The Whispered Ah is one of the classic procedures used in practice of The Alexander Technique. The Whispered Ah is a vocal procedure encouraging openness and relaxation in the neck, throat, and around the vocal folds.  The Whispered Ah is a very effective stress reliever.

The Alexander technique encourages a more natural breathing by a process of unlearning rather than learning.  Here you unleash detrimental habits, rather than practicing specific breathing exercises.  

As you begin breathing ask your self the following questions:

• How rapid is my breathing?
• How deeply do I breathe?
• Are my ribs moving as I breathe?
• If so, which part of the rib cage is moving most?
• How much movement is there in the abdominal region?
• Do I feel and restriction in my breathing?

The 'ah' procedure

• The first requirement in order to perform the whispered 'Ah' procedure, is to think of something amusing so that you smile or laugh in a natural manner. This frees the facial muscles and diaphragm, plus lifts the soft palette in the mouth

• Next, let the tongue drop down behind the front teeth, allowing it to become softer.

• Then, inhibit the urge to move without thought, give yourself directions and take care not to contract the head back and down, as you free the jaw and allow it to open in a slightly forwards direction. 

• Let your jaw drop freely and whisper an 'ah' sound on the outward breath, allowing your lungs to empty fully. Do not to contract down or force the air out. Let the breath come naturally.

• Close your mouth without tightening your jaw. Relax and feel your breath coming naturally.  Allow your breath to enter through your nose and let it fill your lungs. Repeat several times.
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Yum! Nothing better than a quick snack that entails a delicious raisin salad.  This salad can be made on the weekend, and if kept in a Tupperware container, will last into the week with lots of crunch to boot.  Just open and dole out a bit when ever that snack monkey takes hold.  

Where carrots really shine is as a source of vitamin A. One cup of carrots provides a whopping 428 percent of the recommended daily intake. Other micronutrients found in carrots include calcium, thiamin, niacin, iron, vitamin B-6, vitamin E, riboflavin, folate, manganese, vitamin C, vitamin K, choline, phosphorus and potassium. A 1-cup serving of raw carrots also provides 4 grams of fiber.  Make your snacks count and at the same time provide sustainable energy to keep you going.

10 oz. bag of organic shredded carrots
1/4 cup raisins
2 tab. coconut
6 oz. container of organic pineapple yogurt

Place all in bowl and mix well.  Place in refrigerator for one hour to allow flavors to blend.  

The regular practice of lying down in the semi-supine position will help in encouraging the changes sought with the Alexander Technique, and is invaluable for maintaining a healthy spine. It is a way of giving yourself a ‘little Alexander lesson’ and some very valuable 'me time'.

Many people have found that this procedure can also be very successful in reducing stress, increasing vitality ,and reducing a wide variety of aches and pains.  If done regularly, it can help align the spine and improve your overall posture.  The semi-supine is best done in the morning, but if you suffer from insomnia you may find an improved night's sleep if you practice right before bed.  

How to

• Lie down on a fairly firm surface, like a mat or rug on the floor, with a couple of paperback books under your head to raise it slightly. Paperback books work best.  
• Bend your knees with your feet flat on the floor about shoulder-width apart. If the legs fall inward then move our feet closer together.  If the legs fall outwards move the feet further apart
• Let go of tension in your neck, shoulders, and back to allow your spine to lengthen.

How long and how often

To begin 10 minutes each day is ideal.  Then begin to lengthen your time by one minute each day until you have reached 20 minutes. This is enough time to help restore suppleness and realignment of the spine, and to reconnect the relationship between your mind and body.

As you learn how to release tension, the lower back will gradually flatten on the ground.  This might take weeks or months to happen, so please be patient with yourself.  Many of these tensions have taken years to accumulate so they are not going to disappear overnight.  

Meditation

As you lie in complete relaxation, give yourself the following directions:

• Allow your neck to be free.
• Think of your head going forward and up away from your spine.
• Allow your back to lenghten and widen onto the ground.
• Think of your sholuders widening away from one another.
• Think of your knees pointing up to the ceiling. 

As well as the physical benefits, the semi-supine practice will give you that all important time to be aware of yourself, to quiet your mind, and just stop for a few moments.

