Semen Quality Dependant on Antioxidants in Man’s Diet

Medical researcher, Dr Shaun Holt reviews research suggesting semen quality may depend on antioxidants in a man’s diet:

The facts:

• This study investigated the effects of nutrient intake on sperm quality in Spanish men attending private fertility clinics.
• Thirty men with poor sperm quality and 31 men with normal sperm quality had their dietary habits and nutrient consumption compared.
• Men with normal sperm quality were found to eat a lot more antioxidant nutrients and less protein and fat than men with poor semen quality.

Dr Shaun Holt:

With declining fertility rates, one theory has been that diet may be partly responsible and this small study adds weight to that theory, finding that low antioxidant intake is associated with low reproductive capacity in semen. Spanish researchers working at infertility centres said:

“A healthy diet is not only a good way of avoiding illness, but could also have an impact on improving seminal quality. What we still do not understand is the difference between taking these vitamins naturally and in the form of supplements. In the studies we are going to carry out in the United States (where the consumption of vitamins in tablet form is very common) we will be looking at the role of supplements”

For further information on the study: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.10.075

Author: Dr Shaun Holt is a GP and medical research specialist, he is the Author of Natural Remedies That Really Work: a New Zealand Guide and appears regularly on TVNZ’s Breakfast. Check out www.naturalhealthreview.org for further studies and information.

Never Lose Hope in Dealing With Your Fears and Depression

Author Stanley Popovich encourages people dealing with fears or depression not to lose hope. Even in the darkest times small changes can make a big difference. The trick is to be careful how you view the challenges or issues causing your disquiet:

When your fears and depression have the best of you, it is easy to feel that things will not get any better. This is not true. There is much help available in today’s society and the best way to deal with your fears is to find effective ways to overcome them. As a result, here are some techniques a person can use to help manage their fears and anxieties.

You never know when the answers you are looking for will come to your doorstep. Even if the thing that you feared does happen, there are circumstances and factors that you can’t predict which can be used to your advantage. These factors can change everything. Remember: we may be ninety-nine percent correct in predicting the future, but all it takes is for that one percent to make a world of difference.

Positivity & Objectivity Trumps Negativity & Anxiety

Challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking. When encountering thoughts that make you feel fearful or depressed, challenge those thoughts by asking yourself questions that will maintain objectivity and common sense. For example, your afraid that if you do not get that job promotion then you will be stuck at your job forever. This depresses you, however your thinking in this situation is unrealistic. The fact of the matter is that there all are kinds of jobs available and just because you don’t get this job promotion doesn’t mean that you will never get one. In addition, people change jobs all the time, and you always have that option of going elsewhere if you are unhappy at your present location.

Some people get depressed and have a difficult time getting out of bed in the mornings. When this happens, a person should take a deep breath and try to find something to do to get their mind off of the problem. A person could take a walk, listen to some music, read the newspaper or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things. Doing something will get your mind off of the problem and give you confidence to do other things.

Take it Step by Step & Get Professional Help

Be smart in how you deal with your fears and anxieties. Do not try to tackle everything all at once. When facing a current or upcoming task that overwhelms you with a lot of anxiety, break the task into a series of smaller steps. Completing these smaller tasks one at a time will make the stress more manageable and increases your chances of success.
Take advantage of the help that is available around you. If possible, talk to a professional who can help you manage your fears and anxieties. They will be able to provide you with additional advice and insights on how to deal with your current problem.  By talking to a professional, a person will be helping themselves in the long run because they will become better able to deal with their problems in the future. Managing your fears and anxieties takes practice.  The more you practice, the better you will become.

The techniques that I have just covered are some basic ways to manage your fears and depression, however your best bet is to get some help from a professional and not to lose hope. Eventually, you will find the answers you are looking for.

Author: Stan Popovich is the author of “A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods” – an easy to read book that presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: www.managingfear.com

The Power of Faking It Until You Make It

Wellington yoga teacher, Kara-Leah Grant draws inspiration from Power Yoga and suggests it’s worth ‘faking it’ because it helps you ‘make it’:

I have a Baron Baptiste DVD which I use occasionally to yoga do. He’s one of the great teachers of Power Yoga and emphasizes finding strength within.

One of his favourite lines is ‘Fake it until you make it’.

