Many of you might think I’m on a sexual tear or afflicted with spring fever after writing on the Orgasmic Diet and now how yoga can benefit your sex life, but the book on the market, Better Sex Through Yoga by Jacquie Noelle really got me thinking seriously about the topic, and after Googling the phrase, “better sex through yoga” I’m not the only one thinking about it. (more…)

It starts as a dull sensation in the back of your head, nothing to worry about, but it keeps growing, louder and stronger, until you can’t ignore it anymore. You’ve got a headache and you need relief! Traffic, people, noise, lights, smells and daily angst seem almost unbearable. You have to stop this headache, cold in its tracks; otherwise nothing else will get done. You dash towards the closest rifling through a stash of pills before you stop – in this day and age why can’t you find natural headache relief? (more…)

Every morning upon waking, I make coffee and sit in silence for a few moments, gather my mala and begin saying, aloud or silently, a mantra. I say different mantras throughout the day, as well, and my yoga practice has made me more aware and conscious of using mantras. But I think that the average person thinks that mantras are either just for monks or devotees. Not at all!

Mantra is simply a group of words that have a phonetic significance repeated over a over. Mantra, first and foremost, is sound. And the use of sound and repeating words, with spiritual significance or not, help to relieve stress, lower blood pressure and bring calm and focus to the body. (more…)

If you’re on Facebook like me (and let’s be honest, millions of us are), odds are good that you’ve been invited to bite, rate, vote on, compare or buy & sell your friends on a almost hourly basis. Most days, it can become down right annoying. True, I can also send them some good Karma (and who can’t use that), but without sounding too much like Andy Rooney, how is sending my friends another fruitless application going to shift the cosmic flow of the universe to reward me? I almost feel as if I’m going to receive bad Karma for such behavior.
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My friend Joe, knowing my passion for the environment, recently sent me a link to a short 20 minute video, which I thought was just about waste and recycling. Boy, was I wrong. The Story of Stuff, explores the global materials economy and its impact on the economy, environment and health. Written and narrated by Annie Leonard, an expert in international sustainability and environmental health issues, Leonard takes us through the production and waste cycle from: extraction to production, distribution to consumption then finally to disposal. After disposal, the video closes with finding needed alternatives focusing on sustainability and equity in these dire times. Some alternatives mentioned are closed loop production, renewable energy (which I cited in a previous post) and local living economy. The Story of Stuff’s site also has a great blog, chocked full of info, insight and resources. Annie spends a lot of time, coupled with her expertise, thinking about where stuff comes from, how it was made, packaged and its final impact on the Earth. Glad someone with her “street creds” is doing so. And thanks, Joe!

“Half the secret of success in life is just showing up!” – Woody Allen

For some, success is moving from the mailroom, to a cubicle and finally to the corner office. For others, it’s getting into shape in a healthy way, finding balance or love. Regardless of how you define success, rarely do people stumble into or attain it quickly. So why not make reaching your goals easier by positioning yourself for success from that start?
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As far as my experience has taught me regarding acupuncture’s efficacy in the treatment of weight loss, the jury is still out. This may come as a disappointment to those who are on a quest for the next best thing in weight loss and were hoping acupuncture was the answer. It can, however, help curve your cravings, which can lead to a healthier diet. (more…)

This week I had the opportunity to attend Green Drinks, a monthly informal gathering of professionals in the environmental movement to share a beer, network and get caught up in what’s happening in that community. Well you can tell how far a movement has gone by the amount of people who have shown up and the locale. The first Green Drinks I attended a while back was maybe 50 people in a small bar on the Lower East Side of New York. This past event was packed and held in a much larger venue in Chelsea. At first I was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of attendees, but once I nestled in and found a glass of wine, my sense of being overwhelmed switched to pure pride. There were so many people there committed to their causes and putting such creative spins on solving major environmental issues. (more…)

Get it while you can…

So all the discourse in the political arena surrounding universal healthcare has left me wondering, what is to come of the progress made in the alternative sector of privatized insurance?

It may come as a surprise to you that health insurance actually covers Acupuncture. At
least half of my patients have coverage. It’s shocking, really. This is an especially great thing for you — and me — for two reasons: it increases the availability and affordability for more individuals, and it creates more options for people with chronic, painful conditions who have tried every drug known to man, to no avail.
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I don’t say this nearly enough but, “God bless my mother!” I can’t remember a day that went by as a kid that she didn’t haul her tired self out of bed to make sure I had breakfast before I went off to school. And I’m not talking a bowl of Tricks, we weren’t allowed to eat the sugary stuff. No, I had oatmeal, Cheerios or eggs and toast with my coffee (I’m Italian, the espresso started early). She always told me breakfast was the most important way to start the day. And, um, 40 years later, the American Heart Association is backing her up on this. (more…)