However, after meeting them, I found that the child’s father was having a affair with his wife’s best friend and the child could not tell her mum that she found it odd that dad was kissing another woman. This then led to stammering.

Today this couple has worked on their issues and the child is much better. She only stammers if she sees her parents fight or her mom crying’.

This is the true story as narrated by our expert Anu Mehta, Master in META-Healing, the only Indian to be bestowed with this honourable title. Pavitra Sampath from the health.india.com team caught up with her to find out a little more about META healing.

Pavitra: What is META-Health?

Anu: META- Health is a diagnostic tool and not a therapy. Formerly called META-Medicine, the META-Health process is an integrated approach to good health and wellness. It helps you understand the health challenges you face that seem to have no reasonable explanation. It explains the role of stress in your health and of physiological, psychological, emotional, spiritual and environmental triggers in the disease process. Presenting an insight into the process of disease and illness, it links a certain kind of stress and the actual disease caused by it, thereby helping you in identifying the specific reaction to a certain life event and a belief system that results in ill health.

Meta-Health not only explains the causes of a biological shock and how this shock affects an organ, the brain and the heart simultaneously, but also how one can recognize the signs. It deals with the issue pro-actively in a manner that allows one to heal completely and permanently from physiological and psychological health issues. META-Health closely deals with the fact that the body, mind and social aspects of our life are interconnected and ties it in with the art of self-healing.

Pavitra: How does it work?

Anu: Meta-Health as mentioned earlier is not a healing tool, but a diagnostic tool.  The META-Healing process which is now called ACE (Advanced Clearing Energetics) delivers people to wellness, taking the complex bits out, providing incredible results. This revolutionary new addition to integrative health options works seamlessly with other alternative models (EFT, NLP, matrix reimprinting, NES, conventional medicine, alternative/complementary medicine and therapies etc.) to find the trapped energy in the body and clear it out. The beauty is in its simplicity. 

Pavitra: What does it aim to achieve?

Anu: Negative thoughts and feelings get captured in the brain when any stressful event occurs in one’s life. The stressful event will most probably be like a high intensity, 15-second movie in which anything perceived by any of the sensory organs such as the eyes, nose, ears, tongue and skin will get captured in the brain, organ and heart. Once the stressful event is dealt with, the negative thoughts and feels can also be dealt with. The main aim of META- Health is to deal with not just emotions but triggers. Like, I mentioned earlier our perception of an event is because of what we see, hear, think, feel , taste and smell. For example, when a mother who rejects her newly born baby the baby might develop milk allergy, since it associates the smell of its mother with the smell of milk. The child may develop lactose intolerance because he/she may feel rejected by the mother. If we can clean up these triggers then we can de-stress the body and also put the person mind and body at ease. A Meta- Health practitioner will find the stressful event which caused the disease and find out answers to questions like:

• Why does one have a disease?
• How long will it last?
• Why did you get the disease when you got it?

Pavitra: How do I learn META-Health?

Anu: You should ideally study META-Health under a  trained master. I am currently the only META-Health Master trainer in India. The workshops I offer  are - META-Health introductory level (a 3-day course), META-Health level 2 (a 4-day course) amd META-Health level 3 (a 5-day course). After completing the 3 levels you become META-Health Practitioner (META-P). You can learn more about the course, here.

Pavitra: Once you find the root of a problem how do you go about healing it?

Anu: Once you find the cause of the problem then the issue can be diffused by using any therapy that you already know. So it is an amazing tool which can integrate with any modality of healing.  We generally use Emotional freedom Technique and higher level of EFT called Matrix reimprinting , NLP, hypnosis or ACE. When I know why I have an issue then the solution can be very easy. We also work with epigenetic and Genealogy patterns running in the family. It is truly a complete healing tool. 

Pavitra: Can it cure/reverse lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease etc.?

