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The only way to overcome daily fear and anxiety is to prove your fears wrong. For most people who suffer from anxiety, it’s because they have an overcharged sense of danger when faced with everyday situations. The human mind is constantly running ‘risk vs reward’ assessments to decide what is worth doing and what is better left undone, but this is based on experience! When you’ve succeeded at something, you are more likely to see new opportunities for that activity as rewarding instead of risky. Therefore, if you want to conquer a fear of public speaking, you should start by telling your friends a few jokes There are dozens of ways to overcome your fear and anxiety, and you can start right away. Here are a few easy methods to build your confidence and help you leave that fear behind.

1. Wear Exciting Socks

If you’re afraid of looking silly at work, try wearing decorative and exciting socks. With most business attire, the socks are mostly invisible, but you’ll know they’re there. By daring yourself to this one act of of defying conformity, you have done critical damage to your wall of internal anxiety. During the first day of rebellious sock wearing, you may find yourself worrying if anyone will see and admonish the socks, but chances are the first person to notice will laugh and think it’s cool. Make exciting socks your thing and, if you want to, start adding to your unique look with other small business-acceptable details. A decorative belt buckle, cufflinks, or jewelry are also fun but understated ways to show a little flare. This may sound like sheer vanity, but when you spend time defining your style and people respond positively to it, it breaks down your anxiety about being accepted as yourself.

2. Change Your Hair

It doesn’t have to be much, you don’t have to cut it, but do something new with your hair. Depending on the length and your normal style, you can part it on the other side, pull it up or leave it down, gel it into a new shape or braid it in an unusual way. While doing this, think about the person you want to be. Like the Star Trek alter-ego goatee, turn the new hairstyle into a representation of your inner brave self, then go out into the world knowing that you’re trying something new today. Even if confidence feels a little unfamiliar, the only way to be confident is to take confident actions. People who don’t know you will have no idea that this style is new to you, and you can show them your best side, building positive feedback for your risk vs reward assessments. Depending on how subtle your change was, friends and family may ask you if there’s anything different about you today or exclaim with delight at your new style and this too will build your confidence further by providing positive reinforcement for your new bold approach.

3. Play a Game

Sometimes anxiety can come from obsessively thinking about what could go wrong in any situation. Especially for people with overactive and worry-prone thoughts, it can be useful to distract yourself while trying to do things that typically make you nervous. A great way to do this is to play a game with yourself during the day that will keep your mind a little bit occupied. Try deciding each morning to count all the things you see of a particular color, or a particular kind of object, like all yellow things or every pencil. Looking for these objects will take up the part of your brain that’s usually looking for things to worry about. If it helps, give yourself points for every item you see and try not to count the same item twice in a row.

4. Dare Yourself

It’s a well-known fact that some people are highly motivated by dares, and you could be one of them! Even if you normally struggle with fear and anxiety, you might still be susceptible to the double-dog dare. The next time you’re about to psych yourself out of doing something, dare yourself. Really sit yourself down (in your mind) and tell yourself not back down from things you really want. Whether it’s jumping into a pool in your clothes or just going out for dinner with a few co-workers after a shared shift, daring yourself can be a surprisingly effective tactic. Just hold yourself to your own standards of bravery and you’ll naturally find yourself being braver and leaving those anxious thoughts behind.

There’s no need to suffer one more day under the control of your fear and anxiety. Make the change today by choosing to do something daring. With one brave act at a time, you’ll soon find that you’ve stopped being fearful and have become the person you’ve always wanted to be: a confident you.

We all know that exercise in an important part of staying healthy and happy with our bodies but it’s hard to get started. There are dozens of forms of exercise to choose from and they will all be difficult at first. Some people play a sport, other people mimic workout tapes and a very large number of people choose to go running. If you don’t need a new friend group, don’t want to worry about membership fees, and enjoy spending time alone looking at the local scenery, running is the perfect exercise activity. You may have even always wanted to be a runner but it was always a little to hard to work it into your routine or condition yourself so that it isn’t a total pain. The good news is that it’s never too late to get started. Becoming a runner is a lot easier than you might think, all it requires is the willingness to commit and soon the joy of running will be your motivation.

