Welcome to Carnival of Healing #78: Blossom into More.

Carnival of Healing is a weekly round-up of personal Web sites and blogs on the topics of holistic health, wellness, spirituality, and self empowerment. In honor of the first day of Spring (March 21) and my upcoming birthday, I decided to choose a spring-like title for this edition of the Carnival of Healing.

Spring, to me, signifies renewal, growth and hope. There is also a tremendous sense of empowerment to observe how the entire planet and its creatures "come back to life", so to speak, after a brutal winter. Even the tiniest of seed holds the power and potential within to sprout and grow into something spectacular. As human beings, we have more options and choices than plants and most animals in the nature. We ought to celebrate and harness the power within us, to heal ourselves and make this world a better place. I'd like to share with you a quote I came across the other day.

"You are built not to shrink down to less
but to blossom into more."
-- Oprah Winfrey

I hope you allow your self and your life to grow into full bloom.

OK, let's look at the fantastic submissions we received this week!


Health & Healing

As we sprung 1 hour forward, Michele at American Inventor Spot declared "I'm Turning My Clock Back!" The biological clock, that is. She wrote an extensive introduction of a free online health test called "The RealAge Test". It's no ordinary health test, because Real Age measures your "real age" by comparing your measurements (blood test results), life style, health habits & family history against more than 25,000 medical records on disease and aging. It also tells you what changes you could make, if your life style or genetics put you at higher risks for certain diseases. There's a lot more to it, so read Michele's post to get all the scoop about this valuable service.

Liz Smith at Modern Sage Online: Practical Living Blog presents "Expert Q & A: Post-Stroke Exercise". She invited Tai Chi expert Carolyn Cooper to share the benefits of using Tai Chi practice as a post-stroke exercise. Carolyn stated, "Tai Chi’s uniquely multidimensional benefits put it in a class by itself as far as comprehensive benefits". Furthermore, studies showed that Tai Chi improved stroke survivors' balance, stability and social and general functioning.

Jennifer Rog at Reiki Advice presents "Cleansing your Mind, Body and Spirit". She recommended using visualization combined with your favorite bath products to turn your morning shower and evening bath into cleansing and healing practice.

Henrik Edberg at The Positivity Blog introduces belly breathing in "Here is a Quick Way to Better Breathing". He stated, "I've noticed that belly breathing makes me feel more energized and clearheaded. It also brings a sense of calmness and sweeps away negative mental chatter."

Ananga at Ananga Sivyer's Living by Design Blog presents "Breathing for Beginners". She wrote, "Your breathing is a bridge between your body and your mind. To allow your breathing to remain unconscious and automatic is to exist in a realm where that bridge is obstructed." In this article she outlined a 4-step daily practice to "educate your lungs" about deep diaphragmatic breathing.

Shelley Fondren, CMT at Massage, Mind and Body teaches us how to "Protect Your Gut with Bacteria". As the nasty stomach flu goes around, Shelley recommends hand-washing and taking probiotics supplements. Probiotics are live microorganisms or bacteria that are administered in doses which provide a beneficial health effect on the digestive system. Read Shelley's post to learn more about their benefits.

Aparna at Beauty and Personality Grooming introduced the "Medicinal Value of Gooseberry (Amla)", stating, Amla "has the highest quantity of vitamin C in natural form, much more than orange". She listed many uses of this versatile berry in this article.

Ybother presents "Top 10 Signs of Cancer" at A Top Ten List Everyday to Jumpstart Your Knowledge. Ybother wrote, "An estimated 80 million people will comprise an age group of 65 years and older by the year 2050. Currently 60% of all cancers occur in persons over 65 years of age, and cancer in older people is becoming more common, with an estimated 80% in this population by 2050. Here are Top 10 signs for you to check on".

Hershel Miller presents "Chakra-Neuroendocrinology #1: Hormones" at Kundalini Yoga & Chakras Balancing, Chakra Healing Resource. Hershel wrote, "Chakra-Neuroendocrinology is the study of the chakra energy system in relation to the central nervous system and endocrine system" and gave an overview of this subject in this article.

