Got Milk? We've seen the ads and we remember Mom making us drink our milk before leaving the dinner table. But milk isn't as fun as a kiwi guava smoothie, we whine. Often we put down the wisdom of our parents as outdated or "old wives tales," but those old wives knew a thing or two we would do well to remember. For women, calcium is a vital necessity we cannot ignore.
Probably the most crucial health issue for many women as they age is osteoporosis, loss of bone density, a condition causing the molecular core of your bones to weaken and be less solid and stable as needed for daily activities. Bones are comprised of minerals including both calcium salt and phosphates, and collagen fibers, that stuff some of us use in our face creams. But wrinkles we can live with, weak bones are another matter. Calcium contributes to the recipe for giving bone its tensile strength. Minerals comprise 60% of the bone core, with collagen and water making up the balance. Remove the calium and other minerals and bones become too weak to support us in our daily lives.
A little know fact I recently discovered is that consuming carbonated beverages, fast foods, and preservative-laden foods, which contain phosphorus, can contribute to a calcium deficiency by lowering available blood calcium. With an osteoporosis condition, bones weaken from a calcium deficiency from our body trying to balance the minerals in our body, like phosphorus. This balance is achieved at a heavy cost to bone strength. This situation makes increased calcium intake essential for women, who metabolize calcium differently than men, and are more prone to calcium deficiencies.
To avoid higher risk of fractures and bone breakages, particularly past the age of forty, calcium supplements are highly recommended. There may be no pain or other symptoms in the early stages of bone deteioration, so you may be unaware of the problem. Doctors presribe calcium supplements for treatment of osteoporosis, and especially as preventive medicine to avoid bone loss. I myself pop a Tums in my mouth twice a day, because it is the cheapest and easiest way to supply the needed calcium. I use them as mints after lunch and dinner.
In the language of India, Sanskrit, the literal meaning of 'tan' is thread, web, stretch or expand; 'tra' means tool or instrument. Tantra is a tool for expansion of awareness, and through its use we can expand awareness and see the connections of all facets of life. Tantra also refers to sacred texts in Hinduism and Buddhism, so it comprises a massive wealth of spiritual and physical knowledge, including all practices of yoga.
Tantras, like the Vedas, the primary Hindu Holy Writings, are collections of verses suggesting elaborate directions for the right way to worship. They are generally esoteric, mystical teachings. But sex and the various postures of love-making form an important aspect of tantrism.
Kundalini is characterized in the sacred writings as a coiled serpent resting within our lowest chakras. Kundalini translates as "serpent power." To awaken Kundalini, the serpent, we will perform yogic meditations and physical disciplines, to gradually awaken the serpent. Practising Kundalini uncoils the serpent and releases vast energy, which proceeds up our spine like hot liquid. Kundalini rises up our spine and, in theory, when after many years of practice, we cause the Kundalini to reach the highest chakra, at the base of the neck at the brain stem, there is complete bliss, Nirvana. Once the yogi achieves this goal she becomes a sage, or teacher, a master.
Kundalini Yoga is a dynamic system combining breathing, movement, stretching meditation, the use of sound and rhythm, relaxation and meditation. Each class usually entails spine and flexibility warm-ups, a specific sequence for the day at hand, and a relaxation and meditation. There are literally thousands of exercise sets and meditations in this system.
The "Yoga of Love" however, concentrates on more specific physical disciplines and routines as well as meditations involving and improving the art of love. Tantric sexual rituals are believed to be an excellent therapy for people with sexual problems or inhibitions, or to help achieve greater sexual freedom, and intensify sexual enjoyment. When you are prepared through all the various practises of Tantra belonging to the ritual, apart from bathing, eating and such, the desired result is inevitable. Tantra can increase awareness, expand the mind and spirit, and increase energy.
"While being caressed, sweet princess, enter the caressing as everlasting life." from Vigyana Bhairava Tantra
"At the start of sexual union, keep attentive on the fire in the beginning, and, so continuing, avoid the embers in the end."
"When in such embrace your senses are shaken as leaves, enter this shaking."
"The valley spirit never dies; It is the woman, primal mother. Her gateway is the root of heaven and earth..." LAO TSU, Tao Te Ching
The worship of a mother goddess as the source of life and fertility has prehistoric roots in nearly every culture across the planet, but the transformation of that deity into a Great Goddess of cosmic powers was achieved with the writing of Devi Mahatma (Glory of the Goddess), a text of the 5th-6th century a.d., when worship of the female energy took on dramatic new proportions. The Goddess is not only the mysterious source of life, she is the very earth and soil, all-creating and all consuming. In India a woman with a fiery temperament is often nicknamed Durga in recognition of the divine spark within her. She is the fervent autonomous goddess who knows how to stand for herself. But such assertiveness in western women is looked down upon, and considered overbearing or a flaw. How lovely it would be to live in a society where the female is revered and considered divine!
Jalaluddin Rumi
The Tantra Agamas belong to the Sakta cult. They glorify Sakti as the World-Mother. They dwell on the Sakti (energy) aspect of God and prescribe numerous courses of ritualistic worship of Divine Mother in various forms.
