Breast cancer

I know two people who've had breast cancer. The other one has moved on, and the other is recovering. Going Wai lana green

You cannot control some things that put you at risk for breast cancer, such as your age and being female. But you can make personal choices that lower your risk of breast cancer. If you are at high risk for getting breast cancer, your doctor may also offer you certain medical treatments that can help prevent breast cancer.

Female hormones

Hormones change the way cells within the breast grow and divide. The years when you have a menstrual cycle are your high-estrogen years. Experts think that the longer you have higher estrogen, the more risk you have for breast cancer.4 This includes taking hormones after menopause.1, 26

* Avoid long-term, high-dose hormones after menopause. If you use hormone therapy for menopause symptoms, use a low dose for as short a time as possible. This includes estrogen-progestin and estrogen-testosterone.1, 3 Using estrogen by itself may slightly raise breast cancer risk.1
* Breast-feed. Breast-feeding may lower your breast cancer risk. The benefit appears to be greatest in women who breast-fed for longer than 12 months or who breast-fed several children.27
* Strive for a healthy weight. Extra fat cells make extra estrogen, which raises your breast cancer risk.4 Getting regular exercise and watching what you eat can help.

Having a full-term pregnancy before age 30 also lowers your breast cancer risk.10

Healthy food and exercise

* Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. A low-fat diet with limited red meat may lower your breast cancer risk.28, 29, 30
* Be active. Try to do at least 2½ hours a week of moderate exercise. One way to do this is to be active 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week.5, 31 Staying active may lower your breast cancer risk.32
* Drink no more than one alcoholic drink a day.4 Using alcohol leads to extra estrogen in the body, which raises your breast cancer risk.10

"Anti-estrogen" medicine

If you are at high risk for breast cancer, talk to your doctor about taking medicine that helps prevent it. This is sometimes called hormone therapy for breast cancer. It blocks the effects of hormones on breast cancer cells.

* Tamoxifen is a medicine that blocks the effect of estrogen on breast cancer cells and normal breast cells. Among high-risk women, tamoxifen lowers their risk of breast cancer about the same as raloxifene does.33 But this medicine may also increase other risks, such as for endometrial cancer, stroke, and blood clots in veins and in the lungs.
* Raloxifene is widely used to prevent and treat osteoporosis. It works like estrogen on bone, but it works like an "anti-estrogen" on breast tissue.34 Among high-risk women, raloxifene lowers their breast cancer risk about the same as tamoxifen does. Compared to tamoxifen, raloxifene's endometrial cancer risk is lower.33

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved raloxifene for use in reducing the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women who have osteoporosis. The FDA has also approved raloxifene for use in postmenopausal women at high risk for breast cancer.
If you are at high risk for breast cancer

If you are concerned that you may have an increased risk of developing breast cancer, talk with your doctor about whether you should take tamoxifen or raloxifene to prevent breast cancer. It is important to consider both their benefits and risks.

If you have a strong family history of early breast cancer or breast and ovarian cancer, talk to your doctor about BRCA testing. For more information, see:

Click here to view a Decision Point. Should I have a gene test for breast cancer?
Click here to view a Decision Point. What should I do if I'm at high risk for breast cancer?

Surgery to remove the breasts. Some women with a strong family history of breast cancer decide to have surgery to remove their breasts. This called a preventive or prophylactic mastectomy. It reduces the risk of developing breast cancer by approximately 90% in women who have a strong family history of breast cancer. A cancer risk assessment, genetic test, and psychological counseling are recommended for women who may be considering this treatment option.35

Surgery to remove the ovaries. Genetic mutations (called BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene changes) raise the risk of both breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Hormones made by the ovaries increase the risk of breast cancer. Removal of the ovaries (prophylactic oophorectomy) reduces the risk of breast or ovarian cancer in women with a genetic mutation. Such a decision is best made after a cancer risk assessment, genetic test, and counseling.36

Do some yoga exercises to help balance the hormones too. It's a great feeling way to prevent cancer or make you feel better if you already have cancer

Cooking & more

Every parent knows that cooking for kids can be a real challenge. One thing I'm glad about is that my kids are actually quite fond of different types of food and are easy to feed. They particularly love the thick soups I've been trying out from Wai Lana's soup book.

I've been reading a bit about cooking:

Tsukemono: The Art of Japanese Pickles

One of my favorite, often-overlooked parts of Japanese cuisine is the colorful pickles that add a punch of flavor and textural interest to nearly every meal--breakfast included. Called tsukemono (soo-keh-MOH-noh), they come in a variety of colors and flavors, but are often very salty* or sweet-and-tart.

Tsukemono plays an important role in Japanese cuisine: adding a big kick of flavor (with no fat and few calories) to otherwise mild-tasting food. Traditional Japanese cooking focuses on fresh, seasonal ingredients that are typically seasoned minimally to let each food's pure flavors shine through. This makes for mild and subtle dishes that shine with a Zen-like simplicity. Aside from the pungent kick of wasabi, which is typically eaten only with sushi, Japanese cooking does not employ the zing and spice of other cuisines, such as Korean. But that's where the under-appreciated pickle comes in.

Tsukemono refers to a broad category of pickles, many of which can be bought at an Asian market or made at home. Serve them in small portions (like those above) on the side of any meal, and try the parings I've suggested below. These are a few that I regularly buy. You can find them in the refrigerated section of most Asian markets that carry Japanese foods. In the picture, clockwise from top left:

1. Beni shoga (aka pickled ginger): This bright-red pickled ginger root is quite different from gari, the sweet, pale-pink slices of pickled ginger that accompany sushi. Colored with red perilla leaves (called shiso), beni shoga has a strong, salty, almost spicy flavor that adds a wonderful kick of flavor to dishes such as beef noodle bowls, stir fries, and yakisoba (stir-fried noodles). Ginger is widely purported to help quell nausea, so when I'm feeling under the weather, I often eat this type with ochazuke (o-CHA-zu-kay), which is simply green tea poured over rice (kind of like milk on cereal). Look for it in plastic tubs about the size of a tuna can.

2.Takuan (pickled daikon): Though the version above is dyed yellow, this pickle sometims looks paper-white or beige. Made from daikon, a mild white radish that can grow to the size of your forearm, it has many uses besides pickles: grated in dipping sauces, shredded into a mound of ribbons that go well with sashimi, and boiled in soups, to name a few. Takuan has a pleasant crunch and mild brininess, and it is eaten at the end of a meal, as it is believed to aid in digestion. You can buy it sliced, or as a whole radish immersed in a bag of brine.

3. Rakkyo (RAH-kyoh; aka pickled shallot): Similar in appearance to a cocktail onion, these crisp, mild, sweet-and-sour shallots, pickled in a light seasoned vinegar, are like candy to me. Often served with grilled fish or meats, they provide a crisp, bright note that's palate-cleansing between savory bites. Rakkyo is often labeled "pickled scallions" and sold in little plastic bags or small glass jars.

4. Umeboshi (ooh-meh-BOH-she; pickled Japanese plum): This is the quintessential Japanese pickle. One of my favorites, umeboshi is colored red with shiso and has a startling tartness that almost makes your eyes water (in a good way). It's an acquired taste for some. They are sometimes pale pink, and sometimes bright red, and they range from cranberry-sized, crunchy fruits to olive-sized fruits with a squishier texture. They are served with many meals, including breakfast, and are often placed in the center of onigiri (seasoned rice balls). Look for them in small plastic containers.

Make your own: I have never tried this, but from what I understand, some types of tsukemono are relatively quick and easy to make (while others aren't worth the effort). The quick-and-easy variety have a limited shelf life, while the ones that require more time to ripen tend to last a bit longer in the fridge. Check out Just Hungry's tsukemono post for more detailed descriptions, and make sure to see her quick-tsukemono pickle recipes. (I know I keep linking to this blog, but it's the best resource I've found on authentic Japanese food. If you know of others, please share!)

Don't you just love how Japanese food looks?

On a side note, I let my sister try out Wai Lana's Ujjayi Pranayam, I read that it's good for people with heart problems. She said she's never felt so relaxed in her life. :)

Exercise for diabetes

My aunt was diagnosed with diabetes sometime recently. I think that it was somewhat unexpected. I've been researching about it a bit. I copied one of the articles I found informative below. I got her Wailana's yoga dvds. I know yoga helps people get healthy again, so I think this will help her get back to exercising.

Diabetes Plus Stress Can Equal High Blood Sugar

For most people, stress is simply annoying or unpleasant; for people with diabetes, it can have a direct impact on health. Stress hormones can cause blood sugar to rise and you may need more insulin or other medications to control blood sugar when you are under stress (being sick or physically injured can also do the same).

