Cucumber Juice - cheap & delicious & healthy

After reading this article below I have started to juice the humble cucumber.
Surprisingly, it looks and taste equally good. Try It.

Juicing Cucumbers is a quick way to lead a pain free live, to Prevent and Reverse Cancer – High Blood Pressure and other Diseases.


There are a variety of ways to prepare cucumber juice, including simply running a freshly washed cucumber through a juicer. However, you may also combine this great, refreshing fruit drink with other juices such as carrot juice. Try adding sugar and honey to your cucumber beverage to sweeten it to taste
Many people prefer to add ginger to the drink mix for a spark of flavor. Regardless of which cucumber juice mix you use, drinking and eating these healthy cucumbers will definitely help you maintain a healthy lifestyle, proving to be highly beneficial for all.

Happy Juicing!


1.Cucumber is VERY Alkaline.
2.Cucumber Juice is EXTREMELY good for your Hair, Skin and Nails.
3.Cucumber Juice is High In Potassium.
4.Cucumber Juice can Lower Your Blood Pressure.
5.Cucumber is a wonderful source for Silica. Silica is important for healthy connective tissue, ligaments, cartilage, muscles, tendons, and bone.
Cucumber Juice has Molybdenem, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Manganese, Tryotophan, Magnesium, and Chlorophyll.
6.Cucumbers are a GREAT way to Cool Down Your Body.
7.Cucumber is Anti-Cancer in that it is VERY high in Alkaline Minerals and Cancer cannot Live in an Alkaline Body.
8.Cucumber Juices is also used to heal and cure issues with Acne, Water Retention, Arthritis, Kidneys, Eczema, Psoriasis, Weight Loss and Hair Loss.
9.Cucumber Juice is a useful Anti-Flam agent. Drinking Cucumber Juice can get Your Bodies Inflammation Down.
10.Cucumber Juice is a Diuretic and Therefore has wonderful Cleansing Powers.



Benefits of Cucumber Juice
Although most people are familiar with cucumbers since they typically appear on salads, few are aware that cucumber juice proves to be highly beneficial for a wide variety of health related issues. Eating cucumbers may
decrease the appearance of blemishes such as pimples and blackheads making it an effective and an often-referred remedy for acne. However, it is essential to understand the full potential of the cucumber by examining the benefits of drinking cucumber juice to combat everything from high blood pressure and constipation to cancer.

Along with healthier skin, cucumbers contain a lot of water making it ideal for a variety of common issues. For those wishing to decrease their blood pressure, drinking this fruit in the form of juice, may provide a noticeable amount of relief as the blood pressure slowly declines. Furthermore, anyone dealing with the pains of constipation will also benefit from this fruit due to its high levels of alkaline and increased amounts of water. In terms of dieting and diabetes, cucumbers are ideal for an afternoon snack to rebuke hunger for those wishing to lose weight.

Another great factor with this fruit includes its high percentage of sulfur and silicone. For this reason, cucumber juice may aid those wishing to increase the growth of hair. The high amounts of sulfur and silicone also make cucumbers particularly good for growing healthier nails. Furthermore, cucumbers contain Silica, which is ideal for healthier ligaments, tendons, and muscles, making it perfect for people seeking relief of rheumatoid problems such as arthritis.

Now for what may be the most important of all, cucumbers are extremely high in alkaline levels making it difficult for cancer to live in a high alkaline environment; therefore, cucumbers may prove beneficial in avoiding cancer of all types.


This fruit’s benefits range from beauty remedies such as removing bags, restoring hair, and promoting healthy development of skin and nails to serious concerns such as potentially decreasing the risk of cancer development. Regardless of if you need a natural laxative, acne remedy.

Insomnia? Get Rid Of It

Rid yourself of insomnia with this calming pose sequence.
By Nora Isaacs
Before Bedtime




Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend), supported
Benefit Quiets the nervous system.
Fold one or more blankets and place them on a chair so they cover the entire width of the seat. Stand facing the chair in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). On an inhalation, reach your arms up overhead and lengthen your spine. Exhale and fold forward until your forehead rests on the blankets. Rest your arms, including your elbows, on the blankets so they do not slide off when you relax them completely. Stay here for 3 to 5 minutes or as long as you're comfortable. Inhale as you come out of the pose.




