Just when you thought you'd mastered the ancient art of breathing, another expert comes out with a new way! Just kidding, actually, the technique for proper breathing is, at its heart, generally consistently agreed upon, but everyone does have a tendency to add their own spin to it.
Here's my opinion of what you NEED to know: Basically, short, fast, shallow breaths result in stress and poor oxygen transfer to the body, which leads to fatigue, poor brain functioning, and overall poor health. Long, slow, full breaths, on the other hand, create relaxation and good oxygen transfer, leading to higher energy levels and better brain functioning. It's easy. If you ever needed to know one thing about breathing, it would be to favor long, slow, full breaths. Every single thing ever written about good breathing contains this same advice.
However, if you want to see the latest round of "improvements", read this article that I found online. It talks about emphasizing the exhalation phase of the breath as the focal point for relaxation, and also has a guide on how to pace your breathing for maximum effectiveness. It's good advice really, but do keep in mind that the number of different breathing techniques out there merely indicates that there's no single correct way. Heck, try them all, you can't really go wrong as long as you follow the golden rule of deep, full, breaths.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Breakfast-skippers beware
If you think you're too busy for the first meal of the day, you might want to reconsider, especially if you're struggling to keep your weight down. You've probably heard that skipping breakfast is bad, because it makes you stuff yourself more at the two remaining meals of the day, but now doctors (actual MDs, mind you!) have performed a study detailing exactly what happens when a person skips breakfast.
Participants in the research study skipped breakfast and then were subjected to a functional MRI scan, which allows doctors to see how blood flow increases in response to brain activity. During the scan, the participants were shown randomly ordered photos of high-calorie and low-calorie foods. It turned out that the reward center of the person's brain became more active when shown the high-calorie option as opposed to the low-calorie choice!
However, when the participants had breakfast 90 minutes prior to the functional MRI scan, the activity of the brain's reward center was not significantly greater when shown photos of the high-calorie foods versus the lower-calorie options.
No wonder donuts for lunch seems like such a good idea after skipping breakfast!
So if you are finding it difficut to eat smaller, healthier portions at lunchtime, you might want to give breakfast, the good ol' base of the food pyramid, greater priority in your daily life.
Participants in the research study skipped breakfast and then were subjected to a functional MRI scan, which allows doctors to see how blood flow increases in response to brain activity. During the scan, the participants were shown randomly ordered photos of high-calorie and low-calorie foods. It turned out that the reward center of the person's brain became more active when shown the high-calorie option as opposed to the low-calorie choice!
However, when the participants had breakfast 90 minutes prior to the functional MRI scan, the activity of the brain's reward center was not significantly greater when shown photos of the high-calorie foods versus the lower-calorie options.
No wonder donuts for lunch seems like such a good idea after skipping breakfast!
So if you are finding it difficut to eat smaller, healthier portions at lunchtime, you might want to give breakfast, the good ol' base of the food pyramid, greater priority in your daily life.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
5 Side Effects of Stress
In today's blog entry, we have a guest writer! Exciting! Meredith Walker has contributed a short article about the effects of STRESS (which, as we know, is the root of all evil). Meredith writes for several online education sites and manages the blog for NursingDegree.net, a website that offers people the opportunity to attend school and choose between a variety of nursing programs and degrees. The site also helps people to go back to school while continuing to work or raise families. If you are interested in finding out more, Meredith's contact info is at the end of the article.
5 Side Effects of Stress
Stress is an inevitable part of life that can lead to many debilitating illnesses including ulcers, anxiety, or hypertension. While some forms of stress can never be eliminated from your life, the key is learning how to control stress when it hits. Stress can produce many side effects that are dangerous to your overall body chemistry and it is only after completely understanding these effects that you will be able to move forward in combating the things in your life that cause you undue stress.
Ulcers
Ulcers have mainly been cited with a bacterial infection that causes the growth of an ulcer, however only 80 percent are found to be associated with this infection, which leaves the rest up in the air in regards to the true explanation for the remaining 20 percent. Many of these have been attributed to stress, either directly or indirectly through various complications. Chronic stress, as well as irregular meals due to this stress, has helped contribute to many forms of peptic ulcers through increasing the amount of stomach acid that can lead to infection.
