Archive for May, 2009

Written By Marcia Camino

It is spring 2009. Last fall, shortly after the first wave of financial crisis hit the news, I started writing a five-part article series on yoga and the economy and the economy of yoga.

In articles one through four, we looked at yoga’s history as a system of wellness for the everyday householder especially applicable in today’s tough economic times. We looked at how yoga for physical exercise is economical on more than the financial level.

We looked at how yoga for the emotions and mind can be inexpensive and deeply de-stressing, one of our greatest health-preventative measures available. And finally, in this last article, we will look at the personal and economical benefits of a yogic diet.

As I pointed out in the first article, even if you are exercising regularly these days but are experiencing more stress than before the economy plummeted, you are at risk of downturn in your health, or your personal economy-of-one.

It is precisely because this deep recession hits us on so many levels that we need to attend to the big three in wellness–exercise, mind work, and diet–in order to get and keep our personal economies-of-one strong. So let’s look at the yogic diet, to see what it offers.

A yogic diet is a very healthy diet. Though it is oft disputed in the yoga community just what a yogic diet is (e.g., vegetarian vs. omnivorous), there is no universal hard and fast rule. I believe this: Pick a well-balanced diet that does your body and soul good. Let your stomach and your consciousness be your guide. Keep an open mind and listen to your body. Always be willing to change your diet when necessary.

That being set, I’d like to recommend what I consider to be the most yogic of all diets. It also happens to be very inexpensive, perfect for people on a tight budget. It is called a living foods diet . This diet consists of eating as much as you want of raw, uncooked, unprocessed, and enzyme-active foods. It is yogic because one eats conscientiously using simple food preparation, one eats highly nutritious foods, and one eats low on the food chain (good for the environment and animal rights observers.)

A living food contains its own digestive enzymes, which help your body efficiently digest what you’ve eaten. If you eat a food without its digestive enzymes, your body has to create enzymes necessary for digestion, so the chemistry-based philosophy behind a living food diet, then, is that you eat the food as nature created it. When you do, your body is receiving the most nutrition from the food in the most efficient way. The body is working at its metabolic optimum when living foods are on the menu.

So what is a living food? A food that has not been cooked, or heated to about 118 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, is considered living. Raw fruits and vegetables, fresh-squeezed (as opposed to pasteurized-bottled, canned, frozen) juices, cold-pressed (as opposed to heat-processed) oils, soaked nuts, and the sprouts of beans, seeds, and grains are considered living foods. In contrast, any food cooked to about 118 degrees and higher loses its digestive enzymes; the heat denatures them. Much of our diet, obviously, is digestive-enzyme free.

A living foods diet is my favorite way to eat, and research into living foods (often referred to as raw foods, though some experts draw a line of distinction) will open a new door for you on how to think about, prepare, and eat food. There are many living and raw foods websites, blogs, and ‘un-cook’ books available to help you find your way. Living foodists eat salads, soups, sandwiches, faux meats, living foods pastas, breads, milks, dehydrated foods (cooked so slowly the enzymes stay active), cheeses, dips, sauces, cookies, smoothies, and drinks. It is far from a limited diet.

When I eat at least 50% living foods in a given day, I have more energy, and I feel more balanced and happy. In fact, I feel that when I eat living foods, my food is my medicine.

Sprouting foods is one living foods preparation technique that provides foods rich in enzyme-powered carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Sprouting entails soaking foods such as beans, legumes, seeds, nuts, and grains and then watering/draining them until they produce small tails. Foods treated in this manner grow tails because soaking and then watering them releases the food’s enzyme inhibitors. Sprouting ‘activates’ the nut, bean, etc., in other words, or takes it from a dormant state to a living state.

What’s more, sprouting provides high-level nutrition for only pennies. A pound of lentils (less than $2) will when sprouted yield thousands of grams of full-powered, easy-to-digest protein. (When sprouted, a seed gains up to fifteen times its weight.) A pound of cooked meat, in contrast, provides no more than a couple hundred grams of protein that is hard on the body because the digestive enzymes in the meat are denatured in the cooking process, undertaken in order that the meat can be eaten at all. A pound of sprouted food will create many highly nutritious and inexpensive meals.

Eating a yogic diet is just one way to health and pocketbook happiness. When combined with the other yogic practices discussed in this series, one will be on one’s way to great health at low cost: the perfect economic hard times antidote.

Namaste.

