10 Cool Facts You Didn't Know About Pomegranates

Sweet and tart. Tangy and juicy. Delicious. 

That's the pleasure you get when you crack open a fresh pomegranate and suck on the deep red seeds of the luscious fruit. Or when you simply crack open a bottle of pure pomegranate juice and take a satisfying gulp.

Not only are pomegranates tasty, but they're also full of natural health benefits. After all, this fruit's rich ruby-red look comes from polyphenols, the potent antioxidants. Plus, both the fruit and its outer skin are rich in flavonoids (a compound with important health benefits). That's part of the reason pomegranates have recently generated a flurry of excitement in the scientific community.

Here's a look at some of the fascinating benefits of pomegranates discovered by researchers around the world:

1. They're anti-inflammatory.

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University discovered that eating pomegranates reduces the production of chemicals that cause inflammation. In other words, they could provide relief of chronic inflammatory conditions and have anti-aging effects.

2. They're good for the heart.

As we know, pomegranate juice is rich in polyphenols with high-antioxidant potential. Research from Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing notes that it's a heart-healthy fruit that can help reduce blood pressure.

3. They can assist with weight loss.

Chinese researchers found that a polyphenol in pomegranate might help reduce obesity caused by high-fat diets and protect against metabolic disorders.

4. They help protect your skin from damage.

The strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of pomegranate might help protect skin against sun-induced damage, according to a study from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

5. They could improve sexual health.

Pomegranate juice has been shown to enhance blood flow. And a pilot study found that pure pomegranate juice could have beneficial effects on erectile dysfunction.

6. They protect the liver.

Chinese researchers found that polyphenols and flavonoids, the major antioxidant components harnessed from pomegranates, might protect people from liver damage.

7. They help fight infection.

Pomegranate has been recognized for its antimicrobial effects. For example, the dried powder of pomegranate peel has been shown to strongly inhibit candida and yeast.

8. They could help women in labor.

A study from the University of Liverpool discovered that pomegranate extract has the potential to be used to encourage the uterus to contract during labor, through a rise in calcium, which is necessary for any muscle to contract.

9. They protect against arthritis.

Pomegranate is used as a nutritional therapy in alternative medicine for inflammatory conditions like arthritis. U.S. scientists discovered that pomegranate could help reduce severe arthritis and joint inflammation and help keep your bones strong.

10. They help with brain health.

An international team of researchers led by the University of Huddersfield discovered that a natural polyphenol compound found in pomegranate can inhibit inflammation in specialized brain cells, to help prevent or slow down Alzheimer's development.

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-22647/10-cool-facts-you-didnt-know-about-pomegranates.html

Healing With Reiki

Reiki, pronounced ray-key and is a Japanese term that translates to universal (rei) and life force energy (ki).  This is an energy-centric healing technique with Japanese roots that has only officially been around since the 1920s. Reiki is a simple and natural healing method that reduces stress, induces relaxation and promotes deep healing within oneself.

When you experience illness, depression, anxiety or any other sickness, it's because your life force energies are off balance. Reiki Masters can work with you to tune into those energies and re-balance the body so it can heal itself.  This is done by placing their hands on, or slightly over the head, torso and legs in a series of positions near the body's major energy meridians and centers. Energy is then transferred through these centers allowing your body to self-heal. 

Reiki's Roots

Reiki was created by the Japanese scholar Mikao Usui who developed it after a 21-day fasting meditation trip to Mount Kurama.  Following this spiritual revelation, he returned to develop the practice. He worked with locals, healed his neighbors and "gave away" his energy.

During this time, he trained reiki's next grand master: Chujiro Hayashi, a naval officer and physician. Hayashi then opened a reiki clinic in Tokyo, where he worked with many sick individuals, including Hawayo Takata, a Japanese-American woman from Hawaii. She became the third grand master and is credited with introducing the practice to the Western world in Hawaii in the early 1940s. Over the last 70 years Reiki has become more common, with countless certified students and masters.

Managing Misconceptions

It's important to understand what reiki isn't. reiki is different from massage because it is the movement of energy, not tissue or muscle.  Also, reiki practitioners don't diagnose or treat medical or psychiatric conditions. They simply offer supportive therapy that can promote balance, comfort and pain relief during treatment but is not to be a primary source of care for health concerns.

Book a Reiki Ritual Today!

Lemon Water With Himalayan Salt

Benefits of This Simple Morning Tonic

Routines play a big part in how we live our daily lives. We may like to do a few yoga poses, meditation, or a walk with your dog around the neighborhood in the mornings before getting started with the day. These routines are vital to our health and happiness.

One thing you can try to add to your daily routine is a quick and simple glass of warm lemon water with Himalayan salt. All you need is a small 10-ounce glass of this daily and you can see increased immune function, improved digestion and balance in your body. These benefits come from the Vitamin C in the lemon juice as well as the essential minerals contained in Himalayan salt.

Lemons fight inflammation and can help build and repair bone, tendons and ligaments. This is beneficial for people with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. A daily glass of this drink may provide better overall mineral balance and proper food and water absorption allowing nutrients to get where they need to be.

Source: The Nutrition Watch Dog

The Sun Goddess Ritual

Calling all sun gods and goddesses! At Serenity Spa, we're offering a lovely summer special.