Your response to stress, however, can exacerbate the problem. If you skip meals, neglect exercise, or tend to eat poorly, your blood sugar may become too high or too low.

"There is a myth out there that it's all about food as to why the blood sugar rises," says Richard Hellman, MD, former president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. The truth is that other factors play a role, he explains, including stress.

For example, if you're a schoolteacher who takes insulin at breakfast, a morning meeting with a difficult co-worker can affect the insulin's ability to control your blood sugar.

"That person will have, in many cases, a higher than normal glucose level at that time. Only part of it is due to what they ate," Dr. Hellman says. "(Another) part of it is due to the fact that their hormones are churning out adrenaline and other stress hormones."

If you're under stress, you may need to take more insulin to correct for extra-high blood sugar, or less if you change your behavior.

Stress can also affect lifestyle
While stress can cause blood sugar to go up it can also cause people to skip a workout or make poor food choices, notes Susan Guzman, PhD, senior psychologist with the Behavioral Diabetes Institute in San Diego.

"I think the bigger problem with stress is that you stop making time for exercise, you stop making time to test your blood sugar regularly, you stop making time for meal planning," Guzman says.

The best way to break that cycle, she explains, is to get back on track with your diabetes care—even if it's taking small steps, such as a 15-minute walk in the middle of the day.

Even if you're stressed and on a deadline crunch, it's not the time to "run to Denny's or to run to McDonald's," she says.

Guzman, who teaches a class on diabetes and depression, says being part of a group also helps alleviate anxiety for some people. "Just having a place to come and talk and feel supported and to know you're not alone in what you're feeling is so therapeutic," she says.

It's also a good reason to do yoga meditation with Wai Lana- as yoga meditation is one of the best, if not the best way to relieve stress.

Helpful tips for caring for someone with flu

Now that one of the kids are sick, I've been using Wai Lana's daydream cd to keep them from feeling too sorry for themselves. I also found this article about how to take care of someone with flu very useful:

Red Cross Offers Important Tips for Caring for Someone With the Flu
WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting that the H1N1 (swine flu) virus has now
spread throughout the United States, the American Red Cross has a set of tips
for people who are sick or are taking care of someone who has the flu


Flu viruses spread from person to person in droplets of coughs or sneezes, and
can also spread if a person touches droplets on another person or object and
then touches their own mouth or nose before washing their hands. To prevent
the spread of the flu, it is important to remember to wash your hands and
cover your cough or sneeze.


"It's important to know what to do to protect yourself and others when you are
taking care of someone who has the flu," said Sharon Stanley, chief nurse and
director, Red Cross Disaster Health and Mental Health Services. Recent survey
results conducted by the Red Cross reveal that six in ten Americans feel that
they need more information about how to care for someone with the flu*. The
following tips can be helpful:


If you are ill:
-- Stay in a room separate from common areas of the home and avoid
contact with others as much as possible.
-- Stay at home for at least 24 hours after their fever is gone without
using medicine to reduce the fever.
-- Get lots of rest and drink plenty of fluids.
-- Consider wearing a facemask, if available and tolerable, when sharing
common spaces with household members.
-- Check with your healthcare provider about whether to take antiviral
medication, or if fever persists, whether antibiotics are needed.

When caring for someone who has the flu:
-- Disinfect door knobs, switches, handles, toys and other surfaces that
everyone touches.
-- Use detergent and very hot water to do dishes and wash clothes. It's
okay to wash everyone's dishes and clothes together. Wash your hands
after handling dirty laundry.
-- Designate only one adult as the caregiver. People at increased risk of
severe illness from the flu should not be caregivers.
-- Deal with crisis situations calmly and confidently to give the best
support to the person being cared for.
-- Remember your own needs as well.
-- Practice healthy habits. Eat a balanced diet. Drink plenty of water.

Get regular exercise.

-- Get enough sleep and rest.



Caring for someone else can be stressful. Common symptoms of stress include
sleep disturbances, headaches, muscle tension or aches, a change in appetite,
skin problems, anxiety, depression, frustration and overreacting. If someone
is dealing with a lot of stress, it's important to ask for help. If a
caregiver is in a stressful situation, they should express their feelings to
people they trust, get into a regular schedule of seven to eight hours of
sleep, exercise, and take some time to relax.


According to the CDC, most people who have become ill with the H1N1 virus are
moderately ill, similar to the illness that occurs during the regular flu
season. H1N1 is affecting many young adults and children, people ages five to
24. The majority of people sick with H1N1 don't need testing or treatment.
However if someone is severely ill and is pregnant, and has trouble breathing
or has an underlying condition like heart disease, lung disease (such as
asthma) or diabetes, it is important to get treated promptly within the first
48 hours.

Thank the Lord for Wai Lana's Goji Juice.

What yoga exercises must you do for a flatter tummy?

So here I am, flat tummy and all, and I'd say, it's all the Wailana yoga I've been doing. Sarah at Health.com has been talking about just how certain yoga exercises can definitely help you firm and flatten your stomach.

Get a Flat, Toned Tummy With the Yoga Bicycle
By Sara Ivanhoe

I love combining the physical benefits of classic exercise with historic yogic tradition. One of my favorite hybrids is the yogic bicycle. Usually reserved for ab classes, bicycle crunches are a nice complement to the typical yoga session. Yoga has very few abdominal strengthening poses, other than the dreaded Boat Pose—and even that doesn’t do much for the obliques, or side abdominal muscles. And bicycle is actually a Vinyasa, or “breath and movement sequence.”

Just because you may have done bicycle before doesn’t mean you can just throw it in a yoga sequence without thinking twice. You want to be very conscious of your breath—something you may not normally do when you do bicycle crunches at the gym. When you practice yoga, your energy is open, and the way you breathe really affects your level of energy. How you breathe in any given sequence can have some pretty dramatic effects!

Begin on your back with your knees bent together and touching your chest. Keep the knees here as you interlace your fingers behind your head and sit up slightly. This is the inhale position. As you exhale, squeeze the outside of your right arm to the outside of your left thigh and straighten your right leg. Inhale to come back to center with the knees into the chest and sitting up straight. Exhale to twist to the other side. Repeat for at least a minute, up to 5 minutes for best results. This can be practiced every day.

Yogis have a system of energy channels, called nadis, and they believe that the right side of the body represents the sun channel, or the masculine, extroverted side of the body, while the left side is the moon channel, the feminine or receptive side. It may sound incredible, but if you are always inhaling on the left and exhaling on the right, you’ll drain yourself of energy—this can leave you introverted and depressed. On the contrary, if you are always inhaling on the right, you can agitate your system and develop a nervous condition.

The bicycle sequence not only helps balance your energy, but regular practice also will leave your tummy toned and taut. Plus, paying attention to your breathing will help you reap the rewards.

Oh and hey, Wai Lana supplements are on 50% off sale!! :) Great stuff for flu season! Stay healthy everyone.

Natural Supplements vs Antibiotics

With one of the kids sick, here's our argument over antibiotics and natural supplements. First of all, I love Wai Lana's Natural supplements. I have been using the immune boosters for my whole family in preparation for the flu season.

I've just been keeping the other kid busy with this:
Wailana Little Yogis Daydream Kit. It's working wonders so far. :D

Are Antibiotics Needed?
The dos and don'ts of antibiotic use.
by Dr. Rob for MSN Health & Fitness
Dr. Rob

Can you identify with this scenario? You have a runny nose and it's getting sore. Your throat hurts and you ache all over. So you may think, hey, what harm would it do to take an antibiotic? Before you run to your doctor for a prescription, read on.

According to the American College of Physicians, "Antibiotic treatment of colds, bronchitis and other upper respiratory infections is almost always inappropriate." In fact, most of these problems can be better managed by our bodies own immune defense system, with additional help for symptoms from home remedies such as chicken soup, warm tea with honey (not for children less than one year of age) or gargling with salt water. Sounds like Dr. Mom's advice, huh?

It's important to know that antibiotics only work against bacterial infections. Yet, many individuals take these medications for infections caused by viruses with symptoms such as a runny nose, cough, clogged ear and irritated throat. And, since we are not using the antibiotics properly, they become less effective against the very infections they were designed to treat.

Because of this concern, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to add a warning label stating that the "inappropriate use of antibiotics will make them less effective in the war against bacterial infections." And, the potential overuse of antibiotics is so important that the American Society of Internal Medicine has issued guidelines for physicians on the proper use of these medications.

