According to an article in Science Magazine, a new microbicide gel may reduce the transmission rate of both HIV and herpes in women.  Finding a topical cream or gel that can reduce infection rates has long been a goal of HIV researchers and doctors.

Unfortunately this has been tried in the past with sub par results.  Nonoxynol-9 was promoted as a potential barriers to HIV for a number of years until it was determined it was not effective and could cause unwanted side effects.

by Youngbear Roth

In the same breath that we speak of Yoga, we speak of meditation. Whether that Yoga meditation school is Buddhist, Hindu, Islam, Taoist, Jain, Vedanta, Tantric, Integral, Transcendental, and the list continues evolving new schools and styles, these are all expressions of Yoga meditation philosophy; a mystic understanding of the infinite, an acceptance of ourselves as finite aspects of light and integral dynamic elements of an infinite light.

Yoga philosophy is a broad, deeply layered subject. In respect to our focus for this article – breathing and meditation – we may only touch lightly on Yoga philosophy and say that the goal of Yoga philosophy, and therefore, the goal of all schools of Yoga meditation is mystic liberation – to die to the human condition of suffering. Just as Yoga meditation has been called by many names, mystic liberation has been called by many names from self-realization and enlightenment in the West to ananda and samadhi in the East.

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Ed and Deb Shapirio recently wrote a great piece on the benefits of mediation for Care2.com

We can’t imagine what life would be like without meditation. It has seen us through tough times and many life changes, keeping us sane and grounded and real. Life is challenging enough; we can never know what will arise next and only when our minds are clear and focused can we make the best decisions.

How are you able to deal with the madness and chaos that occurs daily? How do you deal with the challenges of life? Meditation is highly misunderstood and often under-rated yet is perhaps what it takes to be a truly sane person. How does meditation affect us? How does it shift our priorities, enable us to make friends with ourselves, to find answers to our questions?

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Excerpted from CBS NEWS

The average American adult now spends 8-1/2 hours a day staring into Researchers at the University of California San Francisco found that, when the brain is constantly stimulated, you hamper the learning process. And while many people say multitasking makes them more productive, research shows otherwise. Heavy multi-taskers actually have more trouble focusing, are more distracted and, researchers say, experience more stress. People think they’re refreshing themselves by filling in small bits of time with games, emails, texts etc, but the researchers say it’s actually fatiguing and making people less creative. Some neuroscientists go even further, saying our brains can become addicted to the digital stimulation.

Research done last year by UCLA scientist Dr. Gary Small, published in a book called “iBrain,” shows daily doses of technology may be altering the way the brain functions, particularly regarding social skills. He suggests all that screen time may weaken the brain circuits involved in face-to-face interactions. He is concerned that fundamental social skills, such as reading facial expressions during a conversation, are being compromised.

To prevent brain drain, you want to take a daily break from your devices. Turn off your devices — or at least, try to lower the times you check your e-mail. Try to use that time to engage in face-to-face conversation, or do a lap or two around the block.

Also, get an appropriate amount of sleep — don’t skimp! Sleep can give the brain rest and a chance to repair itself. REM sleep stimulates the brain regions used in learning. Go for a Zen moment — try meditating for a younger, healthier brain. Research suggests meditation preserves various regions of the brain. One technique, called integrative body-mind training, has been studied for boosting efficiency and connectivity in the brain. It’s a Chinese technique and focuses on a “state of restful alertness” via posture, relaxation and balanced breathing with a coach.

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By Rachael Rettner, LiveScience
Practicing yoga may do more than calm the mind — it may help protect against certain diseases, a new study suggests.

In the study, women who had practiced yoga regularly for at least two years were found to have lower levels of inflammation in their bodies than did women who only recently took up the activity.

Inflammation is an immune response and can be beneficial when your body is fighting off infection, but chronically high levels of inflammation are known to play a role in certain conditions, including asthma, cardiovascular disease and depression.

