Injectable Hydrogel Helps Skin Heal Quicker

A new injectable hydrogel that speeds healing in skin wounds has been developed by researchers from UCLA.

The material builds an instantaneous scaffold which enables new tissue to hook on and grow in the cavities created between linked gel spheres.

“Achieving a biomaterial that promotes rapid regeneration while maintaining structural support has been a holy grail in the field of tissue engineering,” principal investigator Dino Di Carlo said. “Our team has achieved this in an injectable form by combining tailored material chemistry and microfluidic fabrication of uniform spherical building blocks, each about the width of a human hair.”

5 Natural Ways To Beat Back Pain

Practice yoga. Holding downward dog for five to ten seconds can help stretch your back muscles. This motion reduces pressure that can build up in the lower spine and cause pain. Remember to also tilt the pelvis under to avoid any further lower back strain. Pigeon pose is another great posture for backaches. Hip muscles can quickly become tight and shift strain to the back. Stretching out hip flexors and extensors can alleviate back pressure and pain.

Use capsaicin cream. Capsaicin is a substance found in chili peppers. When used medicinally it helps reduces the amount of substance P, a neurotransmitter that leads to pain impulses in the brain. One study showed that after 3 weeks of capsaicin use, patients had a significant reduction in pain. To use: apply topically, at least twice per day, for maximum relief. The warm sensation also allows you to stretch and move without pain.

Get some exercise. You may be tempted to stay in bed when your back acts up, but exercise and activity can actually help you heal faster and reduce pain. A study of 240 men and women found that regular exercise reduced pain by 28 percent and disability by 36 percent. Low impact, moderate intensity exercise is the safest option. Avoid movements that trigger pain or require excessive jumping or squatting, which can exacerbate injuries. Take two to three minutes at the end of your workout to stretch your back thoroughly. Lie flat on your back and hug your knees to release any tension that developed during your workout.

Try acupuncture. Research suggests that acupuncture can help reduce chronic low back pain. One recent review showed that actual acupuncture was more effective than simulated acupuncture or no treatment in reducing pain. It’s not entirely known how acupuncture regulates pain; however, one theory suggests acupuncture helps trigger the release of pain reducing chemicals in the body (like endorphins and natural opioids). Back pain is one of the most common reasons patients first try acupuncture and many find sustained relief.

Lose excess weight. As we gain weight, stress and pressure on the lower spine and back muscles increases. The heavy weight at the front of the body can cause an increased arch in the spine and may lead to injury and compression of the discs and nerves. Losing weight reduces the tendency to arch the back and relieves pressure on the lower spine and nerves.

If your back pain is persistent or excruciating, you should see your chiropractor.

Read more at http://www.thecompleteherbalguide.com/entries/back-pain/5-natural-ways-to-beat-back-pain#uxk3P5ivULMI2mSc.99

Ayurveda: Ancient School of Healing

Ayurveda  medicine is a Hindu system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine.

Ayurveda is considered by many scholars to be the oldest healing science.

The goal of Ayurveda medicine is to prevent diseases and increase longevity.

Ayurveda is one of the oldest medical systems of the world which deal with both body and spirit. It originated from the lands of India around 5000 years ago and was the part of Sanatana Dharma or Vedic Religion. By using the inherent basics of nature, Ayurveda can aid in promoting health and well being by keeping the body, spirit and mind in perfect sync with the nature. 

Unlike conventional medicines and treatments which focus only over disease management, this ancient school of medicine bestows the knowledge of preventing the disease and removing its root causes so that it does not occur again.

Ayurveda comprises of two Sanskrit root words “ayur” meaning life or longevity and “veda” meaning science. Thus the literal meaning of Ayurveda is “the science of life” which covers the mind, senses, soul and body and helps in maintaining their perfect balance by developing knowledge about one’s cosmic system and use of herbs for healing and fostering longevity.

Reiki: The Art of Healing with touch

Reiki a system created by a man called Usui Mikao in Japan in the early 1900s.

Initally he created reiki to support people on their spiritual journey toward enlightenment using meditations and precepts.

Usui Mikaobrought together various elements from his own spiritual practices to develop a system we know today as Reiki.