Anu: It works on everything right from a mole on the face, pimples, bone issues to cancer. It also helps us understand heart attacks, role of cholesterol and chronic pain. We can also deal with psychological issues like Bipolar and aggressive behaviour and many other mental health issues. Working with Meta-Health process has given me more than a few insights into things.  I have realized that secrets are a great recipe for health problems. We love to hide information because we feel we are protecting others and ourselves, but we obliviously end up doing the reverse. We also run patterns in generations and this leads to people following patterns in there own life. These patterns can also lead to diseases. It is also how we perceive the stressful event that will create a different kind of disease.  If one feels that he/she cannot survive, he/she may create water retention/digestion problems in their body. If the person feels that he/she is not feeling protected then he/she may create skin issues like dermatitis and pimples. It is almost like saying I need to be thick skinned. Issues of not feeling good enough may create bone issues/muscle issues. Issues of feeling separation and not being able to mark one’s territory can create epidermis issues like eczema. Conflict of separation is the biggest cause of depression. Studies have proven that kids who are separated from their mother at birth for more than six months can have slow physical and mental growth. Sexual, physical and verbal abuse in childhood can cause major problems in adulthood. Unfortunately this is also the biggest secret people carry. 

After working with Meta-Medicine and Meta-Healing, a girl who was told that she would not be able to conceive, conceived the baby in the first IVF cycle. In another case, one’s eczema completely disappeared once his separation issue was resolved. A boy of 28 years had pimples for 20 years. 3 sessions in Meta-Medicine and Meta-Healing completely healed his pimples and sweat issues.

Pavitra: Does it work on children as well?

Anu: Yes , It does work with children . My youngest client so far has been a four-year-old.  My youngest student is about 14 years of age.

Children, generally teenagers, have come to me for counselling either after having experienced sexual abuse with no one to turn to or they were scared they would be homosexual. Experimenting with sex leads some teens to lead a ‘double’ life while trying to conform to the rules at home and the peer pressure at school or college.

Due to the cut-throat competition these days, children are experiencing an inability to please their parents who want to settle for nothing but the best for their kids. This creates immense pressure and thus ill-health.

Pavitra: You said you work a lot with children who have special needs. How does it help them?

Anu:  I have worked a lot with autistic children. According to META-Health, autism affects a child in the mother’s womb when the mother goes through a disconnect with her unborn child.

Anu Mehta can be consulted here.

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Adam Galovan, an assistant professor at University of Missouri who carried out the study, said sharing responsibilities didn’t necessarily mean couples divided chores equally. ‘It could be taking turns changing nappies or one parent watching the children while the other prepares dinner. ‘Doing things together and having mutual, agreed-upon divisions of labour benefitted both spouses.

‘The more wives perceived that husbands were engaged in routine family work tasks, the better the relationships were for both partners. ‘Wives in our study viewed father involvement and participation in household chores as related. Doing household chores and being engaged with the children seem to be important ways for husbands to connect with their wives, and that connection is related to better couple relationships.’ He added: ‘When wives felt their husbands were close to their children, both spouses reported better marriages. The father-child bond was particularly important for wives.’ The study was published in the Journal of Family Issues.

The findings of this study is likely to be lost on Indian men who’ve grown up only seeing women –their mothers, sisters, wives or maids – do the household chores but with shifting social paradigm and values men just might want to roll up their sleeves and help out to smooth over the cracks and keep their lives peaceful. 

 Q: Hello my name is Amit and my penis size is 5 inches when erect. Please let me know how I can get a bigger penis. I am about to get married soon and I am worried I will not be able to satisfy my wife in bed.

First and foremost your penis size is fine and it shouldn’t affect your marriage at all. We had run a survey to find out the average penis size of Indian men and the results showed that it was between 5 and 6 inches. So your penis size is adequate and you don’t have to worry about satisfying your wife. You also need to realise that there’s far more to sex than the size of your penis.

Now that we have got that out of the way let me tell you that till now there is no safe way to increase the size of the penis. The various pills, creams and gels that companies sell do not work. Even exercises are useless. The only proper way to increase size and girth is penis enlargement surgery. But beware – this method won’t actually increase the size of your erect penis. It will only make the flaccid penis bigger. In fact, many people who’ve undergone penis enlargement surgery complain that their erections became less stable and more wobbly post-surgery. Please don’t fall into a trap and buy these enlargement products. You’d be risking your sex organ and your life. At most times, fundamental sex education and changing the way you think about sexual organs and body are the cheapest and most efficient way to deal with the issue.

Tired of reading? Check out our YouTube Channel  

‘The analysis revealed that of the 2,500 men suffering from erectile dysfunction, one in five were divorced while the marriages of one in 10 were on the verge of breaking over their physical health,’ Anup Dhir, a reconstruction surgeon and andrologist, told IANS.  Impotence is the most poorly understood and mismanaged of all medical disorders and results in marriages breaking up, the study found. ‘Maintaining a healthy marriage requires time, effort and compromise from both spouses. When one or both spouses find a marriage to be unsatisfactory, it is likely because of problems that arise due to issues with communication, expectations or sexual dissatisfaction,’ said Dhir.