The Alexander Technique is an educational method used worldwide for over 100 years. By teaching how to change faulty postural habits, it enables improved mobility, posture, performance and alertness along with relief of chronic stiffness, tension and stress.

People study the Technique for a variety of reasons. The most common is to relieve pain through learning better coordination of the musculoskeletal system. The most far-reaching reason people study the Technique is to achieve greater conscious control of their reactions.

Most of us have many habitual patterns of tension, learned both consciously and unconsciously. These patterns can be unlearned, enabling the possibility of new choices in posture, movement and reaction. Taking Alexander lessons you'll develop awareness of habits that interfere with your natural coordination. You'll learn how to undo these patterns and develop the ability to consciously redirect your whole self into an optimal state of being and functioning. 
Through direct experience you’ll learn how to go about your daily activities with increasingly greater ease and less effort.

In the book Change Your Posture Change Your Life by Richard Brennan, explains the secret key to good posture is first realizing life is not an emergency.  In the book Jean Liedloff, an American psychologist spent two and half years in the South American jungle with South American Indians.  There she saw that they had little or not concept of time.  In her book The Continuum Concept she relates that she saw the indigenous people never rush to finish one task so that they could get to the next.  They were happy in the present moment focusing on whatever tasks they were doing.  They were not thinking ahead to the future or having regrets about their past actions.  As a result, she noticed, they were far happier and more content than people in developed countries.  They laughed rather than cursed when things went wrong.  They were far more alert and aware of things around them.  Liedloff's experience challenged her radically Western 
preconceptions of how we live.

The habit of rushing from one thing to the next is a problem that affects us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  It can cause anxiety which will make us depressed.  It can affect us physically in such a way that our whole system is on red alert causing stress-related illnesses.  

Give Yourself Time

Take time to work - it is the price of success.
Take time to meditate - it is the source of power.
Take time to play - it is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to read - it is the way to knowledge.
Take time to be friendly - it is the road to happiness.
Take time to laugh - it is the music of the soul.
Take time to love and be loved.  

There are several thousand Alexander teachers worldwide. Most are members of one or more professional societies and most of these societies publish both a written and an on-line teachers' list. On the website check out each of the country listings. You'll find links to individual teacher's websites as well as links to the relevant certifying professional societies where you can locate those teachers who do not yet have a website.

I just love books that are written about different parts of the world.  It is in these pages that I can truly loose myself in another culture or pattern of life.  This gives a delightful glimpse into impoverished Haiti and one woman's trek to gain independence.   

At an astonishingly young age, Edwidge Danticat has become one of our most celebrated new novelists, a writer who evokes the wonder, terror, and heartache of her native Haiti--and the enduring strength of Haiti's women--with a vibrant imagery and narrative grace that bear witness to her people's suffering and courage.  


At the age of twelve, Sophie Caco is sent from her impoverished village of Croix-des-Rosets to New York, to be reunited with a mother she barely remembers. There she discovers secrets that no child should ever know, and a legacy of shame that can be healed only when she returns to Haiti--to the women who first reared her. What ensues is a passionate journey through a landscape charged with the supernatural and scarred by political violence, in a novel that bears witness to the traditions, suffering, and wisdom of an entire people. - amazon.com

A proper diet is essential to maintain normal health and wellness. If the diet is insufficient to support health, the person will not be optimally well. Protein is one of many nutrients needed in a properly balanced diet for normal growth and maintenance. Proteins make up 10-20% of the mass of most cells and tissues, and provide for many of the functions and physical structure of cells, organs and tissues. Globular proteins, composed of one or more proteins, perform specific functions as enzymes, certain hormones, antibodies, and protein transport complexes, all needed for the normal operation of the body. If protein intake, digestion or assimilation is insufficient to maintain normal tissues and functions, then degenerative changes and tissue abnormalities result.  

Reducing your carb intake by packing more protein into your diet can keep blood glucose levels from fluctuating, which can trigger fatigue.  Eating protein with each meal and snacks can help battle muscle fatigue and pain.  

Enjoy the wonderfully nutritious egg. Along with milk, eggs contain the highest biological value (or gold standard) for protein. One egg has only 75 calories but 7 grams of high-quality protein, 5 grams of fat, and 1.6 grams of saturated fat, along with iron, vitamins, minerals, and carotenoids.

