GayHealthBlog.com

MIND BODY: AIDS Researcher Pert Showcases Meditation CD

Can guided meditation/visualization or other relaxation techniques really enhance overall health, reverse illness or even slow the progression of HIV?  In previous blog entries, interviews and podcasts, we’ve pointed to experts and even research that indicates growing confidence in meditation as a viable health tool.

So when famed scientist, author, and AIDS researcher Candace Pert, CSO of RAPID Laboratories in Rockville, Maryland--which is developing a drug treatment and vaccine against HIV--releases her own guided meditation CD, attention must be paid.

But don’t let the mouthful of a title--“Healing the Hurting, Shining the Light, Chakras and Modern Neuroscience”—scare you; Pert’s soft-spoken approach of hard science and spirituality should relax and
inspire even the most cynical listener.

The centerpiece of the 5 track CD is the lecture/guided meditation “Chakra Lecture, A Musical Relaxation Process.” in which Pert blends “the facts of science with the latest thinking of…some of the most avant-garde healers in the world.”

Here are some highlights:

Over the Rainbow, Indeed! The colors of the rainbow all have corresponding sound waves, such as red and the musical note F, and each note can bypass informational substances and activate cellular receptors directly. What does this mean, exactly? Says Pert, “For me it’s enough to know, that music, spoken words, the colors of the rainbow, human brain waves and our molecules of emotion are all resonating together, in synchronous relationship.”

Have a Heart: The crown of the head is the place that has the most neuronal connections of anywhere in the brain. The heart contains every peptide neural information substance that’s ever been measured, and leads the electrical activity of the entire body. Thus, living from a loving, happy heart can be a very soothing place to be. Physiologically speaking, maybe that’s why gratitude, love and compassion feel so good.

Mind Really Does Matter: Think your mind doesn’t directly affect your body? During the meditation, Pert asks the listener to imagine cutting a bright, yellow lemon in half, and then imagine chewing that lemon in your mouth. Try it yourself and see if the resulting shivers and/or saliva filling your mouth isn’t very real.

For insight into Pert's AIDS research, check out our Q & A here. -- Mitch Rustad

MIND BODY: Create More Joy, Love and Success in Your Life!

“If you don't listen to others negativity, you can really do incredible things,” says Aleta St. James, a renowned energy healer and author of Life Shift, a comprehensive guide to breaking through emotional blocks and creating optimum health and wellness.

With energy medicine being such a hot topic these days--even Oprah is paying close attention to its healing potential--St. James down with us at her healing studio in New York City to talk about her unique approach to creating greater joy, health, and wellness in your life. Here are excerpts from that interview:

Many in the LGBT community have suffered childhood traumas or feelings of rejection. What's your approach to healing very old but still painful feelings?

Simply feeling different at a young age can cause deep emotional blocks that can last for years. I've noticed this block often working with my gay clients. Often, the feeling of being different, and not accepted at a very basic level at an early age, can close someone down and as a result, it feels impossible to find support in this world. So you don't take the risks you need to build a happy life--going for the job you really want, feeling good enough to attract a healthy relationship--these are common issues but I notice it even more in my gay clients. It's important to identify energetically what you're emotionally still holding on to. What usually needs to be healed is self-esteem and worth, and reaching an acceptance at a deep level of self, both spiritually and physically.

Hopefully you can get to the point where you stop protecting yourself from rejection and open up to love and support from the right people. These old barriers and blocks keep support and love away from you, even if it feels like they keep you safe.

I've heard a lot about bodywork being especially helpful in healing old wounds? What kind of treatments can help dissolve emotional barriers?

Deep tissue massage can get right into areas of tightness and tension, which also where fear and anger reside in your body. Acupuncture is really great because it gets your energy flowing again. Reiki is also good, and so is rolfing. I've found that Yamuna body rolling is amazing and more and more available around the country. Yoga is fantastic for moving energy. These are simple tools that can keep negative energy moving out of your body and align yourself back into a state of health and wellness.

My own healing modalities include a combination of touch, breath work, guided meditation, color, light and sounds, which in concert help release emotional blocks at a subconscious and cellular level.

6 Essential Steps to Wellness

Most people know that looking good from afar doesn't always (or even most of the time) translate to instant health and happiness. Of course, being considered eye candy by some is always a nice perk of working out and eating right, but there's much more to enhancing your wellbeing than managing your gym routine.

"Keeping your body, mind and spirit in balance is the key," said Robert Volinsky, a New York City-based licensed massage therapist whose business, Restorative Therapies, helps clients achieve overall wellness. "When the important aspects of our lives are running smoothly and make us happy, wellness is a natural result."

