Detoxification and Pranayama
Last week I discussed why pranayama or breathing exercises can be helpful as part of the energy science solution in helping with all diseases As I have explained in the past, in contrast to the matter science approach to disease, the energy science approach uses a multimodality approach in treating all the qualitative imbalances such as mobile(V), rough(V), hot(P), dull(K) and often times heavy(K)
Pranayama as I explained last week burns ama which is a result of poor agni These breathing techniques each build on one another to enhance the agni of every tissue level in the body When ama is released from the tissues then the qualities can move back to the GI tract for elimination through various methods
The Pranayama Sequence
The sequence is important as it progressively mobilizes Kapha and ama by increasing tissue agni or heat in the tissues from the grossest(bone muscle) to most subtle tissue layers(nervous) Due to the removal of ama this sequence becomes a form of detoxification For those of you familiar with pranayama practices these terms will be familiar but the sequence and how the pranayamas are done is what makes this sequence energetically medicinal For those unfamiliar with these there are places on the internet you can view them or if interested we could set up a demonstration to get you started Start low and gradually build to maximum number
Bastrika forceful inhalation forceful exhalation 10-100(5 min)
Kapalabhati passive inhalation forceful exhalation 100-1000(10 min)
Anulom villom forceful inhalation forceful exhalation using alternate nostrils 10-60(5 min)
Agni sar retention with abdominal pumping 5-10 reps
Bhramari known as bumblebee breath this is done with a specific mudra to enhance attention and the process 5-17 reps
Utjayi inhalation with right arm raising coupled with forceful exhalation using only the chandra channel 5-17 reps
Shitali Shitkari breath to cool particularly the nervous system down after heat generation of the above 5-17 reps
Utgeet breath to seal the practice 5-17 reps
If you want a demonstration DVD you can get it at this link http://goo.gl/mO6BbT
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Detoxification and Lifestyle Behavior Patterns
When we discuss the energetic management of a disease process, a different world of healing is entered We leave behind our thinking about the body as a collection of molecules that can be manipulated by surgery and Pharma and begin seeing our mindbodies as energy fields This has great value since all disease begins in the energy field way before it becomes manifest in the world of molecules
The energy science of Ayurveda not only gives us a vocabulary(Vata, Pitta, Kapha, agni etc) by which we can talk about our mindbodies as energy fields but it also gives us lots of ways to take care of our energy mindbodies When's the best time to get up in the morning or to go to bed, what's the best time to eat our biggest meal....all based on the concept that we are energetic expressions of Nature Herself The icdiet and the VPK nutritional formats are based on this energetic concept
5 Fundamental Energy Daily Practices
These practices could be called "healthy" lifestyle behavior patterns because they induce detoxification of the energy mindbody
1 Get up with Nature and go to bed with Nature This means we should be getting up early(between 5 and 7a) and go to bed between 930 and 11p
2 Biggest meal at noon Nature's most active time of the day is at noon and this is when our digestion is the strongest(even if it's lousy it will the least lousy at noon time) and so we should take advantage of this simple concept
3 Improve your digestion Using foods that are energetically suitable for us; avoid snacking(fruit is an exception); avoid incompatible food combinations; only consuming what you can hold in your 2 hands at any one meal; using CCF tea and other spices routinely Also using that aid in detoxification such as tapioca and arrowroot
4 Have a morning routine Splash cold water into the eyes(wakes up the nervous system) do a sesame oil swish(draws Kapha energy in the form of mucous from the nasal passages), use of a neti pot to draw Kapha energy, brush the teeth, and every 2 weeks place garlic oil in the ear canals to prevent wax accumulation Then number 5.....
