Feminine Odor Control

One thing that can surely destroy a woman's sense of feeling desirable and sensual, is to have feminine odor. Since this malady plagues so many women, let's look at some methods of feminine odor control.

If feminine odor already exists, the first thing you want to do is have a gynecological exam to rule out any vaginal infection, as vaginal infections definitely cause odor. If the result of your exam is positive for infection you will be given medicine to kill the unfriendly bacteria or yeast causing it; however, caution must be taken so that the infection does not reoccur. The methods used to prevent re-infection are, for the most part, the same for preventing feminine odor, so let's look at these now.

Hygiene:

The most obvious feminine odor control method is to have proper hygiene. If need be, wash more than once a day but do not use harsh soap. Unscented natural soaps are the best, and certainly never use antibacterial soaps as they are too chemically laden and can very easily irritate the sensitive tissue around and in the vagina.

Soap also disrupts the vaginal pH. When this occurs the healthy vaginal flora cannot survive and hence disruptive organisms take over and cause infection and odor.

Natural Clothing:

Cotton and wool are not only natural fabrics, but they breathe, which means they allow airflow. Synthetic materials such as nylon and polyester do not breathe, and consequentially hold in moisture; and constant moisture breeds bacteria and yeast.

Now, just as when you perspire under your arms and you get an underarm odor, the same happens when you wear nylon panties or pantyhose, or polyester slacks -- the vaginal area perspires; it can't get air because of the suffocating material around it; and it begins to smell. Therefore, always wear cotton panties and try not to wear synthetic fabrics such as pantyhose or polyester slacks.

Air It Out:

There was a time in our history when women didn't wear panties at all. I know going without panties might be a shock to some ladies, but unless you feel it is necessary, at least don't wear panties to bed; let it air out.

Also consider thigh-high nylons instead of pantyhose.

Ditch the Douche:

Many women douche for the simple reason that they want to feel clean, especially after their period or after intercourse. Some women also douche if they notice a discharge, though some discharge is normal.

The trouble with douching, however, is that it can cause the very feminine odor that women are trying to eliminate. Douching is actually counter-productive and is certainly not a feminine odor control method.

When using a commercial douche, the chemicals in the product badly disrupt the vaginal pH. Friendly vaginal flora die because of this and then harmful bacteria take over, which again causes feminine odor.

Another issue with douching is that the force of the douching fluid can push existing bad bacteria up through the cervix, causing pelvic inflammatory disease; and pelvic inflammatory disease also emits odor.

In summation, the best means of feminine odor control is to wash regularly with a gentle, unscented soap; wear cotton panties and avoid synthetic fabrics in that area; sleep without panties and allow the vagina to air out; and do not use commercial douches.

As an alternative to douching and as a way to eliminate odor naturally, we recommend WaterWorks Natural Vaginal Therapy. This is a product that gently cleans the vagina without pushing water into the cervix; instead the water gently flows downward along the vaginal walls. No chemical preparations are used at all; simply regular tap water that flows through a stainless steel nozzle, which is inserted into the vagina. A reaction occurs when stainless steel interacts with water, in which odor-causing sulfuric acids are eliminated; therefore, using WaterWorks not only safely cleans the vagina after intercourse and after menstruation, but it also eliminates odor. It is a miraculous device that is safe enough to use every day, if desired. Learn about WaterWorks and where it can be purchased at http://eliminatebodyodors.com/feminine-odor-stopped-with-waterworks. To eliminate body odor naturally, see http://eliminatebodyodors.com/

All About Yoga Mats

Yoga mats are available in a large range of shapes and dimensions to look after all of your physical and spiritual needs. There are so many options available when it comes to buy a mat and sometimes it can be difficult. In this article you will find very useful information about these mats that will help you getting most out of these mats.

There is no doubt that yoga mats are one of the most popular yoga products and accessories on hand. These mats have now become a significant part of yoga. A good strong yoga mat will provide you support and grip as well as providing you cushion from the floor plus it will also help with improving the balance.