If you’re ready to become one of those lanky, healthy people who runs every morning and could probably survive the zombie apocalypse, you don’t need a personal trainer. You don’t even need expensive equipment or an app that tells you when to run but it also won’t’ happen over night. Prepare for a few weeks of conditioning and slowly getting your run times up above a few minutes per stretch. Here’s how to get started:

Warm Up in the Mornings

The first step to a strong running habit is to wake up with the right mentality. Even if you don’t go running right away, warm up with more than just coffee and a shower. Do a few lunges and start getting your body ready for a lifestyle of activity. Stretch out in your jammies and jog in place for a few minutes to get your blood pumping. As you get into it, make sure to work up a bit of a sweat before your morning shower each day. This will not only make you more ready to work out, it will also get your brain functioning better for the day’s tasks ahead of you.

Condition with Long Walks

If you haven’t been running in the last few months, your body isn’t conditioned to long amounts of time spent moving you around on your legs and you shouldn’t expect it to be. Instead of simply taking off and finding yourself exhausted a few streets later, start with power walks to condition your body to long-term ambulation. Take long strides that stretch out your calves and try to walk an extra five to ten minutes every day until you get up to about an hour of fast walking. Don’t be surprised if at various stages your feet, hips, knees, or legs start to ache. Do your best to walk it out as this is a sign that your body is adapting to your new performance demands.

Start with Short, Easy Runs

Now that your legs know that you mean business, start to work running time into your schedule but don’t expect to go far on your first jaunt. Start with jogging or a slow, easy loping pace and expect to get out of breath fairly quickly. If you’re out for a while, give yourself plenty of walking breaks and don’t be afraid to go back inside when you’re tired. Runners don’t start being good at the 50-yard dash, they get that way through practice. Keep your first few runs short and lengthen them as you feel your strength and stamina growing. This way you are less likely to hurt yourself by over-stressing your legs before you’re conditioned for longer runs.

Build a Running Schedule

If you have trouble finding the time or motivation to go out and run, building yourself an actual running schedule is how a lot of the pros do it. If you have time in the morning, run between your warm-ups and your shower. If there’s a shower at your work, possibly in the gym, you might be able to grab a run to and from your favorite lunch spot. As for evening running, your best bet is either between work and dinner or an hour or two after dinner when your stomach has settled. By setting a schedule

Enjoy Stretching Everywhere

As you build new muscles in your legs and core from all that running, you may not realize but it’s important to stretch all day long. This will ensure that your muscles stay flexible and ready to run again soon. Stretching not only feels great, it also keeps you limber and thinking about running. At your desk, you can roll your chair back slightly and stretch your feet out, alternating between pointing and flexing your toes. You can do lunges in the break room and even in the middle of a conversation you can stand on your tip-toes slowly pushing up and dropping to work your calves during the day.

Running is a wonderful way to stay in shape, get your daily exercise, and transport yourself quickly from place to place.  Whether you’re aiming for marathons or just enjoy the feeling of wind in your face, it’s never too late to start running on a regular basis. Through scheduling, practice, and plenty of stretching you should be running circles around your friends in no time.

Getting healthy and staying healthy can be a struggle. Believe us, we know. It takes diligence, commitment, and downright hard work to maintain a routine that will keep us at an optimum level of wellness. And that’s not easy. There have been many times in our journey when we have just wanted throw everything down in despair and walk away. But here at Open Eye Wellness, there are no quitters! We know that the things we tell ourselves make a huge differences in our lives. We can either discourage ourselves or energize ourselves for what is coming next – the choice is ours! These five statements will help you get back in the game and keep on pushing, even when you are feeling down.

1. “Just start!” These two simple words can do more for us that we know. Far too often, our struggle is just starting to do what we know we need to do. You may want to identify a specific goal that you know you need to reach, but have been avoiding because it is not easy. And tell yourself that you have been sitting back and doing nothing for too long. It’s time to go out of your comfort zone and just start. In the end, you will find the positive results overwhelming!

2. “No grit, no pearl.” You are going through some tough stuff. But always remember, you are gaining something because of it. It is going to take some pain to get what you want, but in the end, it is completely worth it. Sure, you could sit back and do nothing – it seems like the easy way out. But eventually, you will have to look back and see that you have lost something important. And you will regret it forever. So grit your teeth and dig for the treasure! Quitters get nothing. But fighters get the gold.

3. “I can. And I will.” You are your own worst enemy and your own best friend. Instead of badmouthing yourself to yourself, let yourself know that you can do it. And what is more, you will do it. Who cares if there are obstacles in your way? They aren’t stronger than you are. You can overcome whatever lies in your path. It won’t be comfortable. But you know that if you push yourself, you can touch the sky. Get up, get going, and watch yourself triumph.

