XI - Mapping a Daily Ayurvedic Routine

Again, this blog is one of hope. Autoimmune diseases can be managed and beaten through living a healthy natural life.

Do you brush your teeth every day? Most of us do. Why is this? Is brushing our teeth the most important thing in our life? That's why we make sure we brush every day? Is it because we are still following "orders" we were given growing up? What else do we do every day? Why? We probably brush our teeth at the same time every day - first thing or maybe after breakfast and before going to bed. I hope this post explains the important daily components and motivates you to add them to your "every day calendar".

This blog will map the three most important parts of Yoga and the five key daily parts of Ayurveda living. In previous posts, I discussed that there are eight branches (or steps) in Yoga that lead to happiness. The branches are sequential. The first three control the elements outside of your mind. They are 1) detachment, 2) observation with compassion and 3) discipline or practice. Any health recommendation should include these branches. In addition, Ayurveda teaches that the world is made of five elements; air, space, fire, water and earth. It is important to understand the prominent elements that make up each of us and develop a daily routine to stay in balance.

Ayurvedic teachings preach there are critical pieces to our daily routine. The five areas are: 1) Diet
2) Sleep 3) Exercise 4) Relaxation and 5) Meditation. Lets look at these five parts of the day and map a plan to make them habitual. To accomplish this, we will pull on our Yoga skills to OBSERVE our current routines, DETACH from some unhealthy habits and have DISCIPLINE to implement necessary Ayurveda practices. Lets get started:

DIET

Diet is the most important part of a healthy daily lifestyle.  In previous posts, we discussed lymph, fascia and the immune system. It is important to breathe good air, drink filtered water and herbal tea and eat anti inflammatory natural foods. Avoid, smoking, drinking from cans and bottles and eating yeast, dairy, sugar and preservatives. Observe your habits with compassion and detach from those that negatively affect your immune system.

Focus on including anti inflammatory drink and foods in your diet. I believe the best way to do this is early in the day. Breakfast is a critical meal for the day. Your immune system does it's heavy cleaning at night. When you wake, your body is as "pure" as it is going to be. Start your day with anti inflammatory foods. Your immune system can clean deeper in the morning because of a good night's rest. Include fruits, herbs and vegetables - a mixed salad or smoothie.

Let me tell you a personal story;

My first professional health assessment when I was getting Meniere's attacks was too much sodium. Of course, my reaction at the doctor's office was I don't eat sodium - that can't be it. The doctor told me to go home and look at every label I ate for a week. At that time, I had egg beaters with salsa every morning. (I thought the low calorie and low fat content was a great start to the day.) I loved salsa and buried my egg beaters in salsa - probably 3-6oz of salsa - I mean bury).  It did not take long to find the sodium culprit. By the time I left the breakfast table I had eaten 5000+ mg of sodium - 200% of the recommended daily amount.

I came up with the idea to reverse this - do same thing on a positive side. Use breakfast to eat all the required anti inflammatory fruits and vegetables for the day. So now, every day, I have a herbal smoothie around 9:30am after a morning walk. I put the following ingredients in my daily drink: basil, mint, parsley, celery, cucumber, broccoli, frozen berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries) tahini and OJ or tea. Now, by the time I leave the breakfast table, I have eaten my nine helpings of fruits and vegetables. My anti inflammatory score when I leave the breakfast table is high enough to cover any problems during the day. My smoothie is high in calories - about 700 calories (OJ, tahini and fruit) but it doesn't matter. My system flushes itself because it is all natural and organic.

The reason I tell this story is because it is an example of Yoga and Ayurveda working together to live a balanced life.  The first step of the process was OBSERVATION (Yoga's second branch) to observe my breakfast habit. Then, DETACHMENT (Yoga's first branch), was used to stop eating egg beater's and salsa. Finally, DISCIPLINE - the third branch was used to implement a new daily routine - the most critical step to Ayurveda living - the diet. I used to think I was crazy and a nut to do all this. However, the Ayurveda and Yoga readings and sutras gave me confidence that I was not alone. Rather, this has been done for thousands of years. It gave me peace of mind to know that prophets have been discussing this for a long time.

