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Archive for the 'Well-being' Category
 the sleep and pain connection Waking up in the idle of the night can be a pain — literally. New research from John’s Hopkins University shows that prolonged sleep disturbances may contribute to chronic pain, most likely by hindering the body’s natural pain-control functions. The study followed 32 healthy women for a week: For three nights, one group of participants was woken up every hour for eight hours, while the rest slept undisturbed. On the following days, women in the disrupted-sleep group experienced an increase in spontaneous pain.
If you do wake up during the night, help yourself swiftly return to dreamland by breathing deeply and counting each breath. “And don’t try to recover by consuming a lot of caffeine the next day,” urges sleep specialist and neurologist Dr. Sarah Zallek. “That’s just going to make you more likely to have another bad night of sleep.”
adapted from Body + Soul 2007
 Bamboo Digital Wake Up Clock Now & Zen’s Alarm Clock Store
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Insomnia, Natural Awakening, Now & Zen Alarm Clocks, sleep, wake up alarm clock, Well-being
 yoga Calming Yoga Workout
With cardiovascular disease still holding strong as the No. 1 cause of death in the United States (and with women more prone to death from it than men), now’s the time to make a heart-smart workout part of your routine. As Dr. Dean Ornish, founder and president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, notes, the fate and health of this vital organ is almost entirely in our hands. “Nearly everybody — 95 percent or more — can prevent and reverse heart disease through changes in diet and exercise,” he says.
When you think “heart-healthy workout,” heavy-duty exercise regimens naturally come to mind. But fitness that boosts the heart isn’t just about getting it to pound faster. It also involves slowing it down. Chronic emotional stress can wreak havoc on its rhythm, functioning, and blood flow, says Dr. Roy Ziegelstein, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. Reducing stress with the help of strategies like yoga, meditation, and controlled slow breathing, he says, “is crucial to developing and maintaining a healthy heart.” The following plan will nourish and strengthen your ticker, not just by making it work harder, but by reducing tension, too — something you can definitely take to heart.
Achieving and sustaining a positive emotional state is critical to overall heart health. To that end, we’ve included a relaxation component to our heart-health plan — yoga moves that help release tension and increase blood flow.
Standing Forward Bend
The standing forward bend increases circulation and strengthens the heart while stretching the lower back and hamstrings. It also activates the pineal and pituitary glands, and releases serotonin. To do it, stand tall with feet shoulder-width apart. Exhale and bend forward from the hips, stretching the top of the head toward the floor. Put your palms on the floor or rest them on your shins or ankles. Press feet into the floor and feel the stretch in the back of the legs and lower back. Hold for three to five minutes. Set your Zen Timer to Repeatedly Chime every 3 to 5 minutes. Place hands on hips or walk hands up the legs as you slowly roll up to a standing position. Repeat two times and increase as you improve at this exercise.
adapted from Body + Soul Magazine, 2009
 Zen Clock and Yoga Timer Now & Zen
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Well-being
Natural Remedies for the Winter Season.
Grapefruit has a compound called naringenin that studies have shown can make our insulin more effective.
2 cups ruby red grapefruit juice (squeezed from 2 grapefruits)
2 to 4 tablespoons honey
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice berries
Directions:
In a medium pot, combine juice, honey, cinnamon, allspice, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil over high heat; strain and discard solids. Serve with a grapefruit segment or strip of zest.
adapted from Body + Soul Magazine, 2009
 Black Lacquer Zen Alarm Clock and Timer
Now & Zen
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Well-being, Zen Timers
 Zen Timers with Chimes to Make Tea for Winter Colds Natural Remedies for the Winter Season.
Common culinary sage (Salvia officinalis) can help to ease sore throats and dry up sinuses.
How to use: For a sore throat, make a strong tea by pouring 4 ounces of water over 2 teaspoons of dried or fresh sage. Set your Zen Timer with Chime for 10-15 minutes, steep and strain. Cool to room temperature. Gargle until the mixture is gone. Repeat three times daily. For drippy sinuses, drink a cup of regular-strength sage tea.
adapted from Body + Soul Magazine, 2009
 Dream Kanji Zen Alarm Clock with chime in Dark Oak Finish, a wellness tool and tea timer
Now & Zen
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Well-being, Zen Timers
 Set your Zen Timer for 20 minutes to make Slippery Elm Tea Natural Remedies for the Winter Season.