However, we all need to work together, so here are some suggestions to help in our battle against antibiotic resistant infections:

* Don't demand an antibiotic from your doctor. (Remember, you are going to your physician for their professional opinion, so it's important to have one you trust.)
* Do finish your prescription as directed. (If you stop taking your antibiotic as soon as you are feeling better but before the prescription is finished, the infection may come back with a vengeance.)
* Do follow the directions. (Take on an empty stomach, one or more times per day, not with milk products, etc.)
* Don't take leftover medications.
* Do get vaccinated to decrease your risk of becoming infected with a vaccine preventable illness.
* Do exercise, eat right and get proper rest to build up your immune system.
* Do wash your hands regularly throughout the day. (Antibacterial soap is NOT necessary as rubbing your hands together for 15 seconds with regular soap and water will do just fine). Hand sanitizers are also an effective alternative if water is not within easy access.

While instructions to wash your hands may seem like a no-brainer, apparently many individuals skip this important infection fighter. A 2007 study sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology and the Soap and Detergent Association observed hand-washing behaviors at selected locations in the cities of Atlanta, Chicago, New York and San Francisco. The results found that 88 percent of women washed their hands after visiting a public restroom, while only 66 percent of men did. Needless to say, hand washing is extremely important and there is no reason the figures shouldn't reach 100 percent.

So, the next time you have a cough or cold, don't insist on getting an antibiotic. Even though it may not seem like it, your physician is actually looking out for your best interests when suggesting you do not need that particular medication. If your condition doesn't improve in a few days or begin to get worse, let your doctor know, as a new examination may be necessary.

The 11 Kinds of Insomnia

I was reading a little about how there are 11 different types of insomnia! That fact in itself might keep you awake all night.

The 11 Kinds of Insomnia
Insomnia may be caused by a drug, a medical condition, stress, or an unknown factor.
(COLIN ANDERSON/BRAND X/CORBIS/HEALTH)
You don't have to lie awake for hours past your bedtime to have insomnia. The condition manifests itself in several ways: trouble falling asleep (known as sleep-onset insomnia), staying asleep (sleep-maintaining insomnia), or waking up too early (early morning awakening).

Sleep specialists may also describe a sleep problem based on its underlying cause, such as a medical condition or a psychological issue. To do this they use the 11 classifications of insomnia below, developed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Insomnia
General insomnia is a classification of sleep disorders in which a person has trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early. These disorders may also be defined by an overall poor quality of sleep.

Adjustment insomnia
This disorder, also called acute insomnia or short-term insomnia, disturbs your sleep and usually stems from stress. The sleep problem ends when the source of stress is gone or when you adapt to the stress. The stress does not always come from a negative experience. Something positive can make you too excited to sleep well.

Behavioral insomnia of childhood
This disorder occurs when children don't go to bed on time unless a parent or guardian enforces a bedtime. If the children are made to go to bed at a specified time, then they tend to fall asleep at a normal hour. If they are not given strict bedtimes, then they may linger awake for hours at night.

I used to have insomnia, but just do yoga. Wai Lana yoga has helped me say goodbye to insomnia. I mean just try out some of her yoga meditation and tell me if you won't feel rested and sleepy.

Natural beauty secrets

My sister and I had a fun time trying these today:

The Secret to All-Natural Beauty Is in Your Kitchen

Consider this food for thought: Great skin is as much about what you put in your body as what you put on it. But what if the same food you put in your body for healthy hair and skin could do the same good on your outside too? Celebrity makeup artist Shalini Vadhera says if you want to get gorgeous, hit the fridge. Inspired by her global travels, the founder of Global Goddess Beauty shares her top 4 all-natural beauty secrets from women around the globe.

Go bananas for healthy hair
If your hair is starting to show signs of damage from heat styling or color treatments, try this Hawaiian secret for super-shiny tresses: Use a fork to mash one banana in a bowl, then slather the mixture from root to tip. Leave the treatment on for 15 minutes, then wash with shampoo. Bananas help improve the health and natural elasticity of your hair thanks to their high levels of potassium.

Smooth skin with this sweetener
Take a cue from fresh-faced Polish women, who apply honey on their faces as an intensive moisturizer. Just a thin layer does the trick. The sweet golden goo’s firming and moisture-retaining properties make it a popular anti-aging ingredient, too. An added bonus? It helps protect the skin from the damage of UV rays.

Warm a small pot of honey in a double boiler over low heat. After testing a small dab on the inside of your elbow for a safe temperature, apply the honey generously over your entire face. Leave the mask on for 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with warm, then cool water.

Go with garlic for stronger nails
Add chopped garlic to a bottle of clear nail polish. Let it sit for 7 to 10 days, then paint the mixture onto your nails. It’s a little secret Dominican women use to strengthen their nails—and it makes them feel stronger than acrylic tips!

Dry, dull skin is the pits
Skip expensive body scrubs or spa treatments in favor of a natural, budget-friendly body treatment. Next time you snack on Greek olives or whip up a tapenade, hold on to the pits—they are a great natural remedy for dry skin. Grind them up in a food processor and use them as a body scrub to remove dry, dead skin cells.

Good to have the eco yoga tote kits from Wai Lana come in the mail today. The kids are excited. I'm off to do some yoga now. Wailana Yoga's showing!

My favorites..

I have some pictures of my Wai Lana favorite juices and some of Wai Lana's yogi bars:

Cooking for the season

My grandmother always emphasized the need to eat according to season. Now that fall is here, I have gotten out my new Wai Lana Favorite Soups book I got from Amazon. I love the colors, aromas, and flavors so far. I am excited to try everything.

I've always been a soup person, and this is just the book for me. I've tried many other soup recipes before, in fact, at least a third of all my recipe books are soup books! I do love variety too, and that's one thing that I love so much with Wailana yoga's favorite soups. It's like, all in one type of recipes. There are over 300 recipes in this book, making it worth every penny. Besides, you know how there are some books which are just no good? Like you can try and try the recipes but they come out horribly. That's one thing I don't have to worry about with Wai Lana's books, and, just like any other buyer, I want to get what I am paying for. This is what I call a deal.

Happy Yoga Month!

September has always been one of my favorite months. Minus the starting of flu season- I just love seeing all the beautiful colors coming in... and now that it's been declared national yoga month, all the more I love it!

Wai lana is offering free shipping for all CDs, Dvds, and yoga mats until the 30th. Great stuff!

This morning I went to the park to join about 300 other yoga practitioners. It was fun and a nice way to meet other like-minded people. We plan to do it at least once a month now!

I ordered another bunch of Wai Lana yoga dvds for gifts and for myself. :)

Happy yoga practice everyone!

Baking out of debt

Great work Angela Logan!

I'd like to send her a gift from Wai Lana. I wonder if I can get her address somewhere...

She baked her way out of foreclosure
‘Mortgage Apple Cake’ and a not-for-profit bakery helped her save home

July 28: TODAY’s Ann Curry talks to Angela Logan about how her cake, known as the “Mortgage Apple Cake,” helped her keep her home.

During the Great Depression, people sold apples in the streets to get enough money for their next meal. Fast-forward 80 years to another recession and meet Angela Logan, who is selling apple cakes to friends, neighbors and total strangers over the Internet to get enough money to save her home from foreclosure.

Like so many great ideas, it was born of sheer desperation, Logan told TODAY’s Ann Curry Tuesday in New York. After 20 years of living in her home in Teaneck, N.J., a double financial whammy pushed her to the brink of losing it.

Double whammy
The first hit was a home construction project to repair storm damage and make other improvements. The contractor turned out to be less than honest and hit Logan with thousands of dollars in overcharges she hadn’t planned on. Then an agency that represented Logan in her work as an actor went under, taking thousands of dollars she had coming to her with it.

Logan’s fiance and one of her three sons exhausted their savings trying to help keep her afloat. Finally, she applied for help under President Obama’s Making Home Affordable plan. After three months of waiting for a response from the holder of her mortgage, she learned just two weeks ago that she had 10 days to make a $2,500 mortgage payment that would begin to qualify her for the federal program.

“We were in limbo for a long time. Then, all of a sudden, bam, we had to have this amount of money three months in a row in order to have our mortgage,” Logan told Curry. “I didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity to come out of foreclosure.”

Logan, the 55-year-old mother of three sons, is also a substitute teacher and is studying at Bergen Community College in New Jersey to become a nurse. She hit on the idea of selling the scrumptious apple cake her grandmother taught her to bake when she was a child in Atlanta.

“I asked the kids, ‘What do you think about me selling this cake to pay the mortgage?’ ” Logan related to Curry. “The kids — who usually say, ‘Nah, that’s a bad idea ’cause Mom said it’ — said, ‘Yeah, we love your cake. We think it would be a great idea.’

“So we said, ‘What will we call it? We’ll call it Mortgage Apple Cake.’ ”

Selling like (hot) cakes
The cake is made with organic ingredients, and after some research, Logan decided that $40 was a reasonable price. She figured if she could sell 100 cakes, she could keep her home.