SLEEP

Sleep is underrated. Through the lens of the immune system, sleep is the most important part of the day.  Lets review for a second. The immune system oversees all fluid movement in the body. Every time we ingest, we "occupy" the valuable asset. Therefore, sleep affords the immune system the opportunity to do the jobs it can't get to while we are eating and digesting during the day. That is why eight hours of sleep is so important. At night, the immune system deep cleans. The lymph travels through the fascia and pulls impurities and inflammation out of the body and sends it (to circulatory, digestive and respiratory systems) to be expelled from the body. The toxins remain if we don't value and allow enough time for sleep.

Furthermore, you can accelerate the benefits of sleep by preparing for sleep with two simple Ayurveda practices. First, DO NOT EAT WITHIN THREE HOURS OF GOING TO BED. This allows your digestive system to empty. Your immune system will get eight full hours of deep cleaning. Food is still in your stomach if you eat within three hours of going to bed. Then when you lie down, it doesn't move through your digestive system as efficiently. This occupies your immune system and your "deep clean" will not be as deep. Second, RELAX OR MEDITATE as part of getting ready to go to bed. This quiets your system and gives you a head start on getting to deep sleep when your immune system does its best work.

You can monitor your sleep two ways. First, how sound is your sleep?  A perfect night would be at least eight hours of sleep without interruption. Second, is do you wake with pains?  Many times the pains we feel in the morning we blame on"sleeping the wrong way". In reality it is really caused by eating inflammatory food too close to sleep or being "TV excited" when you go to bed.

The best way to improve your sleep is value it and prepare for it.

Here is another personal story - maybe too personal:

I am a vata and have variable sleep patterns. I wake multiple times a night. The nights after a lymphatic massage my bladder needs to be emptied multiple times. This is a good thing. What this proves is that the lymph is flowing, cleaning and sending the toxins to exit the body. This experience has given me faith the immune system doing its deep clean at night.

EXERCISE

Exercise is an important part of the third branch of Yoga - practice. I learned something very important about exercise from Yoga. EXERCISE SHOULD BE A RELEASE. Do not strain during work outs.  Yoga is all about deep breathing and relaxing the muscles as you exercise. Again, in my prior life I did this completely backwards. I used to be very proud of the way I exercised on the arc circle at the gym. In an hour I could burn 1000+ calories. I would have a heart rate of 160 bpm and drenched in sweat. I used to weigh myself before and after a workout and would lose 3-5 lbs. during a workout. However, my body was stressing and I would fill with calories and drink after the workout.

Yoga taught me to release during workouts by breathing deeply through the nose .  Now I do Yoga stretches daily and walk with my dog instead of hitting the gym.  As I walk, I focus on deep breathing through my nose and relaxing my abdomen. My weight has dropped and flexibility increased even though I don't burn as many calories.  This seems counter intuitive but feels right. I can feel my body release and the fluids move more freely.

Relaxation and Meditation

Find time every day to relax and be yourself. Turn off your phone, close the door, shut out the family and take time for yourself. I have found being out doors is a great way to do this. It makes me appreciate being part of a large world and how special of a place it is. When relaxing, focus on your breath. Slow it down and allow your body to release. Please find the time to either start or end your day with a 10+ minute of meditation. Sit and allow your mind to empty. It will enable you to be lighter in life.

Develop daily "rituals" that enhance your health and life. For thousands of years we have been taught that we should include a healthy diet, sleep, exercise, relaxation and meditation in our days. Good luck.





 

XII GETTING STARTED ON A NATURAL LIFESTYLE

This blog is the first in awhile and is in response to a number of questions I have received recently.

Again, this is a blog of HOPE. All health objectives can be achieved through proper diet and movement. The body is designed to eat nature's food. When this is done, the body can defend against disease and cleanse itself.  The process takes forty days to six months to show results.  People ask, "How do I get started?" What should I eat? How do I make time for cooking, exercise and lifestyle changes?" My background is one of not cooking. I hated cooking. The recommendations and recipes are SUPER SIMPLE.

