Article by freelance writer Sally Writes

Finding Asthma Relief Through Yoga

For many, difficulty breathing is a way of life. Asthma affects one in nine Australians or around 2.5 million individuals. It can show itself at any point in our lifetime, from childhood well into adulthood, with more and more cases popping up in recent years due in part to outdoor pollution. Asthma can have symptoms that range from mild to severe, including coughing, wheezing, swelling, and even death. While asthma can be challenging to eradicate, there are a number of both medical and holistic ways to help alleviate symptoms. Yoga and meditation are great ways to strengthen the lungs and encourage free airflow, helping to relieve the symptoms of asthma in both children and adults. Here are just some of the ways that taking up a yoga routine can help you to breathe better throughout the day.

Meditative Breathing

For the most part, breathing is involuntary. When we practice yoga, however, we’re encouraged to think about our breathing practices and how they impact our body. Mindful breathing techniques can help asthmatics to learn how to exercise control over their breathing with deep, steady inhalation and slow exhalation. Not only does this strengthen the lungs in the long-term, but also offers a way to combat an impending asthma attack.

Relaxation of the Mind and Body

Stress is a common trigger for asthma patients, causing symptoms to manifest or worsen. One of the best ways to keep asthma attacks to a minimum is to maintain a relaxing lifestyle. Yoga can help to calm the mind and soothe the body, making it easier to cope with a hectic home or work life. By maintaining a relaxed state, you lessen the likelihood of your asthma symptoms kicking in at the worst possible moments.

The Best Poses for Asthma Relief

While all yoga poses can help to free up the lungs, there are several that are better for breathing than others. Poses that straighten the spine and open the airways help to promote a more even airflow through our bodies. Here are some of the best yoga poses for asthmatic individuals: 

●     Savasana

●     Sukhasana

●     Forward Bend

●     Butterfly

●     Straddle Splits

●     The Bridge

●     Pranayama

It can be tough to cope with the symptoms of asthma, but luckily, there are plenty of remedies that help to alleviate the pain. Practising yoga encourages healthy breathing techniques that promote smooth, clean airflow through the lungs. By including the right poses in your routine, you can reduce your risk of asthma attacks and breathe easy.

Our mind is a powerful tool. Most of the time, we tend to believe what our mind is saying. We hear a voice in our head and we tend to identify with it. Yet whatever is being said isn’t always true. But if we believe all that we hear in our head then our happiness will only depend on our positive thinking. It is great if we are a naturally born optimist but challenging if our mind is wired on fear or self-criticism.


Also our emotions are strongly linked with our thoughts. If our mind tends to worry about something in the future, we then tend to experience fear in the present moment. It does not mean that this worry will actually happen, it may or it may not. But in the meantime we have created stress for ourselves by listening to those thoughts. Whatever the mind is saying, it will create an emotional response in our body.We have a tendency to spend most of our life reacting and responding to our thoughts without questioning. Yet what if it could be different?


We hold the power within ourselves to change our thoughts and even to stop our mind at once. And when we become able to control our mind, we also become in control of how we experience life. The best tool I know that can bring us this new quality of life is the practice of meditation.


With regular meditation practice, we slowly start managing our thoughts. We become more aware and conscious of all the incessant chatter inside our head. And then we can learn how to completely stop it. Of course it takes time but the peace and happiness that result are definitely worth it.


With meditation regular practice is essential. We can learn different techniques and practice the ones that suit us best. We can also join a meditation class in our neighbourhood or enrol in a meditation retreat for a quantum leap in our practice!

Check out our meditation ebook and our meditation retreats, we will help you silence that chattering mind! :) 

A to-do list can be such an excellent tool when trying to tackle a big, overwhelming goal. We can use the power of pen and paper to break big goals down into small achievable steps, just as long as we manage to be realistic when finding our first step.

I love gaining clarity by doing exactly that but a few weeks ago I realised that my to-do list was not serving me as well as it once had.

I had found the first few, very small steps that would help me get closer to an important goal and I had given myself the week to get them done.

I stuck a piece of paper on my wall.

On it, two very achievable steps I was going to take by the end of the week.

Somehow weeks went by and I hadn’t taken either of them.

