Yes, but let’s first address the issue that your thoughts cause physical symptoms.Your body doesn't know the difference between what it is seeing/thinking and what it is experiencing. If you are lying in bed or just wake up in the morning thinking about a stressful situation, your body is undergoing physiological changes. Your heart rate is increasing, your blood pressure is rising and other sympathetic events are occurring. I am sure we have all experienced this situation.

This same physiological reaction also occurs if you were actually

A hard day of work results in both a physical and mental/emotional contraction of your being. This is a result of the stressful thoughts that are persisting in your mind even after you leave the job. These thoughts are causing a stress response and are affecting you. These thoughts run anywhere from worrying about what is going to happen in the future to what has happened in the past. Generally these thoughts are not about what is happening in the present moment.

Can meditation be harmful is an interesting and somewhat complex question. First, it depends on your perspective. What do you deem as harmful? Let’s explore this question in depth and I will let you decide whether meditation is harmful.

Meditation is an inward journey that starts the process of you coming into alignment with your true self. It is a journey of cultivation of a better life and lifestyle. While meditation in itself is benign, there are facets of meditation that one should take into consideration. When you

Hello, my name is Shawngela Pierce and I work as a meditation and holistic lifestyle coach. I love what I do and have been teaching for over 15-years.

If you are new to meditation or have been meditating for awhile and have questions you need answered, I can help. I can help guide you to get you going and to help inspire you to keep going. Whether you need a full protocol to help you with anxiety or stress or whether your questions are related to

Yes, it is true! Meditation can help you heal emotionally from the past through a process of "emotional detoxing”. Emotions from past relationships, fearful events, etc. that you have stored away can be released with a daily meditation practice. 

In order to understand how you can emotionally detox with meditation, let’s first look at the body and emotions from an energetic perspective.  Everything in the universe is energy. Remember the formula E=mc²? Well this applies to the physical body as well as to the emotional and

I would say, the difference between a formal meditation practice and an informal meditation practice is one is done at a set time and one is done throughout the day. When you are doing a formal meditation practice you intentionally set aside a particular block of time that you are going to practice your meditation. When you do this, it allows you to train your mind more deeply. You can “get into” the meditation more with a formal meditation practice.

An informal meditation practice is something you

Today, I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 9 of Daniel Parmeggiani's Virtual Blog Tour, whose new book, The Magnificent Truths of Our Existence, is currently celebrating its official launch.

Daniel Parmeggiani is a modern-day spiritual teacher whose approach is unaligned with any particular religion or tradition. Driven by intense psychological turmoil when he was younger, Daniel discovered within himself a deeper reality that he says not only saved his life, but also showed him the way to permanent happiness and inner peace.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Rick Batyr, an intuitive sound healer and producer. His music is inspirational and is excellent for meditation and energy healing. Read below to find out more information and to purchase his album, Path of Light - Music for Energy Healing Volume 1. 

How does your music help a person during meditation?

RICK: The music I create can help a soul on many levels. The essence of what I do is using sound with the intention to heal the

When you become anxious or stressed you weaken your connection to your true inner essence. Some call this your spirit, higher source, inner guide, etc. You become so entrenched in your outer reality that you forget or don't notice the innate inner quiet that is within you. This inner quiet is truly there but you have to cultivate it. One way to do this is with meditation. With a regular practice of meditation, you begin to strengthen that connection. As a result, you become less anxious and

Meditating with a bench is a great way to hold a meditation pose longer when you are doing the kneeling position. The kneeling position is great for those who find it challenging to do a normal seated meditation pose such as the half-lotus or crossed-legged position.

Do know that it may not be the best pose for you, if you are experiencing problems with your knees. You may want to consider meditating in a chair or doing a moving meditation is this is the case for you.

The cumulative affects that you feel from a daily meditation practice is greater than that which you feel from a periodic practice. Even a daily meditation practice of only 5 minutes is a good start. Think consistency over longevity.

A daily meditation practice trains your mind and body in many aspects. It trains your mind and body to relax, to focus, to let go, to be present, to ground, etc. These are just some of the benefits of meditation. 

An accomplished musician or a star athlete,

Do you believe these words? Whatever we see everyday in our outer reality is actually nothing more than a projection of our own inner reality.

Do you believe your outer reality is a reflection of your inner reality? Do you believe that stress in your outer reality is a reflection of the internal stress of the inner mind? Have you noticed or do you see a correlation between your thoughts and your life/lifestyle? Take a moment to reflect on this, then tell me your thoughts. Really reflect

Be mindful while exercising

Walking is an excellent way to relieve stress and anxiety. Combine walking with the power of meditation and you magnify the benefits. Walk and train yourself to be in the present moment. Train yourself to observe what you are doing now and release thoughts and/or worries of the past or future. When you do this, you relieve stress and anxiety. Make this your exercise routine for a month and let me know how this has helped in your goal of stress and

Alternate nostril breathing is an excellent way to relieve stress and anxiety. In addition to helping to relieve anxiety and stress, alternate nostril breathing has other benefits:

• Relaxes you
• Harmonizes left & right brain
• Calms & centers mind
• Gives you a boost of energy

How to do Alternate Nostril Breathing

1. Sit in a comfortable position with your back erect and relaxed.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Raise your right hand & close the right nostril with your right thumb.
4. Inhale through the left nostril - 4

Connect to nature on a regular basis to relieve anxiety and stress. Practice the vibration of taking time for yourself to just let go and be “free” in nature. Nature has a way of reconnecting us to our true essence. When we truly immerse ourselves in the beauty and calmness of nature, we awaken to a better understanding of ourselves in relation to everything.

When you spend time in nature, leave everything behind. Be there and be present. You can do this by practicing spending time

Now take a break and list at least 5 things for which you are grateful. How did that make you feel? Did you feel better then when you started? Now you may not have noticed a difference in your mood right now, however, if you practice gratitude on a consistent basis, you will notice the difference. 

Gratitude is one of many ways to raise your vibration. When you raise your vibration, you feel good. When you feel good, you improve your emotional, mental and physical health.

Basic Philosophy

Energy

Everything in the universe, including humans is energy. Energy is all around us.  Everything our senses perceive is energy as well as everything our senses do not perceive.

Another way to explain this is that everything is composed of atoms. These atoms are further composed of subatomic particles, which are fluctuations of energy.  The basic subatomic particles are electrons, protons and neutrons. 

Levels of Energy

Energy vibrates at different frequencies. There are low frequencies, high frequencies and frequencies that range between the two.  Low

Join me at the 2014 Holistic Health & Wellness Expo in Royal Oak

The Expo will bring together vendors, practitioners, and instructors to showcase their services to community members interested in learning and participating in holistic health and wellness practices. The day will be composed of health and wellness exhibits, a number of short seminars and/or speakers, and introductory exercise demonstrations that all promote a healthy lifestyle. If you are interested in speaking or leading a class let us know and we will work to include you

Quieting your mind during meditation is simply a matter of practice, practice, practice. When you start to meditate, you begin to notice the abundance of thoughts that are roaming around in your head. That is part of the process. Just keep going. The more you meditate, the more you train your mind to focus. In other words, you build more neural connections to help you focus. You also break old neural connections of your old habit of a constant chattering mind.

Please listen below to my interview

How can I love to be in the present moment, when there is so much going on in my life?

I had the privilege of addressing this question in the latest issue of Wellness Woman, 40 and Beyond online magazine. Here is my response:

Before you can love to be present, you must first understand the concept of presence. Being present to me is being grounded and rooted in the present moment. You are out of your head, and literally in your “body”. You are rooted enough