Health and Beauty

No matter what age or size we are, most girls and women continually ask themselves, “What can I do to feel more beautiful?” I have found that all women, even the ones that are outwardly attractive, fail to see and feel the real beauty that exists within us all. The key to seeing and feeling this inner beauty is to develop a bond with our soul.

My journey to feeling beautiful was painful at best and sabotaged by my upbringings at worst. I experienced many physical beatings as a child that included the rantings and ravings of how fat and ugly I was. As impressionable as I was as a child, as we all are, I believed it wholeheartedly. To make matters more difficult, I grew to 5′7″ before I was twelve years old, and with my brown hair and eyes, I felt like a giant ugly duckling.

As a young woman I was offered many opportunities to model but I totally lacked the self-image and self-confidence to pursue these offers and chose to specialize in helping other women look beautiful through the beauty and fashion industries.

As I embarked on my healing and spiritual journey, I learned to connect with my soul and to being committed to living as my soul as often as I could. Over time, it became very natural for me to identify with my soul and feel its beauty growing inside of me. It was at this time that I could actually look at myself in the mirror, and rather than cringe at what I saw, I smiled and felt grateful for the vessel that my body was, a vessel to house my soul and spirit, that I my live more fully and full of joy.

There are many things we can do to develop this kind of relationship with our soul but before I share them with you I feel it is imperative for you to understand some key components to feeling beautiful now.

The three components we need to work on and develop are:

1. Self-image- Seeing ourselves as beautiful in the present moment at all times.

2. Self-esteem- Thinking and feeling all that is beautiful about ourselves and others first and foremost.

3. Self-confidence- Expressing our beautiful selves boldly in areas that speak to our hearts, without any concern for the approval or validation of others.

At any point in time, when you are lacking in these areas, it is helpful to relax any judgments or attachments to what is being felt, thought or seen and instead simply witness what is going on for you, as you would witness the same in a complete stranger. This will serve to release the hold that any negativity would have on you re-claiming the beautiful you that is real, authentic there only hidden by your current perceptions.

To intensify and solidify this real beauty within, look to your soul to guide you and help you reveal the hidden treasure of you. Your soul is by her very nature based on beauty, joy, and a perfection of being that is unshakeable once it is revealed, from the inside and out.

To develop this connection and bond with your soul here are some strategies and tips to help you:

1. Before you go to sleep, ask your soul to guide you, through your dreams, to ways that you can easily connect with and get to know yourself at the soul level.

2. When you awake, call your soul to you. Sense your soul all around your physical being as a brilliant white light and then a feel a connection between the heart of your soul and your own heart chakra. A visual that works for this is to see your soul’s heart as a diamond that fits into the center of your heart chakra that is a jewel of thousands of petals opening up more and more as you make this connection. Now ask your soul to sound its note of joy, love and beauty for the remainder of the day. You will become transformed by this connection and your outer world will reflect the inner beauty that is you.

3. Commit to living as your soul. As you resonate with the vibrations of your soul this will be easier to do and making choices and decisions, moment to moment, will reflect the wisdom, beauty and love of your soul more often than not.

4. Seek to integrate your soul with your personality. Visualize a white light coming from your soul’s heart pouring into your heart center. Draw this light up to your head center and back down again to your heart; creating a continual motion of light between the two centers – you may feel a slight hum and this is very normal. Sit with this sensation for a few minutes and repeat silently to yourself “with this light and the guidance of my soul I choose to live by the guidance of a wise heart and a loving mind at all times”.

You will be guided by your soul to new experiences, places and people that are more in alignment with the beauty of your soul and that will reflect the real beauty of you. It will become easier for you to feel and identify with your inherent beauty and any outer beauty concerns are transformed in the process, be it physically, mentally, and emotionally or all three.

Nobody can afford to ignore dental health, and at some point, all of us undergo one or all of the following treatments: exams, cleanings, x-rays, fluoride treatments, root canals, braces, dentures, wisdom teeth extractions, gum surgery, dental implants, fillings, crowns, and bridges.