TODAY
Angela Logan was in imminent danger of losing this home before her Mortgage Apple Cake helped her bake her way out of foreclosure.
The next day, Thursday, July 16, Logan started spreading the word. “I set out to ask family and friends. I stood up in class and asked my classmates. I told them about the situation and they just gave me money for cakes. I went to my church; they gave me money for cakes. My friends from organizations I have worked for doing nonprofit fundraising events — they told all their friends. And between the Wednesday when I started and the next Thursday, I sold 42 cakes from my home with four pans, one bowl and one mixer.”

Her local newspaper, The Record of Hackensack, N.J., heard about Logan’s efforts to bake herself out of foreclosure and wrote a story about her. Other newspapers followed up, along with local television stations. Before Logan knew what had hit her, she had orders for 500 cakes.

She was getting up at 3 a.m. to bake the cakes one at a time in her own kitchen, but there was no way she could fill so many orders. She also didn’t know how she could deliver cakes to addresses all over the United States as well as overseas.

Angels to the rescue
Into the breach stepped two angels. The Hilton Hotel in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., read about her efforts and offered her the use of its kitchen, free of charge. That was vital, because health officials in her hometown had decided she couldn’t run a commercial bakery from her home.

The second angel showed up on her doorstep, also after reading about Logan’s story. He is Josh Kaye, founder and president of Bake Me A Wish, a not-for-profit bakery that sells delicious goodies for charitable causes. He volunteered his organization’s kitchens to take over the bulk baking, as well as to deliver the cakes.
“She was staying up all hours of the night trying to bake cakes,” said Kaye, who joined Logan on TODAY. “I said, ‘Bake Me A Wish is going to come here and we’re going to bail you out. We’re going to help you pay your mortgage.’ And we started to bake cakes for her.”

Logan delivered her first mortgage payment on time, and expects to make the next two payments, which will make her eligible for a renegotiated loan that will knock $1,000 off her monthly mortgage payment.
Meanwhile, she and Kaye are working to make her success help others.

“We’re going to give a portion of all the sales we have to giving back to other people in need,” Kaye said. “We’re negotiating with a charity right now to enable them to do that.”

Said Logan as Curry dug a fork into a big wedge of the moist and delectable Mortgage Apple Cake, “It’s all so fast, I cannot believe it. It’s like a dream come true. It’s surreal.”

On side note, Wai Lana's asana of the week is out!

Natural cough and flu cures

With all the sick people around here these days, I've been making everyone in the house take extra loads of Wai Lana's immune system boosters. I've also been reading more about natural flu and cold remedies:

Top 7 Natural Cold Remedies: Do They Work?
herbal-remedies-cold
Americans spent $1.5 billion on cold and flu supplements and other "immunity boosters" in 2007.
(ISTOCKPHOTO)
Bob Martin says he hasn't caught a cold in years, not since he discovered echinacea and goldenseal. For the past decade, the 60-year-old teacher from Placitas, N.M., has taken the herbal supplements in megadoses three times a day at the first sign of a sniffle. Now he only gets sick if he doesn't dose himself in time, he says.

"It's been years since I've had a cold," says Martin. "I take the herbs, climb under the blanket, and I'm fine the next day. They nip it in the bud."

Martin is not alone in his faith in herbal remedies, which he also takes for toothaches, earaches, and other ailments. According to the Nutrition Business Journal, Americans spent $1.5 billion on cold and flu supplements and other "immunity boosters" in 2007, and the market is growing at twice the rate as that of the standard, over-the-counter, cough-and-cold-remedy market.

But do these alternative treatments actually work?

Martin and plenty of other consumers answer a resounding "yes," but experts say that, overall, there's little evidence-based scientific literature on the subject. In fact, the makers of Airborne, the ubiquitous "effervescent health formula," settled a class-action lawsuit to the tune of $23.3 million in 2008. The charge? The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which helped litigate the suit, and the Federal Trade Commission, which filed a separate complaint against the manufacturer, said the company made false and unsubstantiated claims when it said its product could fight germs or prevent colds.

"Only a very, very small number of compounds have undergone peer review," says Frank Esper, MD, member of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, in Cleveland. "What you see is anecdotal."

And the ones that have undergone peer review generally come back with mixed reviews.

The evidence is often not strong, and it can be conflicting. "But there is some good evidence that some of these things can be effective," says David Leopold, MD, director of integrative medical education at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine and a faculty member with the Scripps Natural Supplement Conference, in La Jolla, Calif.

Herbal remedies don't seem to prevent colds, but they may help curb symptoms or shorten their duration, he says. "The things I talk about will reduce duration 24 or 36 hours, which is significant if you're out doing things," Dr. Leopold says. "They also seem to decrease severity of symptomology."

Here's what's known about the efficacy of some of the most well-known alternative cold remedies, in alphabetical order: View slideshow of natural remedies.

Good news is Wai Lana yoga's got all these sales now! I'm going to get some halloween gifts together!

Great brain foods

My aunt was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. I've been researching a lot about brain-friendly foods. I got out Wai Lana Yoga's juice book. I'm going to make my aunt drink a lot of fruit juices.

SuperFoods for Your Brain
Posted Thu, Sep 03, 2009
September means that many of us are getting back to school or back to work or back to looking for work -- all of which require a whole lot of braininess. To support this big brain storm, I checked in with our friends at EatingWell, to see what they suggest for smart eating. They got back to me with the best brain food to eat during each stage of life...

The Best Brain Food for Infants and Babies:

Iron. By 5 or 6 months, babies have used up the iron stores they're born with and need to get iron from food or supplements to support brain development.
Food solutions: Iron-fortified cereals. Try these iron-rich recipes.

The Best Brain Food for Children and Teens:

School-aged children should start their day with low-glycemic-index breakfast foods. (They need morning fuel.)
Food solutions: Bran cereals, oatmeal or whole-wheat bagels. Try these oat-filled recipes.

The Best Brain Food for Young Adults:

Got iron? 10 percent of women are anemic, and new studies show that being even mildly iron-deficient affects learning, memory, and attention. Luckily, restoring iron levels to normal also restores cognitive function.
Food solutions: Dark leafy greens, beans, meat or soy. Try these leafy green recipes.

The Best Brain Food for Older Adults:

Eat your antioxidants. People who eat more brightly colored fruits and leafy vegetables have less cognitive decline than those who don't; antioxidants in produce may mop up free radicals and protect neurons from damage.
Food solutions: Berries and other fruits, greens and turmeric (which contains curcumin). Try these antioxidant-rich recipes.

The Best Brain Food for Pregnant Women:

Pregnant women who eat fatty fish, such as salmon, during their third trimester of pregnancy have babies who tend to perform better on cognitive tasks. Researchers think the omega-3 fatty acid DHA is needed during this time to build neurons and their connections.
Food solutions: Salmon and other fatty fish, DHA-fortified eggs and yogurt. Try these healthy salmon recipes.

-Check out these brain-boosting recipes to incorporate all the foods above into your diet.

-But smarts are not everything. Here are some of Wai Lana easy rules on how eat for happiness.

Chiwalking?

After doing my daily Wai Lana Yoga session today, I was reading about Chiwalking and chirunning this morning. Pretty interesting stuff!

Health magazine’s story “Walk a Little, Live a Lot (Longer)” proves that you don’t need to run a marathon (or even a half marathon) to stay fit. In fact, you don’t need to run at all: Squeezing in some extra walking every day is a great way to burn calories, boost mood, and lower your risk of disease.

One type of walking, called ChiWalking, can even cut down on aches and pains by incorporating elements of tai chi, yoga, and pilates. By emphasizing good posture, loosening joints, engaging core muscles, and relaxing the arms and legs, this approach makes walking easier on the body and helps eliminate the discomfort of moving incorrectly.

According to ChiWalking.com, you can learn (and then mix and match) 12 different types of ChiWalks depending on your goals, including a Cardio Walk, an Aerobic Walk, a Flexibility Walk, a Loosening Walk, a Focusing Walk, an Energizing Walk, a Walking Meditation, and more. These walks focus on the body-mind component inherent by incorporating what the folks at this site call the Five Mindful Steps.

1. Get aligned: physically with your posture, mentally with your intentions

2. Engage your core: physically with your lower abdominals, mentally by using your will power

3. Create balance: physically between your upper and lower body and also between the right side and the left side of your body, mentally by creating a balanced fitness program

4. Make a choice: physically to walk in a new way, mentally to create health

5. Move forward: physically with grace and ease, mentally by focusing your mind on the next mindful step

ChiWalking originated from ChiRunning, a practice invented by ultramarathoner Danny Dreyer to help runners learn to land on their mid-foot (the most efficient way to run long distances) and prevent shin splints and overuse injuries by putting less strain on their lower legs and toes. A recent survey conducted by West Virginia University showed that 90% of ChiRunning students reported that the technique prevented injuries and improved ease of running.