4. “I will learn from my mistakes.” Everyone hates making mistakes. They make us feel uncomfortable and bad about ourselves. But we view mistakes as one step in the process of success, not a setback. Each and every mistake shows us what we can do better. If we view mistakes correctly, they can help us and not hurt us. Prove that you are not a quitter by learning from your mistakes instead of despairing because of them.

5. “I will inspire other people.”  We don’t always remember that the people around us are fighting battles, too. Sometimes all they need is someone to tell them, “I know. I’ve been there. And I have proved that it’s possible to push through!” Our life experiences allow us to offer comfort and support to those around us. Who knows where they are in their journey, and what you have to say might be exactly what they need. Other people will be inspired by your victories and will look to you to as their role model.

Life is tough, but so are you! We know that you can do it!

For more information about Open Eye Wellness, make sure to contact us! We would love to hear about your journey toward happiness and wellness.

Depression strikes, and we are left with the aftermath of something not even totally understood by science. Sadness, feelings of defeat and loneliness are symptoms of depression – an illness that afflicts many millions of Americans. We know that a lot of people suffer with these feelings that drag us down. No matter how bad it gets, there is always hope; at rock bottom there is nowhere to go but up. Although you may have been through the ringer or are suffering in silence, remember to be gentle with yourself. Coax yourself up and out of that funk, and you will find there are many ways to combat depression. Here are four beat-the-blues basics to help shake depression.

Let’s get physical

Exercise, ugh! Maintaining an active lifestyle can be a challenge. Even if working out is the last thing we want to do, it’s important for our mental and physical health. Numerous studies link physical movement with improved mood, and feelings of happiness and inner peace. Try to exercise 30 minutes a day and see the difference. Exercise can be fun, you just have to find what is right for you. Professional boxers train extensively day after day, but if jumping rope and pugilism aren’t right for you, you can try more gentle exercise such as stretching, dance, or water aerobics. Literally anything that gets your body moving, even just walking, is good for you. Get off your butt and stomp out that depression!

Herbal Healing

Oatstraw infusions, St. John’s Wort, and Garden Sage are examples of herbs that help with depression. The wide offerings of Mother Nature have been used for thousands of years to cure illnesses and ailments, and science finds cures for diseases in green plants from the earth. When working with plants it is important to form a kinship with the spirit of the plant. It sounds silly; commune with the plant in your mind and ask its permission to use its healing power. You may find that decorating your home with plants will improve your mood as well, among other benefits. Make sure when taking a new herb or infusion that you properly research its properties and tendencies with your condition. Always make sure too that you are not combining medications that could react adversely with one another.

A Beautiful Mindfulness

Meditation, Tai Chi, or yoga all strive to reconnect ourselves with the energy within us and around us. Find a practice that stimulates your soul. The silence in these activities saturates your being with a certain magic – one free of stress and encumberment. If you have kids, you are sure to appreciate silence in addition to its spiritual meaning. Tai Chi and yoga combine physical movement with mindfulness. The mind is deeply connected to the body, and we see the benefits of mindful practices over time and exponentially so. Take time each day to quiet your mind or practice any tool that brings you back into your body, in the present moment, and enjoying being alive.

Let’s do lunch

Diet and nutrition play a vital role in health and our emotional state. Cutting out processed foods, soda pop, and excessive sugars can help your brain function better. Avocados are great for depression, as are nuts, fish, fruits and vegetables, and foods high in fiber. Whole grains, beans, seafood, and lean meats have also shown a correlation between consumption and improved depression. The food you eat fuels your body so it is important to cut out junk food whenever possible. There are many ways to prepare these foods to be totally delicious so don’t be afraid to branch out of your comfort zone. Feed your body with nutritious and healthy food to combat depression from the start.

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Educating ourselves on how to fight depression actually tops the list. Armed with knowledge and information you can go forward and make meaningful changes in your life. Diet and exercise, mindfulness, and herbal medicine are all helpful tips for beating the blues. Lady Day (Billie Holiday) sings the blues:

“I sit in my chair and filled with despair, there’s no one could be so sad. With gloom everywhere, I sit and I stare, I know that I’ll soon go mad.”  [(In my) Solitude, 1952]

We may feel desperate at times, like there is no hope. Keep your head up. Educate yourself and take baby steps. Try to shift your depression and transform negativity into positive thinking. You got this!