5 Exercise daily This improves our digestive strength and enhances the upward and downward energy of the mindbody Kapalabhati is a specific energy breathing technique that is very powerful 10 pushups(improves upward moving energy) and 10 situps improves downward moving energy
The Biological Energy Science: Changing the Way You Think
So there is a deeply rooted understanding of our relationship with Nature and this then helps direct our choices This is what is fundamentally missing with our current matter science discipline of healing.....a lack of philosophy...that is, a way of thinking The energy science of Ayurveda is part of a greater system of thinking which is a philosophy of life
It defines our relationship with that which is around us, that is, our world According to this way of thinking we are part of Nature Herself and Nature is discussed in terms of energy patterns of VPK Then we understand that everything is defined in the visible and invisible world as VPK(that is, there are VPK times of day, VPK seasons, and VPK institutions and companies.....because they are nothing but collections of VPK)
This makes the energy science system of healing different than today's way of healing
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IC and the Flow of Prana
What is matter is energy and what is energy is matter A molecule is both a particle(matter) and a wave(energy) And so biologically we simultaneously coexist as both a matter/molecular field and an energy field We know this from E=mc2 and the energy science of Ayurveda gives us a vocabulary by which we can talk about our mindbody as an energy field
Quite simply whenever we become sick there is an improper flow of energy to parts of the body caused by qualities that interfere with the flow of energy through those tissues This is what happens in any disease where the free flow of energy becomes disrupted in the tissue
The Flow of Biologic Energy and Spontaneous Remission From Cancer
When we hear the words prana, chi, qi, ru,and ruha they are expressing the biologic energy field Numerous healing traditions over the past 1000's of years have understood this of the human biology
You may have heard of people having spontaneous remissions from cancer There is actually an international registry of such cases where there is good documentation of a diagnosed cancer going away spontaneously without any therapy There is no molecular explanation but from an energy science view the reason is clear
For some reason and there are many the flow of biologic prana becomes established again And because the matter/molecular model cannot explain the phenomenon, the word miracle is used But energetically the flow of prana is reestablished
5 Ways to Reestablish Pranic Flow
All of the energy science tools that I have mentioned through the years are to help reestablish the flow of biologic physiologic energy At times the biologic energy is particularly stuck or stubborn in the process of movement but by and by it moves and the reestablishment of pranic flow occurs Whether it's CCF tea, yoga asana, breath exercises called pranayama, herbs, basti, or meditation the tools help reestablish pranic flow
Here are some basic things to begin fixing pranic flow
1 Eat according to your nutritional energy pattern
2 Avoid incompatible food combinations
3 Improve your agni
4 Utilize pranayama breath exercises
5 Fit your daily schedule into the rhythms of Nature
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5 Ways To Make Lifestyle Changes Happen
Anything that we want to achieve in life....getting in better physical condition, losing weight, improving people's lives by working in a business or profession, changing a lifestyle pattern of behavior like smoking etc....requires that some form of structure be put into place so that a pattern of behavior is done over a period of time Hopefully the change is the pattern of behavior causes the desired change
So for example in the case of chronic disease in order to cause a physiologic shift toward balance and improvement in your symptoms, you undertake certain things that you think will make a shift
Life and Its Distractions To Healing
But let's face it even with good intentions life goes on and requires our participation and so distractions arise The deadline at work, finishing work projects, the upcoming holidays, getting the right Halloween costume...these sometimes get in the way of our healing intentions
In other words life's distractions affect how we heal They directly impact our ability to follow through with our intentions to heal
I believe that this is the major problem in healing chronic disease Healing any disease is doable with varying levels of difficulty based on length of disease and number of energy patterns involved but it requires time to do the things necessary In the energy science discipline it's not just one thing that promotes healing but rather a multiplicity of things that bring about physiologic change
This multimodality energy science approach begins with lifestyle measures focused on nutritional formats as discussed in the past but there are other things that can be done to support this approach
5 Ways to Create Structure
1 Overcoming inertia is the biggest challenge and keeping up with it is the next biggest hurdle
2 Use a calendar (here's a downloadable calender you can use on your computer) and mark down what's needed to create the change that you want to see happen....then check it every day
2 Expect it to be awkward at first...kind of like finding your groove You may forget and that's what the calendar is for
3 Daily do that activity at specific times of the day marking your items on the calendar
4 The more things you do to effect the change the better the chances of getting the desired result of healing
5 Make it a set of activities A morning routine has a set of things to do and these all work together to set the tone for the day as well as each activity supporting each other
It takes about 6-8 weeks for the change to be made Then you can move on to add more new activities to advance your healing journey
And sometimes it means deleting behaviors that don't serve us well.....for example going to bed earlier sets up the morning times to do some activities
Having a coach to support and help produce structure is valuable in these efforts You can make an appointment for a free consultation to get started
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Irritable Bowel Syndrome: An Energy Science Perspective
Digestive fire is a collective term for all the enzyme and bacterial systems from mouth to anus So you can see it has broad connotations in terms of good bowel function and if abnormal potential for poor bowel function
From an energy science point of view irritable bowel syndrome(IBS) is a collection of bowel symptoms related to disturbed digestive fire or what Ayurveda terms agni As I have written in the past most people's agni is not up to par The reason for this is quite simple The concept of agni is not even in our health vocabulary
How would you know about it and hence take care of it if you don't know it exists?
