Healthy Living

A new study published in the Yoga Journal found that nearly 20.4 million people practice yoga in the United States; yoga has become an increasingly popular tool to help people find balance amidst the chaos of life. Aside from the more traditional styles of yoga, such as hatha or iyengar, people from around the country have begun to create their own forms of yoga, including the unexpected: goats, dogs, horses and other animals, marijuana, nudity, “rave” scenes, aerial fitness, and more. While many may find these types of yoga to be beneficial, there are some key issues here. According to CBS News, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a mission to revitalize yoga through a campaign that will bring yoga back to its roots - India. During the clip, it showed how yoga is practiced in India - a much different way of life than how it is practiced in America. For example, yoga in India consists of cleansing the nostrils and snorting, meditation, and very strict, precise movements. The Prime Minister stated that yoga is not meant to be seen as a form of exercise, but rather a tool to become more connected with oneself and the world. Does this mean that Western civilization’s form of yoga constitutes as cultural appropriation? Yes, it does - but this can be mitigated by incorporating more of the nature that yoga was meant for - not just the physical component. Julia Gibran, a Toronto yoga teacher, stated for Vice Magazine, “In the West in general, we focus on one limb of yoga, and that is asana. It’s become a very physical practice. But there are ways to acknowledge the roots [of the practice]. People can put a little focus on meditation, or bring in breath work.” Gibran also noted that when she first practiced yoga it was taught by her grandfather, and she read a book called Bhagavad Gita with him - then moving on to learn more about Hindu tradition, cultural history, deities and symbolism, and more. She went on to explain, “....the study of asana does help the Western population in terms of anxiety and stress, so it’s been such a gift. But something I struggle with is I feel very lucky to be of West Indian descent teaching yoga...I do consider myself, oddly enough, to be a minority.” Does this mean that Americans should stop practicing yoga? Absolutely not - it just means that we need to work on incorporating more than just the physical component of yoga. We need to practice meditation and breathing, because these are key grounding tools that were developed to help us garner more love and peace for ourselves and the world.

Studies show that nearly 50% of all jobs today require some degree of technology, and it is predicted that number will rise to 77% within the next decade. Furthermore, Vision Council states that as many as 95% of Americans spend at least 2 hours or more each day on a digital device. Nearly one-third of Americans spend 9 or more hours a day. Between the amount of technology required for jobs and the number of people becoming addicted to the internet, it’s safe to say that technology is at the forefront. According to CBS News, many Americans report eye problems including dryness, irritation, and blurred vision. If you’ve experienced these things, you may have also experienced frequent headaches, back pain, neck strain, and more. Another report titled Diverse: Issues in Higher Education states that increased technology use has caused us to difficulty interacting with one another in person - while the ideal circumstance would be for us to cut down our use of technology, this is not always feasible. However, are there are some steps that we can take to ensure our health alongside our productivity:

A 2011 study conducted by researchers from Pennsylvania stated there are 5 factors that characterize human flourishing: 1) positive emotion, 2) relationships, 3) engagement, 4) achievement, and 5) meaning. There are a variety of elements that can impact these things, and music can be a significant influence. Research has shown that listening to music we enjoy increases positive emotions and feelings, leaving us with contentment, happiness, and interest, according to Psych Central. Conversely, music that focuses on sadness or anger can cause us to feel more of these things, making it even more important to fuel our thoughts with positive music. If you’ve been seeking some positive music to help you boost your mindset, look no further; here are some wonderful artists that exhibit music that is mostly aimed at love, happiness, and growth:

Imagine this: You’re in a crowded room, and you look around. Everyone seems to be talking with one another – perhaps you arrived by yourself or you came with friends. Laughter fills the air, and your self-awareness heightens. You realize that you are just standing there, and you feel distanced from the rest of the people in the room. You feel as though everyone could walk right through you, as if you weren’t there. You think to yourself, “Maybe I’m just not meant to fit in”. Deepak Chopra, an American author, public speaker, holistic therapy advocate, and prominent figure in the New Age movement, explained on Oprah Winfrey’s website that there are different kinds of invisibility, and you must first understand what you are feeling and what it is about you that you feel is being unseen or unheard. For example, are you not feeling heard when you speak, or do you feel your opinions are being discredited? Once you can pinpoint the situations that make you feel invisible, you can go on to do something about them. The Huffington Post notes that most of the time we develop this sense of “wounded self” – it’s a view of ourselves that we let affect us based on how our parents, teachers, friends, family members, and strangers treated us in the past. There are a number of things we must do to overcome feelings of invisibility:

Whether you have a mental disorder or not, maintaining your mental health is so important to leading a happy life. A lot of times we place our mental health on the back-burner without even realizing it – we may push ourselves too hard at work or may be critical of ourselves. When this happens, we hinder our ability to live our lives to the fullest extent. Furthermore, a 2012 study published in the British Medical Journal stated that people with even mild mental health problems may have a lower life expectancy. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that positive mental health helps you achieve the following:

