The sky is falling! (or is it?)

It has been quite a winter here.  We had "Snow-mageddon," "Snow-mageddon II" and a huge ice storm.  Our days were filled with dire weather alerts, scary traffic updates, school closings and eye-witness reports.  Piled on top of the terrible economic conditions, horrific stories of wars and natural disasters, is it any wonder that many of us have been feeling burdened by the heavy weight of it all?  Some days it just feels like the sky is falling.

What is interesting is that, if you pay close attention, what passes for news these days are actually either predictions of what might happen (especially where weather is concerned) or very selected aspects of what has already happened (usually the most negative and sensational ones, of course).  The intent of news these days is not to inform us, but rather to encourage us to come back for more "news."  We become "addicts" who are hungry for the latest awful development, which in turn, makes us feel even more anxious, more depressed, scared, angry, marginalized, ____________(add your negative mind state here).

If this is hitting home, I'll propose a little experiment for you.  First, really notice how you feel - physically, mentally and emotionally.  You might even write it down in a journal.  Then, turn off your TV, radio, and Internet news sources for one week.   Stop reading the newspaper and magazines, too.  (Some of you have already panicked at just the thought of this - notice how that feels, too, and write it down)  For one week, go on a news "diet."  Each day, notice how you are feeling - again, you might want to write it down.

If you think about it, people got along just fine 100 years ago without weather and news reports.  They paid attention to their little part of the world, and if they wanted to know what was going on, they chatted with their neighbors.  There was time for conversation at meal times, for enjoying the sunset and the sound of the birds, among other things.  The level of stress they experienced was lower and vastly different than ours.

If you are brave enough to try this experiment, I'd love to hear from you - how it went and what you learned.  E-mail me at linda@awakeninghealth.net and let me know.  I'll tell you what I learned, too.

Want to feel good? Practice Yoga!

     I remember when I first started to do yoga - I didn't really know what I was doing and I felt clumsy doing it.  I was in a period of my life where I was desperately unhappy and I didn't know why. 

    Yet when I was done with the yoga class, I felt really good.  My body felt like it had done something beneficial.  But there was something else - I felt emotionally uplifted, lighter in mood, more open to life.  I felt happy for quite a while afterwards.  My yoga students have reported similar experiences to me over the years.

    I have always wondered what it is about yoga that makes us feel this way.  Now, an article from Science Daily, New Study Finds New Connection Between Yoga and Mood , explains how yoga works its magic upon us.  A study done at the Boston University School of Medicine indicates that yoga increases the levels of GABA, a brain compound that when found in low levels is associated  with depression and anxiety.  With higher levels of GABA, we feel less depression and anxiety so we feel happier.

   So if you are feeling out of sorts, you might want to give yoga a try.  There are no pills to take, and it might be habit forming.   Yoga might just be the right medicine for you.