If there’s one common problem that every inhabitant of the Earth is currently facing, it’s climate change.

Those two words sound innocent enough: “climate change.” And maybe that’s part of the problem; with everything that’s going on right now, thinking about the climate changing in 10 or 50 or 80 years just isn’t that much of a priority for most of us.

But that’s got to change. Because really, what’s happening isn’t just climate “change”, it’s climate chaos. And as crazy as things have gotten, unless we change course, we are barely seeing the tip of the iceberg of what’s coming.

But already, climate chaos is beginning to unfold, and it’s not looking good.

With unprecedented heat waves in unlikely places, like Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and even British Columbia; unprecedented flooding in Germany, Belgium, and China; unprecedented droughts and wildfires in the Western US and around the globe; the first rainfall on the peak of Greenland’s ice sheet for the first time in literally ever — and a truly alarming new scientific report on the now-unavoidable impact of global warming on our world, we can’t keep acting as if this isn’t an urgent matter of life or death.

So here’s the latest update on the crisis — and on one of the most important things we can do to turn it around (that almost nobody is talking about!).

Skills to Build Mindful Self-Compassion Anytime, Anywhere

Just when we thought the pandemic was in the rearview mirror, cases are again surging along with stress over how to cope. Parents sending kids back to school or off to college, workers wondering whether to return to the office, everyone unsure what the future holds — who doesn’t feel worried, frustrated and disappointed?

September is Self-Care Awareness Month, yet many people don’t take the time they should to care for themselves. Maybe they think self-care is frivolous, time-consuming, or even selfish. Or they get so busy fulfilling the demands of making a living and caring for a family that they forget to put their own oxygen mask on first. When turbulence hits, they feel stretched too far and snap.

If you have been feeling stressed out, burned out, or beat up by circumstances in life, it’s time to start practicing mindful self-compassion.

Mindfulness is being able to face and acknowledge our difficult thoughts and feelings with a spirit of openness and curiosity. Self-compassion involves responding to these difficult thoughts and feelings with kindness, sympathy, and understanding so that we soothe and comfort ourselves when we’re hurting. Fortunately, mindful self-compassion is a skill you can practice anytime, anywhere.

Self-care comes in many forms. Some require you to stop what you are doing and take a break, such as taking a break to walk in nature, soaking in a soothing bath, or reading your favorite book at the end of the day. But there’s also another way you can practice self-care that only requires you to pause and evaluate what you need to feel better. I call this the SNAP system:

Medical research enjoyed a major breakthrough over the past decade when two factors were isolated that link almost every major disorder: inflammation and stress. Neither came as a total surprise. Inflammation was long known as a paradoxical process in the body. Disease and injured tissues need an added supply of oxygen and immune cells in order to heal, but taken too far, as in the case of severe burns, and inflammation can lead to shock and even death.

Stress is more clear-cut, since it has always been associated with harmful effects in the body and is linked to many disorders from depression and anxiety to hypertension and lowered immunity. But a breakthrough occurred when it was suddenly realized that the culprits in disease and aging were not acute, dramatic instances of inflammation and stress. Instead, the damage to the body is low-level and steady, a chronic condition that does its damage slowly at the cellular level. It turns out that aging and chronic disease actually begin almost invisibly at the cellular level long before any symptoms appear, over a span of years or most probably decades.

Every fitness enthusiast out there usually needs a supplement to complement their fitness goals. In your quest for the perfect body, it is customary to want natural support to make this goal a reality. However, synthetic supplements have not proven helpful when you consider the side effects and possibility of over-dependency.

This has driven various people towards a natural substance that will present a safe approach to support users' fitness journey. Kratom is one such organic substance that athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness enthusiasts can consider to help with their fitness goals.

Treating your body with kindness isn’t just about doing what feels good in the moment. In fact, truly caring for the needs of your body is often much more about thinking long-term. It’s no secret that even in the short term — but especially over time — eating junk food can take a serious toll on the body.

Too much sugar can make you feel sluggish, processed meats can increase your risk of cancer and salt can elevate your blood pressure. Alternatively, there are so many foods that you can use to fuel your body for healthy longevity and immunity. There are so many amazing, natural sources of nutrients that you can turn to — from the fresh and sweet to the savory. Here are a few of those foods that can truly have a profound impact on your life and your body.

There’s no way around it: everyone experiences a little stress now and then! Over time, though, high levels of stress can cause an excess build-up of free radicals in your body and can lead to premature aging and disease. Fortunately, the ancient science of Ayurveda offers many helpful ways to combat day-to-day stress and enhance your body’s natural ability to throw off its effects. 

Below, you’ll find some of our top recommendations on finding stress relief through Ayurveda.

1. START YOUR DAY STRESS-FREE

When you begin your day with a good routine, it sets you up for a stress-free day by helping to keep Vata dosha in balance.

