The key to authentic health and happiness may actualy be in how you choose to breathe. Enjoy the latest podcast by Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show explaining the science, spirituality, and the healing power of the breath!
Remember to BREATHE!
Dr. Jay Kumar
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On the recent AWAKE with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show we discussed the tragic loss of Whitney Houston and the heavy price we pay when we fail to find the value within each of us. A really great show that will leave you empowered, awakened and aware that the greatest love of all comes from within. In the immortal words of the beautiful and divine Whitney Houston:
I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadow
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all
Always remember how beautiful, joyous and amazing you are. Never be afraid to let your light shine fully and brightly, for the world would be a much dimmer place without you in it!
Dr. Jay Kumar
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Hear the latest podcast by Dr. Jay Kumar from the Doug Stephan Good Day Show as we explore how to "invest your health & wellness capital and increase the value of your happiness portfolio!"
Catch AWAKE with Dr. Jay Kumar every Thursday morning 6am PT/9am ET live at www.dougstephan.com, or download the latest podcast from ITunes.
Dr. Jay Kumar
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“Almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know, everyone you see, everyone you talk to. Only a few people are awake and they live in constant total amazement.” – Movie Joe versus the Volcano
Learn what you can do to be part of the great global awakening on the planet! Download the most recent AWAKE with Dr. Jay Kumar podcast from the Doug Stephan Good Day Show. Tune in every Thursday 6am PT/9am ET to hear Dr. Jay Kumar help you to become awake in body, mind, heart and spirit!
Dr. Jay Kumar
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Happy 2012! So how many of you who made a New Year’s resolution are still keeping up with it? Believe it or not, studies show that 90% of you will break or abandon your New Year’s resolutions by the second part of January! Do you wonder why that is? Well, I have a couple of ideas. One reason deals with language and the word “resolution” itself. The other key entails your brain and the emotional place from which you make your resolutions. In fact your language, brain, and emotions all are factors in determining if you’ll succeed or succumb to your New Year’s resolutions. Curious to learn how you can stick to your New Year’s goals?
Let’s start with the power of language and thoughts and explore the word “resolution.” When you break down this word, a “resolution” is in reality a “re-solution” When you “re-solve” to do something, you’re generally “re-solving” a problem or a situation. So if your New Year’s resolution sounds something like, “I resolve to eat more properly, I resolve to quit smoking, I resolve to exercise more regularly, etc.” the underlying message is that you’re attempting to “solve a problem” in your life and judge aspects of yourself that you dislike. While I agree that all of these resolutions are worthwhile to make, if you’re making them all from an emotional and mental place of low self-esteem, self-judgment, and self-pity, it only makes it that much harder to continue with your goals and intentions for wanting greater health and happiness.
This idea of making resolutions from a psychological state of negative thinking connects to the other piece regarding your brain and emotions. The latest findings in neuroscience state that your brain is biologically wired to remember more negative thoughts and emotions over positive ones. The neuropsychologist, Dr. Rick Hanson, sums it up nicely by stating, “The mind is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones.” I’m sure many of you can relate to this idea, but why is that your minds tend to remember the painful, negative experiences but not so much the joyous, happy moments? There’s actually a neurobiological answer that has to do with something called a “negativity bias.” At the University of Washington a study revealed how a negative experience remains wired into your brain more strongly than a positive one. In fact, it takes up to five positive experiences to outweigh a negative thought!
So whenever you perceive aspects of your life as a problem, your consciousness automatically perceives them as negative or unwanted aspects of yourself that you have to rid in order to be perfect, happy, etc. This type of thinking only generates and perpetuates low self-esteem and feelings of unworthiness that in turn compound your attitude of failure and frustration. So it’s no wonder that you might lack commitment and abandon your hopes and dreams that you made with enthusiasm at the New Year. So what’s the answer to stop your unhealthy thoughts of shame or guilt when it comes to making New Year’s resolutions to aspects you perceive as problems in your life?
I invite you to consider the possibility that rather than making a New Year’s “re-solution” you make a New Year’s “re-affirmation” for what you want to manifest in 2012! How does that sound to you? Say to yourself – “I’m making a New Year’s REAFFIRMATION!” When you say this phrase, you begin to “affirm” aspects of your life that are already great and working for you. By making a reaffirmation you focus on all the empowered positive choices you’ve already made, rather than on “re-solving” all the problems you believe exist in your life.