Insomnia
Insomnia occurs as a result of many conflicting factors, most revolving around stress at work, life, or school. If something important is about to occur or something traumatic has just happened, this stress will contribute to your inability to get enough sleep because you will lie awake all night thinking about this particular task or event. Decreasing the amount of stress in your life will lead to a healthier sleep schedule and will in turn result in a better overall lifestyle.
Anxiety
Stressing about an upcoming due date or event in your life can cause unneeded anxiety because of the stress which this event may bring with it. In order to combat this from occurring, you need to calm down and figure out a way that will rid your mental state of all this extra anxiety; maybe you can have someone help you through this time, or even extend your deadline. Causing your body this type of unneeded stress and anxiety will cause you to grow old before your time and can lead to overreactions in many different scenarios. The best thing to do is remain calm and remember that no matter what, the upcoming event is going to occur regardless of what may happen.
Depression
Depression is a serious mental illness that can affect every aspect of your life from your work to your family to even your pets. Stress is a large contributor to depression and can cause you to become severely depressed from one incident in your life. If you continually dwell on one specific event, rather than moving on or focusing on something happy in your life, you will find yourself spiraling downward into depression, which becomes incredibly difficult to work your way out of. The best way to avoid this is to accurately manage your stress and do not let the little things in life bother you in such a vast way.
Hypertension
Stress can lead to hypertension as well, which is a medical condition in which blood pressure is chronically elevated. Avoiding stress through relaxation techniques such as meditation can thwart high blood pressure from occurring. While this is not the only cause of high blood pressure, it has been found to be a main contributor when coupled with poor eating habits (which can also be a sign of undue stress). Leading a stress-free life is a difficult thing to accomplish but once you get to this level, your overall mental and physical health benefits from this lifestyle change.
This post was contributed by Meredith Walker, who writes about the online nursing programs. She welcomes your feedback at MeredithWalker1983 at gmail.com
5 Side Effects of Stress
Stress is an inevitable part of life that can lead to many debilitating illnesses including ulcers, anxiety, or hypertension. While some forms of stress can never be eliminated from your life, the key is learning how to control stress when it hits. Stress can produce many side effects that are dangerous to your overall body chemistry and it is only after completely understanding these effects that you will be able to move forward in combating the things in your life that cause you undue stress.
Ulcers
Ulcers have mainly been cited with a bacterial infection that causes the growth of an ulcer, however only 80 percent are found to be associated with this infection, which leaves the rest up in the air in regards to the true explanation for the remaining 20 percent. Many of these have been attributed to stress, either directly or indirectly through various complications. Chronic stress, as well as irregular meals due to this stress, has helped contribute to many forms of peptic ulcers through increasing the amount of stomach acid that can lead to infection.
Insomnia
Insomnia occurs as a result of many conflicting factors, most revolving around stress at work, life, or school. If something important is about to occur or something traumatic has just happened, this stress will contribute to your inability to get enough sleep because you will lie awake all night thinking about this particular task or event. Decreasing the amount of stress in your life will lead to a healthier sleep schedule and will in turn result in a better overall lifestyle.
Anxiety
Stressing about an upcoming due date or event in your life can cause unneeded anxiety because of the stress which this event may bring with it. In order to combat this from occurring, you need to calm down and figure out a way that will rid your mental state of all this extra anxiety; maybe you can have someone help you through this time, or even extend your deadline. Causing your body this type of unneeded stress and anxiety will cause you to grow old before your time and can lead to overreactions in many different scenarios. The best thing to do is remain calm and remember that no matter what, the upcoming event is going to occur regardless of what may happen.
Depression
Depression is a serious mental illness that can affect every aspect of your life from your work to your family to even your pets. Stress is a large contributor to depression and can cause you to become severely depressed from one incident in your life. If you continually dwell on one specific event, rather than moving on or focusing on something happy in your life, you will find yourself spiraling downward into depression, which becomes incredibly difficult to work your way out of. The best way to avoid this is to accurately manage your stress and do not let the little things in life bother you in such a vast way.
Hypertension
Stress can lead to hypertension as well, which is a medical condition in which blood pressure is chronically elevated. Avoiding stress through relaxation techniques such as meditation can thwart high blood pressure from occurring. While this is not the only cause of high blood pressure, it has been found to be a main contributor when coupled with poor eating habits (which can also be a sign of undue stress). Leading a stress-free life is a difficult thing to accomplish but once you get to this level, your overall mental and physical health benefits from this lifestyle change.
