NOVEMBER 28, 2011

Smile, Not Only For Your Soul, But Others Too

Posted by Dorothy under Community Interests, Interesting Reads, Natural Highs, Wellnessno responses

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ~Mother Teresa

It takes a lot of work from the face to let out a smile, but just think what good smiling can bring to the most important muscle of the body… the heart. ~Author Unknown

Some of you may think, what is the big deal if you smile or not. Ask yourself a simple question: when someone smiles at you, how does that affect your emotions?; and when someone sulks or does not smile, will you find that person pleasant? Most of the time when someone smiles at you, you smile back and it makes you feel good. For example if there are two restaurants in your area serving the same food at the same price but one have more smiling faces than the other, naturally you will choose the smiling faces. I bet most of you smiled when you saw the huge smiley picture of this blog post!!

When you smile, it triggers happy feelings and creates happy vibes which makes you and the people around you happy. Just like a machine, when one section does not work well, it will eventually affect the entire machine in the long term.

To prove the beauty of smiling and for experimental purposes, try smiling today and then sulk the next day. Notice how it affects your moods and the people around you. If that does not convince you to smile, do you know that it takes seventeen muscles to smile and forty-three to frown? So when you frown, there will be more opportunity for wrinkles to be formed. Therefore, a smile is literally an inexpensive way to change your looks.

Whether you are having a good day or not, smiling will always make it better. Treat it like yoga. The more you practice, the easier it becomes and the better you will feel. So let us all have the simplest kind of practice ever: Smile when you wake up and before you go to bed. As for me, I smile everyday watching my pets play with each other or by themselves and the funny yoga-like positions they sleep in.

Please check out the Taoist Inner Smile Meditation which teaches you to smile at your internal organs as a form of detoxification for your body, mind and soul.
There is even the existence of World Smile Day which is celebrated on the first Friday of October every year.

So keep smiling, my fellow readers.

** Our Next 2N3D Langkawi Yoga & Nature Retreat
**Our Next 4N5D Langkawi Yoga & Nature Retreat

Write comment

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Breathe To Live

Posted by Dorothy under Community Interests, Interesting Reads, Wellnessno responses

Breathing is considered a ‘life giver’ to all living beings. People always say that we ‘ eat to live’ but yogis believe that we ‘breathe to live’. So for most of you out there who are not conscious of how the respiratory system works, let me remind you again about the workings of this vital system in simple terms. Visit Firstpost.com/.

In general terms, when we inhale air into the body, oxygen from the air passes into the blood and when we exhale, carbon dioxide is being expelled from the body. Oxygen is required for energy production, therefore as a result of chemical reactions due to the production of energy, carbon dioxide is released and must be eliminated. Otherwise, it will cause the cells of our body to be poisoned.

The respiratory system consists of the:

(a) nose
(b) pharynx ( throat )
(c) larynx ( voice box )
(d) trachea ( wind pipe )
(e) Bronchi ( main airways in the chest )
(f) lungs

PROCESS OF RESPIRATION

Nose - filters, warms and moistens inhaled air

Pharynx( Throat ), Larynx ( Voice Box ), Trachea ( Windpipe )
- passageway for air to and from the lungs

Bronchial Tubes, Bronchioles, Alveoli
- from the trachea, air goes into the right and left bonchial tubes
- The bronchial tubes ( plural sense, its called bronchi: singularly its called bronchus )
lead directly into the lungs where they divide into many smaller tubes ( bronchioles )
which connect to tiny sacs called alveoli ( air sacs )
- alveoli is where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between air in the lungs
and blood occurs ( diffusion / exchange of gases ). In the lungs, oxygen binds the
haemoglobin whereas carbon dioxide is released from haemoglobin into the alveoli.
Oxygen is then transported by the haemoglobin to the tissues where it is released.
Carbon dioxide from the tissue cells is bound by alveoli and is transported to the lungs to be
released out of the body by exhalation. Check out the latest protetox real reviews.

So voila, now you know what happens in your respiratory system when you breathe. If you prefer, you can perform an active meditation by focusing on the ‘process of respiration’ as above. Please make sure you are breathing fully into your lungs as oppose to having a short breath. Remember, the anceint yogis have a saying which goes like this:

…..the number of breath you take determines the length of your life……..

**Our next 2N 3D Langkawi Yoga & Nature Retreat
**Our next 4N 5D Langkawi Yoga & Nature Retreat

Write comment

SEPTEMBER 23, 2011

Basil + Garlic + Chilli Olive Oil Infusion

Posted by Dorothy under Community Interests, Natural Highs, Wellnessno responses

Pesto is one of my favorite sauce for pasta dishes. So, tired of going around supermarkets looking for basil and sometimes not finding it, I decided to plant some so that I can have it anytime and whenever I have sudden cravings for pesto. After an overgrowth of my basil plant, I decided that to make use of my basil leaves, I have to find something else to do with it other than pesto all the time.Then came my basil + garlic + chili infused olive oil project. It’s so convenient as it can be used in salads, as a dip, in pastas and lots more. For those of you whose mouth are watering now, here’s the recipe you can use. It’s easy and I think even if you are crappy in the kitchen, you will be able to survive this oil infusion ordeal.

You need:

500 ml             olive oil

1 cup / 8 oz      fresh basil leaves

5 – 8 cloves     garlic

3 – 5                red dry chillies

To make a deliciously aromatic infusion:

1) Wash the basil and leave it to dry because water content disrupts the infusion process by causing fungus to form during infusion process

2) Blend garlic and dry chillies

3) Pour 200ml olive oil in a pan, add the blended ingredients and ½ cup of fresh basil leaves, then simmer for about 2 – 3 minutes on low fire ( do not allow it to boil )

4) Remove pan from stove and let it cool

5) Pour ingredients from the pan into an airtight glass container

6) Finally add the remainder ingredients in the container

7) Store in the fridge for about 2 weeks. You can opt to infuse it longer than 2 weeks. The longer you infuse, the richer the taste

**Our Next 2 N 3D Langkawi Yoga & Nature Retreat

**Our Next 4N 5D Langkawi Yoga & Nature Retreat

Write comment