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By admin, May 20, 2010 9:37 am

Yawning is something we mostly stifle — after all, it’s embarrassing to yawn in the face of another as if to announce that you didn’t get enough sleep or, worse, that you’re bored. That’s a shame — because researchers have discovered that the humble yawn is a major contributor to mental alertness… keeps our brains properly cooled (literally)… and helps us to shift from one activity to another, even to adjust from one time zone to another. They recommend using yawning consciously as a tool to make life better. For example, yawn soon after awakening to rev up your brain for the day or at night to help calm yourself and promote sleep.

The Science of the Yawn

Most people believe that we yawn to bring oxygen from the air into the body, but that’s wrong, says psychotherapist Patt Lind-Kyle, MA, the author of Heal Your Mind, Rewire Your Brain. She calls yawning an “exercise for the brain” based on the growing number of studies that have found that it facilitates mental efficiency. Yawning does its magic by literally forcing extrablood directly to the brain. When you yawn, your facial muscles broadly contract and then relax, and this action pushes oxygen-rich blood into the brain’s prefrontal cortex, the location of the “executive function” that covers planning, organization, decision-making, personality expression and many other crucial activities.

The yawn also sends blood to stimulate an area called the precuneus, which is involved in consciousness along with memory and motor coordination. As far as serving to cool the brain, a 2007 study at State University of New York-Albany found that performing difficult mental tasks, such as processing lots of information, actually increases brain temperature. Though we’re all familiar with the way ongoing mental labor can trigger yawning, it’s not because it is tiring. Again, the yawn sends blood to the brain to curtail its rising temperature, which is how it helps to maintain mental efficiency. Interestingly, both yawning and body thermoregulation seem to be controlled by the same area of the brain, the hypothalamus.

Putting Your Yawns to Work

Okay, so now we know that yawning can increase our efficiency in a number of areas… how can we take better advantage of this? Just decide to yawn and then do it — and I mean do a real face-stretcher! I’ll tell you how in a moment, but first here are some situations in which Lind-Kyle suggests adding a yawn…

To stimulate better thinking. When you are preparing for an exam, a presentation or an important conversation, you can enhance your performance by yawning several times first. During an exam, don’t be shy about yawning when you find yourself losing focus or starting to stumble in your thoughts — it will help.

To reduce jet lag and reset energy levels. At 20 weeks gestation, fetuses start to develop a wake/sleep pattern and as part of the process, they yawn… a lot. Lind-Kyle says that we can consciously use yawning to help reset our wake/sleep patterns, including when suffering jet lag. To start, yawn five times or so as soon as you get off the airplane. When you’ve experienced how well this refreshes you, Lind-Kyle says you may soon begin to do it intuitively — you’ll find yourself yawning whenever you feel yourself starting to drag. She says that yawning can be used in this manner to help you acclimate to high altitudes and to reset your energy level as you switch from one activity to another, such as from sleep to wakefulness.

To improve your mood… and, possibly even your relationships.Yawning is associated with increased levels of dopamine, the neurotransmitter released from the hypothalamus that is associated with pleasure, motivation and sociability. Lind-Kyle says that when two people yawn together, it can help diminish tension in the relationship… and fortunately, yawning is highly contagious, so it’s easy for both of you to get in on the act. If nothing else, a shared yawning session should make for a few ice-breaking laughs.

For relaxation. Curiously, although yawning serves to stimulate the brain, a deep yawn and wide stretch also relax the body. Lind-Kyle, who leads meditation classes, always starts with a healthy yawn, which she says gets people relaxed quickly. She said that bringing on a few deep yawns at bedtime may help you get to sleep.

How to Bring on a Yawn

We think of yawns as automatic, but it’s surprisingly easy to make yourself yawn…

Focus thoughts on yawning. Yawns are not only contagious from person to person — even thinking about a yawn can help trigger one, says Lind-Kyle. Close your eyes and picture a yawn, or say the word “yawn” repeatedly to encourage one.

Fake a yawn… or two… or three until a real one sets in. Lind-Kyle says she generally gets a real yawn after one or two fakes, but however long it takes, stick with it — it will happen.

Consciously slow your breathing. The decreased oxygen may help trigger a yawn — flaring your nostrils as you breathe in may make this happen faster.

And finally, the best yawn is one you fully experience, Lind-Kyle says. So go all the way — open your mouth wide, scrunch your face fully, and take a deep, full breath. Just be ready to explain yourself if you’re in company!

Source(s):

Patt Lind-Kyle, MA, psychotherapist based in Nevada City, California, and author of Heal Your Mind, Rewire Your Brain (Energy Psychology Press).

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By admin, March 9, 2010 12:15 pm

For thousands of years, countless cultures and spiritual traditions have relied on rituals of cleansing and detoxification to purify body, mind and spirit, but with the advent of food production as big business our current culture has completely abandoned these simple practices. Now a growing number of conscious leaders and holistic health practitioners have begun to study the destructive effects of our poor quality food and soil. They also speak out about the excessive eating habits of our industrialized society and advocate our return to these simple cleansing rituals.

Improve your body and soul

It’s time to turn back to Mother Earth and to synch our heart beats together as one.

I believe that everyone can benefit from a cleanse at least once in their life! If you have any of these symptoms: skin breakouts, frequent colds, allergies, muddled thinking, weight gain, exhaustion, constipation or difficulty digesting food, a body cleanse can especially benefit you.

Or if you are tired of being dependent on sugar or caffeine to energize you and you want to tap into the infinite power source of your Soul then you’re ready for a cleanse!

Here are my favorite reasons for cleansing.

1. A cleanse can be a profound turning point in your relationship with food (it was for me). When you break from foods that you know do not support you for a period of time, it can loosen their negative grip on you. This results in feeling more powerful and confident in your body.

You can let go of unhealthy food cravings and bad habits and never crave them again. I know this is true because every time I cleanse I have intense cravings for particular foods. For example, during one of my first cleanses, I had been eating processed protein bars every day. During the cleanse I stopped eating them. I craved them like crazy, then once the cleanse was over I had one and was disgusted by the artificial-ness of it.

Taking a break from unhealthy food you know doesn’t support your body and spirit can break you free from the power of unhealthy habits and cravings and give you the confidence and trust in your body to not eat them any more.

2. Cleansing can add years to your life by restoring your internal organs and moving toxins out of your body.The time you spend cleansing will rest your digestive system so that your liver, kidneys and lymphatic system can move the toxins and accumulated waste out of your body. This process enables the body to rid itself of excess weight, prevent disease and bring overall balance to the body.

3. My favorite part about cleansing is the spiritual awakening that may occur in the absence of using food to stuff our emotions or habitual food cravings we can be present to our Spirit and gain total clarity and vision.

While breaking from unhealthy and habitual foods the body may have cellular memories of past emotions and experiences.When you rid the body of these old memories and emotions, space for new intentions, dreams and visions is created. It clears the space so that your Spirit can talk to you. While cleansing it’s possible to feel an intense high, unbounded energy, clarity and radiance.