I’ve worked with many of you who had struggled with various causes of inflammation and have been so pleased by your posts and emails telling me how Jiva supplements had worked for you! But taking natural supplements to complement your diet is only one piece of the puzzle.

And, although I’ve provided quite a bit of information over the years about inflammation and the effects it has on the body, it occurred to me very recently that one important aspect of whole health healing that I haven’t covered openly online are my meditation techniques. Did you know that daily meditation can improve mental performance, reduce stress, promote physical healing and even increase productivity? After speaking with several of you recently and learning about the struggles that so many are facing in your daily lives, I’ve decided to host a free webinar and guided meditation session to show how clarity, focus and empowerment can be achieved through simple meditation techniques.

Join me on March 8th for my FREE webinar, “Unleash the Healing Powers of Meditation” to learn how to center yourself each day in order to take control of your life and unlock the secrets to peace and abundance and to free yourself from the pressures, negativity and chaos that surround us all today. Click the link below to reserve your place!

Free Meditation Webinar

Many meditation studies show a positive benefit from using meditation in the treatment of chronic illnesses. Fortunately meditation practice has not been associated with any known side-effects and it’s easy when you know how. There is no risk in trying to meditate. However meditation doesn’t work for everyone because it takes a commitment of time and energy to practice and apply it. Many people just prefer not to go that route.

The expected time needed to realize benefits from meditation vary for different medical problems. The results depend on the specific condition being treated. If your treating insomnia that is being caused by not being able to turn off the thinking mind at night, then meditation might start working right away. It would take a much longer meditation practice to transform the theater associated with living with cancer, or to mitigate the pain of chronic arthritis.

However, it is important to understand that meditation is only one of the many possible treatment options, if you suffer from a chronic illness. Meditation can reduce fear and depression, as well as to bring a sense of calm and peace to someone who is suffering from a chronic illness. There are many different types of meditation and it is important to perform a bit of research to find the right technique that works best for you.

Some General healthy tips are to eat lean meats (turkey, grilled chicken and fish are the best)- you can use products like turkey burger instead of making hamburgers and save a lot of fat and calories; avoid all products deep fried; use only extra virgin olive oil in cooking; cut back on sweets (try eating fruits which are full of natural sugars); soymilk is always a better alternative if you want milk (vanilla flavored is actually very tasty); limit carbs as best as possible by eating whole wheat breads and whole grain carbs; high fiber foods are good for digestion and especially good for dieting!

Of course salads are always a great option; the more vegetables the better! Green beans are a great quick snack; just open the can, drain the water, put in a bowl in the microwave, add salt and pepper, and they are ready in under 3 minutes.

Soups are healthy and low in calories; they are also quick and easy to prepare.

Don’t ever skip a meal; you should always eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner (plus a couple healthy snacks of fruits, veggies, etc.)

Also try to not to eat past about 7p.m. to avoid foods turning straight to fat during sleep.

Always eat a healthy breakfast; it’s the most important meal of the day! By eating early, you will definitely work it off during the day!

Hope these tips helped…oh and for recipes you can surf any site or search engine for healthy recipes and find some delicious options!

Nine Things You Can Do Right Now To Reduce Chronic Inflammation

1. Eat smart. One of the most powerful tools at our disposal to fight inflammation is our diet. Each time we sit down to a meal, we can make food choices that either raise or lower the level of inflammation in our body.

2. Add high quality supplements if you are not getting a sufficiently healthy diet. There is an extensive and growing body of evidence natural supplements and remedies play a vital role in treating and preventing a range of debilitating chronic illnesses

3. Give yourself the gift of sleep. Sleep is underrated. When life gets hectic, sleep is usually the first thing to go, because we know we can “get by” on fewer hours than our bodies would like. Research shows that getting less than six or seven hours of uninterrupted sleep a night increases our risk of all kinds of diseases, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

4. Get moving. New research shows that exercise reduces the amount of inflammation in our body. A number of studies comparing athletes to an inactive lifestyle, have found that people who exercise regularly have lower blood levels of CRP (indicator of body-wide inflammation) than people who are inactive. When inactive people start to exercise, their CRP levels go down within weeks.

5. Get regular massages. Exercising keeps everything flowing in our body – our blood, lymphatic fluids, and vital life energy (“chi’). Massage has similar benefits. It is wonderful for getting rid of knots and tension, but it also increases blood and lymphatic circulation. Additionally, a good massage will help move toxins out of the areas where they usually congregate (buttocks, belly and back muscles), whether it is every week, every two weeks, or every three weeks.

6. Detoxify your body. A detox program aims to remove the cause of disease before it makes us ill. It’s a time-honored way to keep immune response high, elimination regular, circulation sound and stress under control, so our body can handle the toxicity it encounters.

