Breathing—the key to a healthy life!

March 7, 2010 By marie Leave a Comment

It is not out of necessity that we humans breathe. We need the right amount of oxygen for us to be able to live. At some point, instead of breathing clean and fresh air, we breathe in the harmful pollution that surrounds our environment everyday.

Breathing gives us some health benefits .Well, taking a few deep breaths can be very relaxing not only to our lungs but to our whole body. It can relieve us from everyday stress and lets us handle situations more calmly and with a clear head.

As you may have noticed, when people get stressed or mad, they take in short quick breaths. Why? It is said that it makes us feel relaxed and comfortable at the same time and perhaps, makes us think clearer because of the opening up of all the veins and air passages in the body.

Deep breathing also has its own benefits in relieving stress. Deep breathing is the cornerstone of several breathing relaxation remedies for stress.

Practice deep breathing by sitting comfortably with your back on a full stretch. Put one hand on your chest and one hand on your stomach and try Breathing through your nose.  The hand that is on placed on your stomach should rise and the one on your chest should move very little.

Exhale through the mouth, making sure that you are releasing as much air as possible contracting the abdominal muscles. While exhaling, the hand on your stomach should move in and still, the hand on your chest should only move a little.

To be able to obtain satisfying results with your breathing exercise, try doing this exercise with counts. It usually works because you are distracted by the breathe-in-breathe-out process and you will be able to concentrate in breathing thus, keeping you relaxed and at the same time, keeps your body, specifically your respiratory system healthy.

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Natural Ways to Get Rid of Skin Problems

February 24, 2010 By marie Leave a Comment

Your skin is one of the biggest factors that can affect your physical looks – especially when it comes to your face. Generally, the secret to proper skin care is to determine your skin type and maintaining treatment. The choice of treatment that you go through is also important. There are a lot of skin problems that a person must deal with.

This is why there are a lot of cosmetic and beauty products in the market that promises radiant, glowing and fresh looking skin. However, we all can not avoid the truth which is that most of these products contain harmful chemicals that can be dangerous to your skin.

It is a good thing that you do not have to expose your skins to these harmful elements since there are a number of natural skin care treatments that you can use to help maintain a healthy skin.

Acne is a common skin problem, especially when it comes to teenagers. Studies show that acne is usually caused by exhaustion and stress. Lack of sleep is also one factor when it comes to stress. A natural method to get rid of this is to make sure that you are getting a lot of sleep so that you get healthy skin.

For oily skin, you can always make use of tomatoes. Oily skin can be eliminated by cutting a tomato in half and rubbing it across your skin. Let the juice of the tomato soak in your skin and let dry. After that, you can wash your skin off with hot water, followed by cold water. The temperature change in the water closes the pores which would help keep out bacteria that causes oily skin.

If you find that you have dry skin then you should try skipping the use of soap. Washing daily with soap is a factor that leads to drying out your skin because it removes the natural oil that makes your skin soft and smooth. You can simply sponge off every other or switch your soap to a moisturizing one.

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Hair Care Tips

December 1, 2009 By marie Leave a Comment

Everyone has a bad hair day. Did you know that your hair is actually the body’s barometer that indicates whether you are in good health or not? Here are two hair types that do not only look bad but indicates that you have bad hygiene or poor health:

Dry Hair

Dry hair makes you look dull and is very difficult to control after shampooing. Oftentimes, dry hair comes with split ends. This happens because the oil glands are inactive making your hair rough, thin and brittle. To avoid this, you will have to give more care and nourishment to your hair.

One thing you can do to get rid of dry hair is to use coconut milk. Get a cup of coconut milk and add two tablespoons of gram flour then apply the mixture to your scalp and massage gently. After five minutes, rinse your hair. Do this twice a week.

Another remedy is to add a teaspoon of lavender oil to coconut oil and heat the mixture for a few seconds. Massage the mixture to your scalp at night and then shampoo your hair the following morning. Do this twice a week and you will have soft and shiny hair.

Oily Hair

When you have oily hair it means that there is excess secretion done by the oil glands of your scalp. Oily hair becomes sticky even after you shampoo and this makes your hair more susceptible to dust and dirt. Basically all you need to do to get rid of oily hair is to do frequent washing with mild shampoo but there are other home remedies that you can use as well.

