12 Steps to Recreate Your Health

Your body mind spirit has an incredible capacity to heal and rejuvenate itself. All of us can look back in shame at some of the abuses we inflicted on our self and yet our body mind spirit was able to maintain life in spite of our actions. Over time some of these repeated activities can move our system out of balance. Just like a continuous drops of water eventually erode a stone. Here are a few simple actions that can start you to feeling healthy again and regain that lost balance.

Know Thyself
The ancient wisdom always beckons us "To Know Thy Self." These words are imperative to help us retain our health — knowing how to be, what we do, think, feel, eat, accept and reject in our life affects our health. That is both the bad news and the good news. We helped create our imbalance . And we are in control to change it.

WATER
AIR
MOVEMENT
SUPPORT
SLEEP
ATTITUDE
STRESS MANAGEMENT
SUPPLEMENT YOUR DIET
ELIMINATE TOXINS
BUILD YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
SPIRITUAL CONNECTION
INVOKE THE HEALING RESPONSE

Our genes are the cards we are dealt in this life, how we play them affects our health.

1. WATER - Your body is composed of over 70% water. It supplies two major functions - controls the body¹s temperature range to maintain critical, temperature-sensitive functions and second flush out toxins. A third function is to remind you when you are thirsty. If you are dehydrated your body will conserve water. It will not produce saliva in your mouth to remind you that you are in need of water. Further dehydration can lead to your body conserving water even further and restricting the use of water from flushing out toxins. These toxins could be stored in your body and can cause further health problems. Alcohol, caffeinated and sugar drinks actually increase dehydration. Your body needs a constant supply of clean fresh water through out the day.

Common health problem - Several studies have linked lack of sufficient water intake to a higher (36%) chance of having kidney stones. Obesity has been linked to inadequate water intake in several studies. The accumulation of toxins can cause chronic illnesses over time.

HINT drink 1 ounce of water per day for every 2 pounds of body weight. If you sweat a lot then you do need to drink more water to replenish your body¹s needs. Try not to drink ice water with meals as it will disrupt import enzymes from helping your body digest food.

2. TAKE A HIKE - Your body needs to move - the more it moves the better your mind thinks and the better your body feels. A walk can also effect your spirit and psyche. Our sedentary lifestyle needs movement to maintain a healthy mind body spirit. Movement moves nutrients through out the body and assists the body in removing toxins. We were made to be in motion. Our muscles thrive when being used.

HINT - Add walking to your normal everyday habits. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park at the far end of the parking lot. But also just go take a hike to be outside and get some fresh air. Find movement and exercise that you love to do - then you are more apt to do it regularly

3. BREATHE - We do it unconsciously breathe over 700 times an hour to provide our body with oxygen. Unfortunately most individuals breathe from the upper chest only and deprive the body of the full nourishment and relaxation a deep breath of air can provide. Sensors in our upper chest trigger the flight or fight mechanism when we breath heavily from our upper chest - Fear and even panic attacks arise from this type of breathing. Stress can cause us to breathe this way which inadvertently increases the stressfulness of the situation. Taking a slow deep breath from the abdomen can reverse this process and help induces calm and peacefulness.

HINT - Learn to breathe slow and deeply from your abdomen. This can trigger the relaxation response and help calm you down and create a peaceful feeling. This will induce greater oxygen intake in the blood which feeds the body and promotes better health. Take a deep breath break several times a day. Yoga combines breathing techniques with simple movements and stretches to invigorate your mind body spirit.

If you smoke - the benefit you receive from smoking is far surpassed when you stop smoking and learn to breathe properly. Hypnotherapy has been shown to be an effective tool to use to cease smoking. You will discover that the benefits received from smoking can be exceeded with alternative medicine approaches.

4. CHOOSE SUPPORT REJECT TOXINS - Sometimes it is so obvious, we miss the benefits of doing it at all. A very simple concept. We are all individuals slightly different from the next person. What can be one person¹s medicine is another¹s poison. Learning to discriminate and discern what feeds and supports you and what doesn¹t is crucial for your health and overall well being. Question openly - foods, thoughts, relationships, actions, desires... Everything is up for observation but not judgment. It is easy to play a game with this and fool your self into thinking you can eat anything - then twenty years later you develop serious stomach and digestive, kidney, liver ailments. Listen to your body not your taste buds. Pay attention to how to feel: your energy level, your mental condition, how you feel after eating or doing something that you are not sure supports you. It will become obvious after a while of just observing what supports you and what adds toxins.