In the fields of cognitive psychology and neurolinguistics, the language and words that you use have a very powerful impact on how you act and how you live. In neuroscience, this concept is known as creating a “neural net.” The thoughts and words that you choose to believe about yourself rewire your brain physiology eventually creating a neural net that reinforces these patterns of consciousness. In essence, your thoughts literally influence your health and wellbeing. As the Buddha eloquently stated, “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make our world.” This quote is relevant to our discussion. When you shift your thoughts and language from “re-solving” a problem to “re-affirming” an intention, you in turn alter your consciousness from viewing your life as a series of pesky problems to one of joyous affirmations.
So here are two great exercises you can do. The first is to reword your New Year’s resolutions into reaffirmations. Taking the examples of resolutions I used earlier, you can rephrase them by saying, “I reaffirm to continue being happy, healthy and to love myself in 2012 by eating more properly, by quitting smoking, and by exercising more regularly.” Can you feel a difference in the language of this new affirmation from the previous resolution? The fundamental shift is that your reaffirmations begin by “re-affirming” the positive and joyous aspects of your life, which in turn make it easier to create the changes you want.
The second tool, which addresses the “negativity bias,” is to make a list of five aspects or qualities in your life that you already do well. If you recall it can take up to five positive thoughts and emotions to outweigh an unhealthy one. I encourage you to have this list near you at all times by keeping it on your cell phone, in your wallet or purse, or on your office desk. This is your “affirmation” list, which will help alleviate any frustration and disappointment you might have as you move forward in your goals for 2012. Repeat these affirmations to yourself on a daily basis, or whenever you feel the need.
These exercises of rewording your resolutions to reaffirmations and of creating your “affirmation list” help you to focus on those aspects of life that empower you, instead of shame or guilt you. In turn, cultivating more emotionally and mentally healthy thoughts creates the foundation for more transformation to occur in your life. In just a short time, you will quickly learn to use these newly created New Year’s reaffirmations and begin the gradual steps to realize your goals. The key word here is gradual. Deep and profound change rarely happens instantly or overnight. So be patient and compassionate to yourself, knowing the great news is that you can enjoy your New Year’s reaffirmations all throughout 2012! Watch the full video clip on Youtube here to learn more!
So if you’ve already broken your New Year’s resolutions, I’m here to tell you that there’s still hope. The answer for you to fulfill your dreams and goals for the year and beyond is to transform your New Year’s “resolutions” to New Year’s “reaffirmations.” Have a wonderful day and an amazing 2012, as you continue Living Your Lightâ with your new reaffirmations!
Dr. Jay Kumar
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HAPPY NEW YEAR! As you move forward into the New Year, I ask, “How many of you would like to be happy and healthy in 2012?” Check out the latest podcast of AWAKE with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show as we discsuss how you can integrate these "5 Tips for Health and Happiness in 2012!"
Keep on Living Your Light® in health and happiness in the New Year.
Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
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“Don’t Buy More, Just Be More!” As much as our culture wants you to believe, material success does not equate to happiness. As I discussed in “Being Happy during the Happy Holidays,” authentic happiness cannot be measured by a price tag. In fact, researchers Ed Diener of the University of Illinois and Martin Seligman from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010 published findings in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest that while U.S. wealth has tripled over the past 50 years, our national wellbeing and happiness have been flat. It’s just as the famous line from The Beatles goes, “Money can’t buy me love.” While having material and financial stability are vital for your way of life, the point is that the real indicators for happiness are not found in your bank account, stock portfolio, or the size of your car or house. Rather, focus on what truly is of value in your life—family, friends, loved ones, and enjoying life! Studies conducted by Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky at UC Riverside show that people who are happiest also have strong social connections and deep personal relationships with friends and family. We humans are social animals, after all. We need to feel a sense of belonging and connection to the greater whole. So the next time you get stressed, feel anxious about finances, or worry that you can’t afford that luxury car or home, remember that the real treasures in life, the love of our family and friends, are free!
“Gratitude is a Healthy Attitude” Expressing gratitude for what you have, no matter how small it is, can also contribute to your greater health and happiness. In the past few years, scientists now recognize that gratitude is one of the most powerful and healthiest of human emotions. Studies at University of Miami, UC Davis, and other universities successfully demonstrate that remembering to be grateful for what you have in life can greatly outweigh any sadness, stress, or challenges you might currently experience. Further discoveries in neuroscience suggest that when you experience gratitude, the left pre-frontal cortex of the brain, an area that correlates to emotions of love and compassion, begins to activate. As I like to say, “Gratitude turns WHAT YOU HAVE into enough, creates contentment for WHAT IS, and manifests greater joy for WHO YOU ARE!” If you can’t express gratitude for what you already have, how can you expect to be grateful for all the prosperity and abundance that awaits you in 2012! Read more on gratitude in “Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude”
“Practice Compassion and Kindness” As His Holiness the Dalai Lama often says, “If you want to be happy, make others happy!” In the past two decades, research into the human brain has discovered that we possess a peculiar thing known as a mirror neuron. Scientists know believe that these mirror neurons are the reason why humans, along with certain primates, elephants, dogs, and dolphins, are biologically wired to experience the emotions of others. Mirror neurons suggest that the human brain has evolved to experience both the pain and euphoria of others. It is this biological conditioning that may account for human empathy and compassion. Brain scans reveal that expressing more compassion and kindness helps you develop these mirror neurons, and it is this notion of compassion and empathy toward others that ultimately allows you to experience greater happiness and wellbeing on a daily basis. So the more kindness you practice toward people, the happier they become and the happier you become! Learn more about mirror neurons and the mind in “The Neuroscience of Health and Happiness."
