Dear Visitor,

Welcome to Certainity Today! I appreciate your signing up to receive my enewsletter. My newsletter will provide helpful insights and suggestions to help create your unique sense of certainty.

With Peace, Kristen

Summer Fun!

For us New Englanders, Memorial Day comes with a sigh of relief. The winter cold that had a constraining effect on our whole being seems to be melting away, exposing the desire to embrace the warmth of the sun! (Finally, we've been living the old saying "if you don't like the weather wait a minute" and at this moment it's sunny!)

The feel of summer brings the energy of relaxation and provides an opportunity to consciously invite openness into our lives. Whether you're dealing with daily balancing issues, a difficult transition or the effects of infertility, one sure way of creating opportunities for self-compassion is to embrace moments of consistent kindness for your mind, body and soul. Changing tenseness to tenderness.

Kindness for the Body

Deep Breathing and Gentle Yoga Positions

Kristine Maselli, owner of Absolute Yoga, (www.absoluteyoga.net) shared three suggestions to create kindness opportunities.

"One of the easiest ways to create kindness in any environment is deep breathing (inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth with a long sigh). The second way is gentle asana-or postures. Forward bends and bound angle are both great ways to relax the mind and body. Below is more information on these two postures from "Yoga Journal". Please don't let the pictures intimidate you"

Click on the images to visit the website for more information.

The benefits of Smudging

My favorite way to change the energy of my surroundings is by "smudging". I am an avid smudger and rely on this practice to bring peaceful energy to my home.

Smudging is the name given to the burning of wands made from a combination of sage, cedar, sweet grass, lavender and copal. Wrapped with 100% cotton string, each wand is considered a sacred herb used for centuries by Native Americans in the smudging ceremony. Today, people are smudging to receive the benefits known to our Native Americans ancestors for the purpose of cleansing and sending out prayers.

I use a ceramic bowl, filled with beach sand to hold my smudge sticks and they reside on my desk. You can purchase smudge sticks through my boutique, www.mollycoddleboutique.com, where I have been able to find the perfect size and present them to you at a great price!

So this summer, if you're heading to the beach, bring a plastic sandwich bag and fill it up with some soft beach sand, find a special bowl and try this to experience the benefits of smudging.

Here's what I do:

1. Begin with an opening prayer asking God for his presence.
2. Walk into each room of your home, pausing in each corner and asking that the white light of love and healing fill the space.
3. When each room is completed, say a closing prayer for God's presence in your day and in your life.

I find that on those difficult days taking a moment to invite a change of energy has the same effect on my mind, body and soul as meditation.

Vitamin C & Fertility

Snacking on summer fruits of blueberries, strawberries or cherries can be refreshing and good for fertility too! Read more...

While waiting for my son's pedestrian to come into the examining room this past week, I was flipping through a little magazine, and stumbled on a tip for male fertility written by written by Elizabeth Somer, M.S., R.D. She's the author of 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet. To learn more, visit her website at www.elizabethsomer.com. The article said:

"Low vitamin C status was linked to male infertility in a study from the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. Vitamin C levels in sperm were measured in a group of 75 infertile men. Results showed that abnormal sperm DNA was noted in 52% of the men and low vitamin C levels were much more common in these men than in men with normal sperm DNA. The researchers conclude that men with insufficient seminal vitamin C levels frequently also have sperm DNA damage.

Researchers at Cairo University in Egypt report that men who smoke are most likely to have lower seminal vitamin C levels and be infertile compared to nonsmokers and fertile men. Smoking also reduced sperm count, motility, and shape or function."

Song G, Norkus E, Lewis V: Relationship between seminal ascorbic acid and sperm DNA integrity in infertile men. International Journal of Andrology 2006;29:569-575.

Mostafa T, Tawadrous G, Roaia M, et al: Effect of smoking on seminal plasma ascorbic acid in infertile and fertile men. Andrologia 2006;38:221-224.

Quote Corner: One of my favorites

Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. (Source Unknown)

I love this poem and it has been the inspiration for my new book Every Day Certainty where I provide strategies for working with certitude and peace. Coming soon!

Remember to visit my website www.kristenmagnacca.com for the latest Strategy For Living entry.

Blessing and light,  Kristen

Kristen Magnacca, www.kristenmagnacca.com