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Four Things To Consider When Choosing Your Meditation CD

Meditation is one of the most important activities you need to do each day. One of the most important tools you need when starting to learn how to meditate is a meditation cd and it is really important that you choose the right type of meditation music. Whilst many experienced meditators will not use meditation music, beginners will find it easier to get to that state of calm and focus using the right meditation music.

The most important activities you need to do each day

#1. The Tempo of the Music

The number one issue that must be considered when selecting Meditation CD’s is the tempo of the music. When choosing your meditation cd’s you need to make sure that the meditation music you choose is written and played at 60 beats per minute. Research has found that meditation music played at 60 beats per minute will help produce alpha waves on both the left and right side of the brain. The research showed that Baroque Music played at 60 beats per minute produced an optimum amount of alpha waves, better known as Calmness Waves that help you gain a sense of calm and to relax.

Baroque Music played at 60 beats per minute, produce a similar volume of alpha waves in the same way whistling a happy tune does. The alpha state of mind is ideal for creative learning and meditation.

#2. The Style of the Music

Just like with the tempo, the style of music is crucial when choosing your first meditation cd. The style of music you choose will play an important role when you are first starting to learn meditation. The best style of music for those starting out is Baroque Music played at 60 beats per minute. The reason for this is that the 60 beats per minute correlates to our optimum heart rate and research has found this style of music helps a person reach that point of calm in an optimum period.

Other styles of music written and played at 60 beats per minute are also appropriate for meditation. Even music based on flowing water or bush sounds can be very useful for somebody first trying meditation.

#3. Instrumental Vs Voice

The best style of meditation cd’s is those that are instrumental rather than voice based. The only exception to the rule is where you are using a guided meditation cd. The key reason we try to avoid voice based meditation cd’s is that the person meditating, especially if they are new to meditation will tend to focus on the words of the music, than trying to release their mind.

#4. The Sorts of Instruments Used

Choosing the right sort of music with appropriate instruments will be a strategic decision and can have a huge impact on the success of your meditation session. You will find that most meditation cd’s will base their core instrument on a stringed instrument rather than a woodwind instrument. However, all that said and done there is lots of very successful meditation cd’s that use flutes for their meditation music however it is unlikely you would find effective meditation cd’s using a Saxophone. When starting out on your meditation voyage, try to locate a meditation cd that uses string instruments such as guitars or harps because the music is more sustained and balanced.

#5. Length of the Songs

The length of the songs can play a very important role in meditating. When you are starting out you need to locate a range of meditation music that will go for a period of 20 minutes. From experience it has been found that meditating for less than 20 minutes simply does not give you the same result as meditation for 20 minutes or more. Make sure that when you do choose a certain type of music that your meditation tape plays the same type of music for the full length of the meditation period. Sudden changes in the style of music during a meditation period can affect your ability to maintain your focus during the meditation session.

Meditation can make a huge difference to your life when done correctly and one of the best tools you can use when starting out on your meditation voyage is to use meditation music. To finish I will outline the five things you should evaluate when choosing your meditation cd’s.

#1. The Tempo of the Music
#2. The Style of the Music
#3. Instrumental Vs Voice
#4. The Sorts of Instruments Used
#5. Length of the Songs

Chris has Baroque Meditation Music available at - Meditation Meditation 2 and a simple six step meditation program - Relaxation Techniques for Stress Management

The challenge new meditators have when learning meditation is whether to use guided mediation or to use unguided meditation.

Guided Meditation vs UnGuided Meditation

Our objective in this article is to look at both meditation types so that you can choose which meditation style will suit your requirements.

Guided Meditation involves somebody guiding you through the meditation process. That is they literally talk you through the whole meditation process. There are some advantages and disadvantages to this technique. One of the reasons you may consider guided meditation is to help expand your understanding of the various meditation techniques.

The Guided Meditation technique can be presented in a number of ways. You may do a guided meditation session in a small group with a meditation practitioner or you might do a guided meditation session using a meditation cd or meditation dvd.

