The Psoas: Muscle of The Soul | body divine yoga I was delighted when I first came across Liz Koch’s amazing work because it confirmed much of what I’d been intuiting on my own. I had begun to open and close my yoga practise with hip opening poses with the specific intention of releasing tension in my psoas and hip flexors. I’d breathe and imagine tension flowing out of constricted muscles to be released as energy into the torso. It worked, I’d feel my body soften yet somehow grow stronger. Reading Liz Koch I instantly realized what I was doing – by learning to relax my psoas I was literally energizing my deepest core by reconnecting with the powerful energy of the earth. According to Koch, the psoas is far more than a core stabilizing muscle; it is an organ of perception composed of bio-intelligent tissue and “literally embodies our deepest urge for survival, and more profoundly, our elemental desire to flourish.” Well, I just had to learn more. The Psoas is the only ‘muscle’ to connect the spine to the legs. (P.
How to Release the Stress stored in our Bodies Do you spend much time sitting in front of a computer, on a plane, in a car? If so your hips may be locked up which effects your ability to dance, but worse than that it may be causing you undue stress and fear. The Psoas Muscle, is a long muscle located on the side of the lumbar region of the vertebral column and brim of the pelvis, that is also known as the “muscle of the soul”. It is one of the largest muscles in the body and it is a place where we often store stress or trauma that can literally influence our mood and our outlook on life. We recently explored in depth just how much fear can inhibit our ability to think clearly thus creating an unhealthy perspective that can harm us and those around us. In humans, the extremes of the two polarities might appropriately be described as LOVE (+) and FEAR (- ). If you spend long hours sitting, your hips may be locked up, causing you undue stress and fear How built up stress makes us easy to manipulate The effects of stress on the body
5 Natural Ways To Heal Cuts And Scrapes Honey The idea to use honey as medicine isn't exactly new—there are references to the sweet substance's healing properties in the Bible, the Torah, and the Quran. And people have been using honey to heal cuts since at least 2000 BC, when Egyptian doctors recorded its ability to heal wounds for the first time. Scientists believe the antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals in honey make it able to kill both the bacteria and the fungi that infect wounds. Its viscous texture also allows a cut to heal in a moist environment, which leaves you with a softer-looking scar or no scar at all. But doctors ask that you don't just slather on a spoonful of the stuff that comes in a cute little bear at your supermarket. MORE: 5 Natural Remedies For Headaches Tea Tree Oil Yes, tea tree oil makes excellent shampoo, but it's also a great way to heal a cut quickly and efficiently. (Heal your body from the inside with the 12-day liver detox for total body health!) Lavender Oil Chamomile
What Is Kemetic Yoga? The above depiction shows the Divinities Heru and Djhuty binding the Sema symbol while the Pharoah sits atop. The one on the left holds the symbol with a papyrus plant (lower self) and the one on the right binds with a lotus flower (higher self). This means that the duality of spirit and matter, temporal and transcendent becomes unified in such a way that one's temporal nature dissolves into the transcendent reality; one's higher nature. Many people ask, is yoga a religion? The answer is no, yoga is not a religion in the common sense of the phrase. Yoga is a system of disciplines by which one can achieve the highest state of consciousness. The Gods and Goddesses are the primary focus in the practice of Kemetic Yoga. The early sages knew that the untrained mind is very fickle and actually needs an anchor to stabilize it through the yogic process. Based upon this very brief introduction, the proper name for the Kemetic teachings of yoga would be KEMET SMAI TAWI. Peace and Blessings,
How to Grow Your Own Lemon Tree From Seed Even in northern climates and in the dead of winter, a productive lemon tree can be growing inside of your home or garage. They are quite beautiful in appearance, both in regard to their dark-green leaves and their snow-white blooms, and they also emit a pleasant, refreshing fragrance. To grow your own lemon tree, you will need to obtain the following: An organic lemon since non-organic lemons often contain non-germinating seeds Fertile potting soil, preferably containing peat, vermiculite, perlite, and natural fertilizers A planting pot that is six inches wide and six inches deep A seedling pot that is about 24 inches wide by 12 inches deep A sunny, indoor growing location and possibly a grow lamp Follow these steps to grow your own lemon tree: Moisten the potting soil so that it is damp, but not soaked, all the way through. Eventually, your hard work will pay off with a fruit-bearing tree. Watch YouTube Gardener Mitchell Boyle's Technique For Growing Lemons...
Learning New Words Activates The Same Brain Regions As Sex And Drugs While it doesn’t get much better than sex and drugs for many out there, new research has found that simply learning a new word can spark up the same reward circuits in the brain that are activated during pleasurable activities such as these. No wonder there are so many bookworms and scrabble addicts out there. Human language is a unique phenomenon that separates us from other members of the animal kingdom. The emergence of language was a hugely important step in our evolution because it allowed humans to cooperate and share knowledge more easily. But what motivates us to acquire a new language from a very early age has been a mystery. During both word learning and gambling, participants exhibited activity in the ventral striatum, which is a core area involved in reward and motivation.
Kemetic Yoga | The Seven Minds What is Kemetic Yoga? By Sehu Khepera Ankh Yoga was practiced in Ancient Egypt, North East Africa, for a very long time. Research has indicated that the philosophy of personality integration, or yoga, was practiced in Egypt for about 10,000 years which is a great expanse of time. The teaching of yoga that was espoused in the country of Egypt was derived from the meditations and insights by the early sage priests and priestesses. Egypt is not the original term for the country. So if yoga was practiced in Kemet for such a long period of time, then the question beckons, what is yoga? However, there is universal consciousness that is beyond the scope of the normal realm of consciousness, or individual reality of people. Yoga is the practice of binding individual consciousness with universal consciousness. Notice the similarity between union and yoke. The above depiction shows the Nile Divinity, Hapi, in dual form, binding the Sema symbol. Many people ask, is yoga a religion? Like this:
Hearts In Harmony | Love That Lasts Forever Chemotherapy and Vitamin C High Doses of Antioxidants Including Vitamin C Do Not Decrease the Efficacy of Chemotherapy by Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D. (For a 2008 update on this important topic: ) Reprinted with permission of the author and the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, 911 Tyler Street, Pt. Townsend WA 98368; (360) 385-6021 The idea that the use of antioxidants decreases the efficacy of chemotherapy is being used more and more by orthodox oncologists. It is based upon their hypothesis that anything which decreases the oxidant effect of drugs will decrease the efficacy of chemotherapy. Their view is that chemotherapy destroys tumor tissue because it introduces powerful oxidation products, free radicals, and that anything which decreases that must interfere with treatment. Well, what are the facts? Recently Kedar N. Even earlier Charles B. ONE: What is the therapeutic value of chemotherapy without any antioxidants? FIVE: Dr. A. References 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Go Physically Deeper in Yoga Poses If you're looking to go deeper in your physical asana practice, learning a bit about your body's mechanics is a great way to start. Try using the following in your next practice session and see for yourself it allows you to open up a little more and allow you to move a little deeper in your pose. There are a variety of spinal cord reflex arcs that regulate tension and muscle length during your pose. These arcs automatically occur during movement of the body on varying degrees as a protective mechanism to ensure that the muscle does not get hurt. The reflex arcs are similar to the one that I’m sure you have seen or experienced when a physician taps the front of your knee with a rubber mallet -- your lower leg moves forward, without you doing anything -- that is a spinal cord reflex. Ballistic Stretching On the other hand, passive stretching would be using one’s own body weight, gravity or props to create a stretch. Active Static Stretching Let’s use Janu Sirsasana as an example.