Beautify Me !

Think of the last time you let yourself get really steamed about something insignificant...

Maybe your spouse left the toilet seat up again. Maybe in her zeal to clean, your roommate threw out a newspaper or magazine you wanted...

And that one little thing just stuck in your craw for the rest of the day.

And it didn't just sit, did it? It festered. And it grew. And soon your bad feelings brought up the bad feelings from every previous time your loved one left the seat up, or threw something out. And your resentment, ill feelings, and anger grew. And then you started remembering other things he/she did "wrong" in the past...

In other words, here was a simple, small event. You took the feelings you associate with that simple, small event.

And you repeated them (the memory of the experience and the feelings), over and over in your mind,

Adding more emotional content as you went,

And adding in more images (previous occurrences, or things that might have happened but didn't:

"What if he had thrown out something that really mattered?", you think to yourself.

Until this one amplified event, and all of its emotional baggage, was your sole focus for the rest of the day.

And then what? Maybe you sulked. Maybe your picked a fight. Maybe you did something to "take a stand" or get even. And the event faded into the background, until the next time, and the pattern will start all over again, this time even more intense.

Now - if you allowed yourself to re-experience those feelings just now, having done this exercise with me here, you may have noticed the incredible power of your own mind to control your mood, activity, and relationships with others.

Especially when your mind combines memory, focused visualization, sensory input, and emotional content, and repeats and amplifies them all, over and over.

That is, after all, what you just did. And you probably realize that this "technique" has the power not only to change your perception of reality, but to actually change your reality itself.

If you chose not to dwell on the event, your day would've been fairly clear, and quite possibly fairly enjoyable.

But if you obsess, dwell on it, and amplify... your day went completely differently. You drove to work angry, or took it out on your kids, or picked a fight with the "guilty" party, or withheld affection, or withheld sex, etc...

And if you keep repeating the pattern, you may break up, or divorce. Now your little mental-and-emotional focus-amplify-and-repeat "technique" has radically altered the course of your day, week, or even life.

You may already do this mental technique out of habit, but it affects your mood, attitude, performance, and relationships with everyone in your life!

If this email is hitting close to home, then you have been doing the *reverse* of the most important technique in Tantra.

Tantra is known as the "transformation path". the most important technique in Tantra is called "transfiguration".

What does transfiguration mean?

According to the dictionary, Transfigure (vt) : to change so as to glorify or exalt.

Reverse transfiguration, then, would be the process of changing so as to profane, disparage, or belittle. That's what we do when we obsess about the little, negative things that really don't matter - our pet peeves.

You've just seen the power of reverse transfiguration to destroy your mood, your day, and your relationships. Yeeech! Who wants that?

So, what then does the exceptional practitioner of tantra do differently? How can you completely change your mood, your day, and your life, using the technique you already do, out of habit?

And if you do the technique out of habit, then that means that the technique is something you're already good at, right?!! We just need to tweak it so it helps you.

Here's the little twist you'll put on it:

The exceptional practitioner transfigures a person or situation so as to glorify or exalt it's highest aspect, an aspect that already exists. And that higher aspect is always there - no matter how subtle or difficult to find...

So here's how you are going to make transfiguration your friend, instead of your undoing:

Find something wonderful (but real) that exists within a loved one, or, if you want to transfigure yourself, a trait that exists within you. Smile. The something can be subtle, or obvious. You can start with a feeling.

Be aware of that special something, however subtle it may be. Smile. Stay with the feeling. Circulate the feeling throughout your whole body. Smile.

Now amplify the feelings, and if other feelings like love, compassion, or awe, devotion, etc., appear, join them with the original feeling.

Continue to amplify, and gently send the good feelings back towards your loved one, and towards your own self-image.

Repeat, smile, amplify, give back, and enjoy, again and again. This is the simple version of transfiguration, but, like its reverse, it is extremely powerful.

Start with a feeling. Then expand it and give it back.

Do this positive transfiguration for at least a few minutes a day, everyday. This is real tantra. Transfigure your lover, your self, your "enemies", your friends. Transfigure politicians, or criminals. Transfigure your own concept of divinity, whatever that might be. Start with some small aspect, and expand from there!

Transfigure your lover before, during, and after you make love together. Without expectations! Transfigure the food you eat at mealtimes. Transfigure the act of sleeping.

