Natural News

Given, as we are right now, a daily media cocktail of far reaching unrest in the Middle East and alleged terror plots to blow us to pieces over the Atlantic mixed with fermenting immigration issues, and you have to agree - the outlook is not good for peace in our time.

Despite the sacrifices of my grandfather’s generation, I’ve heard it said that there are more wars being waged today than ever before. The peace prognosis is not looking very positive for our so-called civilisation.

When and how will peace ever prevail on this essentially beautiful earth?

This is a world conditioned to look for answers ‘out there’ in the ways of technology, drugs and politics for example, but those methods of solving mankind’s challenges often just make more trouble - focusing, as they do, on symptoms and not root causes.

So I say the best chance we have of finding peace is to look within.

The answer to the peace problem, believe it or not, rests in meditation - the technique, when used correctly, countless individuals have employed to find peace, throughout the ages, whatever the external global conditions. And I can take you there - guaranteed.

Not unlike the Archbishop of York, Dr John Semantu, I’m on a peace mission. Yet unlike Dr John, I don’t have a cathedral, nor will I be forgoing a family holiday, relying on a liquid diet and I will not be shaving my head. And I certainly won’t be praying for peace.

I will instead be going to the heart of the matter and will be ‘being peace’- which for me is the essence of good health and wellbeing, both personal and planetary, and therefore the answer to many of our physical and emotional ills too.

What’s more, I hereby state - publicly and on the record - that I will teach anyone inspired by this message, how to meditate and find peace (as well as love and joy) for themselves - within. It’s not rocket science. It is however potentially as powerful, because meditation takes you deep into inner space.

Peace ‘out there’ will never last. The only lasting peace is found inside and it awaits you; silently, loyally and eternally. You just need the means to uncover it, which today I am promising to give you.

No, I’m not asking you to join a cult. No, I haven’t got messianic delusions of grandeur. I just know that the quickest way to find peace is to do-it-yourself. Fighting for peace is a worthless contradiction that many a peacemaker discovers the hard way.

No incense, no chanting, no bells, no robes, no shaved heads and no contorted lotus positions. Not even any Rolls Royces. Just a simple method of finding peace within that will give you, as it has given me - without fail, all the peace you could ever wish for.

If you want to learn and get relief from the relentless stress of externally-focused living with all its conflict, war and stress, email me at meditation@carlmunson.com or visit www.carlmunson.com for details of my teaching schedule.

Come on. Join me and ‘be peace’. Make that part of the world where you are a more pleasant place to be; for you and those around you. Make peace, meditate and be a beacon of all that’s good about life. Peace begins now.

The dream of training as a yoga teacher for a more fulfilling way of life is appealing to growing numbers of people. Devon-based training centre Kevala are helping make it a reality. Carl Munson finds out how…
 
Kevala, one of the world’s most trusted holistic therapy training colleges, have an unusual, but very effective way of training yoga teachers. Their mix of distance-learning home study combined with local support and workshop attendance, ideal for anyone with a full-time job or a busy family life, has been turning out well-trained teachers for nearly fifteen years.
 
“We had no idea that our courses would be so popular all around the world and with so many people,” says Kevala Principal Peter White. “When we started out we were happy to operate on a small scale, but demand soon dictated the pace and now we have satisfied students who have changed their lives in many different countries. Students really appreciate the flexibility and accessibility of our approach.”
 
Kevala’s diploma course in Yoga teaching is accredited by the Independent Yoga Network and has been designed specifically for yoga students who wish to formalise their knowledge and share the gift.
 
Removing mystique
 
“Our course has been described as a fascinating journey that prepares you for your role as tutor and guide,” says Peter White. “It aims to remove much of the mystique and opens yoga up to wider participation. Students investigate the use of chakras, different meditation techniques, the use of pranayama and how to set up and run a class.”

“I did not expect the course to be so thorough and in so much detail,” reveals Andrea Ohnutek, a London-based Kevala student who is working towards the Complementary Health Education Diploma in Yoga Teaching qualification which will put the letters ‘C.H.Ed Dip. Yoga’ after her name. “The anatomy and physiology made it so much more understandable and approachable.”
 
The course, which also looks at positive thinking, nutrition and fasting, requires students to have been studying the Asanas for at least 2 years and to have reached at least intermediate level. It is also compulsory to continue to attend a local yoga class while studying. To gain a place on the Independent Yoga Network register, students must also attend three weekend workshops at one of Kevala’s approved centres.

Yoga for kids
 
Kevala’s innovative approach has recently been extended into teaching yoga to children. Established yoga teachers and childcare professionals who want to extend their skills and gain a new qualification, can enrol and gain the confidence to set up a special children’s yoga programme.
 
Course creator Louise Goldberg who has over 20 years teaching experience, says: “the yoga for children curriculum includes lessons for different ages and dispositions. It includes postures to slow children down and energize them. There are exercises to help them turn inward and encourage children to reach out. Included are songs, games and stories to stimulate your little yogins and yoginis”.
 