Volinsky incorporates a comprehensive approach to health and wellness that includes massage, aromatherapy and Reiki (a sacred healing art that uses the hands and mind). He shared with us the following six steps to wellness that all of us can use:

Feel the love

We're not just talking about the hottie you took to the movies last Saturday night. Love also comes from family, friends and your community. "We are social beings by nature," says Volinsky. "Having time with those we care about is social 'food' we can't live without.

Burn baby, burn

"Nothing erases stress and promotes wellness better than a little sweat," says Volinsky. "Moving around and using your muscles helps your body remove toxins and benefits your heart and lungs." Play tennis, take a walk, run in the park, grab a dumbbell or do anything else you enjoy that gets your body moving and active, says Volinsky. And don't forget to stretch (or better yet, take a yoga class). Studies have consistently shown that stretching not only increases flexibility but also slows aging and promotes better sleep! (If you have health problems, be sure to consult your doctor before beginning an exercise routine).

Savor every bite

Notice we’re not using the word "diet" here. We're merely talking about having an awareness of the food we eat. "Your meals are a time to give back to yourself, to support your body and your life," says Volinsky. "Be present and conscious while eating. This will not only promote better digestion of food, but amplify appreciation for the wellness you are trying to maintain." Volinsky warns that eating quickly can lead to indigestion and other digestive problems. "Give your salivary glands a chance to function. After all, food is more that just fuel, it's life!" 

Sweet dreams

Are you getting enough sleep (seven to eight hours a night)? Not only does adequate sleep help your gym-worked muscles rebuild and grow, it’s absolutely crucial to maintaining health and wellness, says Volinsky. "Sleep is the time our body rejuvenates and restores itself. Many people are sleep-deprived, which can dramatically undermine their health, making them more prone to illness, stress and depression."

Take a break

A large proportion of doctor visits are related to stress, according to the National Stress Organization. And one way to reduce stress is to avoid working to the point of burning out. "Take mini-breaks during work, not for coffee or another cigarette, but to breathe," says Volinsky, who suggests taking ten slow, relaxed deep breaths. "It's like a mini-meditation. When you're done breathing, you'll be surprised at how easily this exercise can calm you down."-- Mitch Rustad

What is Reiki?

When it comes to staying healthy, nothing can replace regular check-ups, STDs screenings and an open, honest relationship with your healthcare provider. But the quest for enhanced health and wellness needn’t end when you leave your doctor’s office.

Good nutrition, exercise, spiritual practice, and massage therapy are merely the tip of the wellness iceberg for many people between visits to your doctor; there are many other options out there that can potentially
enhance your overall health. Alternative Therapies reported that even back in 2002 there were over one million U.S. adults who had experienced Reiki (pronounced ray-key), an energy-based complementary and alternative method of natural healing.

But how exactly does Reiki—which is defined as both a form of bodywork and of energy medicine—work? 

Reiki Master Anthony Luciano describes it as “a channeling of healing-energy through the trained practitioner’s hands to the client.” The client may perceive this as warmth, tingling, pulsing or other sensations of energetic activity, he says, throughout the course of a treatment, which lasts between 60-90 minutes

In recent years the medical community has become more open to its benefits, as Reiki is currently being used as an adjunct to conventional therapies in hospitals, medical clinics and hospices around the U.S. for everything from reducing anxiety and stress to alleviating the unwanted side effects of chemotherapy. St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in New York and Siloam in Philadelphia have provided Reiki treatment and training for HIV/AIDS patients.

"Reiki is being used as a complementary treatment to more traditional medical care,” says Luciano, who has worked with both chemotherapy patients and HIV-positive people. "I have found Reiki to noticeably reduce the side effect of chemotherapy and in some cases the side effects are reduced drastically."

Adds Luciano: “Reiki helps promote natural healing by strengthening the bodies own natural ability to heal itself. It works in conjunction with traditional medical treatments and can actually make those treatments work better.”

Official research on Reiki remains scarce, though studies are slowly being undertaken. A study on the effectiveness of Reiki on patients with advanced AIDS was done by the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative medicine, and more on the effects of Reiki in stress and prostate cancer are in the works, says the NCCAM.

Hard research may be lacking, but any complementary treatments that may enhance a patient’s wellbeing can only help traditional treatments, according to Susan Ball, M.D., assistant director of the Birnbaum Unit HIV Care Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital

“Statistically speaking I'm not sure that we can concretely say much about Reiki, but ‘feeling good’ is huge when one is dealing with a chronic illness such as HIV,” says Ball, “especially where chronic medication is a part of the treatment.”