Eventually, after about two months, I took that piece of paper down and threw it out. Together with a lot of enthusiasm about to-do lists.

I realised later that what I had written was not actually the first step in getting closer to my big goal.

My first instinct after experiencing that disappointment was that maybe instead of only writing to-do lists I also needed an ‘already-done list’: to avoid feeling disappointed with myself for not achieving what I had set out to achieve and to shift my focus on things that I had already achieved instead.

This felt like a big realisation. So big, I set out to write a blog post about the importance of looking back at what we have already achieved, to feel proud of how far we have already come and to feel a sense of accomplishment.

I took a step back and was ready to feel that great sense of accomplishment. But I never wrote an ‘already-done list’.

Something else happened for me.

Still feeling some disappointment but also a lot less pressure, I naturally found myself spending less time trying to control the outcome of whatever I was doing.

I would go for a walk and instead of planning what I had to do once I got home, I enjoyed the walk. I walked for as long as I wanted to. Sometimes that wasn’t very long at all. I walked through a park but then stopped and sat down in the middle of Federation Square. I watched the rush. I watched the sunset. I just sat and watched.

Eventually, I had not only lost track of my all so important to-do list, my genius idea of an ‘already-done list’ seemed just as negligible.

All that mattered was this present moment.

The idea for my ‘already-done list’ came to me because I spent too much of my time looking into the future. The logical solution to my problem of being too focused on the future was to look into the past. I thought by doing that I would ease the pressure I had created for myself with my to-do list.
 
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein

I will continue to use pen and paper to create clarity for myself. Luckily, when I forgot about my to-do list for a little while, I found something entirely different.

Once I spent some time simply being, I realised that what I had written down a few months back were not really the next steps in achieving my big goal.

Those steps seemed easy enough when I came up with them. They were definitely achievable which contributed to my frustration.

I thought I had done everything right. I thought I should write a blog post on ‘how to write to-do lists’ ☺. It took me a while to figure out why it did not work out for me.

If the first step towards a goal isn’t easy enough to take today, it’s not really your first step.

Sometimes the very first and most important step is to come back to this very moment. In this moment, there is nothing to achieve. There is no need to look back to feel accomplished. There is just this very moment to enjoy.

Sometimes the first step on your to-do list is to simply be present.



Hi, I’m Maren. I am an actress and author of the Feel Good Blog, but most of all I am passionate about sharing honest moments. I love moments that remind us that we are capable and connected. I treasure those moments whether they are felt as profound insights or inspirational chuckles, whether we laugh or cry, I believe they help us grow.


www.feelgoodblog.org 
www.instagram.com/maren.whitt ​

​
Article written by Georgia Hartmann
@wellbeing_naturopathy
​

Naturopathy falls under the umbrella term of Complementary Medicine - a broad domain of healing resources other than that provided by the current dominant health system. Complementary medicine encompasses practices including Naturopathy, Osteopathy, Acupuncture, Chiropractor, Massage, Ayurvedic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine - the list goes on. The idea is that the minds behind these practices work alongside those behind conventional practices, including doctors and nurses, to allow for a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.


Naturopathic medicine combines herbal medicine, nutrition and dietary planning, lifestyle modifications, and other modalities including flower essences, iridology, tissue salts and celloids that prevent and treat illness. It is the art and science of medicine that uses traditional forms of healing combined with modern scientific knowledge.


As a traditional form of healing, the practice of Naturopathy is based upon 6 principles, including the healing power of nature, identifying the cause, treating the whole person, doing no harm, education, and prevention.


1. The Healing Power of Nature
Nature is both perfectly balanced and organized intelligently to create, maintain, repair and destroy matter. The body also has its own intuitive and sophisticated mechanism of healing. Naturopaths use the healing agents provided by nature (air, earth, water and sun), in combination with a clean diet, exercise, adequate sleep, relaxation, meditation, and an optimistic outlook, to promote and support the body’s innate ability to heal.

2. Identify and Treat the Cause
Underpinning this principle is the basic understanding that all illness must have a cause. For health to be restored and optimised, the cause or causes of the disease state must be identified and removed. This is an important principle in Naturopathy. Instead of merely placing a ‘bandaid’ on symptoms to achieve a ‘quick fix’, it is the role of the Naturopath to dig deep and treat the cause of illness.