Lemons are amazing. They’re beautiful in a fruit bowl, delicious in everything and have a scene that just won’t quit. The human desire to flavor everything from pie to chicken with lemon is a good instinct. Lemons are great for you, and not just to eat. Lemons are great for your skin, too. Applying even a little bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice to your skin, with or without other ingredients, can start showing results immediately including healing acne (without popping), fading scars, and softening.

There are dozens of ways to use lemon in ways that help clear, lighten, and energize your skin. You want to cut a fresh lemon to get the most natural combination of antioxidants, citric acid, and vitamin C. The rich natural combination of citrus can work wonders without a single additive, just dab a little on your hands and face, then watch the difference as your skin clears and tightens.

Here are a few luxurious and natural ways to use lemon for amazingly healthy skin:

Lemon and Tea Tree Oil Cleanser

Lemon makes a fantastic facial cleanser because of the citric acid and antibacterial properties. These come together to clear out your pores and kill any bacteria that might be causing blemishes and damaging your complexion. The citric acid tightens the skin encourages your pores to stay closed and cleansed when you’re done. Apply the cleanser with a cloth or cotton ball in the morning and evening, then rinse with warm water. Do not store longer than 1 week per batch. To make, combine:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• A few drops of tea tree oil
• Optional: 1 tablespoon witch hazel

Lemon, Honey, and Yogurt Face Mask

Facial masks are a great way to infuse your face with delicious natural ingredients, locking in moisturizer and softening wrinkles. With a lemon mask, your skin will tighten and energize as you let the solution rest on your face and take a few moments to close your eyes or read an e-book. Thoroughly blend the ingredients and apply a thick layer to your face. If you have the time and space, the treatment is equally beneficial for your neck, shoulders, and chest as well, all areas that are prone to blemishes that could use a little extra love. Let the mask sit for 15 – 20 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with warm water.

• 1 tablespoon plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Optional: 1 pinch of turmeric

Lemon and Olive Nail Strengthener

Nail health is an important part of your complete regime. If your nails have been showing signs of dryness, cracking, or yellowing, lemon is a solution to that, too! These symptoms can be caused by aging, overexposure to hot water or cleaning chemicals, and sometimes from too many manicures. Whatever the reason, a long soak in a lemony oil mixture is sure to do the trick. To give your nails the best chance, remove all polish and treatments, then mix a tablespoon of lemon with two tablespoons of olive oil. Soaking for about 10 minutes a day should start to reveal results. It can help to clean your nails gently with a nail brush beforehand.

Lemon, Almond and Shea Butter Lotion

The best way to use lemon is to leave it on your skin for a long time. This enhances its lightening and energizing qualities, but can be a little sticky if done with pure lemon juice. By mixing a delicious lemon lotion, you can have all the benefits of daily lemon and moisturizer use. To make the lotion, melt shea butter and coconut oil in a saucepan, then mix in a few drops of almond oil and tablespoons of lemon then set to cool. When the oil begins to solidify, whip until it becomes creamy then pour into a clean glass jar. Put it on in the morning after cleansing, at night before bed, and carry some in a small jar as a wonderful smelling face and hand cream.

These are only a few basic recipes, but lemon is just as healthy when used as simple freshly squeezed juice. Don’t be shy about creating your own lemon treatment recipes, you have a special understanding of your skin’s health and different ingredients and ratios may be more or less enjoyable or effective. If you do come up with an awesome new concoction, share it so others with skin like yours can learn from your experience.

In the midst of disasters, political angst and mindless celebrity gossip, stories surface of those who live extraordinary lives. Some involve famous individuals, such as Oprah Winfrey, J.K. Rowling and Laurene Powell Jobs who live fabulous lives and accomplish rare feats while helping others do so because their wealth allows it.

Other anecdotes recount ordinary individuals, such as those featured annually in CNN Heroes, who work quietly against the odds. They prove that it is not only possible to do what you want to improve the world, but to do it with courage and ingenuity .

These exceptional people represent the few who stand for something beyond themselves. What motivates them every day and make them different from the majority?