Menopause can be a challenging phase for many women. With various side-effects like mood swings, bloating, joint and bone pains, etc., menopause can cripple the quality of life if you don't take necessary precautions.

However, this is also the time to bring some positive changes to your lifestyle and lead a healthy life. There are several safe and effective supplements that can help counter many side effects to allow you to lead a completely normal life. In addition to supplements, there are a few critical lifestyle changes like exercising regularly, quitting smoking, etc., that can help.

Read on to find out the five most effective lifestyle changes you must adapt to during menopause.

On August 9, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.* For two days I moved, stunned, beneath the dark shadow of those words, which I never had imagined would apply to me. I felt as if all joy and flow in my life had vanished. I couldn’t access the inner peace that had become so much a part of my daily experience. I couldn’t hear my soul’s voice. I was lost within the dramatic scenarios my mind was playing out, all of them shadowed and sad. I grieved the loss of my connection to spirit, to trust (and perhaps to life). Then a wise friend reminded me that I didn’t have to immediately be at peace, that it was okay to feel whatever I needed to, day by day. The light of peace would eventually return, as long as I remembered not to get caught in the mind drama, and just trust the divine process of it all. He was right.

In simpler times, a chemist discovered a substance vital to human health that the body could not produce and called it a “vitamine,” a portmanteau of “vital” and “amine” (due to a mistaken belief that this substance was an amino acid). Things got slightly more complicated when another such substance was found, but the scientists handled it with aplomb: they proclaimed the first “vitamin A” and the second — do you see where this is going? — “vitamin B.” Then came C, and D, followed by E, and then K, as several compounds in a row (F, G, H, I, and J, presumably), didn’t pass vitamin muster.

But then things started getting messy. When researchers began to realize that vitamin B was actually an entire family of substances, similar in form and function, but unique in the roles they play in human health. Instead of adding more letters (there weren’t that many left, and who knew where this proliferation of Bs was going to end), the namers turned to numbers: B1, B2, B3, B5, and so on.

A few things here. First, there’s no B-4, which you could charitably chalk up to not wanting to be responsible for the following hypothetical conversation:

Parent: “Did you take your B-4?”

Child: “Did I take my what before?”

Thank you, science.

Second, while there are eight B vitamins, there are no B batteries, which feels suspicious to me.

Have you heard of intuitive eating? Hailed as a “revolutionary anti-diet,” intuitive eating is the practice of learning to listen to your body to decide what, when and how much to eat.

This idea may be appealing to people who have struggled to stay on restrictive or temporary diets. What could be simpler and more freeing than tuning into your body’s need for healthy food?

Before you try any kind of intuitive eating approach, it’s important to address the reasons why you eat — particularly any emotional triggers you may have around eating.

Emotions influence how we eat in complex and subtle ways, research has found. Emotional eating is also linked with obesity. Many people use food to reduce their underlying experience of feelings such as anger, sadness, or loneliness.

Why is it important to address the underlying reasons why we eat before trying intuitive eating? Human society has programmed people to eat for a huge variety of non-nutritive reasons. We eat for fun. We eat to socialize. We eat because the TV is on. We eat because the clock says it’s time. And for a lot of us, we eat to subconsciously — or even consciously — to medicate our emotions.

"And here’s the thing, you can eat a perfect diet and take all the right supplements, but if you’re not sleeping well and managing your stress, all bets are off. I see this every day in my private practice." 
Chris Kresser, 9 Steps to Perfect Health, p. 34

Time and again, I discover that the main problem is how they manage stress.

In our current culture, stress is inevitable. We can't completely do away with stress, but we can learn how to manage it in ways that promote our health rather than destroy it.

I used to be one of those people who didn't manage stress well. I would get anxious a lot. I often felt angry or down. I carried a lot of tension in my body. And I was not well.

I read everything I could find on health. I ate really well – all organic, no processed foods, no sugar. Still, my health was going down – until I started to practice Inner Bonding.

These difficult times bring increased stress, and a natural reaction to stress is anxiety. Far from being simple, anxiety is multi-dimensional, as symbolized in brain structure—the brain itself feels no emotions, because emotions occur in consciousness.  You are the product of the evolution of consciousness, and your anxiety has physical, emotional, and rational aspects.

Anxiety passes through each dimension in a sequence. What you need to know is that each dimension can generate fear, and yet in itself, consciousness isn’t fearful. Ancestrally, primitive fear originates in the lower brain, where the fight-or-flight response resides, an inheritance shared by almost all animals. Except in a sudden emergency or moment of alarm, modern humans have minimal need to this inheritance. But modern life generates low-level stress responses that we barely notice but which overload the nervous system, which needs the kind of stress relief few people find the time for.

Insomnia is widespread and affects millions across the globe. Having a regular sleep schedule has multiple benefits. Many people have been seeking new ways to overcome the condition and enjoy a good night’s sleep again. And the latest option is CBD oil, produced using a chemical compound found in the cannabis plant.

