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Playing With Mindfulness: Sneaking In The Back Door
I often meet people who say things like, "I've been working with mindfulness for over twenty years." My response is always this: "Oh, you poor thing! Have you tried *playing* with mindfulness? It's very effective, and much more fun!" They tend...
Putting Spirit First: Goals For Your Soul
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:33 If you've ever set very many goals, you've probably had at least one goal that you just can't seem to reach. You can't seem to...
Success—two critical questions to ask, and answer
Success is one of those words that we all understand, or at first glance, we think we do. We hear that someone is a big success, and we nod in agreement and apparent understanding. But what is success? Webster defines success as reaching a...
The Great Awakening--Menopause
The Great Awakening--Menopause By: Dr. Loretta Lanphier, ND, CN, HHP Menopause is a natural transition all women experience, as natural as adolescence. For your grandmother and great-grandmother, life expectancy was shorter. Reaching menopause...
Why Balancing Your Polarity Can Make Life Better
Driven by cultural imperatives and inner promptings, we drive ourselves into a frenzy of action day after day. The urgency of what needs to be done and the limited time we have to do it excites us to become excessive in our activity. ...
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Golden Years: Nine Ways a Dog Boosts Your Health
What if there was a simple way to reduce stress, prolong and improve the quality of your life, banish the blues, and best of all, decrease the number of doctor visits?
There is! Get a dog. Here are nine ways that having a dog can boost your health.
Improved heart health. Dog owners have lower blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides than non pet-owners. All these reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Recuperate from illness faster. Seniors in hospitals respond better to treatment and recover more quickly when they have contact with a dog or therapy animal.
Increased chance of surviving heart disease. A clinical research project of heart-disease patients showed that having a dog was the strongest social predictor of survival, even compared to having family and friends.
Longer life expectancy after a heart attack. The presence of a dog improved survival rate even more than having a spouse or close friend. One study showed that men who had a dog were six times more likely to be alive one year after a heart attack than men without a dog.
Reduced stress. Just sitting and petting a dog reduces your heart rate, and therefore stress level.
Regular exercise. It goes without saying that dogs need to be walked, but did you know that even seniors who don’t walk their dogs are more active than seniors without dogs?
They don’t call dogs man’s best friend for nothing. Ninety-five percent of senior dog owners talk to their dog. Over three quarters report that their dogs help when they feel sad. Almost that many say that their dogs help when they feel physically bad. In general, seniors with dogs are better able to tolerate social isolation that seniors without dogs.
Fewer doctor visits. A study of a thousand Medicare
patients showed that seniors with dogs had nearly ten percent fewer doctor visits compared to seniors without dogs. Other studies put his figure over twenty percent, a strong reflection of the health benefits of having a dog.
Improved well-being. Alzheimer’s patients have fewer anxiety attacks and fewer mood disorders when allowed to have a dog nearby. Dog owners report fewer headaches, fewer bouts of indigestion and less difficulty sleeping. Studies show that elderly people caring for a dog improve their overall health compared to their peers living without animals in the home.
Need one more reason? Be a lifesaver. Adopting a dog from a shelter saves a dog’s life, too. Senior dogs are too often passed over at shelters for younger dogs or puppies with a longer life expectancy and more energy. But senior dogs have a lot to offer. They are often already housebroken and trained, they are not as active as younger dogs, and they are generally more interested in companionship than a run in the park.
Many shelters have adoption programs to match senior pets with senior people. They will help you choose a suitable dog and often provide ongoing support—sometimes at reduced or no cost.
Having a dog may not be the answer for everyone, but if you’re interested, call your local shelter to find out more. There may be a Rover, a Spot, or a Freckles ready to give you a whole new leash on life!
About the author:
How to Meditate with Your Dog: An Introduction to Meditation for Dog Lovers presents a non-dogmatic approach to meditation. To fetch a free chapter from the book and the introduction from the audiobook go to http://www.DogMeditation.com
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Learning Meditation Home Page |
Introduction to the basics of meditation and the reduction of stress. |
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Meditation Room |
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www.learningmeditation.com |
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Meditation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
An introduction to different traditions, forms, techniques, and benefits. Includes links to other resources. |
en.wikipedia.org |
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World Wide Online Meditation Center |
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The Transcendental Meditation (TM) Program - Official website. How ... |
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Vipassana Meditation Website |
Homepage of the organization which offers Vipassana Meditation courses as taught by SN Goenka. |
www.dhamma.org |
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Welcome to Meditation Mount |
Meditation training programs and group meditation as a service to humanity. Worldwide organization based in Ojai, California. |
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Guided meditations on mindfulness, peace, the 23rd Psalm, the way ... |
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Meditation Station Presented By The Meditation Society Of America |
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Wildmind | Learn Meditation Online |
Wildmind provides a complete guide to simple meditation techniques. |
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Meditation |
An article By Dr Tom J. Chalko explaining the process and stressing the need for a spiritual teacher. |
www.thiaoouba.com |
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Free Learn to Meditate, online meditation - Meditation Australia. |
Details of activities, events, and classes in Wollongong University, Australia. Also offer a free online Meditation course. |
meditation.org.au |
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Meditation, Home, what is meditation, types of meditation ... |
Meditation Meditation is an alternative therapy. It can be broadly classified under the mind-body medicine. More and more doctors are prescribing meditation ... |
1stholistic.com |
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Sivananda Yoga - Meditation |
Introduction to the Official Web site of the Internationa Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers. Lots of information on Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, ... |
www.sivananda.org |
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Stress Reducers: Articles index |
yellow arrow button, Choose a Virtual Meditation Slide Show for Your ... yellow arrow button, Meditation and Relaxation: 20 Minutes A Day Can Make A ... |
www.selfhelpmagazine.com |
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Zen Mountain Monastery: Zen Meditation Instructions |
Detailed instructions from Zen Mountain Monastery on how to practice Zen meditation. |
www.mro.org |
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Meditation and concentration |
meditation concentration ability. ... Online fire meditation use it and develop concentration ability; Online flash meditation look at the screen and ajust ... |
www.ababasoft.com |
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Siddha Yoga path - Gurumayi - Swami Muktananda founder |
Under the guidance and teachings of Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, Siddha Yoga meditation students embrace the spiritual practices of yoga. |
www.siddhayoga.org |
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Meditation Handbook |
Survey of seven meditation techniques for beginners. |
home.att.net |
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Healing Music|Meditation Music|Self Help products |
Healing Products offers healing music for your Mind, Body & Soul at low prices. Use sound and music to heal and relax. |
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