2:1 Ujjayi Pranayama (Victorious Breath)
Benefit Calms the nervous system.
Come to a comfortable seated position and breathe normally. Start Ujjayi breath on an exhalation: With your mouth closed, slightly close the root of your throat as though you were whispering and exhale for 2 counts. You should hear a smooth, audible sound (akin to the ocean, the wind in the trees, or even Darth Vader) coming from deep in your throat as you breathe out. Release the restriction in your throat and inhale normally for 1 count. As you become more adept, increase the counts to any ratio of 2:1, such as 4 counts exhaling to 2 counts inhaling or 6 counts exhaling to 3 counts inhaling. Do this breath for 3 to 5 minutes, followed by 10 to 15 minutes of meditation.




Viparita Karani (Legs-up-the-Wall Pose)
Benefit Triggers relaxation response, slowing heart, breath, and brain waves.
Bring a folded blanket or a bolster about 6 inches away from a wall (or farther away if your hamstrings are tight). Sit sideways on the support, with the right side of your body against the wall. On an exhalation, slowly turn to your right, lowering your shoulders down to the floor as you swing your legs up the wall. Adjust yourself so that your sitting bones drop down slightly between the support and the wall, the back of your pelvis rests on the bolster, and your shoulders rest on the ground. Bring your arms into a position that supports the opening of the front of your chest, whether out to your sides or reaching overhead on the floor. Relax your legs, face, and jaw. Stay here for 5 to 15 minutes. To come out, slide back off the support, turn to the side, and stay here for a few breaths before sitting up. You can do this right before bed or earlier in the evening. Make sure you don't fall asleep in the pose; save your sleep for when you are in bed.

Sleep Soundly




Side Sleeping
Benefits Helps keep spine aligned and reduces snoring.
Get into bed and turn to one side. Put a pillow between your knees and another under your head for support. Your head pillow should be just high enough to prevent your neck from side bending up or down; your whole spine should be straight when viewed from the side. Draw your bottom elbow and shoulder forward far enough so you do not lie directly on your arm. Optionally, place a third pillow in front of you and support one or both hands on it.




Zero-Point Release
Benefit Releases craniosacral tension.
Caution Don't use this position if you are prone to snoring or sleep apnea.
Lie on your back in Savasana (Corpse Pose). Bring your hands behind your head with the right hand touching the back of the head and the left hand on top of the right. The hands should be underneath the occipital ridge (the prominence at the base of the skull). Allow your elbows to rest on the bed and let your neck release into your hands so that your head is in slight traction. This is a great position to fall asleep in, although you don't want to stay here all night with pressure on your hands and your shoulders stretching upward.

Upon Awakening



Ardha Adho Mukha Svanasana (Half Downward-Facing Dog)
Benefits Alerts the mind, stretches the back and legs, and relieves shoulder tension.
Stand at the side of your bed, with your palms resting on the bed. Step back, one foot at a time, so that the arms remain straight and the spine elongates as in a regular Downward-Facing Dog. Adjust your feet so that you feel you are getting a nice stretch through your shoulders, hips, and hamstrings. As you breathe, draw your hips away from your head and let your head gently descend between your arms. Stay here for 10 breaths.



Lunge
Benefits Stretches the hip flexors and abdomen, opens the chest, and awakens the cardiovascular system.
From Half Downward Dog, come into a lunge by bringing your right foot forward between your arms, bending the right knee and keeping the left leg straight behind you. Try to keep the back heel on the floor. On an inhalation, bring the arms out to your sides and up overhead, lengthening the spine. On an exhalation, bring your hands back to the bed. Return to the Half Dog, then repeat the lunge on the other side. Do this sequence several times until you feel invigorated.



Side Twist Benefits Invigorates the body and gets the blood flowing.
Sit sideways in a chair, with the right side of your body alongside the back of the chair. On an inhalation, lengthen the spine. On a soft exhalation, twist to the right, bringing both hands to the back of the chair. Relax your right shoulder and make sure you aren't cranking your neck so that it's uncomfortable. On each inhalation, lengthen the spine, and on each exhalation, deepen the twist. Stay here for 10 breaths. Release back to center, then sit with the left side of your body alongside the chairback and repeat to the other side.

