Chanting helps me calm my mind, slow down and be present. It uplifts my mood when I am feeling down and energises me when I am feeling flat, it brings me to tears and fills me with joy and is the most consistent tool I have found that opens me to the deep peace that is the natural state of our being when our mind is at ease and still. It relaxes the nervous system by lengthening our exhalation and deepening our inhalation. I know it works as I feel the effects but I was curious if there was scientific evidence of its benefits.
I decided to look up some studies on the benefits of chanting OM and this is what I found:
Chanting OM
* improves our concentration, gives peace and steadiness to our mind and reduces mental stress 
* negative thoughts are swept away
* stabilizes the brain
* reduces depression 
* calms the nervous system
Take 5 mins to try this practice and feel the benefits yourself.
If you are interested in reading more click on this link:http://guruprasad.net/…/why-indians-chant-om-mantra-scient…/

Have you been feeling exhausted lately? anxious or emotional? Time seeming to pass by really quickly?  I have observed in my clinic many people who are feeling really exhausted and struggling with anxiety and depression at the moment. So I wanted to see what was effecting us all on the larger scale. This led me into researching solar flare activity, so here is an article from Fiona Weatherhead on this topic. 

Solar flares are a brief eruption of intense high energy radiation from the sun’s surface, associated with active regions around sunspots.  They are powered by a sudden release of electromagnetic energy stored in the corona (the extended outer atmosphere of the sun) and these same energy releases also produce CME’s (coronal mass ejections).

Solar flares are classified as A, B, C, M or X which associates with their peak flux, M class and X class being the more powerful.  Each class is ten times more powerful than the previous class and within each of these classes is a linear scale from 1 to 9 which shows the power of the flare.  Except for X class flares which go on without limit.  So an X2 flare is twice as powerful as an X1 flare.  Recent X class flares that we have been experiencing have been in the X1 and X2 range.

So why do solar flares affect humans?  Electromagnetic currents create the Earth and human body’s electromagnetic fields.  These electromagnetic fields are currently going through a rapid shift in frequency and are being activated with more intensity because of the constant stellar activity occurring within the cosmos.  We are becoming more sensitive to this solar activity and are feeling it on all levels, physical, emotional, mental, and energetic.  

These electromagnetic changes allow us to anchor in higher frequencies of light, which in turn stimulates change within different dimensions of our bodies, releasing cellular distortion and triggering a need to release, confront or acknowledge things about ourselves.  In other words our cellular memories awaken (our past experiences and traumas that we have experienced but have never processed), to be acknowledged and cleared.  As the energy from solar flares is of a much higher frequency it pushes our lower emotional frequency upwards, which is why people notice a change in their emotions during periods of solar flare activity.  Most people will experience this through heightened emotions, maybe feeling the need to cry, but not really knowing why, feeling grief over the loss of something or someone that may have happened a long time ago or even feeling sad without knowing what they are sad about.

As the electromagnetic body or field sustains the means to purify and release old weaknesses and diseases from the body and the planet it is also creating change within the Heart Chakra.  As it energetically opens to a deeper level it allows the emotional body to evolve.  This in turn awakens people to their soul’s purpose, pushing them to make changes in their lives, without really knowing why.

On a physical level it is common to feel anxious, nervous or tired, to suffer from body aches and pains or have a feeling of impending doom.  Many people are discussing the fact that they are losing track of time.  Either it is moving unnaturally slowly or more commonly, that it is speeding up and the days just seem to disappear.  Nausea is also common and sleepless nights along with strange symptoms such as ringing in the ears, everything spinning when closing eyes and throat and thyroid issues are also coming up.

So how can you cope with solar flare activity?  There are a few things that will help you when there is major solar flare activity around.

Drink plenty of water 
Be gentle with yourself and rest when you need to
Be compassionate to others, as everyone is affected in some way at the same time as you are
Make sure you are grounded – either meditate or try walking in nature
 Spend some time on your own in your own space becoming centred
 Eat healthy foods that are as unprocessed as possible

Much Thanks to Fiona Weatherhead for this awesome article.

1. Change is like a holiday - a new place, a new experience, being surrounded by nature and fresh ocean air invigorates your body mind and soul. Just breaking your routine and doing something different can refresh your spirit.

2. Nourish your body: Enjoy beautiful, wholesome, and delicious food created with love to renew your body and help you find energy and lightness. Enjoy the bliss of being cooked for and the beauty of colourful mouthwatering food.

3. Yoga - transforms body and mind - deep gentle restorative yoga allows you to drop in to the peace and stillness deep within. Yoga helps to move any stagnation in your energy and emotions, learn ways to clear your energy body. Uplift your spirit.

4. Connect with beautiful Souls - Its alway amazing the perfect mix of people that come into each retreat, form friendships and share in sacred space with like minded women. Feel connected.

5. Nurture your self: the more you nurture yourself the more you have energy to nurture your family, friends and community, so give to yourself some loving time to reconnect with your inner self.
Everyone benefits. Especially as women, and mothers we give so much, if we give first to ourself we can continue to fully nourish those loved ones around us.

Enjoy 2.5 days of Yoga, meditation, transformation and healing in beautiful Byron Bay, be nourished in body, mind & soul. 
Bookings and enquiries  

1. As soon as you wake up Get up out of bed -
You will have so much more energy during the day

2. Make the first thought of the day a POSITIVE one:
repeat some positive affirmations and really feel, embody and believe them -
e.g. ‘Every cell of my body is filled with light and love’
‘I connect to the peace and love within me’

3. Salute to the sun
Surya Namaskar – is a yogic exercise that warms and stretches the entire body opening the energy channels and improving flexibility and blood circulation.
I enjoy feeling gratitude for the beautiful sun that warms our hearts and gives us life while I perform this exercise.

4. Breathing – practice some easy and powerful breathing exercises -
breath in for as long as is comfortable – hold your breath for as long as is comfortable and exhale for as long as is comfortable.
Repeat 5 – 10 times While doing this exercise focus the mind’s attention at the space between the eyebrows and visualize light (you can visualize the image of a candle flame or the sun)
how does your body and mind feel after this?

5. Kick start your liver in the morning with a warm fresh lemon water -
The sour taste – relating to the liver in Chinese medicine helps to get the digestive system going.
10 reasons why lemon water is healthy ?

6. Sing an uplifting song or chant a mantra -
Sound is an amazing tool to heal the body and still the mind, just 5 minutes of chanting Om or your favourite mantra can help to balance the mind.
The vibration in the body as you sin,  along with your intention for bringing peace and love into your being and the world,  has the power to uplift your emotions – and sooth the soul.

7. Walk in Nature
Walking barefoot on mother earth has the power to heal -
look at this interesting site – Earthing

8. Writing down your dreams
Contemplating your dreams and what messages they are telling you is a great way to start the day as it allows us to connect with our superconscious minds. In the superconscious mind we relate to things through symbols, images, colours, it’s also a place of our higher mind or intuition.

9. Be Creative
Whether it’s writing a short poem containing the first 3 words that pop into your mind or drawing a symbol or picture – Stimulating your creative brain can help tune you in to your intuition increasing creative problem solving for the rest of the day.

10. Smile -
It’s as simple as that… just smile, even faking a smile actually makes the body react as though it is a real one… so fake it till you make it!!

Om Shanti,
Tanya