Before buying a yoga mat it is very important to know about what kind of mat you are looking for. You need to know what kind of yoga you want to occupy and which kind of ground you will be practicing on. A right type of mat will help your stability and provide comfort during your yoga exercises so it is very important that you choose right type of pad for doing your yoga in order to get most benefits from it. For traction upon slippery surfaces, cotton yoga mats could be backed with natural rubber, and may also be padded by helping cover their natural padding like made of wool and buckwheat hulls.

Natural or organic yoga mats are produced using natural rubber, and all sorts of natural plant extract materials for example cotton, hemp, jute along with other "floating" fibrous grasses. The manufacture connected with one of these organic mats will furthermore not contain any non biodegradable chemical compounds most of the growing or production processes.

These mats are available in numerous size versions, though most typical is 24 inches wide by 68 inches long, thickness can differ from only a couple of millimeters to 400 millimeters which are more comfortable of mats.

Yoga exercises do not need much equipment apart from a yoga mat and when it comes to buying a mat, there are lots of options to choose from. In addition to different dimensions you also have choice of choosing from numerous designs and materials. The price depends on the material and size and you could be searching at a variety of between $30 for any average pad as much as almost $200 for any top quality mat.

ZooStores proudly offers the finest Pilates Equipment from Top Manufacturers including STOTT Pilates, Stamina, and IMX. They carry a wide selection of Equipment from Reformers to Cadillacs to Pilates Chairs along with Pilates Accessories `nd DVDs. You can also find a top quality yoga mat for you and get top yoga mat reviews at ZooStores website.

Menstruation and Yoga

There is much debate with menstruation and performing yoga. Depending upon who you talk with some say it is okay while others say do not do it. There will still be others that say it is okay to do inversions and restorative asanas while someone else will tell you it is not a good idea to do either.

Menstruation is handled differently by all women. Some experience no changes during this time and it is just like another day of the week. While others have extreme cramps, massive mood swings, so tired they are fighting sleep all day, bloating of the stomach, and so on. Depending upon how bad the symptoms are the woman might just spend a few days in her bed. Since all women handle menstruation differently some simple guidelines should be followed before doing yoga. During this time of month a woman knows what her body can handle. Listen to the body and it will be your guide.

There are a million emotions that are experienced at this time of month. Just the thought of bending over might trigger the emotions to be even worse.

A woman experiences much more sensitivity during menstruation. Yoga can help to relieve the pain that is being felt, smooth out the emotions, and help calm the mood swings. It will help her find tranquility and peace within herself.

Avoid particular asanas

When on the menstruation cycle stay clear of inversions. It will overstretch the broad ligaments while causing more bleeding along with vascular congestion. It could even cause some reproductive problems.

When there is pain in the pelvic area the last thing a person wants is to add more pain from stressing the area. This is why a woman should skip over doing any backbends, types of arm balances, and body twists. There will be a lot of energy that is required for doing these exercises properly, so it is best to wait until all the strength is back in the body.

However, yoga can have great benefits during menstruation if performed for the purpose of meditation and relaxation of body. There is no reason for pushing and straining instead, performs the poses that are gentle and just hold them a tad longer. Breathing and relaxing poses are the best for this time and can generally be practiced by almost any menstruating woman. Inner strength comes from being grounded with practicing the proper positions.

Need more answers related to menstruation or women related issues? Visit Yome - The Yoga Portal for learning to live a wonderful and healthy life. Learn ways to keep your body stress and pain free and expand your knowledge of yoga with great tools like FREE ebooks, interactive forums and informative blog posts from yoga teachers and experts. Visit yogameditationhome.com NOW!!

Yoga Is a Form of Meditation

There are five different principles to yoga, with meditation being one of them. This is where there is awareness of your mind constantly. In order to perceive one's own self in a clear manner, the mind is made to focus on one particular thing so the mind will become still. If practiced regularly, meditation will let you achieve a better sense of will along with sense of purpose. It will help your mind become clear, drastically improve concentration, while discovering the tranquility and wisdom inside yourself.