Read: Tips to beat erectile dysfunction 

The study found that a married couple on an average has sex 58 times per year, or slightly more than once a week.
‘If the number lacks, it means there is a problem with partner. Sexual impotence is becoming a common problem among couples in major cities due to sedentary lifestyle, hypertension and busy schedule,’ he said. Diabetes emerged as the leading cause of erectile dysfunction followed by hypertension. ‘As many as 48 percent of patients above the age of 40 were diabetic while 45 percent with hypertension have severe erectile dysfunction. Men who have diabetes are found to develop erectile dysfunction nearly 10 to 15 years earlier than men who do not suffer from the disease,’ the study highlighted.

Read: Sex without the penis – it’s possible. 

Furthermore, people with diabetes frequently take medication to lower blood pressure. Common prescriptions for blood pressure like some diuretics and beta blockers are known to cause erectile dysfunction. ‘These drugs not only affect and at times suppress the central nervous system but can also cause serious damage to the blood vessels, resulting in permanent erectile dysfunction,’ C.M. Batra, an endocrinologist with Apollo Hospital, told IANS. According to Batra, other primary causes of erectile dysfunction include lifestyle issues like smoking, drinking alcohol, being overweight and exercising too little, among others.

Dhir said that taking medical help for erectile dysfunction continues to remain a stigma among Indian men as they are not ready to accept the fact until it comes to the breaking up of their marriages.  ‘Men have an ego problem in accepting the fact and most of them remain secretive about their sexual health, which leads to delayed treatment,’ he said.

Read: Revealed – the average size of the Indian penis!

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Source: IANS

Christine Proulx, assistant professor in the University of Missouri Department of Human Development and Family Studies, examined the long-term relationship between self-rated health and marital quality. She found that, in all stages of marriage, positive or negative relationships affect the individual’s health. Spouses should be aware that how they treat each other and how happy they are in their marriages affect both partners’ health, and they should think more about their personal relationships when thinking holistically about their health, she said, the Journal of Family Psychology reports.

‘Engaging with your spouse is not going to cure cancer, but building stronger relationships can improve both people’s spirits and well-being and lower their stress,’ Proulx said, according to a Missouri statement.

Proulx analysed data from 707 continuously married adults who participated in the Marital Instability Over the Life Course panel study, a 20-year, nationwide research project started in 1980 with funding from the Social Security Administration’s Office of Research and Statistics and the National Institute on Aging. Proulx co-authored the study with Linley Snyder-Rivas, an alumna of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies in the MU College of Human Environmental Sciences.

Source: IANS

What is erectile dysfunction? 

Erectile dysfunction (ED) aka impotence is the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis during sex. Impotence is different from infertility. While impotence is the inability to maintain an erection, infertility is the inability to father children. An erection is caused by the hydraulic effect of blood entering and being retained in spongy bodies within the penis.  ED can be caused by alcohol consumption, smoking, diabetes, medicinal side-effects or obesity. Some psychological issues which can cause ED include stress, depression, performance anxiety or low self-esteem. Prescription medicines like Viagra are usually used to treat impotence. 

The finding appeared online in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

 The hair is the literally crowning glory of any bride-to-be. The perfect ensemble needs to be finished with a hair to die for.Hair care expert Jas Arora  (of Sam n’ Jas salon in Vers0va) explains how brides-to-be can get awesome looking hair. 

How early before the wedding should one start visiting a salon regularly?

One should start preparing at least 2-3 months prior to the wedding for the best results.

What regimes would you give for to-be brides with a. Dry and frizzy hair b. Limp and lifeless hair c. Very curly and unmanageable hair?

Regular spa treatments should be taken at least twice a month, 2-3 months prior to the wedding. (a minimum of 4 spa sittings taken before the big day would yield good results). More sittings are required if the condition of the hair is very bad. As there are different types of creams available for different types of skin, there are also different types of spa treatments according to the hair condition eg: Treatments for Dry & Frizzy Hair, Limp & Lifeless Hair, Very Curly & Unmanageable Hair etc.