This post was contributed by Meredith Walker, who writes about the online nursing programs. She welcomes your feedback at MeredithWalker1983 at gmail.com
Saturday, June 13, 2009
So what exactly IS the right way to breathe?
It seems like every day that I learn of another new opinion on the "right" way to breathe, whether it's in a book, a magazine, an online article or a seminar that I've attended. It's ironic that the act of breathing, something that we perform every second of our lives, is constantly under revision. Some insist on breathing from bottom to top during inhalation, starting in the belly and finishing in the lungs for an "in" breath; and breathing from top to bottom during exhalation, starting in the lungs and finishing with the belly for an "out" breath. For others, the exact opposite is true, and they insist on breathing top-to-bottom during inhalation and bottom-to-top for exhalation. And some feel that you need to breathe in through the nose out through the mouth, and others say that breathing in and out through just the nose is fine.
Like nutrition, it appears to be an inexact science, and we may never arrive at the one right way that works for everybody all of the time. But much like nutrition, there are, I believe several "ground rules" that, when followed, make everything else more or less dispensable.
Here's what I mean: If you want to be a slender, healthy individual, then eat small, well-balanced meal portions, eat only at meal times, and avoid junk food. This advice sounds too simple, right? Yet in my hypnosis practice, I've never had a weight loss client NOT lose weight once they started incorporating these simple, easy-to-remember rules into their lifestyle. You don't need to worry about low-glycaemic index carbs, or low-density carbs (which most of us really can't be bothered to measure anyway), but you WILL lose weight, even without exercise!
Likewise, I would say that if you want to master proper breathing and derive maximum benefit from your breaths for the purpose of relaxation, awareness, lowering your blood pressure and boosting your immune system, there are just a few simple rules to adhere to, and then everything else is up to you. Breathe softly and gently, taking full breaths that extend all the way down into your diaphragm, but don't strain. It really doesn't matter if you want to be a top-to-bottom breather or a bottom-to-top breather, or if you want to breathe through your nose and mouth, or just your nose. Just make sure you extend your breathing down into your abdomen, because breathing is about using more than just your ribcage and lungs. Watch how a cat breathes. THAT is proper breathing.
Simple, right? But simple works. Boil everything in life down to its simplest components and marvel at how well it works. And when in doubt, trust your animal instincts. As humans, we often lose sight of the fact that we are animals, and we share instincts and common ancestry with cats, dogs, monkeys, reptiles, and fish. All of these critters know exactly the right way to eat, sleep, raise their children, exercise, and breathe without ever reading an article or attending a seminar! You and I all have these truths within us. We just need to trust ourselves and pay attention to what our minds and bodies are saying.
Like nutrition, it appears to be an inexact science, and we may never arrive at the one right way that works for everybody all of the time. But much like nutrition, there are, I believe several "ground rules" that, when followed, make everything else more or less dispensable.
Here's what I mean: If you want to be a slender, healthy individual, then eat small, well-balanced meal portions, eat only at meal times, and avoid junk food. This advice sounds too simple, right? Yet in my hypnosis practice, I've never had a weight loss client NOT lose weight once they started incorporating these simple, easy-to-remember rules into their lifestyle. You don't need to worry about low-glycaemic index carbs, or low-density carbs (which most of us really can't be bothered to measure anyway), but you WILL lose weight, even without exercise!
Likewise, I would say that if you want to master proper breathing and derive maximum benefit from your breaths for the purpose of relaxation, awareness, lowering your blood pressure and boosting your immune system, there are just a few simple rules to adhere to, and then everything else is up to you. Breathe softly and gently, taking full breaths that extend all the way down into your diaphragm, but don't strain. It really doesn't matter if you want to be a top-to-bottom breather or a bottom-to-top breather, or if you want to breathe through your nose and mouth, or just your nose. Just make sure you extend your breathing down into your abdomen, because breathing is about using more than just your ribcage and lungs. Watch how a cat breathes. THAT is proper breathing.
Simple, right? But simple works. Boil everything in life down to its simplest components and marvel at how well it works. And when in doubt, trust your animal instincts. As humans, we often lose sight of the fact that we are animals, and we share instincts and common ancestry with cats, dogs, monkeys, reptiles, and fish. All of these critters know exactly the right way to eat, sleep, raise their children, exercise, and breathe without ever reading an article or attending a seminar! You and I all have these truths within us. We just need to trust ourselves and pay attention to what our minds and bodies are saying.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Beware! Restaurant portion sizes are increasing again. Who are the culprits and what can you do about it?
