What's even cooler is that during this study, there were 2 groups. One group was instructed to meditate twice a day for 20 minutes only and the other group went through health and life style education. And at the end of 9 years, the meditation group had a profound reduction in heart disease, far higher than the other group that only went through health/life style education.

These kind of studies are BIG. Instead of reaching for a bottle of pills, doctors might now recommend meditation as a preventative means for high risk patients. The full details are below in the article from the BBC.

It just goes to show how much meditation can affect a person's body, mind, and spirit. Drop a comment below and let me know if you've ever experienced a shift in health from meditation. Would love to hear your stories.

Meditation 'eases heart disease'

Heart disease patients who practise Transcendental Meditation have reduced death rates, US researchers have said.

At a meeting of the American Heart Association they said they had randomly assigned 201 African Americans to meditate or to make lifestyle changes.

After nine years, the meditation group had a 47% reduction in deaths, heart attacks and strokes.

The research was carried out by the Medical College in Wisconsin with the Maharishi University in Iowa.

It was funded by a £2.3m grant from the National Institute of Health and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

'Significant benefits'

The African American men and women had an average age of 59 years and a narrowing of the arteries in their hearts.

The meditation group were asked to practise for 20 minutes twice a day.

The lifestyle change group received education classes in traditional risk factors, including dietary modification and exercise.

Over 9 years, there were 20 events (heart attacks, strokes or death) in the meditation group and 31 in the health education group.

Dr Robert Schneider, lead author and director of the Centre for Natural Medicine and Prevention at the Maharishi University in Iowa said:

"At the end of the 9 years, 80% of the meditation group were still practising at least once a day.

"But there was very little change in the health education group.

"Their lifestyle was much the same in terms of diet and exercise - it's a very difficult thing to make those changes."

As well as the reductions in death, heart attacks and strokes in the meditating group, their average blood pressure was significantly lower (5mm Hg), and there was a significant reduction in psychological stress in some participants.

Dr Schneider said other studies had shown the benefits of Transcendental Meditation on blood pressure and stress, irrespective of ethnicity.

"This is the first controlled clinical trial to show that long-term practise of this particular stress reduction programme reduces the incidence of clinical cardiovascular events, that is heart attacks, strokes and mortality," he said.

Dr Schneider said that the effect of Transcendental Meditation in the trial was like adding a class of newly discovered drugs for the prevention of heart disease.

Click here to continue reading >>

It's proof that age is just a number and no matter how old or young you are, there's tons of amazing things you can do. 65 is no longer the mandatory retirement age and in fact tons of people 65 and older are making huge goals, starting businesses, going back to school, and changing their lives.

I was at Tony Robbin's Unleash The Power Within a few months ago and was amazed when I saw an 80+ year old woman say she was here to change her life!

Check out this video and see for yourself. Drop a comment and let me know what you think of this new "ageism".

If this sounds a little ridiculous, it's not. Your body is designed to be a runner. From your skin to your big toe, your entire body is made to run.

But then why do people consistently injure themselves while training or running long distance? Sadly, it might have something to do with our obsession with the latest high-tech sneakers.

Check out this article from the New York Times on the beauty and brilliance of the human body.

And after you're done reading, feel free to stand in front of the mirror and admire yourself

The Human Body Is Built for Distance

By Tara Parker-Pope from the NYTimes.com

Does running a marathon push the body further than it is meant to go?

The conventional wisdom is that distance running leads to debilitating wear and tear, especially on the joints. But that hasn’t stopped runners from flocking to starting lines in record numbers.

Last year in the United States, 425,000 marathoners crossed the finish line, an increase of 20 percent from the beginning of the decade, Running USA says. Next week about 40,000 people will take part in the New York City Marathon. Injury rates have also climbed, with some studies reporting that 90 percent of those who train for the 26.2-mile race sustain injuries in the process.

But now a best-selling book has reframed the debate about the wisdom of distance running. In “Born to Run” (Knopf), Christopher McDougall, an avid runner who had been vexed by injuries, explores the world of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, a tribe known for running extraordinary distances in nothing but thin-soled sandals.

