5 Activities for Longevity

1. Laugh out loud! Research shows that laughter and joy boost immune functions, especially the production of the natural killer cells that help protect the body from illness and cancer. Laughter also increases the release of endorphins, compounds that give you a sense of well-being, in your brain. Without a doubt, joyful people live longer and healthier lives.

2. Drink it up--tea, that is. Besides being anti-cancerous and cholesterol lowering, the antioxidant-rich tea leaves also protect your brain from free-radical damage, strengthen your bones against osteoporosis and according to studies published in the Journal of American Medical Association, lowers risks of death from all forms of cardiovascular diseases. So drink tea to your heart's content!

3. Unwind with meditation (not medication). Stress is the root cause of most of the diseases that shorten our life span. In our modern society stress will continue to increase - unless you find techniques to manage it. Meditation is the best way to release tension and revitalize your being. It also quiets your mind, lowers your stress hormones, and teaches self-discipline, which is a necessary attribute to achieving your health and longevity goals.

4. Massage. Countless studies have shown benefits of massage to include relieve pain and stiffness, boost immunity, reduce anxiety and depression, lower stress and blood pressure, and increase circulation that you wouldn't want to skip out on a good thing.

5. Climb the stairs instead of using elevator. The health benefits of a daily exercise program cannot be stressed enough. Regular exercise can help promote physiological well-being, strengthen the immune system, maintain joint mobility, increase energy - and the list goes on. Look for opportunities all through your day to work in physical activity. Power-walk, run, or ride your bike instead of driving.

How Happy Is...Your Body Reveals How You Feel

Have you noticed that when you get anxious or nervous you get an upset stomach, find yourself with a headache or become accident-prone? Are you the sort of person that eats more when depressed or stops eating altogether? When you're really happy, balanced and unchallenged you probably notice that you have enormous amounts of energy and are way less likely to catch any virus that is going around. The unity of body and mind is reflected in your state of health and really does give you an indication of how you are coping with the challenges in your life.

Here are a couple tell-tale signs your body might be giving you.

Your back represents your support system and where you put feelings that have created pain and confusion that you don't want to look at. If you do have back pain ask yourself if feel supported by others who are close to you. If you've had it over a long period of time and it has become a chronic problem, you might want to look at where you haven't felt supported in your past. If this is the case, sorting out these old issues might really help your back heal and release some of the stuck energy held in your cells.

Your arms express your inner most feelings and expression. If you think of all the things you do with your arms including holding, hugging, pushing away, giving out or folding your arms to protect your heart from anyone coming near. Injuring your shoulder, elbow, wrist or hands can often be an indication of an emotional conflict and that you might be having problems reaching out to others.

Your neck gives you the ability to see on all sides, all aspects of your world. When it becomes stiff, it limits your movement and vision. A stiff neck can indicate that you are becoming narrow in your views or do not want to look back, or perhaps forward, depending on which way you are having difficulty turning it. (Usually the right is forward and the left is back, unless you are left-handed then it could be the other way round.) If you do injure your neck, you might want to ask yourself, what you don't want to look at?

Your legs. If you hurt your legs, whether it's your thighs, knees, ankles, feet or toes often there can be a conflict in the direction you are going in, or a fear of moving forward. You might notice that a twisted ankle, for example, can come at a time when you are about to start something new and there is a bit of fear or even at the end of an endeavor. If you have any doubt or resistance in your direction, then problems in the legs will have the ability to hold you back.

Your stomach is about digesting your reality, as well as obviously digesting your food! If your reality is indigestible then indigestion can follow, although, you could have just eaten too much as well!! However, if you have a pattern of stomach issues i.e. acid in the stomach, stomach ulcers, constipation etc, you might want to notice if you are feeling emotionally nourished and if your reality is in conflict with what you really want.




Sophie Keller
www.huffingtonpost.com

Finding Peace in Your Life

#1-Find quiet time every day to be still.
The busier your schedule, the more essential quiet time is—whether it’s only 10 minutes or an hour a day. Use this time to pray, meditate, or just listen to the truth in your heart.

#2-Keep a written record of your thoughts and feelings.
You don’t have to keep a daily journal. It may just be a notebook that you only write in once a week or twice a month. The point is, writing your thoughts and feelings down will help you look back and see your spiritual growth over time.

#3-Talk to yourself—lovingly.
We all talk to ourselves, consciously or subconsciously. The key is to make sure we’re talking with love. The way you talk to yourself greatly impacts the way you see and treat yourself, and subsequently the way you see and treat others.

#4-Listen with your heart to strengthen your compassion.
When people are speaking to you, try to put yourself in their shoes so that you can better understand their point of view and react in a more loving way.

#5-Forgive yourself and others.
Forget the pain of the past, but remember and apply the lessons.

#6-Be grateful.
Count your blessings every day, and remember where they came from.

#7-Honor yourself with the truth.
Be honest with yourself about everything in a loving way so that you can be more lovingly honest with others.

#8-Take care of yourself.
Remember, your body is sacred. Always treat it with respect.

#9-Be a cheerful giver.
Give of yourself and your possessions to others as often as you can. Giving helps you focus more on others in a loving way, and it makes room for more blessings in your life when you least expect them.

#10-Be patient with yourself.
There’s still a lot you need to learn about life and love, and that’s okay.



By Cynthia Legette Davis
www.intent.com