• They cope with failure differently: They expect failure sometimes, no matter how hard they work at something they love. And they learn from each failure and fix what does not work. And they never give up looking for new and better ways to try again.
• They start with a full day: Not necessarily a packed or crowded calendar, but they live busy yet balanced lives. They take time for themselves, they are flexible, but spend most of their time accomplishing their goals because it is what they want and need to do.
• They give with no expectation of a return: What they do for others is given freely, with no payback expected or wanted. Whether they give money, time, knowledge or materials, it comes from the heart and they consider the act of giving a vital part of life.
• They take chances: Along with a high risk of failure comes the need to challenge themselves to think, act and work differently from what they know, or others expect. They expect ridicule and criticism from others and embrace it as a sign that someone is paying attention to their actions.
• They laugh at life: They are serious people involved in crucial endeavors, but they still find life funny. And they laugh at themselves, too, because they don’t think of themselves as extraordinary. They tell dirty jokes and bad puns and find hilarity in everyday situations.
• They don’t judge: They listen to all sides of a discussion, and while they express an opinion, they don’t judge any individual based on their opinion or thought. They accept different viewpoints as normal, appreciate them as part of humanity’s fabric and move on.
• They don’t procrastinate: They have their list, and they finish that list every day, with or without outside assistance. Whether mundane or monumental, they don’t run and hide from life’s tough tasks.
• They appear poised, confident and strong: Regardless of inner fear and doubt, the face they present to the world is fearless. They understand the power of positive thinking.
• They know it’s not about money: They know even the poorest people can do extraordinary things. Mother Teresa lived a life of poverty and personal sacrifice and touched millions of people with her words and works of kindness.
• They guard their health as their greatest wealth: While they love their work, their mental, spiritual and physical health comes first. Without a healthy life and mindset for themselves, nothing else matters and little else works.
• They understand the value of money: They know what it buys and they know how to save, invest and use it for good. They don’t deny themselves, but they don’t buy based on the latest fashion or fad.
• They reach out to others for help: They form friendships, mentoring relationships and professional alliances and use them to advance their careers and causes, discuss and solve work issues and provide resources, educational materials and seminars.

The ceremony was beautiful. The clouds above threatened to rain in the private garden courtyard decorated with flowers in pale pink, burgundy red, and shades of green. Rain on your wedding day is good luck, they say, but the few drops held off as the couple wed in marriage. Reading much of the script in English and Spanish, the bride and the groom accepted each other into their dear families, and pledged their ever-living and eternal love for one another. It was heartfelt, touching, and clearly special.

The law of attraction states, in layman’s terms, that energy is like a magnet that attracts other similar energy; in essence making the manifestation of all your dreams possible. By re-framing thoughts, practicing mindfulness, and focusing your mind on the success of your goals, this energy you put out into the universe comes back. Reverse causality, a quantum physics concept, suggests grand theories about the space-time continuum. To illustrate the law of attraction and reverse causality further the narrative example of the wedding story will be continued.

Have you ever encountered a situation in life that seems to be a coincidence but begs you the question: could this all be a part of something grander? Something predestined and divine that your instincts say these things happened for a reason? You are not alone. Here is a concrete and enthralling example of reverse causality in the form of a quote of the bride’s father. Mr. Rosenberg, upon making his speech at his youngest daughter’s wedding:

‘First, I want to thank you all for being here for this wonderful and absolutely joyous occasion. Some of you have traveled from a far ways to be here with us and we appreciate it. Today we have a chance to join our families with the marriage of our daughter Rachel and our new son Edgar Diaz.

What you do know is that Edgar’s family is from Ecuador. We were actually live-streaming the ceremony for the family that could not be here today for them to witness from home. What you probably don’t know is that I have always had an unexplainable fascination with Ecuador. There is actually a term in quantum physics called Reverse Causality, and it draws connections between past and future events, somewhere along the way transporting information across the space-time continuum that makes these things more than coincidences.

I did a big report on Ecuador in high school, and at the time thought my inclination was just another piece of me that didn’t mean much. But here I stand today, joining my family with another wonderful family from Ecuador that has been so kind and generous and accepting. We could not be happier with the Diaz family and give our best wishes to the bride and groom…’

The concept of reverse causality begs us to redefine our sense of time. You will encounter times in life where you are drawn to certain energy forces over and over, good or bad, and it begs us to analyze the patterns we see in our lives. Could is just be coincidence that a life-long affinity for a place, object, or action presents itself to us over and over? Just like the blood and work of our long gone ancestors flows in our veins forward in time with prior generations affecting the heredity and inclinations of future generations, could future events affect events in the past, like suggested by reverse causality? This calls into the question of fate.

