The Psychology of Women Quarterly published a report that “mind-body exercise, such as yoga, is associated with greater body satisfaction and fewer symptoms of eating disorders than traditional aerobic exercise like jogging or using cardio machines.” Perhaps it’s because yoga creates an environment of self-awareness and a sense of how powerful the body is, or maybe it’s the innate mind-body consciousness that occurs with regular practice that’s the key.  Either way, yoga is proving to be more than just a method of reducing stress and increasing one’s flexibility: it’s a mindfulness practice dedicated to realigning the mind-body connection. One learns …

Image via Wikipedia      The New York Times recently published a wonderful article continuing the discussion of excessive texting. Being a youth in current times means everything is at your fingertips–you don’t often wait for much. Responsibilities are set aside for social networking, to the point of utter distraction. These kids are more capable of speed-texting three people at once than writing a book report! The non-stop pre-occupation with Facebook, YouTube, and texting is too delicious to resist. In the end, we have kids who are highly skilled in terms of technology but unable to focus, who consistently procrastinate, and …

Image via Wikipedia A study presented at the Society for Neuroscience meeting this past week, suggests that smoking marijuana as a teen can have long-lasting effects on the brain. In a recent USA Today article, they shared the results of the study, noting how it shows “people who start using marijuana at a young age have more cognitive shortfalls. Also, the more marijuana a person used in adolescence, the more trouble they had with focus and attention.”     Staci Gruber, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School performed this study using 29 non-smokers and 35 chronic marijuana smokers, 20 of …

Image by LZ Creations via Flickr     Once again, energy drinks are in the news. Looks like the FDA will be putting the kibosh on alcoholic energy drinks as soon as this week. Washington, Michigan, Utah, and Oklahoma have already banned these beverages, and other states are planning on following suit. It was only a matter of time, with the ever-increasing concerns about the risk of health and safety issues.      The problem with mixing caffeine with alcohol is the inherent illusion of cognizance one experiences. Someone may “feel” less drunk, but they are more than likely drunker than someone …

Image by Slaff via Flickr       I wonder, is the latest reality TV craze of highlighting the trials and tribulations of teen pregnancy actually helping teens in any way? Or are we once again stuck on the reality-television treadmill, watching someone else’s tragedy unfold, happy it’s not us? Getting pregnant as a teen is hard. The repercussions of the fly-by-night fancies of our youth are often life-changing. As parents, we need to know how best to handle that, and as teens, we need to be informed.    The issue here isn’t how our teen got pregnant in the first place. I …

Image via Wikipedia      In a preliminary study recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, it’s been suggested that teens who excessively text and use social networking are more inclined to drink, use drugs, smoke, have sex, etc., than those who don’t hyper-text (texting more than 120 messages in a given day). If the main line of communication is the indirect form of texting, it can also mean the exchanges between people have the tendency to be less guarded. Texting, after all, is the perfect antidote for those who fear confrontation and directness!     Plainly …

Image via Wikipedia   We know teens are typically more inclined toward risk-taking behaviors–it’s partly due to the pace of their brain development, partly due to peer pressure, and frankly, partly due to being inundated by images and tabloid news about glorified, risk-taking celebrities. As a culture, we’re fascinated by the Lindsay Lohan saga, which seems never ending, the Amy Winehouse debacle, Eminem’s path of destruction and then reconstruction, or Miley Cyrus dilly-dallying about with her burgeoning sexuality and curiosity about drinking. Am I surprised Miley took a drink while in Madrid? Not really. In fact, with Spain’s drinking age …

    While Fergie recently shared her gratitude about recovering from her methamphetamine addiction, she also claims she still drinks and is choosing “her own way of recovery.”  Not only is this counter-intuitive, it’s misleading. She credits “luck, hypnotherapy, exercise, and willpower” for her success, but she also claims her “recovery” remains a battle. It wouldn’t be if she wasn’t attached to one aspect of her addiction.    Celebrity and fame are not exactly the ideal place to deal with addiction: with one’s life under the microscope, the unfortunate fact is, not everyone peering through is equipped to deal with, process, and …

Image via Wikipedia     Just when you were starting to think drugs and alcohol were your only concern, you now have “energy” drinks to worry about. The intention of these drinks is to boost energy, and surely they do. For example, a can of Monster contains 120 milligrams of caffeine compared to the 35 milligrams found in a Coke Classic. For some, this may not be as bad as drinking a cup of coffee, but because energy drinks are consumed cold, the chances of them being consumed quickly are higher. Basically,  consuming energy drinks containing high levels of caffeine and …

Image via Wikipedia    Alcohol is worse than heroin and crack, according to a new study published by the British medical journal, The Lancet.  A panel of experts examined various emotional, social, physical, and psychological problems caused by a variety of drugs, and they determined that alcohol was the most harmful overall. The study used a new scale to assess damage caused by and the overall harmfulness of 20 drugs; using that scale, alcohol received a score of 72 on a scale of 100, according to the study. CNN reports the study’s findings that “Heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine were …