Benefits of a Good Back and Neck Massage

Relax and Rejuvenate with Massage Therapy

Massages are relaxing, and that is exactly why all of us love them! But the fact is that a professionally done massage has several therapeutic effects apart from mere relaxation. A professional masseur’s expert strokes usually give rise to the reaction in the body during and after a massage of the body releasing the “feel-good” chemicals called endorphins that have pain-relieving and mood-elevating properties.

There are several energy points in the back and neck area. According to traditional massage therapists, energy points near the shoulder blades and the base of the neck control the circulation of blood to arms and legs, while the points at the base of the spine control the circulation to the legs and feet. Through massage these points are stimulated and improve the blood circulation in the limbs as well as support the reduction of pain and/or numbness in these areas.

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Entrepreneurship Myths

Illusions of Entrepreneurship Make Success Elusive

Entrepreneurship is an alluring word, as it comes with the promise of independence and wealth. Everyone starts her own business with dreams of success; the problem occurs when these dreams are based on illusions or myths instead of facts. We’ve all been there – had a wonderful business idea and thought, “Wow! I could really make it happen.” Then reality begins to set in and we wonder how we ever got so excited.

Our attitudes about entrepreneurship depend on the messages we receive through our peers and family, the role models we choose for ourselves, and the way we interpret success. However, the messages may not always be positive, and we might not always be able to make smart or well-informed role model choices. Our interpretation of success may sometimes be based on half-baked information; our attitude to entrepreneurship, therefore, may not always be conducive to success unless we clear our illusions before starting a new business.

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Yoga for Menstruation

Yoga Poses for Relief During Your Period

Stomach cramps, mood swings, lethargy, pimples… They bring back memories of painful periods, right? Most women who suffer from difficult periods loathe “that” time of the month and often find themselves at their cantankerous worst during those dreaded days. If you find yourself in a similar predicament every month, you may find Yoga a source of great comfort and relief.

There are several Yoga asanas that are recommended for women on their periods. The logic behind this is that these asanas not only help in relaxing the stomach and leg muscles, but they also help in ensuring the free flow of the life current (apana) responsible for menstruation.

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Perception of Death and Its Meaning in Tarot

“Death” Card in Tarot Does Not Always Equal “Death”
Death is probably the most misinterpreted card in tarot. Perhaps it is because of the imagery or the use of the word “death” that the card often evokes fear in the mind of the reader. The problem also lies in the way we interpret death, as most of us go through life refusing to think about the one thing that is inevitable. We prefer not to talk about death – either ours or that of our loved ones – because to us it is the end of existence as we know it. Death lies in the realm of the unknown, and it is the unknown that we fear the most.

But tarot sees death from a spiritual or energetic perspective; that is, death is the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new one. The end may be painful and hard (as death can sometimes be) because it means letting go of the attachments of a life already lived, and it signifies leaving the comfort of the known to embrace the uncertainty and adventure of the unknown. But the fact is that spiritually and energetically, death is just another step toward absolution.

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Budget Marketing

Marketing on a Budget
They say a business is as good as its marketing plan; we agree. They used to say the most direct and appealing marketing media were television, radio and newspaper advertisements and commercials, but as of late this list has begun to include the necessity of including social networking on the Internet. So we did, and we do agree again. To top it all off, they say if you don’t have a big marketing budget your business is a sitting duck waiting to be eaten raw by the bigger businesses. Well, here we totally disagree. We may be a small business, but we are most definitely not the only one.

Yes, advertising today is a huge cost with no guaranteed returns. The competition is cutthroat, and it has become increasingly difficult to be one of the few shining stars that outshines the others. However, if one ponders deeply, there are numerous channels to promote your business that may not be very expensive while being extremely effective. The following are few suggestions.

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Weight Training for Women

Why Do Women Need to Lift Weights?
When women hit the gym, more often than not they end up completely ignoring weights. The problem is that most women do not realize strength training or lifting weights is almost as important for their fitness as cardiovascular exercises are!