I love this saying because it’s a way to unlock everything you want to be. If you decide to ‘fake’ being strong and brave by taking brave and strong actions… you will trigger feelings of bravery and strength within you and discover that you’re not faking it anymore

So often in life we allow our feelings to create our thoughts about a situation, and then those thoughts create our experience of the situation. This is a reactive way to live – your feelings are in control and you’re merely reacting to them.

If instead you decide how you WANT to feel in the experience, and then intend to act as if you ALREADY feel that way – faking it until you make it – you will find that those actions CREATE the feelings inside you. Brave action creates brave feeling. This is consciously creating your life.

It’s an active, participatory way of living, and it takes work – i.e. you need to observe yourself and be conscious of what you are feeling, thinking and doing. But the pay-offs are worth it.

If a situation or experience has been driving you crazy in your life, you can use these techniques to change what’s happening. It’s not about controlling and manipulating the external factors, like other people or situations. It’s about being conscious of how you feel, NOT reacting to it, and instead deciding what you want to create. It’s about changing your internal Self.

Yesterday I used this technique to address a situation that had really begun to really get me down.

After a week of dreading getting on my yoga mat, of experiencing fear and resistance when I did, I resolved to stop sitting in that fear and resistance and just do it. I stepped on to my mat with the intention of flowing through Astanga Series I with no cop outs. And I did. The amazing thing was that instead of feeling weak and pathetic and awful – like I had all week – I felt strong and confident and filled with courage. Plus my right hip, which had seized up in the last four days, loosened off considerably by the time I finished my practice.

This experience highlights how our thoughts really do create our experience. When I step on to the mat fearful of what I may encounter, and allow my fear to overwhelm me, I experience a weak, pathetic and awful practice. It’s not that that particular practice was there waiting for me on my mat -no, I took it on with me.

When I step on to the mat determined to face whatever comes up with courage and work through it, then I am filled with confidence and strength, and I feel great, no matter what I may encounter.

I know this intellectually, but I still get so caught up in my feelings, reacting to them and letting them control my life. Then I wonder why everything is so hard. Sometimes it just takes a reminder, like stumbling across Baron Baptiste’s website yesterday.

So next time life is overwhelming you, take a moment to be conscious of what YOU are creating. Observe your feelings for what they are, CONSCIOUSLY think about how you WANT to feel and then fake it.

Take the actions you would take if you already had those feelings.

And if you’re thinking right now that this won’t work, well, put yourself into scientist mode, intend to give it a good go and experiment with the technique. Play around with it, have fun. And then report back to me, let me know if it works as well for you as it does for me.

Author: Kara-Leah Grant, once a Queenstown-based yoga teacher, now teaches in Wellington where she’s discovered the joy of Prana Flow Yoga.  Read more of her articles on yoga and the art of living at Prana Flow NZ.

Multi-Orgasmic Lovers – Healing Love through the Tao

Multi-orgasmic sex is possible with ancient taoist sexual techniques says Minke de Vos, (in a piece adapted by Kim Knight, Director of Tao Workshops NZ):

How can we grow and cultivate more love in our life? The ancient Taoists were experts in the cultivation of the intimate arts, and fortunately for us the practices have survived as they have been passed down from Master to student.

Taoist sexuality, also called the ‘Arts of the Bedchamber’, is a three thousand year old tradition that has long known about male and female multiple orgasms and many other secrets of sexual satisfaction. It was developed to help couples experience more pleasurable and healing lovemaking. Through these practices one learns to experience the physically healing, emotionally intimate and spiritually profound aspects of lovemaking.

Mantak Chia, founder of the Universal Healing Tao, is one of the few present-day Masters who is openly passing on these sexual alchemy secrets to the world. In his best-selling books ‘The Multi Orgasmic Couple’, ‘Multi Orgasmic Woman’ and ‘Multi Orgasmic Man’ Chia intricately describes in step-by-step detail a variety of practices for heightening sexual pleasure and intimacy. His belief is that it is everyone’s birthright to have a blissful love life and his teachings inspire couples to not only make love all night, but to make love last a lifetime.

The potential for bliss

According to Master Chia, “shocking as it is for most people to hear, both women and men can have multiple orgasms….However, this is just the beginning of sexual knowledge… When you and your partner are both multi-orgasmic, you will each experience far greater individual pleasure. You will also be able to harmonize your sexual needs and reach ever more fulfilling levels of intimacy and ecstasy together”.