HINT Give yourself permission. I noticed after eating a meal with beef I almost fell asleep afterwards. I could feel my body working very hard to digest the meat. I know that red meat isn¹t what my body needs. I had to give myself permission to give up red meat and learn to trust myself.

5. SLEEP over half the people in the United States don¹t get a good nights sleep - sleep deprivation can cause a whole slew of problems related to health and mental functioning. Our body needs a minimum of two - three to four hour sleep cycles per night to rest and revitalize your system. The second deep sleep cycle is the healing cycle where the body is able to shut down almost all of it¹s extraneous functions and concentrate on repairs and revitalization of organs and functional systems. Think of it as a manufacturing plant that shuts down for repairs and cleaning. A necessary function to maintain your health.

HINT If you have difficulty in sleeping recognize it is an important problem to turn into a project and resolve. See a acupuncturists or nutritionist to help you regain your normal sleep cycle. Both can help settle the four major sleep problems through acupuncture treatment and herbs and supplements. Try sleeping at a different hour. A darkened quiet room may help - some people need some background noise to sleep. Experiment to see what makes you sleepy. Don¹t stay in bed more than 30 minutes if you cant sleep. Get up, read, take a warm bath, drink some milk and calcium to calm you. Several nutrients, calcium in particular are nature¹s relaxing mineral. The four major issues that can keep you awake: Mental activity, off set sleep cycle, muscle twitches, and underlying stress.

Learning to let go of life¹s everyday problems until the next day can also help

6. ATTITUDINAL Research studies have shown the direct connection between mind and body. What you think and feel can directly affect your body and how it functions. Attitude is one of the few mental aspects we have control, over. Life¹s events happen to us - we have no control over that - how we react to them is what we have control over. Usually when we start to change this attitude we think we are not being realistic. We also start to feel silly and sometimes happy again. We may think that we are making up some fantasy and acting too positive. We are not asking you to take the Pollyanna approach of being blind to injurious events. If we can objectively look at life it has both positive and negative aspects to every event. The positive side just has more benefits and research now proves this to be correct. Looking at the possibilities and positive outcomes in life is a learned habit. It will also increase your life span, your health and your energy.

HINT Try this little test - count how good things you notice through the day. Count how many bad things. Compare. You be the judge as to how you wish to view life - it is your choice. Depending on what you chose will depend on how it will affect your health.

7. ELIMINATE TOXINS This step and the next steps are related because of the vast amount of man made chemicals in our environment, food, air, and water. Most of these chemicals are not friendly to our body. Normally those that are harmful are handled by the immune system and cleansed out of our system.

Environmental doctors have discovered that a underlying cause for a lot of illnesses is allergens to harmful chemical substances. The repeated exposure to these toxins day after day weakens the ability of the immune system to guard the body against these invaders. Like a fire department always out fighting fires our immune system breaks down and the harmful toxins can travel through the body causing harm. Unlike our ancestors who did not have to deal with these issues - we have over 10,000 new chemicals invented each year. Keeping the system clean is a full time job. Stopping new toxins from entering the system is one part, eliminating the toxins stored in your body is another - strengthen your immune system is dealt with in the next step.

Fat is one of the areas where toxins are stored. The liver filters out toxins from the blood stream and usually flushes them out of the body. If the liver is not functioning properly toxins can escape back into our system and cause great harm.

Some dentists are claiming that the mercury fillings we have in our mouth are slowly leaching mercury poison in our body. Although there is no strong research proving this there are individuals who have been helped by having these mercury amalgams removed under special extraction methods which prevent the body from absorbing any more mercury. A holistic dentist can guide you in this matter.