Mr. McDougall makes the case that running isn’t inherently risky. Instead, he argues that the commercialization of urban marathons encourages overzealous training, while the promotion of high-tech shoes has led to poor running form and a rash of injuries.

“The sense of distance running being crazy is something new to late-20th-century America,” Mr. McDougall told me. “It’s only recently that running has become associated with pain and injury.”

The scientific evidence supports the notion that humans evolved to be runners. In a 2007 paper in the journal Sports Medicine, Daniel E. Lieberman, a Harvard evolutionary biologist, and Dennis M. Bramble, a biologist at the University of Utah, wrote that several characteristics unique to humans suggested endurance running played an important role in our evolution.

Most mammals can sprint faster than humans — having four legs gives them the advantage. But when it comes to long distances, humans can outrun almost any animal. Because we cool by sweating rather than panting, we can stay cool at speeds and distances that would overheat other animals. On a hot day, the two scientists wrote, a human could even outrun a horse in a 26.2-mile marathon.

Click here to continue reading >>

Nobody likes to be told that they're unhealthy (least of all me) but at some point you have to come to terms with what you're doing to your body.

After all, it is a temple, isn't it?

So if you're ready to have a health check, then step up and take the How-Healthy-Are-You Quiz. While it won't give you a detailed medical opinion of your health, it'll give you a rough idea of where you stand on the health-o-meter.

After you finish answering these 7 short questions, scroll down to see your results.

It doesn't end here though. Next week, we've got a special treat for you guys (healthy or not) that's going to be really fun.

Your Scores!

If you said yes to only 1 to 3 questions...

...Then you're probably not getting enough fruits, plants, and grains and are eating too much high-calorie, high fat foods. But don't fret. All that's easily changed.

And if you think you'll never get used to the taste of spinach, whole-grains, and fruits, you'd be surprised. Try a healthy, well-balanced diet for just 2 weeks and you'll be surprised at what your body craves at the end.

If you said yes to 4 or 5 questions...

...Then you're on the right track to having a highly balanced diet. There are still a few things you could improve on but it won't be as hard as you think. Take the time to re-evaluate what your current diet is and where you can make improvements.

Try writing down everything you're eating everyday for 1 week and from there you'll be able to see what areas you can work on. And if you're not getting enough exercise, try walking to work, taking public transport, or even just going up the stairs instead of using the elevator.

If you said yes to 6 or 7 questions...

...Then you're pretty much on the path to perfect health. Of course there's always room for improvement but don't beat yourself up on it. You're already doing a great job.

Keep up the good work and maybe improve your health with some more exercise like running a half-marathon or even a 10-k. If you're already physically active, then think of delicious creative meals you can share with your friends and family so that they can get addicted to healthy living too.

Thanks for taking the quiz. See you next week with a healthy and fun treat that you're gonna want to share with your friends and family.

And for good reason. It doesn't matter if you're doing it for religious reasons or health reasons, fasting can be a way to rejuvenate the body, mind, and soul.

Enjoy these 5 benefits and if you're currently fasting or will be in the near future, drop a comment. I'd love to hear what your reasons were for your decision.

1. Retune your digestive system

Not many people know this but fasting can be a way for you to give your digestive system a tune up. According to Dr. Naomi Neufeld, an endocrinologist at UCLA, "You re-tune the body, suppress insulin secretion, reduce the taste for sugar, so sugar becomes something you're less fond of taking."

What happens is that the body eventually uses up the stored sugar (glycogen) so that less insultin is needed to help the body digest food. And that gives your pancreas a rest.

2. Reduce your intake of free radicals

Mark Mattson, a scientist with the National Institute on Aging, has reported that fasting can reduce your intake of free radicals, which can cause cancer. In fact, according to Mattson, "These free radicals will attack proteins, DNA, the nucleus of cells, the membranes of cells. They can damage all those different molecules in cells."

Even just reducing your calorie intake can have the same effects as a fast. In a study amongst rats and mice, it was noted that those who were fed very little and restricted in their food intake had a reduction in disease compared to those who were fed normal daily diets.