A sore-throat soother extraordinaire, slippery elm (Ulmus rubra) products are high in “mucilage,” a substance that coats the throat and helps relieve coughs.
How to use: Look for slippery elm lozenges at health-food stores; follow package directions. To make a tea, simmer 1 tablespoon dried slippery elm bark per cup of water; set your Zen Timer with Chime for 10-15 minutes, steep, strain and drink. Add a small almount of honey to sweeten.
adapted from Body + Soul Magazine, 2009
 Bamboo Zen Timer and Natural Alarm Clock with Gentle Chime
Now & Zen
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Well-being, Zen Timers
 Elderflower Tea for the Winter Season Natural Remedies for the Winter Season.
The flower form of the elder plant (Sambucus nigra) can induce sweating, which may help reduce fever.
How to use: Look for elder in cold formulas. To make a tea, pour boiling water over a teaspoon of dried elderflower. Set your Zen Timer with Bowl/Gong for 10-15 minutes. Steep 10 to 15 minutes, then strain. Drink up to three cups per day. Or make a tea that combines elder, echinacea, and a pinch of peppermint.
adapted from Body + Soul Magazine, 2009
 Walnut Wood Zen Timers with Chime, a perfect tea timer. Now & Zen
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Well-being, Zen Timers
 mindful eating Conscious eating
Just as you bring mindfulness to your yoga practice, you can be mindful at mealtime. Yoga philosophy and all of the world’s healthiest diets recommend a conscious eating practice for optimal health. Mediterranean cultures traditionally regard meals as experiences to be savored and a life pleasure meant to be enjoyed. Asian cultures consider eating an aesthetic experience and reverentially enjoy beautifully prepared and presented foods that nourish the senses—to see, smell, touch, taste, and observe any sounds—while slowly eating the meal.
The Slow Food movement is reviving and sharing the benefits of conscious eating and the enjoyment of wholesome foods. Slow Food USA, part of the international Slow Food movement, is dedicated to supporting local farmers, the production of regional foods, and small producers. The movement promotes a slower lifestyle that cultivates time for conscious food preparation and eating, and opposes the fast life exemplified by corporatized foods and degradation of farmland.
 conscious eating, a mindfulness practice Eat Here Now
How can you incorporate mealtime mindfulness into your own life? Try the following essential components of a conscious-eating practice.
1. Schedule time for meals. Allocate at least twenty minutes each for meals and/or enough time to truly experience the food you eat. Avoid overeating. Set your Zen Timer for at least 20 minutes.
2. Eliminate distractions during meals. Eat slowly in a calm, quiet environment without a blaring television, loud music, or your computer as an accompaniment. The experience of the meal should be the focus of your attention and entertainment.
3. Enjoy conscious eating. Practice a state of awareness while you eat. Savor the appearance, smell, and taste of your food, so you can be truly satisfied. Chew each bite twenty times, which will help digestion and keep your attention in the moment. Enjoy the rasa, or “juice” of the food, through our senses.
4. Practice snacking awareness. Avoid mindless snacking, eating while you’re talking, and snacking just because food is present.
5. Use tasteful presentation. Small portions beautifully arranged on an attractive plate nourish the senses and encourage you to savor each bite.
6. Practice cooking meditation. Feed your soul by incorporating mindfulness as you cook. Allow cooking to express your love and be the ultimate gift to others, as the food we eat literally becomes a part of us physically, mentally, and spiritually, in our cells, skin, bones, and thoughts.
7. Count your blessings. Before your meal, experience a moment of thankfulness for having food.
adapted from Natural Home Magazine, November/December 2005 by Elaine Gavalas
 Bamboo Zen Timers with Chime Now & Zen
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Beauty, Chime Alarm Clocks, intention, Meditation Timers, mindfulness practice, Well-being, Zen Timers
 Body and soul in balance An imbalance in your mental energy can leave you unable to focus. Break the pattern, and you’ll effectively return to the present moment — and the task at hand. “I call it changing your state,” says Lucy Jo Palladino, Ph.D., psychologist, attention expert, and author of “Find Your Focus Zone.”
One of Palladino’s tried-and-true balancing practices is four-corner breathing, which combines the use of an outer focal point (a window, a picture frame) with deep, rhythmic breaths. Try this meditation to jolt yourself into high gear or settle a skittish mind. It lowers adrenaline, restores balance, and resets your attention, helping you focus.