Detox and Cleanse Your Entire Body

Practiced for thousands of years by cultures around the world –detoxification is about resting, cleansing and nourishing the body from the inside out. By removing and eliminating toxins, then feeding your body with healthy nutrients, detoxifying can help protect you from disease and renew your ability to maintain optimum health. These foods will assist in boosting your metabolism, optimising digestion, while allowing you to lose weight and fortify your immune system.

1. ARTICHOKES
Artichokes help the liver function at its best, which in turn will help your body purge itself of toxins and other things it doesn’t need to survive. It ups the liver’s production of bile, and since bile helps break down foods which helps your body use the nutrients inside them, an increase in bile production is typically a good thing.

2. APPLES
Apples are full of wonderful nutrients. You get fibre, vitamins, minerals and many beneficial phytochemical such as D-Glucarate, flavonoids and terpenoids. All of these substances are used in the detox process. One flavonoid, Phlorizidin (phlorizin), is thought to help stimulate bile production which helps with detox as the liver gets rid of some toxins through the bile. Apples are also a good source of the soluble fibre pectin, which can help detox metals and food additives from your body. It’s best to eat only organic apples as the non-organic varieties are among the top 12 foods that have been found to contain the most pesticide residues. Organically produced apples also have a 15 percent higher antioxidant capacity than conventionally produced apples.

Discover the Secret to Opening your Chakras

Opening your Chakras and allowing a healthy flow of energy is a powerful tool for staying balanced, maintaining good health and advancing spiritually. There are lots of things we can actively do and tools we can use to heal our chakras and make our lives better.

If you don’t know what Chakras or energy centers are check out this article here to learn more!

This video is a fun and awesome tool for learning more about chakras and how to open them.  Who knew that a kids show would teach us the secrets to opening up our 7 chakras and work towards enlightenment! You’ve gotta check this out!

Healing Benefits of Bone Broth

Ever wonder why chicken soup has been the staple meal mothers and doctors choose to prescribe when you’re feeling under the weather? Come to find out, the broth in the soup has amazing healing powers when it comes to boosting your immune system. Homemade bone broth is truly a super-food (not the stuff from a can or even the organic stock-in-a-box). It is not only beneficial for helping fight off the common cold, but also great for a number of amazing nutritional benefits. Bone broths are nutrient-dense, easy to digest as well as absorb and also rich in flavour.

Bone broth contains an excellent source of minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium that can easily be absorbed by your body. It also contains chondroitin sulphates, glucosamine and collagen, which aid in the reduction of inflammation, arthritis and joint pain while supporting tendon and ligament health. The amino acids and natural gelatin produced in bone broth are important for muscle, tendon and ligament growth and repair in addition to promoting a healthy digestive system. Bone broths are essential to maintaining a balanced nervous system, bone density, reduced inflammation, a strong immune system and healthy skin, hair and nails.

Healing Eczema and Psoriasis Naturally

Eczema usually causes inflamed red, itchy, and dry patches of skin that sometimes blisters and weeps. Psoriasis is similar in that it also frequently occurs on the scalp, knees, and elbows, but it can occur anywhere on the body and also often shows up on the buttocks and wrists. It doesn’t usually itch, but may bleed if the red, swollen skin or silvery or whitish scales are scratched. It is caused by skin cells that replicate too quickly, usually around ten times the growth rate of normal skin cells.Most scientists and doctors are mystified by what causes the these conditions or the skin cells to replicate. Natural medicine theories include: poor diet; deficiencies in essential fatty acids and fibre; digestive difficulties, especially with protein; Candida albicans overgrowth; deficiency vitamins and essential fatty acids; or poor liver function or toxic buildup. Here’s how to help:

Detox Your Liver and Intestines
Detoxify the bowels and liver to eliminate a possible overgrowth of Candida albicans or other microbes that may be infecting the body. To do that, be sure to drink plenty of water every day (usually 10 to 12 cups) and supplement with a high quality probiotic supplement that includes: Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus plantarum and Bifidobacteria, and Bifidobacteria bifidum. Avoid sugars and minimize fruit consumption while dealing with Candida.