3. Speed up your journey to self-discovery

We are all creatures of habit. And eating, just like smoking and sleeping, is a habit. What happens during a fast is that by taking away such an essential part of your daily routine, you mess up your whole schedule. This sounds bad but it's not. It's really a time to reflect on your routines and give you a pause to think about how you want your life to move forward.

By fasting, you become more conscious of yourself and you can take the time usually spent eating to meditate, journal, or do any other form of reflection.

4. Increase your gratitude

How could you not be grateful to break your fast? And after each day when you do break fast, it's a celebration. A celebration for a completed day of fasting, reflection, and persistence. So rejoice and celebrate your success! Show gratitude to yourself and others.

And when you break your fast, you will be very very happy to taste food again. And contrary to some beliefs, you won't binge on food. In fact you will be more conscious of what you allow into your body and feel gratitude for the food you receive.

5. Launch yourself into your ideal life

Sounds like a pretty big benefit for something as simple as fasting. But it's true. When you begin your fast you can take this time to break old patterns, examine your current situation, and use it as the starting point for a whole new life.

What really makes this possible is that by fasting you are exhibiting control over yourself and your situation. And controlling your eating habits may be one of the hardest things to do. For each day you complete a successful fast, you condition your mind into to believe it can and will do anything. You are training your mind to be successful. And after days of a successful fasting your mind will be neurologically conditioned for success.

So the next time you set a goal for yourself, it'll be easier to attain!

There are tons more reasons why fasting can be good for you and before you begin a fast, check out some resources for the safest and best way to do so.

Researchers have been studying online insomnia treatment programs and the results are pretty interesting. Most of the test subjects have responded very well to the online treatments and are noticing a huge improvement in their sleep.

Not to mention how convenient it is to have their treatment over the Internet versus having to go out for an appointment.

Check out this article on this new wave of therapy that's sweeping the net.

Online Treatment May Help Insomniacs

By Amanda Schaffer

You can do almost anything on the Internet these days. What about getting a good night’s sleep?

It might be possible, some researchers say. Web-based programs to treat insomnia are proliferating, and two small but rigorous studies suggest that online applications based on cognitive behavioral therapy can be effective.

“Fifteen years ago, people would have thought it was crazy to get therapy remotely,” said Bruce Wampold, a professor of counseling psychology at the University of Wisconsin. “But as we do more and more things electronically, including have social relationships, more therapists have come to believe that this can be an effective way to deliver services to some people.”

The first controlled study of an online program for insomnia was published in 2004. But the results were hard to interpret, because they showed similar benefits for those who used the program and those in the control group. The two new studies, from researchers in Virginia and in Canada, advance the evidence that such programs can work.

In the Virginia study, called SHUTi, patients enter several weeks of sleep diaries, and the program calculates a window of time during which they are allowed to sleep. Patients limit the time they spend in bed to roughly the hours that they have actually been sleeping.

The goal is to consolidate sleep, then gradually expand its duration — the same technique that would be used in face-to-face therapy, said Lee Ritterband, a psychologist at the University of Virginia, who developed the program.

Stella Parolisi, 65, a registered nurse in Virginia and a patient in the study, said sticking to the restricted sleep schedule was hard, “but toward the end, it started to pay off.”

“Before, if I was exhausted, I would try to get to bed earlier and earlier, which was the wrong thing,” she said. “It just gave me more time to toss and turn.”

But after using the program, she began to sleep for at least one four-hour stretch a night.

Click here to continue reading >>

There's a lot of truth to that and when you think about how you eat as well as what you eat, you might be surprised at what it says about your personality.

It's more than just counting calories and fat content.

Check out this article as it goes through the 7 core aspects of eating. How do you relate to each aspect and what can you eat to improve that area?

Eating with Soul: The Ultimate Seven Steps to Complete Nourishment

From ExploreYourSpirit.com

“We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are.” – Adelle Davis

Eating is an act that no human being can truly escape. We eat throughout the day, many times per day, taking in thousands of pounds of food on every year. One way to view eating is simply an act that provides the body with energy. Another aspect is what we eat and how we eat are anchored more deeply into providing insight as to what in our lives needs healing. Even though I am a nutritionist that has been trained to look at food as calories, what I have discovered is that foods and eating are vehicles to our personal growth.  When someone tells me about their eating, I immediately see the connection to the rest of their lives.

