At Only Positive News, we’ve addressed the importance and power of physical touch. But it bears repeating. Why? Because in today’s world, we become increasingly distant from one another physically. We’re all too aware of personal space (which matters - don’t get me wrong!) but to a point where we don’t embrace…embracing.

What can you do today to improve your health and the health of loved ones? A simple hug may do the trick:

Researchers from the University of Carolina study also found that hugging instigates an elevated release of oxytocin, which is known as the “bonding” or “cuddle” hormone and prompts loving and caring feelings. Some studies have shown that it also reduces blood pressure. Another study that took place in 2000 showed that hugging babies while they were given blood tests made them cry less and kept their heart rates steadier. Both elevated levels of cortisol and high blood pressure have been linked to various diseases, including heart disease, so not only does hugging feel great, it’s good for our hearts, too.

Source: Gimundo

In our world, who can manage a nap? It seems almost childish, doesn’t it? But we all know how deeply rewarding they are. And research recently proves that some sleep in the afternoon also increases productivity. But didn’t we always know this, somewhere in the recesses of our minds?:

Researchers at University of California, Berkeley, asked a group of volunteers to participate in a memorization task the morning, then a second one in the evening. Some of the subjects were given a quiet room to take a 100-minute nap in during the afternoon, while others were not. The difference was stunning: The nappers scored an average of 20 percentage points higher than those who didn’t have the sleep advantage.

“It’s not simply enough to sleep after learning,” study co-author Matthew Walker told LiveScience. “It turns out you also need to sleep before learning.”

The study found that our mental abilities slip dramatically as the day wears on if we’re not allowed an opportunity to rest up: Non-nappers did 12 percent worse on the evening test than they did in the morning session. In contrast, those who were able to sleep showed a 10 percent improvement on the evening test compared to their performance that morning.

Walker and his fellow researchers believe that electric charges known as “sleep spindles” that occur during NREM sleep are responsible for the dramatic boost. The spindles work to transfer freshly-gained knowledge from the hippocampus, where memories are made, to the prefrontal cortex, where long-term memories are stored.

“It’s almost like clearing out your informational inbox of your e-mail so you can start to receive new e-mails the next day,” he said.

So if you want to get ahead, make the time for a nap. “Sleep is doing something very active for things like learning and memory,” says Walker. “I think for us as a society to stop thinking of sleep as a luxury rather than a biological necessity is going to be wise.”

Source: Gimundo

"You grow up the day you have your first real laugh -- at yourself." - Ethel Barrymore

You ability to laugh at yourself is usually in direct proportion with your self-esteem. When you feel good about yourself, it’s easier to laugh at your “flaws.” This therapist suggests some fun ways to remind yourself that flaws can be funny.

David Granirer, PsychoTherapist/Stand-Up Comic, suggests a “contrary attitude” exercise for finding the humor in your life and using it to build self-esteem. You take something about yourself or your life that you consider negative, talk about how much you love it, and why you love it.

For example, I went through a period of misplacing my car keys. Instead of belittling my behavior, I remarked, “I don’t mind frantically looking for my car keys. I love the challenge of a scavenger hunt, and the thrill of racing against the clock to be on time.”

Separating “what you do” from “who you are” provides the distance you need to find the humor in your situation and Q-TIP (Quit Taking It Personal). Our level of self-esteem is often associated with what we are capable of doing, or by our achievements. When we don’t meet our own expectations, the negative self-talk we inflict upon ourselves results in lower self-esteem.

After my brain injury, the planning and preparation of meals was difficult and exhausting. The failed attempts were hard on my self-esteem. For years I felt like I was failing as a wife and mother, in the kitchen. Joking about my loss of cooking ability, helps me accept myself, just as I am.

“I used to be a good cook. Now, it’s good if I cook!”

The ability to laugh at ourselves allows us the opportunity to embrace our flaws, and promotes self-acceptance. It does not include harmful putdowns, ridicule or negative sarcasm. Nor are we advertising that we are defective, rather we are demonstrating that we are human.

Humor is a positive coping mechanism that not only improves our mood, it builds our self-esteem. Unfortunately, we often resort to all kinds of unhealthy coping mechanisms like drinking, smoking, eating, overworking, etc. to make ourselves feel good. While these habits offer temporary boosts, they further undermine our self-esteem.

“I may do stupid things, but I am not stupid!”

Remember, it’s not just what you do that defines who you are. More over, it’s how you handle what you do, that defines who you really are.

Source: Ezine

Most of us have moments of feeling stuck, whether it’s in an unhealthy relationship or a dead-end job or just the “stuckness” that is depression. The interesting part? Often we can feel profoundly stuck when all it takes is a quick, little budge to get moving again.

Here are few easy and accessible techniques:

1. Get outside. Simply the act of being outside is enough to, at the very least, shift that sense of stuckness. A friend and a colleague suggests, “Stare at the sky for a minute. Sounds simple enough, right? You’ll be surprised what it does for you. It reminds you of a universe outside of yourself, not the busy little universe in your mind!”

