Value of Detoxification: An Energy Science Perspective
In the last couple of months I have written intermittently to you about the energy science's understanding of toxic load(called ama) that occurs with all disease Since this kind of thinking is completely foreign to those of us following the matter science medical model, it represents a radical departure as to how we think about the origin and treatment of disease
As I have said from an energy science perspective ama or this toxic moribund substance is the byproduct of poorly functioning metabolism Again the energy science describes poor metabolism as a result of low agni(digestive strength, power, or fire) This agni is in part the digestive capability of the entire GIT that we are all familiar with The agni in this part of the body is comprised of all the enzyme systems from the mouth to the rectum including all the bacterial systems as well
But there are other agnis in the body that are involved with the metabolism of the tissues and excretory functions And most importantly agnis that help us digest thoughts, feelings, and emotions When you digest well psychologically the result is mental clarity
From an energy perspective the primary purpose of any detoxification protocol is to improve agni or the capability to digest(physical food, thoughts, feelings, emotions)
Physical Detoxification
If you're tired you rest IF you're listening to your body As you know there are many people who don't listen to their bodies and that's literally the first step to disease Eventually you have to listen because the body essentially gives out with resultant disease
If your agni is laboring, not up to par, and as a result your body is producing ama, then it makes sense that one of the first things to do is to give your agni a rest One of the simplest things to do is a monodiet
A monodiet is a certain type of food that is done over a period of time The type of food chosen for the diet is not as important as the consistency to do the monodiet for the period of time Some would call this a "fast" and it is in the loosest sense of the term but it's essentially giving your digestive system rest Why? Because you're using only one group of enzyme systems to digest the same thing over and over again The monodiet could be fruit, could be rice and yogurt, could be fruit juice The point is that it doesn't matter what the monodiet is, as long as it's repetitive for a period of time
How long? It depends If you are Pitta Vata at most 7 days If PK then 14 days
Psychological Detoxification
I've divided the body and mind apart for discussion purposes but we should be clear here that from an energy science perspective the mind and body are intimately spliced They're one and the same What is mind is body and what is body is mind You can't separate them As a matter of fact detoxification of the physical body does psychological detox and psychological detox does physical detox That's how intimately spliced we are
Detox of the mind reduces mental ama and involves a form of monodiet as well But this monodiet is in the form of reducing mental activity The energy science is very clear that in order to remove mental ama some form of activity that reduces mental activity is most important
Why? Since we want to improve psychological agni we want to fast from thoughts The best way to do this is by meditation There are many ways to meditate The simplest is probably the most effective and involves watching the breath If you want you can add a mental instrument to trap the mind's attention using SO HUM SO on inhalation and HUM on exhalation
Breathing exercises can be meditative as well as yoga posture practice if done properly
The Benefits of Detoxification
When we improve agni there are great gifts Probably the most important is mental clarity and therefore peace, less emotional turmoil When the GIT is given some time off there is improved digestion and elimination We simply digest food better Here are some benefits from doing detoxification
Loss of cravings Feeling of lightness after eating Good taste perception
Steady weight Normal GI elimination Vigor vitality strength stamina
Healthy glow Mental clarity Sound sleep
Alertness Discrimination, intelligence Direction determination courage
Joy cheerfulness Contentment Affection enthusiasm
Patience Longevity Confidence
All because we have given our mindbody a break and improved our agni
To Health as a Skill DB
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Genetics and Nutrition
Most matter field science has looked at the nervous system as a fixed physiologic and anatomic structure. But that concept is being challenged with a new concept called neuroplasticity. Now researchers are witnessing people who have had strokes and paralysis who are able to recover some function and in one reported case complete recovery.
Now another concept is beginning to emerge to challenge another medical sacred cow. That genetic expression is a fixed, unchanging and unyielding blueprint. In a journal article in September 2005, Dr Dean Ornish reported that patients with prostate cancer changed their genetic expression to tumor by altering their nutrition. Not only did their genetic expression turn off repressor genes but turned on important genes to combat tumor. Furthermore these patients increased their T killer cell response to tumor cells eight fold.
So a new biological concept is potentially emerging-genetic plasticity. And the remarkable cause of this genetic shifiting event was a change in nutrition!!