“Health and wellness are a big package,” adds Ball, “of which the medical portion is important but not exclusive. I try to be open to whatever alternative treatments my patients discuss with me. As long as these alternatives work in addition to established medical care then I think that there is a lot of good that can come from them.” -- Mitch Rustad

Worried? Anxious? Time to Flex Your Mind Muscle!

What are you worried about? Do you spend minutes, hours or days worrying about what might happen to you? What if I can't pay my rent this month? What if I get HIV? What if my boyfriend dumps me?

It seems worry is everywhere these days.
In fact, in a recent survey on GayHealthBlog.com, 44% of respondents listed 'anxiety' as their No. 1 health concern.

Without a doubt, worry and anxiety are real concerns, but do we really have to go there?

You probably believe if you think about something over and over, you are preparing yourself for the worst so it will not be awful. Well, good luck with that!

I think worry is like praying for something bad to happen. By thinking of something over and over, you just may be helping to create it.

Most likely, you do not have personal powers over the economy or the behavior of other people, but you can worry yourself into a paranoid state and become just annoying enough that your boss may just want to fire you, and your partner may want to walk out the door.

A little worry can be helpful to keep you focused on a problem that is difficult to solve, but if you find worry is dominating your thoughts, then you need to build up your mind muscle to deal with it.

These strategies can help you reduce or even eliminate worry from your life:

Live in the Present Moment

Worry is a concern about the future.  You keep reinventing problems and attempting to solve them, usually in an attempt to reassure yourself that the future is safe.  But since you have about as much power to predict the future as a storefront psychic, you will continue coming up with endless problems.  And with an endless amount of problems, you will also have to come up with an endless amount of solutions.  Meanwhile, your life will pass you by.  A quick exercise to stay in the moment:  Take a deep breath, wiggle your toes to feel the ground below and, as you exhale, remind yourself where you are by noticing what is around you (a green table, a brass lamp, etc.).  If you are thinking about the future, it is probably because you are not in any danger in the present.  Remind yourself (if it is true): I am safe.

MIND BODY: Restorative Yoga Could Change Your Life

Weight training, pilates and sun salutations are great health and fitness tools, but sometimes I'd rather suffer through a repeat of Jon & Kate Plus 8 than set foot in the gym, you know? So if you're ready for a refreshing, body nourishing, soul enriching workout in as little as 5 minutes or less, grab a blanket, eye bag, pillows, a yoga mat and even some meditative music--it's restorative yoga time!

But what kind of a 'workout' is this, you wonder?

"Ready for a refreshing, body nourishing, soul enriching workout in as little as 5 minutes or less?"

While restorative yoga isn't as active as Ashtanga or Hatha yoga, its health benefits—via these and other assorted goodies like towels, blocks and even a chair or wall—are legion, especially for overly active, stressed out and addicted multi-taskers (sound familiar?) like myself. The mere idea of getting myriad health benefits from 'striking a pose' that doesn't require a hint of straining made me downright giddy.

The good news is, you don't always have to be sweating, huffing and puffing to promote a healthy body.

In short, restorative Yoga focuses on relaxing and rejuvenating the body via restful postures (see descriptions below). So why not just take a nap instead? Restorative yoga's 'rest' is different than sleep and provides the body a unique opportunity to renew and heal, says Yoga Therapist, Jaymie Meyer, RYT, who owns Resilience for Life in New York City.

"Restorative yoga, as well as other forms of yoga, help to trigger the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for balancing the body and bringing its response system back into equilibrium," says Meyer. "You're giving yourself the opportunity to move away from the 'fight or flight' response where most of us live our lives, to a state that reduces those stress hormones that can harm us."?

Better yet, stimulating the PNS helps to lower heart rate and blood pressure, stimulates the immune system and keeps the endocrine system operating healthily. So grab your props and let the bliss (and healing) begin!

Here are two restorative poses you can do in your home.

Savansana (corpse pose): Lying in basic savansana and elevating the knees can be a revelation for the mind and body. Simply roll up a bath towel or even a rolled yoga mat under the knees (you don't need a bolster), which is a wonderful way to reduce back strain and reach a state of deep relaxation. You can also put minimal support under the back of the head and neck to elevate the forehead and lengthen the back of the cervical spine (neck bones). A folder towel or a flat pillow will do. Rest your arms gently at your sides, palms up. Place an eyebag over your eyes and begin the breath deeply. Make sure that your chest is opening in this pose and that your ribs are moving away from your abdominal organs. Stay here for 5-25 minutes or as long as it feels good.