Inflammation is known to be boosted by stressful situations. But when yoga experts were exposed to stress (such as dipping their feet in ice water), they experienced less of an increase in their inflammatory response than yoga novices did.

“The study is the first one, I think, to really suggest how yoga could have some distinctive physical benefits in terms of the immune system,” said researcher Janice Kiecolt-Glaser of Ohio State University. “It suggests that regular yoga practice is really good for you.” she told LiveScience.

Stressed out

Kiecolt-Glaser and her Ohio State colleagues recruited 50 women between the ages of 30 and 65 and with different degrees of yoga experience. Those labeled “yoga experts” had practiced yoga once or twice a week for at least two years, while “yoga novices” had participated in only six to 12 sessions. (The researchers wanted novices to have at least some experience so that they wouldn’t be stressed out simply from having to practice yoga for the first time.)

The two groups were very similar in terms of age, physical fitness level and amount of body fat. This was important because all three of these factors are known to influence inflammation.

Participants completed three stressful tasks in succession. In one, subjects immersed a foot in warm water and then in ice water for one minute. In another, they had to perform tricky mental arithmetic for five minutes.

Then subjects either completed a yoga session or took part in one of two control experiments, which involved walking on a treadmill, or watching a video.

All the while, subjects had catheters placed in their arms to collect blood samples periodically.

The researchers examined the blood samples for key markers of inflammation, one of which is a protein called IL-6.

Across all the tasks and other experimental scenarios, the novices’ IL-6 levels  were 41 percent higher than the experts’. The novices also produced more IL-6 in response to the stressful tasks.

Breath control

While the researchers aren’t sure why yoga would have this effect on inflammation, they have a few speculations.

Yoga focuses on deep breathing and controlling breathing, which may slow down the body’s “fight or flight” response — the body’s reaction to stress, Kiecolt-Glaser said.

Yoga also involves meditation, which helps people learn to pay attention to how they are feeling. So yoga experts may be more aware of their stress and better able to control their response to it.

Finally, yoga is a form of exercise, which is known to decrease inflammation.

A randomized clinical trial will be needed to confirm the findings, Kiecolt-Glaser said. Such a trial would involve randomly assigning participants to either practice yoga or refrain from it over a certain time frame. Researchers would then look to see whether the activity had any effect on inflammation.

The study was published in the January issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. Kiecolt-Glaser also discussed her study at the 118th annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, which was held Aug. 11 to Aug. 14 in San Diego.

Endometrisos is a disease that affects as many as 10% of woman and can cause abdominal and pelvic pain, infertility, discomfort during sexual intercourse and very painful cramping.  The condition can be treated with hormones, surgery and other therapies with varying degrees of success.  More and more women are turning to complementary therapies such as yoga to augment more traditional therapies.

One of my students, Lisa, blogs extensively about her healing process  and recently posted a wonderful blog entry about the benefits of restorative yoga  for endometrisos.

Read Lisa’s Post HERE

City of Hope is one of the leading treatment and research facilities for Cancer, HIV and diabetes in the world.  Their unique approach to addressing live threatening illnesses by looking at the whole person has resulted many treatments that are being used today around the world and the research they are doing today holds promise for more effective and less invasive treatments in the future.

Yoga for Hope uses the passion people feel for yoga raise money for this important work.  In this interview Mindy Finkelstein talk about this nation-wide fundraiser and talks about how you can get involved.

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Millions of men and woman each year try to lose weight and get back in shape and yet that goal can seem very elusive.  Some are able to take weight of for a time but have difficulty keeping the pounds off while others dread the hunger pains and cravings that seem to accompany so many diets.

Wanda Pierce, a San Francisco based massage therapist shares her struggles and ultimate success in losing weight and keeping the weight off by taking a mindful approach that included a variety of healthy and satisfying foods, moderate exercise and regular bodywork.

Her story is inspiring and uplifting for anyone who wants to improve their health.

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