3. Treat the Whole Person
Health and disease result from an intricate interplay of physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, social, familial and occupational factors. Failure to address all aspects of health fundamentally ignores the complexity of the human being. As you may be aware, Naturopathy consults are often much longer than those of conventional medicine. This is because Naturopaths take a detailed case history that encompasses all aspects of an individual’s life in order to obtain a holistic understanding of all factors that impact our health.

4. First Do No Harm
As it is the Naturopath’s role to facilitate the body’s natural ability to heal, doing so in a harmless manner is an important principle. Naturopathic practice that respects the principle of harm-free treatment is traditionally non­invasive, and avoids the suppression of symptoms and the prescription of harmful doses of medicine.

5. Naturopath as Teacher
The word doctor has a Latin origin, meaning ‘teacher’. The power to eliminate disease and optimise health lies within the body. In this sense, the Naturopath assumes the role of teacher so as to educate, inspire, motivate, and encourage self-empowerment to the client. In doing so, the client regains power over their health.

6. Prevention
Naturopathy is employed to prevent both the sequel of disease states and the development of new states. In a time where medicine is reactive rather than proactive, it is the Naturopath’s role to facilitate disease prevention. After all, prevention is better than cure!


With a holistic approach to health and disease, Naturopathy plays a vital role in modern medicine. By acknowledging and influencing each aspect of an individual’s life, a state of harmony within the body can be achieved; a state that is free of dis-ease.

​
  
I’m Georgia – You’ll find me by the sea in Sydney, Australia.


My love for Naturopathy began when my sister was diagnosed with Stage 4 Endometriosis – a condition of the female reproductive system. After numerous surgeries, the only relief she found was attributed to Naturopathic medicine. Amazing, right! I thought so. I now have a strong love for helping women overcome their reproductive issues.

For years and years, I identified myself with my mind. I thought I was the mind. What a surprise when I discovered I was not! It changed everything. It was a big relief for me because as a teenager, despite being one of the smartest kids at school, I believed myself crazy. There was incessant chatter in my head, most of it unnecessary thoughts of fear and worry, and I didn`t know if it was the same for other people. That chatter was driving me insane, I wanted to go and see a psychiatrist sometimes. But it seemed that everybody found me ‘normal’, and I was doing pretty well at what I was undertaking. So I started assuming that it was just the way to be, and that I would be an overactive thinker for the rest of my life, no respite. As the French philosopher Descartes was saying: ‘I think, therefore I am’. I had no idea how wrong we both were! What a relief it was for me the first time I experienced a few minutes with absolutely no thought. Complete silence. It was so peaceful! And yet I was still alive. I still existed. I could feel myself be in the absence of the mind. That`s when it hit me: I AM even when I don`t think, therefore I am not my mind! To rephrase Descartes I could say: ‘When I do not think, there I am’. Furthermore, I was feeling more myself in this moment than when I was thinking! That changed my life. That`s when I started meditating even more so as to find that space again, that peace, and so as to start controlling my mind. That is when I really started living.
 
THE MIND AS A COMPUTER
 
So what is the mind? The mind is like a computer, storing and processing data on its hard drive. Then analysing, comparing, and offering solutions to situations. For example, when I see a flame, straight away the mind may think: flame- fire- heat- careful- burnt hand at seven years of age- painful- could burn now- third degree burn- ambulance- hospital- staying away from flame! All this in a split second. Amazing! My experience and knowledge about fire will prevent me getting burnt each time I see a flame, and at the same time it offers me possible scenarios if I choose to get in contact with it. The mind sees what is in the present. Then, it compares it with what it knows happened in the past, or with what it learned in books, with people, school or society. Then it gives us all this data in thought forms, impressions or feelings. And finally it diverges on possible future scenarios according to all this information. That is why when we are listening to the mind, we find ourselves in the past or a probable future. It is really an amazing tool which is here to help us survive in a physical body in this third dimensional world. The problem is that we forget that it is just that, a tool, a computer. Over the years we put effort into making it strong, sharp and intelligent. Unfortunately, we overuse it and we forget to turn it off. Now the most common problem in the world is an overactive mind and people`s identification with it. It`s like having a TV inside our heads which is turned on all day long, and we can`t stop ourselves from watching it. After a while we even forget that we are actually separate from it. This is the biggest illusion, the identification with the mind. Most diseases of the modern world are related to this confusion: depression, compulsive disorders, anxiety, stress, etc. And taking medication or going to see a psychiatrist or psychologist won`t do any good, because you cannot fix the mind. The mind is the problem. The only medication that will heal these issues is Meditation, because it is the only way to get rid of the problem.
 
