Healing, Yoga and Qigong

Bright orange pumpkins really brighten up our world, don’t they?   But pumpkins are not only visually pleasing, they also appeal to our sensual centers. Studies have found that certain smells can arouse one’s sexual desire. As it turns out, the smell of pumpkin pie is among them, along with black licorice and vanilla. To spice up your love life, I’m going to address some of your questions about low libido, and share with you a few tricks and treats to rekindle the flame of passion. In  Traditional Chinese Medicine ,  sexual health is the function of the yang – fire energy – of the kidney-adrenal system. Yang energy may wane due to unhealthy dietary or lifestyle factors, or become blocked by negative emotions. When this happens, there is a deficiency of the fire that sustains healthy sexual energy . For women, love – the emotional connection from the heart – is often the first thing that’s needed to reignite the sexual fire. Reconnect with y...

While the act of  meditation  is fairly simple  — close eyes and focus on your breath — it can be helpful to use  guided imagery. Try the following 5-Minute Quick Forces of Nature Meditation to quiet your mind so that you can begin to see more clearly the best direction forward for your life. You can do this meditation anywhere , so long as you’re able to put the “back in five minutes” sign on your head. I often meditate in bed at the start of the day, while sitting in my parked car before heading into the office, or in the evening as I relax on the couch or enjoy a hot bath. The only consideration is to choose a location and a point during the day where you can sit still and undisturbed for five minutes … and then begin. Close eyes and focus on your breath. Take a few slow, deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth . Mentally set the intention to release all negative noise and mind-inspired banter with each exhalati...

The ancient ayurvedic texts say that bananas are clogging because they carry “madhu rasa” and “guru guna” – in other words, a sweet taste and heavy aftereffect. But what does this mean? Another   way to understand this would be through other fruits, such as the orange or the apple. These fruits also have “madhu rasa” or sweet taste, but in addition they are also characterized by an “amla rasa” or sour taste.  In Ayurveda, the sour taste is known to support digestion and metabolism more because it carries more “agni” or digestive properties in it. The sweet taste is said to be made up of the water and earth elements, while the sour taste is known to be made up of water and fire elements. So the sweet taste is considered to be heavy , but the sour taste has some inherent fire to it that supports metabolism. That’s why fruits that carry a little sour taste are not clogging . Clogging? It means they don’t make toxins or “ama” – the first kind of toxins result...

Next time you want relief of aches, pains and stiffness, consider trying a natural anti-inflammatory drink using  turmeric.   Yogi Bhajan  s erved it to us after 12+ hours of  yoga and it truly worked like magic. Anti-Inflammatory Golden Milk  (1 serving; suggest at least doubling it to enjoy the benefits of a few cups) 1/8 tsp  Turmeric  (you can use raw turmeric root) 1/2 cup water 1 cup milk (you can use  almond milk) 2 tbsp  Almond oil  (optional) 1 tbsp of  Raw Honey The following exercises will help to heal the body, improve the immune system function and fight  inflammation : How to build up Chi (Qi) to fight off illness and maintain good health 8 Exercises for Fitness, Healing, and Longevity  Standing Qigong produced superior results Standing Qigong/Meditation Part 2 What is stronger Qigong or Coffee for an instan...