This is a significant problem for the present day health consumer but unfortunately she is duped by the matter science model into believing it is complete Suffice it to say the majority of the population suffers from symptoms of IBS
The Symptoms of IBS
The types of IBS fall into four categories: Vata Pitta Kapha and combination patterns By far and away the latter makes up the majority of those affected by symptoms The most common symptom of IBS is bloating after eating for short or extended periods of time
Many people don't know that they bloat and some who have an exaggerated bloat know it very well Abdominal distention occurs as a result of the gaseous bowel distention Other symptoms include diarrhea, constipation, or a mixture of diarrhea and constipation At times flatulence or excessive gas that may be malodorous may occur
When the Kapha energy pattern is manifested in large degree mucous will be present in the stools but the worst IBS of all is when the mucous becomes dried in the GI tract This creates a marked problem for elimination This latter group of IBS can become severely debilitated professionally, physically, and often emotionally drained due to the chronicity of the disease This is the ultimate in the manifestation of IBS and the matter science has little to offer in such cases
The Creation of Ama
Now the stage is set for the next phase of disease Agni becomes impaired and due to this undigested food begins to accumulate in the GI tract The energy science of Ayurveda terms this ama(not to be confused with the American Medical Association)
This ama begins to clogs the lymphatics of the bowel wall leading to malabsorption, food intolerances(aka allergies), and "overgrowth syndromes"(yeast etc), and in children the autism spectrum disorder As a matter of fact we could simply do fill ama would be part of the disease
In essence IBS goes together with almost all diseases except for perhaps trauma The bowel dysfunction related to disturbed agni is fundamental to the unfolding causative process of every disease in the mindbody even mental disease
Energeticall vibrational frequencies begin to accumulate in the GI tract and then spread to different partsof the mindbody to promote mischief
Treating IBS
So treating any disease requires that IBS is treated as well According to posts there are essentially two levels of therapy for any energetic imbalance in the mindbody The first level is to stop the condition from getting any worse The second level is to remove the offending vibrational frequencies using specific therapeutic modalites that have already been discussed
But one of the integral therapies in IBS treatment is to deal with the cause of the problem.....disturbed agni This is paramount to successful management and since the matter science doesn't even have the concept all bets are off that IBS management will be successful
Many many of the blog posts done in the past have made suggestions about how to promote better agni CCF tea, agni tea, ginger tea are all about promoting better balanced agni Herbs can be very impactful in this regard and it's beyond the scope of this dialogue today to address them
Using a nutritional format appropriate for your energy constitution and avoiding incompatible food combinations can be very helpful in not aggravating the condition In this regard the daily use of churans as talked about in the past is very advantageous
A specific pranayama(breathing exercises) flow sequence can really help impaired disturbed agni by balancing it Dependent on the severity of the IBS other methods can be employed And yoga asana practice has been successfully employed in the matter science literature
As in all energy work however it's not just one thing that creates healing....healing requires a multifaceted approach to bring about real healing
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Cold Hands Cold Feet
I was driving into the office the other day and became aware of cold hands. They had been warm before I had left the house so there had been a change. "What's going on," I asked myself, but of course I knew that I had made this observation in the past.
But this time I began to put it together. As we have discussed in previous blog posts, the biological energy field expresses itself through qualities of sensation. There are 10 biological pairs of sensation. For example, the sensations of hot and cold, light and heavy, subtle and gross are examples of these paired potential sensations.
We can only know the energy body through sensations in the mindbody. So when I felt the cold hands it occurred to me that the biological energy pattern of Vata, the priniciple of movement in the physiology, must be being aggravated. It was subtle but real and a tip off to slow down and breath. When we get into a rush, we invoke the sympathetic nervous system and from a matter field perspective, we vasoconstrict and this reduces blood flow to the hands.
From an energy perspective, the energy field was sending me a signal to slow down and breath which would activate the parasympathetic nervous system and restore balance in the energy physiology.
Foods can produce the same shifts in the energy mindbody. Have you ever felt hot after eating a very spicy meal? This is yet another message from the energy field. All we have to do is pay attention.
To good health DrBill
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