By practicing yoga on a regular basis, you will discover that it has a lot of benefits you might not have known about. On a physical level you can improve your posture, balance, strengthen your muscles and it makes you more lean and flexible. Not only that, it can even help you get rid of several chronic pains and lowers your blood sugar and pressure. On a mental level, you experience more happiness, it enhances the feeling of relaxation and raises your self-esteem.

The study

Earlier this year, a new study got published in the ‘Journal of Alzheimer’s disease’. This study, led by Dr. Helen Lavretsky, showed that besides the benefits on a physical and mental level, yoga also improves the brain function. It literally changes your brain for the better.

For this study, middle-aged and elderly test subjects, with a mild cognitive decline, were asked to perform a range of cognitive tests. Afterwards, they got divided into two groups. The first group was assigned to do brain training for one hour once a week.

Combined with 15 minutes of practice at home on a daily base. The second group got assigned to do Kundalini yoga for one hour once a week and they were asked to meditate for 15 minutes every day.

After 12 weeks only all the test subjects came together again to redo the cognitive tasks. They all showed improvement. But the people from the yoga group scored significantly higher than the brain training group. Not only that, the participants from the yoga group also reported to feel better mentally and physically. Continue reading →

Many people have the feeling as if something big is going to happen, yet nobody really knows what this big change is going to be. It is starting to reveal itself at the edge of the horizon.

Over the last couple of decennium, exponentially more people started to feel a bigger affinity towards spirituality. Something is not only changing in the world, but also inside of us. There seems to be a link between those changes. It seems like more people are starting to wake up and experience a so-called ‘spiritual awakening’.

This is a process of letting go of the person they have become, to become the person they are meant to be. Being more perceptive to what is happening within ourselves and to what is happening around us.

A spiritual awakening is for every person different, so is the way a person experiences spirituality and to which degree it influences their life on a daily basis.  Some people do not even realize they experience symptoms of a spiritual awakening, because they don’t know how to categorize their experience.

Here is a list of different symptoms which are linked to a spiritual awakening. Which ones these symptoms did you experience or which ones can you recognize?

Extremely vivid and lucid dreams
Ever had the feeling after waking up from a deep sleep, that you were not sure if something really happened or if you dreamt it? These are the extremely vivid dreams. Sometimes you will even find yourself being conscious in a dream. The moment that you realize you are dreaming you can take control of the dream, and experience the infinite possibilities of a lucid dream. Continue reading →

The 29-year-old Dutch artist Thijme Termaat took the internet by storm with a time-lapse of his masterpiece. It took him 2.5 years of hard work before he finished. He created a film that shows him painting this true work of art. These are in fact over a thousand complied photos.

He carefully positioned himself between the canvas and the camera which created an optical illusion in the film. If you look closely you do not actually see him paint. He only holds the brush in front of the painting. This creates the effect of him painting strokes.

Thijme calls his style of painting magical and realistic with a lot of transitions between day and night. This tends to suit him since he is a bit of a dreamer himself. This style is reflected beautifully in his artwork of which you will find a selection below. His work has been called ‘inspirational’ and ‘motivational’. Continue reading →

Can you recall how you felt the last time you gave or received a compliment? If you think about it, receiving a compliment is kind of like receiving a gift. It is a bundle of positive energy being passed on to you in the form of appreciation. The right compliment can make someone’s day, cheer the person up and help them feel appreciated. In turn, it also makes you feel good too! That is part of the beauty of this gift. Giving and receiving is beneficial for both parties.

This little bundle of appreciation can actually have a pretty big impact, especially when it is sincere and when it comes straight from the heart. Listed below are 10 of what we consider to be some of the best compliments you can give or receive. If you manage to hear one or more of these, give yourself a pat on the back. It means you’ve probably influenced another person in a very positive way!

1. “You are always there for me”

Everyone needs a shoulder they can lean on every once in awhile. Being the person others can rely on can have a lot more impact on people than you think. Maybe another functions as that person for you. If that is the case, this is a beautiful compliment to pay them.

2. “You always manage to put a smile on my face”

In the darkest times, it is important to find some positivity. In some cases, that speck of light comes in the form of a person that is able to make you smile. When a smile is created, a gateway is opened to more happiness.

3. “You always see the glass half full”

Different situations can be viewed in different shades of light. When looking at a situation from a negative perspective it may cause people to stress and shut down to solutions. Having a person around that points out the bright side of things will make it easier to process the situation. This can also help to create new solutions to work with, being more open to new input. Optimism is always good! Continue reading →

Life seems to be a cycle of falling down and getting up again. A process of gaining knowledge and learning lessons. As humans, we are not built to be perfect. Most of us will even make the same mistake over and over again. Yet we do contain the ability to learn from our mistakes which teaches us how to grow as a person.

Some lessons are more profound than others. These we call life lessons. This type of knowledge is a very valuable package we try to carry with us, always. Yet sometimes, some people tend to forget this and they need to be reminded.

Most of the knowledge of life lessons, is purely to help and inform yourself. Maybe others can benefit from it at some point via you, but primarily this knowledge is there to aid you and only you. Forgetting those will only create more difficulties and probably some negative outcomes along with it.

So, even if it has only the slightest chance to make life just a tiny bit easier, then it’s worth it. For your own sake then, rather do not forget these 5 life lessons ever again.

1. Life is what you make of it

There is a reason why this saying is being repeated so often, it has a lot of truth to it. You are the director of your own life. That is the part people often tend to forget.

Not everything is within our own control, some people would rather focus on the things they can’t control than the things they can, such as their own actions. Setting yourself in a victim role and blaming the whole world for the position you are in, seems to be an easy option. Continue reading →