Researchers from the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine at Technische Universitaet Muenchen in Munich, Germany, investigated the immunological impact of relaxation and imagery on asthma by measuring the effects these techniques have on serum IgE in adult patients with dust mite allergic asthma in a randomized, controlled trial.

Question:
 
I am currently in therapy and have been working on issues related to past childhood sexual abuse. Do you have any CDs that you narrate to address positive sexuality, relaxation during partner sex, and/or any CDs that address sexual and emotional intimacy? If you don't personally narrate any - do you have recommendations as to what might be a good imagery CD to purchase that addresses these areas? Thanks so much for your direction - your CDs have been so valuable to my progress and healing.  Serena

This amazing Hot Mamma is 92.  Her dancing partner, (who also happens to be her great grandson), is 29.   They’re dancing “hot salsa” together and, at any age, they’d be judged a super-talented pair.

If you haven’t already seen this video, which has been making the rounds at AARP and other appreciative venues, do watch this graceful, flexible dame with the terrific moves and jaw dropping stamina, and jettison any age-related excuses you've been counting on to get out of doing stuff!

Hello again.

Exciting news, people!!  At long last, a gigundo batch of guided imagery audios is winging its way to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Several hundred Healthful Sleep and an equal number of Relieve Stress guided imagery recordings will be in the ears of our service people, thanks to the efforts of the DoD - extremely open to research-tested mind-body tools these days - and a new, durable, preloaded audio player with high quality sound that works in any environment, called Playaway.

Every month the Playaway people send mounds of spoken word audiobooks to our troops - fiction, self-help, the Bible, language lessons - to distract, entertain, teach and support them downrange.  Now, added to the mix, will be a big, blessed mess o’ calming, sleep-inducing, de-stressing and emotionally balancing guided imagery.

Question:
Hello Belleruth,

First of all a huge Thank You for your products, they really work wonders. I purchased Relaxation & Wellness CD (Imagery and Affirmations) to help me with my hypervigilant state of being (Really anxious and in Fear mode most of the time).
 
I was wondering if you would recommend other products that I could use to help me get better. My Therapist suggested you to me and she was not wrong. I underwent surgery for Appendectomy on 10/31/09 and in addition quit smoking that same day after 20 years of smoking.  Life hasn't been the same since.
 
Thank you for your help.
Regards, Donald Godwin

A new study from researchers at C.C.N.Y. (City College of New York) examined the connection between improvements in posttraumatic stress and improvement in substance abuse over the course of time in 353 women diagnosed with both conditions.

Participants were randomly assigned to 12 sessions of either trauma-focused treatment or health education.  Assessments were made on the PTS and the substance use during treatment at 1 week and posttreatment after 3, 6, and 12 months.

Subjects showing no improvement, an improvement in the substance use only, or a total, global improvement early on, tended to maintain their original diagnosis over time; but subjects initially exhibiting improvement in their PTSD symptoms were significantly more likely to transition into a global response over time, indicating that they maintained their PTSD improvement, and that it was associated with subsequent improvements in substance use.
 

According to the e-rumor fact-checking website, Truth or Fiction, this touching story is the truth.  Check it out - it’s good to remember that, along with all the mayhem and madness going on in Iraq & Afghanistan, there’s quite a bit of this happening too.  Here’s what the site says:

Summary of the e-Rumor:  

A picture is attached to this e-Rumor.  It is that of an American soldier holding and comforting a small girl who is resting in his arms.  The email says the soldier is John Gebhardt and the little girl was the victim of insurgents who shot her in the head and executed her family.  It is said that she cries and moans and that John seems to be the only one who can calm her down.  

Hello, everyone.

I’ve been carefully going over over 170 responses to my question, “What should we make next?”  I’m shocked, dismayed and embarrassed to say I asked it nearly a year ago - it’s been that long, being as how we got seriously diverted by the job of getting our audios to more of our sleep-deprived, over-adrenergized, trauma-impacted troops and vets.  So I apologize for the delay (although I’m not sorry about what we’ve been doing that caused it). But the good news is, at least I saved all the suggestions.  I’ve been combing through them, looking for common themes for what’s most needed.  

Researchers from the Integrative Medicine Program at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons gathered preliminary information regarding the feasibility of implementing a brief meditation-based stress management (MBSM) program for patients with CHD, and those at high risk for CHD, at a major metropolitan hospital that serves a predominately non-local patient population. The secondary aim of the study was to see if such an intervention could reduce depression, as well as perceived stress, anxiety, and hostility, while improving general health scores.