What Meditation Means

When you are brought to the present - the here and the now... and kept there, you are in state of meditation. This means meditation can easily be used in your life. Meditation does not mean writing down a grocery list of things you can focus on. You just need to be acutely aware of your being and keep your mind focus and away from random thoughts. When meditating, keep in mind about living in the present or NOW.

   1. For concentration we need to focus on one object or thing: The focus could be how you breath, repeating a word out loud or in your mind, or even a sensation that is being felt inside your body. To live in the present it will involve the senses of listening, smelling, and feeling.
   2. Wandering thoughts should always come back to the object being focused on: The mind will tend to wander around when you are trying to focus on one object. This is normal so do not get discouraged with practice your mind will become quiet. The mind can be stubborn so other thoughts might creep in so instead of fighting the thoughts take a minute and acknowledge them and let them go. There is no for suppressing or trying to hide your thoughts when doing mediation. There will be times when you get distracted it is okay just go back to the original focus.
   3. When doing meditation try ignoring all sensations and thoughts that are irrelevant: You will not be taking to a new place of existence with mediation. If there are people around when you are meditating you will hear them still. The object with Meditation is to stay focused. Focusing will keep you in the NOW.

Meditation and the Benefits

The art of looking deep in your self is called Meditation and means having your mind focus while restraining from other thoughts. With practice you will learn your purpose in life and understand it better while benefiting in your mental health and physically.

As you get better with mediation you will start experiencing better mental and physical health. Some studies claim this is accomplished because of the reduction in biochemical markers and physiological. This means the heart rate will decrease, respiration rate will decrease, the stress hormone plasma cortisol is decreased, pulse rate will decrease, while the EEG for relaxation will increase. Meditation will have you in a deep relaxation state, while our mind is increased for the awareness level. This means your reactions are faster, creativity is greater, and your comprehension is improved.

More benefits:

    * Capacity in the lungs is increased
    * Immune system becomes improved
    * Nervous system is recharged
    * Stress is reduced
    * Memory becomes improved
    * Helps in aiding with asthma treatment
    * The mind becomes open
    * Compassion and patience become amplified
    * Sin, guilt, and temptation you become aware of
    * Faith in your religion becomes increased

Patience, determination, and discipline are all required with meditation. Practice makes perfect so do not think you will have all this the first time you try.

Visit Yome - The Yoga Portal for learning to live a wonderful personal and business life. Expand your knowledge of yoga with great tools like FREE ebooks, interactive forums and informative blog posts from yoga teachers and experts. Visit yogameditationhome.com NOW!

Ease Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Pain With Yoga

If you are looking for a non-intrusive way of easing the pain associated with carpal tunnel syndrome, yoga may very well turn out to be your answer. When you add yoga to your routine, it can help with reducing the pain along with increasing the strength in the hand, especially if you have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. These are the findings of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and they talk of yoga being an easy and effective way of dealing with pain.

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
But let's first answer the question, what exactly is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is caused by repetitive motion that you do every day with your hands. If you have a job that requires sitting in front of a computer typing all day, then you are a good candidate for this disease. There is a median nerve located in the hand that has the job of controlling the thumb, middle finger, and index finger sensations. Whatever may have caused it, the fact remains that when you have Carpal Tunnel it is very painful to use the hand.

Wrist Splints vs. Yoga.
The most common treatment for CTS is wrist splints. However, when the study was done there was a group with just the wrist splints and a group that would do yoga exercises. Just twice a week the group for yoga would go to a class for an hour and a half each time. The group did not do anything over the top... instead it was just simple posture exercises for the upper body. They would do various motions, lots of stretching; the hands would be aligned and strengthened, along with the shoulders, arms and wrists. At the end of eight weeks both groups were tested again for pain. The wrist splint wearers had no significant decrease in pain while the yoga group had less pain and their hands were stronger.