If you are on a weight loss program or have already established a lifestyle of healthy eating for yourself, you know that the last place you want to go is one of the many "sit-down" chain restaurants that litter our strip malls, airports, and other commercial centers. But that simple truth is more important now than ever. This article I found online indicates that these so-called family restaurants are now scaling up their portion sizes even further, thus putting more calories into each meal, in order to lure us into eating out again despite the condition of the economy. The article also names the culprits and suggests ways to avoid the traps.
A representative of these restaurants claims that, as a consumer-driven business, they're just giving us what we want. And sadly, for many Americans, that is, in fact, true. You see, here in the states we've learned to equate quantity with value. If we go to The Cheesecake Chili Garden and pay $12.99 for the Ultra-Chili-Cheese-Macaroni-Hoagie-Deluxe, and suddenly we are given 30% more at no extra cost, we suddenly say, "Oooooh, now THAT'S a good deal!" And then we are more likely to not only buy it, but come back and buy it again another time, naively thinking that in these tough times when money is tight, we need to make every penny count.
But the reality is, we all pay for our unhealthy habits in the end. If we perceive that we are saving money by eating these huge, unhealthy meals made with questionable ingredients, we eventually suffer declining health in some form or another (obesity and heart disease come to mind), and we see that "savings" ripped out of our bank accounts (and then some) to pay the cost of medical bills and expensive weight loss programs.
So don't be "that person" who keeps these chain restaurants in business. Instead, eat at local establishments that use healthy ingredients and don't emphasize quantity over quality. If you're faced with a portion that you know is too big for you, split it in half before you even start eating it, ask for a take-out box for the half you won't eat, put it in the box, and forget about it for the rest of the meal. You can always eat that other half the next day.
A representative of these restaurants claims that, as a consumer-driven business, they're just giving us what we want. And sadly, for many Americans, that is, in fact, true. You see, here in the states we've learned to equate quantity with value. If we go to The Cheesecake Chili Garden and pay $12.99 for the Ultra-Chili-Cheese-Macaroni-Hoagie-Deluxe, and suddenly we are given 30% more at no extra cost, we suddenly say, "Oooooh, now THAT'S a good deal!" And then we are more likely to not only buy it, but come back and buy it again another time, naively thinking that in these tough times when money is tight, we need to make every penny count.
But the reality is, we all pay for our unhealthy habits in the end. If we perceive that we are saving money by eating these huge, unhealthy meals made with questionable ingredients, we eventually suffer declining health in some form or another (obesity and heart disease come to mind), and we see that "savings" ripped out of our bank accounts (and then some) to pay the cost of medical bills and expensive weight loss programs.
So don't be "that person" who keeps these chain restaurants in business. Instead, eat at local establishments that use healthy ingredients and don't emphasize quantity over quality. If you're faced with a portion that you know is too big for you, split it in half before you even start eating it, ask for a take-out box for the half you won't eat, put it in the box, and forget about it for the rest of the meal. You can always eat that other half the next day.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Your Secret Garden
Meditation Getaways - Your Secret Garden -
This meditation is not about taking a mental vacation so much as it's about creating sanctuary and personal space. We create a secret garden or backyard in our subconscious minds that we can visit at any time to experience tranquility and peace. Everyone at some point in their lives has imagined a place that they would love to call home. For you, this could be a place you fondly remember from your own life, or it could be a place you've wished for in your own mind. It could be a real place, or a complete fantasy, or a combination of the two. We start by creating our imagined home in great detail on the outside. Then we walk through the house and construct the interior details as we go. Eventually we emerge in the backyard, a place of fantastic beauty and incredible tranquility. In this place, we exist as our ideal selves, and we form an image of ourselves that we can take with us back to waking reality.
This guided meditation features segments from two Moodstreams nature soundtracks as background sound: "Dawn Birds of May" and "Songbirds Behind the Farm".
This meditation is not about taking a mental vacation so much as it's about creating sanctuary and personal space. We create a secret garden or backyard in our subconscious minds that we can visit at any time to experience tranquility and peace. Everyone at some point in their lives has imagined a place that they would love to call home. For you, this could be a place you fondly remember from your own life, or it could be a place you've wished for in your own mind. It could be a real place, or a complete fantasy, or a combination of the two. We start by creating our imagined home in great detail on the outside. Then we walk through the house and construct the interior details as we go. Eventually we emerge in the backyard, a place of fantastic beauty and incredible tranquility. In this place, we exist as our ideal selves, and we form an image of ourselves that we can take with us back to waking reality.