The sacred practice of sun worshiping reawakens the spirit and enlivens the mind, but our skin’s delicate composition is affected by the sun’s damaging rays. Experience cooling mint, hydrating goji berry extract, and soothing rose essential oil to renew skin’s vitality, revive luminosity, and restore elasticity for youthful, glowing skin that is ready to worship the sun. Follow this cooling facial with a peppermint, eucalyptus and rose essential oil massage: detoxifying the body, settling the mind and awakening the spirit.

  

60 minute essential oil massage & 60 minute rose mint facial-$199
Add a 60 minute rosemary mint awakening body treatment-$299

Book your treatment today by visiting our website or calling (916) 797-8550.

Practicing Positive Karma

Today, as we do every Tuesday, we observe the principle of the Law of Karma.

Karma is the principle of cause and effect. It is summarized simply by the proverb “As we sow, so shall we reap.” If we plant seeds of health, harmony, and abundance, we’ll ultimately receive these beneficial fruits. On the other hand, if we sow seeds of anger, greed, or fear, such will be our harvest.

Karma isn’t about being punished or destined to suffer endlessly, as many people mistakenly believe. Instead, the law of karma offers us complete freedom, for we are the ones creating the results we experience. Some mysterious force or capricious god isn’t in charge, arbitrarily meting out rewards and hardship. If we don’t like the results we’re having, we are free to make different decisions.

Here are three ways the Dalai Lama suggests practicing good karma in life:

• Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
• When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
• Follow the three R’s: respect for self, respect for others and responsibility for all your actions.

Online Resources for Yoga, Meditation and Wellness

Photos via I Can Read on Tumblr.

Are you looking for resources and tools to help guide your journey toward physical, mental and spiritual health? Here are a few links from around the web that we find inspiring.

http://www.chopracenterhealingwisdom.com/
A Chopra Center blog with scientific and spiritual findings.

http://www.yogajournal.com/
A leading publication in the yoga world offering insight from master teachers and healers.

http://kripalu.org/blog/thrive/
A blog from the Kripalu Center which focuses on yoga, health and wellness.

http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/
A site to help you learn how to sit in stillness for a few minutes during your busy day.

http://www.dailyom.com/
Daily inspiration for achieving self-fulfillment 

http://www.elephantjournal.com/
Elephant Journal covers quite the mix: yoga, sustainability, politics and spirituality.

http://www.spiritualnow.com
Articles on topics such as enlightenment, compassion, wisdom, relationships and strength. 

Celebrate Dads, Grads and Grooms

Have you thought about celebrating Father's Day, upcoming graduations, and weddings this summer?

Here at Serenity Spa, we're offering an amazing deal to celebrate dads, grads and grooms!

Gift Certificates Available 90 minutes of bliss $139  Drench him in our indigenous therapies that will take him where the sun fires the SOUL while the sea settles the MIND. Relax with a Hot Stone Balinese FOOT SCRUB with the citrus of the sun & the salt of the sea. Flow into a 30 minute TANDEM MASSAGE with two therapists working in synchronicity on the neck, head, face, shoulders, legs and feet. This is followed by 45 minutes of DEEP TISSUE THERAPY, with attention to the back. All infused with camphor, clove, and cardamom oils to soothe and restore tired muscles.

serenity spa 3984 Douglas Blvd. #150 Roseville, California 95661 916-797-8550 www.serenityspaonline.com

Shirodhara

At Serenity Spa, we offer a variety of Ayurvedic treatments. One of these is shirodhara.

Shirodhara is a simple, yet profound treatment that works specifically on balancing and stabilizing the activity of the mind. Warm, dosha-specific herbal oils are beautifully streamed over the Ajna Chakra or third eye, taking the participant on a journey deep within. This helps bring balance to emotions and the mind, and is balancing to the nervous system, creating ecstatic feelings of relaxation and pleasure. 

At Serenity Spa, we offer this 45 minute service for $90. Call our front desk at (916) 797-8550 or see our website to schedule an appointment.

Shirodhara is a form of Ayurveda therapy that involves gently pouring liquids over the forehead (the 'third eye'). It was developed by vaidyas (practitionars of Ayurveda) in Kerala, India for use in sukhachikitsa (restorative therapy) and can be one of the steps involved in Panchakarma. The name comes from the Sanskrit words shira 'head' and dhara 'flow'.

To read more about shirodhara, check out this article from the California College of Ayurveda.

Thoughts on Yoga

You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state.

The Law of Intention and Desire

The Law of Intention and Desire: Inherent in every intention and desire is the mechanics for its fulfillment. Intention and desire in the field of pure potentiality have infinite organizing power. When we introduce an intention in the fertile ground of pure potentiality, we put this infinite organizing power to work for us.

I will put the Law of Intention and Desire into effect by making a commitment to take the following steps:

• I will make a list of all my desires. I will carry this list with me wherever I go. I will look at this list before I go into my silence and meditation. I will look at it before I go to sleep at night. I will look at it when I wake up in the morning.
• I will release this list of my desires and surrender it to the womb of creation, trusting that when things don't seem to go my way, there is a reason, and that the cosmic plan has designs for me much grander than even those I have conceived.
• I will remind myself to practice present-moment awareness in all my actions. I will refuse to allow obstacles to consume and dissipate the quality of my attention in the present moment. I will accept the present as it is, and manifest the future through my deepest, most cherished intentions and desires.