Savansana (corpse pose)

Legs up the Wall: This gentle inversion quiets the heart; helps relieve insomnia and headaches. For those who are not inverting, legs up the wall provides nearly all of the benefits of a full shoulderstand. It also helps to reduce high blood pressure and is safe for women to practice during the final days of their menstrual cycle. Sit sideways with your right hip against the wall. Bend your knees into your chest and start to turn your front torso towards the wall. Use your arms for support as you lower yourself back towards the floor, and sweep your legs up to a vertical position against the wall. From the side, you look like the letter 'L'. It's okay if your buttocks move away from the bottom edge of the wall, but try to keep the distance as close as possible.

Legs up the Wall pose

Make sure your body is in a straight line from the wall, that is, perpendicular from the bottom of your spine to the top of head. Place an eye pillow over your eyes and begin to breath deeply. Extend your exhalations with each breath to relax even more. Stay here for 5-20 minutes or until you feel tingling in your legs and then come out of the pose by bending the knees into the chest and rolling onto your side.-- Mitch Rustad

The Secret to Vibrant Health and Fitness

What's the real key to more vibrant health and a fitter body?

Though there's no 'once size fits all' approach, creating optimum health comes down to what you eat, how you breathe and—ahhhhhhh—taking time to properly stretch, says Brigitte Malaaya Britton, H.N., a holistic nutritionist, organic gourmet chef and author of The Mega Way.

But there is no getting around it—what you eat is the cornerstone to more vibrant health, says Britton. "It's human nature to look for the quick fix, and unfortunately there's more emphasis in society on weight loss than health."

We asked Britton to elaborate on her unique approach to health and well-being. Here are some excerpts from that interview:

How do you really know if what you're eating is helping or hurting your health?

Food is supposed to energize you, not sedate you. If a meal sedates you, you're eating the wrong foods. If you're eating right you should feel great after a meal. Think of it this way: you put fuel in your car to keep it running, not to shut it down. Your body is the same.

What are five foods that we must include in our diets to stay fit, lean and feeling good?

First, let me mention two things that are essential for better health—fiber and water. Fiber helps your body achieve overall balance; it eliminates toxins and wastes in your body, helps eliminate cravings for bad foods and gives you more energy. It even helps your body burn fat! And without enough water, your body can't flush away toxins. Water is essential.

Mind Really DOES Matter: Candace Pert Exclusive!

by Mitch Rustad

Researcher and author Candace Pert has already earned full-fledged icon status. Widely known for bestselling 1997 book, Molecules of Emotion, Pert is also the Scientific Director of RAPID (Receptor Active Peptides Into Drugs) Pharmaceuticals in Washington, DC, which is centered around AIDS research.

"Our physiology is perfectly designed for bliss and this perfection is dynamic, so taking responsibility for your own health is important."

Pert’s cameo in the hit indy movie What the Bleep Do We Know!? in 2004 that brought her worldwide fame and turned her into an cult figure for the New Age and Hollywood sets, and her latest book, Everything You Need to Know to Feel Go(o)d, adds to her already impressive career.

In part two of our exclusive interview (use "What is Peptide T?" link at right for read part one), Pert touched on a wide range of topics—the mind-body connection, science and spirituality, the role of discrimination on health and wellbeing and the path to vibrant health.

You've mentioned that bodywork, meditation and guided visualizations are effective methods of healing. But is it really that simple?

All of these healing modalities are effective. The ultimate solution is really simple—love yourself and love others. A lot of the projections we make to the outside world are actually what we're projecting inwardly about ourselves. If you're angry, take a look at whom you're really angry at, because that angry vibration inside could mean you're actually reacting against yourself. Love is an integrator and a healer, but you have to do the work to love yourself and you can start by loving others. That's the core of human health.

But some people have a very difficult time with love.

The punch line in substance abuse treatments—also in many types of complimentary treatments to therapy—is that if you can't love yourself, then at least realize that God loves you.

My own life journey has led me to not only not dismiss a spiritual approach, but to embrace it. I'm a scientist and I feel very strongly about that; I realize that there are a lot of answers there. Studies have shown that in overcoming alcoholism, appreciating a higher power really works better than anything. That's a key aspect of 12-step programs, so there's science around the spiritual. You're not really alone and isolated, that's an illusion. But often spirituality gets confused with religion. I came to spirituality through science, while trying to explain my scientific work and then putting it all together with my own life experience.

How can this reinforce or enhance someone's ability to love themselves?

There's a divine order and you wouldn't be here unless you were part of this natural law, and you're here for a purpose. Louise Hay suggests something simple, which she calls mirror work, where you just look into you own eyes in the mirror and say, 'I love you.' If that's difficult for you, treat this exercise like you're taking your daily meds. Just do it. There are studies that prove how affirming this work can be.