If you are first starting out, the Guided Meditation sessions is a good way to learn meditation as the meditation practitioner will talk you through the experience and to help you identify what you should be feeling and how to effectively move you into the state that your meditation technique is trying to get you in.

For example if your guided meditation session is teaching you how to master the deep-breath meditation technique then the practitioner will talk you through how to relax and release the tension within your body. They will also be able to tell you what you should be thinking and feeling. A good practitioner will also give you some exercises during the session to try at home that will help your experiment with the meditation technique.

The obvious downside to guided meditation is that someone is actually talking to you during the meditation session. Sometimes what people will find is that it is difficult to get to that state they are trying to achieve when someone is talking during the session. Often what you will have to do is to follow a guided meditation session for a number of times till you can learn and remember the meditation process and then try it for yourself in an unguided meditation session on your own.

Some meditation classes in remote locations will undertake unguided sessions out in the natural surrounding and will use the sounds of nature as the tool to help bring the group to a point of relaxation.

Some meditation centres also offer unguided meditation sessions in a group. What this means is that the whole group meditates together but the session is done in silence with no-one speaking. Many group meditation sessions though will still use meditation music as the basis of the session.

Once again though one of the key elements of these unguided sessions is that no-one is allowed to speak during the meditation period. The group leader will generally use a special sound to bring the group meditation session to an end.

Most professional meditation practitioners will recommend that a person who is new to meditation take a guided meditation session so that they can learn how to achieve the state of mind the type of meditation they are trying to get to. Learning to meditate is one of the most important tools any human can master and can help improve your day-to-day life and help you cope with your surroundings.

Once you have undertaken a few guided meditation sessions you will certainly be able to pursue unguided meditation sessions on your own and the more practice the more effective your meditation will be. It is also worth considering purchasing a few different guided meditation cd’s so that if in the future you are unsure of what to do during the meditation session, you can refer to the meditation cd as a reference.

Chris has Baroque Meditation Music available at - Meditation Music, a simple six step meditation program - Six Step Most Powerful Meditation Technique and How to choose your Meditation CD's

What Is Guided Meditation?

Meditation in essence is about helping you to develop inner peace, calmness and a sense of tranquillity but it is also about helping you to grow as a person. Too often people perceive meditation as a hippy thing, or something for those marijuana smoking duds to do but really what meditation is about is helping you with your mind and the way your mind influences your life.

Guided meditation really involves someone guiding you through the process of meditation and helping you to achieve an outcome of some description. Most people associate meditation with simply sitting on the floor with your eyes closed going Ummm. Ummm. Which I can certainly say is not the outcome we are looking for and would in essence be totally useless.

Meditation just like anything you do must have a purpose. For example, what is the purpose of getting a job? Well essentially the purpose of getting a job is to help you gain money so that you can buy a house or car, get food to eat or go on a holiday. If you did not have a purpose for a job, why would you work? You would not!

Meditation is exactly the same. You need to have a purpose when you meditate. The purpose for meditation can be varied for example you could meditate to –

#1. Find Inner Peace

#2. To Bring About Focus

#3. To Relax

#4. To Help You Change Your State of Mind

#5. Improve Creativity and Learning

#6. Help Build Your Confidence and Self-Esteem

#7. To Focus on Self-Healing

#8. To Help Control Internal and External Pain

#9. Meditate to Overcome Your Fears

There really are unlimited reasons for why you would want to meditate. The objective of guided meditation is to help you take the right meditation path to achieve those objectives.

Choosing a Meditation Guide is really an important step you need to make. For example different meditation experts and practitioners will have different techniques and will guide you through different paths depending on what you are trying to achieve.

The majority of meditation practitioners will teach you deep breathing meditations when you first start because if you do not know how to relax and maintain focus, then the other meditation paths will certainly not work. Remember one thing, every meditation guide will be different and I recommend that before paying a meditation guide to help you, try to see if they will give you a free lesson.

