Monthly Archives: December 2010

Researchers from Boston Children’s Hospital (Harvard Medical School) examined whether maternal relaxation exercises impact fetal behavior and uterine activity, while also investigating the underlying physiological and endocrine mechanisms for the transfer of relaxation from mother to fetus.

The behavior of 33 fetuses was analyzed during laboratory relaxation/quiet rest and controlled for baseline fetal behavior.  Potential associations between relaxation/quiet rest and fetal behavior (fetal heart rate, fetal heart rate variation, fetal heart rate acceleration, and body movements) and uterine activity were studied, using a computerized cardiotocogram system. Maternal heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol, and norepinephrine levels were all measured.

Question:

Hi, Bellaruth! [Ed. Note: BR’s name is spelled Belleruth and pronounced Bell-rooth’ - there is no middle syllable in there]

I am 40 and just asked for a divorce from my husband of 1.5 years. We've known each other for 15.... we were better friends than husband and wife, and he has put me through a lot of stress during the time we were married (I was basically responsible for everything; he felt he only needed to be responsible to his job and sleeping at night!). He is extremely narcissistic.

While I am relieved that this part of the "journey" is over, I also feel like my life is topsy-turvy right now (even though I am the one who asked for the divorce). What would you recommend for me to find some peace and calm, as I get through this transition of "readjustment"?

Thank you!

Lisa

You simply must check out this riveting, 40-second, time-lapse photography video of the monster December snow storm, as ingeniously recorded by photographer Michael Black in Belmar, New Jersey. An amazing 32 inches fell on this picnic table, over a brief span of 20 hours, and you get to see it take shape in all its wondrous beauty on this brief video, shot with a remote timer every 5 minutes.

Hello again, and welcome to 2011!
 
One of the things we’ll be working on, right off the bat, in this new year, is to change the standard intro tracks we have on the imagery recordings that go to our servicemen, vets and military families.  We’re working with several terrific people - caregivers and end-users from all over our armed services - to create a lead-in that will deliver even more buy-in than what we’re currently getting.  Right now it’s still pretty dependent on whom it is that hands that CD or download over to the service person.  I’m very excited about this and all the help we’re getting with it, because the right intro could multiply the “adoption rate” among troops by a lot.  I’ll keep you posted on this.

My award-winning photographer friend, Honey Lazar, has been collecting pearls of wisdom and recipes from her eloquent Aunt Ruth, which she posts on her blog as a tribute to this inspiring woman.  She also has a book in the works, called Loving Aunt Ruth (stay tuned for when that’s done).

She writes:

Question:
I have a young friend in the Army who has picked up the habit of dipping snuff. This is widespread in the Army, at least among warriors deployed in Afghanistan. He would like to break this habit, but is finding it very difficult. Would your smoking cessation CD be helpful to him?  If not, do you have anything else you might recommend?
Please post this.
B.D.C.

Hello again. 

Our hard copy CDs for the new Heartbreak, Abandonment & Betrayal imagery are in the warehouse.  And because for years people have been asking for short imagery segments for a quickie tune-up, I’m finally putting together a mix of brief imagery segments.  Stay tuned.  These will be short tracks running from 7 - 14 minutes that you can listen to whenever you don’t have much time but could use a quick infusion of relaxation and/or perspective.

An interesting study recently came out of Carnegie Mellon, showing that when people imagined, in great detail, eating a bunch of M & M’s, they ate less of them when actually offered the real thing (as compared with a different group who imagined eating only 3 - they snarfed down many more.  If you’re intrigued, check out this video interview to learn more.

Hello again!

We’ve been culling and sorting through boxloads o’ goodies, to bring you a carefully curated list of brilliant new titles. Check them out, for holiday gift giving and beyond!

For starters, our team went over our last survey very carefully, deciding I should make two new guided imagery audios that addressed a couple of highly requested topics – imagery to help with Heartbreak, Abandonment and Betrayal; and imagery to help connect with a Spiritual Guide. As usual, your generosity with feedback, personal experiences, suggestions and general input were invaluable. Thank you again for that.

We’re always delighted to bring you another inspiring new Lynne Newman title, Divine Alchemy – she’s outdone herself with this compelling meditation on surmounting difficulties and transforming daily living. Tara Brach’s Meditations for Emotional Healing applies heart-based mindfulness to reach similar ends, in equally beautiful ways.

Sharon Salzberg also leads heart-based meditation with her rich gem of a CD, Guided Meditations for Love and Wisdom. KRS Edstrom has a new guided mindfulness experience, Everyday Meditation, which focuses on body awareness and sensation – a wonderful way to achieve a calm sense of embodied groundedness.

And I love the way Rick Jarow’s Alchemy of Abundance – a book and CD set – addresses the topic of getting what you need with unusual depth, sophistication, heart and spirit.

The ingenious Carol Ginandes has a new CD set and booklet that brings you the Ultimate Power Nap for Rapid Rest & Renewal – an impeccable use of hypnosis to teach restorative napping to produce invigorated, joyful days.

For taking charge of your dreams while you sleep, not to mention wrestling nightmares to the ground, we have none other than Stephen LaBerge himself offering his ground-breaking meditations and book on Lucid Dreaming.

We were thrilled to find – finally! – some truly stellar guided imagery for chemical dependency and addiction, thanks to Chuck and Patti Leviton’s Inner Peace, Outward Power – perfectly designed meditations on each of the 12 steps, to enhance any recovery program.

And to boost the impact of a weight loss or fitness program, David Illig, has come up with a very unique, deep learning protocol with RightMind Weight Loss – one audio for listening awake and another for sleeping – to send strong, positive, healthy, hypnotic messages deep into the mind, through alternating sides of the brain.

Sing Song Yoga by Deb Weiss-Gelmi is a uniquely enchanting yoga video, where she sings rhyming instructions to real kids – in a beautiful voice – making everything easy to follow and remember. Parents and teachers will go crazy for this.

Nurse practitioner Donna Carrico has come up with some excellent imagery that targets common gynecological complaints with her Guided Imagery to Enhance Healing for Women with Pelvic Pain, Interstitial Cystitis or Vulvodynia.

And speaking of pain, we discovered a super effective, greaseless gel for muscle aches called Sombra, and it’s so good, we decided to offer it after it soothed and healed several of us with sore joints, achy shoulders and pesky injuries. The stuff’s simply amazing, and we figure everyone should have it!

Don’t forget to check out our holiday gift baskets – we’ve got some very special combinations that bring together the best of the new with some of your very favorite oldies.

Take care and be well!

Belleruth

Researchers from Kent State University in Ohio study examined the impact of a guided imagery intervention over an 8-week period on pain and pain disability in people with chronic non-cancer pain; and analyzed the mediating effects of neuro-endocrine and neuro-immune functioning on the effectiveness of the guided imagery.
 
A simple, interrupted time-series design (12-week period) was used. The guided imagery was introduced at Week 4 and used daily by 25 participants for the remaining 8 weeks.  Pain intensity and pain disability were measured at the beginning of the study and at six repeated 2-week intervals.

Measures of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation (plasma cortisol), immune-mediated analgesia (lymphocyte counts and proliferation), and immune-mediated hyperalgesia (interleukin-1β) were obtained at the beginning of the study and at Week 11.