoram, and wintergreen.
Some of the essential oils are safe for use after the first trimester. There are remedies for many of the discomforts of pregnancy. For example, women often have morning sickness that lasts beyond the first trimester. If so, they can breathe in oil of peppermint, spearmint, or lemon. It is easy to end up feeling tense and full of muscle pain when you are pregnant. If this happens, a massage could be just the thing you need. With the essential oils of lavender and chamomile mixed with vegetable oil, your partner can help ease away that tension.
Commonly, women suffer from swollen ankles and feet during pregnancy. If lavender, cypress, and juniper oils are mixed with vegetable oil they can used for massage oil. This blend of essential oils can cause the swelling to decrease.
Pregnant women also have muscle cramps in their legs at times. For this, massage oil can be made from the essential oils of lavender and chamomile, just as for any muscle pain.
However, with this pain and any pain of the feet and legs, it is important to be careful when doing the massage. Activating pressure points in these areas can induce labor.
Carrying around all that extra weight can make a woman feel quite fatigued. She may have given up coffee and caffeinated soft drinks for the health of her baby. To energize herself, she can mix essential oils of lavender, grapefruit, and orange with vegetable oil. This can be inhaled or rubbed on the solar plexus. Skin eruptions are common during pregnancies. They are uncomfortable and distressing to many women. Several different conditions can be helped by putting a mixture of essential oils and vegetable oil on the affected areas. The essential oils you should use for dry skin are geranium, lavender, and rose. For inflamed skin, use chamomile. For itchy skin, use a combination of chamomile and lavender. These remedies should soothe the skin and make it smoother. There’s just no getting around stretch marks. If you are getting them, though, you might like to have a way to soothe them and keep them from itching. Just put lavender, geranium, and rosewood essential oils in your vegetable oil for massaging.
Do your homework if you are pregnant and wanting to use essential oils to relieve some of the discomforts associated with pregnancy. If in doubt, consult an expert. It’s important to take the safety of you and your baby into account.
Filed under Wellbeing by on Jul 6th, 2010.
Almost everyone has heard the hit single ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ by Bobby McFerrin. The song has a very catchy way of conveying its message of happiness for all. Bobby McFerrin’s song has surely made a lot of people happy simply by telling them not to worry.
Living a happy, resilient and optimistic life is wonderful, and is also good for your health. Being happy actually protects you from the stresses of life. Stress is linked to top causes of death such as heart disease, cancer and strokes.
One of the better things that has ever been said is – ‘The only thing in life that will always remain the same is change’. In our lives we have the power to make the necessary changes if we want to. Even if we find ourselves in an unbearable situation we can always find solace in the knowledge that it too will change.
Happiness is actually found in everyone, increasing it is a way to make a life more wonderful and also more healthy. To be happy is relatively easy, just decide to be a happy person. Abraham Lincoln observed that most people for most of the time can choose how happy or stressed, how relaxed or troubled, how bright or dull their outlook to be. The choice is simple really, choose to be happy.
There are several ways by which you can do this:
Being grateful is a great attitude. We have so much to be thankful for. Thank the taxi driver for bringing you home safely, thank the cook for a wonderful dinner and thank the guy who cleans your windows. Also thank the mailman for bringing you your mail, thank the policeman for making your place safe and thank God for being alive.
News is stressful. Get less of it. Some people just can’t start their day without their daily dose of news. Try and think about it, 99% of the news we hear or read is bad news. Starting the day with bad news does not seem to be a sensible thing to do.
A religious connection is also recommended. Being part of a religious group with its singing, sacraments, chanting, prayers and meditations fosters inner peace.
Manage your time. Time is invaluable and too important to waste. Time management can be viewed as a list of rules that involves scheduling, setting goals, planning, creating lists of things to do and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.
Laugh and laugh heartily everyday. Heard a good joke? Tell your friends or family about it. As they also say -‘Laughter is the best medicine’.
Express your feelings, affections, friendship and passion to people around you. They will most likely reciprocate your actions. Try not to keep pent up anger of frustrations, this is bad for your health. Instead find ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone.
Working hard brings tremendous personal satisfaction. It gives a feeling of being competent in finishing our tasks. Accomplishments are necessary for all of us, they give us a sense of value. Work on things that you feel worthy of your time.
Learning is a joyful exercise. Try and learn something new everyday. Learning also makes us expand and broaden our horizons. And could also give us more opportunities in the future.
Run, jog, walk and do other things that your body was made for. Feel alive.
Avoid exposure to negative elements like loud noises, toxins and hazardous places.
These are the few simple things you can do everyday to be happy.
And always remember the quote from Abraham Lincoln, he says that, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
Don’t worry. Be Happy!
Filed under Wellbeing by on Jun 22nd, 2010.
It may be difficult for an individual, no matter what age, to admit they need help in controlling their problem with anger. However this is the initial step to treatment and learning how to control these emotions. Effective anger management help is assistance in discovering methods or strategies for managing anger problems or if fortunate enough, eliminating them all together. Effective anger management help will equip an individual to face their anger issues with a better attitude, as well as develop skills to control their reactions to confrontational situations.Read more on Effective Anger Management…
Filed under Wellbeing by on Jun 2nd, 2010.
The elderly face many more challenges than their younger counterparts. They are at an age where death is almost expected ñ whether it is reading about a friend in the paper or losing a family member. They also face more health problems. These factors can often lead to depression if older people do not have the appropriate support systems in place. Depression does not have to happen and it is not part of aging. However it can happen and it will prevent an elderly person from living a full life as they are more likely to withdraw into themselves and their memories.Read more on Depression in Over 50′s…
Filed under Wellbeing by on May 18th, 2010.
Some people think I’m mad when I say my exercise routine takes just five minutes but am I?
Orientals certainly think our Western way of exercise is strange - all that huffing and puffing. They focus on martial arts learning a skill, a focus, a method of self defence and becoming incredibly strong, flexible and energised at the same time.
Can you imagine a bunch of aliens visiting one of Earth’s gyms?
“Hey Orrrrk (ok, so I don’t really know what Aliens are called!)
I have just seen some earth creatures in a place they call a Gym.
Some of them are jumping up and down on a rubber mat and others are running on machines that take them nowhere. They spend a lot of time doing this.
My calculations tell me that some of them are damaging their bodies. Some of them are trying to get thinner, some are trying to get bigger, none of them are happy to be what they are.”
Well that may not be entirely how they would see it but who knows?
I spend 5 minutes a day doing my exercise, I’m fit enough to enjoy my life, I’m energetic to work a long tough day and still enjoy some nightlife. But most importantly I feel good… no I feel FANTASTIC.
Wake Up and Breathe!…. it’s Out of this World, but it’s not mad.
Find out more at our workshop www.FiveMinutestoFitness.co.uk
Filed under Barry's Blog, Health & Healing, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Wellbeing by on Apr 29th, 2010.