UNDERSTAND YOUR MIND
The first step to understand the mind is to watch it. Pay attention to it. Notice how it works. Follow the strand of your thoughts. Try to remember what triggered your thought patterns. Why are you thinking what you are thinking now? What was your first thought, your first sentence, your first word, etc? Look at your thoughts. Watch them from a distance. Be the observer. Don`t try to understand them, just be aware of them. Look and listen to them as if you were watching a movie, the fictional movie of your imagination. Try to notice the patterns. Try to notice the repetitions. Try to notice how that mind of yours is functioning.
 
THE MIND AND ASSOCIATIONS
The mind works with associations. You see something that makes you think about another thing which reminds you of something else which…it is a jumping monkey. For example, you see a blue flower. You may think: this is a blue flower- it`s beautiful – I love blue- it looks like the one my mum used to have in her garden- it`s been a long time since I called her- wonder if she found the key she was looking for- that reminds me that I need to pick up my car keys at Kate`s later- then I will need to get something for dinner- a roast would be great- but it takes too long to cook- let`s have mashed potatoes instead- yes that`s good, I’ll have more time to watch my TV show…You are still looking at the flower, but you are gone with the mind. The flower is real, it is what IS NOW, but the mind is not. You left reality to follow an illusion. And this happens all the time, indeed it never stops.
 
THE MIND AND LABELING
The mind works at labelling. The mind loves to notice and label things which you are seeing with your physical eyes: a blue/ beautiful/ small/ big/ funny/ etc flower, a car, a tree, a bus, oh it`s raining, etc. It likes putting adjective to the material world it sees depending on your experience, subjectivity or perception. It also comments on what/ how your body is feeling in the moment: it`s hot/ cold/ humid/ etc. It transfers physical data to your conscious self so you can act accordingly, like putting a sweater on if you`re cold. It will always describe and label what your senses perceive of the outside world. It is a computer, it processes information.
 
THE MIND AND READING
The mind loves reading things. Whatever your eyes get in contact with, your mind will try to read if you don`t consciously stop it. For example the billboards in the streets, even if you take the same road every day, if you look at the board you will have the slogan being said inside your head straight away (great for advertising!). That is also why every morning, while you are eating your cereals, you are reading what`s in the pack if it is right in front you, even if you have been eating the same cereals for years and they haven`t changed the ingredients. The mind will always be looking for something to read, while you`re eating, while you`re walking, while you`re on public transport, etc. It will always try to remove you from the experience you are having right now. It will prevent you from focusing on your present reality, and reading is one of its escape tricks.
.
THE MIND AND TIME
The mind loves to go over the past and sometimes change it. It loves to remember the past, good times or not, like watching a movie over and over again. Then it loves to think about what would have happened if someone might have done this instead of that, if someone might have said that instead of this, or what someone should have done or not done, should have said or not said…The mind also loves to plan the future. It is always concerned about what we should do, don`t do, what could go wrong and why. It loves its ‘what to do’ list: what we ‘have to’ do tomorrow or next week, which day, what time, etc. It likes organizing, planning, making lists and when something is finally done from the list, something else suddenly appears…always busy!
It is a computer, gathering, analysing data and offering solutions. It never stops. It is restless. We made it that way. It will only exist in time, in the past or in the future, and it will always try to escape the present, because in the NOW the mind is not.
 This is an excerpt from 7 Illusions

Meditation has been used for centuries all over the world. People that have been practicing meditation for a long time can radiate peace and well-being. Meditation is the best tool available to us to find happiness and peace of mind. Yet, despise it being known, practiced and praised for so long it is still not part of our every day life. Why? Maybe because meditation can be both easy and difficult at the same time.

Why is meditation easy?