One way to deal with only hair is to mix one teaspoon of Aloe vera gel and one tablespoon of lemon juice with one fourth shampoo and use this mixture regularly.

You can also boil two tablespoons of mint in one and a half glass of water for 20 minutes. After that, you have to strain the mixture and mix it with the shampoo that you regularly use. Do this on alternative days. This mixture will help absorb the excess oil from the scalp.

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The Wonders You Can Get from Sage

November 27, 2009 By marie Leave a Comment

Sage is a very well known herb that is a native to the Mediterranean area. Sage can be grown as a kitchen plant due to its value as a cooking herb for its peppery flavor which is widely used in meats, stuffing, sauces, cheese and even drinks. Sage can also be grown as an ornamental plant due to its attractive gray like leaves and blue to purplish flowers.

But Sage is also commonly grown due to its health and medicinal value. In fact the Latin name for Sage is “Sylvia” which means “to heal”. The Egyptians used Sage as a fertility drug while the Chinese valued sage tea as a stimulating tonic in ancient times. Today, a lot of ailments and illnesses are identified and considered to be relieved by this herb.

Sage Tea is the most common form of using the herb for healing. You can relieve sore throats and coughs by gargling on it. When drank in small repeated doses, Sage tea becomes a good remedy for nervous conditions, weak digestions and fevers with deliriums. Sage tea is also identified to help treat joint pain, headaches and kidney or liver complaints.

German researchers also shared that sage can help reduce 50% of sweating that is brought on by menopause, fever and night swears. This is done through sage leaf infusion or dry sage leaf extract.

Sage has also been identified as a good herb for the memory and senses. Rosemary sage in particular has been identified to have the ability to help improve a person’s memory and brain function. People who take sage oil have improved when it comes to word recall making Sage a promising treatment for Alzheimer’s.

Taking Sage is also a good way to cure your problems when it comes to digestion. This is because Sage has bitter compounds that can stimulate intestinal mobility, secretions, bile flow and the pancreas.

Take note that you must not use Sage in excessive amounts. You can actually overdose on sage since it large doses can be toxic. Women who are pregnant or nursing and those who are prone to epileptic fits are not advised to use sage as a medication.

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How to Deal with an Upset Stomach

November 20, 2009 By marie Leave a Comment

upset_stomach

A common infliction that we all go through no matter what age is an upset stomach. These stomach problems can be caused by a lot of things from stress, food allergies, food poisoning, indigestion and many more. As much as there are numerous causes, there are also numerous remedies. Here are some several tips that will help when it comes to handling an upset stomach:

Most of the time, an upset stomach happens due to the food that you eat. It would help to drink a cup of tea in order to settle your stomach and to help in digestion. You can use green tea, chamomile, mint, cinnamon and ginger for this and add a little sugar or honey in it.

Sometimes you get an upset stomach not because of the food that you eat but because of lack of food. Going on long periods without food would lead to the build up of stomach acid which causes discomfort. The best way to cure this is to eat a healthy snack in order to give your stomach acids something to work on. Stay away from soda in these cases since it can only make the situation worse.

Avoid drinking milk. A lot of people make the presumption that milk can helps soothe an upset stomach but the truth is that milk only hinders the problem instead of helping it. Coffee will not help as well since it irritates the stomach lining. Instead, drink a lot of water so that your stomach and intestines will function properly.

If you have started taking new medications recently then this may be the cause of your stomach upset. There are a lot of medications that can trigger discomforts in the digestive tract especially in the early stage of treatment.

Take note that when you are looking for a way to relieve you of having an upset stomach make sure that you are able to determine what your body needs before trying out these cures. Remember that being more conscious of what you eat, how you eat, when you eat and what you do after you eat can greatly reduce the chances of you getting an upset stomach.

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How to Get Rid of Snoring

November 12, 2009 By marie Leave a Comment

snoring

If you are a snoring sleeper, you do not only annoy the people around you when you sleep but it is also a sign of unhealthiness. Snoring happens when you breathe through an open mouth in a way that causes a vibration in the uvula and the soft palate which produces a soft noise or a loud unpleasant sound while you sleep.