Marcia Camino is a registered yoga instructor and founder of Pink Lotus Yoga in Cleveland, Ohio. She teaches yoga to adults and children at all levels of fitness and loves to carry the message of the many benefits of yoga to all. http://www.pinklotusyoga.com

Written By Becky Jordan

Like regular exercise, yoga strengthens and tones the body. Regular exercise typically makes a body stronger and less flexible. Weight training for example, builds strength by breaking down and rebuilding muscle tissue. That bulky, muscle bound look and tighter muscle mass is a result of this breaking down and rebuilding of muscle. Yoga strengthens the body by toning the muscles and creates longer, leaner muscles due to the stretching. Yoga creates a body that is stronger and more flexible. Often the goal of regular exercise is to increase the heart rate.

While yoga can be practiced vigorously to increase heart rate, it can also be practiced in a way that reduces the heart rate and lowers blood pressure. Typically one exercises to a point of fatigue. At the end of a yoga practice, you feel as though you have had a workout, but are more relaxed and energized. Hatha yoga is not just a series of exercises, but a principle of exercise that involves concentration, breathing and movement.

Yoga offers many additional benefits as well. Bending, stretching and twisting the body massages and soothes the internal organs aiding digestion and elimination. Our hormones are brought into greater balance due to the toning of the endocrine system. The respiratory system is strengthened and the nervous system is soothed. Stress relief is also a major benefit of practicing yoga. In fact, all systems of the body are affected by a yoga practice. A qualified yoga teacher can advise you on the most appropriate yoga practice for you, regardless of age, health issues and fitness level.

Whether practicing vigorously with challenging poses or practicing gently with soothing poses, yoga is balanced action of the body, awareness of breath and steadiness of mind. This is yoga in action, union of the body/mind.

Regular exercise and yoga both help us to lead active, healthy lives. Yet, yoga is a life support system…a way of life that helps us to maintain a healthier body, a calmer mind and a more balanced and peaceful life.

Written By Dennis Francis

For those who suffer from type 2 diabetes, it is a life changing situation. Diabetes can cause heart disease, stroke, amputations, kidney failure, blindness etc and it can remain undetected for years. If you are overweight, pregnant or over 50, it is important to get checked for diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes develops due to a diminished production of insulin. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, and was previously known as juvenile diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar (glucose), starches and other food into energy needed for daily life.

Type 2 diabetes develops due to resistance to insulin effects and is mostly associated with obesity. In type 2 diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is necessary for the body to be able to use glucose for energy.  Yoga can help to regulate your mind and body while cleansing your system. Yoga has several parts- asana, pranayama and shatkarma. Asanas (postures) and Pranayama (breathing techniques) are quite popular and widely practiced but today only a few people practice Shatkarmas (Yoga cleansing practices).

By taking up yoga your quality of life can vastly improved. If you dedicate yourself to the daily practice of yoga, the practice can help to reduce your stress hormones, bring a feeling of calm and relaxation and at the same time help to reduce the effects of type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes can be prevented. It is not a foregone conclusion to get the disease or to fall victim to its effects once contracting it. The best method of prevention is a balanced diet and exercise program that regularly cleanses your system and lowers your stress level.

Yoga provides a stress reducing regimen and a vigorous exercise program that can reduce your fat level and strengthen your body. If you become a serious practitioner, you can master the ancient cleansing arts.  In order to perform these rituals, you should find an accomplished yoga master.

There are six practices used in Yoga cleansing; they are Dhauti, Basti, Neti, Tratak, Nauli and Kapalbhati. Dhauti is an important yoga system of cleaning. It has four distinct types.

Antar (internal) Dhauti – This further divided into Vatsara Dhauti (Expelling air through the anus).  Varisara Dhauti (Purging water through the bowels).
Vahnisara Dhauti (rapid expansion and contraction of the abdomen).
Bahiskrita Dhauti (washing the rectum in the hands).
Hrida (cardiac) Dhauti – It has three kinds of practices

Danda Dhauti (Inserting soft banana stem in the stomach).
Vastra Dhauti (Swallowing a long thin strip of cloth)

Vaman Dhauti (Regurgitating the contents of the stomach).

Basti – This practice of colon cleansing has two parts

Jala (water) Sthal (Dry) basti (Air is sucked in this case).

Neti – this yogic nasal irrigation technique is of four types Jala (water) Neti (passing warm saline water through the nose) Sutra (thread) Neti (passing a soft thread through the nose) Ghrita (ghee) Neti (passing clarified butter through the nose).  Dugdha (milk) Neti (passing of milk through the nose.

Tratak – A yoga exercise for the eyes, it involves steady and continuous gazing at a point of concentration.  It is further subdivided into: Hantar (internal) Trataka, and Bahir (external ) Tratak.

Nauli – A yoga abdominal cleansing technique which serves to massage the internal organs of the body. In this the abdominal muscles are isolated and churned. It has three parts akshin Nauli (when muscles are isolated to the right). Vama Nauli (left) Madhyama Nauli (middle).