When we hear the term “weight training,” most of us conjure up images of big, muscled men sweating it out in the gym. And if you have a vivid imagination, you probably even add a few grunts that punctuate men’s weight lifting exercises to your vivid mental image. The truth of the matter, however, is that whether you are man or a woman your exercise regimen is incomplete unless you make weight training a part of it.

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Yoga for Pregnancy

Keeping physically fit during your pregnancy is extremely important; after all, you are responsible for two lives: yours and the tiny fragile one growing inside you. Though physically strenuous exercises should normally be avoided during pregnancy, most doctors advise women to stay active or take up light exercises during this period. Yoga is one such exercise.

While pregnant women who are especially new to yoga need not attempt all Yoga asana, they can perform some of the following poses under expert supervision.

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Finding the Perfect Diet Plan

I can hear you murmuring through the Internet already, even though you’ve read only the title of this piece. “The best laid plans…” you’re murmuring to yourself. Or perhaps you’re thinking, “There’s no such thing as a ‘perfect’ diet plan!” But some of you are saying to yourself, “Really? There’s something that can work for most everyone?”

I understand that usually the very idea of fully committing to a diet plan is enough to stop readers in their tracks, especially since we know that over the long haul few people manage to stick to prescribed nutrition regimens. But this inability to persevere and find success can be due to many factors – including flawed diet plans and a lack of motivation. But at this beginning of a new year – when many people have resolved to be more healthy – perhaps you’re ready to change your perspective and begin thinking about establishing a new relationship with food rather than focusing on a diet that requires you to focus on minute details that niggle at your mind all the live-long day. An approach in this vein will lead you to a “diet” that supports the results you desire while embracing proper motivation.

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Creating a Business Plan

How to Make a Great Business Plan
A lot of people may have excellent business ideas, but the successful ones are those who can turn those ideas into viable projects and get people to invest in their “baby.”

Banks and financers, however, only loosen their purse strings if they are convinced that your business idea can indeed be converted into a profitable venture. With the plight of the economy as of late, it seems the purse strings rarely are loosened – so it is even more important to convince financers of your need through a well-structured and impressive business plan.

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Aromatherapy II ~ The Magic of Essential Oils

Aromatherapy II: The Magic of Essential Oils Continued

Aroma or essential oil therapy has gained popularity because of its non-invasive nature and use of natural products. Essential oils are like magical gifts of nature that can help heal us in the most pleasant way. The following are a few more examples of these magical oils and their healing properties.

Citronella Oil This oil is an excellent insect repellant and is therefore great for campers and people staying in tropical regions. It has antiseptic, anti-depressant and pain-alleviating properties. It can also help fight bad body odor.

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Facing Guilt in Your Past

It’s only human to make mistakes, and we all have done things of which we’re not proud. Although time can blur the memory and alleviate the pain of stressful incidents from our past, often it’s not a simple task to overcome the guilt that stems from actions in our past. This could be something as relatively innocuous as telling a small lie or as profound and life-changing as cheating on someone in a romantic relationship.

It isn’t easy to live with this kind of burden, especially since guilt fuels the fire that keeps the conscience alive. Guilt’s primary purpose is to make us acknowledge the wrongness of our actions so we don’t repeat those same mistakes. But it’s important to realize that once guilt brings you to that point, there remains no reason for you to cling to it or be burdened by it. That said, overcoming guilt is often more easily said than done…

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Leadership Affirmations

Building Leadership Qualities through Positive Affirmations
Because moving up the business ladder would be difficult without possessing qualities like assertiveness, initiative and vision, we know that having leadership qualities are necessary to attain professional success. Further, all of these qualities are simply offshoots of the primary quality for success, which is self-belief.

We all want to be successful, but the most difficult obstacle we have to overcome is often that we lack faith in our own abilities. This absence of faith is often directly tied to limiting beliefs we might harbor that can be the result of our family and cultural backgrounds, life experiences and conditioning.