Snoring usually happens when you lay on your back frequently. It can also be an indication that there is an obstruction to your nasal breathing. Snoring usually happens when air is unable to flow smoothly through the air passages.

Snoring is caused by a lot of factors:

  • Heredity
  • Being overweight
  • Smoking
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Enlarged tonsils
  • Sleeping on your back
  • Allergies, asthma and other sinus infections
  • Age
  • Medication

There are some things that you can do in order to prevent snoring:

  • Loose weight – snoring is usually related to being overweight since the excess weight and fatty tissues in the neck makes the throat smaller. Slimming down will stop the snoring and eventually will make the snoring disappear.

· Sleep on your side – changing your sleep position can stop the snoring if you are a mild snorer but take note that severe snorers will snore no matter what positions they are in.

· Get rid of pillows – sleeping with a pillow can block your airway because your necks are bent. You can also have the option to elevate the head of your bed in order to make it easier for you to breathe when you sleep. This is much better compared to using a pillow since the neck is not crimped.

· Avoid Alcohol – avoiding alcohol before going to bed will help avoid the relaxing of your muscles which will increase the chances of snoring.

· Avoid sleeping pills or tranquilizers – sleeping pills and sedatives can help relax your muscles which greatly contributes to snoring

  • Regular exercise – when you exercise regularly, you are less likely to have congestions in the upper respiratory tract.

After following these tips and advice, you can now have a bigger chance of sleeping soundly and breathing normally.

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Healthy Smooth Skin with Milk

September 25, 2009 By marie Leave a Comment

milk

The next time you feel like relaxing, try something different like getting a milk spa and feel all the stress and tension you have melted away. Milk is a lavish skin treatment and when added to a bath or spa, you can use them in liquid or dried form.

Milk spa treatments that are done on a regular basis have a lot of benefits. Milk spas are natural treatments that do not only help you relax but will also give you healthy smooth skin.

The minerals in a milk spa have rich cleansing milk with plant extracts and natural oil. The mixture cleans your skin in a thorough and gentle way. And the oil can smooth your skin without necessarily stripping your skin’s natural balance.

The lactic acid found in milk can break down the old skin cells and can smoothen and soften your skin by exfoliation. Milk provides nutrition to your skin so that it can soften and hydrate. This can be achieved with honey which can give your skin additional protection.

If you have dry skin, you can add oatmeal to your bath. It can soothe the dryness and itchiness. Aside from that it can also give added protection.

Bathing in milk is actually an ancient tradition practiced by queens and princesses from many cultures. They do it in order to maintain or acquire soft, pure and white skin. In modern times, laboratories have found a way to eliminate the smell and the taste of milk while maintaining the nutrients and its softening proteins.

If you want softer and younger looking skin then a milk spa experience is the best thing for you. Indulge and pamper yourself by having a milk spa treatment and revive your energies. Have skin that is pure and soft to touch and bathe in your youthful glow.

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Ginger and morning sickness

September 23, 2009 By marie Leave a Comment

Morning sickness is very common to pregnant women. Medical experts say that it is a normal experience for pregnant women. It is something that we should not worry about. However, morning sickness may be such a hassle and inconvenient.

Many women have searched and used different methods on how to treat and stop nausea and excessive vomiting during pregnancy. Some used certain medications prescribed by their physicians. Others would use essential oils, teas, acupuncture, and other methods. What most pregnant women don’t know is that the cure can be found right in their own kitchens. Ginger has been proven to be very effective in treating nausea as well as vomiting.

Ginger has been used for cooking and medicine for over a thousand of years now. This is generally safe. Even doctors, midwives, and other health or medical practitioners will recommend the use of ginger to alleviate the problems of morning sickness. One gram of ginger per day is the recommended dosage. It can be made into a hot ginger tea or you may chew it if preferred. Other pregnant women would even opt to buy ginger dietary supplements for this purpose. Be warned, though, that when buying ginger supplements, it should be duly recognized and approved by government agencies that are responsible for evaluating the authenticity of drugs and medications.