Kapalbhati – this mind detoxification technique of yoga has three components Vatkrama Kapalbhati (similar to bhastrika pranayama). Vyutkrama Kapalbhati (sucking water in through the nose and expelling it through the mouth) Sheetkrama Kapalbhati.

Using yoga to reduce your stress, cleansing your body and mind as well as building your body is a great way to stave off the effects of diabetes. If you are working pro-actively to reduce your chances of contracting Type 2 diabetes, cleansing and working out regularly can help you to combat the disease.

For more information on combating disease and getting fit with yoga, visit our website.  http://yoga.didarticles.com/

Written By Darren Starwynn

This article is about a very simple, yet remarkably effective method to help your patients who are suffering with low back pain (or yourself). This technique is an example of how acupuncture, microcurrent stimulation and physical therapy can be combined advantageously to treat a difficult condition.

It is estimated by the National Institutes of Health (N.I.H.) that 70-85% of all people have back pain at some time in their lives, and that it is the most frequent cause of activity limitation in people younger than 45 years old. As people age, it is natural for the intervertebral disks to lose some of their flexibility and fullness, making people more prone to back pain.

Postural stresses such as sitting at desks, extended driving and using sofas and beds that are too soft can aggravate pain. There are also many Internal physical and emotional causations or predisposing factors for back pain. Sciatica is back pain with radiculopathy (radiation of pain or numbness down a limb). The protocol described in this article is appropriate for back pain with or without radiation.

In his famous paperback book “Treat Your Own Back”, physiotherapist Robin Mackenzie details exercises that patients with back pain can perform that will gradually heal pain from most herniated disk conditions. The beauty of these exercises is that almost anyone can perform them, even those experiencing severe, acute symptoms.

I highly recommend this book to my acupuncture colleagues and their patients as well as its companion volume “Treat Your Own Neck”. These are inexpensively available on Amazon.com. In 1998 I experienced severe back pain with radiation down my right leg. MRI scans revealed herniated disks at the L3-L4 and L5-S1 junctures. On one the disk material had extruded into the epidural space and was compressing the nerve.

I was in frequent pain, and could not sit for more than a few minutes at a time. After receiving chiropractic work, acupuncture sessions and a series of medical epidural injections, the condition was not improving, and I started getting symptoms of drop foot.

To my physician, this indicated a dangerous level of nerve damage, and he suggested back surgery. I opted instead to practice the exercises in Mackenzie’s book, and to give myself acupuncture and microcurrent interferential treatments with the Acutron Mentor device. After about a month of this regimen, the condition started improving, and was completely cleared up within 3 months.

Since then I have done frequent intense physical exertion, including two treks in the Himalayas, without a recurrence. Many other patients have also significantly benefited from this combination therapy. There are several valuable exercises in the “Treat Your Own Back” book, but the most essential one is a variation of the Cobra pose from Hatha Yoga.

The patient is instructed to lie prone on the floor (face down). She then raises her upper body off the floor, resting on her elbows, and notes if this aggravates the back pain or sciatica. If not, the exercise can be continued. If aggravation is noted, the patient is instructed to experiment with moving her hips slightly to the right or left until she can find a position that allows the Cobra pose to be done without aggravation.

When it is necessary, this slight shifting of the hips takes pressure off the sciatic nerve during the exercise. This exercise is so valuable because most of the time we are biasing our bodies in the direction of leaning forward -toward computers, in chairs, listening to others, etc. The Cobra pose helps stabilize the torso through balancing muscular action of the torso.

It can also help move a herniated disk back into more normal positioning. I have experimented with adding acupuncture and electrical stimulation to this exercise with excellent results. Here is a suggested protocol:

1) Apply acupuncture needles or microcurrent polarized probe treatment to distal acu-points that are known to relieve low back pain and sciatica. These include UB 10 + 40, Kid 3, SI 3 + UB 62, UB 60, GB 44 or extra points Ling Ku + Zong Bai on the back of the hand opposite the painful side of the back. Apply strong stimulation on distal points for about 10 minutes with needles, or 12 – 30 seconds per set of points with microcurrent probes.

When polarized probe stimulation is utilized, the + probe can be placed on painful local points on the back, and the – probe used to treat sequences of distal points. Appropriate settings are 75 ¼A, 10 Hz, square waveform, negative polarity.

2) After acupuncture or microcurrent probes are applied, place 4 electrode pads on the patient’s lower back in an “X” pattern. This requires two channels (circuits) on the Acutron Mentor, or other devices that offer microcurrent interferential therapy. This means that the two leads from Channel A connect to the upper right and lower left pads, and the leads from Channel B connect to upper left and lower right pads, in a criss-cross pattern (see photo). The pads should be placed so that the current between them will flow directly through the painful area of the lower back.

