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Question: How do you find bliss?

*Hint: You have a MUCH greater chance of winning if you upload a photo of yourself and fill out your profile!

Sivana means “oasis of enlightenment.” Sivana finds bliss by comfort in your journey discovering the ancient practice of yoga and your movement towards sustainable living. Tailoring to the yogic lifestyle, they offer a variety of Indian imports, jewellery, clothing, incense and more.

My Yoga Online loves the OM Bliss necklace, just one of many jewellery pieces offered with the OM symbol. This 16 inch necklace is made using sterling silver beads and Fancy Jasper, the stone of gentleness and relaxation. This stone aids serenity and helps eliminate stress, worry and depression.  This necklace can help to free the mind of the wearer, helping them to think more clearly.  The sterling silver OM charm helps put us in touch with our true soul nature.

Sivana has an extensive selection of OM jewellery, malas and anything else you may need to add an extra element of bliss to your yoga practice. Their Home & Lifestyle section also offers some great statues to create a zen-like space in your home or yoga studio.

 

Win your own OM Bliss necklace!

Sivana is giving away one OM Bliss necklace, valued at , to one lucky My Yoga Online member.

How to Enter: Just add your answer to the following question to the comments section below: How do you find bliss?

P.S. Show us your fantastic face! To be considered to win, please upload your picture to your My Yoga Online profile before you add your comment.

With apologies to our international friends, this prize giveaway is only available within North America (USA and Canada). Contest runs until the end of Tuesday, May 15, 2012 11:59 PST.

Enter on Facebook, too! Join your My Yoga Online community on Facebook and enter to win there, too.

Share the love. Tell your friends about this great giveaway. Just click ‘SHARE’ at the top of this post.

The fine print: Click here to read the official contest rules. By submitting a comment on this blog or commenting on or ‘liking’ the Facebook post, you agree to the official contest rules.

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The name Eve (חַוָּה) bears resemblance to an Aramaic word for “snake” (O.Arb. חוה; J.Arm. חִוְיָא). [6] In Genesis, Eve is associated with the snake.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve

YOGA

Are you interested in beating cancer with nutrition?

Mainstream medical practices for cancer treatment have been shown to be both dangerous and ineffective, lending further merit to the phrase “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.

While medical professionals are being educated in the field of medicinal treatment revolving around pharmaceuticals, many foods are repeatedly being recognized as powerful cancer-fighters and overall health-enhancers. Read more

Natural Remedies

According to a new study, eating too much sugar can make you dumb.

Eating too much sugar can eat away at your brainpower, according to US scientists who published a study Tuesday showing how a steady diet of high-fructose corn syrup sapped lab rats’ memories.

Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) fed two groups of rats a solution containing high-fructose corn syrup—a common ingredient in processed foods—as drinking water for six weeks. Read more

Natural Remedies

How to reduce the side effects and keep your animal friend safe.

One of the biggest dilemmas in holistic natural care are vaccines. Over the years, a variety of different studies have confirmed that what we were taught and told by vaccine companies is not true. There have even been some spoofs created that touch on the topic of vaccine production.

Recently, I attended a very serious medical emergency of a person, who had diabetes, renal insufficiency and a brain tumor and when the nurse suggested that a flu vaccine should be considered. I had to pinch myself to make sure that I was awake and that I was hearing correctly.

In reality, this should  be  considered malpractice because the vaccine labels say clearly that ill animals and people should not be vaccinated.  Despite all this, many dogs and cats are still getting vaccinated even with serious medical problems or even cancer.

In veterinary medicine, the original recommendation that vaccines have to be given yearly has been adjusted even by some of the conventional organizations such as American Veterinary Medical Association.  In my practice,  I made the decision to recommend  minimal vaccines and created alternative immunity protocols that are safe and effective. In my mind it doesn’t  make sense to inject our beloved dogs with mercury and formaldehyde beyond what is necessary because there is no such thing as “a little bit of poison.”

When it  comes to rabies, only a few countries and islands are lucky to be rabies free. For the rest of the world, rabies does continue to be threat that is less or more real depending on where you live.

The rabies vaccine has been a big dilemma for me because while it needs to be given in some cases such as traveling,  I have seen it cause strange and unusual behavior and side effects in some animals. I remember a dog that was absolutely fine and well adjusted until I gave him a rabies vaccine for import to New Zealand, a rabies free country.  Within  a few days, this dog was terrified to come  out of the house, feared people, shiny objects and water reflections.  If you look up the signs of rabies,  these symptoms strongly resemble the disease itself. While there is “no conventional explanation” for this, homeopaths suggest that a substance such as vaccine can carry the energetic imprint of the original disease. While vaccines don’t cause the actual disease, they are known to cause symptoms that resemble it.