The law of attraction states that we are all able to attract energy into our lives with the power of our minds by practicing awareness, introspection, and altering our thoughts to manifest a better life. The bride’s father would never have known that his future daughter would join their family with an Ecuadorian one, but it all still seems to fit into a neat little puzzle: a hodgepodge or collage of all the little pieces that add up to create the whole of our lives. Whether we believe there is a connection between the two or not, we all sense when a coincidence is actually meant to be.

To use the law of attraction to your favor take care of the basics of health, including your mind-body connection. Remaining positive and full of hope will always draw forces of caring and kindness to you. Any working plan or goal starts with an intention. Focus on what it is you want in life, then look for ways to obtain them. Positive thinking, re-framing negative thoughts, and living in the moment in a mindful way will all attract the best energy to you. Whether you believe in fate or not, physical laws state that energy flows, and energy attracts other energy. Be mindful of what you attract by focusing on your dreams and goals, the rest will all fall into place.

We’ve heard it all our lives: “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Moms tucked apples in lunch bags for school, gave them as after-school snacks, and packed them in picnics. We grew up with the delicious orbs and now give them to our own children. But do they keep the doctor away? Studies say a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating including apples for many medical conditions does, indeed, keep the doctor away. The trouble is that many don’t get their six servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Here’s why an apple a day really does work.

Apples Keep the Doctor Away on a Cellular Level

No, we’re not talking about smart phones. All of life begins in the cells of the body. These can be damaged by the black sheep of the family called free radicals. They are produced by the cells and pick fights with other components of the cells, sometimes destroying them altogether. The most important is oxygen, which, when combined with lots of things (think of the rust on a car) causes oxidation. The condition caused is called oxidative stress.

Why Eating an Apple is a Good Idea: Antioxidants and flavonoids from plant-based foods help knock out free radicals. This canceling out of the oxygenating free radicals means they are washed out of the system, the damage is repaired and life goes on. Thank an apple for that.

An Apple a Day Cuts Cholesterol

The cells are made of a fatty substance called cholesterol. Cholesterol makes hormones, too. Too much of it and the arteries get clogged up when it sticks to the sides. That spells a heart attack and causes 12 percent of them. The confusing part is that there is a “good” cholesterol or HDL and a “bad” cholesterol or LDL (remember it as loser). Just remember it’s a good idea to keep the good cholesterol or HDL (remember it as hip or happy) within acceptable levels (below 4.0).

Why Eating an Apple is a Good Idea: The antioxidants in apples aren’t the only things that fight bad cholesterol. The pectin or soluble fibre in apples also fights the bad cholesterol or LDL. Studies have shown that just eating two apples per day staved off heart attack and stroke in record time.

Apples Aid Those with Asthma and COPD

Breathing works by drawing in oxygen into the lungs unimpeded. The oxygen goes through small tubes or hairs called bronchi. In a picture of the lungs, they resemble the branches of a tree. The air goes in as the bronchi open, and goes back out as the bronchi close. The average person will never know anything is wrong when he breathes. Asthma occurs when the bronchi or the hair-like breathing tubes in the lungs get irritated. COPD is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The obstruction consists of the bronchi or the hairs being stuck open with no way to close. Either of these conditions cause the chest to close up, the person unable to breathe, and is frightening in the extreme. Bronchodilators and rescue inhalers keep the person able to breathe clearly.

Why Eating an Apple is a Good Idea: Inhaling air pollution, chemicals and other airway irritants cause oxidative stress. Some free radicals enter the lungs through the pollution and cause their brand of havoc. Antioxidants will fix that. However, the flavonoids in apples block the chemicals that cause the asthmatic or COPD response in the first place. Apples, along with other plant-based foods, contain Vitamins C, A and B complex, all of which are antioxidants. These are anti-inflammatories, as well as keeping the mucus membranes healthy and functioning. You have to eat the skin, though, because that’s where all the good stuff is packed.

Pre-Diabetic? Diabetic? Crunch an Apple!

Insulin is a hormone produced in the islets of Langerhans inside the pancreas. When food enters the body, insulin rides along to take the sugars to the cells. With that said, Type 1 diabetes is when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin. Type 2 is when it produces enough, but the cells don’t want it. This is called insulin resistance.