Some medical experts would discourage the use of ginger during pregnancy. They said that ginger contains the enzyme thromboxane synthetase that is suspected to influence sex steroid demarcation in the brain of the fetus. But, until now this remains to be a theory and there have been no studies or researches conducted yet to prove gingers negative effects on pregnant women.

Numerous researches have proved the effectiveness of ginger in terms of treating pregnant women’s morning sickness and nausea. In fact, these studies revealed that ginger is effective even if taken at tea or in supplementary capsules. Its medicinal effects and benefits can still be enjoyed even if ginger used an ingredient in home cooking. Ginger can also be taken by pregnant women as the main ingredient in ginger snap cookies. It is recommended however to consult the doctor before using ginger during pregnancy so ensure that no ginger-related allergies will arise.

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Breathe well with Yoga Hatha

September 20, 2009 By marie Leave a Comment

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If you are looking for ways to improve your posture and breathing at the same time then you should start making Yoga Hatha a part of your daily regimen.

Yoga Hatha is found to strengthen the muscles that you use for breathing which is a good thing for those who suffer from asthma and other respiratory sickness. This allows those with asthma to participate in physical activities and sports without provoking an attack to take place.

Hatha Yoga was first introduced in the 16th century by Yogi Swatmarama, a yoga sage from India. He was the one who paved the way to calmness and peacefulness through exercises that enhance the mind, spirit and body. Hatha is derived from the Sanskrit words meaning sun “ha” and moon “tha”. This immediately shows that balance is the focus of this yoga.

Yoga Hatha involves relaxation exercises and the ancient Indian Science that uses strengthening and stretching exercises and aerobic conditioning in order to help aid your posture and breathing. Studies have shown that doing yoga can be very beneficial for those who have asthma. Yoga asanas which are static postures and yoga vinsayas which are dynamic exercises can strengthen the muscles in your legs, arms and trunk. Yoga Hatha is also found to increase bone mineral density which allows the bones of asthmatics – especially children, to gain strength.

Learning how to breathe properly is a good benefit especially when an asthma attack is triggered. It is important to breathe slowly and properly. The less air you breathe per minute, the more carbon dioxide will build up. This will help expand the bronchial tubes to allow more air to get into your lungs.

Slow breathing prevents the drying of the airways that is known to trigger asthma attacks. By breathing slowly, you get to relax and remain focused in your everyday activities.

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Power breathing

September 16, 2009 By marie Leave a Comment

It has been reported that stress is the dominant cause of sickness all over the world. It can be due to multi-tasking, performance pressure, heavy workload, and it can be your breathing.

Every time you feel pressured, overloaded, or rushed, physical tension is building up in your chest making your chest muscles contract. The force makes you breathe shorter and take in shallow breaths.

If you have been taking shallow breaths constantly, this can cause you fatigue, emotional tension, mental weakness and health issues like asthma, colds, indigestion and anxiety. Aside from that, rapid shallow breathing increases the tension in your neck and shoulder and also increases the risk of hyperventilation.

Aside from that, studies show that when the body’s cells are starving for oxygen, there is a 60% chance that these cells would become cancerous. There are a lot of studies made that would prove and attest to the fact that one of the most significant factors of your health is how well you breathe.

Therefore, the importance of breathing correctly should be acknowledged. The rate, depth and quality of your breathing can help increase your energy levels, clear your mind, block pain, calm your nerves and even improve your health.

Here is a breathing exercise to help improve on the depth of your breathing:

Allow your belly to move in and out as you breathe. When you breathe, make sure that it is deep in your abdomen and not in the shallow of your chest. This will allow the diaphragm to draw the air in and out of the body.

Here is another exercise that you can use to improve on the frequency of your breathing:

In order to calm your body and gain focus in your mind, you have to take long, rhythmic breaths. Breathe in for about 5 seconds, hold it for 2 seconds then breathe out for 5 seconds. This is a good frequency in order to start having a positive breathing habit.

Breathing is a stress relief tool that is very efficient and is the most potent of all stress management techniques. Remember, stress relied is not all about escaping. The key to get rid of stress is to create a peaceful and calm sense inside of you.

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