What would you advice a bride to-be with lots of dandruff?

Treatment for dandruff is very essential not only for the wedding day but thereafter too, since the bride is beginning a great new life. This problem has to be taken more seriously. To treat dandruff effectively one needs to understand the type of dandruff one has. There are mainly 2 types of dandruff -

Dry scalp dandruff (with itchy dry flakes) – Our skin & scalp continuously shed dead cells to produce new fresh cells keeping it healthy. This process quickens when the skin & scalp is dry and lacks moisture. and starts shedding the dead cells faster than normal. These dry flakes become dandruff. Applying warm coconut, almond or olive oil to the scalp (and not hair) and massaging very gently in circular movements for 15-20 min would help. To open up the pores, dip a thick towel in hot water, remove the excess water from it and cover your scalp for 5 min. Wash off with a gentle shampoo. Do not keep oil on the scalp for a long time as it attracts dust, pollution and sweat making the scalp dirty.
b. Oily Scalp dandruff – In case of a healthy scalp, the dead cells are shed easily. The oily scalp holds on to these dead cells which get infected resulting in dandruff. The best way to deal with it is keeping the scalp clean by washing it daily with a gentle shampoo. If one is using a medicated or any kind of anti-dandruff shampoo, it should be used only once or twice a week or the hair. Oiling is not recommended for such kind of scalp as it would aggravate the problem.

If the bride to-be wants to try a different hairstyle or colour before the wedding, what would you recommend?

It is recommended that she try a new hairstyle or colour at least 1 month before the wedding so that she can get used to the new style. Personally, I would not recommend a very drastic change in style. The ideal length for the wedding day for a bride would be medium length (3-4 inches below the shoulder) so that it can be styled nicely. Hair longer or shorter than this would be difficult to style.

One can try professional colour and highlights to increase the glamour quotient.

What other care can they take to get good looking hair faster?

Shampooing, conditioning and applying serum are the three must-dos to keep your hair healthy and shiny. Shampooing daily with a gentle shampoo is very necessary (If not daily, at least on alternate days). Shampoo should be used only on the scalp and you should let the lather clean your hair. Conditioning your hair after a shampoo is a must. It should be used only on the hair and not on the scalp. Serum adds that extra protection to your hair and protects it from the pollution and harmful sun-rays. It also gives a shine and makes the hair easy to manage.

It is advisable not to try any new products prior to the wedding. It is better to keep using tried & tested products which you know suit you.

If you travel a lot in the sun and pollution, do cover your hair.

Avoid using blow-dryers as much as possible, as they strip your hair of moisture.

In addition to all this, of course – a proper nutritious diet, adequate sleep, lots of water, regular exercise and a stress-free mind is a must for the bride to-be.

To conclude, if you haven’t been taking care of your hair well, the time before your wedding is the perfect time to start with good hair-care habits. The key is to continue with most of these even after your wedding, for happily ever after hair days!

Before you take your wedding vows with him, you need to take your fitness vows seriously. Think of the fitness goal long term rather than just losing kilos for the wedding. Studies show that married people gain more weight than others do in their first few blissfully wed years. Here are some tried and tested tips to help you with your goal:

1. Start early: If you really want to lose some extra pounds just before the wedding, start at least three to six months before the D-day. Plan your fitness regime carefully with a good nutritionist and a trainer.
2. Morning’s the best time: Hit your gym/go for a walk/do some yoga or aerobics earlier in the day. The more you postpone this, the lesser the chances of success due to your hectic schedule before the wedding.
3. Avoid crash diets: Do not fall for any crash diet that promises quick weight loss – you run the risk of looking worn out and depressed on your big day.
4. Small meals are good: Eat small, healthy frequent meals throughout the day. Apart from a good breakfast, lunch and a light dinner, grab something small every 2 hours (it could be just some groundnuts/a cup of milk/ some curd/an orange etc).
5. Rope him in: If you are lucky enough to have your man staying close to you, work out together. Lay the foundation for a healthy (and health-conscious) relationship.
6. Stretch: Get into the habit of stretching – you very well know how supple muscles can benefit you (and your sex life!) soon.
7. Meditate: You need it after all that stress you are going through. More stress = more hormonal imbalance = more weight gain and bloating.
8. Learn to cook: Start spending some time buying veggies and fruits. Try cooking exotic low-fat recipes at home. While it helps control your current weight, you are also consciously learning healthier cooking for your life after marriage.
9. Load up on supplements: Get your daily dose of vitamins with supplements. With all the stress and running around, you need it girl!
10. Don’t get stressed out: Your man has chosen you for what you are, in whatever shape you are. Be confident, just follow these tips and lose weight without fretting!