Keep your refrigerator stocked with hard boiled eggs that can be packed quickly and taken on the go.  

INGREDIENTS

• 12 large eggs, room temperature

DIRECTIONS

1. Place eggs in a large saucepan. Cover them with cool water by 1 inch. Slowly bring water to a boil over medium heat; when the water has reached a boil, cover and remove from heat. Let sit 12 minutes.
   
   
2. Transfer eggs to a colander; place under cool running water to stop the cooking. Eggs can be peeled and served immediately.
   
   

 I came home after an extremely overwhelming week trying to pick a movie that would take me away.  I browsed on this title and quickly slipped past due to the gory front thumbnail.  Unfortunately, there was nothing else that inspired me to push the play button.  So back I was to Stephen King.  "Why not?" I hesitated.  I was pleasantly surprised as there was no gory details to this movie rather a suspenseful plot that kept me glued to my screen for the entire movie.  

A happy and enduring marriage is shattered when a husband departs for a business trip, and his faithful wife unearths evidence that exposes his monstrous true nature in this thriller starring Joan Allen and Anthony LaPaglia, and adapted from a short story by Stephen King, who also penned the screenplay for director Peter Askin (Trumbo, Certainty). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Summer's coming and so are the days that make it more difficult to keep up with a healthy diet.  With the air casting a cool breeze on your skin, the thought of being out in the open breeze becomes more enticing.  But, if you are following the diet plan it seems a virtual packing machine may be your next best ticket for a day in the sun.  But, if you keep items like these stocked in your freezer, you'll be ready to go in a heartbeat!

Refried beans originated in Mexico where they’re called frijoles refritos, or “well-fried beans.” Basic refried beans are made from four simple ingredients: pinto beans, onion, garlic and bacon fat or lard. Cooks brown chopped onion and minced garlic in the fat and then add canned pinto beans to the skillet together with fluid from the can. As the beans heat up, they’re mashed with a fork or potato masher to create the desired consistency. Typical enhancements include chili powder, cumin, grated cheese or chopped jalapeno peppers.

One cup of refried beans has 217 calories, 13 grams of protein and just 3 grams of total fat. If you buy fat-free refried beans, the total fat drops to just 1 gram. Refried beans are a good source of oxygen-carrying iron; men get 50 percent of the recommended daily intake and women get 22 percent based on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet. One serving gives you a healthy boost of antioxidant vitamin C and energy-providing B vitamins. As with most processed foods, if you buy canned refried beans they’ll be high in salt unless you choose a low-salt brand. Just 1 cup of traditional refried beans has 1,069 milligrams of sodium -- that’s 70 percent of the total daily value.

Try this recipe and don't be afraid to add a dash or two of your favorite items too!  Then place in a Tupperware container and just heat a bit in the microwave for a quick snack or lunch.  Corn chips work best topped with bits of tomato and cheese here.

1 can of refried beans
2 handfuls of Seasoned Veggie Blend
1 tsp. oil
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin or Cajun seasoning

Fry seasoned veggie blend (you can make this without herbs) and garlic with oil.  When softened add beans and seasonings.  Keep stirring until desired consistency is achieved.  

Serotonin is a hypothalamus neurotransmitter necessary for sleep. A lack of serotonin causes difficulty in getting to sleep as well as staying asleep.  It is lack of sleep that will send fibromyalgia symptoms through the roof.

If you have three or more of these symptoms you may be lacking in serotonin:

• It hard for you to go to sleep.
• You can't stay asleep.
• You are often irritable.
• Your emotions are irrational.
• You occasionally resort to unexplained tears.
• Noise really bothers you.
• You flare up easily to bouts of anger.
• You feel depressed a lot.
• You feel pain more.
• You like to be left alone.

 Natural Supplements

5-HTP is a byproduct of tryptophan and works best for many people.  Therapeutic treatment has noted it treats a wide variety of maladies such as: anxiety, depression, fibromyalgia, insomnia, binge eating, pain, and chronic headaches.  Studies have shown positive result and compare it to SSRI and tricyclic antidepressants.