Tantra Yoga had been one of the potent powers for the spiritual regeneration of the Hindus.
The Tantras are not books of sorcery, witchcraft, magic spells, and mysterious formulae. They are wonderful scriptures. All persons without the distinctions of caste, creed, or colour may draw inspiration from them and attain spiritual strength, wisdom, and eternal bliss
Tantra Yoga lays special emphasis on the development of the powers latent in the six Chakras, from Muladhara to Ajna. Kundalini Yoga actually belongs to Tantric Sadhana which gives a detailed description about this serpent-power and the Chakras (plexus). Entire Tantric Sadhana aims at awakening Kundalini, and making her to unite with Lord Siva, in the Sahasrara Chakra.
About a year ago my daughter Sapphira was having terrible headaches and seemed to be sensitive to light, so we figured, migraines. We took her to the doctor and we researched on the Net and found out much about migraines. I'd like to share this information for those of you that think you may have the migraine condition, which, thankfully, Sapphira did not.
Many treatment options are available to migraine sufferers, but sufferers must first analyze their headaches with their doctors. Keeping a headache diary is a first step in gaining some control over headaches. Such diaries list when headaches occur, severity and duration of the headache, any triggers, dates of menstrual periods, and interventions attempted. It can also be helpful to list activities that migraines disrupt the most, and the symptoms that are most troublesome.
A migraine is a biologically based disorder. Its symptoms are the result of changes in the brain, not a weakness in character or an inappropriate reaction to stress. For many years, scientists believed migraines were linked to the dilation and constriction of blood vessels in the head. They now believe migraine is caused by inherited abnormalities in certain cells in the brain. People with migraine have an enduring predisposition to attacks triggered by a range of factors. Specific, abnormal genes have been identified for some forms of migraine. People who get migraine headaches, then, appear to overreact to various triggers, such as bright lights, odors, stress, weather changes or certain foods and beverages.
If you get a migraine, you may experience an aura 10 to 30 minutes before the attack. This may include flashing lights or zigzag lines, or you may temporarily lose vision. Other classic symptoms include speech difficulty, weakness of an arm or leg, tingling of the face or hands and confusion. About 20 percent of migraine victims experience an aura prior to an attack. Even if you don’t have an aura, you may experience a variety of vague symptoms beforehand, including mental fuzziness, mood changes, fatigue and unusual retention of fluids.
The pain of a migraine is described as intense, throbbing or pounding and is felt in the forehead, temple, ear, and jaw, around the eye or over the entire head. It may include nausea and vomiting, and can last a few hours, a day, or even up to three or four days. Migraines can strike as often as several times a week, or as rarely as once every few years. Some women experience migraines at predictable times — near the days of menstruation or every Saturday morning after a stressful workweek.
In addition to the classic migraine described above, migraine headaches can take several other forms:
* Hemiplegic migraine: Patients with hemiplegic migraine have temporary paralysis on one side of the body, a condition known as hemiplegia. Some people may experience vision problems and vertigo — a feeling that the world is spinning. These symptoms begin 10 to 90 minutes before the onset of headache pain.
* Ophthalmoplegic migraine: In ophthalmoplegic migraine, the pain is around the eye and is associated with a droopy eyelid, double vision and other sight problems.
* Basilar artery migraine: Basilar artery migraine involves a disturbance of a major brain artery. Preheadache symptoms include vertigo, double vision and poor muscular coordination. This type of migraine occurs primarily in adolescent and young adult women and is often associated with the menstrual cycle.
* Status migrainosus: This is a rare and severe type of migraine that can last 72 hours or longer. The pain and nausea are so intense sufferers must be hospitalized. The use of certain drugs can trigger status migrainosus. Neurologists report that many of their status migrainosus patients were depressed and anxious before they experienced headache attacks.
* Headache-free migraine: This type is characterized by such migraine symptoms as visual problems, nausea, vomiting, constipation or diarrhea. Patients, however, do not experience head pain. Headache specialists have suggested that unexplained pain in a particular part of the body, fever and dizziness could also be possible types of headache-free migraine.
One woman's viewpoint on modern society and double standards
We have entered the 21st century in a time like no other in history. With the internet and satellites and cell phones, it has become a global community in an information age. We live in trying times where a myriad of cultural and social issues makes deciphering truth and coming up with a solid opinion on ANYthing difficult. Just when we think we have an issue figured out, new information comes to light that shakes up our beliefs.
In this rapidly-changing world many find the onslaught of information overwhelming, and give up trying to form attitudes and beliefs to live by. Perhaps you have seen many with the attitude of the bumper sticker that says, "Everyone has to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer." Others opt out of the debate by going "back" to old ways and traditional values, blindly blocking out the modern world, or boxing up its inhabitants into clearly defined roles of "good" or "bad" -or relative to this article, "prude" or "slut," "frigid" or "whore."
Now one interesting thing you will note right off is these terms, commonly used and associated, refer to women. The very few terms in use describing a man's sexual proclivities are nearly all complimentary, even those that indicate the man has multiple frequent sex partners. But the truly disturbing element to this discussion is the most common usage of derogatory terms for a sexually-active woman are used by other women.