Natural Treatments and Remedies for Acid Reflux

Acid-blocking drugs are widely promoted in magazine, radio, and television advertisements as the cure for heartburn and acid reflux. But these medications only provide short-term relief and ultimately lead to additional digestive woes. Instead, I recommend these simple, cheap, and much more effective natural remedies for heartburn and acid reflux problems.

• Fix Your Hiatal Hernia
• Ginger
• Reduce Salt Use
• Chew Gum
• Licorice
• Probiotics
• D-Limonene Extract

Japanese 'Face Slimmer Exercise Mouthpiece' Fights Wrinkles And Sagging Skin

Soon this woman’s wrinkled face will be youthful again.

The Face Slimmer Exercise Mouthpiece from Japan (alleges it) has the power to turn back the clock on your “sagging facial skin and muscles.” For three minutes a day, you simply put it in your mouth (like you would with a pair of similar-looking novelty wax lips) and “say vowel sounds out loud over and over again” in an effort to “fight wrinkles around your eyes and help shape the overall look of your face.” It’s available to purchase at Japan Trend Shop.

Indian Healing Clay to Tighten Loose Facial Skin : Natural Skin Care

how to use Indian Healing Clay to Tighten Loose Facial Skin.

Natural Healing: 10 Home Remedies to Treat Heat Stroke

(The angry summer sun is unforgiving and makes most of us run to the hills. It’s hot outside and inside too. Sweltering summer days don’t just make the environment uncomfortable; they also tend to raise your body temperature.

One of the most common problems associated with staying outdoors for too long is catching a heat stroke. According to Dr. Simran Saini, Nutritionist at Fortis Hospital, New Delhi, “Heat exhaustion is a temporary phase where your body is overloaded with heat, but a heat stroke is a more serious condition. It is caused due to prolonged exposure to high temperatures which may overheat your body and raise its temperature more than the normal body temperature which is 37 degree Celsius. If your body temperature rises above 40 degree Celsius it can even damage your vital organs.”

Simply put, your body tends to absorb more heat than what it can handle. First things first, look for these symptoms if you think a person may be experiencing heat stroke –

40 Ways to Let Go and Feel Less Pain

“If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.” ~Ajahn Chah

Eckhart Tolle believes we create and maintain problems because they give us a sense of identity. Perhaps this explains why we often hold onto our pain far beyond its ability to serve us.

We replay past mistakes over and over again in our head, allowing feelings of shame and regret to shape our actions in the present. We cling to frustration and worry about the future, as if the act of fixation somehow gives us power. We hold stress in our minds and bodies, potentially creating serious health issues, and accept that state of tension as the norm.

Though it may sound simple, Ajahn Chah’s advice speaks volumes.

There will never be a time when life is simple. There will always be time to practice accepting that. Every moment is a chance to let go and feel peaceful. Here are some ways to get started:

Stop The Heartbreak Cycle: 7 Dos and Don’ts For Handling a Break-Up

“When something bad happens you have three choices. You can let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.” ~Unknown

I’ve learned to be thankful for my first heartbreak.

Of course, at the time of the crime I struggled to see anything positive in it. My mind could see the good, but my heart struggled against it.

It was literally as if someone stabbed my heart; there was a problem that caused my body to stop working properly. I couldn’t cry. I didn’t eat for a week. I didn’t sleep for two. And my mind constantly raced thinking of the perpetrator. 

In fact, I still think of him occasionally; it’s so hard to turn off.

Like during any trauma your body faces, it tries to repair itself so it can be whole again. My remedy? To stay busy, pretend everything was great, and throw myself into dating other people the very day things broke off.

Deepak Chopra: 7 Things to Do When You've Been Betrayed (and 7 Not to Do)

After being betrayed, most of us want two things, usually at the same time. We want to wound the person who hurt us—as deeply and as excruciatingly—as we've been wounded, and we want to rise above the situation and offer that person forgiveness. But neither of these tactics work. Wounding words tend to boomerang and make you feel as terrible as the person you wanted to hurt. Forgiveness, especially if halfhearted, tends to come off as condescension.

There are actions, though, that you can take to can heal yourself. Every hurt has its own story, and so does every healing. But we can say this: You can heal yourself when you've filled the hole left behind by a betrayal, and you can heal the other person when you sincerely drop the need for revenge.