The program used the following postures:

1. A staff pose - while sitting on a chair press the back upright, while pressing your hands in the chair, shoulder blades should be pressed back, while moving the shoulders up and down.

2. Prayer position - with hands in front of you press the palms and fingers of the hands together while stretching and bending the fingers.

3. Arms overhead - While lifting the arms over head keep them straight while making sure the shoulders are down.

4. Fingers interlocked while arms overhead - Same steps as above only turn palms upward while clasping your fingers.

5. Chair twist - While sitting sideways in your chair place your right side of back against the back of chair. Slowly place your hands on the back of chair and twist. Do the left side the same way.

7. Forward bend to wall while bending 90 degrees - Place the feet even with your hips and raise the arms over head. Next rest hands on the wall while bending at the hips.

8. Hands in prayer position while arms are overhead - Place feet even with hips, now raise your arms to a Tee position while turning pals up. Now rotate your arms in circles that are small going forward and then backwards. Lift arms above the head while keeping them straight and join your hands in a prayer position. Now stretch your body up while bending the head back and looking at your hands.

9. Chair and dog pose - Place feet even with hips while facing the front of the chair. Bend at the waist and place hands palm down on the seat even with the shoulders. While straightening the arms lift the waist, knees and hips so everything is a few inches higher than the chair. While tightening the buttocks curve the arms out and bring the spine and everything forward.

10. Prayer behind the back - Place feet at levek with hips and place your palms together behind the back with fingers pointing toward the sky. While maintaining the position, move up the back toward the shoulders as far as possible.

11. Relax

It is only necessary to hold each position for about 30 seconds.

Struggling with back pains? Visit Yome - The Yoga Portal for learning to live a wonderful and healthy life. Learn ways to keep your body stress and pain free and expand your knowledge of yoga with great tools like FREE ebooks, interactive forums and informative blog posts from yoga teachers and experts. Visit yogameditationhome.com NOW!!

Yoga Etiquette

Studio Etiquette

Payment:

Yoga is based on honesty, so simply be honest. Do not try to get free classes just because your friend is the teacher, or because you are a teacher. Teachers usually get free yoga where they teach, but this does not mean you should get free everywhere. Do not try to change your name in order to take advantage of new student packages most studios have to offer. You only get to be a new student once. Simply abide by the rules for each studio you enjoy practicing at. Remember that the type of energy you project, you also attract. As an instructor, it is a rare occasion that you will find yourself behind the desk, but the same rules apply, just be honest and have integrity in all your transactions and dealings.

Teachers:

Many of us have preferences for which teacher we most enjoy practicing with, and this is normal and perfectly acceptable. What is unacceptable is voicing your opinions on which teachers are awesome and which are not at the studio, especially within earshot of any owner, secretary or, god forbid, teachers. This classifying forgets that we are all entitled to our own experience and opinions, not to mention it is incredibly rude, and if your words happen to fall on the wrong ears, say your least favorite teacher's ears, they can be extremely, and unnecessarily hurtful. This also means that if you show up to take your favorite teachers class and there is you may not know, or don't prefer, take class anyways. Everything happens for a reason and you are meant to show up that day for yoga with that specific teacher, like it or not. Leaving would be missing out on an opportunity to learn. If that means that you end up judging and comparing the teacher the whole time, then shame on you, but watch your judging and comparing, naturally detaching from it and learn more about it, maybe you'll even get to transform it into love and light, which is the purpose of living. It is also highly inappropriate if you are a teacher comparing other teachers as well. keep your opinions to yourself, practice with your preferred teachers, and learn to let go if you show up and your favorite teacher has a sub.

Chatting in the Lobby:

Depending on the studio, the lobby may be located within ear shot of the class room. If this is the case, keep your volume to a dull roar. Typically, if you arrive 15 minutes early or right before, you are also arriving when previous classes are winding down, or already in savasana meditation. Respect the savasana by not chatting away loudly in the lobby, disrespecting the peace and quite of the students still in class. Keep this in mind if you are the instructor checking your students in as well.