The use of double standards applies directly to the "traditional value" of sex sterotyping. What is this, you may ask? Sex stereotyping is the practice of making assumptions that women and men should play different roles in society. It tends to restrict the individual's life choices, limit potential, and waste talent and resources. On the sexual end of sex stereotyping, it demands that a decent or "good" girl, if she enjoys sex at all, bestow the fruit of her body on one, or a very limited number or men, while cheering on men to conquer and have intercourse with as many women as possible. On its most conservative end, a man who sleeps around is given the old "boys will be boys" while a female is branded forever.
Even in "enlightened" circles, the female is, at minimum, considered to have self-esteem issues if she is sexually independant. These same liberal thinkers often believe in gay rights and view it as a lifestyle choice, but when a woman actually enjoys sex, she is seen as dysfunctional. This attitude holds women back, keeps women down, as surely as the chains of discrimnation and inequity ever have. Just as surely as women in the workplace who are assertive, even aggressive, are held back and fought down, and should they achieve success, sometimes punished for it, the same goes for sexually assertive or aggressive women. A woman who takes the sexual initiative, or has the sexual control, is seen as unnatural, disturbed or of low self-esteem, thereby relegating women, as has been done for millennia, to the roles of baby machines who endure the demands of their husbands, because it is their "duty" to please them.
On the flip side of this argument, statistics show that sexual activity is increasing, and at a younger age. Nearly 3 in 10 children to age 14 have had sexual intercourse, and between 14 and 19 the number climbs to over 80%. The averages show that both sexes begin having sex 8 years before their first marriages. 93% of teenage women report their first sexual intercourse was voluntary, and 80% of these say it was not unwanted, coerced, or regrettable.
Additionally, studies have shown that only 3 in 10 Americans have dramatically altered their sexual practices in response to the AIDS crisis. Only 11% have chosen abstinence and only 23% have become "more" monagamous in the past decade. MORE monagamous. In one study conducted by the Massechusetts Department of Public Health, nearly 86% of adult women from teens to 50's reported having multiple sexual partners, 27% in the previous 12 months.
Though studies clearly show sexual activity and multiple partners decrease with age, recently it has been shown that, with the introduction into the mainstream society of drugs like Viagra, everyone is getting into the act.
Nationwide, incidents are on the increase, of senior citizens in active retirement communities having sex in public places. This broke into the media, and one such senior was quoted as saying, "The younger population assumes seniors never have sex," said Mauryne Hall, spokeswoman for Sun City's community's recreation centre. "But this is not God's waiting room. We have very active seniors. And seniors are human beings and have all the same urges and desires as all other human beings."
Apparently seniors all over are rediscovering their sex drives in growing numbers. Some possible reasons behind the surge in sexual urges are healthier lifestyles and performance-enhancing drugs such as Viagra, which has been mass marketed for years. In its 1999 Modern Maturity Sexuality Survey of people age 45 and above, researchers working for AARP found that two out of three respondents were sexually active and were satisfied in their sex lives.
And seniors are not necessarily limiting their options to marriage either. Senior sexual statistics may upset people who can't imagine their parents or grandparents getting amorous, but they indicate that it is happening, and often with multiple partners. In 1995, Arizona's Department of Health Services recorded 37 cases of gonorrhea among people 60 and older. The figure grew 46 per cent to 54 cases in 2000. The study shows also that because women outnumber their male counterparts in the above 55 age group, men are given many partners from which to choose.
With all this sexual activity, with multiple partners, occurring at every age, a rift is being built in the collective female psyche, whereupon women are haveing sex, and having it with more than one man over their lives, yet feeling guilty and repressing their urges, and demeaning themselves and other women by viewing their sexuality through antiquated judgmental eyes. Women who tear down themselves and other women by feeling guilt over their own actions and labeling them and those that practice them with negative labels are not defeating AIDS, STDs, or any other of society's ills. They are defeatoing the ability of women to move forward, make choices, be in control of their own sexuality, and enjoy, not endure, sex.
Psychological and mental health studies have indicated that sexual activity and the individual's perception of their own sexuality, dramatically affect mental health and mental stability. The religious institution then ingrains, and is echoed in society, the double standards and the unhealthy catch 22 of limiting, condemning, and attaching stigmas to natural human desires, creating a mentally unhealthy environment. While the media is aggresive, overly forceful, in its use of sex as a marketing and entertainment tool, this boosts sexual thoughts and inclinations in our society, then when the inevitable occurs, religion and sometimes government, step in to make us feel guilty for actions that are the result of these tactics. The saddest element of this issue is women tearing other women down, for no more reason than that one is self-assured, and sexually assertive.
I believe deep within each man, and each woman, lies the innate desire to find a mate, and to mate for life. But in the realities of our modern world feeling guilt within ourselves, or demeaning other women, is not productive, does not move society or women forward, and does not deal with the AIDS/STD issue in any meaningful way. The media could stop using sex as a marketing tool. The entertainment industry could stop using sex as its primary element for selling tickets, and we, as women, could stop being hippocritical and guilty, but stand strong and proud, control our own destiny and our own sexuality, and demand equality on every level of society.
