Tea Up It’s winter, and the chill is on. Instead of reaching for a calorie-dense vanilla café latte to warm up, try a cup of tea, the second most popular beverage in the world (after water, not lattes). Made from leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, teas’ distinct tastes and colors—black, green, oolong and white—arise from how the raw leaves are processed: steamed, fermented (oxidized), dried or bruised. Studies show that all types offer superb health benefits.  Here’s why it’s a good idea ... Read more

Calm Work Stress Feeling psychologically strained or blue at work? A simple, daily B vitamin supplement may be an answer. Australia’s Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, at Swinburne University of Technology, and the National Institute of Complementary Medicine recently partnered in a study assessing the personalities, work demands and mood, anxiety and strain experienced by 60 men and women. Half the group took a nutrient-herb-blend supplement with the full spectrum of B vitamins plus calcium, mag... Read more

5 Ways to Welcome Change in the New Year Raise your hand if you’ve had a crazy year, with lots of changes—good, bad or otherwise. Just as I thought: We’re all in this together. The most difficult change I’ve been dealt in the last couple of years was my sister’s serious illness. Sitting by her bed one dark day, I came across words by the great Sufi master, Hazrat Inayat Khan: “Walking on the turning wheel of the Earth, living under the ever-rotating Sun, man expects a peaceful life.” Reading them, I had an “Aha!” moment—I let... Read more

Healing and Health Begin with a Touch Healing touch is just one example of a paradigm shift that is beginning to emerge in Western society, a shift that is changing the meaning of health today. Just as advancements in science during the Enlightenment moved civilization into new realms of material reality, we are now moving toward a new awareness of energetic reality. We are beginning to understand the concept of health as an open, balanced, living system, connected with the universe and all other life forms. This system requires mo... Read more

Alternative Goes Mainstream Today’s Complementary Trends Support Natural Health Care. Haven’t we all at some time shifted to more healthy foods, enjoyed a massage, consulted with a chiropractor or naturopath, popped a vitamin C supplement or attended a yoga, Tai chi, qigong or Pilates class? Many of us also meditate regularly and pray for sick friends and relatives. If we’ve engaged in any of these activities, we are among the nearly two-thirds of Americans that use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) ther... Read more

Deepak Chopra Explores Conscious Being Deepak Chopra, founder of the Chopra Foundation and the Chopra Center for Wellbeing, in Carlsbad, California, is a New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned authority in the field of mind-body healing. Regarded by Time Magazine as the “poet-prophet of alternative medicine,” his global speaking engagements include hosting Deepak Chopra Radio on BlogTalk Radio.com. In War of the Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality, you and physicist Leonard Mlodinow debate humanity’s most fundamental ... Read more

Holistic and High-Tech Energy Medicine Clinics There are currently hundreds of approaches aimed at solving health problems. Some are within conventional medicine, and many are categorized as traditional, natural, alternative or complementary medicine. Clients have different needs, and for every diagnosis there are different causative factors involved. A pill can sometimes deal with one aspect, usually symptomatically, but it is not the solution to create good homeostasis and perfect health. The ideal clinic is one that uses the most effectiv... Read more

Our Worst Fitness Habits Six Roadblocks to Sidestep Tosca Reno We all know that working out is beneficial. But how you work out makes all the difference in staying safe, seeing better results and keeping your body balanced. Here’s how to make sure you aren’t sabotaging a good workout. 1 Bad form. Correct form is your safety net. Once you compromise the way you do a move, you’re no longer getting the greatest benefits from the exercise, and you’re seriously increasing your risk of getting hurt. Even if it me... Read more

Bully Beaters Cooperation is Key to Social Harmony Bullies seem to be made, not born. A study from the University of California, Berkeley, concludes that a cooperative school experience, versus a competitive one, can play a major positive role in the socialization of students. Researchers canvassed 217 students in grades three through five, measuring how much they liked to cooperate or compete with their peers, and how often they acted with aggression or kindness toward them. The youngsters also estimat... Read more

5 Intentions for the New Year Wayne Dyer  These daily practices will help you move toward Spirit in your thoughts and actions. 1 Commit to at least one daily experience where you share something of yourself with no expectation of being acknowledged or thanked. For exa... Read more

Good Vibrations Sound Healing for the Soul   Erin Lehn Floresca Many sounds associated with holidays instantly cheer us up, but why? We naturally respond to sounds, because everything in the Universe is comprised of vibration—also referred to as resonance. When we are exposed to healing sounds, our bodies and minds begin to resonate in harmony with them, supporting our well-being. Fortunately, avenues of sound healing are readily accessible in our everyday lives. Engaging in activities s... Read more

Wall Residences Helping People Fulfill Their Dreams by Colleen Redman   When Kamala Bauers was 10 years old, her seven-month-old brother, James, suffered complications from spinal meningitis that left him severely disabled. Today, Bauers and her husband, Jack Wall, are celebrating their 16th year as founders of Floyd-based Wall Residences, which provides foster-home placements for people like James who have significant support needs. James was institutionalized for many years but now lives in a group home. “... Read more

The Parent Path How Children Enrich Our Spiritual Life Steve Taylor Dirty nappies, wakeup calls in the middle of the night, a house full of screams and squeals, food splattered on walls, a chaos of toys everywhere, no more late nights out, no time to read books, take classes or attend retreats—what could be spiritual about bringing up children? Isn’t spiritual development just one of the many things we sacrifice when we have kids? Many spiritual traditions based on meditation, prayer and solitude mai... Read more

Exploring the Last Frontier Astronaut Edgar Mitchell The sixth of only 12 men to walk the lunar surface, Apollo 14 Astronaut Edgar Mitchell had a life-changing experience in 1971 as his spacecraft sailed back to Earth. Long before he first published The Way of the Explorer, in 1996, he understood that the beautiful blue planet to which he was returning was part of a harmonious and whole living system and that we each participate in a universe of consciousness. This expanded worldview led him to found the nonprofit ... Read more

Do Good, Feel Good Do Good, Feel Good The Helping – Health – Happiness Connection Lisa Marshall Growing up on Long Island, New York, young Stephen Post often received an unusual prescription from his mother when he was feeling grouchy or under the weather. “She’d say, ‘Why don’t you go out and help someone?’” he recalls. “I’d go out and help Mr. Muller rake leaves or help old Bobby Lawrence fix his boat. Then, I’d come back feeling better, and feeling better about life.” Decades later, Post—a professor o... Read more