Nora Isaacs is a freelance writer and the author of Women in Overdrive: Find Balance and Overcome Burnout at Any Age. She tries to get eight hours of sleep at her home in California.

Neck Issue

Changing how your head sits on top of your spine can reduce back and neck pain, improve your posture, and revolutionize the way you breathe.
By Richard Rosen

Look around the next time you venture out to the movies or the grocery store, or any place crowds of people congregate. You don't need to be a trained yoga teacher to recognize that most of the heads around you don't seem to be screwed on quite right to their respective bodies.

Most of us don't know what to do with our heads—how to hold and move them properly—not only in asanas but in our daily lives. We tend to carry our heads to a greater or lesser degree forward of the spine, a symptom of the widespread afflictions of stress and poor posture. The ideal upright head is physically neutral, perched lightly atop the atlas (the aptly named first cervical vertebra) and supported by the underlying column of bones and minimal muscular effort in the back of the neck and shoulders.

Along with this bare-bones support, the head is also sustained energetically by what I call the root of the neck. You won't find this root in any anatomy book. Like the roots of the arms and legs, the root of the neck is imaginary—but the image can be of immense practical use and can have profound therapeutic benefits.

You might suppose that the root of the neck is located where the base of the neck joins the top of the shoulders; in fact, it's farther down the spine, at the lower tips of the shoulder blades and behind the heart center, where you'll also find the roots of the arms. A neutral head is anchored deep in the upper back through this neck root, and all of its movements—whether forward (into flexion), backward (into extension), or to the side—are initiated from and flow out of this source.

A forward head, by contrast, hangs rootlessly off the front spine. This disrupts the spine's naturally sinuous curves and wreaks havoc with the muscles of the neck and shoulders as they struggle to keep the head's weight upright. This leads to a mixed bag of bothersome aches and pains in the head, neck, and back; reduced neck and shoulder mobility; and breathing limitations. Young children are usually cited by posture and movement experts as having a healthy, neutral head position, leaving us adults to ponder how we ever managed to end up as such slouches. However, we can be comforted by the knowledge that somewhere deep inside our bodies, the memory of this harmonious alignment of head and spine survives and can be recovered.

Your head may be the last thing you think about as you assume the various yoga postures, but it shouldn't be. For the successful practice of yoga—not only asana but also pranayama and meditation—it's crucial to cultivate awareness of the root of the neck. Misalignment of your head in a posture can result in unbalanced loading on the cervical spine and strain in the neck and shoulder muscles. You can protect your neck first by learning how to find its root and arrange your head in a neutral position. Once you've got your neck in neutral, then you can add movement—twisting and turning, flexing or extending your neck to complete a pose. (In this article, we'll discuss only extension and flexion; rotation is considerably trickier to describe and to perform from the neck root.)

Down to the Root
To get a feel for both a rootless forward head and a properly rooted, neutral neck, pair up with a friend who practices yoga, so that you both see and can talk with each other about what you're observing and feeling. To start, have your friend sit "normally" in a comfortable position, then sit to one side so you can observe her in profile.
First, look at the center of her shoulder joint. If you're not quite sure where that is, have your friend slowly swing her arm back and forth a few times, like a pendulum. The center of the joint is right at the pivot point of this swinging motion. Then determine where the opening to your partner's ear canal is situated relative to the center of the shoulder joint. For many people, the ear canal will be ahead of the shoulder joint. If it is (and there's no guarantee that it will be, so you may need to look at another friend), you may notice some of the classic signs of a forward head: the relative shortness of the nape, lifted and rounded shoulders, and a pointy, Wicked Witch of the West chin.

Next, have your friend carefully extend her neck and head as if she were moving into a backbend like Ustrasana (Camel Pose), and note what happens. Typically, the base of the skull jams down onto the nape; the chin pokes even more sharply upward, hardening the throat, tongue, and soft palate; and the shoulders turtle toward the ears. Your friend will likely look as if she is wincing from a loud noise.

