mind body planet

Today I bet that almost everyone reading this had some form of caffeine. Weather it was through consumption of chocolate, coffee, or an energy drink 90% of people in America consumer it every single day. I for one will not deny it because it is the most widely used drug in the world that had absolutely no regulation as to its use in our daily lives. Though the dosages of this chemical compound would have to be quite high to hurt you or even kill you, there are plenty of things to think about when it comes to consumption of the compound. For me the form of it comes daily through my coffee which I make sure is always organic and fair trade, but that does not negate ay problem that may be incurred by its consumption on a daily basis.

Wikipedia:

“Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the beans, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants. It is most commonly consumed by humans in infusions extracted from the beans of the coffee plant and the leaves of the tea bush, as well as from various foods and drinks containing products derived from the kola nut. Other sources include yerba mate, guarana berries, and the Yaupon Holly.

In humans, caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, having the effect of temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. Beverages containing caffeine, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks and energy drinks enjoy great popularity. Caffeine is the world’s most widely consumed psychoactive substance, but unlike most others, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions. In North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily.”

Most people consume caffeine every day without considering what the effects of it may be. Every study I have found points in on direction on its health risks or benefits and then there is always another study that shows exactly the opposite as fact. Caffeinism is something of a problem for people who consume too much of this helpful energy aid. This condition is similar to any kind of chemical addiction which can result in a strong dependency and various nervous issues from its withdrawal from the body. One big condition that can result from over consumption is sleep disorder which is simply like insomnia but is aided by the dependency on the substance which actually causes the condition. 

There is also the issues of the effects of caffeine on memory. For college students who drink a lot of caffeine you may want to reconsider since much research has shown that lots of jolt can lead to loss of some ability to do broad thinking and that it really only enhances momentary task thought function. In other words, you drink too much you completely destroy the part of you brain that you’re trying to enhance while in school. 

I just signed myself up for something that is so cool that I just have to talk about it with you all out there.  If you know anything about Yoga then yo of course know that there is not just one brand of yoga. Anywhere you go in the world you will be practicing a different form of yoga. The same can be said within a town. In this town along i think have about eight or nine different variations of Yoga being practiced at various places. Each one of these different variations emphasizes different things and places more of the teachings on certain scriptural passages rather than others. Then there are also the classes that are called Yoga classes but don’t incorporate any kind of meditation or attempt at overcoming the exercise routine stereotype we have here in America. I have been a practitioner of a few different styles that I have taken to blend in to my own distinctive style. I have read the Baghavad Gita several times and have taken many lessons from the text. The styles that I have taken from are Iyengar, Jivamukti, Ansuara, and ashtanga. 

The cool thing that I signed up for is a workshop in Jivamukti yoga up in New York. The workshop is held at the studio where this particular style was actually developed. The creators won’t be taking part in this particular workshop, as far as I know, but it will be taught by one of their top teachers in the world. The point of this particular workshop is to look at the energy channels in the body. In Yoga these channels are known as Nadis. This term comes from the original sanskrit terminology that all Yoga practitioners share. We all speak the same language as written down by the great Sage Patanjali thousands of years ago. This workshop is looking at these channels of energy that run throughout our whole bodies and finds the positions that Jivamukti practitioners have found to be the ones most effective in connecting them. When these channels are connected then energy is allowed to flow through the body freely and thus increase the coherence of the body. Even for the practiced yoga student this may sound a bit crazy, but for me it is just the facts. 

*I have been teaching for quite a while and these kinds of workshops have been essential in taking me from student to teacher and then from teacher to yogi. At this point they are just one in the same with my practices as a knowledge builder.  When it is over I will have a whole new store of lessons and ideas to take to the mat and in to my classes.

I encourage all of you to go out and try one of these workshops because they are well worth the minimal cash involved.

The other day I was i our local coffee shop and I was browsing the books shelves. I typically only buy the old relics on the older shelves, but this time I thought I would hop on over to the newer book section and see if there was anything worth looking at. I saw of course all of the political books and takes on the lives of the candidates that make me want to vomit from political overexposure. I also found plenty of great looking graphic novels that I would never put down until I had sucked out all of the life from those pages. Then I came upon a book that peaked my interest and made me think of all of you readers out there. The huge text books weighed a ton and cost relatively little and I’d like to talk about it right now.

The book is titled Alternative Medicine: the definitive guide by Anderson and Trivieri. This book is basically the ultimate guide to anyone who wants to know all of the methods in which they could seek help for any particular medical condition.  It is set up i a really great style where it is listed first by the different types of conditions that you could hope to heal or remedy with an alternative or complimentary treatment. Conditions as simple as a skin rash all the way to things like cancer which may people choose to treat i ways other than chemotherapy since it is so hard on the body.  After the listings of the conditions it goes on to list in depth each of the different kinds of treatment methodologies that the books has to offer. It is ot meat to be ay kind of a medical text, but for those who really want to know anything about an alternative healing mode. For me I personally found all of the sections on Yoga, Herbal healing, and Chiropractics to be very close to how I myself would explain these methods within the context of a discussion of healing. The way it is presented is a bit dry at times, but they make sure to include plenty of cool diagrams ad pictures to really paint a picture of all the different styles of learning that may be ended to entice people to read and remain interested in such a large book.

IF you are out there wondering what certain modes are about and if there are other ways out there to aid in healing with some condition that you have, pick this one up because it will really help you find what you are looking for.