Headaches are Terrible!Headaches are terrible. They affect your mood, and basically ruin the entire day. What's worse about headaches (migraines included) is that they also affect the people around you. Hence, how can you remove a headache effectively without using the typical painkiller? This article will show you how. Acupressure can Treat HeadachesAcupressure is an alternative medicine technique similar in principle to acupuncture. It is based on the concept of life energy which flows through "meridians" in the body. In treatment, physical pressure is applied to acupuncture points with the aim of clearing blockages in these meridians. By applying the right pressure to these points, you will be able to help remove your headache quickly and effctively. There are basically 6 key areas (or acupressure points) which you can use to recover from your headaches. Yintang PointIn the Chinese medicine practices of acupuncture and acupressure, the Yin Tang is the point that is located between the inner edges of the eyebrows, at what is also known as the "third eye" area of the forehead. It can be activated via acupuncture, acupressure, or simply by gently resting one's attention in this area. This point is also responsible for eye fatigue removal. Zan Zhu PointsThe Zan Zhu points are symmetrical points. They are located on the medial end of the eyebrows and are the local points for both headaches and sinus. You need to massage these points for a minute. Yingxiang PointsYingxiang is an acupuncture point in the meridian named Yangming Large Intestine Meridian of Hand. Yingxiang is the main point for nose disease. These points are located on both sides of the nostrils in line with the eyes. To find them, feel a dimple in the bottom of the cheekbones. It helps to open sinuses, reduce headache and toothache, and relieve stress. Tian Zhu PointsTian Zhu points are present at the back of our heads. They are positioned between the ear and the spine. You need to massage these points if you want to get relief from a headache. Shuai Gu PointsYou will find the Shuai Gu points in between the hairline and the area of the temple. Massaging this area cures the pain in that region. It also helps in relaxation of eyes. Pressure applied to this area relieves pain in the temporal region and eye fatigue. He Gu PointsThese symmetrical points are located on the back of the hand between the thumb and forefinger. Pressure applied to this area also relieves back pain, toothache, and tension in the neck muscles. If you massage these points, you will not only get cured of a headache but also enjoy the removal of stress from your nerves. You can perform acupressure several times a day, or as often as needed for your symptoms to go away. Using the Right Amount of PressureWhen you do acupressure, you should try to use the right amount of pressure. Press the points with a deep, firm pressure when you stimulate the points. When you press the points, you may feel some soreness or pain, but it shouldn't be unbearable. It should feel somewhere between pain and pleasure. Since acupressure requires the pressing of pressure points, you need to make sure you use the right things to help you press the points. Most commonly, practitioners of acupressure use their fingers to massage and stimulate the pressure points. The middle finger works best to apply pressure to the pressure points. This is because it is the longest and strongest finger. You may also use the thumb. Some smaller, hard-to-reach pressure points can be pressed using a fingernail
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Are you happy? Are you happy? While many people believe that accumulating wealth leads to happiness, on the contrary, money can't buy happineess. In fact, external factors in general have a limited impact on happiness. Wealth and social status do have some effect on your happiness, but they only account for about 10 to 20% of it. Happiness would likely be out of reach if it was purely an external phenomenon. This is because our desires are limitless - the amount of control one have over the world, on the other hand, is very limited. Love, is a good example. There is no way to ensure that your lover will always love you back. So, if your happiness depends on that, you are likely setting yourself for both heartbreak and disappointment. A person might get excited about buying a new car, for example, only to have that joy squashed when a newer model arrives. That is what happens when you seek happiness from external sources, instead of focusing on your inner being. Hence it is useless to cling onto temporary things like cars. Accepting that is the first step towards finding inner peace and tranquility. True happiness comes from reaching such a high state of inner well-being that you are no longer affect by failure. Happiness is not the same thing as pleasure Pleasure might seem like the fastest and easiest road to happiness, but sooner or later, you will come to a dead end. Pleasure is momentary by nature; it occurs under certain circumstances at a certain time. A pleasurable experience can quickly become neutral or unpleasant because pleasure is so unstable and fleeting. Your favourite food might be delicious and gives you