Wholesome Resources for Mind-Body Mastery through Yoga, Meditation, Guided Imagery, Stress Relief, Wellness
Are you feeling the peace and joy of the season? Hopefully taking time for deeper quiet and reflection, and for setting the stage for renewal in the new year?
Actually, it’s too common for there to be extra stress and busyness for nearly everybody during this amazing season. It’s a particularly alarming time for folks who already are running on fumes.
Eye Movements
After a while, eye muscles tire out and it becomes harder to focus. To prevent this from happening, you can practice these eye movements. They will strengthen your eye muscles and eyesight and stimulate the brain. Visual, auditory, and sensory perception can increase. Do them sitting up, standing, or lying down.
Here’s How
Chidakasha: Quieting the Mind by Stilling the Eyes Using the sense of sight is a very effective centering technique. Doing so can have a beneficial effect on the brain as well. Have you ever noticed that you can still see even with your eyes closed? All that is needed is to try. You might see it as darkness, designs, colors, spots, or a combination. It does not matter. What matters is passively focusing your attention on what is being seen and watching it as it changes. Have fun watching whatever appears as it comes and goes on the inside screen of your closed eyelids. This brings you into the moment and quickly settles down mental restlessness. Yogis refer to watching this inner space of consciousness as Chidakasha. ( Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation & Stress Relief, page 115)
Julie Lusk, MEd, E-RYT 500, has more than 35 years of expertise in stress relief, yoga, relaxation training, guided imagery, and meditation as an international author, recording artist, and workshop leader. Julie is the author of Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief, Yoga Meditations, two volumes of 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery and Inner Healing, and Desktop Yoga®. Her audio downloads and CDs include Wholesome Relaxation, Power of Presence, Yoga Nidra Essentials, Blue Moon Rising, and many others. Learn more at WholesomeResources.comWhy struggle to get to sleep or stay asleep at night when you can sleep well with yoga nidra? Sleep is vital to our health and sleep experts tell
us we need an average of eight hours at a shot. Even if there’s time for sleep, many of us have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, interfering with good health and causing frustration.
Listen to this specialized yoga nidra practice especially made for going to sleep (CD or digital download). It’s from Julie’s new book, Yoga Nidra Meditations: 24 Scripts for True Relaxation
Clear the deck for a good nights sleep by releasing physical, mental and emotional tension. You’ll love waking up in the morning feeling refreshed.
Enjoy using relaxation skills, specialized breathing techniques, mindfulness, and more. You’ll enjoy the soothing Native American style flute music followed by the calming sound of ocean waves, Mother Nature’s delightful lullaby.
Get copies of Sleep Well ~ Yoga Nidra for yourself and your friends and family here.
Sleep Well | Yoga Nidra CD Use deep relaxation, soothing flute music & ocean waves to go to sleep. "I slept like a log." Downloads available. By Julie Lusk, Yoga Nidra Meditations author.
Sweet dreams!
Julie Lusk, MEd, E-RYT 500, has over 35 years of expertise in stress relief, yoga, relaxation training, guided imagery, and meditation as an international author, recording artist, and workshop leader.
Julie is the author of
Guess what? Just like we need air to breathe and vitamin D from the sun, we really need to be in physical touch with our Earth to be healthy 
and happy. The term is earthing or grounding.
So, kick you shoes off and go barefoot. Not only does it feel great, doing so releases muscular tension and calms your nerves by regulating your nervous system. It’s fantastic for your heart too. That means it will lift your spirits and help your heartbeat and blood pressure. We truly need our Earth more than you realize. Here’s why…
We are bombarded by EMFs (electrical magnetic fields) and RFs (radio frequencies) from WIFI and our devices with no way to discharge this overload of energy. This can cause harmful results. To reverse this for better health, it’s important we spend time earthing, also called grounding.
“The Earth’s surface contains a limitless number of free electrons that are continually replenished through solar radiation and lightning strikes; your body naturally absorbs these particles when you make physical contact with the ground” reports Dr Sinatra, MD.