This guided meditation features segments from two Moodstreams nature soundtracks as background sound: "Dawn Birds of May" and "Songbirds Behind the Farm".
Sunday, May 31, 2009
How to succeed with hypnosis
Are you considering hypnosis for the first time? The majority of my clients come in with no experience in undergoing hypnosis and very little background information. With that comes a multitude of misconceptions and false expectations about how the process will work. Most new clients are unaware of how cooperative a process hypnosis really is. Hypnosis is not a miracle solution that does all the work for you as you relax. Your thoughts and feelings are not all of a sudden transformed without effort on your part. No, a hypnosis program is a two-way street, an agreement between hypnotist and client to both participate equally in the process. Clients who embrace this concept are more successful at reaching their goals than those who have a "wait-and-see" approach, or those who expect that the hypnotist is the only one who should be doing any work. In order to help all my new clients have the proper expectations as they embark on their adventure of self-transformation, I came up with this guide on how to succeed as you undergo your first hypnosis program:
The success of your hypnosis program depends on 100% commitment by both me and you. I'm ready to give it 100%. Are you? As your hypnotist, I am like a personal trainer for your mind. I help you to achieve what you never thought you could achieve on your own. But you must realize that, just as if you'd hired a personal trainer for fitness, you are the one who is doing the “heavy lifting”. And that means that the progress, insights, and ultimate success are entirely yours to create, enjoy, and be proud of. I have seen many clients reach their goals rapidly and dramatically, and I've seen others take a bit longer to achieve their desired transformation. There is a definite “profile”, a set of common characteristics, shared by highly successful clients. And with that in mind, I have created this list of six ways in which you can help yourself to reach your goal faster.
1. Expect success! Hypnosis utilizes the amazing powers of the mind to achieve results. If, in your mind, you honestly believe that you will succeed and are succeeding, then the hard work is already done. We've all learned in school about the placebo effect, where patients were told that they were receiving a treatment for a condition that they had, even though they were really receiving plain water or a sugar pill – and they recovered anyway! This is proof that the mind's expectations play a huge role in the success of a treatment or therapy. Hypnosis is a deliberate use of this phenomenon, the mind's ability to create actual change through expectation. Speak to yourself and others in positive language that expresses your faith in your own ability to succeed. Clients who have positive expectations always have the highest success rate.
2. Be diligent about using your reinforcement techniques. Whether I have taught you to give yourself pre-sleep suggestions, taught you self-hypnosis, or given you a recording to listen to (or all three), be sure to be faithful to your reinforcement techniques and use them daily as instructed. Hypnosis is not an instant fix. Reprogramming your attitudes, habits and lifestyle requires time and repetition. Any habit or way of thinking, whether it is good or bad, requires reinforcement to establish, and what we're doing with hypnosis is establishing a brand new attitude and different, beneficial habits for you. Be patient, and know that you cannot properly judge the success or failure of your hypnosis program unless you have followed through with everything you have been taught.
3. Spend every moment of your day thinking, acting, and feeling like the “new” you. We are reprogramming your attitudes at the subconscious level, and the best way to achieve this quickly is to act like you're already there! Be the person that you want to become, not the person you're leaving behind. When you are faced with a decision, ask yourself, “What would the 'new me' do?” or, “Is what I'm about to do going to help me to reach my goal?”
4. Be proactive about coming up with your own solutions. Remember, the success of hypnosis is as much about the client as it is about the hypnotist. Throughout the days and weeks of your hypnosis program, always be thinking of effective ways to help yourself reach your goal. Come up with your own ways to break your associations to your old habits and ways of thinking (e.g. If drinking coffee triggers you to smoke a cigarette, lay off the coffee for a while). Create your own reinforcement techniques. Clients who actively participate in the hypnosis program always have greater success than those who expect things to happen by themselves.
5. Be focused on the process, not just the end result. Make sure to appreciate every little bit of progress and insight you have on the way to reaching your ultimate goal. Successes build upon each other, so the more readily you recognize every little positive change, the easier it is to achieve the next one. For instance, if your goal is to lose sixty pounds, be ecstatic when you lose the first two, because that feeling of success fuels you to lose the next two, and so on. It's much easier to climb a big mountain if you are having fun along the way.