This concept may seem far-fetched, but let me give you some examples:

•    Jean eats convenient foods and can’t find time to prepare meals. A common theme in her life is that she is always on the run. She never has time for anything she really wants to do, including something for herself.  She started to heal after taking a look at what she was running from – and asking the question: where does my focus need to be, and what do I need to make time for?
•    Jim binges on sweet foods. He also talks about how his life feels lackluster and that he never quite “gets around” to having some joy and fun? Looking from the outside in, maybe his life doesn’t seem so “sweet” so he needs to get it from other places. He also feels that he can never make sweetness last in his life – something always stands in the way – ultimately leading him to binge.

Since we eat so often, it becomes only logical that our food choices and eating practices start to intermingle with our lives. Therefore, to get some insight on your life, you can begin by looking at how and what you eat. There are seven main areas of our lives that may require healing, and we can jumpstart the process by altering our foods and eating:

(1) Survival: Do you have some “fear” around eating – whether not wanting to eat because you don’t know what to eat, or distrusting your bodies’ messages about eating ? Do you have difficulty with family traditions around eating and struggle with being able to eat in the presence of a community? By letting go of protecting ourselves with food or of any fear of eating, we open up our ability to trust and feel safe. Eating with others in community is healing for this part of us.

Foods for grounding and protection: Protein, minerals, root vegetables, edible and medicinal mushrooms, red-colored foods (apples, pomegranates, etc.)

To continue reading, click here >>

The bitter sweet addiction that goes on all around us everyday, everywhere. Think about it. When we go to any fast food chain, just look at the sizes of the drinks.

It's a little bit crazy. That's why I'm bringing up this article and documentary. It'll get you thinking the next time you put those two scoops of sugar in your coffee or tea.

From slavery to sugar cartels, it's a documentary you can't miss.

The “SUPER SIZE ME” Sugar Addiction

by Angelique from TheHealersWay.com

Dear Angels,

WARNING: Sugar is a drug. I am serious.

A friend of mine, Morgan Spurlock, made that film Super Size Me.

Little did I know before he made it that he would go on to prove how bad McDonald’s was for you. Even though many of us already knew, like his then girlfriend Alex, now wife.

I remember I was a vegan and Morgan explaining to me some things he’d learned from Alex. It was great to see how probably a little of what he learned from her probably inspired the movie.

Let alone how bad McDonald’s is for our environment as well.

According to recent studies, reduction in meat consumption leads to 30% mortality increase!

THIRTY PERCENT!

Now please, don’t get me wrong, I am not a perfect being on the planet (having been a DJ after all, I think one of the healthiest I know, but I can only speak for myself).

But that’s besides the point. The main point is that if you think about it, we are addicted to sugar and McDonald’s is one of the leading contributors to this damage and to things like obesity. How is that so?

To continue reading and for the documentary click here >>

He's one of the most celebrated healers in the world and is one of our top 5 most viewed and highest rated contributors to FinerMinds.

If you don't believe me then just have a look at what some FinerMinds' readers are saying:

"Wonderful advice, thank you very much. I used the technique on a number of people, including my husband but I didn’t really believed him when he said the back pain he had was gone. The other evening, my 11 years old son accused an acute ache on his right knee. Without telling him I applied your teaching and within minutes he forgot he ever had experienced that ferocious pain. Thank you very much again, I will continue to do this because I saw it work with my very own eyes. Be blessed."

- Maya

"Master Chunyi Lin, I have trouble expressing in words, how much this has helped my family! The Finer Minds site was smart enough to invite you to be a teacher with them, and they were so fortunate that you accepted. In my family, 1 son has been paraplegic for more than 4 years, he has rods in his back and both legs. Pain in back has been constant dweller, very bad.