The course also offers kid-friendly names for the postures, and how to put them together into an interesting and valuable lesson. In addition, the course includes techniques for communicating effectively with children, ways to incorporate yoga philosophy and meditation into the teaching, and how to promote classes.
 
Clearly, Kevala are leading the way with their unique training methods. If you would like to know more about their diploma courses, international weekend workshops - as far afield as India - and Devon-based tutorials, go to their website: http://www.kevala.com

Searching for a deodorant recently, I was delighted to see “aluminium-free” as part of the sales blurb on one brand. It reminded me of the times I first became aware of the questionable chemicals that were, and to some extent still are, common ingredients in household personal care products and cosmetics.

Back then, I was shocked to find out that industrial chemicals like propylene glycol, a recognised neurotoxin known to cause contact dermatitis, kidney damage and liver abnormalities, was widely used for its moisture-carrying properties.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate too, I discovered, were popular ingredients despite being skin irritants that enhanced allergic reactions and allegedly cancer causing in the long-term - yet featured widely in shampoos, skin creams and toothpastes.

Talc too, though a naturally occurring mineral, I was told was carcinogenic when inhaled and a particular risk for women who regularly use it in the genital area, increasing the risk of ovarian cancer.

I began to understand why Toxicologist Dr. Dick Irwin reckoned that “chemicals have replaced bacteria and viruses as the main threat to health. The diseases we are beginning to see as the major causes of death in the latter part of the 1900’s and into the 21st century are diseases of chemical origin”.

Hopefully not just an out-and-out marketing ploy, I’m taking the aluminium-free selling point on the deodorant as a sign of raised consciousness and care in the personal care and cosmetics industry, given aluminium’s reported connection to Alzheimer’s disease.

When you start looking, you can see that many firms are endeavouring to literally clean up their act when it comes to suspect ingredients. Add to that the convergence of organics, aromatherapy and pampering and we’ve got a plethora of products that are not only safer to use, but also a pleasure to use and almost good enough to eat.

If however, you don’t want to put your trust in manufacturers who are primarily  focused on profits and market share, you might be interested in the work of Dawn Ireland, a local woman who teaches people how to make their own pure, natural and herbal products, which she calls “green wisdom for the modern home”.

Dawn says her information and guidance, presented as a home-study style course, “provides all you need to create your own safe and natural products”.

“You will learn how to identify chemical nasties and synthetic additives best avoided and get practical tips and recipes to set you off on a compulsive journey making a healthier home, from bathroom to kitchen and garden, and a healthier you,” she adds.

Promising safe, fragrant and health enhancing, yet efficient products, Dawn shows the way with toiletries such as bath products, facial cleansers and deodorants that avoid the aforementioned aluminium.

She also covers simple home remedies for every day minor ailments such as colds, indigestion and bruises as well as household cleaners including laundry washing liquid and disinfectants.

Whilst Dawn’s approach could be viewed as a little excessive and obsessive, growing evidence suggests that she’s right on the money. Barry Jones, author of “Home, Sweet Toxic Home” identifies one category of pollutants as most ironic - those toxins we bring into our homes ourselves.

He says that many of the products believed to improve the look, cleanliness and smell of homes can actually harm the people living there. He tells the disturbing story of how spray-can cleaning products and other microbial cleaners made a four-year-old boy exhibit behavioural problems, which completely disappeared after pure oxygen treatment.

Some experts fear these household-cleaning products may at least partially cause ADHD and other learning and behavioural disorders.

He claims that fabric dryer sheets actually put petroleum and potentially dangerous artificial fragrances on clothes, and that air fresheners also contain fragrances, which may interfere with hormone communication systems. “Read the labels,” Jones advises, “and beware that anything ending in ‘-cide’” because these long-lasting chemicals are dangerous to health.

No such worries with Dawn Ireland’s products. As well as showing us how to create safe vegetable-based soaps, she’s also showing the ladies how to create basic, non-toxic cosmetics such as lip-gloss and hair dye. For the gardeners, her tips include guidance on how to keep plants healthy avoiding chemicals including liquid feeds, anti-fungal sprays and insect repellents.

Her course, which even offers a certificate on completion can be started at any time and means you’ll never be stuck for an unusual and handcrafted gift ever again.

If you’d prefer to meet Dawn face-to-face, she’ll be taking part in a “Detox and Natural Product Making” weekend in Torquay at the end of September with colleague Samantha Flower. Anyone attending will be able to enjoy a day making their own safe, natural, eco-friendly and animal free products that can be taken home.

When it comes to anything that could be viewed as a health scare, I always favour replacing fear with taking action. Dawn is one of those wonderful activists who is taking action instead of getting stuck on a problem. She can be contacted about her Green Wisdom home study course or the weekend workshop on 01803 215678.

Further information on toxic chemicals in personal care products can be found in “Drop-dead Gorgeous” by Kim Erikson and “The Safe Shoppers Bible” by David Steinman and Samuel S. Epstein, M.D.

A quick reference guide can be found online at: www.lesstoxicguide.ca