Remember, the only betrayals that inflict damage are the ones where an intimate bond has been torn. Love makes you merge with another person, able to feel their emotions as keenly as you feel your own. If you have experienced such bonding, you know that it is a kind of higher reality—and when that bond is ripped apart, it's as if you've lost half of yourself 

Bone healing in diabetics could be enhanced through human stem cells

The repair process of broken bones in patients with diabetes could be enhanced by adding stem cells from human bone marrow, researchers have suggested.

These findings were presented by a National University of Galway team led by Dr. Cynthia Coleman at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Dublin.

Prolonged exposure to high blood glucose levels can decrease the healing speed of broken bones in people with diabetes. The likelihood of an accident can also be increased due to nerve damage in the eyes and feet.

The Galway researchers added human bone marrow stem cells from non-diabetic donors to one group of diabetic patients with bone fractures. In a second control group, patients were not given these stem cells.

'Curanderismo' is spiritual form of healing rising in popularity

Curanderismo. is a mystical, spiritual form of folk healing, rooted in strong religious faith.

Curanderos claim, despite everything modern medicine can cure, a growing number of people still turn to them for healing their body, mind, and spirit.

"I am a curandera, but I am a blanco curandera," said Katrina, to clarify that she only practices positive faith healing and would never try to place a curse on anyone.

She practices curanderismo, or spiritual healing, out of her home on San Antonio's south side.

Old bones can regain youthful healing power

Broken bones in older people are notoriously slow to heal, but researchers at Duke Medicine have identified a potential way to speed the process. In studies using mice, the researchers not only traced what signals go wrong when aged bones heal improperly, they also successfully manipulated the process by both circulating blood and transplanting bone marrow from a young mouse into an older mouse, prompting the bones to heal faster and better.

The findings, reported online May 19, 2015, in the journal Nature Communications, address one of the largest problems draining health care resources. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fractures are the most common and costly nonfatal injuries to adults over age 65. They account for more than one-third of that population's nonfatal injuries, and 61 percent of total nonfatal care costs.

Vampire Healing: Young Blood Can Mend Old Broken Bones

Why do vampires from Dracula to Angel seem to crave the blood of the young and beautiful? The undead may be onto something. Young blood, it seems, has special healing properties that have been lost in older blood. 

A recent finding by scientists from the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, and Duke University challenges long-held ideas about why our bones have a harder time healing as we age. Their research discovered that old mouse bones mend like youthful bones do when they're exposed to young blood after a fracture.

“The traditional concept is that as you get older, your bone cells kind of wear out so they can't heal as well, and we thought we'd find that during this study as well,” explains study co-author Benjamin Alman, of the Hospital for Sick Children. “But it turns out that it's not the bone cells, it's the blood cells. As you get older, the blood cells change the way they behave when you have an injury, and as a result the cells that heal bone aren't able to work as efficiently.”

How To Lift Sagging Breasts Naturally With Essential Oils

The effects of pregnancy, weight loss, and the force of gravity can have a significant impact on a woman’s breast. With volume loss in the breast tissue and/or loss of the elasticity of the skin, a woman’s breast can start to sag and lose firmness and youthful shape. So make sure that doesn’t happen to you.

Essential Oils such as Carrot seed oil, Geranium Oil, Almond Oil, Lemongrass Oil, Ylang Ylang Oil and Fenugreek Oil are some of the essential oils which can help or be used for firmness of saggy breasts. Use the combination oils to massage everyday.

How to Prevent Stretch Marks

Stretch marks are scars that appear on your skin due to sudden changes in body size. This usually happens during pregnancy, rapid weight gain or loss, and puberty.

However, stretch marks are not caused only by overstretching of skin. Certain factors, such as a genetic predisposition, can increase your likelihood of developing stretch marks.

Nevertheless, you can take some preventive steps to try to avoid this problem. The best course of action is to keep your skin healthy and hydrated to improve its elasticity. There are many additional steps you can take to minimize the chances of such marks appearing.