So what  can you do about rabies vaccine?  How can you reduce the side-effects and decrease the chances that formaldehyde, mercury will cause serious problems?

7 step approach  to safer rabies protection:

1.     Evaluate the risks in your region.  For example, in North America,  the incidence of rabies is much greater on the  East  side of Rocky Mountains .  If your local statistic show that rabies has been found in local wildlife, it may  be safer to vaccinate your dog or cat. All I can say is that no one can make the final decision for you and that indoor cats do not need to be vaccinated).

2.     Give only 1 rabies vaccine and measure antibodies from then on. Repeat the vaccine only if the antibodies are absent or very low.  Most veterinarians recommend the first year rabies vaccine around or before 6 mos of your puppy’s age and then repeating it in 1 year. However,  what I have seen is that the level of antibodies  after 1 vaccine creates sufficient protection.

3.     Rabies titer  blood test is a way of determining your dogs level of protection.  If you live in a “rabies prone” area, yearly testing is advised.  The test can be only done by a few government monitored labs around the world that also issue import and export certificates  for travel.   These titer level certificates are suitable for many countries,  however, others still require a rabies vaccine and titer together if you decide to travel.

4.     Reduce the volume of vaccine given.  In the past,  I was not sure if giving a lesser volume of Rabies vaccine  created good immunity but over the years,  I learned  that the same level of immunity can be induced by using only ¼ of the vaccine recommended volume. However,  if you decide to give smaller amount of vaccine than recommended, I would always follow it by titer testing to ensure that the immunity is sufficient.

5.     As a precaution to any possible rabies vaccine  side-effect that I mentioned above, I  recommend that every dog and cat receives rabies vaccine is also given Lyssin 200 C  a homeopathic remedy that is able to neutralize the vaccine side effects.  Note that not every homeopathic pharmacy produces remedies under the same quality standards and getting a remedy from a reputable source is important.

6.     If you live in an area  where  rabies is a real threat and your dog gets bitten,  I  suggest that  you request that the owner of the other animal provides you with the contact of a veterinary clinic where their pet was vaccinated. If that is not possible,  you may attempt to get a rabies titer done quickly by sending the sample to the official lab to ensure that the level of antibodies is sufficient.   I have not  seen  any official protocol of using intra-abdominal rabies antibody injections to dog in a similar way it is done in people exposed to an animal with rabies but I do not see  a reason why it would not be possible.  The idea of needing to euthanize an exposed dog free of rabies antibodies is a medieval approach to medicine and alternative approach must be ensured.

7.     It is possible that your veterinarian may not be open to giving a smaller volume of vaccine. In such case, suggest that you are willing to prepay for titer testing a month from the day of vaccination to see if your dog has sufficient antibodies.  In contrary to the popular belief,  I have seen some dogs that were vaccinated with the whole dose of rabies vaccines and their antibodies came back negative. There is always a chance that a dog will not respond to a vaccine no matter what dose you give.  That is why using the reduced volume of  vaccine and testing one month after is what I recommend.

With Gratitude,

Dr. Peter Dobias – holistic veterinary medicine

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Any items you might take — herbs, dietary supplements, other natural products, or functional foods such as energy drinks and nutritional bars — can interact with each other and with medications. Doctors Health Press devotes its pages to natural remedies, but this is a reminder that you still must be aware of the risks of interactions. Or, at the very least, your doctor should always know what you are taking.

Such interactions may have harmful or beneficial effects and can extend in ways you might not think of right away. For instance, supplements can also interact with diagnostic test results and laboratory analyses. A recent report listed the top side effects from herb-supplement-drug interactions. Each of the following may involve hundreds of herbs, and certain people may be more at risk based on individual medical history.

RECOMMENDED: Read This Before You Fill a Prescription

1. What’s in Your Blood Many supplements have implications for bleeding and coagulation. In lists of drugs to watch out for, anticoagulants like warfarin are always at the top. Where supplements truly exert an effect are in blood sugar levels. Chromium, cinnamon, glucomannan, vanadium, whey protein, fenugreek, and gymnema are often used to reduce blood sugar. In fact, they might boost the effects of hypoglycemic drugs in diabetic patients. Coca and cocoa, though, have been shown to increase blood sugar. Other popular supplements that have been shown to both raise and lower blood sugar are licorice and ginseng.

