 Naturopathic Medicine
Breath of Life:
Breathing, Relaxation And Stretching For
Stress Relief
Breathing
It’s no secret that one of the keys to longevity is to
keep breathing as long as you can.
Yet, simple breathing – the involuntary act so many of us take for granted – is much
more than the mere physiological act of taking in oxygen.
Ancient practitioners of Chi Kung, Tai Chi and other forms of marital arts have
long known that disciplined intentional breathing affected physical as well as
emotional vitality. Virtually every
major spiritual discipline uses a form of breath awareness as part of its
practice. In most languages, the word
for breath is the same as the word for spirit.
In Japan, the word is ki, in Hindu writings, prana, and in China, Qi or
chi. Breath is the life force and the
significant carrier of energy in the human system. Through mindful breathing techniques, individuals have learned to
control their heartbeats, blood flow, blood pressure, immune system, mental conditions
and even pain. Qi Gong masters direct
the breath to heal specific body tissues and organs.
Carola Speads, a German movement therapist, in her book Breathing: The ABC’s,
says that disciplined breathing, “gives us physiological and psychological
balance and the balance of yin and yang,” a symbolic expression of masculine
and feminine energy.
Recently, there has been an upsurge of interest in the various techniques of
breathing and the many ancient practices that utilize breath to develop the
exploration and empowerment of the inner self.
Breathing from the chest is too shallow and limits the amount of oxygen
that enters the blood stream. Breath
must be drawn in from the belly, expanding the abdomen in smooth and rhythmic
movements.
RELAXATION
The word relaxation should bring to mind the definitive
work of Herbert Benson, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine at the Harvard
Medical School. In his book, The
Relaxation Response, Benson elaborates on the necessity to learn relaxation
techniques in today’s stress-filled existence.
He outlines a simple meditative technique that can be used alongside of
any other discipline or spiritual practice.
- Find a quiet environment – a place free from
distraction.
- Create a comfortable position for
yourself.
- Avoid undue muscle tension. A sitting position works well. You can use a chair that supports the
head if the idea of sit up and relax doesn’t come naturally to you.
- Only a few are comfortable with the lotus
position of the yogis. Do not
attempt to lie down, as you may get drowsy or fall asleep. (Sleep itself isn’t a bad way to relax,
but it’s not a form of active, conscious stress reduction – and
consciously falling asleep doesn’t count!)
- Choose a mental device – a sound,
word or phrase – repeat it silently or aloud. Follow your breathing, become aware of your breath. Relax.
Do this as you fix your gaze at a stationary object – NOT the
television.
Assume a passive attitude. Don’t worry about how you’re performing, what you’re getting
out of the exercise, or what you should be doing instead of the
exercise. This is so important:
let go! Just let it happen. Let
the words sink deep within you. Do
this twice a day for at least fifteen minutes. It has been conclusively proven to help heal the body, and
provides several additional benefits that you begin feeling the first or
second day that you begin this.
ADDITIONAL METHODS AND SHORTCUTS
Invest just seven or eight minutes per day, especially
during normally wasteful minutes – such as when you’re waiting at traffic
lights, riding in a vehicle (where someone else is driving, naturally), close
your eyes and simply visualize yourself in your favorite place on earth, doing
the things you enjoy the most. Allow
yourself to float into that visualization, and you find your energy levels
going up, your reactions more positive and affirming; your ideas more creative, among several other benefits of this.
BREATHE!!!!
Infants know how to breathe, because we’re born knowing how:
full, complete respirations, which means letting all the air out of your lungs,
and then replacing it with good, deep, full breaths. By the age of ten or twelve, when we become psycho-socio-sexually
aware of ourselves, we become so concerned with how others view and respond to
us that we literally and most definitively forget how to breathe properly,
drawing shallower breaths than is healthy.
The naturopathic doctor and the allopathic doctor differ very little in what they know. They differ greatly wherein allopathic
doctors prefer to use synthetic drugs hoping to stimulate healing from the
outside, while homeopathic doctors prefer to stimulate healing from the inside,
using naturally occurring drugs, herbs, and remedies.
If you’re a fan of crashing the immune systems with drugs that we’re becoming evermore immune to,
such as antibiotics, then go to a medical doctor. If you lean more toward healing naturally, with items that occur in nature, then go to a homeopathic doctor.
In either case, don’t go to either one without first grabbing information from
your library or internet or encyclopedia on whatever it is that’s ailing
you. Only a very foolish person allows
someone else to have complete knowledge and control over life-and-death issues
without a good measure of understanding AND participation in the
decision-making process.
You’re visiting the healthiest web site ever created,
striving mightily to be the largest health-oriented web site in the world.
You are presented with higher quality information to help you ask better questions.
Better questions inevitably produce better results
No one argues the truism that asking better questions
always stimulates better answers.
If you doctor is able to tell you what he or she believes is wrong with you, FIRST look up the subject yourself. Learn about it. You are certain to receive information and suggestions that are not based on the guesswork of diagnosis. You will have measurable, identifiable biofeedback information on precisely what is wrong with you, enabling and empowering you to ask even better questions, which simply translates into effective natural techniques and remedies for healing.
Between your doctor and your own research, you're almost certain to receive significantly different approaches, and you’ll have at least a fair understanding of
both provided you take just a few minutes to study whatever is wrong with you, or supposedly wrong with you.
Every known human illness, disease and malady,
every synthetic chemical, and just about every surgery being conducted in the world today,
all have a natural answer, a natural remedy, a natural result.
So, - learn first
- go to your regular doctor
- Study more on your own. The internet is The Source for great information.
That's worth repeating:
Live longer,
live better, live happier,
with better decisions that are based on understanding how those decisions are arrived at
As complicated as the human body is, its operation and maintenance requires no superior education. Nature has built-in protections that are autonomous. Your responsibility is to learn about those features NOT autonomic in function. Fair enough? Talk less; do more.
Ayurvedic Medicine
Bodyscan2010
qxci
nutri-Spec
Mineral Infrared Therapy
Natural Pain Relief Rife Technology
Ayurvedic Medicine
Breath of Life
Mineral Infrared Therapy Theory
Acoustic Cardiograph
Oxygen Therapy
Health Index
coldcure
Doctors
Doctors II
E.M.I.
Health
Health2
Herbal Medicine
Herbal Medicine II
Index
Pain Relief
Winners and Role Models
Bodyscan Article II Harmony
BodyScan Article I
YOUR Medical Dollars
Newspaper Article
Flower Essence Therapy
Naturopathic Medicine
Naturopathy II
Oregano
Alternative to Chiropractic
Contents
Dr. Richard Gerber Testimonial
Psoriasis
Endorsements (Patients, Doctors, Practitioners, etc)
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