Spring into Summer
A life of good health and wellbeing can be achieved by embracing the simplest of fundamental elements found in nature. Just as an animal a plant or tree requires the right air nutrition water and sunlight for optimum health so do we.
Being conscious of how your body speaks to you is of great importance. Our bodies speak to us all the time - do we listen, very rarely. Unfortunately we usually wait until they begin to scream, in the form of pain, infection, fear and anxiety and it is too late, the damage has been done. Signals in the form of excess mucous, constipation, aches and pains in joints, heavy clouded feelings in the head, tightness in the chest, skin problems etc are the body's way of saying it is time to listen -"rest me spring clean me." Our bodies are our temples and need to be treated accordingly - with respect and care. To do this effectively we need to know how to work with the 10 Vital Ingredients that help create the ENERGY our bodies need to achieve Greater Health and Wellbeing.
AIR
A human life begins with the first breath and ends with the last breath. This says it all really; we cannot sustain life without it. Choosing to be in an environment where the air is clean and better still pure, would feed our cells with optimum fuel. Also the significance of how we breathe in this fuel also affects the way the body and mind work and feel. The importance of the breath and being conscious when breathing is very rarely contemplated in the Western world. Unless we are made aware of breathing, we go through life breathing unconsciously not even fully filling the lungs.
Conscious breathing takes practice, because many of us have never done it before. It's spending moments of being aware you're breathing and in that awareness realizing just how much air we are taking in and where we are taking it in to. When the focus is changed, and we begin to breathe consciously into the abdomen, significant changes occur. Life force also known as chi or prana is carried on oxygen and it is this lifeforce that sustains all aspects of who we are as physical mental emotional and spiritual beings.
The cardiovascular and respiratory systems are cleansed and the nervous system is quieted. The lifeforce that fills the oxygenated cells creates clarity of mind and a cleaner happier body. Just by being still and practicing breathing consciously for 5 minutes a day, changes will be felt and you will find yourself watching the breath more and more.
Breath is life.
WATER
The body is a system of tubes - tubes within tubes. The organs the arteries the veins the nerves are all tubes. Over time these tubes can become blocked, weak, balloon or even explode. The best thing you can do for your tubes to keep them clear and clean is to drink a lot of water. Water is an essential part of the cleansing process and we simply don't drink enough of it. It is the most important of all nutrients and is essential to replace fluid lost from the body each day due to normal processes. Maintaining a normal temperature, transporting wastes from elimination and aiding metabolism.
The skin is a good indicator of whether you are hydrated enough. The body is 75% water and if this drops by just 2% we become dehydrated. Headaches can be an indication of dehydration. As the brain literally floats in water, headaches can usually be eradicated by drinking more water. We cannot drink too much water so begin by drinking at least two litres of unchlorinated pure spring or filtered water a day. Recent clinical studies have shown a number of beneficial effects. A reduction or elimination of certain skin disorders, increases in cellular health, and a greater sense of personal energy and wellbeing. Water is life.
NUTRITION
We are living in an age where time seems to be literally collapsing in on us. The pace of life is getting faster and faster and everything including the food we eat revolves around convenience. An age of drive-thru fast lanes home deliveries and microwaves. Degenerative disease is increasing at an alarming rate and our hospital system is not coping. One of the reasons for this is that we are living in an era of dazzling synthetics and chemicals and foodless foods and lifeless drinks.
Studies have shown that 70-80% of disease is diet related - therefore it is preventable. We are electrical beings and the body requires lifeforce or micro electric current to function efficiently and effectively.
Electricity is the glue of the body and electric current not only comes from the air we breath and the water we drink but also the food we eat. It is time for us to go back to nature's table and give our temples the nourishment they deserve. The taste the colour the experience of live whole food. Fruits and vegetables nuts grains and seeds, food that comes alive in your mouth and contains all the nutrition and lifeforce the body requires to come alive. It doesn't make sense to feed a living breathing pulsating body something that is dead, yet we do it and very rarely think about the consequences that will occur over time. It doesn't take long, just days for the body to kick into enjoying and eventually craving the food it was meant to eat for it to function at its peak. Whole food is life.
EXERCISE
Life is made of movement and the more we move the better we feel. Because the body is run on chi or micro electric current, movement and exercise stimulate the flow of chi, flushing out toxins and boosting energy. Our greatest challenge with regard to exercise, is finding within, a core reason for its validity.
The body is a life machine and fights for life - it is designed to live not die. So it is the power of the mind that is the challenge. We can be easily distracted and come up with some very good reasons why not to exercise. It is not the body that gives up on life, it is the mind. To have a goal or an outcome of how it is you want to feel and look is a great beginning. There are so many ways of exercising - whether it be on your own walking, swimming, yoga, at a gym or as a member of a team.
The most important thing is to find something that you enjoy, that makes you feel good - a form of exercise that suits you and you want to continue. It may be something as simple as walking the children to school instead of driving. Exercise can be a process of self discovery. In a relatively short time there is an increase in the production of seratonin in the brain. This enhances positive attitude and creates a greater feeling of wellbeing. It helps to lower high blood pressure and decrease appetite. We become more alert, more productive, and more at peace with ourselves. Fitness also gives you access to more fun in life and creates balance, which is the philosophy of the human body. Movement is life.