It is free! It is not something only available to the richest people in the world, it is available to anyone! Its does not cost any money, nothing, nada!
It is technically easy to do, we just have to sit down and close our eyes. How easy is that!
it does not take too much of our precious time. If we can spare twenty minutes a day that`s already plenty. We can always wake up 20 mn earlier, go to bed 20 mn later, or spend 20 mn less on Facebook or watching TV.
we don`t have to think hard about anything, on the contrary the less we think the better it is!

Why is meditation so difficult?

mainly because we identify with our mind AND THE MIND DOES NOT LIKE MEDITATION!
What the mind says: ‘i don't have time today’
‘i`ll do it later’
‘i`ll start tomorrow’
‘pfff, it`s too hard’
‘i don`t want to’
`’i don`t feel like it’
i rather eat, watch TV or check Facebook again’

Why does the mind say that?

The main aim of meditation is to quiet the mind. A quiet mind = peace. But the mind itself doesn`t want to be quiet! It wants to be active, busy, heard, listen to. It just wants to talk talk talk!!! Meditation can quieten and stop the mind. The mind does not want to disappear so it will do anything to stop YOU from meditating. It will give give you ALL the excuses in the world not to meditate, EVERY TIME you will try to.

YOU are NOT your mind. If you can learn to quieten, stop and control something, it means that THAT THING is not you, it is separate from you.

So why should you meditate?

Do you want to spend the rest of your life listening and being controlled by a voice in your head which is NOT REALLY YOU? 
It is like having a TV in our head, switch on all day long on the same channel, with no remote to change channels or turn it off.
Meditation is the remote control.
What could happen if you start practicing meditation?
* you can become in control of your mind
* you can become in control of your thoughts
* if you control your thoughts, you control your emotions
* you will become happier
* you will become more peaceful.
* no more stress, no more worries
* your life will change

Shall I start meditation?
* If you are 100% happy with your life and yourself, you probably don`t need to
* if not, you`ve got nothing to lose, except your mind maybe 😉

We offer regular meditation classes in Byron Bay, NSW, as well as yoga and meditation retreats to teach people how to meditate and implement a regular and easy practice.
​Check our services on the website or Contact us if you would like more information on the teaching and retreats.

Article by freelance writer Sally Writes.

Reduce Pain By Up to 90% with Mindfulness Meditation
 Pain, like any other emotion, is incredibly subjective. It is information processed by the brain, which can be tackled by focusing your attention in the right way. It is estimated that the most experienced meditators can reduce pain by 90% without medication. This is not just based on anecdotal evidence, but is backed up by a number of scientific studies. The alleviation of suffering can come from living in the moment. Here are the benefits of mindfulness of pain relief and how it works.
 
Non-Addictive Alternative to Medication
 One reason you should be using the power of the mind for pain relief is to avoid potentially addictive medication. Opioid addiction is increasing and health experts are searching for a safe alternative. Meditation might just be the answer.
 Brain scans have shown that focusing on the present really does relieve pain, but using different neural pathways to pain killers. Instead of using the body’s natural opioid system, meditation targets a different area of the brain, making it non-addictive. This can be combined with other natural alternative pain remedies.

 Primary and Secondary Pain
 The evolution of the brain is incredible, but sometimes detrimental to our happiness. Response to pain essentially happens on two levels. There is the initial, primary response, such as the immediate reaction to placing your hand on a hot stove. You will pull your hand away before you have even processed the pain. This is a way the brain can respond to pain rapidly and keep you safe.
 Secondary pain is that long lasting, chronic pain. This is manufactured and draws on memories of suffering from the past. Mindful meditation can train your brain not amplify these feelings, essentially turning down suffering. Much pain is caused by stress and anxiety, both of which we know can be managed with mindfulness. This is because brain has a bias towards negative feelings. By closing your eyes, taking deep breaths and thinking positively, you can induce a relaxed state, causing your brain to believe there is no danger and no need to feel pain.
 Like any skill, mindfulness must be practiced regularly in order to have an effect. It can be all too easy to reach for a pill for quick relief. However, pain is almost entirely manufactured in the mind. If pain is intense and long lasting, you can naturally relieve it by becoming truly present and paying attention to sensations as they arise.