With ChiWalking and ChiRunning gaining popularity, New Balance has unveiled a running shoe (both men’s and women’s versions, created with Dreyer’s help) specifically for mid-foot strike runners.

ChiRunning and ChiWalking clubs and workshops are springing up around the country, and of course, the website offers books and DVDs as well. Give this a try and let us know what you think.

When it comes down to it though, I think I'll just stick to Wai Lana. She's got something for the whole family, and that's a major plus in my household.

Cell phone radiation

With the death of Sen. Kennedy recently, the brain cancer and cell phone issue has been brought up front again. While surely the cell phone companies are behind the fact that the real statistics and effects of radiation are not openly published, it's something each of us should be aware of. No matter how much Wailana yoga we do, if we aren't aware of the effects of this on our health, there's only so much we can do.

Here's a helpful article from yahoo news on it:

Cell phones and radiation: 10 best and 10 worst
By Lori Bongiorno
Posted Tue Sep 8, 2009 10:14pm PDT
Related topics: Health, Safety, Cell Phones
More from The Conscious Consumer blog

95 votes
Buzz up!

How much radiation does your cell phone emit? It's easy to find out the answer thanks to the Environmental Working Group's new online guide to cell phone emissions.

The non-profit research and advocacy group ranked over 1,000 different cell phones according to radiation levels. It looked at the publicly available, but difficult to find, specific absorption rate (SAR) for each phone. SAR is a measure of how much radiation is absorbed by the body when the phone is sending a signal to the network. (Your phone only emits radiation when you talk or text.)

The jury is still out on whether cell phone radiation is harmful to human health, but it certainly won't hurt to limit your exposure to cell phone radiation when you can. Several research teams from different countries report a higher risk of developing brain and salivary gland cancer among high-volume, long-term cell phone users compared to people who use cell phones less often, according to EWG. For example, a 2009 scientific analysis of studies done in Sweden and several other European countries found a consistent pattern of an increased cancer risk after more than 10 years of mobile phone use.

"The data is still conflicting and the science isn't settled," says Jane Houlihan, research director at EWG. "But there is enough evidence now that it makes sense for people to take personal action while the teams of scientists and health agencies sort through the data." Houlihan also points out that health agencies in six different countries are warning people to cut their exposure to cell phone radiation, particularly when it comes to children.

Taking personal action can be as simple as adding radiation emissions to the list of criteria you use when purchasing a new cell phone, especially when it's for your child.

How much of a difference can choosing a low-radiation phone make? High-radiation cell phones on EWG's list emit eight times more radiation than those on the low end of the spectrum.
cell phones

10 best phones (lowest radiation)

1. Samsung Impression (SGH-a877)
2. Motorola RAZR V8
3. Samsung SGH-t229
4. Samsung Rugby (SGH-a837)
5. Samsung Propel Pro (SGH-i627)
6. Samsung Gravity (SGH-t459)
7. T-Mobile Sidekick
8. LG Xenon (GR500)
9. Motorola Karma QA1
10. Sanyo Katana II

10 worst phones (highest radiation)

1. Motorola MOTO VU204
2. T-Mobile myTouch 3G
3. Kyocera Jax S1300
4. Blackberry Curve 8330
5. Motorola W385
6. T-Mobile Shadow
7. Motorola C290
8. Motorola i335
9. Motorola MOTO VE240
10. Blackberry Bold 9000

Can't find your phone? Check the entire list of 1,000 phones or search for your model. If your cell phone isn't on EWG's list, then search the Federal Communications Commission website to get your phone's SAR value. You can then compare it to the models in EWG's guide to see how it stacks up against the competition.

Buying a new cell phone isn't your only option for limiting your exposure to cell phone radiation. Keeping your phone away from your head and body is the best thing you can do.

Here are some tips adapted from EWG's guide to reducing cell phone radiation exposure:

* Use speakerphone or a headset. There's no consensus on whether it's safer to go with a wired or wireless headset, but headsets emit less radiation than cell phones.

* Send text messages instead of talking. Phones use less power and therefore emit less radiation to send text than voice. It also keeps radiation away from your head.

* Stay off the phone when you have a poor signal. Your phone will emit more radiation to get the signal to the tower when there are fewer signal bars on your phone.

Exercise!!

I read an article today about how the greatest risk factor is the lack of exercise. It has only just fueled my passion for getting kids started on exercise early. We do a mix of Wai Lana Little yogis with soccer, swimming, tennis, and hopefully some martial arts soon.

I'm so glad I started practicing yoga exercise. Had I not been so depressed and willing to try out anything back then - a couch potato and TV freak with weight problems who happened to stumble upon Wai Lana Yoga's PBS series, I'm sure I would have way worse health problems today and in the future. How thankful am I? You can't even imagine. It is absolutely horrible to be in a situation of feeling so utterly helpless, - as if unable to stop yourself from the downward spiral of depression, over eating, and lethargy. I credit Wai Lana fully for having given me the motivation and help to actually get out of that situation I was in before.

We are constantly bombarded with gloom and doom news stories warning us that heart disease is America's number one killer, followed closely by cancer. What's more, there's a worldwide epidemic of diabetes and fear mongers are also warning that swine flu, H1N1, is lurking around every corner about to plunge us into a pandemic. But what is really the biggest threat to your health? According to epidemiologist and researcher Steven Blair, the gravest public health problem of the 21st century is Americans' physical inactivity and it poses the greatest risk of ill health to Americans. Simply put, sitting on your butt instead of moving your body in your daily life and exercising can be deadly.

Unfortunately, an enormous number of Americans, around 50 million, are living sedentary lives. That puts these coach potatoes at increased risk of health problems and early death, Blair recently said in an address to the American Psychological Association's (APA) 117th Annual Convention held in Toronto. "Over the past few decades, we have largely engineered the need for physical activity out of the daily lives of most people in industrialized societies," he stated.

Blair pointed to research showing that around 25 to 35 percent of American adults are inactive. They work sedentary jobs, engage in no regular physical activity program, are generally inactive around the house and most don't even do their own yard work. "Given that these individuals are doubling their risk of developing numerous health conditions compared with those who are even moderately active and fit, we're looking at a major public health problem," Blair said in a statement to the media.

A professor of exercise science and epidemiology at the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health, he is recognized as one of the world's leading experts on exercise and its health benefits. Blair was the senior scientific editor of the 1996 U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health.

His extensive research comes involves the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS), an ongoing study started in 1970 which includes more than 80,000 people. In addition to keeping track of the participants medical histories, scientists periodically have measured the participants' body composition and body mass index (BMI). Each volunteer in the study also underwent a stress test.

The results, Blair told the APA, show that the fitness level of the research subjects has turned out to be a significant predictor of life span. For example, a follow-up study of 40,842 ACLS participants concluded a poor fitness level accounted for about 16 percent of all deaths in both men and women -- and these are deaths that most likely would have been avoided if these people had simply spent about half an hour a day walking. What's more, this percentage of deaths was significantly higher than when other risk factors were considered, including obesity, smoking, high cholesterol and diabetes. The ACLS also found that men who were only moderately fit lived six years longer than men who would qualify as sedentary couch potatoes.

Blair revealed that exercise can help beat breast cancer, too. An examination of 14,811 women patients in the ACLS showed that those who very fit were 55 percent less likely to die from breast cancer than women who were not in good shape. This huge reduction in breast cancer deaths was calculated after the researchers controlled for BMI, smoking, family history of breast cancer and other possible risk factors. Blair also explained in his APA presentation that recent emerging evidence shows exercise is good for brain health and can delay the mind's decline.

"We need numerous changes to promote more physical activity for all, including public policies, changes in the health care system, promoting activity in educational settings and worksites, and social and physical environmental changes. We need more communities where people feel comfortable walking," Blair said in a statement to the press. "I believe psychologists can help develop better lifestyle change interventions to help people be more active via the Internet and other technological methods."

Awesome moms

I was reading about these mothers who became medalists after having children. It gave me a glimmer of hope. Or maybe I should just stop being silly and face the music with this one. Hatha Yoga is already my favorite exercise, and I'll be happy if I ever look half as good as Wai Lana Easy does.

It was rain-raining here all day. My hands are all cracked and dry from all the cleaning I've been doing. I have these silly cleaning binges every now and then. I just get totally obsessed with cleaning and can't stop until my hands are all cracked and painful. Needless to say, everything and everyone is sparkling clean. Except for me. Shower time now! I'll do a tape of Wai Lana Yoga Products after.

Love to all

Flu prevention tips

I've been getting the kids used to a less-hot version of the ginger tea recipe from Wai lana.