What I have found in the past is that every meditation practitioner is different and I have even found the meditation practitioners from the one meditation centre can vary dramatically in the guiding process, so you need to find the guide who best works for you. Let me give an example of what I mean. I am always on the lookout for new ideas and thoughts when it comes to meditation and I recently purchased a Chakra meditation cd which included a guided meditation program. I put the cdrom into my computer and within the first five minutes of listening to it, I burst out laughing simply because the voice was digitally altered and was totally unreal. For me this guided meditation tool was never going to work as I could not take it seriously. Now for some people this particular meditation cd may have worked and they may think totally differently about the meditation cd. For me it did not work.

There are many different styles of guided meditation. If you goto your local bookstore or check out the internet you will find an abundance of guided meditation cd’s, dvd’s and videos. Before you rush out and buy them, I strongly encourage you to see if there is sample of what they offer just to see if their guided meditation is what you are after. Any good quality meditation programs, will offer you some sort of limited look at their products so that you can see if they will work for you. If you are going to a health retreat or meditation centre for a guided meditation experience, find out if they offer a Free Introductory CDROM of their program. Always try these out first because there is nothing worse to go to a meditation retreat only to find out it does not suit you.

One thing I recommend to everyone is to try out meditation before you go to any of these retreats even if you just try out the Deep Breathing Meditation exercises. Meditation does take practice and the more practice you do the better you will get at it. Some people when they first go to guided meditation programs do not get the outcomes they expect, not because the programs do not work, but simply because they do not realise it does take practice to master meditation.

Chris has Baroque Meditation Music available at - Meditation Music, a simple six step meditation program - Six Step Most Powerful Meditation Technique and How to choose your Meditation CD's

Therapeutic Essential Oils

Therapeutic benefits of essential oils have long been known and proven. Ever since ancient times, these strong and aromatic oil extracts from plants were being used to relax the body and sooth the mind. Hieroglyphics of the ancient Egyptians and old Chinese documents prove that even the earliest civilizations were aware of the various benefits of essential oils, including their healing benefits.

Modern studies confirm their health benefits, although there are still many debates about their therapeutic claims. Aromatherapy, which is a practice of healing through the use of therapeutic essential oils, however, remains to be popular around the world.

What are the benefits of essential oils?

Distilled essential oils extracted from roots, flowers, petals, leaves, seeds, bark, and stems of the plant contain high oxygenating components that help transport oxygen and different kinds of nutrients to various parts of the body. They also aid in removing carbon dioxide and other wastes.

Fragrant aroma of the oil also balances electrical frequencies of the brain and, thus, prevents diseases. It also significantly affects the limbic system, where reason, emotion, and smell are processed. Certain components of the essential oils, when inhaled, help release emotional trauma.

Using Essential Oils

There are a lot of ways to achieve therapeutic benefits of essential oils; foremost of which is through inhalation. When the person inhales the aroma of the essential oil, the natural chemicals of the oil revitalizes the lungs, allowing them to supply oxygen throughout the body more effectively.

You can also apply the essential oils (mostly diluted with carrier oils such as sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, and hazelnut oil) directly to the skin. It is believed that the oil is absorbed into the blood and there it helps supply nutrients to various parts of the body. Furthermore, when applied to the skin, the essential oils also act as a natural repellent and thereby, prevent skin diseases.

Essential oils can also be absorbed through the skin by bathing in warm water with essential oil extracts, massaging the body with the essential oil and using skin care products with essential oil components.

Other essential oils can be taken orally; however, be sure to consult a licensed professional or someone knowledgeable in the use of therapeutic essential oils before you take them. This is especially true for pregnant women. Some essential oils can induce abortion.

Essential Oils provides detailed information on Essential Oils, Aromatherapy Essential Oils, Therapeutic Essential Oils, Organic Essential Oils and more. Essential Oils is affiliated with Ginseng Tea.