pleasure for a while, but too much of it will make you sick. Long-lasting happiness, on the other hand, should not be confused with pleasure; such things are short-term and will not have much influence on your well-being. A study found that even winning a lottery does not change a person's happiness that much. It causes a temporary spike in happiness but does nothing to prevent that happiness from falling back to normal levels. Happiness is about freeing yourself from worries about life While suffering is universal and unavoidable, our pain does not actually stem from the suffering that we experience. Instead, it comes from the unhappiness that we create. If a person loses her job, for example, she will be unhappy. That unhappiness does not actually result from the loss of the job itself but from the person's fears and worries about the loss of wealth, status and career prospects. Giving up this unnecessary worrying is the key towards true and long-lasting happiness. Freeing yourself from your own ego
The concepts of identity and status are closely connected to unhappiness. This is why it is important to detach yourself from your ego. A person who clings to a specific self-imge will do anything to make sure that that image is recognised and accepted. The ego is simply too fragile to be a reliable foundation. When you think highly of yourself, you are putting yourself at risk of being emotionally shut down when things go wrong. This is why it is important to detach yourself from your ego. By doing this, you become less vulnerable, and develop an inner strength that leads you towards true happiness. Humility is also another important part to ego-free happiness. If you are humble, you do not need validations from other people, and this gives you a sense of freedom that can prevent much distress and disappointment. Hence, humility can be seen as the source of inner freedom. Also, when you become humble, you focus more on other people's concerns (instead of your own). Achieving long-lasting happiness is hard work. It requires overcoming your ego, reconciling yourself to negative emotions, and reorienting your world view. While it takes time, you will achieve a long-lasting happiness that is more fulfilling than any temporary pleasure from wealth or fame. (Adapted from "Happiness" by Matthiu Ricard) YOUR GUT WALL PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE BETWEEN YOUR INTESTINES AND THE REST OF YOUR BODYThere are three important players in ensuring longevity. The first two would be Gut Bacteria and Mitochondria. Now it's time to meet the third: your gut wall. The gut wall is the protective barrier between your gut and the rest of your body. It consists of a single layer of mucus-producing cells that line your intestines. Tightly packed together, the gut wall is interspersed with immune cells - specialised white blood cells that act as sort of a gatekeeper in the wall. This gatekeeping role is important because many things lurk in your intestines. While some are good for the body, others are bad. The gut wall and immune cells decide which ones to let through and which ones to keep out. This means that the rest of the body gets the nutrients and keeping all the nasty things out. LSPs, or lipopolysaccharides are the main villains of this longevity story. They are waste products or discarded fragments of your bacteria's cell walls, which gets shed when your bacteria die or divide to reproduce themselves. Trillions of LSPs get produced every day - hence they can be very harmful if they breach your gut wall to reach your blood, organ, tissues, or lymphatic system. When the immune cells in the rest of your body encounter LSPs, they perceive them as foreign invaders and their react accordingly. They attack them, and this leads to inflammation. If this happens over and over again, it's chronic inflammation, whihc is one of the ultimate causes of many of the most common ailments associated with ageing, such as diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, cancer and Alzheimer's. Hence keeping your gut wall strong and able to ward off invaders is a key part of ageing well. HOW TO STRENGTHEN YOUR GUT Fortrunately, there are some simple ways to strengthen your gut wall. One of the simplest ways is to eat plenty of food that provides your body with a source of organic compounds known as polyamines. Sources of these include leafy greens, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, lentils, shellfish, chicken liver and aged cheese. When they are given these foods, your gut bacteria use them to product and transport polyamines, which then help to protect your gut wall. These compounds also help combat inflammation, and they provoke a beneficial process known as autophagy, which is the result of another phenomenon called hormesis, which is a beneficial way in which your body responds to stress. TO LIVE A LONG AND HEALTHY LIFE, MAKE YOUR BACTERIA HUNGRY One of the most effective strategies for enjoying the benefit of hormesis and autophagy is also one of the least enjoyable strategies to implement: partial, intermitten fasting. It is recommended that you limited yourself to consuming few than 900 calories per day for five consecutive days per month.