Finally, have your partner carefully flex her neck and head, lowering—but not forcing—her chin toward her sternum, and again note what happens. Usually, the habitually tense nape muscles refuse to elongate, the shoulders curve forward, and the chest sinks away from the chin. Your friend—and you—should file away all of these actions for future reference. You may want to change places with her so she can give you the same once-over.


Put It in Neutral
When you understand what a forward head looks and feels like, you can begin to gain an appreciation for a neutral head. Start by sitting behind your partner, pressing and spreading your palms against her shoulder blades and drawing them lightly downward. Remember that the action of neutralizing the head and then moving it (in any direction) is triggered from the neck root, and the root itself is galvanized by firming the scapulas into the back torso and descending them toward the tailbone. Make sure that your friend does not "help" the movement of the scapulas by poking her lower front ribs forward. Your hands on her back can gently remind her to lengthen her neck and lift the crown of her head.
Once the neck root is activated, two imaginary (or energetic) channels flow out of it. One streams vertically upward along the front spine, through the brain, to finally press against the cranial vault. To sense this channel, lengthen your neck and align your head by pushing up from the neck root below, rather than imagining that the head is being pulled up from above.

The second energetic channel climbs diagonally from the root through the chest and pushes the top of the sternum, called the manubrium—which is just below the small depression at the base of the throat—straight up toward what I call the crook of the throat, where the front of the throat joins the underside of the chin. Whenever you work with the sternum, it's important to distinguish between the manubrium and the bottom of the sternum, which is called the xiphoid. When instructed to lift the chest, we tend to shove the xiphoid forward, making the front ribs protrude and squeezing the lower back. A better, more balanced action for the spine is to elevate the manubrium as you release the xiphoid toward your navel.

Return to your friend's side now to bring these two channels to life. Hook the fingertips of one hand underneath the center of the base of her skull, in the middle of the back of the head-you should be able to feel a bump there, called the occipital protuberance, or inion. Lay the fingertips of your other hand on her manubrium and gently lift her skull away from the nape while pressing her manubrium up toward the throat crook and encouraging her to release her nape down toward her tailbone. There may be a tendency for the pressure on the inion to move the head forward—especially if you are pushing too hard—however, continuing to move the scapulas down the back counteracts this. Traditional yoga posits a mystical "third eye" on the forehead between the eyebrows; in this exercise, your friend can imagine there's a fourth eye on the back of her head, widening in wonder and delight as you spread the inion and nape apart.

At first, you might feel some resistance. Don't respond by pulling harder; any show of force will just make the neck muscles contract more stubbornly. Instead, apply gentle but persistent upward pressure to the skull. Eventually, the tensed muscles will give up, at least somewhat, and then you will see—and your friend will experience—a remarkable transformation: Her head will float up and back like a balloon; her chest will bloom open, freeing the breath in the heart and upper lungs; and the curves of her spine will gratefully lengthen.

Once you have brought the neck into a more neutral position, tip your friend's head slightly back, then slightly forward. In extension, a neutral head cascades back from the neck root, so the upper back and neck make one graceful arch, the throat crook stays soft, and the fourth eye opens. In flexion, the manubrium is first boosted from below by the scapulas to provide a nesting spot for the chin. Then the nape reaches out of its root and the chin pivots over the deep throat crook, snuggling comfortably down onto the manubrium.

The Taste of Freedom
Of course, soon after you let go of your friend's head (and she yours) it will likely slide forward—don't expect miracles. But you and your friend have laid the foundation and have had the tantalizing taste of freedom in the neck and head. Next, you need to learn to neutralize and move your head from the neck root in poses without the help of a partner.
Start with postures that require a neutral head. There are plenty of these poses, but choose something simple like Dandasana (Staff Pose) or Tadasana (Mountain Pose), the jumping-off points for other seated forward bends and standing poses, respectively.