Before going further, I’d like to share how I experience love and sex in my own relationship, so that you get a feel of opportunities that may await you:

“My partner’s presence and awareness allows me to open my heart and body in trust so we can both surrender to the bliss of union. He takes me on a journey and I respond with “active reception”, being aware with movement, like dancing together. I allow sound to express my pleasure. We feel the energy spiralling through us and around us. We channel the universal orgasmic force through us, for the sake of all beings. Deep peace soaks into our bones as we nest. Our joyful play and touch throughout the day is a continual, seamless foreplay. We meditate together and experience alchemical bliss just sitting still in the same room. When I am travelling I feel his presence cuddling and comforting me and I do not feel alone. I am so grateful to have our warm and loving connection in my life”.

Soul Mates

Have you ever longed for your soul mate? A soul mate is someone with whom you feel a mind-heart-spirit connection, which could have been cultivated in past lifetimes. This connection is cultivated by sharing in all three aspects of your being: thinking (views on life), feeling (what you care for) and willing (your life style). Soul Mating is a profoundly intimate experience of union and oneness. It can be felt at a distance. You can experience orgasmic lovemaking on the other side of the world with your partner! Like remote viewing or remote healing, remote soul union is a vivid reality.

The compassion you cultivate in your relationship can deepen your whole spiritual life. As Mantak Chia says, “Sexuality and spirituality are inextricably linked for Taoists”. Body, soul and spirit are one being and work together quite naturally if we do not separate them and judge them as sinful or taboo. He adds “People who deny sexual energy lose access to this vital source of energy and vitality for their life and spiritual growth.”

Sexual energy is sacred. When our raw passionate energy is refined and channelled upwards to higher energy centers it becomes the power behind love, creativity and communion with the Divine or Universal Love. He adds “According to the Taoists, this love and ecstasy that we feel in our most intimate relationship is simply a taste of the Universal Love and the blissful oneness with the Original Force of the universe that we can experience as we grow spiritually.”

Authentic Connection

Starting with a smile The Inner Smile

So where do we start? Despite the many in depth techniques that are prescribed for both men and women, the sexual ‘healing love’ practices always start with a smile. Romantic intentions are worth little if your body is tired or ailing, or if energetic imbalances prevent the sexual energy from overflowing from your heart into your partner’s. If you are out of sorts you will be irritable or emotional, whilst anger or harsh words can hurt, and damage trust and responsiveness during lovemaking.

One of the key foundation Healing Tao practices is the ‘Secret of the Inner Smile’, where you connect with a golden sunny glow of unconditional love and let it flow down your body, melting tension and transforming negativity. Love is the energy of the heart – your feeling centre – and the essence of authentic connection starts with love for one self. Thus one learns to smile to each organ in the body (heart, lungs, liver, kidneys etc) which immediately transforms the chemistry of the body. This exercise, when taken to more profundity during lovemaking, actually allows each organ to have its own orgasm, which in itself is an extremely healing process for the whole body.

Inner Smile Exercise:

If you like, practice this short meditation with your partner in turn. Read it slowly, taking the time to pause in between each segment: ‘Close your eyes and lift the corners of your lips into a smile, feeling the uplifting sensation in your body as you do this. Lifting the corners of your lips creates a whole body smile that is like turning on a light switch. Smile down with love and deep appreciation to every organ in turn, moving from your heart, to the spleen, to the lungs, to the kidneys and finally the liver, as you move through the five elements within the body. Then smile down to your sexual organs, (breasts, womb, vagina and ovaries for women – prostate, penis, testicles for men). Notice how this feels and how your body responds to this intimate inner connection. Get in touch with the life force energy present in your sexual organs which we call sexual energy. Notice how it comes alive just by bringing attention to it’.

Connecting your Orbits of Love The Microcosmic Orbit

Even without any more formal training, you can practice this technique before lovemaking and see how it intensifies your sensual pleasure and deepens feelings of compassion and intimacy. During Taoist training you will learn how to move both unaroused and aroused sexual energy through specific energy channels in the body, starting with the ‘Microcosmic Orbit’ – the two major acupuncture meridians which run up the front and back of the body. Rather than wasting precious life force energy during orgasm, one learns to channel this energy through one’s own Orbit for intensified bliss, and later to share it with one’s partner.

For men, the biggest loss of life force comes through ejaculation, and they are taught to minimize and eventually withhold from ejaculating. ‘Sexual Kung Fu’ is the art of seminal retention, how to pull up the sexual energy with breathing, mindfulness and muscle control instead of letting out through ejaculation. Thus men can learn too to have whole body orgasms: instead of exploding through the genitals the vibrations rises through the Microcosmic Orbit and internal organ channels to the heart and head. During lovemaking this energy can also penetrate through the core channel of the woman, multiply and circle back into him in a continuous loop.