So, go shopping for your dream wedding dress/saree/ghagra now – you’re worth it.

Wedding season is here again. And there is one thing that’s more important than any other on D-day – looking gorgeous. And how you look finally comes down to your skin because it decides the type of makeup you will wear that day. If you want to look like a princess on your wedding day you need to start preparing well in advance. The longer you have, the better prepared you can be. Before we suggest you visit a dermatologist, here are some handy tips that you can try out at home:

1)  Determine your skin type – Firstly, you need to figure out whether you have oily skin, dry skin or a combination skin type. Your skin regimen and the type of cosmetics you buy will be determined by your skin type.

2) Always wear sunscreen – There’s a notion that you only have to wear sunscreen when it’s sunny outside. That’s a very common misconception. Even if the sun is not visible, the ultra-violet rays can still hurt your skin. 

Click here to read more about sunscreen

3) Night vigil – Before you go to sleep follow a good cleanser, toner, moisturizer routine. This helps your skin breathe.

4) Daily and party wear makeup – Buy a set of simple daily and party wear makeup. You shouldn’t try any new brands and stick to ones that you’ve used before. You don’t want to try anything new with your wedding day around the corner.

5) Diet: There are various food items that can help your skin glow. Add one helping of fruits (guava, orange, lime or papaya), lots of greens (lettuce, cucumbers, broccoli, tomatoes, spinach) to your diet. Don’t forget to drink lots of water. Also avoid oily food and refined sugars.

Click here to read about the various food items that can make your skin glow.

Visiting a dermatologist:  

There’s only so much you can do at home. If you’ve acne-ridden or tanned/pigmented skin or feel the need to enhance certain facial features, you will have to visit a good dermatologist. Here’s what he/she would recommend:

Acne:

• Moderate to severe acne cases will be given oral antibiotics and certain topical applications like benzoyl peroxide.
• Glycolic /salicylic peels every two weeks for four to six weeks are very effective in removing the superficial dead cells.
• If you have acne scars and have three to four months to go for the wedding, Microdermabrasion and Derma rollers can work wonders.

Tan/pigmentation:

• Glycolic peels/stronger skin lightening peels like trichloroacetic acid for four to six weeks every two weeks.
• Sunblock /pigmentation reducing cream
• Oral antioxidants
• For arms and back: Glycolic peels and microdermabrasion: Three to four sessions every ten days.

Enhancement:

If you’ve always wanted a better sculpted face, this is the best time to consult a dermatologist for it. However, you should do it at least three to four months before the marriage. Here are some of the possibilities for enhancement:

Lips: Hyaluronic gel fillers for fuller lips

Eyebrow shaping and softening of square jaw:  Botox is the most common form of treatment facial lines.

Cheek enhancement: Fillers for high cheek bones

Click here to read more about botox

Whatever your skin concern, there are solutions available. So, relax and just follow the steps above – the glow on your skin on your D-day is surely going to get people to ask you, ‘Is it love?’

The survey found that female sterilisation is the most preferred method of family planning while percentage of male sterilisation continues to remain negligible. The health secretary P.K. Pradhan stated that although a few men have come forward for the procedure, there is still a lot to be done in order to make family planning a reality. The survey also found stark differences within states on parameters like total fertility rate, current usage of family planning, mean age at marriage, delivery care and immunisation. More than half of currently married woman aged 15-49 years are not using any method of family planning in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. As many as 98 districts have reported less than 50 percent current usage of any method of family planning. Only 12 districts of 284 surveyed districts feature in 70 percent and above category.

The survey found that in 164 districts, a woman bears more than three children on an average with the highest (six) born to a woman in Shrawasti (Uttar Pradesh) and lowest (two) in Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand. The survey found that marriages among females taking place below legal age (18 years) are rampant in rural areas as compared to urban areas. “In rural areas every fourth marriage in Rajasthan, every fifth in Bihar and Jharkhand takes place below the legal age. It has been noted that higher proportion of males are getting married below legal age (21 years) as compared to females in these states.

Source: IANS