2. Breathe. I told you these suggestions are simple…but I promise you, they work! Our breathing is one of the first things to suffer when we’re depressed or anxious. For one minute, simply focus on taking deep breaths, where you see your belly moving (but not your shoulders rising). It’s grounding and brings you back to the here and now.

3. Eat. Good food is grounding and nutritive to the body and the soul. Take a moment during your next mealtime to eat consciously and with gratitude. Often, people who suffer from anxiety don’t realize the correlation between diet and their state of mind. Take the time to see the connection and eat a healthful meal. Relax afterward.

4. Cry Crying is a vastly therapeutic expression. A minute’s worth of crying may be worth more than an hour’s worth of therapy or a capsule worth of medication. Many times, we’re feeling stuck because emotions are bottled up inside of us. Crying is a natural and easy release. Put on a sad song, watch a sad movie. Allow those emotions to come out via tears.

I just returned from my high school graduation and boy, my head was spinning! It’s so strange and wonderful to see so many familiar faces. Yet also emotionally evocative. It’s as if you’re beemed back in time and relive and re-experience feelings of yesterday. - no easy emotional task.

So what did I do to process it? Simple. I went for one of my “power walks.” Now, I’m not talking about power walking in the traditional exercise sense. It was a spiritual power walk.

The air was cold and brisk, the winter sun shining brightly. As I walked, I kept an intention in mind: clear your head, let the thoughts blow away in the cold breeze, breathe, enjoy the now.

Simple, right? For me, this “power walk” helped me mentally digest a busy weekend, regroup and return to myself.

So the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed (especially as the holiday season approaches!), never underestimate the power of a good walk!

Walk your Mind Away

An interesting story of an artist who finds that paint no longer works for him:

Artist Federico Uribe was born in Bogata, Colombia in 1962, then moved to Cuba, Mexico, Great Britain, and his present location - Miami. By abandoning the traditional medium of paint and using common objects in new ways, he feels he creates works that “communicate joy, beauty and love,” according to his website. View a slideshow of his art: today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40025950

Amazing art on a shoestring At first glance these colorful pictures look like regular paintings -- but closer inspection reveals the detailed artwork is made from shoelaces that are painstakingly arranged and pinned to the canvas. The stunningly intricate creations are the work of Colombian artist Federico Uribe. This portait of a man with a sunflower, "Ars Poetica," is Uribe's personal favorite.

Source: Happy News

Today, I’ve decided to find “across the board” good, instructional life quotes. I think we could all stand to benefit from that knowledge…”catch all” quotes, if you will!

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.  ~Thomas à Kempis, Imitation of Christ, c.1420

You’ve got a lot of choices.  If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you’re not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice.  ~Steven D. Woodhull

What saves a man is to take a step.  Then another step.  It is always the same step, but you have to take it.  ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand and Stars, 1939, translated from French by Lewis Galantière

Remember, if you’re headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns!  ~Allison Gappa Bottke

Anyone can carry his burden, however hard, until nightfall. Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day. Anyone can live sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely, till the sun goes down. And this is all life really means.  ~Robert Louis Stevenson

If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.  ~Jim Rohn

In what you say of another, apply the test of kindness, necessity and truth, and let nothing pass your lips without a 2/3 majority.  ~Liz Armbruster

See everything; overlook a great deal; correct a little.  ~Pope John XXIII

Give thanks for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow.  ~Fernanda Miramontes-Landeros

You will turn over many a futile new leaf till you learn we must all write on scratched-out pages.  ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic’s Notebook, 1960

Now that it’s all over, what did you really do yesterday that’s worth mentioning?  ~Coleman Cox

Be kind to your shadow.  ~Rebecca Lawless

Robert Louis Stevenson

Well, not that you need to know ways to foster trust, right?

According to the “experts”—sociologists, psychologists, economists, political scientists—trust is based on expectation. To the degree you believe you can expect a certain response from someone, you trust him. To the degree you believe he will reciprocate at some point in the future in some (often undefined) way, you trust him. Of course, past experience—with the person in question or with others—will affect that confidence, but in the here and now, certain behaviors and visual cues can also influence if and how much you trust someone:

1. Familiarity. The more contact you have with someone, the more information you collect about him or her. The more information you have, the more confident you can be in your expectations.

2. Resemblance. If someone looks, dresses, or acts like you, you’re more likely to believe his or her actions and reactions will be similar to your own. A 2002 study at a Canadian university showed that people are more likely to trust someone whose facial features resemble theirs.

3. Consistency. The more someone behaves with consistency, the better you’re able to establish patterns and form expectations.

4. Punctuality. If someone is regularly on time, it not only signals consistency, but also general conscientiousness toward other people.

5. Flexibility. Social-exchange theorists have found that people are more likely to trust someone who does not try to explicitly negotiate or force a binding agreement. (Think of the last car salesman you encountered.)

6. Discretion. The ability to keep a secret and exercise tact will always inspire trust.

7. Transparency. The flip side of discretion is transparency. We want someone to keep our secrets, but not her own. Self-disclosure builds trust.

8. Competence. In the workplace, nothing inspires trust more than getting the job done right.

9. Engagement. Trust is based on an understood reciprocity. If someone does not even appear to invest in you, he likely doesn’t have much to lose in betraying you.

10. Face Time. Part of engaging is an effort to make “face time.” A recent study showed that people in the workplace are more likely to trust team members with whom they interact in person more than those they work with via email or videoconference.

11. Facial hair. Another recent study in the Journal of Marketing Communications found that consumers trust pitchmen with beards more than those without. There are limits, however, to the beard-trustworthiness theory. Graphic designer Matt McInerney was only halfway kidding when he made a graphic spectrum of “The Trustworthiness of Beards.”

12. Eye contact (but not too much). This is perhaps the biggest behavioral indicator of trustworthiness. But the quality of the eye contact, observes psychologist Elaine Ducharme, also matters. Is it steely or warm? Too much eye contact can be unnerving.

13. Handshake (not too firm, not too soft). Any businessperson can tell you the importance of a firm handshake in building confidence. However, like eye contact, there is a middle ground. Too firm suggests aggression; too soft suggests passivity.

14. Posture. No one trusts a slouch. A straight back projects an image of strength and confidence.

Of course, while these behaviors and visual cues might inspire trust, they don’t guarantee trustworthiness. As Ducharme wryly reminds, many psychopaths maintain excellent eye contact.

Hershel Walker

I’m going to lecture to you for a moment, so sit down:

If you’re the type who writes off a million physical conditions to “getting older”, be quiet! Stop! When you do that, you send a message to your body and mind that aging equals infirmity. YOU set the aging ball in motion. The reason for most peoples’ aches and pains and weight gain? Guess? Lack of physical activity and eating poorly. NOT simply getting older. So stop with that internal messaging already! Just work on being healthy, flexible and fit.

Check out this guy:

(CNN) — Javier Mendez, a mixed martial arts trainer for 32 years, scoffed when he heard that retired NFL star Herschel Walker, who’s nearing 50, wanted to compete in ultimate fighting.

“Yeah, I didn’t think he could do it,” Mendez said. “I thought it was a joke.”

Walker had been out of football for 12 years. Aging football players tend to get flabby, play golf or relive the spotlight under “Dancing With the Stars.”

But the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Georgia always had an unorthodox streak.

After stints of ballet dancing, Olympic bobsledding, running track and field, gaining a black belt in taekwondo and retiring from a celebrated football career, Renaissance jock Walker has dived into the most physically demanding and controversial sport of his career.

At 48, Walker is training for his second Strikeforce mixed martial arts fight, scheduled for December 4.

“I was in great shape when I was younger,” he said. “This is the toughest thing I’ve ever done. I think that’s the reason I’m in better shape than I’ve ever been in.”

He was chosen to pose naked for ESPN The Magazine’s “The Body” issue, out last week, to show his muscular physique.

“I’m going to do something different, to be a little different than the average person,” he said. “You can’t be in the same cookie cutter.”

Walker has never followed the fitness norms.

He eats once a day, skipping breakfast and lunch. After a long, intense day of training, he eats salad and bread for dinner. He doesn’t care for meat or fuss about getting enough protein. Walker’s a vegetarian.

“It’s a mindset — something I’ve been doing for a long time,” he said. “I don’t worry about protein. I don’t worry about all that. I’m from old school. I grew up in south Georgia. They didn’t worry about cholesterol or protein. They went out and worked and lived a long time, so I don’t put a lot of worries in my mind. I just get it done.”

Sometimes, Walker doesn’t have an appetite and will go through seven hours of wrestling, kickboxing, sparring and practicing jujitsu without having eaten for three or four days.

“It’s just unbelievable,” said Mendez, who trains Walker at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California. “He shouldn’t be able to do what he’s doing. I don’t think it’s possible to eat as little as possible and work out the way he does. There’s no way. He’s an unbelievable athlete.”

Mendez doesn’t try to change it either.

“You can’t fix it, because it’s not broken,” he said. “You can try to understand it — good luck with that.”

And no, Mendez thinks it probably won’t work for most people.

At 5:30 a.m., Walker wakes up to do 750 to 1,500 push-ups and about 2,000 sit-ups.

“I try to show the world at my age, I could do it,” Walker said. “I’m not trying to be arrogant. My parents say you can’t make excuses in life, you’ve got to get it done.”

And he did. In his first Strikeforce fight in January, Walker defeated Greg Nagy, a fighter almost half his age.

Source: CNNNews

The organic movement is positive news unto itself. Yet it constantly battles bigger entitities, where money making, not public health, come first. Here’s the latest in the soymilk battle:

In a real-life example of the mythical story of David vs. Goliath, organic soybean producers and The Cornucopia Institute are claiming victory over Dean Foods, the maker of Silk soymilk drink.

The Cornucopia Institute, a public interest group that promotes family scale farming, first reported in May 2009 that Dean Foods had switched its soybean sources from American farms to cheaper organic beans from China.

Following publication of the report, the natural/organic foods retailer Whole Foods Market switched its organic soymilk source from Dean Foods to Earth Balance. In August, the national retailer told the Denver Post it wanted Earth Balance’s soymilk products to contain only domestically grown soybeans carrying the organic label.

Continue reading on Food Safety News