2. Cytochrome P450

You probably haven’t heard of this, but a host of herbs induce or inhibit the cytochrome P450 system (a group of enzymes). When they do this, they affect liver enzymes and, therefore, affect the way your body can clear away other drugs or supplements. You could have high levels of one drug and, if it’s paired with a certain herb, it could cause interactions or adverse effects. That’s due to the cytochrome P450 system.

3. Hormonal Effects

Herbs and supplements may have androgenic effects, antiandrogenic effects, estrogenic effects, antiestrogenic effects, and many other hormonal effects. Specific, well-known examples include dong quai, black cohosh, chasteberry, DHEA, kudzu, peony, red clover, soy, and saw palmetto. Thus, any of these could influence a hormonal drug’s effects. Yet some could replace those drugs, like saw palmetto, which is believed to be as powerful as the leading drug for an enlarged prostate.

4. Blood Pressure

There are many therapies that, while they may help treat blood pressure, could cause hypertension (high) or hypotension (low blood pressure). We have all heard about the hypertensive risk with ephedra, but in fact bloodroot, green tea, hawthorn, mistletoe, maca, and mate may also raise the risk of hypertension. Many other products can lower blood pressure.

Effects on blood pressure are quite complicated, which alone is a reason why any interactions should be monitored. If you take green tea and cola nut or coltsfoot — which can raise blood pressure — and other items with a known hypertensive effect will increase this risk. Yet, this could be a good thing if someone has hypotension or if blood pressure needs to be increased or stabilized for whatever reason. If a person takes ephedra, ginseng, grapeseed, and scotch broom, then you are taking four different herbs that could increase blood pressure. So, naturally, the risk goes up.

All this is just the tip of the iceberg, according to the report. We present it here as a reminder that you have to stay safe with your health.

Daily Free Health Articles and Natural Health Advice.

Stroll down the produce aisle and breathe in the scents of food cures. They are all around you and are the vast number of reasons why the best health advice is to eat more fresh vegetables and fruits. A new study offers a fresh look at a couple of berries that could keep the mind sharp into retirement age.

Blueberries and strawberries are high in flavonoids, natural chemicals that exert powerful effects in our bodies. Researchers found that the berries reduce cognitive decline in older adults. The results suggest that cognitive aging could be delayed by up to 2.5 years in elderly people who consume greater amounts of the flavonoid-rich berries. 

RECOMMENDED: How blueberries lower cholesterol. 

Keep your brain sharp longer! Flavonoids have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Experts believe that stress and inflammation contribute to cognitive impairment and that increasing consumption of flavonoids could mitigate such effects. Past studies that looked at flavonoids (particularly anthocyanidins) have shown that eating more foods rich in them could improve cognitive function. 

The percentage of adults over 65 increased by 15% between 2000 and 2010. That is a faster rise than the U.S. population itself (9.7%). As our collective age rises, cognitive decline becomes a bigger and bigger subject. To see if berries could hold a health secret, researchers turned to the huge “Nurses’ Health Study” for statistics. 

In more than 120,000 women, increased consumption of blueberries and strawberries appeared to slow cognitive decline in older women. The more anthocyanidins and total flavonoids, the greater the protection. Women who had higher berry intake delayed cognitive aging by up to 2.5 years. 

The authors caution that, while they did control for other health factors in the modeling, they cannot rule out the possibility that the preserved cognition in those who eat more berries may be also influenced by other lifestyle choices, such as exercising more. Those who eat healthier, of course, tend to live healthier. 

What this provides, though, is the first epidemiologic evidence (looking at a large population) that berries may slow progression of cognitive decline in older adults. It is very significant, as increasing berry intake is a pretty simple step to take — and a delicious one at that. 

The family of berries is one of the most nutrient-rich foods on the planet. If you want to talk about getting bang for your buck, these pint-sized fruits are splendidly nutritious. But they go well beyond getting you your essential vitamins and minerals; they are well-proven to help prevent a host of disease. 

That would seem to include the onset of dementia as well.

Daily Free Health Articles and Natural Health Advice.

The dead end alley of conventional medicine

Today,  I would like to share with you a few thoughts on a topic that is serious and not many of my colleagues dare to talk about. It is also very close to my heart because, whether I like it or not, I am a doctor too.