6. Give your hypnotist as much feedback as possible during the program. I love to hear from my clients in between sessions about how they are progressing, what they've found helpful and what needs work, and what they want/expect at the next session. It helps me to better structure the program to help you as much as possible. I am never too busy to listen to you, so feel free to call or e-mail.
Hypnosis is as much about you helping yourself as it is about me helping you. Keep that in mind, and you will most certainly be successful!
How to Succeed with Hypnosis
The success of your hypnosis program depends on 100% commitment by both me and you. I'm ready to give it 100%. Are you? As your hypnotist, I am like a personal trainer for your mind. I help you to achieve what you never thought you could achieve on your own. But you must realize that, just as if you'd hired a personal trainer for fitness, you are the one who is doing the “heavy lifting”. And that means that the progress, insights, and ultimate success are entirely yours to create, enjoy, and be proud of. I have seen many clients reach their goals rapidly and dramatically, and I've seen others take a bit longer to achieve their desired transformation. There is a definite “profile”, a set of common characteristics, shared by highly successful clients. And with that in mind, I have created this list of six ways in which you can help yourself to reach your goal faster.
1. Expect success! Hypnosis utilizes the amazing powers of the mind to achieve results. If, in your mind, you honestly believe that you will succeed and are succeeding, then the hard work is already done. We've all learned in school about the placebo effect, where patients were told that they were receiving a treatment for a condition that they had, even though they were really receiving plain water or a sugar pill – and they recovered anyway! This is proof that the mind's expectations play a huge role in the success of a treatment or therapy. Hypnosis is a deliberate use of this phenomenon, the mind's ability to create actual change through expectation. Speak to yourself and others in positive language that expresses your faith in your own ability to succeed. Clients who have positive expectations always have the highest success rate.
2. Be diligent about using your reinforcement techniques. Whether I have taught you to give yourself pre-sleep suggestions, taught you self-hypnosis, or given you a recording to listen to (or all three), be sure to be faithful to your reinforcement techniques and use them daily as instructed. Hypnosis is not an instant fix. Reprogramming your attitudes, habits and lifestyle requires time and repetition. Any habit or way of thinking, whether it is good or bad, requires reinforcement to establish, and what we're doing with hypnosis is establishing a brand new attitude and different, beneficial habits for you. Be patient, and know that you cannot properly judge the success or failure of your hypnosis program unless you have followed through with everything you have been taught.
3. Spend every moment of your day thinking, acting, and feeling like the “new” you. We are reprogramming your attitudes at the subconscious level, and the best way to achieve this quickly is to act like you're already there! Be the person that you want to become, not the person you're leaving behind. When you are faced with a decision, ask yourself, “What would the 'new me' do?” or, “Is what I'm about to do going to help me to reach my goal?”
4. Be proactive about coming up with your own solutions. Remember, the success of hypnosis is as much about the client as it is about the hypnotist. Throughout the days and weeks of your hypnosis program, always be thinking of effective ways to help yourself reach your goal. Come up with your own ways to break your associations to your old habits and ways of thinking (e.g. If drinking coffee triggers you to smoke a cigarette, lay off the coffee for a while). Create your own reinforcement techniques. Clients who actively participate in the hypnosis program always have greater success than those who expect things to happen by themselves.
5. Be focused on the process, not just the end result. Make sure to appreciate every little bit of progress and insight you have on the way to reaching your ultimate goal. Successes build upon each other, so the more readily you recognize every little positive change, the easier it is to achieve the next one. For instance, if your goal is to lose sixty pounds, be ecstatic when you lose the first two, because that feeling of success fuels you to lose the next two, and so on. It's much easier to climb a big mountain if you are having fun along the way.
6. Give your hypnotist as much feedback as possible during the program. I love to hear from my clients in between sessions about how they are progressing, what they've found helpful and what needs work, and what they want/expect at the next session. It helps me to better structure the program to help you as much as possible. I am never too busy to listen to you, so feel free to call or e-mail.
Hypnosis is as much about you helping yourself as it is about me helping you. Keep that in mind, and you will most certainly be successful!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Are you a stress eater? Sleep it off.