This molecular evaluation points to what the energy medical sciences have held for thousands of years. That one of the main pillars to health is nutrition and they built elaborate sophisticated systems around nutrition. This means not just what we eat but when we eat, where we eat, how we eat and why we eat. That is the interrogatories of eating.
This concept of genetic plasticity is just one more reason why we need to take a very hard look at how we deal with nutrition. And the energy medical sciences can give guidance to the matter field medical sciences as practiced today.
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Consistency and Energy Science Work
Anything worth doing, is worth doing for a long while
I think we have all made the observation of rock that has a groove in it from the steady drip of water moving over the rock surface. Perhaps to our amazement we remember that over time even the softness of water is capable of eroding even the hardest and seemingly most immobile surface of rock through the consistency of its action.
In past blogs we have referred to the balance that exists in Nature. The hard, static, dense surface of the rock gives way to the soft, mobile, liquid qualities of water. The matter field is gross and the energy field is subtle. Because of knowing ourselves in the matter field context(bone is hard and blood is wet) we identify with the gross characteristics of our lives.
But it is in the subtleness of the energy field where real healing takes place. It is consistency in action that can literally move mountains. Another word for consistency is intention. In the flow of Nature we see intention at work as we observe the rock being carved by the action of water.
What does this have to do with medicine, healing and preventing disease? From a medical perspective, everything! Because without intention, there will be no healing even in medical matter field discipline. If you don't take your blood pressure medicine then hypertension and the possibilty of the complications of stroke and heart attack are increased.
From a disesase prevention perspective, intention or consistency(even the word discipline comes up) when guided by subtle energy field principles, can show us health promoting habits that promote balance in our lives.
Some simple examples. Bedtime between 9:30 and 10:30 pm every night is a great habit of health. The biggest meal of the day around noon time takes advantage of a strong digestive fire. These are habits that are subtle, but over time they will produce healing benefits. The energy nutrition as outlined in Foods Heal is a powerful way to heal the body if done consistently.
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Nutritional Likes and Dislikes
We all have likes and dislikes in our nutritional diet, don't we? In the energy science we call them cravings that are physiologic and nonphysiologic The former should be satisfied like being thirsty after sweating a lot But the latter are problematic for us and often stem from our past history, friends, teachers, but some are darn right desires that try as we might we can't explain why we avoid or are attracted to them.
So we like things such as coffee, tomatoes, carbonated drinks, hot spices everyday, animal foods such as beef, duck, lamb, pork. We all have that salivation list.
If we look at these through the lens of an energy science nutritional approach we find them as yea and nay, that is yes for you but not for another; and vice versa no for you and yes for the other.
But there are foods and drinks that are universally Nay for everyone and Yea for everyone. Take a look.
Nays Raw tomatoes, bread with yeast(not toasted), miso, store bought yogurt, pork and lamb, chocolate, coffee, hard liquor, carbonated drinks, icy cold drinks, white sugar, and poor food combinations.
Yeas Sweet apples, applesauce, sweet berries and cherries, cooked beets, cooked carrots, green beans, cooked leeks, okra, cooked peas, sweet potatoes, summer squash, seitan, sprouted wheat bread(nonyeasted), split mung dal, goat's milk cottage cheese, egg whites, freshwater fish, ghee, aloe vera, sweet berry juice, tea, grain coffee, grape and mango juice, peach nectar, all the cooling spices, supplements such as calcium magnesium and zinc in moderate amounts, chlorella.
Three observations come to mind for me. There are more yeas than nays. YEA!
Secondly the nays have a lot of attractiveness to them for us in general. White sugar, chocolate are screamers but bread with yeast(if not toasted), and carbonated drinks are also engaging as well.
And lastly, the message is that no matter what energy pattern combination you are as revealed at foodsheal.com there is plenty to eat without risking nutritional imbalance. What a deal, huh?
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Incompatible Food Combinations
Those of us know that acidity has something to do with disease or symptoms of not feeling well either intuitively or reading what others have to say about disease
This leads to a large number of dietary recommendations to eliminate the acidity from the diet and to reduce symptoms
You can go a long way toward resolution of any symptoms if you do fundamental changes in your nutritional format just by eliminating known foods that are physiologically imbalacing from your food choices But as I have written before what foods to avoid often comes down to "who's doing the eating?" because from an energy science viewpoint the nutritional format can be meaningful
Food Incompatibility
At times we don't know that what we are eating is making us sick Did you know that pain from IC can also be related to the acidic loading that occurs from poor food combining?