For many years, one of my main goals in practice has been to reduce the use of pharmaceutical drugs and replace them with healing techniques that natural and less toxic. I embarked on this path more than 15 years ago and  I can see more clearly what exactly is happening in veterinary and human medicine.  What I write here as just an opinion. My intention is to provoke a discussion about how we handle the gift of health and what we can do better.

There is nothing in nature that doesn’t have a purpose or that is not a closed cycle. We come from the land and we go back in the land and so do animals, plants, trees and all that is living.  We have a general sense of understanding that “natural” is good and artificial or synthetic is not optimal. However, the human civilization has never been further away from nature as it is today.  The majority of our population lives in cities surrounded with  artificial structures and materials that are toxic us and the environment.

In veterinary or human medicine, we have reached a point where we are starting to question how  anyone can become healthier by taking prescription drugs – complex artificial substances that interact with each other on a level that nobody, even doctors, understand.

 Yes, some drugs are necessary for an immediate survival in an immediate emergency or when, the body loses the ability to produce some hormones and life essential substances such as insulin.  However, I  would like to pay attention to the other side of the spectrum where many patients are gradually poisoned due to side effects of drugs that often could be replaced by less harmful, yet effective natural alternatives.  

It is not unusual to see a senior person or a dog  taking anywhere between 5 to 10 different prescription drugs. Dogs are commonly put on drugs for arthritis and mobility that cause liver disease or kidney failure and I am convinced that most dogs could live a better and live longer without these drugs and  using holistic and natural approaches instead.

 I do not question that most doctors spend years at school because they want  to help and make a difference and it is not my intention today to blame MD’s and DVM’s. I am just asking honestly why is it that doctors are the 3rd cause of death.

You may now expect that I am going to blame drug companies that we know care primarily about their bottom line and shareholders. The truth is that  if our  society didn’t use  their drug based medicine, they would cease to exist.   The reality is that you and I can change the landscape of our medical system, you and I can put irresponsible drug companies out of business and you and I can make sure that our medical research focuses on  what is good for our health and not what is the most profitable treatment.

Until we change our mindset about medicine, start taking health and functional healthcare system as “the most important and valuable asset of our society” and make our governments listen, our overburdened and well meaning doctors will continue unintentionally cause harm and sometimes death. Western drug based approach to medicine is  the only way they have been taught and that is what they are expected to do. If they don’t, they can easily  loose  their license.

For more than 20 years now, I have rarely needed any care from my conventional family doctor.   I use my chiropractor, homeopath, physiotherapist, osteopath, naturopath and massage therapist, coach and yoga to keep myself  healthy.  I pay for all this myself while the Canadian public medical insurance system would happily pay for me being sick. “Unfortunately,” I am healthy and so I have to pay for disease prevention from my own pocket.

I do believe that many doctors know what is happening but they are not equipped with knowledge of natural treatments. They usually do not confess about this but  many of them are afraid not to do what the books say.

 This is a very hard topic for me to talk about because in the course of the last 7 years,  I lost  my brother and my brother in law to a brain tumor.  When their lives were coming to an end, I saw  their medicine cabinets exploding prescription drugs that made them suffer from countless side effects  which possibly caused  more suffering than the disease  itself.

 These effects are often impossible to distinguish for the disease  symptoms and so it happens that doctors prescribe one drug on top of another in a sincere effort to help and things get worse.

 So what is the solution? I encourage you to learn as much about disease prevention as possible. and perhaps attend one of our free educational online seminars – webinars.  If your dog ends up in a critical and emergency situation, ask what medication is the  doctor  planning to use, do  your own research about drug side effects, always ask, if the treatment, procedure or drug is truly needed and what the alternatives are.   I also suggest you to have the opportunity ans  make a connection with a holistically minded vet who is  not  afraid to think outside of the box.

 Currently, we are in the process of creating a network of holistic vets and  holistic animal health care practitioners.  If you are one or if you know one, please follow this link to give us your information, so we can let our community know. And don’t forget that voting the right politicians who will understand that investing into government funded unbiased research, disease prevention and holistic health care is the best they can do to improve our health, save our healthcare and our economy. THE FUTURE IS IN OUR HANDS.

With gratitude,

Dr. Peter Dobias – holistic veterinary medicine

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isa 7:14 KJV)

Immanuel (or Emmanuel or Imanu’el, Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל meaning “God is with us“)

YOGA