Audio-Visual Entrainment, History and Physiological Mechanisms

History

Clinical reports of flicker stimulation appear as far back as the dawn of modern medicine. It was at the turn of the 20th century when Pierre Janet, at the Salpêtrière Hospital in France, reported that when he had his patients gaze into the flickering light produced from a spinning spoked wheel in front of a kerosene lantern, it lowered their depression, tension and hysteria (34). Then, in 1934, Adrian and Matthews published their results showing that the alpha rhythm could be "driven" above and below the natural frequency with photic stimulation (1).

This discovery further propagated dozens of small physiological outcome studies on the "flicker following response" by many well respected researchers (4,5,11,20,18,22,43). However no one considered the subjective and behavioral effects of photic stimulation. Finally in 1956, W. Gray Walter published the results on thousands of test subjects comparing flicker stimulation with the subjective emotional feelings it produced (46).

Meanwhile, William Kroger accomplished other important developments in photic stimulation. Kroger was a physician investigating why radar operators were going into trances in front of their radar sets and of course, leaving the ship or plane at great risk to the enemy. He concluded that the rhythmic "blip" of the radar was "pulling" the radar operators into a trance state. These findings compelled Kroger to team up with Sydney Schneider of the Schneider Instrument Company of Ohio to construct and market the first electronic clinical photic stimulator, called the "Brainwave Synchronizer." It comprised of an intense xenon strobe light complete with a rotating dial that could be set to the frequencies of the standard four brain wave rhythms. They found the Brainwave Synchronizer had powerful hypnotic qualities and soon published a study on hypnotic induction (24). They also prompted other studies involving hypnotic induction in surgery and dentistry, and studies of general interest to the hypnosis profession (38, 31, 29).

In 1981, my wife, Nancy, and I incorporated Comptronic Devices Limited, with a focus on designing TENS units and EMG feedback devices for dental (TMJ) applications. In 1984, I designed the "Digital Audio-Visual Integration Device" (DAVID1), used for hypnotic induction and to calm anxiety in performing arts students at the University of Alberta. The "light and sound" (L&S) market at this time was in its infancy and resided primarily within the new age sector. There was little "known" research to support L&S technology, and professionals by and large showed disinterest. Due mainly to poorly designed L&S products and a lack of research, about 40 L&S companies have come and gone, most of them during the 1980s and 1990s. However, since the time of Adrian and Matthews, a considerable number of studies have verified photic and auditory "driving" of the EEG. I have since re-named this phenomenon as "audio-visual entrainment" or AVE, as any given frequency of stimulation that is reflected in brain wave activity and observable on an EEG or QEEG can be entrained. Many more studies on photic or combined audio/photic stimulation exist than pure audio stimulation studies, however audio-only stimulation studies have confirmed audio entrainment (8) and its effect on calming masseter muscle tension (30).

Physiology of Audio-Visual Entrainment

In order for entrainment to occur, a constant, repetitive stimuli of sufficient strength to "excite" the thalamus must be present. The thalamus then passes the stimuli onto the sensory-motor strip, the cortex in general and associated processing areas such as the visual and auditory cortexes. Figure 1 shows the visual pathway with the retina of both eyes becoming excited and sending pulses down the optic nerve, through the optic chiasm, and into the lateral geniculate of both thalami. From here, the visual signals are passed onto the visual and cerebral cortexes for further processing. Notice that there is very little delay from the onset of the flash to the response in the optic nerve, but a delay of approximately 100 msec occurs by the time the visual evoked potential (VEP) is elicited in the visual cortex. This delay may be why entrainment occurs best at the natural alpha frequency -- as 100 msec equates to 10 Hz.