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Phobia & Regression Therapy

Phobias and Past-Life Regression Therapy
Phobias and fears generally arise from deep within the recesses of our subconscious. An event or childhood trauma often triggers phobia such in adulthood. For instance, a near-drowning incident as a child could instill a water phobia in you. However, there are also cases in which the phobias from which one suffers have no connection to the person’s known past; as such, these phobias are often attributed to past life related events/accidents/traumas – or even as Past-Life Regression (PLR) therapy experts.

According to the philosophy of PLR, several unresolved cellular memories of our past lives are buried deep within our subconscious. While we may not be able to recall these memories consciously, many of our subconscious actions and reactions are triggered by these past-life memories.

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Adopting Healthy Eating Habits

Eating healthy is critical whether your goal is weight loss, fitness or a healthier lifestyle in general. However, you don’t have to meticulously count calories or starve yourself to be healthy; rather, you need to provide your body with ample nourishment. While junk food and sugary treats might present challenges and temptations, adopting correct eating ideas and strategies will help you make healthy eating a natural habit.

Below is an overview of basic tips and suggestions to help you stay fit and eat healthy:

Learn to Love Your Veggies Include as many vegetables in your diet as you possibly can. In addition to vegetables being packed with more nutrients and fewer fats and calories than meat-based dishes, vegetarian foods also offer a lot of variety and can be a real treat for the taste buds...

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Effective Resource Planning

How to Make Human Resource Planning More Effective

Human Resource (HR) planning can be a tricky process since several factors ranging from hiring to incentives to compensation to job lay-offs must be taken into account; however, there are some general rules that can be applied to the overall planning process to make it more effective.

HR professionals must always remember the purpose of HR planning is to make it easier for a business to achieve its goals. Every plan these professionals make needs to be focused on this purpose.

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Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy I: The Magic of Essential Oils

Aromatherapy involves the use of plant and essential oils to treat various physical and psychological conditions. Natural essential oils are believed to have various therapeutic properties, ranging from soothing the nerves to treating skin conditions as well as aches and pains.

The healing properties of essential oils come from their fragrance and constitution. Several essential oils have aromas that trigger positive reactions in the brain, while others are used along with carrier oils in aroma massages.

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Attitudes that Don’t Foster Success

Success is attainable for those who seek it with both their thoughts and their actions. Unfortunately, people tend to give significantly more attention to their actions, not remembering that their thoughts and attitudes can dramatically impact their failure and success. Too often the negative messages we hear while we’re growing up and our overall conditioning further contribute to anti-success attitudes. For example, you likely have a negative attitude toward success if you repeatedly encountered the following types of messages while growing up:

-Don’t expect too much; you’ll just be disappointed in the end.
-You’re not good enough to deserve good things.
-Life is about dealing with problems.
-People are out to pull you down with them, not pick you up.
-Your capabilities are limited.
-When you don’t expect anything good from a situation, you’re being practical.
-“Optimism” is just another word for wishful thinking.

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Fear of Commitment

Are You Commitment-Phobic?
Many people don’t experience committed, steady relationships, and they often assert this is so not because they are afraid of commitment but rather because they enjoy their freedom and flirtatious nature. And while this may be true for some who embrace their “forever single status,” more often when people say things like “I crave independence and space,” or “Love is for the weak,” what they are really unwittingly communicating is their deep-seated fear of commitment. Unfortunately, being afraid of commitment hinders both your ability to create and enjoy meaningful personal relationships but also your professional success.

Free Spirited or Afraid of Commitment?
Those who don’t have meaningful relationships must first determine whether they are a free spirit who has not yet found Mr. or Ms. Right or if they fear commitment. The answers to the following questions can help guide you through the process of discovering if you’re commitment phobic and how to break out of that mindset.

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Happy New Year

Another year has just begun, and already I can feel the energy shift with just the power of the number change. Setting intentions for the coming year seemed to come easier than before, and I am grateful for the growth and experiences that I received during 2009.

One of the realizations I have had in the last 12 hours has been that what seemed as procrastinating on writing this blog was actually me working through the element of trusting in the timing, and why I needed to wait to write it until this morning was due to experiencing the shift at midnight.

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