Class Etiquette

Scents:

No matter how pleasant you think your favorite oils, perfumes, sprays, lotions, etc. are keep in mind that in a room full of perspiring yoga students your strong scents may in fact insult the nostrils of a fellow student - this goes for teachers too.

Alcohol or drug Use:

This kind of goes without saying, and mostly for the reason that you should always come to the mat with the intention of letting whatever is meant to happen happen, but preparing yourself beforehand with the utmost integrity. Showing up drunk or high does not set you up to be clear to experience the process that occurs or not. It is also dangerous for you and for your fellow students and teacher, as you never know what can happen when mixing drugs or alcohol with an intense physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual experience.

Arrive early for class:

Not only is it extremely distracting to have students come to class late for the students, but also for the teacher. Once class begins, a beautiful orchestration of energy begins to flow involving the teacher and students together as one moving, breathing, flowing energy. A trust and safeness is felt as the energy of the individual merges with the group as a whole. If a student walks in late, it interrupts this mutually felt trust and safety that is felt. Eventually, the energies will merge again, but if this can be avoided. Arriving not just on time, but early to allow for ample time to pay, go to the bathroom, set your things in a safe spot, create your sacred space, and drop in is the way to not only avoid interrupting the sacred flow of experience that occurs in each class, but it also sets you up for success. It is acting with compassion for you, for your class mates and for your teacher. Teachers should arrive early, how early depends on the protocol of the studio where you teach. Typically, you want to arrive with enough time to get settled, and prepared for teaching. Make sure you give yourself enough time to set up music, set up your mat, and water, clear the room of any negative energy, and set your intention for teaching, usually about 15 minutes is ample time for this.

Remove your shoes:

In the class room, treat the space with respect. Your mat is placed on the floor, where your sacred experience takes place. Respect not only your mat, but the floor beneath it by removing your shoes. This will also prevent tracking dirt all over the studio floor where often times your feet, hands, and who knows what other body parts may touch.

Electronic devices:

Yoga is meant to calm the fluctuations of the mind and so a peaceful, and relaxing environment is key. It is also meant to bring you into the present moment. a phone call can not only disturb the ears of everyone in the class room, but it can also set everyone's mind off on wondering who the phone belongs to, who just irritated and distracted them, who is calling, and what did they want, thereby bringing everybody into the past and future and away from the present moment. Do not bring your phone, or beeper into class under any circumstances. In some special cases, the teacher may allow you to bring in your phone, but this must be communicated to the teacher ahead of time. Also, you must ask the teacher if it is OK rather than tell them, and be respectful of whatever their choice is. Remember that the teacher has a whole class to consider, not just you.

Mat placement:

Some classrooms will have mirrors and some will not. If mirrors are present, this is an opportunity for you to visually check your own alignment by placing your mat so that you have a clear visual line to the mirror. This is not always possible, but do your best. Give others the same opportunity to check out and refine their own alignment by placing your mat in a way so that the students behind you can also see. Often times staggering mats works best for this. Also, many students come to class and bring all their old habits in with them, such as continually placing their mat in the same spot. Yoga is about breaking patterns, so do not feed into your old, rigid patterns by continually "getting your spot" in class. When you walk into the room, see if you can tap into your intuition to tell you where you should place your mat for this particular class. This will keep your perspective fresh from the moment you set your mat down.

Respect other space:

Whether you are slightly new to yoga, or a seasoned practitioner you probably can remember some amazing breakthroughs you had had on your mat, physically, mentally and emotionally. So, in a way you have gone through some processes, or journeys on your mat. Now think about your practice as a whole and the accumulation of journeys you have gone through, which is your journey through yoga. think about how special that is to you and think about how that journey takes place on your mat. Your mat hold the collective vibration of the accumulation of all the experiences that have taken place on it, and so is very sacred. Respect your mat by keeping it clean, physically, and energetically. Respect others mats too by consciously walking around, thereby respecting their sacred space.

