Category Archives: Natural & Alternative Health

Time to prepare your garden!

By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

A number of people ask me how and when to prepare their garden, usually when it’s too late to start their garden. Although it’s February and the snow piles outside may not be very inspiring, this truly is the best time to start thinking about preparing your garden. This little article is here to help your prep, or at least get you thinking about your ideal garden. Produce has skyrocketed in price this past year, so starting a small vegetable garden that you can later expand may be something you might want to consider.

Continue reading →

Find Balance This Spring With Stillness

By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

It’s been a while since I’ve written on my website/blog. With the state of the world the last couple of years drenched in chaos, uncertainty and fear, I felt the best way to get to the truth is to sit in stillness often. In stillness you find balance. In stillness you are better able to listen to your intuition. When you are reactionary, you put yourself in stress-mode, increasing your cortisol levels and lowering your immune system. Spring, however, is a reminder to come out of the darkness, reach for the light, and learn from those dark moments. Reflecting on times of chaos brings wisdom. Fear then disappears and returns one to a state of balance.

Continue reading →

Grow Oregano and Thyme for Health and Environment

Oregano and Thyme are two of my favourite herbs of all time. For me they are basic, and a staple in the Greek diet. They are anti-bacterial, anti-viral, immune boosting, and provide wonderful flavor to so many different types of foods. Plus, they are bee magnets.

In Greece thyme and oregano grow everywhere. Particularly in mountainous areas – which are the best places to gather them. However, there is one small environmental factor that many people forget about these herbs. Their flowers provide food and nourishment for the bees of Greece and anywhere else these herbs grow. The wonderful outcome of bees being fed and nourished by thyme and oregano in Greece is the creation of some of the best tasting honey you will ever eat in your lifetime!

Continue reading →

Gardening Improves Health and Happiness

2 Replies

If you weren’t hit by unexpected snow storms in the past month, it is time to prep your soil for planting seeds for vegetables that will keep you healthy through the summer and fall. Don’t think of it as a spring-time chore, but as the doorway to get you outdoors for health and happiness! The health benefits of gardening not only come from the end result, but also the labour of creating a garden.

Continue reading →

Yoga Health and Mommy Sanity

Yoga wasn’t something I actively sought out. It was more of a solution to a problem I had that eventually changed my life. In my early 20’s I was in the passenger seat of a car accident. I got a severe case of whiplash and was told to seek help from massage therapy, physical therapy, and a chiropractor for the out-of-place bones along my spine and hip. All of these were great for a while, but costly on my limited budget. I had read about yoga helping with the manipulation of muscle and bone alignment, and this is where my life-long journey to exploring yoga began for my health and sanity. What I didn’t expect is how important yoga would become when I became a mother.

Continue reading →

Reiki for Better Breath and De-Stress

Until I practiced Reiki I never realized I held my breath when I was tense or stressed. Holding your breath when stressed doesn’t allow the body to get enough oxygen, compromising your well-being, and increases your chances of fatigue. Reiki helped me improve my breathing habits.

Lack of oxygen to the brain does not allow it to think clearly. Things can get confusing, foggy and tiring quickly. Our bodies tense up and often lead to poor sleep patterns. We can also begin to compromise relationships, whether at work or personal, if we don’t cope with that stress.

Continue reading →

Don’t Let People Take Your Fire

I had the honor and pleasure of participating in a yoga session at my gym a few days ago with one of Colorado’s best Yoga Instructors, Gina Caputo (www.ginacaputo.com). She taught our class of over 60 people about the metaphors of yoga in daily life while in our practice. For me, the most important metaphor that resonated was not letting people take your fire.

Ms. Caputo let us understand how each section of our yoga session connected to daily life. Yoga sessions begin slow and get to a point of fire, where our muscles are burning and aching and we are certain we are going to fall over and lose our balance. Just as in life, things can get tough. We feel like the pain and suffering we are going through at certain points in our life (or people in our life are causing), are going to do us in, knock us over and not allow us to get back up again. But we do get through those painful times. The fire we feel ends at some point. No more straining. We find ourselves breathing normally again, finding a calmer point.

Continue reading →

Reiki for a Balanced Life

Finding Balance in an Overwhelming and Stressful World

When you feel overwhelmed with everything in your life – work, family, community involvement, etc. – and you just don’t have an extra minute to give to yourself, it’s time to find balance in your life. Reiki helped me look deep inside myself to understand how I got into my frazzled overwhelming world. Reiki also helped me understand how to get in control of my life again and feel balanced.

Continue reading →

Reduce Menopause Symptoms with Reiki

By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

Your brain feels fuzzy, you’re exhausted, emotional, have moments of depression, and sometimes you feel like you no longer have control over your body that now feels like an overheated car. Women at various stages of their lives have felt at least one of these symptoms, but before, during, and after entering menopause all these symptoms can hit you at once. If you aren’t ready to take supplements or medication for your stage of menopause, Reiki may be something you want to try to manage your symptoms.

