The ancient Japanese healing art of shiatsu offers a two-minute exercise for relieving pain and tension and boosting your energy. The secret of this form of shiatsu is to know where to massage for the particular kind of energy boost you need.

You can combine acupressure finger massage with facial exercises that keep you looking as good as you feel.

What is shiatsu? In everyday usage, the application of needles to specific points on the body to re-energize and fight disease is known as acupuncture. The application of gentle pressure, or finger massage, to the same points is known as acupressure. In Japanese, the term for finger massage literally is 指 shi 圧 atsu, the characters for “finger” and “massage,” pronounced as one word, shiatsu.

For the next 900 years, shiatsu was more or less identical to the Chinese massage method called tuina, but in the 1940’s, Tokujiro Namikoshi found a way to integrate the traditional massage system with anatomy and physiology as it is taught in the rest of the modern world. Shiatsu, like many of the Japanese healing arts, offers the best of traditional and modern healing.

Namikoshi introduced shiatsu to the United States through the Palmer College of Chiropractic in the 1950’s, but the method became famous, and widely accepted, after he treated American movie star Marilyn Monroe in 1956, after she fell gravely ill and failed to respond to conventional treatment.
The right massage for the right indications

In the theory energy medicine, most of the energy lines of the body pass by or over the eyes. This makes massaging the orbits of the eyes (although not the eyes themselves) a good way to restore balance throughout the entire body. Even the soles of the feet, the breasts, or the liver, for example, are thought to respond to massage above and below the left and right eyes, rebalancing energies at the left and right sides of the body.

Sinus infection or the flu.

Using your index and middle fingers to press the sides of your nose, gently pressing against the nose higher and higher until you are massaging the bridge of your nose at eye level will relieve sinusitis and flu symptoms.

Or suppose you have a tension headache. Ancient Chinese and Japanese medicine taught that tension headaches were the result of built-up energy along the liver meridians, the channels up and down the body through which “liver energy” flows. The liver processes emotions, the ancients thought, and anger upsets its ability to hold the emotional energies it processes. Anger causes these energies to rise up in meridians across the nipples, along the front of the neck, squeezing the larynx, and over the center of the eyes.

You don’t want to try to massage your eyeballs. However, you can use your thumb and index finger to give a gentle pinch to the skin over your eyebrow directly over the pupils of your eyes. If you massage this area for 1 to 2 minutes, any tension headache in the back and sides of your neck will hurt less.

Eyestrain - a nearly universal problem of knowledge workers

Eyestrain is a nearly universal problem of knowledge workers, especially as they get older and they need bifocal or multifocal corrective lenses to see a computer screen. If you have to squint over and over, eyestrain is inevitable. It’s possible to avoid eyestrain ever occurring in the first place by getting good vision correction, but most of us don’t get our eyeglasses changed often enough.

If you work in an office, however, it’s almost certain you will have at least one coworker who will complain of allergies–but no coworker will complain if you use finger massage to help your eyes feel better.

Never, ever apply direct pressure to the eyeballs. To treat eyestrain you will want to give gentle stimulation to the levator palpebrae superioris muscles, the muscles you use when you raise your eyebrows, with your eyes closed. Pull up on the muscles, but do not pull hard. The effect you are looking for is like raising your eyebrows without using those muscles, rather using the gentle pressure of your thumb and index finger.

Using shiatsu to treat facial wrinkles
There’s nothing wrong, of course, with using shiatsu to treat facial wrinkles. Here you can combine shiatsu with a Japanese version of the popular technique known as facercise (facial exercise, the American version perfected by Carole Maggio). To treat wrinkles with shiatsu and facial exercise, first perform the treatments for headache and eyestrain, plus, if you happen to have some kind of nasal congestion, the treatments for colds and flu. This will only take you four to six minutes.

Then complement your shiatsu facial massage by:

1. Tightening the sides of your mouth to pucker your lips into an “O” shape, then gently releasing and repeating, up to 20 times. Done consistently over days or weeks, this exercise slowly erases frown lines.

2. Raising your eyebrows up and down 20 times. This exercise will make your eyes look fuller and also erase crows’ feet.

3. Closing your mouth, tilting your head up toward the ceiling, and jutting out your jaw. This exercise will help prevent double chins.

The cosmetic benefits of these three exercises may be noticeable in as little as seven days, but the relaxing effect on your face–and on your mind–is immediate. You don’t have stress or strain for the exercises to work. In fact, if you find yourself getting too gung ho about exercising your facial muscles, try the shiatsu exercise for tension headaches! Using two-minute shiatsu eye exercises and your facial mini-workout will help you feel better, get over illness faster, and look great, all at zero expense and in just minutes per day.

About: Robert Rister is the author/co-author of fifteen books on complementary health, including The Complete German Commision E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines and Healing without Medication. His books have been translated into German, Hindi, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish.