Some foods don't belong with one another For example, fruit with any other food is commonly practiced yet it can lead to poor digestion and symptoms of bloating and abdominal pain if done frequent enough In the energy science of Ayurveda every food has qualities and when foods are combined which are antagonistic to one another they may be toxic to the mindbody
Here's a list for you to consider
Beans WITH Fruit, cheese, eggs, fish, milk, meat, yogurt
Eggs WITH Fruit (especially melons), beans, cheese, fish, kichari, MILK, meat, yogurt
Fruit As a rule, with any other food. *There are exceptions, such as certain cooked combinations, as well as dates and milk which have the same rasa, virya, and vipaka.
Grains WITH Fruit, tapioca
Honey ** With equal GHEE by weight (e.g. 1 tsp honey with 3 tsp ghee); AVOID boiled or cooked honey
Hot Drinks WITH Mangos, cheese, fish, meat, starch, yogurt
Lemon WITH Cucumbers, milk, tomatoes, yogurt
Melons EVERYTHING — especially dairy, eggs, fried food, grains, starches. Melons more than most fruit should be eaten alone or left alone.
Milk WITH BANANAS, cherries, melons, sour fruits, bread containing yeast, fish kitchari
Nightshades, e.g., potato, tomato WITH Melon, cucumber, dairy products
Radishes Bananas, raisins, milk
Tapioca WITH Fruit, especially banana, mango, beans, raisins, jaggary
Yogurt WITH Fruit, cheese, eggs, fish, hot drinks, meat, MILK, nightshades
A strong digestion which I'll cover in the future is the most important physiologic tool to deal with poor food combining aside from not combining in the first place
An Energy Science Nutritional Approach
From an energy science approach nutrition is more than diet The study of diet concerns itself wit h molecules of the food ingested But nutrition takes into account not only the qualities of the foods taken in and how these qualities interact but also the impact of the digestion of foods on the mindbody physiology This is a very significant difference between matter science and energy science nutrition
So here are 3 things that you can do right now to stop or reduce the flares of IC
1 Check out who you are energetically
2 Choose a nutritional format appropriate for your mindbody energy makeup
3 Go to the orange box and sign up to become a member our growing IC Ayurvedic energy science community
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Antiinflammatory Cocktail
The inflammation that occurs with pain as we've talked about in the past is from the hot and mobile qualities from an energy science viewpoint
As you know this pain can be excruciating and unrelenting causing undue stress on relationships and plans
And there are things that we have discussed that can help with temporary relief of symptoms
The Hot Quality
As we've mentioned before the human energy anatomy Ayurveda says that there are three energy patterns that give us function The Vata, Pitta, and Kapha physiologic energies gives the body movement, transformation, and stability respectively
Pitta the energy of transformation is the only one of the three energy patterns that has the hot vibrational frequency This energy of transformation is responsible for your flares Makes sense doesn't it? Hot transforms right? But too much of this energy produces chronic disease Burning wood, burning thoughts, burning stomach burning bladder, burning pelvis, burning vagina Holy smoke! Burned up relationships!
This is the energy that slso makes us competitive but if more hot enters into the equation it leads to aggressive behaviors that turn people off
Choosing Hot
So when it's hot in the environment the same hot is aggravated in our own mindbody energy field And when you eat trigger foods the same thing happens whether we can appreciate it or not That's why the food guidelines are so important because sometimes you can't appreciate what's happening
The hot from the sun is never as long term provoking as the hot that we ingest As I've discussed in other blogs consumption of the hot quality has a much longer staying power of influence This is a very important point since the physiology is affected literally for 35 days after a trigger food is chosen to be ingested
What happens when too much hot is in the energy physiology? You guessed it! INFLAMMATION
What To Do What To Do
Sooo…. here's a recipe for a delicious cooling herbal cocktail that you may find valuable particularly during flare seasons
2T of aloe vera gel(NOT the juice)
2oz of pomegranite juice
2oz of water
Chug a lug! Hmmmm delissios
Here's to cooling off
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