He says, “In the body, these electrons have an anti-inflammatory effect because they reduce the free-radical activity that causes inflammation and chronic pain. (If you remember your high school science, electrons are negatively charged. Inflammation-causing free radicals are positively charged, which means the additional free electrons neutralize the free radicals.) The energy of the free electrons gained through grounding also helps keep your body’s innate electrical circuitry properly balanced. All of these effects of grounding are extremely beneficial to heart health.”
This disconnection is a result of our modern lifestyle. A big reason is that wearing rubber and plastic soled shoes blocks us from the Earth’s surface and is strongly associated with an increase of inflammation, oxidative stress, and nervous system malfunctions. No wonder there’s been high increases in insomnia, heart disease, diabetes and other problems related to inflammation.
A simple solution is to stand outside on the ground barefoot … actually touching our skin to the ground. More options include standing on cement (not blacktop/asphalt). Brick, stone, or using a specialized pad, or a sheet made especially for grounding work as well.
Dr Sinatra said not to keep smartphones in one’s front pants pocket because doing so for only 20 minutes lowers testosterone by 400% in males. Avoid holding smartphones directly against your ear too. Keep it an inch or so away or use speakerphone. Lower your risk by not using it while it’s plugged in as well. Write your text then set it on a desk before pressing send. Small changes make big differences.
Isn’t it remarkable that our Earth protects us from harm and gives us better health. Let’s not forget that’s really where we get our food and water too. What a connection, eh? So, kick your shoes off and find out for yourself! It’s beautiful out there – there’s nothing to be afraid of.
More resources for you
The Direct Current (DC) circuit of energy flows through every part of the natural universe, including plants, animals, human beings, and the surface of our entire planet, creating a Global Electrical Circuit. This natural DC energy is what the human body uses to function. Everything from the beating of our heart to the movement of our muscles to our brain’s ability to think require DC energy.
Studies suggest that becoming a part of the earth’s global DC circuit enhances our conductive health. This has far reaching implications to all our organ systems that function off of DC energy and conductivity. This includes, but is not limited to our central and peripheral nervous system, our musculoskeletal system, and our cardiovascular system.
Grounding instantly connects us to this natural energy circuit. It plugs us into this healing energy. Learn more in this video.
Reference: The Real Reason Grounding Works by Laura Koniver, MD
15-minute explanation of grounding/earthing called Down to Earth from Big Picture Ranch on Vimeo.
A 7-minute video reviewing the benefits of Earthing/grounding according to medical studies by Dr. Laura Koniver, MD. Learn how long is needed for results.
The Schumann Resonance is 7.83 hertz. This is the frequency of the Earth’s electromagnetic field spectrum, outer space, alpha/theta brain waves (meditative, relaxed, and dreamy), the musical note of C, the Root Chakra /Earth element, and the Sri Yantra. Grounding can connect us to this powerful, healing energy.
Migraine headaches, emotional stress, and other problems can result if we’re ungrounded and shielded from this frequency.
Ancient and modern yogis have said that the Big Bang and deep space sounds like OM. The NASA video below is the sound of a black hole. Amazingly, it is 57 octaves below middle C. Does it sound like an OM to you?
Michael Arloski, Ph.D.,
Corporate Trainer, Professional Coach, Bellevue, Colorado
”In the professions of health care, wellness, training and public speaking we are all looking for an individual who combines professional qualities with personal characteristics in a genuine way. Julie Lusk is such a person and professional. Her message is received by others with openness because her very being fosters trust, love and respect. In creating a team of presenters for an impactful training for professionals, Julie Lusk would be one of my top five choices in the nation.”
Marianella Machado
College professor and composer
Julie, I would like you to know that your books, CD’s and handy-tips-to-use from the Wholesome Resources Newsletter have been extremely helpful to me. Since I have no time to attend yoga sessions at the yoga schools in Kentucky, your books, Desktop Yoga and Yoga Meditations have been my only way to practice yoga. I enjoy doing your yoga exercises because you present and explain them in a very clear and easy way to follow.
Your CD’s have also been very helpful to me. For example, Power of Presence CD has been a great way to control my physical stress as well as to enhance my meditation techniques.
Moreover, all of your handy-tips to use from the Wholesome Resources Newsletter are helping me to maintain an organized plan for improving my physical and mental health, because they make me focus my attention on what I need to do to feel better. I am looking forward to your new Mind-Body Wellness eBookCollection.
