I never wanted it to stop. It was a wonderful feeling of joy, love compassion and connection to everyone who was there with me. This was despite fact that I had only met these people just three days ago. But at that moment, it felt like I had known them all my life.

This was my first yoga retreat. Four days of total immersion in practice, philosophy and life of hatha yoga. We practiced yoga twice a day. Spent several hours in sitting and walking meditation and learned about philosophy of yoga through talks and discussions.

We helped prepare and ate most delicious home-made vegetarian food. I was on an energy high. I had so much stamina. It was best short break I had ever had.

So why did it effect me so profoundly?

Our subtle energy body

Yoga works on our bodies and minds at many levels, and in a way that traditional medicine fails. Infact, many of alternative therapies and practices, that have become so popular, work on our mind and body in powerful ways.

You may not realise it, but your body has a network of unseen energy channels. They follow pathways of our nervous system and provide a constant supply of subtle energy that keeps us alive.

This complex mesh of energy channels, or 'meridians' as Chinese call them, focus around 7 energy centers or 'chakras' that are vertically aligned from our crown to our abdomen. Yoga, and many alternative therapies and practices, increase, balance and harmonise this energy network.

Lao Tsu, revered Chinese sage and chi kung master, said,

"When human beings are born, they are tender and soft. At death they are stiff and hard. All things, grass as well as trees, are tender and supple when alive".

It's this hidden energy system that keeps us alive, vibrant and healthy.

Shiatsu, acupressure and acupuncture

Fortunately, there are ways to clean and even prevent mold that are natural and safe for you and your family.

Mold is a living organism that needs certain conditions to stay alive. A moist, dark, environment with little moving air is perfect. Mold just can't live in an environment that is dry, light, or breezy. The solution to any mold problem of any kind is to introduce heat (to dry moisture), light, or moving air (such as from a fan).

I used to live in an old house in a forest, next to a creek, in an area that has a lot of rainfall in winter. One year was particularly cold and rainy and so to conserve heat, I closed door on my extra bedroom, which contained books and research papers, a bed, and out-of-season clothing. By end of winter, there was so much mold in that room that it was literally growing on my clothing. My cotton espadrille shoes and cloth-covered binders were covered with blue fuzz. What to do? Mold was covering literally everything!