If your head and neck still feel a little rootless, and you are not quite ready to practice without support, you can replace your yoga friend with a wall. Start by standing with your back torso against the wall (and your heels an inch or two away from it) and leaning into the wall so that it firms your scapulas against your back. From here, you can do various things with your hands and arms to intensify your awareness of the neck root and its two channels. For example, you might press your fingertips against the wall at the level of your hips and push the wall toward the floor; these actions help deepen and descend the scapulas to clarify the neck root. Alternatively, you could rest the fingertips of one hand on the top of the sternum, those of the other hand on the inion, and play with sensing the energetic channels.

In any case, adjust your head so it is close to the wall but not touching—that would bring your head too far back and give you, I suppose, a backward head. Stay for a couple of minutes to fix this position in your awareness, then step away from the wall and stand in Tadasana for a while longer, enjoying your newfound neutrality.

Back on the Mat
For your next several asana sessions, whether in class or at home, keep your head in this neutral, Tadasana-like position in whatever poses you're practicing. You might discover that this is quite challenging. You can have your teacher eyeball your head position in, say, Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) and help you make needed adjustments with verbal cues. When your neck root is primed and ready, add some easy extension and flexion poses to your practice. There are many extended-neck asanas in yoga, like Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I) and the baby backbends, such as Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose) or Ustrasana.
Flexed-neck postures are much rarer. You'll need flexion mostly for Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) and Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose) and its variations—and for asanas like Ardha Navasana (Half Boat Pose) and Paripurna Navasana (Full Boat Pose). You will also need it in your pranayama practice for Jalandhara Bandha, one of yoga's three essential locks (bandhas).

Much of the value of an asana practice is in its enrichment of the quality of your daily life. Once you leave yoga class, you can apply the lessons of your vastly improved head-and-neck relationship to whatever you do. Over time, you'll feel lighter and taller—you may even be taller—and your head and neck will be more integrated with the rest of you, making for a happier body and a calmer mind.

Contributing Editor Richard Rosen teaches yoga in Berkeley and Oakland, California.

Feng Shui Your Bedroom

Feng Shui Your Bedroom

If insomnia is a problem, don't overlook the décor of your bedroom. Ideally, your bedroom should be restful and not used for anything but sex and sleep. Banish all paperwork and the television to other rooms, keeping clutter to a minimum. Get the sleep of your dreams with these simple feng shui tips for your bedroom.

Furniture, plants, and other objects should never loom or hang over the bed; they can threaten your subconscious mind. Plants should also be alive and green, not dry (suggesting death or morbidity) or spiky (threatening).

As for the bed, place it so your head is either facing north or east—experts disagree on which is best—in a spot where you will not be startled if a family member enters. And don't let junk accumulate under the bed. It can disturb the flow of chi (energy) and affect your sleep.

Color is important. Best is pale pink, peach, or lavender if you are healthy, but pale green or blue if you've been ill or low in energy. Avoid bright colors and busy patterns.

It is also recommended that natural—not synthetic—sheets, blankets, and pillows, the right room temperature, good air circulation, and few mirrors, which create cacophonous visual images.

Rather than a loud, buzzing alarm, greet the morning with Zen chimes, Tibetan bells, chirping birds, relaxing music, an energizing mist of peppermint oil, or a light that brightens gradually to imitate the rising sun.



Gentle Nighttime Routine

Whether it's breathing to slow the heart rate or massage to calm the mind, a simple yogic routine can be effective for a better night's sleep. The next time you have trouble sleeping, follow these simple steps, and observe their soothing wonders:

Know your timing. Institute a regular bedtime; maintaining consistency will help keep your circadian rhythms—the biological changes that happen every 24 hours—steady. Eventually, your body will naturally understand and crave sleep during these hours.

Create a wind-down period. Create space between your busy day and sleep time. Honor your time at home and play relaxing music, or light candles. Think of the yoga precept of pratyahara: Withdraw your senses in order to turn inward.

Strike a pose. Notice how you feel before doing a nighttime yoga routine. Are you wired or tired? If you're amped up, do poses like twists or standing poses to burn off excess energy. If you're tired, do some restorative poses or breathing until you feel more refreshed.

Get warm. Remember to stay toasty while practicing your nighttime poses—have a blanket, socks, and a sweater nearby. Drink a warm cup of herbal tea or take a bath based on your dosha.