7. Meditate. Meditation is very simple. It is just sitting/lying quietly and reconnecting with the wisdom of our body. When we sit in silence, and turn our attention away from our thoughts and toward our body, we learn how to listen to what it’s telling us. We may notice tension in our neck and shoulders, our heartbeat is anxious or erratic, and/or our breathing is shallow. All of these are important messages from our body, telling us to stretch, or to do something relaxing, or to breathe deeply. If we listen quietly, all the answers are within us!

8. Change your mind. Whether we view the glass half empty or half full is a profound impact on our health. Optimists are 23 percent less likely to die of heart failure than pessimists – and 55 percent less likely to die from cancer, diabetes, etc. It is a perfect example of the mind-body connection, negative feelings, such as depression, anxiety, hostility, and stress can cause our body to release a slew of inflammatory chemicals that put us at risk for disease.

9. Give back. One of the keys to happiness is serving something larger than ourselves, and as we already know, happy people have lower levels of inflammation. Find a cause we are interested in helping and volunteer. There is tremendous peace and satisfaction that can be gained from transcending the small details of our life in order to make the world a better place. As the saying goes, “What we give back, we get back many folds”.

Think about the last time you were sick – really sick; so sick that you couldn’t work. How did you feel? How was your energy level? Did you find it difficult to do anything more than lie around on the couch watching movies all day? If so, you’ve had a direct experience with inflammation-related fatigue.

Inflammation is a response of the immune system to a foreign invader. So when you’re fighting a cold or flu, your immune system is releasing high levels of inflammatory chemicals to beat off the bad guys. Those chemicals also have an effect on your brain making you feel drained of energy. This is a built-in evolutionary response of the body — as long as you’re on the couch, your immune system can devote all of its energy to fighting the infection.

People who are chronically tired may be exhausted because their bodies have been battling a low-grade infection for months, or even years. Eventually that kind of chronic, low-grade inflammation takes its toll. Unfortunately, Western medicine doesn’t have much to offer people who feel drained day in and day out. Doctors may advise you to get more sleep, eat a healthy diet, and start a mild exercise program — all sound advice. But sometimes even with lifestyle changes, the lack of energy doesn’t go away. Your doctor might then recommend that you see a mental health professional (as if the fatigue is all in your head), or take antidepressants (as if the depression is making you fatigued rather than the fatigue making you depressed). This advice does not address the true source of the problem — and may make it worse.

Our goal is to move out of a chronic state of inflammation and toward a state of health. Taking various supplements is a great starting place. But, those supplements will be even more effective if we make conscious lifestyle choices too. Each day, we make many choices that affect the levels of inflammation in our body. What we eat, how often we exercise, how much we sleep, our level of exposure to toxic chemicals inside and outside the home, and even the feelings we experience can all impact whether our body produces more anti-inflammatory chemicals or pro-inflammatory ones. Since many conditions share a common thread of inflammation, the lifestyle recommendations for one disease are very similar to others.

During the show we talked about the devastating effects of chronic inflammation and the link that researchers have found to cancer. Listen as we discuss this and numerous ways that you can combat inflammation in your body. Click below to hear the full interview.

Today, we welcome our guest Author, Grace Schireson.

“For Zen Buddhists, questions about gender can be a provocative. If there are no differences between rocks and mountains, according to the philosophy of “Oneness,” how can there be any differences between men and women in Zen practice. Grace Schireson, author of “Zen Women, Beyond Tea Ladies, Iron Maidens, and Macho masters”, will share the fruits of her ten-year quest to get to know her female Zen ancestors.”

Click here to listen live!

On this week’s show we welcomed Brooks Palmer, author of “Clutter Busting, Letting Go of What’s Holding You Back”

Piles of junk in garages and closets, overflowing papers on desks, items unused for years, masses of answered email, clothing never worn, useless gifts that collect dust – all these things, says Brooks Palmer, come weighted with shame and guilt and have a suffocating effect on spirit and soul. Palmer will explain how to get rid of the objects that crowd our lives.

Click here to listen!

All physicians tell you to drink plenty of water for rehydration and for health. What they don’t tell you is what is missing in that water that can make the difference in the quality of your life and your chances of longevity. Nina Anderson, Specialist in Performance Nutrition and founder of electroBlast water concentrates will discuss why bottled and purified water need added electrolytes for proper rehydration and how they can assist in bolstering your immune system and preventing senior moments.

Click here to listen at VoiceAmerica.com!

Steve Marchese, owner of LightStim International Inc., will explain how photo-rejuvenation, or LED Light Therapy creates an anti-aging effect on the skin. It is quickly becoming as one of the safest, fastest, and most affordable waysto achieve younger, more vibrant looking skin.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN LIVE!