CBD oil represents a new solution for the frustrating symptoms of the condition like lethargy, irritability, and fatigue. Though sleeping pills (both prescription and over-the-counter) are widely available, they have potentially harmful side effects, from addiction to daytime drowsiness. Therefore, the benefits of CBD oil outweigh the risks of sleeping pills. It can be a non-narcotic option and is an attractive alternative.

Too often in the west, people look to their doctors to identify and fix what’s wrong with their bodies. However, another person can’t live inside your skin. As such, you can become the best physician of all by learning to listen to your physical cues.

Tragically, many people learn to disregard the physiological signs of trouble as they grow and mature. Regulating your emotions doesn’t mean ignoring your feelings and sensations. Here are six tips for getting in touch with your body and finding out what it needs right now.

1. Get Acquainted With Your Breath

You have one of the most powerful stress-busting tools in the world available anytime and anywhere. It doesn’t cost a dime to use. All you need to do is tune in to your breath.

A comforting, well-spiced cup of chai. A fragrant lemongrass blend. There’s nothing like a warm pot of tea to soothe the senses and press pause on the daily hustle. Generally speaking, Ayurveda recommends caffeine-free, herb-and-spice blends (or tisanes) rather than high-caffeine teas, which can leave you feeling jittery and scattered. That being said, different dosha types respond differently to caffeine; some people actually benefit from a little boost now and then! 

As with everything, a little bit of moderation goes a long way. If you’re a fan of black, green, and white tea, here are some helpful Ayurvedic tips to keep in mind when sipping.

Mixed in with its devastating negative effects, the COVID pandemic had at least one positive effect: The world felt united as never before. If this feeling of unity continues, huge challenges can be met together. One that touches me personally is the drive to democratize well-being—the gap between haves and have nots is physical, mental, and spiritual, not just economic.

A bit step in the direction of democratized well-being was taken by a unique program that uses AI (Artificial Intelligence) to rescue people at high risk for suicide. We’ve become huge, enthusiastic supporters of Piwi, a chatbot that anyone in crisis can have a conversation with (https://www.x2ai.com/piwi). Here’s how this breakthrough intervention works.

It has been shown repeatedly that when someone is having suicidal thoughts, the best way to rescue them is through personal contact, which usually is conducted with another person at the end of the line. But it is also essential to have a follow-up contact to make sure that the intervention has a lasting effect. Piwi accomplishes both goals with very impressive results at a uniquely low cost.

If you Google “broccoli summer camp,” “kale summer camp,” and “cauliflower summer camp,” you’ll come up empty. You’ll find summer recipes for these cruciferous stars, sure, but no weeklong vacation event dedicated to them.

When you search for “bacon summer camp,” by contrast, you’ll discover that there is such a thing. With speakers, cooking tutorials, panel discussions, butchering demos, and even a bacon film festival, Camp Bacon caters to one of the hottest foods of the past decade.

And that’s just the tip of the strip, if you will. Someone spent enough time and energy to figure out that 62% of US restaurants have bacon on the menu. The average American consumes almost 18 pounds of bacon per year – and if you don’t, then someone out there is eating 36 pounds to keep the average up. There’s a National Bacon Day in the US. And bacon has gone from breakfast meat to ubiquitous star ingredient in everything from bacon-wrapped hot dogs and steaks to desserts like cupcakes and ice cream. And if I haven’t yet convinced you that bacon makes people highly irrational, there’s a Seattle company that sells bacon-scented underwear for men and women.

These days, whenever an animal-based product becomes hugely popular, plant-based versions aren’t far behind. Thanks to a growing market, new technologies, and social media experimentation, there are now plant-based bacon alternatives that are getting closer and closer to the original. According to the online food ordering company Grubhub, users ordered vegan bacon 113% more in 2019 than the year before.

And it’s a good thing, too! Bacon comes from pigs, the vast majority of which (approximately 95%) are raised on factory farms, which carry a whole host of ethical and environmental problems. And that’s not even mentioning the health effects of bacon, which is a highly processed meat.

So in this article, we’ll take a look at vegan bacon: why it can be a much better alternative to the stuff that comes from pigs, how you can make it yourself, and recipes that use plant-based bacon.

After an exhausting day, it is vital to relax your body and mind for a night of restful sleep. Good bedding and a soft pillow are what you need at night time, but they are seldom enough. At times, it becomes difficult to sleep, and you only end up tossing in the bed. It may be a medical problem, but most times, mental clutter deprives you of the rest you deserve. Are you aware of the ways to relax and declutter for better sleep? Do not worry because there are many ways to experience sound sleep, provided you can eliminate the clutter from your mind. Let us share a few with you.

Reading

Reading is one of the best ways to unwind before sleeping. Many people have a habit of reading before going to bed. You can choose magazines, read some short stories, and explore motivational books to reduce stress. Avoid reading work-related emails, assignments, and messages. When you feel that it is time to rest, turn out the lights soon and catch up on your sleep.