Consider how our effort to change originates with our intentions in this short post by Elisha Goldstein What are your intentions for 2012?

Acupuncture / acupressure, yoga, massage & mediation top Prevention Magazine’s 2011 list of stress-busters & preventative health therapies.

Great little explanation of mindfulness meditation by Ed and Deb Shapiro describing how we can access our inner peace even when things aren’t going our way!

When we consciously grow into our human potential, our world reflects it! You’ll love this short piece by Deepak Chopra!

As reported in this article by the Associated Press , Bernice Bates, age 91, of Pinellas Park, Florida, is now officially the world’s oldest yoga teacher. She’s been practicing for 50 years! Some of her students are in their 80’s. Wonderful article about this health-giving, life enhancing practice. Do it! It’s good for you!

This is a great article from the HeartMath Institute which includes a handy and useful 3-step exercise you can use anytime you need to destress. It’s so good I’m thinking of including it as part of my Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. One of the core skills of mindfulness is simply to stop and notice. Begin practicing the 3-step exercise described in this article - stop, notice, and ease - and see how your symptoms of stress begin to respond.

I had the pleasure of meeting Kelly Evers of Fort Myers the other evening at the Inaugural gathering of the Mindful Business Action Alliance. Kelly has designed a clever product that can help us with our “informal” mindfulness practice called Stress Release Reminders. They are small, easily removable (and moveable) stickers with the “Stress Release” logo that you can put on your bathroom mirror, your rearview mirror, your computer, on your refrigerator, washer, cell phone - anywhere. When you see one, it’s your a reminder to notice your breath, become aware of the sensations in the body, notice that you’re “thinking” instead of “being”, and let the breath bring the mind back to the body and the present moment. Takes only a few seconds here and there throughout your day, but such a healthy and life-enhancing skill to strengthen. These reminders can bring your informal practice to life - daily life! Thanks for a great idea Kelly!

Wall Street Journal Nov. 15, 2011 How you think about pain can have a major impact on how it feels. That’s the intriguing conclusion neuroscientists are reaching as scanning technologies let them see how the brain processes pain That’s also the principle behind many mind-body approaches to chronic pain that are proving surprisingly effective in clinical trials. Read the full article here.