I have been using the Spring Forest QiGong, and Sword Fingers, with him, for the first time in 4 years he has been able to sleep through night, pain not waking him, much work to be done for day- i am ready for it! Thankyou Vishen, Namaste’ Master Lin
I love you both."

- Nancy F.

"Dear Chunyi Lin,

Thank you so much for sharing your gift, i am so at peace finally, and now understand what it is all about. This is what i have been searching for , all my life! i have now finally come home. Only now can i fully understand the meaning of serving my fellow man and woman, from a place of inner peace and pure love. How could i not have loved myself for so many years? How easy it is to forgive, and to replace it all with love!! I am so grateful for this lesson, and am so blessed to have come in contact with you!!"

- Belita

So you can see that we really didn't have a choice but to set up an interview with him. We were receiving so many questions about Chunyi and qigong, that we had to talk to him about doing an interview to satisfy the amount of requests coming in.

Chunyi was kind enough to share his knowledge once again and this time you'll learn the true reason why qigong and other forms of energy healing work.

He also divulges the 4 essential steps that everyone needs to know in order to heal themselves and others. He even talks about losing weight and vanishing tumors and a Qi-ssage, which is a mixture of qigong healing and massage techniques.

What I love most about Chunyi and his methods of healing is that they're all based on unconditional love, which is something I know all of you have.

Click here to download Master Lin's interview on how you can take full advantage of your natural healing abilities >>

Cheers,

Vishen

P.S. Alright, this is meant for only advanced meditators but he'll even share with you the 5-day advanced cave meditation exercise. It's not for the faint of heart but it's definitely something I'll be working towards.

Fresh water, clean air, sweet fruits, and the list goes on. So Mother Nature certainly isn't going to hold back when it comes to your health.

There are a million natural things out there that can make you feel a whole lot better but here are 5 extremely useful, easy to find, and fun to eat foods and herbs that'll kick start your day and make you a healthier being.

1. Cinnamon

The thought of cinnamon brings back such nice memories. Cinnamon buns and apple cider.  Ahhh. But on the health side, cinnamon is a miracle worker.

This old school spice can help you control your blood sugar (which is linked to heart disease). It also prevents vomiting, relieves flatulence, and is useful for those suffering from diarrhea. On top of reducing your blood sugar level, it also brings down the cholesterol.

Ways to eat: Throw some cinnamon into your coffee, lattes, hot chocolate, or baked goods.

2. Turmeric

Turmeric is chock full of health benefits. It can help with your digestive problems and even your skin complaints. It has also been used for quite some time to relieve menstrual pain.

On top of that, turmeric can be used to treat liver disease, jaundice, and colon cancer.

Ways to eat: Use it in your next curry or make it into a thirst-quenching beverage.

3. Parsley

You find this guy everywhere. Fresh parsley is an herb filled with vitamin C. It has been rumored to prevent tumor-cell growth too. In fact, parsley also aids in digestion and can even relieve itch if applied externally.

This green miracle worker is eaten to cleanse the blood and boost circulation too. And one last thing. Parsley helps to ease muscle spasms.

Ways to eat: Sprinkle it in your soup, use it in a salad, or throw it on as a garnish.

4. Lime

Who could possibly forget lime. Used everywhere in the world, this sour fruit is a life saver. Because of it's high concentration of vitamin C, it was used to cure scurvy during the 19th century.

The leaves of the lime can be infused as an herbal tea is great for headaches. The juice is also known to counter diarrhea. In addition, lime can be used to clear up congested skin and can even stem bleeding from minor cuts.

Ways to eat: Make limeade or squeeze it on top of meats for marinade. You can also use it for salad dressings.

5. Peppermint

Not just a breath freshener, mint is also used to treat morning sickness, nausea, dyspepsia, flatulence, and stomach aches. It's the king of all herbs when it comes to indigestion and cramping.

For those who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, mint will become your best friend. It is scientifically proven to improve the conditions of any IBS sufferer. It can also be used to slow the growth of bacteria and fungi.

Ways to eat: Peppermint leaves make a delicious tea that can soothe a sore throat and improve your digestive tract.