An important point: Transfiguration is *not* fabrication and amplification of a false, fantasy version of the person or situation. This is what Freud calls "crystallization." Crystallization is not tantra! Transfiguration should not be an excuse to turn a blind eye to obstacles.

The point of transfiguration is to take something wonderful, however small it might be, something that is *already there* in the person or situation, to amplify that something, and to give it back, continuously. To live your life practically, aware of everything, while amplifying the exalted.

Your relationships will improve, your moods will improve, and your everyday life will effortlessly become a spiritual practice. Transfiguration can be done anywhere, anytime...

However, use some sense and don't do visualizations while operating heavy machinery!

In this article we’ll take a hard look at the yoga industry. You’ll safely navigate past unqualified instructors and yoga charlatans to get the amazing, simple benefits of real yoga from brilliant teachers.



There are three main fears people have when they decide to try yoga.

In the years I’ve been teaching, many of my students have told me their stories of those fears. Some had some real-life nightmares while searching for good instruction, but inevitably… Once they found the right teacher, they experienced the best health of their lives, and enjoyed life more than ever before…

Here are a few of those stories, and then I’ll show you the eight secrets to finding the best yoga for you. Let’s jump right in.

The number one fear of prospective yoga students… is pain and injury.

Just yesterday a new student, who I’ll call Jose, came to me and said the following:

“Tao, I know I need this because I’m always stressed and I’m not at all flexible, but I’m afraid of hurting myself… I don’t want my muscles and ligaments ripped to shreds, I’m afraid of being forced to go into poses that I am not ready for and cannot do.”

Now – Nobody’s ever been injured at my school, but Jose is right to be concerned.

Bad things can happen with the wrong instructor.

You see, -- two friends, both healthy, fit women – had come in earlier that same week to take one of our seminars. They had stopped taking yoga at another South Beach school several months ago, after one of the women tore her hamstring. The instructor there had a forced this woman’s stretches to the point of injury, claiming that the space heaters and steaming temperatures in the classroom would protect her muscles form harm. She couldn’t walk, much less do yoga for weeks afterwards. It’s very important that you listen to your own body first. You don’t have to force yourself to do effective yoga.

The second great fear, fear of humiliation.

Kelly came to me wanting to take yoga. She told me she had never done yoga, she felt overweight, and was afraid of feeling or looking foolish in front of the other students.

“Tao, she said, I signed up before at a gym to do yoga,. I mean, picture me walking into a room full of men and women with perfect bodies and yoga butts. There I was, wearing spandex, with my imperfect body. I didn’t fit in. I could feel their looks, and then the thought of trying one of those impossible looking poses and falling on my ass, with all of them laughing… I just walked out.” I could feel her pain.

And I regret to say, I’ve watched Kelly’s nightmare unfold at classes at gyms, and event at other so-called yoga schools. Ironically, 6 months earlier the students laughing probably couldn’t do that same pose. But some teachers can provide a poor model for their students. The yoga teachers at many big gyms like Bally’s are frequently just aerobics instructors, certified by the gym, not by other yogis.

“Kelly,” I said, “yoga is about emotional health as well as physical. And while the physical exercises in real yoga will quickly give anybody a strong, beautiful body, real yoga has nothing to do with gym culture and being judged on your looks. Real yoga isn’t like that”

The third big fear of new yoga students is the fear that a class will intrude on your personal beliefs – that a teacher will bombard you with foreign dogma. This is what I like to call captive audience abuse. Picture yourself bravely venturing into a classroom for the first time. Instead of the teacher making you feel better through yogic exercises, he or she browbeats you with sanctimony for an hour and a half as you hold poses, criticizing your political beliefs, your clothes, the food you eat, the music you listen too, and your religious beliefs or lack thereof. It happens all too often.

I’ve been to yoga seminars where students were denied meals they’d already paid for when they would not repeat a teacher’s sectarian prayer. At the other end of the spectrum, Solange, one of my students, told me she’s wasted time and money at yoga seminars where self-proclaimed gurus spent 70% of the time selling a new book or video and only 30% teaching.

So how do you avoid the fakes and blowhards? How do you get the good stuff? – I’m about to tell you.

According to USA Today, 25 million of Americans are now doing hatha yoga. Why? Because it makes a difference in their health and well being – and they feel the difference, fast.