Adopted from an article, courtesy: http://www.steadyhealth.com

These days, it’s hard to turn on the television for more than fifteen minutes without seeing at least one commercial talking about weight loss. However, when you get right down to it, more than weight loss is important, the key is making lifestyle changes - eating more nutritious foods and focusing on physical fitness.

When you recognize that fitness matters and that you’re going to want to do more exercise, there are a number of things that you can do:

1. Choose one day of the week to walk or bike to work – at least part of the way. If your fitness level is not quite where you want it to be, you may want to take the bus partway – at least initially – and to take advantage of the bicycle racks that are at the front of many buses in most areas. In addition to improving your fitness level, biking or walking to work will help you to save at the gas pump.

2. Get active with the kids. Recent studies have shown that kids aren’t getting outside or being active enough; by spending time with the kids and focusing on fitness, you’ll find that you’re able to stay on top of what the kids are doing and to help guide them down a path to fitness.

• Schedule your workouts early in the day. Especially in the summer months, setting the alarm an hour earlier to fit in your run or ride before the heat and humidity settle in can help you to keep fitness in your routine and can ensure that you’re able to stay cooler and breathe easier in the process.

• Take more steps. While pedometers aren’t all the rage the way that they were a few years ago, taking more steps in your day can help to improve your overall fitness level. By parking further away at the grocery store or mall, by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, you’ll find that you’re able to do more to reach your fitness goals.

• Add variety. Rather than just running on the treadmill at the gym, take the time to participate in yoga and pilates classes, pedal your way through a spinning class or take your aerobics workout into the pool where increased resistance from the water can help to improve your fitness.

Fitness and weight loss aren’t just about exercise; on many levels, fitness and weight loss are about the little things and the choices that you make. Sometimes, simply by making small changes, you will find that you are able to make a considerable difference in your lifestyle.

Those who add variety to their workouts and fitness routines will find that they are able to prevent boredom and to stick with reaching their goals. Those who make small changes will find that they are able to stick with them longer and to make continual progress toward reaching their fitness goals and can help to alleviate stress, anxiety and improve your overall well being in the process; more importantly, those who embrace small changes for fitness will find that they are far more likely to stick with the program.

Courtesy: http://www.mydailymoment.com

There’s something fishy going on over here… and that’s a good thing. Ask any health expert and they’ll tell you to add fish to your diet. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish (fatty fish to be specific) twice a week.

In addition to being low in saturated fat and high in protein, fatty fishes such as albacore tuna, mackerel, salmon, trout and herring are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. These omega-3 fatty acids decrease the risk of arrhythmias, decrease triglyceride levels, decrease growth rate of atherosclerotic plaque and lower blood pressure. Fish is also rich in vitamins, nutrients and minerals, such as riboflavin (vitamin B2), calcium, phosphorus and iron, zinc, potassium, iodine, and magnesium. Of course, the Journal of American Medical Association can’t say enough about the benefits of fish.

According to their findings, the consumption of fish lowers the risk of death from heart disease. It also decreases the risk of stroke, depression and mental decline with age. In pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and women who plan on getting pregnant, fish provide DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid that helps the brain development of infants.

Although some fish do contain mercury, research proves that the benefits of fish consumption far outweigh the risks. Take, for example, a study conducted by the American Dietetic Association which determined that fish aids in short-term memory. Research from the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging found that people who eat one serving of fish per week were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than people who didn’t have a diet that included fish.

Courtesy: http://www.mydailymoment.com

While there are many forms of traditional medical treatment options available for Breast Cancer, there are also alternative treatments to consider as well. They are not meant to replace traditional cancer treatment protocols, but to be used as an addition.

In the United States, breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women. Currently, science has not discovered the cause for a majority of breast cancers, though many of the risk factors have been identified.

There are many theories surrounding what causes cancer such as: inherited tendencies, genetic mutations, as well as certain environmental factors. The subject of breast cancer is an area of ongoing research and every single woman is at risk.

While there are many forms of traditional medical treatment options available for breast cancer, there are also alternative treatments to consider as well. These alternative treatments are not meant to replace or substitute traditional cancer treatment protocols, but to be used as an addition.

The most common conventional treatment approaches to breast cancer include; surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, hormonal and biological therapies. However, there are a growing number of alternative treatment clinics in the United States and around the world that are having good results in the treatment of breast cancer.

Acupressure and Breast Cancer

Acupressure is another method practiced in traditional Chinese medicine, it involves using pressure applied to specific parts of the body where Qi can be trapped or blocked. Practicing acupressure can actually aid in the prevention of breast cancer and lessen the likelihood of recurrence.

When beginning to practice acupressure, it is not imperative to be right on target, massaging the general area can be just as useful as focusing on the precise spot. For a person suffering from breast cancer, it is recommended to massage the cancer spots for at least 5-minutes each per day. For general breast cancer prevention, practicing acupressure 3-5 times per week has shown to be moderately effective.