Figure 1. The EEG Photic Stimulation Path

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Photic entrainment begins its process as a series of overlapping evoked potentials (23). Kinney broke down a simple VEP into its various components (Figure 2) representing the passage of time for 4, 8, 12 and 20 Hz. As can be seen, much of the VEP occurs within 250 msec, correlating to four Hz. The various overlapping parts were then vector summed into the mathematical VEP and compared with the actual VEPs observed by EEG at the higher, entrained frequencies, shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. EEG Wavelet

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When this mathematical model was compared with the actual observed EEG of the entrained stimuli (Figure 3), a high degree of predictability was observed, demonstrating that photic entrainment is indeed a vector summation of VEPs and not a novel neuronal process.

Figure 3. EEG VEPs - Vector Addition (theoretical) Model vs Observed EEG

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By definition, entrainment occurs when an EEG reflects the brain wave frequency duplicating that of the stimuli, be it audio, visual or tactile (41). Entrainment occurs best near one's own natural alpha frequency (43, 23). LEDs and xenon strobe lights contain much harmonic content due to the "squareness" or rapid turn-on and turn-off transitions of the stimuli and these harmonics are reflected within the EEG. Figure 4 shows a strong and pure entrainment at 12 Hz. The harmonics (small wavelets) seen in the EEG are a reflection of the actual harmonics contained within the stimulus. Square wave stimulation is associated with an increased risk of seizure (21, 37). The only way to produce entrainment without harmonics is via sine wave stimulation in which the stimuli turn on and turn off in slow, gentle transitions and do not contain harmonics. (45, 44, 35, 41).

Figure 4. EEG Showing Photic Entrainment

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AVE at 18.5 Hz has also been shown to produce dramatic increases in EEG amplitude at the vertex (14), where it was found that:

a) eyes-closed 18.5 Hz. photic entrainment increased 18.5 Hz EEG activity by 49%.
b) eyes-open auditory entrainment produced increased 18.5 Hz. EEG activity by 27%.
c) eyes-closed auditory entrainment produced increased 18.5 Hz EEG activity by 21%.
d) eyes-closed AVE produced increased 18.5 Hz. EEG activity by 38.3%.

Entrainment primarily shows itself frontally and near the vertex (41). Figure 5 is a QEEG, or "brainmap" from the SKIL (Sterman-Kaiser Imaging Labs) database, in 1Hz bins showing the frequency distribution of AVE at 7.8 Hz. The area within the circle at 8Hz shows maximal effects of AVE in central, frontal and parietal regions (at 10uv in this case) as referenced with the oval area on the legend. It is through these effects that AVE has proven effective in treating depression, anxiety and attentional disorders. A harmonic is also present at 16 Hz. (the circled image), which is typical of semi-sine wave (part sine/part square wave) stimulation.

Figure 5. Brain Map in 1Hz Bins -- During 7.8 Hz AVE (SKIL-Eyes Closed)

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Body/Mind Effects of Audio-Visual Entrainment

We conceptualize AVE as achieving its effects through several mechanisms at once (40). These include:

1) dissociation / hypnotic induction,
2) increased neurotransmitters,
3) possible increased dendritic growth,
4) altered cerebral blood flow, and
5) normalized EEG activity.

Dissociation

Dissociation is described as a process where feelings, memories and physical sensations are kept apart from other information that would normally be logically associated. In pathological terms, dissociation is a maladaptive disruption in integrated functioning typically associated with depersonalization, stress, identity, amnesia and depersonalization disorders (7).

On the other hand, dissociation occurs when we meditate, exercise, read a good book, take in a movie or enjoy a sporting event, because we get drawn into the present moment and dissociate from all of our daily hassles, worries, anxieties and the resulting unhealthy mental chatter. Several techniques such as dot staring and stimulus depression have been shown to induce dissociation (26). Audio dissociation analgesia using white noise has been shown to effectively increase pain threshold and pain tolerance during a dental procedure (33).

Regardless of the activity, this type of dissociation reduces our weekly stress load, whether we are aware of it or not. In essence, when we focus on something, we dissociate from other things. The saying, "a change is as good as a rest," has much more truth to it than initially meets the eye (40).