Continue reading →

Gout During and After Menopause

By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

Red wine is a known antioxidant that fights free-radicals in the body, yet for some, especially if over-weight and not exercising, red wine can be a trigger to overwhelming pain in the big toe and an indicator of gout in the body. Women going through menopause and post-menopause are highly prone to getting gout, and although their big toe may not hurt, if there are aches and pains in the joints, gout may be present.

Continue reading →

Presence Over Perfection: Recovering from Postpartum Depression

First Published on June 13, 2015 on the website of Reiki Expert Pamela Miles at: http://reikiinmedicine.org/daily-practice/reiki-helps-postpartum-depression/

Reiki Helps Postpartum Depression – by Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

On the morning of my first Mother’s Day, I was sobbing uncontrollably. My mother and mother-in-law were trying to console me, but my hormones were on a roller coaster ride. I had postpartum depression.

Continue reading →

Yoga Poses for Menopause

1 Reply

By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

First Published on May 28, 2015 at: http://menopausemission.com/yoga-poses-for-menopause

Yoga instructor since 1983, and author of the book, Alpha Omega Yoga: The Art and Science of Self Transformation, Angela Kolias suggests two key yoga poses for everyone, but for women going through menopause these are quite helpful for getting through menopause symptoms.

Continue reading →

Menopause and Yoga

By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

First Published on April 20, 2015 at: http://menopausemission.com/menopause-and-yoga

Exercise is essential when going through menopause. It helps keep the blood circulating properly, strengthens muscles, decreases stress and mood swings, and most importantly it helps keep your mind centered. Yoga is a great form of exercise to do during menopause for all these reasons, but as for helping to keep your mind centered, it is probably the best form.

Continue reading →

Colorado Healthy Heat – Green Chilies

1 Reply

By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

The Colorado Rockies are not only hot during the summer months, but they also mark the growing and harvest season of a favorite vegetable in southern Colorado, the Green Chili. Roasted they are smoky and sweet, and come in a variety of heat levels. They also pack a punch when it comes to health benefits.

Continue reading →

Cancer and Menopause

By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

First Published at: http://menopausemission.com/menopause-cancer – on March 18, 2014

I attended a seminar at the most popular Herbal Shop in the Mid-West USA, Cheryl’s Herbs, that focused on Natural Support For Cancer Recovery. I was amazed at the amount of women that were attending and were going through both some stage of menopause and either recovering from cancer or fighting cancer. Others had a friend or family member going through both menopause and cancer and wanted more information. The key link between menopause and cancer was estrogen levels in the body, and how lifestyle and diet can regulate estrogen levels to make going through cancer recovery and menopause not only more tolerable, but less stressful on the body. The following is what I learned.

Continue reading →

Chickens in the Backyard Can Balance Community

By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

Would you put a chicken coop and chickens in your backyard if your city by-laws approved it? I recently moved to Colorado and although I knew that anyone could raise chickens in their backyard, I never thought my neighbor across the street would actually have them. The benefits: cleaner environment, healthier product, educational, and encourages community interaction – all of which, when combined promotes a balanced community lifestyle. Read on to understand why these are benefits.

Continue reading →

Latest Information on Global Obesity Studies 2014 – Who is Responsible?

Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

ON BBC World News yesterday Tam Fry from the National Obesity Forum spoke about the increase of obesity world-wide.

Their Global Obesity study showed:

Almost 30% of people are obese or overweight.
The US makes up 13% of the obese population
Two-thirds of obese people live in developing countries.
China and India represent 15% of obesity world-wide.
No country has cut obesity since the 1980’s

Mr. Fry suggests those in China and India are adopting western habits and moving away from their traditional cultural diet by eating at well-known fast food places, mostly because it’s a chic thing to do. Some countries in the Middle East also have the thought of obesity as a sign that one doing well economically. Continue reading →

Chestnuts – A Winter Classic for Christmas and Health

By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

First Published on December 23, 2013 at: http://menopausemission.com/chestnuts-winter-classic-christmas-health

You can’t help but think of Christmas when you hear the word “chestnut,” but this little nut not only provides a little extra lean protein to your diet in the late fall and winter months, but also boosts the immune system and has been known to be nourishing and tonic to women going through menopause.

Continue reading →

Find Chakra Balance Through Your Diet

The Doctor Oz Show had MD Kulreet Chaldhary on his show today with a wonderful explanation of Chakras, chakra balance, and their association with your well-being through diet.

She provided a great explanation of what chakras are along with foods that can provide balance to various health issues.

Here is a link to that explanation: http://blog.doctoroz.com/oz-experts/find-chakra-balance-through-your-diet

This is definitely worth reading if you are a little confused about the terminology and it’s association with Ayurveda.

PEPPERMINT TO KEEP COOL AND HEALTHY

By Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades

Published on October 26, 2013 at http://menopausemission.com/peppermint-keep-cool-healthy

Peppermint is a quick, healthy and easy way to keep cool, and provide some extra health benefits. Whether it’s a hot summer day and you are trying to stay cool, you’ve just finished a long walk or jog, or are suffering from hot sweats because you are pregnant or menopausal, check out these tips for using peppermint to improve your health.

Continue reading →