Read our posts about Body

26Feb

Love Your Belly

Kate Codrington

complementaryhealth, massage, stress

Body

Few of us feel love for our bellies. We squeeze them into Spanx pants or belt them up Clarkson-style; our bellies are viewed as wayward creatures that will embarrass us given half a chance. As Susie Orbach says in her book Bodies: “Bodies are becoming our personal mission to tame, extend and perfect.” The reality of our soft, fallible selves is regarded as out of control and unacceptable. However, tension in the belly is translated into tight tissues, which can inhibit the function of our digestion, our backs and our hormonal flow. Ninety percent of serotonin is...
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25Feb

Yoga: Meditation for the Restless

Lucy Greeves

meditation, yoga

Body

It was day two of the yoga retreat. We’d just sat for our second evening meditation, in the profound silence of a candlelit limestone cave, and we were sharing some thoughts about our experiences. Suddenly one of my fellow students, in some distress, burst out, “It’s no use! I’m trying and trying and I can’t do it.  I just can’t empty my mind!” Of all the misconceptions about meditation, this is one of the most common – and probably the most unhelpful. Of course the poor woman couldn’t empty her mind – it’s a contradiction in terms. ‘Mind’ is the word we use for...
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18Feb

What is Scaravelli Yoga?

Lucy Greeves

exercise, wellbeing, yoga

Body

Having studied with some of the most inspirational teachers in India, Vanda Scaravelli set up her own yoga style, based on gravity and its effect on the body
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17Feb

Is Your Diet Causing Chronic Inflammation?

Noonie Zand

nutrition, wellbeing

Body

When studying nutrition I was initially very taken by the idea, provided by one of my tutors, that inflammation is the seat of all chronic disease. This concept had never crossed my mind before as I had always thought of inflammation as being the acute kind – the pain, heat, swelling and redness that is the result of scraping your knee or cutting your finger. Of course this kind of inflammation is important and, in a place without antibiotics or antiseptics, it is life-saving. This is because it is the body’s primary mechanism for dealing with trauma and...
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11Feb

What is Yin Yoga?

Lucy Greeves

yoga

Body

The American cartoonist Scott Adams once observed, “There are two types of yoga: the kind that hurts like crazy, and the kind that looks like you’re sleeping.” Yin yoga definitely falls into the latter camp.
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05Feb

What You Should Know About Sleep

Louise Chunn

sleep, stress, wellbeing

Body

Don’t smoke, cut back on the booze, try to stick to a healthy diet, get some exercise --- that’s enough health rules to be getting on with surely?  But there’s one essential element that many people forget about. Sleep is as important as any of those in keeping us on the rails. This was one of the main messages I took away from a visit to Champneys Tring recently. I was at the well-known health spa to sample a Lifestyle Improvement Plan, for which food and drink intake, exercise levels and daily activities are monitored in advance. The aim is to illustrate that...
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04Feb

Cosmetic Surgery Makes Beauty That's Barely Skin Deep

Linda Blair

psychology, society, women

Body

I was sad to read in The Guardian today that there’s been a big rise — nearly 17 per cent – in the demand for cosmetic surgery in Britain in the last year. Breast augmentation is the number one favourite, with anti-ageing techniques such as eyelid surgery and face and neck lifts following closely behind.  I was, however, not surprised to read that there’s also been a rise in reports of patient dissatisfaction. Quite apart from any issues of competence  this shows that cosmetic surgery doesn’t offer lasting satisfaction. Why not? First, the procedures rarely promise...
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04Feb

What is Kundalini yoga?

Lucy Greeves

yoga

Body

Kundalini is a very spiritual style of yoga that is believed by its adherents to raise them to a level of heightened consciousness
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31Jan

Veganism: Obsessive or Principled?

Claudine Levy

nutrition

Body

With stars like Beyoncé and Jay Z doing couples’ cleanses, and Gwyneth Paltrow being papped  every other day with the diet deity that is cold-pressed green juice, veganism seems to be this year’s must-have accessory. Could it be that this fashion for deprivation, veiled as nutrition, is doing something damaging for our already body-conscious society? A vegan diet was once an ethical life-choice, the preserve of so-called hemp-loving hippies concerned with the moral dilemma of eating produce from sentient, living...
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28Jan

What is Sivananda Yoga?

Lucy Greeves

yoga

Body

Sivanada yoga is the style probably most similar to the original roots of Hindu yoga practice
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