When the bacteria sense a lack of food, they send a message to your body cells. This provokes your cells to engage in autophagy, leaving them stronger than before. But it is not just your cell that are listening to the alert messages sent by your gut bacteria; it's also the mitochondria within your cells. Now, you would have known the important of mitochondria through Wellaholic's Resveratrol supplement - which extends mitochondria. Mitochondria produce energy within your cells. Mor emitochondria means more energy for the cells. This turbocharges your body engines. The better or worse your mitochondria function, the better or worse you age. So if longevity and youth is your aim, you want your mitochondria firing on as many cylinders as possible! To assist your with this, consider Wellaholic's Probiotics Complex which augments and strengths healthy bacteria colonies for gastrointestinal support. Also consider our Resveratrol High-Absorption which is a super antioxidant for cellular regeneration and supports mitochondria energy levels. When it comes to packing on size and strength, the unfortunate reality is that there is no one-size-fits-all training regimen or meal plan that is going to be ideal for everybody. However, the good news is that experts and fitness junkies alike have been experimenting for decades with all different kinds of diets and training programs and it turns out, there are a lot of different methods that can be effective. While there are indeed various approaches to building size and strength, there are some underlying fundamentals that youll need to have in place in order to be successful, no matter which angle you chose to take. Advice from top practitionersIn order to get you pointed in the right direction on your muscle building journey, where ever it may lead you, weve sought out advice from some of the top practitioners in the field of strength and conditioning. Heres what they had to say. Quite often I am asked what is the best piece of fitness advice you could give me? Does it have to do with sets, reps, exercise selection, morning or afternoon training, fasting, macro counting, and on and on and on. When after all the years of experience and learning, I have come to one conclusion: consistency. By definition, consistency means: acting or doing something in the same way over time, especially so as to be fair or accurate to a particular outcome. Knowing that we have the power to make the ultimate changes to our bodies by simply making a decision is very commanding. It should inspire us to learn more and educate ourselves on what that simple change in our lives can be. Then as that change becomes routine, we can slowly integrate another consistent change. Soon we will have transformed our habits to resemble something that before we thought to be ideal and something difficult to achieve. Its all about small steps and consistency. Lay the most perfect brick every single day and understand that by the end of the year you will have a beautiful wall. Packing on Lean Muscle Mass: Ideal timing & drink mixtures for athletesThe latest research clearly shows that what you eat and when you eat, makes a tremendous difference in the speed and quality of the results you get from your workouts as an athlete. Research shows that one to two hours before your workout, you should eat a light meal, drink a meal replacement drink or eat a large protein bar. Immediately before workouts you should drink a pre-workout drink. Whey protein is the preferred choice since it digests fast. Along with protein, consume at least 30-40g high glycemic carbohydrates such as glucose, maltodextrin or glucose polymers. This helps spare glycogen for improved performance and results. When you exercise your body produces a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is actually your muscles enemy since it tears muscle down and converts it into fuel. The opposite is true for insulin, which helps rebuild muscle and suppresses the release of cortisol. Drinking a carb-filled drink therefore stimulates insulin and blunts cortisol. The result? More muscle gains! Misunderstanding how hormones workMisunderstanding how these hormones work is why so many people hit plateaus in the gym despite their heavy workouts. If your workout is less than one hour, just drink water. However, if training extends past an hour, during your workout you should consume the same high-glycemic, carb/protein pre-workout drink previously mentioned to help maintain glycogen (stored energy) levels for a longer workout. After a workout, it is a critical time for proper recovery. You need to rush nutrients into your body preferably within 30 minutes of your workout. By taking a carb/protein drink immediately after your workout, you will double your amino acid uptake and increase subsequent protein synthesis by a whopping 25% when compared to waiting a few hours! The post-workout formula should contain at least 15g of whey protein (which is fast-digesting) and about 45g of high glycemic carbohydrates. This is about a 3 to 1 ratio of carb to protein in a liquid form for fast absorption. After about two hours your body is primed to stimulate further muscle protein synthesis and recovery. This is the time to eat a regular meal. Eat about 20-40g of protein along with low-glycemic carbs. Lean meats and steamed vegetables are a good choice. Stay away from refined carbs like breads, pastas, rice, and cereal to minimize insulin stimulation unless you are trying to gain weight. Enter the Weight Room with a PurposeThe importance of having a plan before entering the weight room is vital to any individual looking to make progress, whether your goal is to increase strength and size or learn to move like a supple leopard. It doesnt need to be perfect to start, nor does it even need to be something you created, but having a game plan before you enter weight room or fitness center will go leaps and bounds towards seeing the gains you want and keeping you motivated in the process.
The body needs different stressors to adapt and see change. Beginners can get away with repeating the basics and still produce great results, but as you get more experienced variety becomes crucial when trying to avoid reaching a plateau and even boredom. (Michael has a Masters of Science in Sociology and is a former sociological researcher and course instructor at Florida State University. During his tenure at FSU, Michael specialized in the sociology of sports where amongst other things, he worked on research examining football participation and injury amid youth players.) As part of the International Women's Day initiative, we are covering an article on "What Women Want". This is based on the book "What Women Want," by Daniel Bergner, a writer for The New York Times Magazine. This article is for anyone who wants to: a. understand women better b. get new perspectives on sex and relationships c. uncover more about one's own sexuality Social norms often dictate women's sexuality, and simplify it. Ancient texts and religions reveal that the repression of women's sexuality has long been present since the early days. Then, in the sixteenth centure, when male scientists discovered the role of the ovum for reproduction. Because women could conceive regardless of whether they felt desire, men concluded that there is little reason to pay attention to female pleasure. In modern times, women are supposedly the more restrained sex. This is a stereotype that that encourages women to behave in the way that we think they should. The problem hence lies: whether it is through religion, social convention or science, women are told how to feel and act. It is a combination of these influences that perpetuate the status quo. Men and Women's Sexual Desiresen has long been compared to animals tamed by society, as creatures that express their true nature in socially acceptable ways, such as watching pornography or casting predatory glances at women on the street. On the other hand, women are said to long for emotional safety and monogany - the direct opposite of the wild and restive desires of men. In reality, the range and power of women's desire might be completed understood. Dr. Chivas, a scientist specialising in sexology conducted an experiment with a plethysmograph. This is a light sensor that could be placed inside the vagina to measure women's reactions to provocative footages. The women watched a variety of scenes: heterosexual and homosexual intercourse, masturbation and even bonobos mating. The conclusion was astounding. Women, regardless of sexual orientation, were aroused by all kinds of footage, even images of copulating apes. Men, however, reacted along more predictable lines. This study showed that women often misunderstand their own desire. Women's sexuality is complicated by anatomy and social environmentAnatomy could be one factor that led to this differing awareness of women's own sexuality. While men could easily tell that they are aroused from teenage years onwards, from how the penises grow and shrink from sexual excitement, it is often harder for women. In additional experiments by Dr. Chivers, it was revealed that women's desire does not necessarily fit into societal standards. This seems to debunk the assumption that the female libido thrives on emotional connection alone. The complexity of women's desire can be explored through their fantasties. Nine different surveys asked women if they were fantasized about being overpowered or coerced into sex. The results gathered from 355 college women revealed that 62 percent had had such fantasties at least once. One possible explanation is that being desired is central to women's libidos. Women's sexual desires, according to Professor Meana, depend heavily on the extent to which they feel desired by their partner. Particularly in cultures where sex is a taboo topic, some women may find a way to embrace their own sexual drive through such fantasies, while avoiding the shame imposed on them. For example, they might fantasize about being raped, because this way they have no reason to be ashamed of wanting sex. |
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