In these difficult economic times it is often a challenge to find affordable medical and dental health care.

Need Of The Hour — A Discounted Dental Care Plan:

Discounted dental care plans are becoming more and more commonplace today.  In this day and age of rising costs, consumers need to take control of their finances, without putting off their oral health care, as some might do, because of the high cost of insurance.
The need of the hour is a discount dental care plan available, an alternative to insurance, offering members significant savings, excellent customer service and providing an affordable and comprehensive discount dental care plan. 

Should Lower Burden Of Non-Insured Individuals:

The plan should lessen the burden to non-insured individuals for dental care.  It should be designed for groups, families and individuals looking to save time and money on dental care, and allow you the freedom of choice to choose from 100,000+ participating licensed providers.

Such a plan would give you an opportunity to save money on good quality dental care and protect your family’s dental health.  The plan should involve the participation of all dental providers in your area. On a national level that should mean 100,000+ participating dentists, immediate online enrollment and swift plan activation, with no unnecessary paperwork, no annual limits, and no health restrictions.  That will enable you to start saving immediately.

Should Save On Prescription And Vision Services:

Not only should the dental plan offer cost benefits and savings with each type of plan, some plans also offer benefits to help you save on prescription, vision, chiropactic and hearing services as well.  Members should be instantly provided their chosen package when they join, which should include membership cards and a detailed discounted fee schedule. You should be able to access your card via e-mail where you can print it or be able to choose to receive it through postal mail.  Then all you would have to do is choose a dental provider in your area!  With such a discount dental care plan, you should be charged according to your plan’s discounted schedule fee, after you present your card to insure you are charged the discount dental care rate.  Best of all, you shouldn’t have to concern yourself plan limits or with claim forms to fill out, as with most dental health insurance plans. 

Should Provide Online Assistance:

The plan should provide easy to use search tools (such as just entering your zip code) and plan comparison charts to assist you in your decision about which dental plan would best suit your needs, and should have a Customer Service Representative to help you find a provider.  Discounts on dental specialties should also be available on select plans. 

Many people cannot afford dental health insurance coverage in this day and age, but with a discount plan as I have described it would be much more affordable.  Good dental hygiene is critical to overall health.  Joining such a dental plan can help you preserve your family’s dental health and smile for years to come.  It is so much better than having to pay full price for dental work each and every time you need it.  Who wouldn’t appreciate affordable and comprehensive dental care? But, does such a discounted dental plan exist?

For many people, on off dieting has become a part of their life. They lose weight, but fail to keep it off for very long. There is a scientific explanation for why this occurs, which proves that by making a few simple changes to your lifestyle, and dieting smarter instead of harder, you can lose the weight you want and keep it off.

When you crash diet but do not combine the reduction in food intake with appropriate physical activity, you not only lose fat, but also lose lean body mass and muscle tissue. When you start to gain weight again, you only add fat. Thus over time, your lean body mass drastically reduces, and you fat body mass increases significantly.

The truth of yo-yo dieting is that you do not end up back where you started, but actually you end up in a far worse position than when you started, because of this reduction in lean body mass. Your metabolism has slowed down, and you therefore burn less calories than before for the same level of activity. This makes it many times easier to gain weight again.

Not only does yo-yo dieting make you fatter, but it will also increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and strokes. There are no positive benefits to dieting in this way. The only way to lose weight healthily and effectively is to improve your eating habits, and exercise regularly. Weight training as part of this program is an excellent way to increase your lean body mass, and thus increase the amount of calories you burn.

Top Ten Health Tips For Women

As you may have noticed, there are lots of things that you need to consider when trying to stay fit and healthy. More often than not this mass of information becomes overwhelming and most people start off with good intentions but give up in the long run, slipping back to old ways and habits. To help you maintain that healthy lifestyle, below are the top ten things you should be doing to keep yourself healthy and happy.