Alvaro Fernandez at Sharp Brains presents "Training the brain with a computer workout program: MindFit". Alvaro stated, "(MindFit is) a natural and non-drug program to improve memory and concentration". And, according to Scientific American, "Training the brain with a computer workout program may be better than classic computer games at staving off age-related mental decline, scientists reported on Friday."


Inspiration

Raymond David Salas at ZenChill.com Power Tools Blog presents "Shortcuts for a Happy Life". Raymond asked, “Is there a shortcut or "cheat sheet" for all this "Law of Attraction" and “The Secret” stuff that everyone is talking about these days?” Of course, there are always more than one way of doing things! Raymond shared his own daily Law of Attraction "cheat sheet" or "CliffsNotes to the Universe" in this article, including "be grateful", "surrender the day", "meditate", "say present. be inspired", "begin again, whenever necessary", and "forgive the past".

Andrea Hess at Living Intuition wrote a thought-provoking entry called "Mistaking Our Identity". She reminds us, "All the things we do in our lives, our occupations and hobbies and practices, are simply tools through which we express ourselves, expand ourselves, discover ourselves. They are not who we are. It stands to reason that we should take inventory from time to time: “Is this tool still serving me as the most appropriate expression of who I am today?”

Craig Harper at Craig Harper: Motivational Speaker shared a beautiful, heartfelt personal story, reminding us to focus on "What Really Matters", and not let any "small stuff" in life get in the way of connecting with the people/things we love the most.

Joice at Joysoriano.com presents When You're in Pain. Joice stated, "(This is) an article on how we can deal with the awful feeling of brokenness, how we can start to move on, and how we can learn to smile again." Read about the 9 tips she offers to move forward in the painful times.

Ruth Mitchell at Buy Outside the Box presents "Seeking the Light". She shared the tragic story of how her beloved pet was maliciously injured, and urged us to "Fight the darkness, create, play or anything to follow the light. Live this day like it was your last, for it is in this way that we stave off the dark."


Personal Development

Scott Davis at Finding Your Marbles presents "Ten Minutes Therapy", in which he shared a quick & effective way to change your negative emotions. Using principles he learned from cognitive behavioral therapy, Scott outlined the step-by-step process that you can easily do within 10 minutes to change your emotions and perspective. Check it out!

Paula Kawal presents "Meeting Needs Without Repeating Patterns" at PaulaKawal.com. Most of us have experienced or seen others repeating certain behavior patterns that simply don't work for our/their best interest, yet we don't know how to break the pattern. Paula laid out a 5-step process to help us identify the hidden needs behind the behavior pattern, and how to meet the needs by changing the perspective and behavior.

Patricia at A Better You Blog presents "Immediate Gratification". She urged us to "Stop living under the control of your impulses, and determine to respond to life with strength and character".

Albert Foong at Urban Monk presents Personal Development and Happiness Tools: Forgiveness, Part One. He wrote about the "thorns" that are "emotional wounds; previous hurts and memories that sit in your heart and mind, forcing you to relive previous hurts and memories. Because of them, you behave in ways that are not yourself - in more severe cases you hurt other people, and you ruin your lives. To remove these thorns requires forgiveness and love."

The last one in this category is "Take Time for Friendships" posted at my blog Intensive Care for the Nurturer's Soul. As I navigated through school, career, marriage and motherhood, I became more and more appreciative and grateful for my old friends. No matter how busy you are, I hope you take time to nurture the significant friendships in your life.


Other Gems

Lola London at L'undone presents "1. Tell me a story, Jackanory...". In her own words, this is the first chapter of "a tale of high-weirdness, big love, cyber-crime and the mutual insane obsession of two people that never even met. This blog is the true story of how it happened and how I got through it."


That's all for this week. A heartfelt Thank You to everyone who participated in this week's Carnival. Next week the Carnival of Healing will be at OptimistLab.

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