I like this little article from Sanjay Gupta to parents on the swine flu too:

Now, over the past eight years, I have grown accustomed to being engaged in these sort of discussions where I am asked about everything the "media" have reported over the past few months, and asked to defend things point by point. It can be a challenging task.

This time, however, the topic was H1N1, or swine flu.

I spent the weekend thinking about what I was being told, and realized there was a larger point here.

People were scared, more than I had seen in a long time. And, health care professionals were blaming the media -- accusing them of being alarmist.

So, I decided to get away from the studio, away from the talking heads discussing mortality rates, and away from the hypothetical discussions about what might or might not happen. I wanted to see for myself what was happening in emergency rooms right now.

I was most curious about pediatric ERs, because young people seem to be most affected by this, and selfishly, I was curious about my own three girls and how I should react if they become ill this fall.

What would I do without these day dream cds from Wai Lana? They're so helpful. :)

Not much else happening here these days.

Kindness

It is too bad that kindness is such a rare thing these days. People have become so caught up in themselves and their own lives that they are unable to tolerate the hardships of others. Like that story recently, of the man who slapped a stranger's two year old child. It is an embarrassing yet through provoking event. It reminds me of the saying, "Be extra kind to others, for everyone is fighting their own battle."

Anyhow, speaking of kindness, Labor day is a must to celebrate! I take every excuse to celebrate, and this is another one of those celebrations. I'm happy too because Wai Lana Supplements are on sale, 50% off on all supplements until September 14th. I want to get more of the ayurveda products of Wai Lana Coupons. I need to try out that "Female Balance" in particular.

Earth friendly, kid friendly: fun toys

I've been looking more into eco-friendly toys. That's why I have ordered one of Wai Lana Day Dream Cd's to pair up the Eco tote kit for kids from Wai Lana.

Green Toys: Eco-Friendly Fun for Kids

Toy recalls have been in the news a great deal in recent years, first for lead-based paint and later, for PVC plastic (a.k.a., polyvinyl chloride). With millions of toys being recalled to protect children from these unsafe materials, what's a parent to do? How can we satisfy a child's desire for fun while ensuring that unsafe toys don't inadvertently find their way into the playroom? Green Toys Inc., an innovative new company launched in 2008, provides the perfect solution.

The San Francisco-based Green Toys Inc. was created to satisfy the overwhelming demand from consumers and retailers for toys that are not only safe for children but good for the environment, too. All of the company's classic eco-friendly toys for tykes are made from curbside-collected plastic milk jugs that are then recycled into one of the sturdiest, most nontoxic materials available. Even better, every pound of recycled milk jugs used to make Green Toys products saves enough electricity to power a television set for three weeks, or saves energy equal to 3,000 AAA batteries.

In keeping with Green Toys company mission to provide eco-friendly toys that promote recycling and save energy, their packaging is also designed with the environment in mind. Green Toys products are minimally packaged in recycled corrugated boxes with no plastic, cellophane or twist-ties. And it's all recyclable to boot!

Green Toys planet-friendly products are 100% made in America -- in California to be exact, a state well-known for strict toy safety standards. Additionally, all Green Toys products are rigorously tested by independent labs (also in the U.S.A) and contain no traceable amounts of Phthalates, BPA or lead-based paint.

Their introductory products included a cookware and dining play set, an indoor gardening kit, a (green) tea set, and a sand play set. For the spring of 2009, Green Toys added a dump truck, recycling truck, tool kit, jump rope and EcoSaucer™ flying disc to their award-winning line of eco-friendly toys.

Allergies

I've had this bad case of allergies for the past few days. It might be because I cleaned out my shed outside and it was rather dusty and moldy. I've been taking Wailana bolsters and goji juice to keep my immune system up. The last thing I need now is to get sick.

Pollen has never really been a problem for me either. I used to get very bad allergies, but when I started doing neti with Wailana sands neti pots, it just became so much better. I swear my allergies could have disappeared, until now anyway. :p

Allergies are a pain. But do look into natural ways to get rid of allergies. Here's a little excerpt on allergy control:

There are also aromatherapy treatments, herbal tea treatments, hydrotherapy, and healing touch therapy that has been used as alternative treatments for allergies. It’s inevitable that you will find some of the less than conventional methods out there are not for you, it is still vital that you keep searching. When you find the alternative treatment that works wonders for you, you will wonder what took you so long to begin your search.

All of those years suffering with allergies were for nothing when there was a treatment just sitting there waiting for you. If you are currently taking medication or if your allergies are extremely severe, you must make sure that you are seeking consultation with your medical professional before stopping any prescribed treatment or medication.

Only with your doctor’s permission should you stop taking your medication. Allow your doctor to work you off the medication or take the advice of using the alternative treatments along with the prescription medication. In due time, when you find what works, you will be able to stop the traditional medication all together.

Yoga kids

Susan Kramer's website is so cute!!
Kids are definitely good with yoga though. I've been having the kids do Wai Lana Little Yogi DVDs for ages now and they still love it.

* Presented are 15 poses that stretch and strengthen while promoting balance, coordination, the ability to concentrate and an increase in vitality through energetic practice.

* The axial movements (moves with the body in place) include forward bending, backward bending, twisting and sitting erect, all of which should be done gently without straining.

* Practiced in order, each one leads smoothly into the next.

* All poses and meditations can be done on carpet. Alternately, practice outdoors on a grassy spot on a blanket or mat. It is best to exercise before, rather than right after eating.

* Breathe in to begin the pose, and breathe out to finish the pose. In between, breathe evenly.

* Children should remain quiet during practice to maintain personal concentration.

Note:
Yoga practices are non-competitive.
Each person begins at their current level of fitness and ability,
and progresses at their own rate.
This makes these gentle yoga poses and exercises,
with adaptations as needed,
appropriate for those challenged.

I guess it's just like how I still love doing Wai Lana hello fitness after over 3 years of doing it.

Practicing yoga outdoors

The environment in which we do our yoga is very important. The science of yoga teaches that what we see, hear, smell, and feel all have an effect on the body, mind, and soul. It is counterproductive to practice yoga asanas in an environment where the air is dead, stuffy, smelly, or low in oxygen or where there's distracting noise or chatter.

That’s why Wai Lana yoga mats loves to practice outside, especially by the ocean. It is an atmosphere that is noncompetitive and spiritually inspiring.

Wai Lana even practices outdoors when it’s cold. “I like to practice outside in the fresh air. I just layer my clothes. I wear tights under my sweatpants when it's really cold, and a turtleneck under a sweater with a light jacket I can take off once I get warmed up. And that doesn't usually take very long! Out in the fresh air, the asanas and breathing techniques quickly oxygenate and warm my entire body,” says Wai Lana.

There's another element at work outside, too—negative ions. These negatively charged particles in the air are found in great numbers in forests and around oceans, rivers, or streams. Negative ions make you feel alert and invigorated and reduce anxiety and depression. According to researchers, this is because they increase our capacity to absorb and utilize oxygen so that it reaches our cells and tissues more quickly. That's a remarkably similar effect to that of yoga asanas, so why not combine the two for a double dose of feel-good energy!

Getting your Isoflavones in foods

So.. need some recipes with Isofalvones? Wai Lana Yoga has a big bunch of really delicious ones.

