Today is a Mind, Body, and Spirit newsletter day. Nothing is going on in the world that would increase the number of stories discussing mind-body connections, but with your human story and highlight pickers pulling things together, that's what get today. Stories about yoga practice, a walk in nature thinking about grounding yourself in the four elements, strong scents that could improve memory, and the mental influence of classical music. All stories complement many of the highlights from yesterday too!

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Yesterday we highlighted hydration and working out; today, another benefit to the fitness world and those who cannot live without physical fitness also help aging people. This is Yoga, and a good Yoga class can stretch and strengthen your muscles while calming your mind and improving your conscious breathing. A fellow Substacker, Amanda Warton Jenkins writes the newsletter Rewilding Practice, originally written for yoga teachers; the messaging is for all of us who want to; live, move, and breathe better.

This is a great introductory piece by Jenkins, who writes about the practice of Yoga, a mind-body connection, and different strategies for thought and overcoming challenges. Jenkins talks about August and how we are between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox. August is also associated with strength, and we have always seen it as the beginning of a new year (school) and a new season on the horizon.

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Yesterday we reported on a Happy Monk, and today we link to a book summary from a 4-minute books called Enchantment by Katherine May. To be enchanted is another way of saying under a spell. Yesterday Matthieu Ricard talked about separating the act from the actor when trying to find compassion for suffering. Today Katherine May talks about getting ground by using the ground.

Using the four elements May describes going on a walk and being within nature and the elements; she carries a small pebble with her in her pocket to remind herself of the peace and tranquility she feels when she is within the elements. Nothing is easier these days than a click or finger swipe, and boom, hours of your life may evaporate from your eyes. Instead of a swipe or a click, take a walk and reconnect with the earth; the satisfaction from that exercise will build you up the same way scrolling can break you down.

Go outside and Play!

After all the mind, body, and enchantment talk, we bet you can smell the incense, and if you have ever been in a spa or candle store, you know what a strong scent smells like. A story on Yahoo! finance profiles a study conducted by the University of California, Irvine, and the study found a significant improvement in patients with cognitive performance issues if they slept with a strong scent the night before. Participants used a diffuser, and the study split the participants into a group with a full dose of the scent and another with a much smaller portion of the scent.

The benefits of the study could help treat patients with dementia, the article didn't go into whether the same benefits apply to people without cognitive decline, but it would be worth your own independent testing to find out.

My first introduction to classical music was Mannheim Steamroller and the legendary Christmas albums they created. I grew up in Omaha, NE, where Chip Davis, the creator of Mannheim Steamroller, used to teach music. Davis and his collection of musicians would play live concerts at Christmas every year. This may have been where I developed a love of classical and electronic music, which I love to this day.

NPR has put together a comprehensive playlist for classical music, all the regulars are well-featured, and the playlist is available on Spotify and Apple Music. After my brief introduction to classical as a kid, I returned to the genre in my 20s when I needed something to calm me down. Classical music, which has always been available on the radio, was the first in the focus zone music genre. Now we have all kinds of music and sounds designed to help us focus, from ambient to forest sounds, but it started several hundred years ago with the masters. Get in the “focus zone” and give this a listen.

Apple Music

Summer Nights - Hazel English.

Click on the Apple Music image to listen to the song on Apple Music or on the Spotify Image to listen to Spotify.

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Thank you for spending a few minutes with us. Here’s one for the road!

With A Shout newsletter is written by Johnny Christian with the support of a thousand idea bits and the help of many people.

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