Lewis, my 48 year old CPA and student, says he’s in the best shape of his life after a year with us – and he used to be a surf lifeguard at the beach!

I also have testimonials from my students saying they:



Sleep better than before
Think more clearly
Learned to handle stressful situations with a feeling of relaxed control
Get home and enjoy themselves after work, instead to having to take a drink or decompress in front of the TV for hours – or even worse, take out their day’s stress by yelling at loved ones.
Their back pain is gone
Enjoy sex more
Have greater self confidence
Have greater poise and balance



Study after study, is showing yoga’s benefits – just look at recent yoga covers of Time, Newsweek, and the almost weekly articles on yoga in USA Today.

But you must find the right teacher. Without any more delay, here are the eight things you simple must know when looking for a yoga school, followed by your free gift.

1. Tell them what you want. Whatever you want a better body, pain relief, or even spiritual enlightenment, let your instructor know. If a teacher can’t give you specific prescriptions for your goal, then leave!

2. Take a hard look at the instructor! This may seem obvious, but if the teacher is in poor health, unhappy or angry all the time, has low self-esteem, or can’t function in the real world, what are you going to learn form him or her? Find a teacher who is happy, relaxed, healthy, and together…

3. Check your teacher’s background… it takes less time to check references that to take a single class! This one step can save you from injury and harassment. So ask for references form their students, and from their peers in the yoga community.

4. Ask yourself the following: is their yoga practical for you? Will they specifically tailor a program to your body and personality? Don’t settle for a cookie-cutter class, where poses are forced and everybody does the same thing, day in and day out, regardless of experience of ability.

5. Give yourself the power. Your teacher should tell you how to take the knowledge home with you to improve your everyday life. Every technique has benefits, and you don’t have to be a Chinese acrobat to get results. If a teacher won’t teach help you help yourself with yoga, he or she either doesn’t know much, or is trying to keep you dependent on classes.

6. Look out for cults. If you want to learn yoga, just emulate the techniques, awareness, and happiness of a yogi to succeed. You don’t have to dress like your teacher, you don’t need to talk like her, you don’t need to shave your head like him, or grow your hair or beard, or wear a turban, or eat a particular ethnic diet, and you certainly don’t have to change your name, or give them your title to your house or your car.

Sounds crazy?? Many large so-called yoga organizations demand such outrageous things of their students. Examples are Sahaja Yoga, 3HO, Siddha Yoga, and the ever-present Hari Krishnas.

If a teacher or a student at another school even hints that to learn their yoga you need to devote yourself heart and soul to some tax-evading charismatic leader you’ve never met, don’t walk… run… out the door! Yoga is about inner freedom and bliss, not oppression.

7. The class should not revolve around the teacher’s ego or temper. This may seem obvious, but if an instructor is a sourpuss – angry, condescending, self-righteous, or downright verbally cruel, he or she’s missed the point of yoga entirely. He can’t teach you anything. The ultimate goals of yoga, are blissful absorption – which Hindus call Ananda or Samadhi – and liberation, which they call mukti… anger is an imbalance!

8. Look for impeccable hygiene in a school and in your teachers. Bad body odor is a sign of an imbalanced body and poor health – and a dirty school is an invitation to disease and infection. If the school rents mats, you’d better hope they’ve found some new way laundering rubber – in this age of communicable diseases, do you really want to be lying in a pool of someone else’s sweat? Sure some schools spray their mats down with Lysol, but would you put on somebody else’s dirty gym clothes just after they’ve been sprayed with toxic disinfectant? My school is cleaned daily, and you shouldn’t settle for anything else.

9. Lastly, a school should have a good guarantee.

When You Should Listen To Your Body
By: Matt Furey


In a recent conversation with a client, I was asked what I thought were the most important qualities that help a person succeed in an exercise program.

Without hesitating I said, "There are two things that every trainee needs to know how to do - and both are mental. The first is called "listening to your body." The second is called "telling your body what you want it to do."

Now, think about this for a moment. It would be easy for me to say, "Do 100 Hindu squats, 50 Hindu pushups and a back bridge each day - that's the secret." And truth is, if you do those exercises, you'll succeed in a big way.

Yet, there is something "foundational" that anyone who wants continual success needs to understand. First, your body is talking to you all the time. It's telling you how it feels. It's telling you if it's tired, injured, too hot, too cold, unbalanced, stressed out, too tight, full of aches and pains ... or ... "on top of the world."