Preventing and healing stretch marks

Stretch marks are a form of scarring that appear as streaks on the skin. While they usually fade over time, for many people, they never disappear completely. 75-90 per cent of women develop stretch marks in the course of their lives. This could be during pregnancy, or rapid changes in weight. Prevention is better than cure so start fighting stretch marks immediately you notice the first one.

There are two major ways you can attack stretch marks. One is internal and one is external.

Internal

To keep skin supple internally, be sure to drink plenty of water and fluids. Especially if you are pregnant. A minimum of ten glasses of water is recommended during pregnancy. Even if you are not expecting, increasing your intake of water will help keep stretch marks at bay.

Eat a diet rich in vitamins A, C, and E, which help to heal the skin and maintain elasticity. These include plenty of vegetables and fruits. Ensure that your skin is getting proper nutrition so that it can repair and stay healthy.

External

To defend yourself externally against stretch-marks, be sure to keep your skin well hydrated by moisturizing with a good quality oil, butter or cream. Apply at least two times a day for best results. Don’t allow your skin to get itchy and dry. Massage the cream into your skin, as this will help to improve circulation.

Fitness experts also contend that stretch-marks are caused when your weight fluctuates too rapidly, either increasing or decreasing in size. To prevent cellulite and stretch-marks it is recommended to do core strength exercises. These strengthen your muscles and reduce fat thus increasing the elasticity and tone of your skin.

If you are pregnant, try to gain weight gradually by not literally eating for two.

Once you have stretch marks, you can try a variety of approaches to manage and reduce stretch marks.

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/evewoman/article/2000161618/preventing-and-healing-stretch-marks

Can thoughts cause IBS flare-ups?

The above question can be answered with a big “Yes!” Anxiety is the name of the game for those suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). People with IBS experience anxiety when leaving the house, going out to public functions or just going shopping. They first must locate the bathroom any place they go, due to the constant worry about having an IBS flare-up.

How do you take the anxiety out of having irritable bowel syndrome flare-ups in public places?

1. Leave the house prepared with the medications you may need.
2. Do not be too hard on yourself if you have to use the bathroom and you miss a few minutes of a movie or other event.
3. We often spend more time worrying about what other people are going to think about us rather than just doing what we need to do. If you have IBS, it is a part of your life. Stop wondering what other people are going to think. Most of the time, people are more supportive than we give them credit for.
4. Monitoring food intake and getting enough exercise actually helps decrease anxiety, which in turn decreases the flare-ups.
5. Looking for the positive helps control the flare-ups. This might sound crazy to a lot of people, but looking for good in the midst of a flare-up is better than looking at the negative, as it helps with the stress.
6. Be honest with yourself. It is OK to have a bad day; we all have them. Give yourself a break.

http://www.naturalhealingnews.com/can-thoughts-cause-ibs-flare-ups/#.VVHR084-Ci4

Why Bran Is Bad for IBS

In an all-too-common scenario, a patient goes to their doctor complaining about abdominal pain and a change in their bowel habits. The doctor offers a diagnosis of IBS and recommends that the person increase their intake of fibre. The patient then goes to the store and buys bran cereal. However, after a few days, they realise that their symptoms have worsened and they conclude "fibre is bad for IBS." Fibre is not necessarily bad for IBS, but bran might be!

This overview of the relationship between bran and IBS will help you to be a better IBS food consumer.

What Is Bran?

Bran is the hard shell that comprises the outside layer of cereal grains, including barley, corn, millet, oats, rice and wheat. Bran provides a good dose of dietary fibre as well as being a good source of essential fatty acids, minerals, vitamins and other nutrients. A very visible example of the difference between a grain with bran versus one in which the bran has been removed is rice. Brown rice has the bran layer intact, while white rice has had the outer layer removed.

Although bran is a part of a variety of cereal grains, products such as bran cereal or muffins are typically prepared with wheat bran.

A New Solution That Stops Snoring and Lets You Sleep

If you constantly feel exhausted, experience headaches for no obvious reason or have high blood pressure, it could be the result of snoring.

More than a simple annoyance, snoring is also the most common symptom of a potentially serious health problem—obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Over 18 million Americans snore, and it’s related to OSA. People who suffer from OSA repeatedly and unknowingly stop breathing during the night due to a complete or partial obstruction of their airway.  It occurs when the jaw, throat, and tongue muscles relax, blocking the airway used to breathe.  The resulting lack of oxygen can last for a minute or longer, and occur hundreds of times each night.  