SUNLIGHT
All aspects of life and health are influenced by light. It marks the length of our days and the shifting of our seasons, affecting all life forms and governing the welfare of our species. We see our surroundings, but give little thought to the nature that makes them visible. Eventhough we are constantly being cautioned about the potential harmful rays of the sun, sunlight plays an important role in our mental emotional and physical health. A daily dose of sunlight helps the biochemical timing device adjust itself and the body to environmental changes caused by the alternation of day and night and the cycle of the seasons. It also plays an important role in the production of melatonin, a hormone, which regulates our biological clock.
Sunlight is essential for the absorption of calcium and the formation of Vitamin D. Without this substance the body cannot grow or maintain healthy bones and teeth. Research has shown that supplements of Vitamin D are not very effective and the form of Vitamin D we need for absorbing calcium only comes from sunlight. The bottom line is, just like fresh air and clean water it's obvious even through scientific investigation that we need to bathe ourselves in a little sunlight every day. Light is life.
SLEEP
Sometimes a good night's sleep can make you feel like you've been on holidays for a week. The profound healing qualities of sleep are obvious, yet there are times when we deprive ourselves. Again busy lives get in the way and our whole being begins to suffer. We need to sleep. It's the only time the body has to go into production mode to repair and rejuvenate itself.
Research has shown that sleep may play a major role in the recuperation process. Whether it is recovery from a day's activity or from a disease in the body. As we go through the different stages of sleep and slip into a deeper sleep state, the body temperature begins to drop, the breathing rate slows down, and blood pressure is reduced. Nerve cells in the brain do not rest while we sleep. Instead they carry out different activities than those that occur during waking hours. Some people need more sleep than others - your body will tell you, if you take the time to be with it.
The most effective sleep that we can have is the sleep before midnight. This is the time when our biological clock goes into rest and repair mode. The human body has the greatest healing power of all, given the right ingredients. Sleep is a key ingredient, for it is in this state where most of our healing occurs. Sleep gives life.
COMMUNICATION
Communication is of paramount importance in creating the life you truly want to live. Communication with self and communication with partners, family friends and work colleagues. What stops us from effectively speaking the truth, which is what true communication is - fear.
Fear of making a fool of ourselves, fear of being judged, fear of reaction and retaliation, fear of loss, and fear of not looking good. To communicate truth at all times brings about a great change in relationships. It moves us into a place of becoming the cause of change to happen and not living at the effect of fear and blame. True communication makes for new possibilities in your life. A life free of fear where you can begin to know your own value and your value is not affected by what others think. Take the time to be aware of how you communicate with people.
Be open to listening and receiving what another has to offer. We are all teachers for each other and we can never stop learning and growing. This is one of the greatest gifts we can give to each other, the time to be willing to communicate honestly and openly and the time to listen with an open heart. Truth is life.
CONTEMPLATION
Taking time out for you can be seen by some as selfish. On the contrary, self contemplation is another very important time for healing. It is a time just for you, very rare - but precious. Because this time is precious in your life, it needs to be treated accordingly. It is time to just be. A time to enjoy something you love, something you feel passionate about that brings you joy. A time to be still and just absorb nature or be in the garden. It is time you have given to yourself to contemplate your life, and the journey you have chosen to take. How it's heading and how it feels.
Stillness always determines truth, so it can be a time of powerful revelations or just simple relaxation and self acknowledgement. This time can be more effective after movement as well, so sitting for 15-20 minutes after a walk or exercise can be a great time for contemplation and conscious breathing. We are human beings yet we are living in times where we have become human doings. Take time to be and begin to see its power - for being allows the truth to emerge, it allows health and healing. Being allows life.
HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
A healthy happy relationship is the result of conscious attention and nurturing. Just as toxins can make for an unhealthy environment in the body and mind, toxic relationships can also destroy your health and happiness. A healthy relationship needs a strong foundation. A foundation built on firm commitment, honor, respect, and trust. To honor your partner for who they are, helps you to honor you.
To respect and trust, allowing yourself to be flexible and have a willingness to listen and be open to change. Commitment requires courage. The courage to allow another into your world, the courage to learn from fears from the past and move on. To be willing to compromise, from a place of love and power and not fear. To be willing to share your world with another without expectations.
Conscious awareness of constant communication is the key to understanding and growing your relationship. Share you lives in truth and enjoy the time you share together. Have fun, laugh, enjoy your families and live life as if there is no tomorrow. Love is life.
GIVING AND RECEIVING
The Universal Law or Divine Principle states: "As you give, so shall you receive" It is the natural flow of life, which can be witnessed in all of nature - known in the East as the Tao of life. Giving of ourselves to others, gives us the opportunity to feel the joy, pleasure, satisfaction and fulfillment that comes from giving freely from our own true nature, without expectation, compensation or remuneration. It is in the very act of giving, that we receive. When we come from this place of freely giving something to another, we ourselves are the recipients of our own inherent generosity.
Giving is the satisfaction, joy and fulfillment which is felt from knowing that your action has, in some way, empowered, contributed to, and made a difference in your own life as well as another's. This principle also applies when we give to ourselves. When we give ourselves the time to be, the time to exercise, to feed our temples with good live food, the time to contemplate and nurture our relationships. In giving to ourselves we are receiving - we are receiving life - we are receiving love, self love.
This is true balance - the recipe for greater health and wellbeing. Giving and receiving allows us to give to life and in turn life will give back - abundantly - stay open to receive, for this is The Universal Law of Life.
Written by Dianne Burke N.D.
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