It may seem a bit counterintuitive at first: Sleep more and you'll LOSE weight? But there is an increasing number of research studies (by actual PhD scientists! MDs even!) detailing the crucial link between undersleeping and overeating. I recently read a brief news article summarizing the latest findings. Lack of sleep may throw off your normal hormonal balance, causing an overeating response. Stress (the root of ALL evil) is also a factor, and may be both the result and the cause of lack of sleep. Stress causes disruption of regular sleep patterns, which may make individuals less organized, which leads to yet more stress, and encourages ill-advised behaviors like emotional eating.
It seems like it's almost everyday that I read something about the link between stress and obesity. Why, it was only a few weeks ago that I wrote my most recent blog post about that very topic, and I'm sure it won't be long before I write another one.
Anyway, I think we're seeing the point here, America. Get more sleep, and eat less Peeps. More time on the mat, and less time being fat. Catch more Z's and be less...obese.
I could go on forever.
It seems like it's almost everyday that I read something about the link between stress and obesity. Why, it was only a few weeks ago that I wrote my most recent blog post about that very topic, and I'm sure it won't be long before I write another one.
Anyway, I think we're seeing the point here, America. Get more sleep, and eat less Peeps. More time on the mat, and less time being fat. Catch more Z's and be less...obese.
I could go on forever.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Dawn Birds of May 2.0
A new soundtrack, Dawn Birds of May, has been released! Now, I do realize that Dawn Birds of May already existed as a title in my catalog, but I have decided that this latest version will be a direct replacement of the old version, and so the old version will discontinued. Of course, if you ask nicely, I will still give it to you.
Here is the new product description:
The songbirds of Spring have arrived, and they busily go about their early morning rituals of courtship and territoriality at the edge of the forest. This recording captures the conversations reverberating under the forest canopy, and features the haunting, beautiful melody of the Wood Thrush. The first four minutes showcase a single Wood Thrush in the foreground, as it sings over the gentle breeze blowing through the trees. Then, other birds, such as Mourning Doves, warblers, woodpeckers, Blue Jays, and robins make their way into the soundscape. Some Wild Turkeys even make an appearance!
Approximately half an hour long.
The old Dawn Birds of May will still be sold on Tradebit under a different name, Woodland Birds.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Paul's notes from the field
My initial worries about an unproductive Spring for bird recording have been put to rest. I went to my sure-fire-can't-miss recording spot in central MA yesterday and found that, in this particular wilderness, the ice storms of this past winter did minimal damage to the trees. As a result, the birds were out in their usual splendor, singing their hearts out at dawn and well into mid-morning. Meanwhile, as I noted in previous blog posts, other forests of central MA have seen a reduction in songbirds due to tree falls caused by the aforementioned storms.
Interestingly though, the species composition at my sure-fire-can't-miss spot is a bit different from what it was last year at the same time. When I was at this same exact location last May (May 11, 2008 to be exact), I noticed a lot of Eastern towhees, no red-winged blackbirds, and no wood thrushes. Yesterday, however, there were no Eastern towhees at all, several wood thrushes, and a few red-winged blackbirds. I even noticed a catbird. I normally associate wood thrushes and catbirds with summer, and so it seems that this year, at least for the birds, summer has arrived a little earlier than usual. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the flock of wild turkeys that I encountered!
I will be releasing a new soundtrack soon, based on what I recorded yesterday. This year's dawn birds of May soundtrack will feature wood thrushes prominently, because they have such a hauntingly beautiful song. I've been wanting to release something with wood thrushes for a while, and I am delighted that I finally got a good recording of them. And you may even hear a gobble-gobble or two from the turkeys!
Interestingly though, the species composition at my sure-fire-can't-miss spot is a bit different from what it was last year at the same time. When I was at this same exact location last May (May 11, 2008 to be exact), I noticed a lot of Eastern towhees, no red-winged blackbirds, and no wood thrushes. Yesterday, however, there were no Eastern towhees at all, several wood thrushes, and a few red-winged blackbirds. I even noticed a catbird. I normally associate wood thrushes and catbirds with summer, and so it seems that this year, at least for the birds, summer has arrived a little earlier than usual. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the flock of wild turkeys that I encountered!
I will be releasing a new soundtrack soon, based on what I recorded yesterday. This year's dawn birds of May soundtrack will feature wood thrushes prominently, because they have such a hauntingly beautiful song. I've been wanting to release something with wood thrushes for a while, and I am delighted that I finally got a good recording of them. And you may even hear a gobble-gobble or two from the turkeys!
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