Benefits of Gardening - Dr Weil

5 Benefits of Gardening

Gardening is a great way to connect with the earth, reduce stress, increase creativity and promote relaxation. Plus you can grow your own fruits, vegetables and herbs! Get your hands dirty, because gardening is:

1. Therapeutic: There is even an emerging medical art known as horticultural therapy. Schoolchildren, prison inmates and people with all types of health conditions are encouraged to learn about new plants and envision creative ways to arrange them in the ground as a way to provide a sense of accomplishment and improve self-image.

2. Spiritual: Aside from delighting your senses with color, texture and scents, gardening enables you to connect with nature. Digging your hands through the soil and handling delicate plants can feed the soul.

3. Exercise: Gardening is a low-impact activity that improves flexibility through bending and stretching, and has been shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. However, don't let it replace your walking regimen or other regular aerobic exercise - do both, for maximum benefits.

4. Nourishing: There's no better way to ensure that the fruits and veggies you eat are fresh and organic than to grow them yourself.

5. Economical: Some expensive fruits, such as raspberries, are easy to grow, but difficult to pick and ship. So grow your own and save.

Talk with your local garden center about starting with simple plants such as tomatoes, bell peppers, peas and fresh herbs!

Out of balance? Enjoy Sobriety - Disfruta de la sobriedad

Enjoy Sobriety

Sobriedad es una palabra que no promete mucho, suena a esfuerzo, a pérdida... Rick Hanson propone como nuevo enfoque el cuidar las necesidades más profundas para no tener que necesitar tantas distracciones y adicciones.
 Unas pautas de autocuidado y equilibrio pueden ayudar a cambiar nuestra relación con la comida, el alcohol, las compras, el dinero, el trabajo, las conductas de riesgo...

Yoga and cleaning

Can You Recognize Fear? - ¿Reconoces el miedo?

Can You Recognize Fear

Tu crítico interior es irracional ,  mezquino  y cargado de excusas y justificaiones cada vez que intentas hacer algo nuevo y distinto. ¿
Sabes escucharlo y luego hacer lo que te parece oportuno?
¿eres capaz de dejarle un lugar junto a tí pero no dejarle que tome las decisiones por tí?

Master the Basics Before Going Deep - Primero, lo primero

Practice Simplicity

Try grasping a simple concept for one day. For example, eat all of your meals without distraction and in silence. Have your eating be a sensual experience. Taste, smell, touch, and feel your food. Make each meal a mini-meditation. You may find that this concept—as simple as it is—difficult for you.

Or how about mastering the concept of non-judgment? Spend one day judging nothing or no one, including yourself. Try to stay neutral and rooted in the present moment. Drawing inferences for the future is still judging. Making assumptions is judging. It’s a simple concept, yet difficult to apply, even for a day.

You can do this with anything and start today. Pick one simple concept and apply it for a day. Then tomorrow, choose something else.  Pretty soon you’ll realize that the road to mastery is not far away.

- See more at: https://www.chopra.com/ccl/master-the-basics-before-going-deep#sthash.yeDJEFsc.XQsqPm89.dpuf















Master the Basics Before Going Deep

That is Opera - Parsifal y la búsqueda interior

Un acercamiento a Parsifal, la última ópera de Wagner a través de un viaje a Montsegur, en la ruta de los cátaros, a Valencia y su catedral y a Montserrat.
La búsqueda del Grial como símbolo de otras búsquedas internas, como viaje... Un programa para curiosos y viajeros.

                                                                     Montserrat

                                                           Montsegur, vista aérea

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/this-is-opera/this-is-opera-parsifal/3076322/

The best body-mind practice MD Anderson

Feeling stressed, depressed or sleep-deprived? Help may be as near as your own mind and body. Just follow a few meditation techniques for beginners.

By using mental focus, controlled breathing and body movements, our experts say you can relieve these common problems and boost your health.

Chronic stress weakens the immune system and makes it harder for your body to stay healthy, says Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., professor in Palliative, Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine and director of the Integrative Medicine Program at MD Anderson.

Stress also makes you more likely to give up healthy eating and exercise habits that help prevent cancer and other diseases.

“Research shows that mind-body practices can have a positive effect on almost every system in our body, improve quality of life, reverse harmful effects of stress and change the way our brains function,” Cohen says.

Relax your mind and body

“There are thousands of different types of mind-body practices to choose from,” says Alejandro Chaoul, Ph.D., assistant professor in Palliative, Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine and director of education, Integrative Medicine Program, who is an expert in meditation. These practices include meditation, yoga, Qiqong andTai chi.

Most of these activities include relaxation, and focus on breath and gentle movements. Anyone at any level can performed them. And be done alone or in a group.

One way to lower stress - and potentially improve your health - is through a simple breathing meditation.

Try this exercise:

• Sit in a comfortable position, on a chair or cushion, with your eyes open or closed.
• Focus on breathing a little more deeply than usual, not just into your upper body, but deeper into your abdomen
• Focus on breathing a little more deeply than usual, not just into your upper body, but deeper into your abdomen
• Breathe in a comfortable way. Let the mind guide the breath into your body.
• Become aware of your breath, focusing as your breathe in and out.
• If  you get distracted by a sound or thought, gently bring your attention back to your breath.
• Try this once a day for three to five minutes. Each day you can add a little more time until you can do the breathing exercise for 20 minutes.
“As you learn about being mindful of your breath, you can bring that into your everyday activities,” Chaoul says.
Do something daily
“We need to constantly work to try to manage the challenges that surround us,” Cohen says.
Both Cohen and Chaoul agree that one way to do that is to find a mind-body practice that works best for you and make it part of your daily routine.
“Find something that works and stick with it,” Cohen says. “The best mind-body practice is one that you dedicate time to each day.”