Four-Corner Breathing How-To
1. Find an object nearby that has four corners — a box, your monitor, or even this page.
2. Start at the upper-left-hand corner and inhale for 4 counts.
3. Turn your gaze to the upper-right-hand corner and hold your breath for 4 counts.
4. Move to the lower-right-hand corner. Exhale for 4.
5. Now shift your attention to the lower-left-hand corner. Tell yourself to relax and smile. Repeat 3 to 5 times, or as often as you like.
adapted from Body + Soul Magazine, June 2008 by Jill Russell
Use our unique “Zen Clock” which functions as a Yoga & Meditation Timer. It features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings your meditation or yoga session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal. Our Yoga Timer & Clock can be programmed to chime at the end of the meditation or yoga session or periodically throughout the session as a kind of sonic yantra. The beauty and functionality of the Zen Clock/Timer makes it a meditation tool that can actually help you “make time” for meditation in your life. Bring yourself back to balance.
 Zen Timepiece with brass bowl, a perfect meditation timer with gentle gong Now & Zen – The Zen Alarm Clock & Meditation Timer Store
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in intention, Meditation Timers, Meditation Tools, mindfulness practice, Well-being, Zen Timepiece by Now & Zen, Zen Timers
 Set your Zen Alarm Clock at Night Today, in our too-fast, information-overloaded society, we’ve lost much of our connection to the Earth, to spirit, to nature’s cycles, to our own cycles. And yet, we still need things to feed us, to ground us, to give us courage and connection.
Good rituals are essential to our emotional, psychological, and spiritual health. To help reconnect us to the sacred aspects of our lives, we asked an expert to share everyday rituals that they’ve created or practice.
Sleep Practice
Bedtime is when we drop our defenses and become vulnerable. This is why most religions have a tradition of bedtime prayers, says Alexander. Today, she believes, most insomnia and disturbed nights are caused by overactive minds mulling over the day’s problems.
 chime alarm clock for a peaceful sleep
Intention
To mark the break from day to night and ease into a state of physical and mental relaxation.
Materials
Lavender oil, notebook, and writing utensil.
Steps
1. Change (or bathe) with intention. As you take off your clothes, visualize all your daytime anxieties and concerns dropping away. As you wash, imagine that you cleanse away all the negativity of the day.
2. Write down all the positive things that happened during your day.
3. Dab the Lavender oil on a handkerchief and place it near the bed. Lie down, breathe in the soothing scent of the oil, and cast your mind back over the day without judgment.
4. Set your Zen Alarm Clock to the time you need to wake up in the morning right before you go to bed. Use your Zen alarm clock to not only wake you up gradually in the morning, but as a blocker of all negativity. When your alarm clock is set, don’t think about your problems or agenda for tomorrow; instead concentrate on your breathing so you fall asleep peacefully.
Now & Zen Alarm Clocks has adapted this from Body + Soul Magazine
 Chime Alarm Clock For a Progressive Awakening Now & Zen
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Chime Alarm Clocks, intention, mindfulness practice, Now & Zen Alarm Clocks, Progressive Awakening, sleep, Sleep Habits, wake up alarm clock, Well-being
 Savasana Pose - mindfulness practice Savasana, (corpse pose) is a relaxing posture that is intended to rejuvenate the body, mind and spirit. It is recommended that you set aside 20 minutes every day for Savasana , the most restful of the yoga positions. Here are some tips to get you started:
1. Set your meditation timer for 20 minutes so you don’t have to watch the clock. Use the Bamboo Zen Timer by Now & Zen with a calming chime. 2. Lie down on your back on a soft yet firm surface, such as a rug (but not a bed). Place a rolled pillow or blanket under your knees if that feels good, and cover your eyes with a soft cloth. Cover yourself with a light blanket.
3. Let your arms and legs roll slightly out from the body as you relax and begin to take a series of long, slow breaths, setting an intention to disengage from the external world. If your mind starts spinning away, simply return your attention to the breath.
4. When the meditation timer chimes, bend your knees, roll to the side, and sit up. After a moment or two of stillness, reengage with your day.
5. Repeat this every day. Savasana is a good way to reduce stress in your life and give you extra energy for the rest of your day.
 meditation timers with chime
Now & Zen
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Meditation Timers, Meditation Tools, mindfulness practice, Well-being, yoga, Yoga Timer, Yoga Timers by Now & Zen, Zen Timers
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