Isoflavones in foods
Isoflavones are a group of molecules that are similar in chemical structure. Isoflavones are produced only by plants in the Fabaceae (also known as Leguminosae) family, frequently called the legume or bean family. Foods that contain high amounts of isoflavones include soy, peanuts, chick peas, alfalfa, fava beans, and kudzu. When consumed by humans, isoflavones may behave like estrogen in the body.
Estrogen is a hormone that is present in males and females, but women produce much more of it. In women, estrogen is responsible for many of the physical changes that occur when girls begin puberty. It also has many effects related to the monthly menstrual cycle in women as well as in pregnancy. In men, one type of estrogen is important in the development of sperm. Estrogen is present in all people to help maintain normal brain function, to help bones grow, and to contribute to the development of new nerve cells in the brain. The amount of estrogen in the body determines how well this hormone is able to perform its bodily functions.
Australians first began to investigate that isoflavones may have properties similar to estrogen when they noticed high levels of infertility among sheep who ate large amounts of clover.
Consuming isoflavones as food or as a supplement may behave as if the amount of estrogen in the body is increased. This is because isoflavones may behave in a way that is very similar to estrogen in the body. Some cancers and other health problems, such as bone loss, may be prevented by consuming a diet that is rich in isoflavone-containing foods.
However, some experts believe that isoflavones may actually behave as an anti-estrogen. This means that the isoflavones may impair the ability of estrogen to perform its roles in the body. In this case, consuming larger amounts of isoflavones may actually increase the chance of developing some diseases. Isoflavones are sometimes eaten for breast cancer prevention and as a cancer treatment.
Ultimately, it is unclear if isoflavones have estrogenic or anti-estrogenic properties in the body. Though some experts have concluded that isoflavones may reduce a person's likelihood of developing some health problems, this idea is based on the prevalence of these diseases in cultures where these chemicals are a regular part of the foods in the diet. However, there is not agreement among how much isoflavones may help or harm a patient, because not enough well designed studies in humans have been conducted.
The potential health risks and benefits of consuming isoflavones is currently under investigation. The isoflavones daidzein, genistein, and glycitein have been the subject of the most research, and are included on the table below.
Daidzein is more abundant than glycitein, but less abundant than genistein. Daidzein has demonstrated estrogenic properties, but may also be useful in preventing cancer, some forms of heart disease, and osteoporosis. Daidzein has weaker estrogenic properties than glycitein and genistein.
Glycitein constitutes up to about five to 10 percent of the total isoflavones in most foods. Glycitein has been shown to have estrogenic properties, and may also have antioxidant properties as well. Some researchers believe that glycitein may be useful in treating cancer, some heart diseases, and osteoporosis. Though glycitein is not usually the most abundant isoflavone, it has been demonstrated to have estrogenic properties up to three times greater than genistein and up to twelve times greater than daidzein. Scientists are not sure exactly how glycitein interacts with the body to produce its demonstrated effects.
Genistein is the most abundant isoflavone in legumes. Similar to daidzein and glycitein, it has been shown to have estrogenic and antioxidant properties. Genistein may also behave as an anti-estrogenic, and decrease the effects of estrogen naturally produced by the body. Genistein may have properties that may make it useful for treating cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis. Genistein has estrogenic properties that are one third as powerful as glycitein, but four times more powerful than daidzein. Scientists have proposed a number of ways that genistein may behave in the body, but the details are not known at this time.
AMOUNTS OF ISOFLAVONES IN FOODS
The following table is a summary of information on the amounts of isoflavones in foods. This database was created through a joint effort between the University of Iowa and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The column on the left is a description of the food. Meatless foods are those that are vegetarian but manufactured to imitate the feel and taste of actual meat products. For instance, "Bacon, meatless" contains no pork, and is imitation bacon made entirely from vegetarian sources.
The other columns of the table list the milligrams of isoflavones that may be found in 100 grams of food. The three most abundant types of isoflavones, Daidzen, Genistein, and Glycitein, are included. The "total isoflavones" includes a count of all of the isoflavones, often ones other than the three most abundant, in the food.
After evaluating many samples of food, the researchers averaged the values for each of the four isoflavone categories for each food. The scientific word for this process for finding the average is called "mean."
Governmental agencies have not agreed on the amount of soy a person should consume every day. However, patients should always talk to their doctor before beginning a new diet.
ISOFLAVONES IN FOODS
SYNONYMS
Daidzein, fabaceae, flavones, flavonoids, genistein, glycitein, kudzu, legumes, leguminosae, phytoestrogens, selective estrogen receptor modulators, SERMs, soy, soy isoflavones, soybeans, tempeh, tofu.

On a side note, I just bought a Wailana Yoga Mat Bag. It's beautiful! It's one of her green products.

Yoga and me

I've been doing yoga for quite a while now. Some of my favorite tapes are Wai Lana's toning series. Why? Because they're simple, easy, and yet challenging still.

I've toned up a bit since I've started practicing yoga with her. I also love Wailana Yoga Mats. There are so many designs now and I love the green yoga mats she's come up with.

Currently I've been learning some other exercises as well, such as rowing, bowling, and walking. I hope to slowly increase my strength and start jogging. I'd say two more weeks or so and I'll be out going jogging. Health is such a nice thing to have. :)

Toning your body

So today is the first time I let my mother try out Wai Lana Yoga's Toning workout with me. She's been practicing a bit of yoga with me now that she's been around. I was pleasantly surprised at how much she loved it. She said, "My I haven't been challenged like this in so long." It's hard to think of her as the gymnast that she was as a young girl now! The funny (or sad) thing is that her back, at her age, is still more flexible than mine.

After these few days of her trying out yoga, she's asked me to get her a Wai Lana Yoga Mat. How could I refuse such a healthy request, right?

In the meantime, I have all these beautiful summer flowers just like these ones growing so wonderfully in my garden:

Yoga for kids

Kids and yoga is a great mix. Actually, anyone and yoga is a surely compatible mix.

Wai Lana yoga's little yogis is so beneficial in so many ways.

Wai Lana's yoga DVD program has something for all age yoga kids, starting with her "Little Yogis" yoga DVD. Parents will love this safe, fun and challenging yoga DVD. Her yoga DVD, "Little Yogis" is full of healthful activities that are good for all the yoga kids in your life. Yoga kids will get such a kick out of doing yoga with Wai Lana. She is and inspiration to yoga kids everywhere. Wai Lana makes yoga into a fun game where yoga kids are entertained and delighted. The yoga DVD "Little Yogis" will teach your yoga kids how to improve their balance and coordination. They won't even know that this playful and exciting yoga DVD is just what the doctor ordered.

A wonderful yoga DVD to watch would be Wai Lana's "Daydream". This yoga DVD is based on an ancient yoga technique known as Yoga Nidra. Her yoga DVD is good for naptime.

Do also try some yoga to stay healthy!

Release that tension headache

I used to suffer from head-splitting headaches. Since I started practicing Wai Lana Yoga regularly, my headaches have disappeared. Apparently one big cause of headaches is tension. Tension from the neck and shoulders caused by poor posture and bad sitting posture can cause this tension.

When you do yoga, the muscle groups in the shoulders and neck are relieved and relaxed. And that helps you get rid of the headache! It's even better when you do Wai Lana Yoga sound meditation because it's just so good for relieving stress! It's scientifically proven to help calm your mind and nervous system too.

On a side note, here's a helpful article on what you should know about viruses.

Wonder basil

I've been reading about different herbs and the like and how good they are for us. One of the herbs was basil. I am already a huge fan of basil, but this makes it even better.

Benefits of Basil

Basil is beneficial in any form for well being of body. You can opt for having basil leaves on daily basis; it helps to strengthen your immune system.

You can also add basil in your daily diet plan. You can also add basil as a form of natural remedy to cure health problems.

Here are some benefits of basil you can keep in mind:

Basil is very effective for curing any type of headache. For curing your headache, you can opt for juice of basil leaves on daily basis. You can also make a paste of few basil leaves. When you have severe headache, you can directly apply this paste. You can also mix basil leave paste along with sandalwood. It effectively helps to reduce the pain caused by headache.

Basil is very effective in curing various types of skin problems. This can include different types of allergies and skin infection. Basil can also cure skin infections like ringworm. You can make a paste of few basil leaves along with some neem water.

Daily application of this paste can help to provide respite from the condition of skin infection. It can cure your skin allergy in a week’s time. Many people also opt for neem powder along with basil leaves.

Having basil on daily basis can also help to improve your breathing pattern. People suffering from breathing difficulties can opt for chewing of basil leaves on regular basis. It helps to increase the oxygen level of your body. Even people suffering from asthma can opt for having basil juice or leaves on daily basis.

Basil juice is effective in curing common cold in an effective manner. You can opt for having basil juice along with some honey for curing the condition of cold. You can opt for some basil leaves along with warm water and have it twice in a day. You can mix some ginger juice along with basil juice.

Basil can also be opted in the form of herbal tea. You can have herbal basil tea on daily basis. It helps to prevent against various types of diseases.

These are some of the main health benefits of basil.

Try some of Wai Lana's wonderful fresh fruit juices. Some of them have basil thrown in there and they are simply wonderful.

Beat depression with yoga

Depression is all too common in the world today. I always knew that Wai Lana Yoga helped me get through depression. Today I saw an article on how yoga has helped other people beat depression.

Here are some excerpts:

Take a holistic approach to beating depression

Authors urge holistic approach combining yoga and meditation

Kimberly Hayes Taylor / Detroit News Health Writer

Depression was always a part of Elle Garfield's life.

Her depressed moods came and went like waves through her 20s, enduring tough times such as losing both parents between ages 19 and 22. But soon after the birth of her third child in her early 30s, depression came to stay. She felt so bad, she checked herself into a hospital for a few days.

"I was crying a lot and feeling hopeless," Garfield says. "I had very low energy. I had trouble sleeping, or I would sleep all the time. My appetite left, and I didn't have a desire to eat. I was losing weight and isolating more. Every area of my life was affected by it."

It makes me happy to know that more people are becoming aware of the fact that yoga really helps depression. It really is a great way to get out of that very sad life. Depression is never a very nice thing to be experiencing. I very much have loved this: Wai Lana Yoga Dance and give much credit to her and to all that fun - to helping me out of depression.