Aloe Vera: Herbal Remedies for Psoriasis Treatment

Psoriasis can often be difficult to cure with either conventional or natural methods. One study indicated that a 0.5% aloe vera cream utilized for 4 weeks was substantially effective in reducing psoriasis skin lesions. The aloe cream helped cure 4 out of 5 peoples who used it, whereas the improvement rate was just about 6% with those who used the non-active placebo.

Psoriasis lesions are generally very dry and flaky. I assume aloe’s emollient and anti-inflammatory benefits were the main reason that it was so useful in this study. In my experience, not every psoriasis patients find out beneficial – but a surprising number do.

http://www.noahhealth.org/aloe-vera-herbal-remedies-for-psoriasis-treatment/#iowapsor

5 Tips For Healing IBS

IBS, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a general term used by doctors and other health care professionals to describe a cluster of symptoms all relating to digestive distress and discomfort.

The symptoms of IBS can include:

• diarrhea,
• constipation,
• gas,
• bloating,
• pain,
• sensitivity to certain foods,
• incomplete digestion
• any other symptom of digestive distress.

How Is IBS Diagnosed?

A doctor will generally diagnose you with IBS if you have experienced at least 3 episodes of digestive abnormalities over the course of  three months, where no physical damage to the digestive system is present. This means that IBS is very different from issues such as colitis or celiac disease because in these disease states there is literal cellular and structural abnormalities present.

Why Drinking Charcoal Is The New Cleanse Trend To Follow.

NO HEALTH program is complete without addressing disease prevention. Sure, we eat clean, exercise, and get 7-9 hours of sleep, but in our modern-day culture our overall toxic load requires extra effort to balance out. From the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink to the products we use and the food we eat, toxic substances are present everywhere. And if these toxins are not ushered out of the body, they can potentially build up and cause serious damage.

That’s why a cleansing program is so important: cleansing helps to expedite the elimination processes, helping you let go of both new toxins and the ones that have been lingering in your body for some time. The more we support the safe clearance of toxins, the more we protect our cells from damage, preventing inflammation, the activation of aberrant genes and the onset of disease. One of our newest prevention practices? Drinking charcoal.

Bone Anchored Hearing Aid Implants

The Baha System	The Sound Processor

What IS A BAHA?

The Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) is a surgically implanted device designed to help people with hearing loss. The majority of the conventional hearing aids transmit sound through the medium of air conduction. BAHA stimulates the cochlea by transmitting the sound waves through the bones in our skull, or bone conduction, thereby bypassing the outer and middle ear. Once the cochlea receives the sound signals, the information is converted in to neural signals and transferred to the brain, where it is perceived as sound. thereby bypassing the outer and middle ear. 

Traditional Healing: The healing power of creativity

The creative process is an important part of healing. Those who are healing are encouraged to journal, to write poetry, to draw and paint, and express ourselves however possible. Art therapists in hospitals and cancer centers work with patients every day, even those weak from treatments. The process of creating something allows for inspiration to offer guidance. Patients need not be focused on the loss, the pain or the fear. They just need to create in the moment.

Growing healing herbs in your garden

To utilize your garden area, you may plant herbs that have medicinal values.   Growing healing herbs in your garden gives you a lot of benefits.  Choosing the most useful ones gives you much more advantage.  These are the list of the top 10 most helpful healing herbs that you can plant on your own gardens at home:

1. ALOE VERA – it is known for its 101 uses amongst all the other herbal plants.  Some of its topical uses include minor burns, minor cuts and wounds, and it can also be great it taken internally as a juice and can treat digestive problems, ulcerative colitis, poor appetite and chronic constipation.
2. GREAT BURDOCK – it is also known as edible burdock or Lappa burdock.  It acts as a blood purifying agent, diaphoretic, and a diuretic.  It can also be of help when having boils, bruises, acne, burns, bites, rashes, and ringworm.
3. POT MARIGOLD – it can adjust to whatever type of soil your garden has.  It is used to heal sprains, sore eyes, bites, stings, wounds and varicose veins.  It can also be taken by mouth to treat chronic infections and fever.