Your body is constantly talking to you. Question is, do you ever listen? If not, you're ignoring the messages in which your body is leading you toward what it wants to do - as well as all the signals that tell you to be careful.

I remember the day I was gung ho mixing dips and pullups and Hindu squats together during a workout in the gymnastics school where I often train. The first couple rounds went well and I was looking great. Then all of a sudden, I wasn't feeling the best. I needed a longer rest, but I refused to take it. I was ignoring my body's signals.

I jumped up to do another set of dips and something didn't feel right but I refused to pay attention. Next thing you know I felt a sharp twinge of pain in my shoulder.

Now THAT got my attention. I shut up and listened.

I moved to another area of the gym, away from the parallel bars and tested the shoulder with some basic pushups. They didn't feel right, so I did the smart thing for a change, changed clothes and called it a day.

Woke up the next day and was a bit sore, got a massage for the shoulder, slapped on some Zheng Gu Shui (Chinese linament) and within a couple days was back to normal. If I hadn't listened to my body, I would have injured myself far worse and the recovery wouldn't have been so quick.

So listening to your body is essential.

At the same time, what do I mean by "tell your body what you want it to do?"

This is when you "program your mind and your muscles" to accomplish a specific goal. Whether it's doing 100 straight pushups, 25 pullups, running hill sprints, swimming a mile, doing 500 straight Hindu squats or walking on your hands ... you mentally picture what you want to do in the future and you tell your muscles that you WILL do it.

Your body responds to your commands. Your muscles get stronger because you tell them to do so. You shed excess pounds because you look your flesh "in the eye" and tell it that "YOU" are the captain of this ship - and that you're the one issuing orders - not the other way around.

You can get your body to do almost anything, it seems ... but not unless you tell it what you want it to do.

The key to these two principles is balance. Both of these keys represent the yin and the yang of fitness. As such, there will always be a bit of overlap in the two.

Sometimes in telling yourself to do what you want - you may go too far and cause yourself a slight problem. No big deal so long as you readjust and move to the listening phase. On the other hand, if all you do is "listen" but you never give commands,you may be listening to nothing but "I'm tired" crapola.

Strike a balance between these two principles and you'll live a lifetime of superior health and fitness.

Gynecological Obstruction
If abdominal bloating is persistent rather then cyclical, it might be due to a mass such as an ovarian cyst or uterine fibroid, or, especially in women over 50, an ovarian cancer tumor. "Age makes a difference," Dr. Janik says. "An increase in abdominal size is much more concerning in women in the postmenopausal range."

To determine if a mass is present, gynecologists will usually perform a transvaginal ultrasound so that they can see if there is a mass on the ovaries that is putting pressure on the bladder or bowel and causing abdominal distension. Women with ovarian cancer may also have ascites, which is excess fluid around the abdomen that can cause bloating.



Gastrointestinal Bloating
Bloating that is not hormonal in nature is often due to gastrointestinal problem. Lin Chang, MD, an associate professor of medicine in the division of digestive diseases at University of California, Los Angeles, says that the first step in figuring out the cause of abdominal bloating is taking a detailed history to determine, among other things, if it's associated with eating or drinking and or with other symptoms.

Bloating can be caused by diet, particularly if someone who has a high salt intake or eats a lot of gas-producing foods such as cruciferous or leafy vegetables or beans. Calcium supplements can also cause gas in some people. Doctors may recommend that people avoid these foods to see if they're the culprit.

But the most common gastrointestinal cause of abdominal bloating, Dr. Chang says, is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). IBS is a common condition characterized by abdominal discomfort and diarrhea and/or constipation and abdominal bloating.

Women with IBS do not usually have more gas and bloating than other people, but instead have a hypersensitivity to gas. While IBS is difficult to treat, it may be helped by medications that ease constipation, tricyclic antidepressants or even psychotherapy.

Other women may have only abdominal bloating, Dr. Chang says. This may be the result of a partial or complete intestinal blockage. There are many possible causes of these blockages, including scar tissue from prior surgeries, certain medications, abdominal infections and hernias.