Acupressure is also highly effective at reducing the side- effects associated with radiation and chemotherapy, by assisting the body in eliminating the toxins produced by these treatments. To achieve the greatest benefits possible, experts recommend practicing acupressure as often as possible.

Mind-Body Medicine and Breast Cancer

The field of mind-body medicine, while still a relatively new practice, is called Psychoneuroimmuno;ogy or PNI. When broken down, the word “Psycho,” refers to thoughts, emotions and moods, while “Neuro,” refers to the neurological and neuroendocrine systems and “Immunology,” refers to cellular structures and the body’s immune system.

The concept of mind-body medicine focuses on the interactions that take place between the brain, body, mind and behavior. Also on the powerful ways in which emotions, mentality, social, spiritual and behavior can correlate directly upon the impact of ones health. It enhances a person’s ability for self-knowledge and self-care and teaches techniques cantered around this approach.

The premise of mind-body medicine is not to be used as a treatment alternative for breast cancer, but as an enhancement to traditional medical treatment protocols. Such things included in a mind-body approach to breast cancer treatment might include use of the following methods:

• Stress management techniques: a diagnoses of cancer can cause a wide array of emotional, physical, behavioral and emotional responses in the human body. With the assistance of mind-body specialists, patients will be taught effective ways of handling the wide array of symptoms a person experiences when going through breast cancer treatment.

• Guided Imagery: negative images in the mind can cause a person to feel muscle tension, increased breathing and tachycardia (increased heart rate). With positive imaging a person can control breathing, nausea, raise blood count levels and help alleviate the symptoms of constipation and effectively manage pain.

• Laughter Therapy: laughing is a wonderful way to reduce stress and stimulate the immune system of the human body. Through this inner stimulation the body is able to aid itself in the healing process and generate more energy.

• Pain Management Methods: when a human being feels pain, the body responds by producing arousal in emotions and thoughts. Pain causes anxiety and can lead to depression, which may intensify the pain. Through mind-body medicine a patient can be taught techniques to help reduce and effectively manage pain, anxiety and depression, which will in turn assist the body in natural healing.

Courtesy: http://www.steadyhealth.com

Paining knee joints restricts the movement. Each step could cause mild to sharp shooting pain. In such cases, the patient may perform simple massages on the knee joint to gain the following benefits:
# Relieves muscle pain and stiffness
# Improves flexibility
# Strengthens knee muscles
# Relaxes and soothes
# Releases trigger points
# Activates acu-points
# Improves blood circulation
# Increases energy and chi
# Offers wonderful feeling
# No pain-all gain

The video would greatly guide in applying massage at the correct region of the knee joint. Please pay attention as per the following guide-lines
1. Glide on knee: While sitting in a chair, hold your knee and massage it slowly with your both hands for around 2-minutes.
2. Hold front of your knee, squeeze a little then release the pressure. Continue it for 60-seconds.
3. Massage the muscles around the knee bone, on the upper side and lower side of the knee.
4. Hold your knee with both hands and apply medium pressure on the complete knee joint.
5. Massage the muscles at the back of your knee.
6. Pat the knee joint region with open hands for 90-seconds.
7. Close your eyes and breathe deeply.

Courtesy: http://SelfMassageForAthletes.com.

Our body is tensed for most of the times. The reasons could be many, namely, Work pressure, cost inflation, children’s education and repayment of different loans & mortgages may be some of the reasons which keep on mounting our tensions. It results into sleepless nights.

The medicines are no solution except it badly affects the health.
There are simpler ways of gaining sounder sleep at night if you are aware of some of the pressure points in our body. It won’t need you to devote more than 3-minutes and the result would be an award of sound sleep.
You may learn it comfortably through the above video.

Courtesy: http://www.youtube.com

Courtesy: http://www.youtube.com

Long black hairs add to the beauty of the lady whether she is fair complexioned or dark one. But it is very difficult to gain the correct procedure. The following procedure is a tried and trusted. You may give it a try:
Add an egg into 100gms curd. Mix it properly and apply on the hair. Massage it on the scalp and leave it for 30 minutes. Wash the hair with water (preferably lukewarm). Dip a towel in warm water and rinse it. Wrap it around the hair for 5-minutes. Remove the towel and again dip in warm water to rinse and wrap around the hair for 5-minutes. You may repeat it one more time. Then apply conditioner. Please take care that the conditioner is harmful for the scalp, therefore it should not touch your scalp. It may be applied only on the hair. The hair may be washed once or twice in a week Important: Egg does not leave any smell into hair.
Henna is very useful for the hair. It may be applied on hair, once in 15-days.

Squeeze a lemon in the bucket of water which you use for washing your hair. It will add luster to your hair.

Adopted - courtesy: http://www.youtube.com