13 Tips to Create Your Own Healing Garden

Since ancient times, many civilisations have realised the healing qualities of gardens with their fruit trees, flowers, water, and songbirds. The earliest hospitals in the Western world were infirmaries in monastic communities where herbs and prayer were the focus of healing and a cloistered garden was an essential part of the environment.

Restorative gardens for the sick, which were a vital part of the healing process from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century, provided ordered and beautiful settings where patients could begin to heal, both physically and mentally. These were often part of hospitals prior to the mid-twentieth century and are regaining popularity now.

For the home or individual gardener, I think of a healing garden as a place that “heals” us in all ways: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. But, it doesn’t just heal our souls by bringing joy, peace, balance, and wholeness; it also has the added benefit of helping our physical self as we work to maintain this oasis of beauty.

Healing Circle

The Healing Circle is a very soft and gentle, yet potent and powerful healing energy field

It is a tool to reconnect us to our inherent natural healing power.

The world's top 10 luxurious spa experiences for 2015

1. Royal Malewane, Kruger National Park, South Africa

Smart, sophisticated with all the thrills of banging about in the bush.

The eight colonial rooms are outrageously extravagant (antiques, canopies, king-sized beds, Victorian baths) and the food is incredible. 

Singer Elton John even had the wholemeal bread flown home to him after his idyllic stay in this hidden gem deep in the Kruger National Park.

Amid all the splendour is one of the most stylish spas in on this vast continent. African rituals restore your equilibrium; hydrotherapy treatments use the mineral-rich waters from an underground stream and the local healers offer powerfully holistic and recharging therapies.

This really is the big cat’s whiskers of a spa!

www.royalmalewane.com

Science Proves the Healing Power of Prayer

For the devout, there never has been any question that prayer has the power to heal.

Now, more and more medical research from leading hospitals and universities across the U.S. has shown conclusively a belief in God really IS good for you, making you healthier and happier, and helping you live longer.

“Studies have shown prayer can prevent people from getting sick — and when they do get sick, prayer can help them get better faster,” Duke University’s Harold G. Koenig, M.D., tells Newsmax Health.

An exhaustive analysis of more than 1,500 reputable medical studies “indicates people who are more religious and pray more have better mental and physical health,” Dr. Koenig says.“And out of 125 studies that looked at the link between health and regular worship, 85 showed regular churchgoers live longer.

“There’s a lot of evidence out there.”

The Healing Values Of Soursop

Botanical name: Annona muricata

Family: annonaceae (annona family)
Common names: Soursop, Graviola, Brazilianawpaw, Prickly custard apple, etc.

Description
Soursop is believed to be indigenous to most of the warmest tropical regions of the world. 

It is a small upright evergreen tree that grows up to 6 metres tall. 

It has large dark and shiny green and leathery leaves, which has a pungent odour when crushed. 

The flowers are large, with yellow or greenish-yellow colour.

The fruit of the tree (soursop) is large and has a heart-like shape, covered with small spine-shaped structures. 

The pulp is fleshy, soft and white in colour, with a slightly sour-acid taste and it can be eaten out-of-hand. The fruit may contain up to 100 black seeds.

In most tropical regions of the world, where the plant grows, it is often referred as a miracle tree.

Protein that promotes healing inhibits it in diabetic patients, study shows

A protein that helps wounds heal actively inhibits this process when blood sugar levels are high, according to research that could explain a 'previously unrecognised' mechanism for delayed healing in patients with diabetes.

In animal-model studies, University of Pennsylvania researchers found that the forkhead box O1 (FOXO1) protein – which normally helps trigger the healing process – promotes expression of two genes that inhibit the migration of skin cells to wound sites when exposed to high-glucose conditions.

This could explain why simple wounds in diabetes patients do not close up as quickly as in non-diabetics, and suggests that treatments to inhibit FOXO1 could be a beneficial therapeutic option for diabetes patients in the future.

Because wounds take longer to heal in diabetics, it is easier for bacteria to take hold and cause chronic infection, which can lead to diabetic ulcers and – in extreme cases – require amputation.