I am extremely grateful to you for your wisdom, knowledge, and kindness. You certainly are a very gifted spiritual person. May God continue blessing you with many more gifts.
Christopher Baxter, Architect, Yoga Trainer, Wellness Educator
Founding director, AtmaYoga Educational Services and Whole Human Wellness
If you, like so many of us, are faced with enormous challenges at this time, the necessity of a self-care approach to wellness is obvious. Your time invested in reading, reflecting on, and practicing the practical methods Julie provides will bring enormous relief, inspiration and renewed strength to your entire life and all those who are in your life.
As a yoga teacher and wellness educator for over 30 years, I can say with confidence that the up-to-date information and practices Julie has presented presented in her Mind-Body Wellness Collection are of the highest caliber. As a highly qualified expert in wellness, she has assembled a terrific collection and created a brilliant synthesis of their complimentary aspects. Any one of them, taken alone, will bring lasting benefits. Having them arranged in such a well organized system synergistically increases their transformational impact.
This is a powerful body of work.
→ Mike Sterling, Director of Human Resources
The Art Institute of Ohio writes:
Dear Julie: Thanks for sharing the DARE to Relax session with our staff. I have received several positive comments about it, especially the “2- Hour Nap in 10-minutes” segment.
Our staff received several valuable tips on reducing stress and the consequences of stress at work and in our personal lives. It was definitely time well spent.
→ Marianne Lang
Julie’s classes are a combination of challenge, relaxation and physical fine-tuning that are dramatically changing my life for the better.
→ Debbie Jackson
Julie’s yoga classes inspire the child within and brings to the mat asanas (postures) that touch the heart, joy that lifts the spirit and mindfulness to center the self promoting a smile to begin each new day.
“Yoga Meditations offers a wonderful and generous assortment of simple but powerful, eminently practical practices to guide and empower its readers, from beginner to sophisticate.”
→ Belleruth Naparstek Creator -Health Journeys guided imagery
Variety is the spice of life….and meditation, October 19, Milwaukee, WI
Yoga Meditations by Julie Lusk is a gem of a book – chock full of inspirational meditations for beginners as well as more seasoned practitioners. The variety here is nice – everything from breathing meditations to chakra meditations. You don’t have to be a yoga student to utilize these as they are appropriate for anyone. As a yoga instructor, this book helps to bring more diversity to the meditations at the end of our classes. My students have been really enjoying them.
This book comes with a CD, which features some of the meditations in the book. It is a nice bonus.
Wonderful resource!, June 5, 2008
| By | Kathy Bingham (Los Angeles, California) – |
Yoga Meditations is a wonderful book! I teach yoga and stress management at the college level and I use this book in both classes multiple times during the semester. The author Julie Lusk takes concepts that we as teachers study for years to understand (like the subtle anatomy or differing forms of meditation) and she explains them in a clear, concise and logical manner without oversimplifying them, but making the ideas accessible to teachers and students alike. She has invited other respected experts in mind-body techniques to contribute to the many guided exercises offered and the book also serves as a great resource guide.
I’d give Desktop Yoga 6+ stars if I could!, October 23
|
Desktop Yoga is a God-send,
This is a wonderful resource that helps me get through every day at work. My headaches and neck aches are better since I started using the yoga stretches and breathing techniques. It has taught me how to powernap for relief from feeling exhausted, and has given me lots of tips on how to cope with change, handle stress, and enjoy life more. A lot of helpful information is packed into the useful book. Thank you very much.
Volume 1
Finally! A comprehensive Imagery guide!, April 6
I use this book all the time., December 27
This is one of my favorite books because it is such a helpful resource to help me relax and benefit from guided visualization in incredible and powerful ways. Not only that, I use it all the time with my stress management, yoga and meditation clients. This book doesn’t get old.
Hurrah for Volume Two of 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery
December 27, 2001
I am extremely pleased with this book and am now the proud owner of both volumes of this book. It is one of those books that I use all the time, which says a lot. It helps me personally and is a terrific resource when I teach stress management sessions.