There are gentle detoxifying diets and cleansing programs that can help your system eliminate old toxins. Several good authoritative books are related to the subject on cleansing and fasting. Both Andy Weil, MD and Elson Haas, MD have excellent, balanced books on detoxifying and elimination diets. (Link)

Another cleansing program which is still a controversial treatment is colonics or colon cleansing to remove built up encrusted fecal material off the walls of the colon. No science has proven this to be effect, yet individuals report that they feel better and have experienced sometimes better eye sight, increased energy, weight loss and even cellulite reduction. There is a national organization of colon therapies who have been trained to use a machine which irrigates your colon with purified warm water.

There are many herbal remedies that are helpful to cleanse the body. Most have extra fiber, and a mild laxative to help cleanse the digestive tract. Some include the introduction of cultures of friendly bacteria like Lactobacilli acidophilus and Lactobacilli bifidus.

Lactobacilli acidophilus and Lactobacilli bifidus are import to maintain a healthy colon and digestive tract. Unfortunately the use of any antibiotics kills both good and bad bacteria indiscriminately. If you have taken antibiotics then many naturopaths and nutritionists recommend taking these naturally occurring friendly bacteria supplements to fertilize your stomach. The use of commercial yogurt or kefir doesn¹t carry a large enough amount of these friendly bacteria to have the same effectiveness as supplements. The friendly bacteria are helpful in digestive process by destroying the gas producing and disease and odor producing bacteria as well as over come the fungus ( Monilia Abricans ).

A clinic in Petaluma California uses medically supervised fasting as it¹s primary treatment modality for many chronic illnesses with amazing results.

CAUTION Slow and easy are the watch words when undertaking a fast or cleansing program as you can easily over toxify your self if you over do it. Headaches, fever, nausea and possible liver and kidney damage are the result of too much too fast in the detoxification process. When in doubt - go slow.

8. BUILD THE IMMUNE SYSTEM - The use of supplements to rebuild and strengthen the immune system have two key factors - One type (Transfer Factor)(Link) reprograms the immune system to recognize unfriendly toxins in the body and send the appropriate cells to remove the offending toxin out of the body. Like a command post general directing the troops to fight the enemy with air strikes, artillery or infantry which ever is better for the situation.

Other supplements (Anti-Oxidants) have the property of removing or destroying certain toxins directly - thus indirectly helping the immune system by doing some of the work for it. Over a dozen herbs and vitamins have been identified as anti oxidants to help alleviate the proliferation of free radicals. These free radical cells accelerate oxidation which causes the breakdown of healthy cells throughout our system. Free radicals are formed from toxins in our food, water, and air as well as when we exercise. Exposure to electromagnetic waves which constantly surround us, also produces free radicals.

Without a supplement containing anti-oxidants our immune system would be compromised and we would become more susceptible to colds, flu and other common infections.

Here is a list of known anti-oxidants.

Vitamin A - Beta Carotene
Vitamin C
Pine Bark
Tumeric
Selenium( yeast free)
Bilberry Powder
Vitamin E
Ginko Biloba
Green Tea
Zinc Picolinate
Garlic
Echinacea
Goldenseal

Naturopaths, nutritionists and herbalists seem to agree that a blended herbal formula containing several herbs is more powerful and safer to take than one herb by itself. They call it a synergistic effect as the herbs in a well balanced formula complement each other and rebalance the body system in need.

Several forward thinking theories purport that the free radicals, which can attack weakened tissues and organs, are one of the underlying causes for arthritis, coronary disease and fibromyalgia.

Today with the constant threat of toxins, unfriendly bacteria and germs our immune system is weakened and over worked. Strengthening the immune system is critical to maintaining our bodies defenses and keeping it healthy.

9. STRESS MANAGEMENT - The most overused word in medicine to day is stress. The word has been used so much and stress permeates our lives so much that it carries no meaning anymore. Stress is by definition a disturbance caused when expectations clash with reality or when an overload of pressure is applied to a system. Sounds like our modern day life. Stress is attributed to so many chronic illnesses from cardiovascular disease, to pain, diabetes, chronic fatigue, depression, arthritis and more.

Alternative Medicine thrives on being able to reduce tension and it¹s consequences in the mind body spirit -Acupuncture, Auyuvedic medicine, naturopath, herbal medicine, nutrition and diet, massage, exercise, meditation, movement, Tai Chi, yoga, all have proven methods of reducing stress.