“Keep Thinking Good Thoughts” Did you know that it takes at least FIVE good thoughts to outweigh a negative one! Neuropsychologist Dr. Rick Hanson states, “The mind is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones.” I’m sure many of you can relate to this idea, but why is that our minds tend to remember the painful, negative experiences but not so much the joyous, happy moments? There’s actually a neurobiological answer that has to do with something called a “negativity bias.” At the University of Washington a study revealed how a negative experience remains wired into your brain more strongly than a positive one. In fact, it takes up to five positive experiences to outweigh a negative thought! Neurobiologists believe that this “negative bias” of the human brain was an evolutionary trait that helped early humans survive by allowing the brain to react to, remember, and recall life-threatening experiences. Imagine you were an early human chased by a lion; your brain would store that information into a neural net, recalling that memory as a survival mechanism. The lesson is that in order to experience authentic happiness, you actively have to focus on the positive to overcome the negative experiences in your life that your brain has imprinted into your consciousness. Learn more about how your psychology influences your biology in the“The Healing Power of Thought.”
“Just Breathe!” One of the simplest and most effective tools you have to alleviate stress and create more happiness in your life is to create some sacred, personal time in your day. I find that one of the easiest ways to do this is to focus on your breath for as little as five minutes a day. Dr. James S. Gordon, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Georgetown University Medical School, states, “Slow, deep breathing is probably the single best anti-stress medicine we have.” You may be surprised to learn that doing mindful, calm breathing exercises for just five minutes a day can begin to shift your emotional and mental health. In the growing field of mind-body medical research, studies show that focusing on your breathing, specifically on the quality and state of your breath, might be the key to unlock your potential for health and happiness. Let’s face it, most of us do shallow breathing, i.e. not connecting our breath deep into the belly. Deep-belly breathing has now been shown in numerous studies to have a significant benefit on your neurophysiology, calming and soothing both your mind and body. When you connect and focus on your breath by taking deep and slow inhalations and exhalations, your nervous system and brain waves begin to come into balance and coherence. When your brain and body are in alignment you tend to cultivate the “four C’s” of calmness, contentment, caring and creativity. Watch the Self-Guided Breathing Video to learn how to alleviate stress and to experience greater happiness in your daily life.
As you begin 2012, a phrase to remember is that “happiness is not something that happens to you, but rather it is something you create.” I hope you enjoy integrating these five tips for happiness and wellbeing into your daily life. For those who would like to cultivate greater health and happiness in 2012, I invite you to join me at the Health, Wellness & Gourmet Living Retreat in the Loire Valley of France May 27-June 2, 2012. Enjoy a week of learning how to implement these tools into your life in the relaxing and healing French countryside with yoga, meditation, gourmet food and wine. Lastly, always remember that you are powerful, whole, amazing, and unique in every way. Never be afraid to let your light shine forth fully and brightly, for the world would be a much dimmer place without you in it! Keep on Living Your Light® in 2012!
Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
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Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope this message finds you all celebrating this sacred and special time of year with joy and abundance. While the Holidays are a time for good cheer and happiness, many of you might be experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, or even panic entering into the Holiday season. Basically, it can sometimes be hard to find the “HAPPY” in the customary “Happy Holiday” greeting. The demands, obligations, holiday travel, coping to be with the family, or perhaps remembering loved ones who are no longer with you, these all can contribute to the Holidays being one of the most stressful and anxious times of year. It is during these tough economic times that you might be additionally burdened with lack of means to celebrate the Holidays, as you once were accustomed. For some of you, this could mean cutting back on gifts for the kids, not having the money to visit your relatives, or quite possibly spending the Holidays literally without a home. All of these factors can make us feel unworthy or ashamed for not having enough!