Those who have bloating, along with discomfort in the upper gut, may have a food intolerance such as an intolerance to lactose, the sugar in milk, or fructose, the sugar in fruit. Such intolerances can be handled by simply avoiding lactose or fructose. Women with lactose intolerance may also choose to treat milk products with the enzyme lactase.

In rare cases, women may have parasitic infection or an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. Dr. Chang notes that bloating is not the prominent symptom of IBD; these diseases are usually distinguished by red-flag symptoms such as blood in the stool or a family history of IBD.

Bloating is very common in women, but if you have bloating that's making you uncomfortable, especially if it's persistent, experts say that getting it checked out is worthwhile.

Bloating Explained


With: Grace Janik, MD & Linda Bradley, MD

There's nothing like bloating to make you feel sluggish and uncomfortable. Who feels like working or going out when you're convinced you're lugging around extra water or gas?

Although many women have had days where the skirt they wore yesterday can't be zipped today, the precise cause of this feeling of fullness and tightness is sometimes unclear. That's because both gynecological and gastrointestinal troubles can lead to bloating, and sometimes it's due to a combination of these problems.



Hormonal Bloating
If bloating in a premenopausal woman follows a pattern, it's likely to be related to the menstrual cycle. During the last two weeks of the menstrual cycle, known as the luteal phase, women can retain water, which causes swelling in not only the abdomen but sometimes in the hands, feet and breasts.

The rising levels of hormones also have a direct effect on the gastointenstinal tract. "This hormonal effect causes the GI tract not to empty as quickly and to produce gas," explains Grace Janik, MD, director of the Reproductive Endocrinology at St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee.

Because stool and gas are moving more slowly through the intestines, women often have constipation and bloating in the two weeks before their periods. When women get their periods, their hormone levels drop and they sometimes get diarrhea.

Although it's less common, women can also have hormone-related bloating from changing or going on or off birth control pills or from the contraceptive Depo-Provera. Bloating due to these contraceptives, however, usually subsides after about three months.

Abdominal distension may be a sign of early pregnancy, particularly in women who aren't using birth control. And older women who are taking hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes may also have discomfort from abdominal bloating.

Gynecologist Linda Bradley, MD, director of hysteroscopic services at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, says after she takes a medical history, she often suggests that younger women keep a diary of their symptoms to determine if the bloating is cyclical. If it appears to be related to the menstrual cycle, she may prescribe a mild diuretic or birth control pills. Exercising, avoiding gas-producing foods and adding bulk fiber to the diet may also ease premenstrual bloating.

Sometimes, Dr. Bradley says, women are not necessarily seeking treatment. "You wouldn't believe how many women just want to know that it's nothing bad," she says.

Why isn't breast pain usually a symptom of breast cancer?
DR. ROBIN SMITH: Although pain can be a symptom of cancer, it is surprising how seldom this is the case. Cancers start out as small clusters of abnormal cells that grow over time and may spread to other sites. Malignant tumors in the breast may not cause any symptoms for months, or occasionally, years. Cancers can cause pain by inducing inflammation or swelling, by invading a region with a rich nerve supply or by putting pressure on other sensitive tissues, but this does not occur until the tumor becomes larger. The risk of breast cancer in women with localized breast pain is low, but not insignificant, and merits appropriate medical evaluation.



Do infections cause breast pain?
DR. ROBIN SMITH: We do see patients with mastitis, an infection of the mammary gland, or sometimes an abscess. Quite often these occur around the time of pregnancy and lactation, and it can be very painful. Usually, these women have other clinical findings of redness, swelling, maybe some discharge from the nipple.

DR. SANDHYA PRUTHI: Postmenopausal women describe pain around the areola that is called periductal mastitis. They don't always have the classic red breast, nipple discharge or even the sign of an abscess. It's just a very subtle set of symptoms where the woman says, "You know, it just hurts behind the nipple."



What role does diet play in causing breast pain?
DR. ROBIN SMITH: There have been some studies supporting an association between caffeine and breast pain, but other studies have really not supported a relationship. But I have many patients come in and simply tell me that they know that if they drink too much coffee or soda that has caffeine, they experience a worsening of their symptoms. Other women don't find a relationship between caffeine and their symptoms. I think it's worthwhile, in a woman whose symptoms are severe and who has a significant caffeine intake, to undertake a trial of bringing that caffeine consumption down.