Why Eating an Apple is a Good Idea: Apples contain polyphenols, which are found in plant-based foods. They protect the body against all kinds of terrible diseases. One of them is called quercetin. This polyphenol slows down absorption of sugars in the body. The pancreas has time, therefore, to produce insulin, the insulin has time to take the sugars to the cells, and the cells accept the sugars.

In pre-diabetes, this equates to no stoppage of sugar absorption or metabolism. The body functions normally. In diabetics, eating two apples per day has the effect of lowering blood sugar levels and maintaining them.

Overweight? Getting Close? Eat an Apple!

It’s funny that the fruit for which a certain body type is named should be its salvation. The first body type is the pear, which means fat is stored in the hips and thighs, making them larger than the torso. The second is the apple, the body type that looks round in the middle, because that’s where the fat is stored. Both are bad for the health, but the “apple” body type is worse, experts say, because of its proximity to the heart.

Why Eating an Apple is a Good Idea: Apples are 85 percent water. This alone is filling, but add its fibre content to the equation, and weight loss is the answer. They are lower in calories altogether. Eating one just before a meal means the caloric intake will be less, much like cutting your portions by one third.

A healthy lifestyle isn’t only about eating right. It’s about exercise, quality sleep, fresh air and quitting smoking and drinking. It’s about mindfulness used for stress control instead of more chemicals in the body. Help all this along with a bright, shiny apple!

Molecules Of Emotion

In Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine, molecular biologist and neuroscientist Candace Pert offers a wealth of information on how thoughts and emotions affect our physical health and well being. As it turns out, the biochemicals associated with positive mental-emotional states act as internally-generated medicine: nourishing, protecting and healing our physical bodies in all variety of ways. On the other hand, biochemicals associated with harsh or negative mental-emotional state tend to be associated with a toxic or imbalanced internal environment. So it’s obviously to our advantage, health-wise, to generate uplifting thoughts and emotions.

And what better to generate and express positive, wholesome and health-giving feelings than a smile? We may take smiling for granted: considering it as something that happens — or doesn’t happen — quite naturally. But yoga and meditation teachers from a variety of traditions have understood the potentially profound power of this simple gesture, not only as an expression of health and happiness; but also as a tool for consciously creating health and happiness.

From A Healthy Person, Happiness Shines Forth

B.K.S. Iyengar — one of the yoga tradition’s most influential teachers — offers this pearl of wisdom:

“Healthy plants and trees yield abundant flowers and fruits. Similarly, from a healthy person, smiles and happiness shine forth like the rays of the sun.”

Here Mr. Iyengar is pointing out to us the primary “symptom” of a skillful yoga practice. When we’re on the right track, he is saying, our experience will more and more be that of an all-pervading happiness. Whether this happiness comes in the form of joy, bliss, ecstasy, rapture – or just a subtle underlying current of satisfaction and deep contentment – it very likely will express itself naturally as a smile.

Such happiness, born from deep within, tends effortlessly to share itself, in the manner of the sun “sharing” its rays. Paramahansa Yogananda — another esteemed ambassador of the yoga tradition — expresses this insight in the form of a beautiful aspiration:

“Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eyes, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts.”

Sending Smile-Energy To Your Muscles & Bones

Mantak Chia — well-known teacher of Taoist Yoga (aka Qigong) — joins in with this reminder of the benefit of maintaining a gentle inner smile, i.e. of making it a habit to send smile-energy inwardly to our bones, muscles, cells and organs – until the whole “republic” of our body becomes a single smiling “society” —

“Living with an inner smile is to live in harmony with yourself.” 

Yoga Of The Mouth: The Power Of A Smile

But what if we’re not in the mood to smile? What if we’re feeling grumpy, sad or agitated? Isn’t putting on a smile, in such circumstances, a bit disingenuous? Here’s the playful and insightful answer offered by the renowned Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh:

“To meditate well, we have to smile, a lot … I always say that a smile can be a practice, a kind of yoga practice: Yoga of the mouth. You just smile even if you don’t feel joy and you’ll see after you smile that you’ll feel differently. Sometimes the mind takes the initiative and sometimes you have to allow the body to take the initiative. Sometimes the spirit leads, and sometimes the body can lead.” 

So next time you’re feeling a bit cranky, or just out of sorts, give it a try – this “yoga of the mouth” – and see what happens. Try not to think of it as being a “fake smile” or a “social smile” or a “manipulative smile” – but rather as a subtle and potent form of yoga practice: a truly empowering tool for transforming – in a sublimely positive direction – the terrain of your human body-mind.