Love to all

Thinking of Thanksgiving

With time running right out the window, I've gotten thinking about Thanksgiving presents already. I plan to get a bunch of Wai Lana Yoga Products to give my family and friends. One of the things I'd like to get is this Yoga starter's kit:
Of course, I wouldn't really be so keep about doing this if I didn't have all those Wai Lana Coupons I got not too long ago.

Aren't these thanksgiving cookies just adorable?

That's all for today. If you're feeling a bit stressed, just relax and enjoy. Sing and dance along with Wai Lana's Yoga dancing:

Breastfeeding

A good friend of mine is giving birth soon, and she is still not convinced about breastfeeding. She wanted me to put together info about it for her, and so here it is.

For one, from Wailana:

If you're having a baby, nature has arranged the perfect food for your child—breast milk. I breastfed my three strong and healthy children, much to the dismay of my family and friends. Even my mother, who breastfed me, was influenced by the times to believe that breastfeeding was old-fashioned. But I'm glad I followed my heart. Yoga has woken me up to nature's wisdom and the many benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and child, which I'd like to share with you.

First, here are some of the benefits for your baby:

• Breast milk protects baby from disease. Colostrum, the first substance to come from the breast, is rich in infection-fighting antibodies. It also contains living immune cells. The milk itself provides effective immunity against a number of infectious diseases, including mumps, diphtheria, salmonella, pneumonia, and other respiratory diseases. It also decreases the incidence of ear infections, diarrhea, and chronic diseases like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

• Breast milk contains all the nutrients a baby needs during its first months, including iron and vitamins C and E.

• Mother's milk is easy for baby to digest and utilize. On the other hand, about 50% of cow's milk passes through the body unused, creating extra work for the child's immature excretory system.

• Breast milk does not cause allergic reactions as cow's milk and infant formulas can. It is believed that early exposure to allergens can lead to more severe allergies later in life. This is especially important if you or your spouse have allergies, as your child can inherit this tendency.

• Breastfed babies have an almost pure culture of Lactobacillus in their intestinal tracts. These beneficial bacteria quickly multiply, helping to break down food, make vitamin K, and dispose of harmful bacteria. The breastfed baby's stools are small and sweet-smelling, sometimes occurring only every few days. On the other hand, bottle-fed babies have mostly putrefactive bacteria such as E. coli in their intestinal tracts. As such, their stools are usually large and have a stronger smell. These infants are more likely to come down with gastrointestinal diseases.

Now, some of the benefits for you:

• Mothers who breastfeed are less likely to get breast cancer. Nursing your child also protects against osteoporosis and ovarian cancer later in life.

• Breastfeeding makes it easier to lose the weight gained during pregnancy because milk production burns calories.

• In the first days after birth, baby's sucking at the breast causes the uterus to contract, which protects mothers from hemorrhaging and returns the uterus to its pre-pregnancy shape more quickly.

• Breastfeeding releases a natural tranquilizing hormone, prolactin, that helps keep you relaxed and calm—your baby will like that.

And last (but certainly not least) for both of you:

• Breastfeeding provides an important bond between mother and child that provides great emotional satisfaction for both. This satisfaction cannot be measured in scientific terms. It simply offers a close, intimate, peaceful, and relaxed time with the baby. It is a model of love—of one giving generously of oneself with no expectation of something in return.

If you're not convinced, Breast Feeding for New Mom's has great stuff, as does Breastfeeding . Enjoy :)

Ps. Has anyone gone to Wailana coffee house? My classmate's inviting me for a lunch there.

Wai Lana on Twitter

I'm delighted to see Wai Lana on Twitter!

She's obviously just starting out, but it's great news!

Here are some of her tweets:

Wai Lana Yoga: Our eyes are one of our most valuable possessions, yet we often abuse them. Gaze at a distance and rest to rest your eyes every now and then18 minutes ago from web

Your consciousness affects your yoga practice http://tinyurl.com/mahbgy

On another note, I just bought myself some exercise bands and a nice pair of asics for walking.

Tip top health tips

I've still got my raves from the health group. So, for tip top health tips today, I'd say, don't starve yourself, exercise, eat healthy, and sleep well. If you're out of ideas, Wai Lana has got some fantastic vegetarian recipes which are fantastic. In fact, she just posted one of her soup recipes on her blog, Wai Lana Yoga on Wordpress. Teriyaki tofu- I'm going to try this tonight. I'm a huge fan of teriyaki, so I'm sure I'll love this soup.

In the meantime, my second health tip would be, sleep well. But to sleep well, you've got to exercise well to. Drink fresh milk, eat nuts, and do yoga. Wai Lana just had a nice blog entry about the importance of sleep and yoga. I sure enjoyed reading it, and sleeping that night!

Health Groups

I recently joined a health group. There are about 40 other adults in the group. We had a little meeting tonight and I let them try out some of the blueberry yogurt I've been making. Everyone loved it. It started out a conversation about food, and the relationship between food and health. There were a few people who started to get rather edgy because some other people mentioned that being a vegetarian is so much healthier. Of course, most of us in the group agree, as we've tried it out and all. The two groups- those who agreed vegetarianism is healthier- and those who think it's not necessary to go vegetarian- have a deal now. We're going to have a 3 month cook fest. The only rule is: bias should be left at the door whenever we meet.

I'm planning to do cook a bunch of meals from Wai Lana Yoga's website. I think those recipes that use seitan will be a hit. Her desserts are also wonderful. I think Wai Lana has some of the best eggless cakes I've ever had. Come to think of it, had I not tried out the vegetarian recipes of Wai Lana and several other great recipes, I don't think I would've been convinced that vegetarianism is the way to go.

Yo-yo yogurt!

I've been on this yogurt craze for the past few weeks. In fact, this is what I had for breakfast:


I also made some blueberry yogurt drinks:


And am contemplating on making blueberry yogurt pecan ice cream:


Have I mentioned how thrilled I am that Wailana just posted her first "Wailana's Juice of the week" on her wordpress blog? I want to try her "Sweet Relaxation" with some yogurt in it. I'm sure it would be absolutely perfect!

Swine Flu Vaccine

This article is quite alarming and helpful I'd say. It makes me wonder about swine flu just being a global scam.

Ten Things You Don't Know About the Flu Vaccine
The swine flu vaccines now being prepared for mass injection into infants, children, teens and adults have never been tested and won't be tested before the injections begin. In Europe, where flu vaccines are typically tested on hundreds (or thousands) of people before being unleashed on the masses, the European Medicines Agency is allowing companies to skip the testing process entirely.

And yet, amazingly, people are lining up to take the vaccine, absent any safety testing whatsoever. When the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. announced a swine flu vaccine trial beginning in early August, it was inundated with phone calls and emails from people desperate to play the role of human guinea pigs. The power of fear to herd sheeple into vaccine injections is simply amazing...

Back in Europe, of course, everybody gets to be a guinea pig since no testing will be done on the vaccine at all. Even worse, the European vaccines will be using adjuvants -- chemicals used to multiply the potency of the active ingredients in vaccines.

Notably, there is absolutely no safety data on the use of adjuvants in infants and expectant mothers -- the two groups being most aggressively targeted by the swine flu vaccine pushers. The leads us to the disturbing conclusion that the swine flu vaccine could be a modern medical disaster. It's untested and un-tried. Its ingredients are potentially quite dangerous, and the adjuvants being used in the European vaccines are suspected of causing neurological disorders.

Paralyzed by vaccines
I probably don't need to remind you that in 1976, a failed swine flu vaccine caused irreparable damage to the nervous systems of hundreds of people, paralyzing many. Medical doctors gave the problem a name, of course, to make it sound like they knew what they were talking about: Guillain-Barre syndrome. (Notably, they never called it "Toxic Vaccine Syndrome" because that would be too informative.)

But the fact remains that doctors never knew how the vaccines caused these severe problems, and if the same event played out today, all the doctors and vaccine pushers would undoubtedly deny any link between the vaccines and paralysis altogether. (That's what's happening today with the debate over vaccines and autism: Complete denial.)

In fact, there are a whole lot of things you'll never be told by health authorities about the upcoming swine flu vaccine. For your amusement, I've written down the ten most obvious ones and published them below.

Ten things you're not supposed to know about the swine flu vaccine
(At least, not by anyone in authority...)

#1 - The vaccine production was "rushed" and the vaccine has never been tested on humans. Do you like to play guinea pig for Big Pharma? If so, line up for your swine flu vaccine this fall...

#2 - Swine flu vaccines contain dangerous adjuvants that cause an inflammatory response in the body. This is why they are suspected of causing autism and other neurological disorders.