Imagine this scenario. You’re at a club, and you’ve only had one or two drinks so far. You plan to drink more, but then you begin feeling strange. Your face becomes flushed, you experience warm, red, itchy bumps on your skin, your asthma is acting up more than ever, and your nose is becoming stuffy. What is happening? You were just feeling fine 30 minutes ago. Alcohol intolerance is real, and it can cause severely unpleasant reactions almost immediately after you drink alcohol. Additional symptoms from the ones listed above may include low pressure, headache, nausea/vomiting, and diarrhea. If you experience alcohol intolerance, you may not need to see a doctor right away but rather refrain from drinking alcohol, limit the amount you are drinking or avoid certain types of alcohol altogether. However, if symptoms persist or become more severe, or are causing unnecessary pain, consult a physician immediately just to be safe. The enzyme in the body that digests alcohol, called aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2), is shown up as a variant in other people’s genes, causing them to produce less active ALDH2. When this happens, it prevents the body from digesting the alcohol properly. A variety of ingredients within the alcohol beverage may cause the intolerance, including:

Time Magazine has stated that Americans are angrier now than ever, but why? It seems political debates and news of violence have enraged many, understandably – but are we letting too much get to us? As soon as we become upset about an issue, we set ourselves up to be irritable or agitated more easily than we would be if we felt content. This later translates into fights/arguments with our loved ones, road rage, substance abuse, and more. There are healthier ways to channel this anger, however, and they are healthy because they involve physical movement. Here are some things you can do to channel your anger for a worthy cause (your health):

Veterans who have recently left the military are between 2 and 3 times more likely to take their own lives compared to active service duty members, and nearly 20% of all veterans who return from duty experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or depression. USA Today stated that on average, 20 veterans die by suicide each day. These numbers are alarming, devastating, and so tragic for all the military members and families involved. Earlier this year that President Trump signed an executive order to provide more benefits for more veterans transitioning from the military into civilian life. Trump stated, “We want them to get the highest care and the care they so richly deserve.” Many members of service are exposed to horrifying instances like combat, assault, disaster and more – leaving many with anxiety, nightmares, depression, hyperarousal, paranoia, and more. When they come back to civilian life, they face unique challenges. On top of their mental and physical conditions, they must fit into corporate America, which isn’t very easy for them. Veteran Health Services has noted the following challenges for many returning from the military:

As someone stated on The Guardian when sharing their story of addiction and sobriety, “Ten years ago I wrote, ‘I can’t believe I’m writing this but being controlled by alcohol is so awful that even giving up drinking forever still feels better.’ Still is, still does.” For many people all over the world, and especially in the UK, “Dry January” was a month to kick off the New Year with sobriety and healthy habits. Some people considered it a way to drink less, while others consider it a way to begin detoxing from NYE celebrations. Fox News claims that taking a month of sobriety won’t necessary “undo” damage from excessive alcohol drinking in the past, nor should it be an excuse to drink excessively any other time of the year. Whether you participated in “Dry January” or not, why not make a commitment to sobriety each day? There are many benefits that sobriety can provide you with:

Whether you’re holding onto your current job for the salary, the comfortability, the location, the position title, or a different reason, the motivating factor behind your position is an important one. How you feel about your job and what propels you to continue working each day gives you some meaning to your life – it’s what we often talk about when we first meet someone, because we spend so much time at work that it, in part, reflects a little bit about who we are and what we’re about. If you are holding onto your job for the wrong reasons, this could be very detrimental to your health. Forbes Magazine states that 20% to 40% of people report hating their job – an alarming statistic, to say the least. Staying in a job that you don’t like raises many concerns, including:

Contributor Merylee Sevilla shared her experience with cutting family ties on Elite Daily: “I broke up with my parents and most of my family when I came out as gay. Growing up, I spent years and years unknowingly sacrificing my happiness and my mental and emotional health in the name of family. I believe I had to do anything and everything for them. And that’s because most of us have been trained to believe that turning our backs on family – no matter how bad or abusive they are – is reprehensible. But, that belief is severely flawed.” The idea of family is one that leads us to believe in connection, closeness, respectfulness, people whom we can depend on and trust, and more. If you have family relationships that are based on these premises, you likely have a good support system. While most of us try to uphold these critical components of a relationship, we cannot control the way our family treats us. Some of us may believe that holding onto family no matter what is best, but this is not always the case. A toxic family member can cause danger to our overall sense of well-being, safety, and recovery. There are several cases you should consider for terminating a family member from your life:

Most of us experience negative script in our head; “I wish my arms were thinner” or “I don’t like my nose”. For some of us, these critical comments float right on by, and we give them no further importance or attention. For others, we cling onto these thoughts and soon enough, they grow into our self-esteem, our self-perception, and our overall self-image. Psych Central claims that 80% of women in the United States are dissatisfied with their appearance, and more than 10 million are experiencing eating disorders. Our negative self-talk can be detrimental to our mental, physical, and spiritual health, and here’s why: Body hate can hold you back from attending events, can consume your thoughts to the point of no longer enjoying the present moment, and can damage critical aspects of your relationships with others, such as intimacy with your significant other. If you are experiencing body hate, ask yourself these questions: