Chakras, meridians, and energy centers may once have ranked pretty high on the woo-woo scale. But today, chakras have gone mainstream, baby. All types, from Gwyneth Paltrow to Dr. Christiane Northrup, are touting the benefits of well aligned chakras.

We all want to be well aligned, right? But what are chakras, really? Where are chakras? And how the heck do you get them aligned?

While I am certainly no chakra expert, I have read my fair share of energy balancing info. The following is a basic introduction to chakras, a starter on getting balanced, and how to learn more.

Chakras are energy centers throughout the body. Visualize seven spinning discs of energy positioned along the spine, from tailbone to crown of head. Each chakra has its own unique color and corresponds to mental, emotional, and physical states. Say you are having throat pain or trouble voicing your opinion. This would be a throat (or fifth) chakra imbalance.

How to Balance Chakras: A Beginner’s Guide

First chakra // Also called the root chakra, it is positioned at the base of the spine, is red in color, and corresponds to the first three vertebrae, bladder, and colon. The first chakra is linked to feelings of security and basic survival needs. When balanced we feel safe and one with the earth. When out of balance we feel insecure and untethered. To balance: dance, walk outside barefoot, wear red, eat red and spicy foods, do a tree pose.

Second chakra // Also called the sacral chakra, it is positioned between pubic bone and naval, is orange in color, and associated with sexual organs, reproductive organs in women, and lower abdomen. This chakra is linked to feelings of desire and creativity. When in balance we experience feelings of pleasure, well-being, creative expression, and abundance. To balance: wear orange, eat orange fruits, hip opening poses, partake in a creative activity (painting, writing…).

Third chakra // Also called the solar plexus chakra, it is positioned between naval and breastbone, is yellow in color, and related to the digestive system, liver, gall bladder, and pancreas. The third chakra is responsible for our self-esteem and will. When in balance we feel confident and powerful. To balance: Wear yellow, eat yellow fruits and vegetables, try something outside your comfort zone, get physical exercise.

Fourth chakra // Also called the heart chakra, it is positioned in the center of the chest, is green (or pink) in color, and corresponds to lung, heart, arms, hands, and circulatory system. The heart chakra is related to feelings of love, joy, and inner peace. It is the middle chakra, linking the three lower (physical) chakras with the three upper (spiritual) chakras. To balance: honor your emotions, wear green, eat green foods, spend time in nature, do something loving, practice forgiveness.

Fifth chakra // Also called the throat chakra, it is light blue in color, and related to throat, thyroid, neck, jaw, and mouth. This chakra connects us to our self-expression, communication, and personal truth. To balance: Sing, hum, chant, drink water, wear blue, speak your truth, get a neck massage, actively listen.

Sixth chakra // Also called the third eye chakra, it is positioned at the center of the brow just above the eyes, is indigo, and related to the eyes and brain. The sixth chakra is associated with intuition. When in balance we feel imaginative, clear-headed, and decisive. To balance: Wear indigo, eat dark chocolate, dark berries, and foods high in Omega-3s, use your imagination, take a walk at night.

Seventh chakra // Also called the crown chakra, it is positioned just above the head, is purple in color, and connects us to spirit. When in balance we are enlightened and experience a strong spiritual connection. There are no physical ailments associated with the seventh chakra. To balance: Meditate, lose your ego, love, prayer.

There you have the chakras in a nutshell. As you can imagine, there is much more to each of them. For an in depth look at each chakra and diagnosing any imbalance read “Wheels of Life” by Anodea Judith, Ph.D. One of my favorites for women working with chakras is by Dr. Christiane Northrup, “Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom.” And The Chopra Center holds a wealth of information on chakras and keeping them healthy.

Noticing which areas of the body are off kilter can be very helpful in identifying unbalanced energy. Not quite sure? Take a chakra test to see which of your chakras are open and which need some work.

Related on EcoSalon

8 Powerful and Beautiful Healing Crystals and Stones for Your Home

Common Chemical Linked to Female Infertility

8 Reasons To Turn Your Life Upside Down

Image of chakras via Shutterstock

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There are many reasons to stay in your comfort zone and avoid risks – but it’ll cost you.

I wish I’d taken Polaroids of people’s faces when I told them I was quitting my job to become a writer: “What was I thinking leaving a steady paycheck behind?” they seemed to ask. “How would I ever make enough money?” Oddly enough, the uncertainty was what I was looking forward to most.

Yes, fear was part of the equation, but not in the usual way. I didn’t fear becoming a writer – I feared staying in my comfort zone and not becoming one. Even if I ended up living in my mom’s walk-in closet, at least I was going after my dream.

That’s the thing about risks: they’re all around us, whether we choose to engage them or not. What many of us forget is that not taking risks is also a risk – maybe the biggest risk of all. When you spend too much time bubble-wrapped in your comfort zone, you’re doing your mind and body more of an injustice than that time you ate an entire carton of ice cream in one sitting (oh wait, that was me).

Your comfort zone should be a place to rest when your life is giving you a beating, but for many of us it’s our status quo. “I believe that in childhood, for the most part, we’re taught not to take risks, which leads to all kinds of limiting beliefs as adults that we have to overcome,” says life coach Kristi Blicharski. “Taking a risk is empowering, whether it works out or not, because taking action is one of the key elements of creating a full life.”

According to a new study by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine, our ability to take risks decreases as we age. So if you’re constantly anxious and worried about risk, your comfort zone will get smaller by the day. Here’s what else that cushy comfort zone is costing you:

1. The lifestyle you really want.
I know what you’re going to say: “Job this, husband that, kids this, friends that, money, money, money!” Blah. What good are you to anyone if you’re always settling for less (or worse, for what other people want for you)?

2. A healthy brain.
“If we only stay within our routine, we aren’t giving the brain the exercise it needs to stay flexible,” says Tamar Chansky, Ph.D., author of Freeing Yourself from Anxiety. “Change makes life more interesting and stimulating, but it also translates to changes in our wiring we can’t see.”

3. A boosted immune system.
According to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that there’s a strong connection between living your life with a sense of purpose and a healthy immune system, and that shallower forms of happiness (i.e. buying all that “stuff”) actually weaken your physical defenses.

4. Confidence.
Taking risks is exhilarating – in fact, it’s borderline addictive. Risks don’t have to be huge, they just need to offer some form of personal growth. This will boost your confidence in a big way, and soon, you’ll seek out new ways to challenge yourself. (Don’t you want to know you can handle anything?)

5. Self-trust.
Here’s the biggest thing I’ve learned since becoming a freelancer: people suck at trusting themselves. We’re given this amazing set of survival instincts, and then we do everything we can to avoid using them by staying well-within the comfort zone! Meanwhile, our anxiety would actually decrease if we took them for a spin more often, boosting our resiliency and diminishing self-doubt.

6. Actual comfort.
“When we engage in activities that are moderately difficult, our sense of joy and accomplishment increases,” says Elizabeth Lombardo, Ph.D., author of A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness. When you hang out in your comfort zone for the right reasons (you know, instead of letting fear call the shots), it becomes that much more… well, comfortable.

Don’t fear taking risks – fear not taking them. When was the last time you ditched your comfort zone and took a risk?

Related on EcoSalon:

7 Reasons Why Women Lack Confidence (and What to Do About It)

Are Women Too Fearful?

Practice Really Does Make (Almost) Perfect

Image: Alyssa L. Miller

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Megan, of the movie Bridesmaids, remembers the joy of just being yourself.

If you work from home, you often make interesting style choices. One choice could be a negligee tucked into yoga pants capped off by a plaid wool shawl purchased in 1991 Edinburgh (where it was terribly stylish at the time). Another choice could be an upturned ponytail, fresh from the shower, paired with frayed jeans and the “Save the Earth” t-shirt they were handing out free at yoga.

But when you leave the house? Suddenly, you’re Alexa Chung, matching your washed-out grey denim with a nude, textured clutch. You feel great and look amazing. But still, you might long for the comfortable moments swathed in your plaid wool shawl and frayed pony tail.

Or you could just be Melissa McCarthy in the 2011 blockbuster, “Bridesmaids,” and just express yourself, no matter what.

McCarthy’s Megan is the New Woman of Hollywood, the first widely-popular character in recent memory who is completely motivated by inner confidence. With her slacks, wrist guard, and spastic pony tail, Megan is a heroine of self-expression. Because sometimes, one just wants to shout out to the world, “See me, I think my hair is falling out!” Or maybe, “And I have a weird wart on my elbow that flakes!”

And if everyone acted like Megan, think of the consequences. Marilyn Monroe’s breathy sensuality could be replaced by the practical common sense of Megan. Angelina Jolie’s angles would have nothing on Megan’s curves. The world would realize in one giant, crystallized moment of Zen: no one will care if your hair is standing on end, or your teeth are filled with spinach, or your lazy eye is lazy. Because you don’t. More important things matter, like communing with an undersea dolphin or embracing the charms of a tall, middle-aged men.

Oh, what a wonderful world of Megan it would be.

The post Women on Film: How Not to Care Like Melissa McCarthy appeared first on EcoSalon.

A weekend with the in-laws, an alcoholic husband and a slinky white slip push emotions to the forefront.

As children, we are taught to take all our bad feelings and put them in a place where we can’t find them. Negative emotions go to a place where they are ignored, starved, and neglected to the point that rebellion is inevitable. And usually at the most inopportune moments. Anger will demand to be expressed, usually over a holiday dinner. Frustration will find its voice, generally with your in-laws. Jealousy will rear its ugly head, mostly at a happy hour in front of all your work colleagues. We could easily kill ourselves with the weight of our own dark emotions, festering and oozing within us.

This is where Elizabeth Taylor comes to the rescue. The screen legend’s indelible performance in the 1958 film “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” shows us the power of expressing our deepest fears, strangled emotions, and thwarted love.

Taylor plays Maggie the Cat, the wife of alcoholic, ex-football player Brick Pollitt (Paul Newman). Maggie and Brick have come to his father’s Mississippi plantation to celebrate the man’s 65th birthday. Surrounded by family drama and dysfunction, Maggie struggles to regain the love of an embittered Brick. But Brick suspects Maggie of cheating with his best friend, who has since killed himself. Maggie wants Brick, and Brick wants revenge.

Maggie the Cat is unquestionably a complex and volatile character, but it is Taylor’s energy which makes her scream. The actress’ own tumultuous private life was one of survival and heartbreak. Paul Newman speaks of her great tenacity, calling her “a courageous survivor, a helluva actress and someone I am extremely proud to know.”

In the end, it’s Maggie who best speaks to her relevancy across the decades. As Brick asks her, “What is the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof?” Maggie simply replies, “Just stayin’ on, I guess. Long as she can.”

The post Women on Film: Surviving a Hot Tin Roof appeared first on EcoSalon.

15 good reasons to approach the season of cocktails and cookies with healthy aplomb.

Caring about our weight is part of the American experience, like finding a Victoria’s Secret next to a Cinnabon at the mall. We shouldn’t count calories but we do, despite reading subscriptions to Cosmo and remembering that beauty comes in all sizes. 

In a world of Occupy Wall Street, the Great Recession, and an overseas war, life can feel out of control so we control what we can. We hold our bodies up as some kind of indication of how “good” or “disciplined” we’ve been and in a world of fantastical thinking, that life will then reward us with great jobs, healthy relationships, and a reliable economy if only we can just put down the carbs.

We set ourselves up to fail. Alanis Morisette, famous noter of irony, admits to iVillage, “I remember being at my most thin one day, feeling like I could barely drag my lethargic body around, only to be met with the most compliments I had ever received.” At the same time, she has felt the scorn of extra weight. “Equally, and perhaps more abrasively, when someone inside the struggle with food tips the scales high above the average Hollywood red-carpet star, comments are thrown out about how indulgent and undisciplined they are.”

Pop culture forbids us from ever forgetting about our weight. Open up a web page and you’ll find that actress Mischa Barton is too thin. Reality host and soap star Alison Sweeney went spinning on Thanksgiving day. Jennifer Love Hewitt did Pilates while her family ate mashed potatoes. Jessica Simpson may or may not be getting a $4 million deal from Weight Watchers to lose her baby weight. Good thing, because Mariah Carey calls her baby weight body “rancid.” All of this seeps into our brains like high-fructose corn syrup.

We have the right to be a little bit chubby or a little bit skinny. (As long as nobody is giving themselves diabetes or an eating disorder, right?) We are more than numbers on a scale. We are more than our jean size.

And just in time for the holidays, 15 good reasons to approach the season of cocktails and cookies with healthy aplomb.

1. It is a universal truth that the last three pounds you triumphantly lose will go completely unnoticed by everyone else.

2. Sneaking a bag of sliced celery sticks into a movie theater is as pointless as the $8 box of Sugar Daddies you will buy halfway through the movie.

3. When a “friend” caresses your upper arm and says “You’d be gorgeous if you just toned this up,” you will look him up on Facebook ten years later and find that he died alone.

4. We are living in a glorious age where leggings paired with a flowing shirt are fashionable.

5. The law of nature gives women periods. Periods give us cravings. Cravings give us Tater Tots. This is the law of nature.

6. If a burger comes with a side salad, is it really a burger? (See above: The Law of Nature.)

7. After a certain age, your face looks thin despite a muffin top around your waist.

8. Fretting over your muffin top will just make you want to bake muffins.

9. The more weight you gain, the bigger your breasts. Money once spent on push-up bras can be redirected towards organic donuts. Donuts made of buttermilk, organic cane sugar, and ripened strawberries which melt in your mouth.

10. If your significant other is male, accept the fact that he will likely eat three times as much as you and still retain a flat stomach.

11. If you find yourself hiding the last of the Thanksgiving potatoes from your significant other, no one will judge you.

12. A cupcake will not kill you. However, falling off your spin bike because you were distracted by visions of cupcakes just might.

13. In some circles, abstaining from once-a-year delicacies such as eggnog means you hate children, Santa, and the Baby Jesus.

14. If we could harness all the energy we spend worrying over a few extra pounds, we would have the ultimate renewable energy source. Seriously.

15. Pop culture says we are all too skinny or too fat. Common sense says we are all beautiful. Suck it, pop culture. Suck it.

Images: powellburns, puikibeach, kristinausk 

The post 15 Reasons to Stop Counting Calories appeared first on EcoSalon.

Did you see the archetypal serial-killer looking guy lurking around our place the other morning? He was wearing a hoodie drawn low over his eyes. He might as well have been holding up a sign that say “Cross the street or I will eat your liver with fava beans.” Yes, I crossed the street. After I watched him continue past our house. No, I didn’t notice the small dog he was walking. Maybe if the dog had been wearing a hoodie, I would have.

But am I more fearful than the average woman? Hyperbole aside, no. I’m not afraid to leave the house alone, nor am I afraid to do recreational activities by myself. I do admit to a heightened awareness of my surroundings, as I was raised by a former FBI agent. (One of my best friends is also the daughter of a G-Man and she reacts to situations exactly the same way as I do. High five, progeny of J. Edgar Hoover.) But am I more fearful than my husband? Yes, it would seem that I am.

The world is unquestionably a dangerous place for women. The “gift of fear” is often bandied about in pop culture without really revealing what that means. Yes, it’s a good to be on your guard in a dark parking lot. It’s a good to check to make sure the shady-looking person you just passed on the street isn’t following you. It’s good to lock your doors at night. But I’ve never thought of fear the same way I’d think about, say, a charitable donation or a new handbag. It doesn’t feel like a “gift.”

Fear likely doesn’t feel like a gift to the people for whom it has become debilitating. Anxiety disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorders or neurotic fear, are very real and best addressed by medical professionals. Nor am I talking about the fears someone might experience living under totalitarian rule. Rather, I’m talking about the natural, everyday concerns that surround our lives which can be rooted in, simply, fear of the unknown.

These are fears than can pervade women’s lives. But when do they hold us back? The fear inspired by a nightmare is probably the closest many people get to real terror. Women often attest to a gut-wrenching explosion of terror if they wake up thinking someone is standing over their beds.

But if you think about it, isn’t it the same feeling some of us have carried through our lives? It was the fear we felt as children when we thought something was under our beds. The fear some of us we felt as adolescents when we dreamed of walking into school naked. This became a fear of career failure, a fear of a young mother, a fear of the bogeyman on the street. Namely, it’s senseless, primal, reasonless fear – and often, it seems to call on women.

What would a world without fear look like? Via ScienceBlog, the Journal Current Biology recently reports on a woman who cannot experience fear. She is a 44-year-old American who suffers from an extremely rare genetic condition called Urbach-Wiethe Disease. She can feel other emotions but not fear. She’s been studied for almost two decades by researchers. According to the journal, “based on interviews with her and her three children, the authors suggest that she probably has not experienced fear at all throughout the whole duration of her adult life, despite having encountered an unusually high number of traumatic and life-threatening events.”

This woman has had a knife held to her throat by a drug addict and was once nearly killed in a domestic violence attack. And yet, she is completely unafraid. After all, as Discovery points out, fear is nothing but “a chain reaction in the brain that starts with a stressful stimulus and ends with the release of chemicals that cause a racing heart, fast breathing and energized muscles, among other things, also known as the fight-or-flight response.” This woman’s fear response doesn’t work.

Do we envy her…or fear her? What would our lives look like without fear?

Images: Claus Rebler, showbits

The post Are Women Too Fearful? appeared first on EcoSalon.

One minute you’re stretching out beachside reading the latest tome from Michael Pollan, the greenista’s dream man. The next you’re crouched under your comforter with only your nose sticking out because the temperature in your bedroom is unholy. (Thank you, crappy space heater.) Somewhere between awesome new knee-high boots and debating how far we want to go with the jeggings trend, winter has decided to make its presence known.

And what does this mean? For some of us, our skin makes like a snow machine in its dry, flakey shedding. For others, our mood plummets to a place so dark that not even kittens playing in a box can make us feel better. But there are some ways to fight back again Jack Frost and his minions of wintery hell.

(And yes, winter isn’t all that bad. There’s skiing and an excuse to make hot chocolate a daily occurrence. We give winter that.)

Make friends with steam.

Did I mention that our skin can act like it is molting at the first sign of cold air? One of the best ways you can keep your skin and sinuses hydrated this season is to invest in a humidifier. This contraption will keep the air moist around you, therefore helping your skin to stay hydrated. If you suffer from constant colds, it will also help keep your sinuses clear. Considering buying an Energy Star-rated humidifier to keep energy costs down.

Enjoy the seasonal produce and whole grains

Gloria Tsang, RD, suggests including in some high-quality carbohydrates during the winter months. (To which I say – where do I sign and how much cake?) Our lack of time in the sun depletes our serotonin levels, which can be restored by eating the right kind of carbs. According to Tsang via Healthcastle, “your cravings for carbohydrate-loaded comfort foods are your body’s cries for more serotonin.” But she cautions against eating the wrong carbs, instead suggesting whole grains and sweet potatoes, pumpkin and squash. She also advises indulging in some seasonal fruits like cranberries, pomegranates and citrus fruits.

Get oily.

And by oily, we mean essential oily. If there ever was a time to invest in a good moisturizer, it would be the season of dry skin. Recently, we checked out Skin & Bones, a unisex product designed for the entire body. This product intends to moisturize all parts of the body, including skin, hair, cuticles and nails. It contains a carousel of organic essential oils, including jojoba, frankincense, myrrh, ylang ylang, grapefruit, jasmine, lemon, rosewood, sandalwood, and cedarwood. (You can read about its birth here.)
And how does it work? Skin & Bones provides an awesome hydration which absorbs quickly into the skin. You are able to apply it and get on with your day without leaving an oil slick behind you. But be warned – because of its concentrated essential oils, it is highly scented and initially smells a bit like a mega-spa. However, it does fade into a nice, subtle scent. If you love perfume and better yet, supple skin, this product is a great choice. You can check it out here.

Here comes the sun – now go sit in it.

Making an effort to get some sun may be your best way to prepare for the limited light of winter. Your serotonin levels increase when you’re in sunlight. Get outside as much as possible, taking your exercise routine, coffee breaks, and meditation in the light. Go into the light, and you just may lighten your mood.

FTC Compliance

Images: robboudon, wtlphotos, supersonicphotos, sahua

The post Winter Wants to Kick Your Butt (Here’s How to Prepare) appeared first on EcoSalon.

Let’s put on our leg warmers and take a trip to 1980s-ville, shall we? The year is 1987, and George Michael’s I Want Your Sex had just hit the airwaves. The Flagship Censorship was in overdrive. Meanwhile, tweens (before they knew they were tweens) were singing “Sex is natural, sex is good. Not everybody does it. But everybody should!” Sung, of course, without really understanding what it all meant.

The result of George Michael’s romp on the airwaves? A certain segment of impressionable minds, now aged like fine wines, subconsciously can’t help but remember that “sex is natural, sex is good, not everybody does it, but everybody should.” But are other age groups still getting some? About 75 percent of teenagers have intercourse by the time they turn 20. Within a marriage, 44 percent of couples are “fully satisfied with their sex lives.” Further, those who are 65 and older are still getting down and dirty between the sheets.

So people are doing the deed in droves. And the good news that just keeps getting better? There are many reasons to spend even more time between the sheets.

1. Sex helps relieve pain.

Sex releases the fun-time hormone, oxytocin. And as WebMD reports, “as the hormone oxytocin surges, endorphins increase, and pain declines. So if your headache, arthritis pain, or PMS symptoms seem to improve after sex, you can thank those higher oxytocin levels.” Beats taking a double dose of pain reliever any time.

2. For the ladies! Semen may be an anti-depressant.

Sex produces phenylethylamine, a love chemical that ups your mood. Also, a study from the State University of New York shows that women who were directly exposed to semen were less depressed. Though as study lead Gordon Gallup points out, “I want to make it clear that we are not advocating that people abstain from using condoms.” After all, getting an STD or experiencing an unwanted pregnancy is not going to lift up anyone’s mood.

3. For the gents! Sex may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Via WebMD, Australian researchers report that frequent ejaculations among 20-something men downs the risk for prostate cancer in later years by as much as a third. Get busy, get healthy!

4. Sex is a good workout.

Contemplating a move under the covers as opposed to a move under dumbbells? Think about spending your workout in bed. Some experts claim that an hour of sex can lead to almost 400 calories burned. Want to know exactly how many calories you are burning while doing the deed? Check out this handy estimator.

5. Sex can help keep colds at bay.

You’ve tried Vitamin C, Echinacea, and zinc supplements. Now try sex. Researchers have shown that people who have sex more than twice a week get a kick to their immune system. Immunoglobulin A fights colds in our bodies, and sex raises its levels in our bodies. See? A kiss really can make it all better.

6. Sex helps you sleep.

After you’ve made use of the bed for more than sleeping, you’re going to want to sleep. Why? It’s that oxytocin again. The oxytocin released during an orgasm is going to help your brain and body wind down for a good night’s sleep. So considering turning away the Ambien and turning towards your loved one.

Image: Light Speed Photography

The post Do We Need More Reasons to Have Sex? Of Course! (Here are 6) appeared first on EcoSalon.

The result of George Michael’s romp on the airwaves? A certain segment of impressionable minds, now aged like fine wines, subconsciously can’t help but remember that “sex is natural, sex is good, not everybody does it, but everybody should.” But are other age groups still getting some? About 75 percent of teenagers have intercourse by the time they turn 20. Within a marriage, 44 percent of couples are “fully satisfied with their sex lives.” Further, those who are 65 and older are still getting down and dirty between the sheets.

So people are doing the deed in droves. And the good news that just keeps getting better? There are many reasons to spend even more time between the sheets.

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1. Sex helps relieve pain.

Sex releases the fun-time hormone, oxytocin. And as WebMD reports, “as the hormone oxytocin surges, endorphins increase, and pain declines. So if your headache, arthritis pain, or PMS symptoms seem to improve after sex, you can thank those higher oxytocin levels.” Beats taking a double dose of pain reliever any time.

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2. For the ladies! Semen may be an anti-depressant.

Sex produces phenylethylamine, a love chemical that ups your mood. Also, a study from the State University of New York shows that women who were directly exposed to semen were less depressed. Though as study lead Gordon Gallup points out, “I want to make it clear that we are not advocating that people abstain from using condoms.” After all, getting an STD or experiencing an unwanted pregnancy is not going to lift up anyone’s mood.

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3. For the gents! Sex may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Via WebMD, Australian researchers report that frequent ejaculations among 20-something men downs the risk for prostate cancer in later years by as much as a third. Get busy, get healthy!

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4. Sex is a good workout.

Contemplating a move under the covers as opposed to a move under dumbbells? Think about spending your workout in bed. Some experts claim that an hour of sex can lead to almost 400 calories burned. Want to know exactly how many calories you are burning while doing the deed? Check out this handy estimator.

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5. Sex can help keep colds at bay.

You’ve tried Vitamin C, Echinacea, and zinc supplements. Now try sex. Researchers have shown that people who have sex more than twice a week get a kick to their immune system. Immunoglobulin A fights colds in our bodies, and sex raises its levels in our bodies. See? A kiss really can make it all better.

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6. Sex helps you sleep.

After you’ve made use of the bed for more than sleeping, you’re going to want to sleep. Why? It’s that oxytocin again. The oxytocin released during an orgasm is going to help your brain and body wind down for a good night’s sleep. So considering turning away the Ambien and turning towards your loved one.

Image: Light Speed Photography; TheAlieness GiselleGiardino; iamtheo; www.CourtneyCarmody.com; Grevel; Kennedy Garrett.

The post Do We Need More Reasons to Have Sex? Of Course! (Here are 6). appeared first on EcoSalon.

I had asthma as a kid. This meant that I was pretty much dependent on chemicals to get oxygen into my lungs and that I wouldn’t step out of the house without an abuterol in hand. Soccer game? I had an inhaler stashed by the bench. Prom night? My understanding boyfriend carried it in his pocket. It wasn’t the worst way to grow up, but it definitely had its memorable moments – usually caused by an unfortunately empty inhaler canister and a habit of breathing.

So to this day, when I see someone light up a cigarette, I watch with a secret kind of awe. It’s like watching someone walk on the moon without an oxygen tank. How is this possible that they aren’t collapsing to the ground like a goldfish out of water? Since my lungs would be vomited out on the sidewalk if I took a drag, this is perversely fascinating. I want to walk up to them and knock on their chest to see if they actually have lungs of steel. (And yet, I don’t.)

The one upside to asthma? If you are really really lucky to outgrow it, you really really appreciate your new-found ability to breath without chemicals. But unfortunately, if someone steps into my air space with a cigarette, I have an immediate problem. Sure, it’s not my business if Private Citizen wants to smoke. But it is my problem because Private Citizen’s second-hand smoke is “a toxic cocktail consisting of poison and carcinogens. There are over 4000 chemical compounds in secondhand smoke; 200 of which are known to be poisonous, and upwards of 60 have been identified as carcinogens.” And this is one problem that no one needs.

The American Heart Association estimates that around 23 percent of men and 18 percent of women smoke. Sure, that’s better than “Mad Men” times when doctors were lighting cigarettes for pregnant mothers. But it still means we’re going to run across a smoke cloud or two in our daily adventures.

I handle these errant smoke clouds by treating the world as a giant track and field event. When I encounter smokers, I get out of their space as quickly as possible and keep my anti-smoking opinions to myself. (However, an awesomely sweet guy did once offer to put his cigarette out on my tongue when I asked him to snuff it.)

But still, sprinting is problematic. First, it’s not always practical to race around someone in high heels/pushing a baby carriage/walking with someone who doesn’t recognize you are holding your breath and are about to collapse into a heap of pathetic. Second, a good friend of mine is a smoker who hates it when people run past him as he’s carrying a biological weapon. Can’t we just all get along?

So what to do? If you are traveling, there are steps you can take. Ask for a non-smoking room or, better yet, book a smoke free hotel. FreshStay offers a great resource on finding smoke-free hotels. If you are hosting a party, offer up alternatives to smoking – gum, water, snacks. Or ask them to step aside – though your average smoker is a reasonable human being who knows his or her smoke is going to bother people, so he or she is doing this anyway.

And in the end, if someone really doesn’t get the hint? You can pull out a Breath of Life Emergency Escape Mask and start sucking down air. If you’re going to make a point, go big.

Image: yourdon

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