Let the teacher be the teacher:

Not only from a student's perspective, but also from a teacher's, it is extremely rude when a student takes liberty to instruct another student, get up to adjust the heat, lights, music, doors, windows, etc. Hold space for the teacher to hold the energy of the room in a safe and nurturing environment. Additionally, if a student takes liberty to help out the teacher in the way they see fit, it subconsciously causes the class to lose trust in the teacher's ability to lead. An exception to this rule is if the teacher asks for your help. As a teacher, if a student challenges your authority, and begins to help you out, ask them kindly to stop and return to their mat. After class, it is up to you if you want to ask them not to do that again and offer an explanation why. Often times, asking them to stop and return to their mat is enough. If it becomes a problem, it is up to you to talk with the necessary people so as to create a safe space for your students while you are teaching.

Let the class be the class:

Sometimes we show up to a class and it is not what we expected or wanted to get from that hour or hour and a half of our precious time. However expecting and getting are two things that yoga invites us to overcome. Yoga does not just take place on the mat, it takes place in your life as well. So coming to class with expectations, and wanting to get something particular out of the class demonstrates a weak yoga practice. If you happen to show up and are not in love with the flow, your dissatisfaction with class becomes your practice and you can learn to detach from and watch it. If you can manage to shift your perspective in this way, you can open yourself up to experience one of the most powerful, and important yoga classes you have ever taken. This is a far better demonstration of integrity than leaving, or doing your own thing.

Talking during class:

In the few lingering moments before class begins you should give yourself some time to shift gears from your busy life to your yoga practice. It is impossible to shift into an inward focused practice when you spend these moments talking with your neighbor. In addition, talking before class disturbs those around who who are trying to make that inward shift. During the entire duration of class, remaining silent is essential. Only the teachers voice and any music played during class should be heard.

Leaving early:

There will be times when a student needs to leave early. In this case, it is up to the teacher to allow this or not. If you chose to let them take class, you can place them in the back of the room, so that when they leave early it is of the least disturbance to the rest of the class. Some yoga is better than no yoga.

Special cases:

This includes temporary or permanent injuries, disfigurements, and illnesses. This is a very personal subject. First of all it is up to the student to decide whether they want to practice or not. If you feel up to coming to class with an injury or disfigurement, great! Everybody who wants to show up to their mat should be honored and recognized for that. It takes a lot of courage to show up. As far as illness goes, practice ahimsa (compassion) both for yourself and for others. If you are contagious, do not bring your illness into the room and share it with your fellow students and teacher, and potentially the whole studio. If your are ill, but not contagious, its really up to you to decide. If you want to practice, by all means practice.

Savasana:

Savasana is the part of class where the benefits are realized. If you need to skip out on savasana once in a great while, its OK, just tell your teacher ahead of time. If this becomes a regular occurrence or preference, take a look at that. If you can't come to the whole class, then you can't show up to receive the full benefits. If this is the case, then why come to class?

Keep track of your things:

It can be pretty frustrating to leave the studio and realize you left your favorite mat, mat towel, wallet, etc. at the studio. "Yoga Brain" is that the totally present, and a little too connected to the intense experience we just had, so not connected to things like belongings state of mind we tend to get when leaving the studio. Yoga Brain can be blamed for many things, including forget our belonging at the studio. Try to make it a habit of making one last final check list of your belongings before you leave the studio. in addition, you wouldn't believe the hot, sweaty, smelly pile of belongings that tend to accumulate from the many washings of yoga brain a studio experience on a daily basis.

Serra Lynn Smick is a healer of sorts living in Big Sur, CA. She is a Yoga Instructor, a Yoga Instructor Trainer, Yoga Workshop & Retreat Leader, as well as a Meditation Guide, Reiki Master, Nutritional Advisor and writer of many holistic and spiritual topics. Contact Serra at serra@serralynnsmick.com.