When would you advise a woman with breast pain to be tested for breast cancer?
DR. SANDHYA PRUTHI: Right away. If a woman has breast pain, particularly if it's new, we advise her to make an appointment with their doctor and have it evaluated. Then it's up to the doctor and the patient to decide on the next workup. But definitely, any woman who says, "I'm having breast pain that's new or bothersome," should be evaluated.

DR. ROBIN SMITH: In a woman over 30 to 35 we would start with a mammogram, and usually for localized breast pain, our practice has been to also perform an ultrasound of that area that is causing the symptoms. In a younger woman, we would often start by doing an ultrasound of the area and then proceed depending on what is found.



What can be done to deal with breast pain not caused by breast cancer?
DR. ROBIN SMITH: What we typically do is meet with our patients and go over a variety of simple measures that they can do that don't involve medication. We talk with them about their diet, wearing a supportive bra, sometimes wearing a soft bra at night that can provide support.

JENNIFER HAZELTON: I think a lot of women, just being women, kind of let their shopping for themselves go. And I see women with bras that have absolutely no elastic whatever left in them, and we've had a number of women call back and say, "Wow, I can't believe what a difference that made." Another thing we recommend is a cold compress to the area of pain for 20 minutes at a time. It seems to be more helpful with a focal pain that's noncyclic.

Exercise helps because endorphins are released when people exercise, which provide a natural kind of relief. But there's a lot of exercise that involves movement of the breasts, so, we recommend biking or kind of a gentle walking while wearing a very supportive bra.

DR. SANDHYA PRUTHI: We'll also often recommend anti-inflammatory pain medication, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, when a woman first comes to the clinic about breast pain.



What is the next step after lifestyle modification and pain relievers?
DR. ROBIN SMITH: We're still determining what the next best step is. There have been a number of medications used for cyclical breast pain, and those include tamoxifen, danazol, bromocriptine and others. The difficulty is that, while these medications are very effective in relieving breast pain, they are associated with some potentially serious and very bothersome symptoms.

The side effects of tamoxifen are usually similar to menopause (hot flashes, vaginal dryness or discharge), but also include endometrial carcinoma and blood clots. The side effects of danazol are less serious, but it can be associated with masculine side effects, including acne and an increase in facial hair or other hair growth. And so we have a great deal of interest in measures that we could use short of those very potent medications.

DR. SANDHYA PRUTHI: Usually if the lifestyle modifications aren't working women can try taking 400 international units of vitamin E twice a day. We say, "Try this for three months and see if it works, and then if it does, great. Keep taking it. And if it doesn't let us know."

And then my personal next step is to try capsules of evening oil of primrose, which is a gamma linoleic acid that has actually been approved in the United Kingdom for managing cyclical breast pain. We're conducing an open, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study looking at the effectiveness of vitamin E, evening oil of primrose, or a combination of the two, compared to a placebo. It is expected that the study will also open soon at other sites.

JENNIFER HAZELTON: We are doing a study looking at the effectiveness of four acupuncture treatments over a two-week period in women with noncylic breast pain. Preliminary results are promising.



When is surgery recommended?
DR. ROBIN SMITH: I try everything short of surgery for my patients so they can avoid a procedure that has anesthesia risk and potentially deforming consequences. And surgery in and of itself can cause future breast pain. So a woman could remove a tender area of the breast in exchange for pain related to a scar in the same vicinity. But sometimes we do find that our patients experience pain relief when a cyst is drained, and that can be done by using a needle to drain the fluid out the cyst. Sometimes that cyst fluid will recur, but often the pain will be relieved for quite a while or indefinitely. And a benign growth like a fibroadenoma that causes localized pain at the site can also be removed.



What is your advice to a woman who is having pain?
DR. ROBIN SMITH: I think that a woman who has some fairly mild symptoms of cyclical breast discomfort that is not interfering with her activities and always resolves with her menstrual cycle just needs to know that that is common and that nothing particular needs to be done with regard to evaluation and treatment. She should continue with breast cancer screen appropriate for her age.

Women who have more severe cyclical breast pain can manage the symptoms with their doctor or talk to their doctor about a referral for a consultation in a breast center. For a woman with noncylic breast pain, particularly localized to an area of the breast, I would recommend she undergo a careful evaluation in a breast center. It is also reasonable for women with a new onset of breast pain or a change in breast pain symptoms to undergo medical evaluation.