1) When trying to keep to a healthy lifestyle, the first thing you need to consider is your diet. A good balanced diet is essential in maintaining a healthy body. Remember, ‘rubbish in = rubbish out’. Eating junk food, fatty food and other convenience foods will result in a feeling of lethargy, tiredness, depression and bad complexion just to name a few. Simple changes to make would be avoiding too much red meat, high fat foods and high calorie foods instead substituting this with high fibre low fat food, mixed with a regular intake of fruit and vegetables. Fibre is great for digestion whilst fruit and vegetables will help keep vitamin and mineral levels up.

2) Make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day. One of the risks of not drinking enough water is the onset of kidney stones. If you know anybody who has had kidney stones, you’ll know this is to be avoided! Drinking plenty of water will keep you hydrated which in the long run will help you cleanse your body of impurities. You will start to feel more alert and less tired, you may notice your skin improves with a new radiance. If you are lactating, it is vital that you keep well hydrated to ensure your milk is at its best. Most research suggests that eight glasses of water per day is a minimum.

3) Consider taking vitamin and mineral supplements, especially at the beginning of your new healthy schedule. Some of the more important ones specific to women are Calcium and Iron. Calcium is essential for women of all ages but especially menopausal women to ensure good bone strength and minimise problems from onset of Osteoporosis. Iron supplements are especially important for menstruating women and women who suffer heavier blood loss during that time of the month. Vitamin E400 is worth taking as this has been shown to reduce flushes and sweating at night. For the skin, consider Vitamin E as as a dietary supplement.

4) If you smoke, GIVE UP!! Yes, I know that is much easier said than done but any reduction in the amount that you smoke will be beneficial. If you find the idea of giving up a step too far why not try cutting down? A great way to cut down is to try and extend the time between your cigarettes. If you can maintain this, you will gradually start to smoke less without feeling the withdrawals as much. If you are pregnant, then smoking is a big ‘NO-No’. The toxins in a cigarette can cross from the mothers bloodstream and into the baby. Also your chance of breast cancer is much higher if you are a smoker. Overall reducing alcohol and smoking less are great ways to a healthier happier life.

5) Try and introduce a regular exercise into your daily routine. There are simple ways to get exercise without really trying. You could try walking home from work if it’s not too far, don’t take the elevator all the time – try using the stairs. When your kids are outside playing, take a few minutes to go and play with them. Not only will you be getting fit but you’ll be spending more time with your children. Everyone wins! Yoga is also a great way to stay toned and supple. This can be done in the home with a minimal investment in equipment. There is lots of free info. on the internet related to yoga. A simple cheap way to stay healthy.

6) Try and avoid sources of stress. Stressful situations whether at home or at work can leave you with excess amounts of adrenaline and other ‘fight or flight’ by-products. These can affect heart muscle, upset sleep patterns causing insomnia and much more. Exercise can help to burn off some of these stress by-products but any high stress situations should be avoided.

7) A lot of women are a sucker for a good suntan but there are hidden dangers. Recent research has indicated that over exposure to sunlight and sun tanning beds could increase your chances of skin cancer by up to 30%. A lot of the damage is done in younger life and may not show for years. Simple ways to avoid danger would be to use high factor sun creams, don’t lie out in direct sunlight, consider using a tanning cream and avoid those nasty UV rays altogether.

Make sure you attend regular smear tests and ensure you visit your Gynaecologist on a regular basis. A lot of ‘womens’ problems’ can be detected in the early stages and treated accordingly. Cervical cancer, chlamydia and Warts are just a few of them. Avoiding your Gynaecologist is akin to playing Russian roulette!!

9) Make sure you practice safe sex. STD’s can be easily transmitted and even a long term partner could be harbouring some unknown stowaways. Sexually transmitted diseases can lie dormant for years. Until you are 100% sure you and you’re partner are free from STD’s practicing safe sex is the best way to stay healthy.

10) An often overlooked area of personal health is dental hygiene. Not looking after your oral hygiene may result in gum disease, tooth loss, halitosis to name but a few. Keep regular appointments with your dental hygienist and make sure you floss regularly to keep a beautiful bright smile.