Real Relaxation by Konstantin Koss

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Today I want to scratch a topic that is normally far off the scope of the usual relaxation-wellness-meditation advice. Today I want to talk about a program for the currently most popular MP3 player system around: The iPod (or even the iPhone, as in my case).

I often talk about the incredible benefit of using relaxing music as a tool to de-stress in everyday life.

I recently found an application on my iphone that leverages this concept. Now you can easily put any relaxing music from a CD on your MP3 player and that works well, but this program rather uses relaxing sounds such as chirping birds and flowing water.

It also has a sleep-timer feature so that you can use it for relaxing before bedtime without having it drain batteries the whole night (the timer just turns off the sound after a set amount of minutes).

And all this is just $0.99 - a token price if you ask me.

The only negative thing I have to say about this application is that you can’t seem to adjust the volume of the sounds, which doesn’t really matter to me as the volume is generally just fine.

If you also own an iPod (touch), you should consider giving this “app” a try. It can be found in the iTunes store just like every other application.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Tags: ipod, mp3, Relaxation, Relaxing Music, Trends

Recently I blogged about Attune giving away free wellness bars on their website. Those wellness bars are advertised as “probiotic”, but what does that mean exactly?

Let’s have a look at what information they are providing:

The World Health Organization (WHO) officially defines probiotics as live microorganisms, which when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.

The probiotics story begins with intestinal bacteria, which are a community of good and bad bacteria that live in the digestive system. We all have naturally occurring bacterial communities in our digestive systems. They help:

• Protect the body from harmful bacteria.
• Exercise the immune system to ensure it is ready to react to harmful bacteria.
• Strengthen the intestinal wall so it acts as a defensive barrier.
• Digest fiber in the diet, so we can absorb the nutrients from the foods we eat.

These digestive bacteria are essential to overall wellbeing. Probiotics act as a helper to these friendly bacteria, and that help can keep the digestive system functioning well.

The official definition is simply

“Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host.”

While it is still not completely researched how much those probiotic bacterial cultures can really help the human body, it is a generally agreed upon fact that probiotic microorganisms can and do help the body in many different ways.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Tags: Probiotic, Wellness Bar

Tip number 10 from the top 10 ways to relax that were recently published on this blog was:

10. Laugh.

Find your sense of humor again. Be with family and friends you can be yourself with. Laughter is one of the best ways to relax and it doesn’t have to cost a thing. It also helps you build connections with people in your life who really matter.

When researching laughter I found a very interesting trend that is coming over directly from India called “Laughter Yoga”.

Think about this strange technique what you want, but you may notice that even watching laughter yoga in action

• makes you laugh
• and feels good

Just play this video featuring John Cleese reporting on laughter yoga:

Isn’t that weird crowd cracking you up too?

Popularity: 5% [?]

Tags: Featured Video, Relaxation Techniques, Ways to Relax, Yoga

Or: Why Going To The Sauna In Summer Is One Of The Best Things You Can Do For Your Health!

Actually, in scandinavian countries having a sauna in summer and relaxing at 60°C + is a famous practice.

“Are you crazy?”,

Some of you will say. You are already sweating all day long and that should be enough, shouldn’t it?

(Photo by ansik)

Well, having a sauna in the warm season got some great benefits to it. If you do it regularly, your body will have an easier time coping with changes of temperature and it will be able to regulate it’s internal temperature better when you really need it.

With the rapid cold-warm-changes of the sauna your blood vessels and immune system get trained and therefore get much more resistant against illnesses like the famous summer flu. It also makes your body resistant agains sudden heatwaves and you will be able to sleep much better in hot summer nights.

Fact is, the better your bodies temperature-regulation-system gets trained, the more effective it is. People who go to the sauna regularly will be able to deal with high temperature better in everyday life.

Especially finnish saunas of 60°C that utilize essential oils of herbs like mint, eucalyptus, citrus or lavender will vitalize mind and body and clear the airways while saving your heart and cardiovascular system.

How’s that for health benefits of having a sauna in summer?

If you like this type of relaxation, don’t stop just because you are sweating anyway!

Sweating greetings,

Konstantin Koss

Popularity: 8% [?]

Tags: Finnish Sauna, Relaxation, Sauna Health Benefits, Sauna in Summer, Summer

Generally for stressed out people that come to me and really need something right away to get out of a current stress-mindset (yes, it’s all just a mindset), I advice going to a sauna over anything else - including massages, relaxation techniques and meditation practices.

It’s the king of the quick-fixes and if you’ve ever been to a Sauna you will know that incredible relaxed feeling after getting out.

Since this works so well, quite a few people are looking to buy a sauna for themselves. Good idea if you can afford it, I say.

What you should know about the different kinds of saunas is that if you go for a finnish sauna it will take some time till it got heated up and you can jump in there. Finnish saunas work by getting stones to store up the heat that they later radiate out over the air or the smoke produced by throwing water on the stones.

An even quicker quick-fix is provided by infrared saunas, that work by emitting far infrared electromagnetic radiation just like our dear star sol, the sun does. This works by merely pressing a button.

Additionally to the incredibly relaxed feeling after getting out of the sauna, infrared saunas are said to have a wide range of additional health benefits. Including:

• illness and skin disease treatment
• weight loss
• improvement of the immune system
• pain release
• strengthening of the cardio-vascular system

Note that most of these infrared sauna health benefits are not scientifically proven! In my opinion, the focus thould be on the subjectively increased amount of energy and decreased amount of stress in your body. Additional benefits are great if they occur.

In conclusion, when you want to decide for a type of sauna to buy, consider the above made points. Many of the health benefits occur for finnish saunas also. If you are really stressed out right now and need some release, go for a sauna in your area by all means.

As for the warnings: Consult with your physician before using a sauna. There are many physical conditions that make the use of saunas potentially dangerous.

(Photo by keko)

Popularity: 6% [?]

Tags: Finnish Sauna, Infrared Sauna, Quick Fixes, Relaxation, Sauna, Sauna Health Benefits, Stress Relief, Trends, Wellness