Which ever alternative medicine you choose for your stress reduction program, make it a habit and don¹t be fooled into thinking that stress relief is only a one time pill away. Peace is the antidote and it comes from acknowledging our limits and values. It¹s chief ally is blindness to choices. We often feel stress because we feel we don¹t have a choice. Without choice we surrender or fight. Neither brings us peace.

Employing most forms of alternative medicine to reduce stress will lead you to your inner world. That is where changes can occur and decisions made to reduce the habit of stress. The book stores are full of great advice to cope, eliminate and live with stress. Take your pick it is your life. Enjoy.

10. SUPPLEMENTS - Due to industrial farming techniques our food doesn¹t contain all of the nutrients we need and used to rely on food to provide. On top of that, long distance food transportation, and food preparation techniques destroys the freshness of food and the nutrient content. Plus when was the last time you eat a full day of three balanced meals with 5 to 6 servings of fruit and vegetables and 4- 5 servings of grains?

We now eat out more than we eat in. This lifestyle and lower nutrient content of food affects our health. Like a home baked recipe for a birthday cake. If you leave out any ingredients the cake suffers. Our body works the same way, it needs specific nutrients to function. We are not getting them every day. This controversial concept goes right in the face of the government saying that we eliminated nutrition deficient diseases years ago when we added calcium to OJ, folic acid for birth defects and vitamin C for scurvy. Over 60% of all adults take supplements.

Alternative medicine practitioners and holistic doctors claim the lack of vital nutrients and in some cases the lack of absorption of nutrients is one of the underlying causes of chronic illnesses. Organs and organ systems will break down if they do not receive the needed nutrients to repair and maintain their health.

Since each of us has specific individual needs. Supplementation should reflect that individuality. A licensed nutritionist or naturopath are trained to provide you with a customized blended formula for your specific nutritional needs.

Dr William Walsh of the Health and Research Institute of the Pfeiffer Institute of Nutrition has developed a test to determine your individualized nutritional needs after 20 years of research on over 10,000 individuals. You can visit his clinic in the Midwest and pay over $1000.00 for a series of blood, urine and hair analysis tests and evaluations to determine your exact biochemical needs. He has also released a new diagnostic test based on his research that you can complete at home. His research was based on chemical analysis of blood hair and urine sample as well as an extensive personal questionnaire about health and physical, emotional and mental traits. After 20 years of collecting and analyzing data his new test is based on comparing your mind body spirit profile with over 10,000 other files to match those traits already recorded. The home test allows for 99% accuracy and substantial savings in time and money for the patient. it provides you with a food profile of appropriate foods and the formula for your individualized multi vitamin.

11. INVOKE THE HEALING RESPONSE - Inside each of us is the ability of the body mind spirit to heal itself. Through deep sleep each night the body is able to turn down normal functions and concentrate on rejuvenating and healing itself. The process of consciously creating this during wakeful hours is a powerful means of healing and transformation.

The technique can be self taught or guided by a hypnotherapist or a audio tape. Once you have achieved the state you can easily return by yourself. Some Yoga, Tai Chi and Chi Gong instructors can also teach the technique. It is a powerful stress reduction technique as well. It involves relaxed concentration, a meditative mind state, and breath technique. The deep relaxation and inner experience of quieting the mind body spirit both relaxes and refreshes the spirit body mind. You may also feel more productive with less effort from using the healing response on a daily basis.

12. SPIRITUAL CONNECTION - Honoring and communicating with our creator as our source is the most powerful curative. Scientifically proven in numerous studies either prayer, meditation or silent contemplation all connect us with our source and can directly affect our health.

Numerous interviews with medical doctors and alternative medicine practitioners have produced similar results. There is an agreement amongst practitioners that any illness can be a awake up call which is designed by your whole being to help you find your way back to your divine mission and your purpose here on earth. Miracle cures are becoming more common place as we look to our higher purpose to lead us back to the divine in our lives. Carol¹s healing experience in Survival Stories relates her reconnection with spirit. Several books will tell you more about individual¹s spiritual reawakening and subsequent healing. This world could use more of us following our divine path. Peace.