DR. JAY KUMAR

"How you choose to breathe determines how you choose to heal, to be, and live!" Learn what medical research affirmingly shows that shifting something as simple as your breath can transform your brain, heal your body, and create genuine happiness. Learn more in the latest podcast with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show. 

Catch all podcasts on my BLOG. 

Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter - docjaykumar   

"How you choose to breathe determines how you choose to heal, to be, and live!" Learn what medical research affirmingly shows that shifting something as simple as your breath can transform your brain, heal your body, and create genuine happiness. Learn more in the latest podcast with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show. 

Catch all podcasts on my BLOG. 

Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter - docjaykumar   

Neuroscience now shows that your brain, just like muscles in your body, is something you can strengthen and improve with practice and training. In fact, more medical research suggests that cultivating the qualities of compassion, empathy, and acceptance in your life can lead to a Healthy Brain, a Healthy Body, and Healthy You! Learn more in the latest podcast with Dr. Jay Kumar on The Doug Stephan Good Day Show. Catch all podcasts on my BLOG. 

Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter - docjaykumar   

Did you know that the emotions of compassion and gratitude are now shown to positively affect your brain and heart and, more importantly, can improve your health! Learn more on the latest podcast with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show.

Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter - docjaykumar  

www.drjaykumar.com
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter – docjaykumar

Dr. Jay Kumar

www.drjaykumar.com
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter – docjaykumar

“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
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter – docjaykumar

"LOVE IS A FREQUENCY, Stay Tuned!"

Download and check out the "The Power of Love" podcast by Dr. Jay Kumar. Tune in every Thursday 6amPT/9amET to hear AWAKE with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show. Catch the show live at www.dougstephan.com

Have an awesome day!

As we celebrate the long Thanksgiving weekend and the beginning of the Holiday season, it's easy to forget the true meaning and purpose of this time of year. Even though Thanksgiving is a North American holiday, its significance is universal regardless of your nationality, spiritual faith, or cultural believes.

For those not familiar with the holiday, Thanksgiving is an annual feast that honors the bounty of the autumn harvest and celebrates the abundance that nature provides. For millennia, both the European and Native American cultures marked the harvest time by giving thanks to the plentitude and nourishment that the earth gives for our livelihood. Eventually the European and Native American traditions merged into what we now know as Thanksgiving. In essence, Thanksgiving is truly much more than a North American holiday, as it is a way for all of us to "give thanks" and to express gratitude for all that we have in life–health, abundance, love, family, friends, and, of course, the traditional Thanksgiving feast.

In our modern culture, Thanksgiving sadly also has become synonymous with shopping and consumerism. Contrary to what we hear and see on TV, billboards, and internet, the essence of the Thanksgiving holiday is not about getting the best deals on Black Friday or to be swept up in the shopping frenzy of the Holidays. Rather, it is a time to pause and reflect on all that truly is of value in life. As I like to say the key to happiness and true joy is, "Not Buy More, Be More!”

However you ultimately choose to mark and honor this Thanksgiving weekend and the upcoming Holidays I invite you to remember their original significance–that is to give thanks and cultivate an attitude of gratitude for all the abundance in our life. In fact, new studies of the brain from neuropsychology state that gratitude is one of the easiest and healthiest ways to experience overall wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit. 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 we have in life can greatly outweigh any sadness, stress, or challenges we might currently experience.

The reason why expressing gratitude has such a strong effect is its ability to connect us to other people. Generally, when we express thanks we acknowledge the actions of others. Being grateful enables us to expand our thoughts away from our own individual concerns so that we remember the joy and happiness that others provide. You can learn more about the Neuroscience of Health & Happiness here.

Basically, when we experience gratitude we hit the proverbial “pause button” in our mind. We shift away from our repetitive thoughts, our worries, and anxiety and begin to focus on happiness, joy, and love. From the perspective of neuroscience, the part of our brain that fires when we give thanks is the left pre-frontal cortex, the same area responsible for feeling love and compassion. In addition to boosting your emotional and psychological health, cultivating an attitude of gratitude has physical benefits. As we experience greater levels of gratitude, neurotransmitters in the brain release chemicals to stave off stress, depression, and anxiety.

One of the easiest ways that I find to generate feelings of gratitude is to make a list of all that you’re grateful for in life. Your list might include your family, spouse, partner, children, pet, or possibly even your health, the beauty of nature, and the very fact of being alive. Make copies of this list and place them by your bed, on your office desk, or on the fridge, or places that are most visible to you. Every time you look at this list, repeat out loud to yourself one thing on your list that you are grateful for in life. Not only verbalize the statement but truly feel it. Envision that person, place, or idea in your thoughts and connect to the emotion of gratitude and joy that accompany the memory. Like with our body, neuroscience also states that our mind is also a muscle that can be trained and developed. As we cultivate greater gratitude for what we have in life, we automatically experience a healthy attitude toward life! Read full article on the neuroscience and psychology of gratitude here.

As you enjoy and commemorate this Thanksgiving weekend always remember all that you're grateful for in life. Never forget that the greatest gift is actually your presence in the world. According to the eloquent words of Melody Beattie,"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

Keep on Living Your Light® as you enjoy this Thanksgiving weekend in gratitude, abundance, joy, and wellbeing.

Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter – docjaykumar