It seems like a lot of people just get 'stuck' in their lives, even after much therapy or treatment.

The key is to recognize that we're all a multitude of different people; we all have a number of personalities. I'm excited about this term I coined which I call 'selves-esteem' and I think this is at the root of feeling well adjusted, happy and blissful. We need to acknowledge all of our different personalities.

Being stuck merely means you're stuck in one of your personalities, such as a depressed personality, or stuck in a personality consumed by self hated and blame, and you're not yet able to access a healthier personality. I greatly believe in the healing powers of music and movement when you're stuck. Stop thinking about everything and get out and move, if that's possible. If you can't get out, listen to guided imagery tapes, or healing affirmations with background music. This can tweak and nudge things and move you towards a healthier self.

Can you explain how this works physiologically?

We're not static beings, we're always making new cells, even as we're just sitting here. At any time, no matter how much old training and programming you may have, you always have the potential to literally change your mind.

Each cell in our body is constantly vibrating, often in several different shapes, and our receptors vibrate as well. It's a dance that's constantly taking place in our bodies, and every cell is talking to every other cell in a rhythmic, ongoing way. In fact, the frequencies of your cells are even in sync with the audible sounds around you, which is why music and words can be very healing. Every cell is a mirror. One great way of feeling good is to eliminate the excess static in your life, and the antidote for negativity in our lives is positive affirmations. Research has shown that neurons are strengthened by repeated phrases and empowering words.

How can someone overcome the damage many, especially in the LGBT community, often face because of religious discrimination and persecution?

It might be that you have to reject that old religious training in order to love yourself. Affirmations work, whether you bring God into it or not. Forgiveness is very huge. An affirmation like, I know forgiving myself and others for errors of the past allows me to heal, is a good example.

It's the difference between spirituality and religion. Some religious practitioners have been hypocritical and negative about gays; it's just grotesque. So people shouldn't confuse that with spirituality-that has nothing to do with one religion or another. It's more free form, where science meets intuition. What is the definition of God? God is a field that is completely in line with the physical laws of the universe, not someone who says who's bad and tells you what you're supposed to do. That's how I've come to it and this approach works for me.

It's interesting to hear a scientist talk so openly about God.

I've had people say 'her PhD should be sent back because she believes in God!' There's this strong reaction against the right wing religious people who have been politically idiotic. Some react and think that people who believe in God are stupid. It's all rhetoric and it's silly.

Any parting advice?

You're a very active participant in how good you feel, it's a scientific fact. Our physiology is perfectly designed for bliss and this perfection is dynamic, so taking responsibility for your own health is important.

*Originally published in 2007

Anger: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

“I just wanna hit something! I wanna hit it hard!”

When Sally Field tearfully (and angrily) uttered this knockout line from the camp classic Steel Magnolias it cut through the scene’s intense grief like butter, especially when Olympia Dukakis then hilariously offered up Shirley MacLaine as a human punching bag.

Assertiveness can be a positive method to help you get what you want, whereas anger attempts to punish the offending person or persons.

What are you angry about these days? Like Fields’ character, is it the heartbreaking loss of a loved one? Maybe it’s the never-ending war in Iraq, the thought of another Republican in the White Housel, or a homophobic neighbor or nitpicky boss? Studies historically show that built up anger and resentment are linked to a host of health problems, but in today’s turbulent world how can one not be pissed off, right?

“Negative feelings, such as anger, are normal and often appropriate and healthy in some circumstances,” says Greg Cason, a psychologist in Los Angeles. “Anger is one of the basic emotions of survival, and gives us the motivation and energy to defend ourselves from physical or emotional attacks.”

Cason says that anger is usually expressed via a trio of outlets; a verbal explosion a la Sally Field, in socially ostracizing or humiliating others (think Mean Girls), or in outright physical attack (think most Jerry Springer guests). Anger in small or infrequent doses is a necessary and helpful emotion, but larger or frequent outbursts are not only destructive to relationships and the psyches of other people, but are ironically especially hurtful to the person who’s actually feeling it.

PODCAST: Aleta St. James - Relax and Rejuvenate!

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, relax and be fully in the present moment.

According to a stunning study, meditation may slow the worsening of AIDS in just a few weeks, most likely by affecting the immune system, according to researchers from the University of California Los Angeles.

In a statement lead researcher David Creswell said: "This study provides the first indication that mindfulness meditation stress-management training can have a direct impact on slowin HIV disease progression."

If larger studies back up these findings, researchers say meditation could offer a cheap and pleasant way to help HIV-positive people stay healthier and delay the onset of the disease, according to Reuters.