If this rings a bell for you, please know that despite all the hardship and lack you might experience, I encourage you to be grateful for all that you do have! In our consumerist culture, the Holiday season is predominantly about shopping and gifting. While it’s perfectly fine to do so, we sometimes get trapped into the belief that the larger or more expensive the gift, the greater the expression of love it conveys. Contrary to what we hear and see on TV, billboards, and the internet, this time of year is not about getting the best deals or wanting the perfect present from your partner, spouse, or parent. Rather, it is a time to pause and reflect on all that truly brings value in your life. As I like to say the key to happiness and true joy is, "Don’t Buy More, Just Be More!” A phrase that is even more relevant during the Holidays.
I’d like to share a brief lesson regarding the ancient origin and meaning of the Holiday season. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or partake in the Holiday spirit, there is a very interesting history behind the sacredness of this time of year. Well before Christmas was established to fall every year on Dec. 25th, several early cultures and religions marked this holy time of the year. (In fact, the word holiday derives from the term holy day). It might surprise some to know that the date of Christ’s birth and of Christmas was actually decreed in 350 CE by Pope Julius I to coincide with the ritual celebrations of the indigenous European religions, in the hope to convert them to Christianity. The festival that we today know as Christmas actually has its origins in the Winter Solstice, the day marking the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Around Dec. 21st, ancient people in pre-Christian Europe and the Middle East commemorated this day as the renewal of the sun and the increase of light on the planet.
Another Holiday festival, the Twelve Days of Christmas, also has an astronomical origin. Since the lunar calendar is shorter than the solar calendar by about 11-12 days, this gap between the two systems had to be reconciled in the timekeeping of many cultures. The answer was to make these “twelve days” special and appear to be outside of normal time, a period that was considered to be sacred and holy.
The point is that the Holidays were never meant to be about getting the best shopping deals or having to buy the most expensive present to convey your love to those in your life. As you celebrate the Holiday season, I invite you to remember one very important point—the best gift you can ever give or receive is not measured by what you buy or do; the best gift is sharing your light and joy with others. In essence, despite the tough economic times you might be experiencing right now, always remember to be grateful for what you have in life. The best gifts you can ever give or receive are the love of your family, joy of friends, blessings for good health, and the gratitude for what you have. On an interesting side note, studies now indicate that there is a direct correlation between our level of gratitude with our happiness! A finding from the University of Miami actually suggests that the more gratitude we express, the better is our general state of health and wellbeing. Read full article here.
So as you celebrate the Holidays, whether it’s Christmas or Hanukkah, learn to experience the HAPPY in these Happy Holidays! As I like to say, “Gratitude turns WHAT YOU HAVE into enough, creates contentment for WHAT IS, and manifests greater joy for WHO YOU ARE!”
Have a beautiful, joyous, abundant Holiday season as you keep on Living Your Light® with gratitude, abundance, and plentitude for all that you have.
Dr. Jay Kumar
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I’ll give an example of just how powerful our thoughts can be on our brain and body. Scientists at Columbia University conducted an experiment where volunteers were connected to a PET (positron emission tomography) as part of a study to see how neurochemicals in the brain react to pain in the body. The people in the experiment received a pain-producing stimulus of minor heat on their arm. As predicted, the brain registered the pain and released opioids, a neurochemical that relieves pain. The same people were then told to apply a lotion on their arm that they believed was a new experimental painkiller, when in actuality it was just simple body lotion. When the volunteers received the same stimulus, the scientists discovered that higher levels of opioids were produced and secreted from the brain in response to the pain on the area of the arm where the placebo cream was placed. (Full article here)
To quote Dr. Tor Wager, the leading researcher of the experiment, “These results extend our knowledge of how beliefs and expectations affect the brain's neurochemistry and show that one's mental response to a challenge can affect the brain and body in ways that are relevant to health….Understanding these interactions can pave the way for new treatments that are informed by knowledge of mind-body interactions.” In essence this amazing research now validates the adage that our psychology does indeed influence our biology!
The point here is that science is only now beginning to understand the power of human thought, an idea that has existed for millennia in indigenous medical system and in spiritual traditions throughout human history. I’ve always believed that the next major scientific breakthrough will occur when we truly understand the vast capacity of human consciousness and how we ALL ARE HEALERS! As Dr. W. Ross Adey of the Brain Research Institute at UCLA rightfully declares, “The ultimate creative capacity of your brain may be, for all practical purposes, infinite.” I would like to amend his statement by saying, “The ultimate healing capacity of your brain may be, for all practical purposes, infinite.”
Always remember just how amazing, and incredible you are. The key to your health and happiness is to cultivate more empowering thoughts, intentions, words and emotions as part of your daily life. I will discuss more ways in which we can do this in the next blog. Until then, keep on Living Your Light® as you keep on Believing In Your Light!
Dr. Jay Kumar
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