3) To yield the best results, use a sequence of milliamp and microamp interferential. Interferential is an electro-therapy treatment that utilizes four electrodes through two separate output channels, each set to different out-of-phase frequencies. This generates a deeply penetrating complex current pattern in the body with good pain relieving and muscle relaxing effects.

Milliamp is a higher intensity current that can cause muscle contractions and has strong analgesic effects. Microamp, or microcurrent, is subsensational, and works more on an energetic and regenerative level than milliamps. I suggest 8 minutes of milliamp I.F. followed by 15 minutes of microcurrent. The Acutron Mentor I.F. preset #5 works well for this purpose, as it sequences through both steps automatically.

4) After current flow is started through the pads, the patient can perform the Cobra exercise as described above. Thus she is receiving the benefit of simultaneous stimulation and exercise. McKenzie suggests 10 – 30 repetitions per session, with the upper body held up off the floor for about 30 – 60 seconds each time before gradually lowering down.

The patient should rest and totally relax for about 30 – 60 seconds in between raises. The patient should raise her upper body as far as possible without pain, leaving her lower body completely relaxed on the floor. Only the arms and shoulders should be used to raise the body.

5) For the initial higher intensity milliamp portion of the stimulation, start the treatment and then turn the intensity up to a tingling level that the patient reports is comfortable. As long as there are no noticeable muscle contractions under the pads, it is OK to exercise during this phase. After switching the current to microcurrent, the Cobra repetitions can continue.

6) At the end of the set detach the pads and allow the patient to relax for a few minutes before getting up.

7) A variation of pad placement is anterior-posterior microcurrent stimulation through the torso. To do this place one pad of Channel A on the left lower belly and the other pad on the right lower back. Place Channel B pads inversely – right belly and left low back. I recommend microcurrent only for this variation, as milliamp can be uncomfortable when applied to the front abdomen. Acutron preset I.F. #2 is appropriate.

Place pads directly over points found to be tender on palpation.

It is best if the patient performs the repetitions of Cobra exercise 2 – 3 times a day, at least once with simultaneous microcurrent. The two variations of pad placement can be alternated for best results.

Other therapeutic exercises should be added to the regimen as the patient’s condition improves. Please refer to McKenzie’s book, or a qualified therapist, for more information on appropriate back exercises.

By Darren Starwynn, O.M.D., Dipl. Ac.

Darren Starwynn, O.M.D. is an internationally-recognized expert in microcurrent electro-acupuncture and vibrational medicine. He has 26 years experience in the field, and has led hundreds of seminars world-wide. An avid inventor and writer, he can be reached for comment at dstarwynn@eastwestmed.com, and information is available at http://www.east-westseminars.com/info.php

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Can Yoga make miracles happen? Can we make miracles happen? How often do you hear people hope or wish for a miracle? Many people perform wishful thinking, but how much action do they put into their wishes? Let’s look deeper into our daily Yoga practice, in order to recognize miracles – whether they are big or small.

When we sit down to meditate, it does not have to be a chore. There are many forms of meditation. One of them is through mindful self-reflection. This is not a time for self-destructive criticism, but for objective observation. When we take the time to observe without judgment, it becomes easier to see, and appreciate, the many miracles that take place each day.

Observe the impact you have made on others. Have you made someone smile? Have you encouraged someone to pursue their hopes and dreams? Have you made success possible through transferring positive feelings toward them? These may seem like small matters, but karma is a chain of small matters, which are a result of initial action that “set the wheels of motion” into a concerted action.

Many people are not aware of how much good they do for others, until the results of initial action become apparent. Consider this: Yoga, in all of its forms, is designed to end or reduce suffering. This may not seem to be a miracle, but it makes a big difference to someone who is in extreme pain. If you have pain from sciatica, all you can think about is pain. Yet, if you visit a Yoga teacher, or therapist, and as a result your pain goes away, it would seem like a miracle.

Pain, suffering, or being handicapped can bring about emotions, such as anger, depression, helplessness, self- doubt, and many more negative feelings. Any physical problem can challenge your mental and emotional ability to cope with it. Worse yet, our spiritual health can become challenged. It is still common, for those who suffer, to blame God.

In the past, our ancestors sacrificed each other to various Gods in order to end suffering. At this point in time, we consider ourselves civilized, in comparison to our ancestors; but when suffering is overwhelming, it becomes easier to take rational thought and “toss it out the window.”

We are still human, and unbalanced, emotional health can take a toll on anyone. Yoga is a system, which allows one to train the mind for those times, when we are challenged by life’s struggles. This is the daily miracle of Yoga practice.

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga teacher training center, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles) – Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including copyright and the resource box above. Namaste, Paul