Another fascinating practice is the art of sexual reflexology. Based on the premise that all our organs have reflex points on other parts of the body, reflexology is most often associated with massage of the hands and feet. Yet the most powerful reflex points are on the sexual organs: as specific areas of the penis and vagina come into contact with each other during lovemaking, the internal organs that are connected to each reflex point are stimulated deep within, heightening pleasure and bringing healing.

Sexual Reflexology can also help couples to determine their internal energy compatibility and reveal their character and disposition, which will help define the nature of their relationship.

Soul Orgasm

Soul Orgasm is possible when you feel orgasmic energy circulating and waving through the body. This fundamental circulation of energy in the Microcosmic Orbit becomes a way to receive and give energy and also generate love and light. Once this pathway is open, you and your partner can exchange energy, linking your Orbits into a figure eight, connecting through each others genitals, tongues, foreheads and hearts. The yin energy of the woman flows into the man and the yang energy of the man flows into the woman, creating a harmonious field of united energy. The exchange of energy can be felt even without touching. When a soul orgasm overflows beyond the physical it can feel like a fountain rising out the crown. In bliss, souls can unite above the body. This energetic bonding deepens the potential of long term relationships. You start to cultivate a perennial garden of love, joy, trust and respect.

When we as partners are committed to supporting the highest in each other, we become portals for Source or Unconditional Love to flow through us. As the Taoists teachings say “When sexual energy and loving energy are combined the energy becomes stable and nourishing”. Compassion, a higher state of consciousness, develops and ripples out into all your relationships and the world around you. We urgently need this powerful healing energy to heal this world and to generate more love for generations to come. Mantak Chia says “Multiple orgasms are part of an unfolding process of becoming one with each other and the world.” The whole universe is continually pulsating and vibrating. When we orgasm we harmonize with our own body, our partner’s body and the pulsation of the whole world. Becoming a multi-orgasmic lover is realizing that you are one with the continuous, orgasmic, creative, and mysterious universal process!

Building Love and Compassion Exercise:

Make love in the morning: the Taoists see this as energizing, which gives us the openness and joy to greet the day and deal effectively with any stresses that may occur. Then allow love to flow between you and your partner throughout the day, even when you are apart. Only with this openness of your body and your heart can you truly feel the flow of energy within you, and between you and your partner. The more love that you feel for each other, the more orgasmic you will become. As Mantak Chia says “Learning to make love from your heart is the essence of Healing Love. Without your sincere love for each other, sex is simply friction. Friction is certainly pleasurable, but it is real love that will bind your bodies together in ecstatic lovemaking for a lifetime”.

All quotes with permission from ‘The Multi-Orgasmic Couple’ by Mantak Chia & Maneewan Chia, Douglas Abrams & Rache Carlton Abrams, M.D.

Minke De Vos

Author: Minke de Vos is the Director of Silent Ground Retreats (www.silentground.com) in Vancuver BC. She has devoted over 20 years to the practice of internal arts, working alongside Mantak Chia since 1983. She will be in New Zealand to teach in February – March 2009.

Mantak Chia is the founder of the Universal Healing Tao. Initiated into meditation by Buddhist monks at the age of 6, he has spent his whole life practicing the art of ‘internal energy cultivation’ and is a master of the sexual alchemical practices. He will be in New Zealand for the first time ever to teach in April 2009. See www.taoworkshops.co.nz

Facing The Fear and Anxiety of The Unknown

Author Stanley Popovich offers ways to deal with uncertainty with minimum stress in uncertain times… Essential reading with a constant stream of anxiety-inducing financial news dominating the media:

Almost everybody worries about what will happen in the future. The prospect of not knowing if something good or bad will happen to you in the near future can produce a lot of fear and anxiety. As a result, here is a list of techniques and suggestions on how to manage this fear of dealing with the unknown.

Remember: It Might Not Happen

Remember that no one can predict the future with one hundred percent certainty. Even if the thing that you feared does happen there are circumstances and factors that you can’t predict which can be used to your advantage. For instance, let’s say at your place of work that you miss the deadline for a project you have been working on for the last few months. Everything you feared is coming true. Suddenly, your boss comes to your office and tells you that the deadline is extended and that he forgot to tell you the day before. This unknown factor changes everything. Remember: we may be ninety-nine percent correct in predicting the future, but all it takes is for that one percent to make a world of difference.