The first study on dissociation induced via entrainment involved hypnotic induction and found that photic stimulation at alpha frequencies could easily put subjects into hypnotic trances (24, 29). Figure 6 shows the results of Kroger and Schneider's study in which nearly 80% of the participants in the study were in a hypnotic trance within six minutes of photic entrainment.

Figure 6. Photic Stimulation Induction of Hypnotic Trance (24)

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Psychologists have been looking for ways to dissociate their clients as a part of fear and phobia treatment. Inducing dissociation using AVE delivered by the DAVID1 was found to be more effective than dot staring or stimulus deprivation (26) as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7. AVE Induced Dissociation (26)

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Furthermore, Leonard completed a second study with people who experience dissociative anxiety (27). People with dissociative anxiety feel a need to have a sense of control in their lives and become anxious or panicky when they dissociate, be it driving home, at the office, or in a clinical setting. The Acute Dissociation Inventory (ADI) is a 35-item self-report scale (26). It assesses dissociative sensations (ADI-Dissoc) and subjective anxiety, or dissociative anxiety in response to dissociative provocation (ADI-Anx). Leonard and her colleagues clinically dissociated people who become anxious when dissociating, by using a DAVID Paradise HemistepTM alpha session. As expected, the participants' anxiety (ADI-Anx) had almost doubled by the end of the AVE session. The surprise, however, was that their heart rate actually decreased, contrary to normal anxiety reactions (Figure 8). With the ability to clinically dissociate these people, yet simultaneously calm them down somatically, AVE can be used as a desensitization tool for reducing dissociative anxiety.

Figure 8. Dissociative Anxiety and Somatic Arousal (27)

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A dissociative mindstate or hypnotic trance may be described in terms of an altered state of consciousness (ASC) in which the subject (or an independent observer of the subject) observes a qualitative shift in the normal pattern of mental functioning (16). ASCs produced via overstimulation also occur when a person is bombarded with higher than normal levels of sensory input, usually in more than one sensory modality (19, 28, 17). Glicksohn studied photic entrainment and the ASCs produced. He monitored the EEGs of subjects during photic entrainment. They all described a wide variety of reactions to the stimulation with some reporting incredible imagery consisting of items they had seen before in their lives, intertwined with geometrical patterns while others reported no visual changes at all. At the end of the study, Glicksohn concluded that:

1) It is the increase in alpha activity created by photic driving, and not the natural alpha activity itself, that is conducive to an ASC.

2) The appearance of visual imagery is neither necessary nor all that is involved to indicate the experience of an ASC.

3) If a photic driving response is not elicited, the subject will not experience an ASC.

Glicksohn's observations support the concept that in order for AVE to occur, the stimulating frequency must have a direct impact on brain wave frequency and be observable on an EEG. Dissociation and Restabilization

Dissociating clients with trauma histories, during the course of treatment is important. The state of mind that a person has at any given moment is made up of the brainwave activity associated with apprehension, anxiety, physical tension (proprioceptive/afferent associations), destructive thoughts, and conditioned responses relating to the colors, smells, sounds, etc. Once the mind is clear, all of these tensions, conditioned responses (bracing habits), fearful thoughts and the effects of afferance (sensory information) subside, allowing the mind and brain to relax, become more malleable and open to new healthy thoughts, post-hypnotic suggestions, brainwave activity and so on. During AVE, the EMG and electro-dermal responses fall, finger temperature increases and breathing becomes smooth and diaphragmatic. These changes reflect a return to homeostasis or restabilization, hence the term dissociation and restabilization (DAR) (40).

Figure 9 shows a typical reduction in forearm EMG and Figure 10 shows a typical increase in finger temperature. Notice that restabilization begins after about six minutes of AVE, when the user begins dissociating. Figure 11 shows normalization of breathing and heart rate variability following exposure to AVE at 7.8 Hz.

