Meditation needs to become an integral part of your lifestyle if you desire to achieve complete health and fitness. Mindfulness meditation is the right word if you are looking for physical and psychological benefits like lowering of blood pressure, reduction in levels of anxiety, depression and stress. Canadian researchers are now exploring its benefits for cancer patients.
This week we focus on practice of mindfulness meditation to boost the immune system. Believe me it really works.
Good Health,
Namita Nayyar, AFI
Performing repetitions or Rep range while strength training follows a general rule of thumb. One to five for strength. Six to eight reps for mass building. Ten to fifteen reps for muscle toning. Anything higher than fifteen reps for muscular endurance. Regarding training load, it should offer sufficient challenge to trigger an adaptive response from our muscles yet allows us to maintain good form.
In weakness lies the strength
Look for ways to appreciate your strength & accept weaknesses. Be proud of your accomplishments. Here is a story of a water
bearer who had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole which he carried
across his neck. One of the pots was perfectly made and never leaked. The other
pot had a crack in it and by the time the water bearer reached his master's
house it had leaked much of it's water and was only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and
a half pots full of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was
proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own
imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it
had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the
water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to
apologize to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have
been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this
crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's
house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get
full value from your efforts," the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he
said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful
flowers along the path."
Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun
warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it
some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out
half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your
side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always
known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on
your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've
watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to
decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not
have this beauty to grace his house."
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But if we
will allow it, God will use our flaws to grace his table. In God's great
economy, nothing goes to waste. Don't be afraid of your flaws.
Acknowledge them, and you too can be the cause of beauty. Know that
in our weakness we find our strength.
Note: WF Members receive motivation like this in their e-mail box every
Monday morning!
"Twenty
years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do
than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe
harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover".
--
Mark Twain
Mushroom Masala
Ingredients:
Directions:
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Remove stems from mushrooms and discard. Trim away any crumbling edges from caps. Cut each cap in half, then each half crosswise into 3/4-inch slices. Set sliced mushrooms aside.
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In a small Dutch oven or heavy, large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sauté onion and tomato until onions is translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in cumin, cinnamon and cayenne and cook briefly, until spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and bay leaf. Bring just to a boil and add mushrooms.
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Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is dark brown and slightly thickened, and mushrooms are cooked but not soft, about 12-15 minutes. Remove bay leaf and discard. Add salt to taste. Garnish with cilantro.
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Serve with cooked brown rice or whole-wheat linguine.
Nutritional Information:
Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 130 calories, 4 g.
total fat (less than 1 g. saturated fat), 15 g. carbohydrate, 4 g. protein, 4 g.
dietary fiber, 386 mg. sodium.
To boost immune system, give peace a chance
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Sitting calmly and focusing on the movement at hand, a process called mindfulness meditation, can provide a host of psychological and physical benefits. They include lowering blood pressure, reducing anxiety, depression and stress, and even helping infertile couples conceive. With regular practice, noticeable change have been observed in the levels of cytokines (chemical messengers that immune cell secrete in small amounts to communicate with other cells), suggesting that mediation can affect the immune system in some way. High levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines are typically associated with depression, so meditation may be helping with mood. |
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Mindfulness meditation uses the concept of moment–to-moment awareness to help you simply be where you are, rather than thinking about the past or future. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and focus on your breath. FEEL the breath coming and going, going and coming, through your nose. Your breath becomes the vehicle to carry you towards peace. With a regular practice for 5-10 minutes daily (building up to 30 minutes) you will learn to focus on your breathing which in turn will help you achieve a calming sense of detachment from thoughts and emotions.
With mindfulness meditation-you will observe improvement in overall mood and reduction in symptoms of stress; the greatest improvements involves the relief of depression, anxiety and anger. Your thoughts are like unruly children, constantly pulling here and there. And this constant pulling is the source of your stress and pain. In times of pain, where the future is too terrifying to contemplate and the past too painful to remember, Its beneficial to pay attention to right now.
Remember, mindfulness is the skill that will allow you to watch your thoughts and feelings without being pulled by them. Initially in practice all the mental chatter might preoccupy you. Slowly you will begin to realize that you do have control. By noticing and observing, you can stop reacting. It is this reaction to your thoughts that bring emotional stress and physical dis-ease.
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