“One Day At A Time”

Learn to take it one day at a time. Instead of worrying about how you will get through the rest of the week or coming month, try to focus on today. Each day can provide us with different opportunities to learn new things and that includes learning how to deal with your problems. When the time comes, hopefully you will have learned the skills to deal with your situation.

Self-Visualize to Prepare For Challenges

Sometimes, we can get anxious over a task that we will have to perform in the near future. When this happens, visualize yourself doing the task in your mind. For instance, you and your team have to play in the championship volleyball game in front of a large group of people in the next few days. Before the big day comes, imagine yourself playing the game in your mind. Imagine that you’re playing in front of a large audience. By playing the game in your mind, you will be better prepared to perform for real when the time comes. Self-Visualization is a great way to reduce the fear and stress of a coming situation and increase your self-confidence.

Distract Yourself

Remember take a deep breath and try to find something to do to get your mind off of you anxieties and stresses. A person could take a walk, listen to some music, read the newspaper, watch TV, play on the computer or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things. This will distract you from your current worries.

Bottom Line: Worrying Changes Nothing

A lot of times, our worrying can make the problem even worse. All the worrying in the world will not change anything. All you can do is to do your best each day, hope for the best, and when something does happen, take it in stride.  If you still have trouble managing your anxiety of the future, then talking to a counselor or clergyman can be of great help. There are ways to help manage your fear and all it takes is some effort to find those answers.

Author: Stan Popovich is the author of “A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods” – an easy to read book that presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: www.managingfear.com

Organised for a Stress-free Xmas?

Kinetica’s Katy Macpherson offers organising tips for a stress-free Christmas:

Do you want to be more organised this Christmas?

Make Christmas lists!

Make a present list now and keep it in your purse/wallet so you have it to hand whenever you are in town. Remember the current local campaign – Shop Local. Shopping local keeps the money in town for the town, to employ people so they can remain in town. Shopping local makes sense.

Start planning your meals for the festive season now. Consider meals that are quick yet interesting and can be a joint effort, so you have more time to enjoy with friends and relatives. Make a list of the meals and then allocate the meals to actual dates. Don’t you get tired of thinking what to have for tea? Well, having all the meals planned in advance makes this busy time of year so much more enjoyable.

Thirdly, make grocery lists, one for each store. Be careful, it’s so easy to over indulge at this time of year, so only buy what you need with perhaps a few extra treats! Grocery lists cut the cost of your shopping bill, so get in the habit of only shopping with a list. Start to get the basics in now and avoid the last minute crowds!

You can even start by making a list of the lists you have to prepare!!!

Author – Contact Katy Macpherson today to see how Kinetica can help you organise your office and home: 03 443 6224, 021 154 5511 or get organising tips directly into your emailbox, just email katy@kinetica.co.nz

Five Tips For a Stress-less Summer

Tips for summer stress relief from Health in Harmony’s friend Christopher Wesseling:

1. Make a half hour appointment with yourself at least once a week. If you find yourself getting caught up in work or other duties, make time just for you.

2. Find a place you enjoy being and visit it regularly. It may be a place with a view or a place that inspires you with its sense of beauty. Maybe it’s somewhere that just makes you feel relaxed and or inspired inside.  Enjoy the sense that comes with being there, take time out and relax.

3. Refocus and breath out the stress letting it go. If you find yourself getting caught up on something that is bringing on stress take a breath and focus on the sense of it coming in turning around and going out again. Do this for as long as is required to expell the stress.

4. Learn to ask for help. Two heads are better than one and often others see things we may have missed great to have the contribution.

5. Learn to meditate (classes are availabe with Evolve ) and buy a book of inspirational thoughts and sayings to reflect on. Some time meditating or reading your book is a great way to start or end the day before going to bed.

Christopher Wesseling.
Evolve.

25 Tips for a Better life

A friend sent this onto me so I wanted to share with you:

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a clock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, ‘My purpose is to __________ today.’

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, and almonds.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8.  Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen and dinner like a pauper.

9.  Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.

14. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15.  No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19.  GOD heals everything.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will.  Stay in touch.

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23.  Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:
I am thankful for __________.
Today I accomplished  _________.

24.  Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. Please Forward this to everyone you care about. I did.