Figure 9. Forearm EMG Levels During AVE (Hawes, 2000)

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Figure 10. Peripheral Temperature Levels During AVE (Hawes, 2000)

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Neurotransmitters

There is evidence that blood serum levels of serotonin, endorphine, and melatonin rise considerably following 10 Hz., white-light AVE (42). Increases in endorphines reflect increased relaxation while increased norepinephrine along with a reduction in daytime levels of melatonin, indicate increased alertness (Figure 11).

Figure 11. Neurotransmitter Levels Following AVE (42)

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Dendritic Growth

There is evidence that stimulating neurons with mild electrical stimulation promotes growth of dendrites and dendritic shaft synapses in the cells being stimulated (6, 25). However, studies do not yet exist on the influence of AVE on dendritic growth, although it is suspected because many people with autism, palsy, stroke and aneurysm (36) have gained significant motor and cognitive function following a treatment program of AVE.

Cerebral Blood Flow

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is essential for good mental health and function. SPECT and FMRI imaging of CBF show that hypoperfusion of CBF is associated with many forms of mental disorders. CBF increases dramatically during AVE (12, 39). Figure 18 shows an increase of 28% in cerebral blood flow within the striate cortex, a primary visual processing area within the occiput. As an interesting note, maximal CBF occurs at 7.8 Hz, the Schumann Resonance of the earth.

Figure 12. Cerebral Blood Flow at Various AVE Repetition Rates (12)

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Following Fox and Raichle's study was a whole head PET analysis of visual entrainment at 0, 1, 2, 4, 7, and14 Hz (32). This study on 19 healthy, elderly (mean age=64 years) subjects found that regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was activated differentially with the:

1) left anterior cingulate showing maximal increases in rCBF at 4 Hz.
2) right anterior cingulate showing decreases in rCBF with frequency.
3) left middle temporal gyrus showing increases in rCFB at 1 Hz.
4) striate cortex showing maximal rCBF at 7 Hz.
5) lateral and inferior visual association areas showing increases in rCBF with frequency.

While there may be benefits to increasing occipital CBF, there is even greater concern regarding conditions involving hypoperfuson of CBF in frontal regions. Frontal disorders include: anxiety, depression, attentional and behavior disorders, and impaired cognitive function (2). Figure 13 shows an increase in frontal CBF recorded on Hershel Toomin's "Thinking Cap" (or "Hemoencephalogram") using infra-red light to measure perfusion of CBF. Notice that CBF at FPZ increases by 15% in 10 minutes (Toomin, personal communication).

Figure 13 Hemoencephalographic Measure of Cerebral Blood Flow During 10 Hz AVE

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Normalized EEG Activity

Figure 14 shows a fairly typical brain map in 1 Hz bins of a person with mild depression and anxiety as shown on the Skil database. Notice that alpha is slowed and approaching +2SD from the norm and that some beta frequencies (16-18 Hz) are high (>1SD) in central frontal areas.

Figure 14. Brain Map in 1 Hz Bins of Individual with Depression and Anxiety (SKIL-Eyes Open)

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Following an AVE session of 7.8 Hz., both alpha and beta activity are normalized as shown below in Figure 15.

Figure 15. Brain Map Following 7.8 Hz AVE (SKIL-EO)

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Conclusion

In closing, AVE has the ability to quickly and effectively relax people out of high sympathetic activation and traumatic states of mind, bringing a return to homeostasis. AVE may be used alongside hypnotic suggestions on tape/CD or live via a microphone. At the same time however, AVE exerts a powerful influence on brain/mind stabilization and normalization. At the end of an AVE session, the user may realize that he/she has not felt so relaxed for years -- perhaps not since childhood.

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The importance of prenatal vitamins for pregnant women has been a hot topic for quite some time

Women are now encouraged to take them before getting pregnant to prevent birth defects, as well as throughout the pregnancy and breastfeeding to ensure a healthy baby. Prenatal vitamins are a supplement to the diet and should not be substituted for healthy food choices. There are many over the counter prenatal vitamins available in addition to [...]
 

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