The most important thing is to just GET STARTED. My recommendation is start with your diet and start in the morning. The morning makes the most sense for a few reasons. First, it's the part of the day we have the most control over. The "rest of the day" cannot negatively impact our calendar to affect our meal. Instead, with discipline we can wake up a few minutes earlier to fix a proper breakfast. My recommendation is to start each day with a "herbal smoothie" (the recipe is at the end of the blog and takes 15 minutes to make and clean up).  At the risk of being over dramatic, although it is true, making this smoothie for breakfast changed my life and is the main reason I am healthy today. The smoothie has 12-20 natural ingredients made up of herbs, fruits and vegetables. By the time I leave the breakfast table I have had my nine fruits and vegetables for the day.  The second reason I recommend breakfast, is that it starts the day off right. If done correctly, your food log for the day is "pure" until at least lunch.  You can't have a perfect day without a perfect breakfast. It gives you confidence and inspiration to manage the rest of your day. When you first start, it is one meal at a time, one day at a time. Last, when done correctly, breakfast gives you nutrition and energy for the rest of the day.

Healthy snacks are an important part of managing your lifestyle. It is important to have "go to" healthy treats around the house for fillers between meals.  My three "go to" snacks are assorted nuts, sweet potato chips and hummus. (Recipes are included at the end of the blog.) The nuts are important for protein and omega oils. Many people think protein will be absent without meat. On the contrary, nuts offer a way for protein to be absorbed easier.  Nuts have a bad reputation because of the high fat and caloric counts. However, because of its natural makeup, our bodies can process these foods and dispose of whats not needed. When part of an all natural diet, you need not concern yourself with either the fats or calories. It is only problematic when combined with processed foods. In addition, the oil will lube your body and joints and make movement more graceful. Another favorite is sweet potato chips. (Recipe at end of blog). Sweet potato chips are a "perfect food". Sweet potatoes are very anti inflammatory which helps to detox the body.  Lastly, hummus is a quick, easy, healthy snack to make. It makes a great dip for the sweet potato chips. Hummus offers fiber and garlic to help clean the digestive system. Olive oil, and tahini offer omega oils to lube the body. All of these are important recipes as you go to a more natural approach. In an "all natural" diet, it is fun to discover new natural offerings to replace synthetic vitamins and harmful foods.

My third tip is to cook "weekly meals". Make something on the weekend that can be heated up or thrown together easily throughout the week. That way, when you are battling the calendar, you can still eat healthy. Soups are a great option. My favorites are organic chicken and lentil soup. Lentils are really easy and do not take much time to fix. Magic happens every time I have chicken soup.

Finally, only drink filtered water and hot herbal tea. What you drink influences your health just as much, if not more, than what you eat. Do not drink anything out of a bottle or a can. For many of us, this will be a huge challenge. If you fall in that category - I did - cut one thing at a time. The first to go for me was diet soda. Then bottled juices, beer, liquor and wine. It takes a long time - maybe years. However, each day keep moving toward the objective of consuming less toxic liquids.

OK! That's it. Start at breakfast, eat healthy snacks, make soups that can be heated up throughout the week and start cutting back on unhealthy liquids. ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO!

Breakfast Smoothie Recipe
Mandatory Ingredients
Fresh Sweet Basil
Parsley - curley or italian
Celery
Cucumbers
Carrots
Fresh Squeezed OJ
Tahini
Avocado
Frozen Organic mixed berries - blue, black, straw and raspberries
Ginger root

Optional Additions
Broccoli
Green Beans
Kale

Directions:
1) Chop vegetables to fit in blender. - vary amounts to taste. Start with few veggies and herbs and add more over time.
2) Place in colander and rinse thoroughly.
3) Put veggies in blender.
4) Add frozen mixed berries
5) Add tahini avocado on top of berries.
6) Pour OJ
7) Turn blender on high
8) Pour in glass and serve

****************************************

Sweet Potato Chips

Ingredients
Sweet Potatoes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions
1) Chop sweet potatoes on mandolin slicer at 1/8"-1/6"
2) Spread EVOO on cookie sheet
3) Spread sweet potato slices on oiled pan
4) Heat in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
5) Check every five minutes for proper texture - crunchy but not burnt
   - usually takes between 45 - 75 min

***************************

Nut Recipe
Ingredients
Mixed nuts - walnuts, brazil, almonds, pecans, cashew (any combination - not peanuts)
Toasted sesame oil

Directions
1) Put nuts in bowl and mix
2) Add toasted sesame oil mix
3) Soak for 10 minutes
4) Pour nuts on cookie sheet or stone ware pan
5) Place in over on low heat (280-300) for 45 minutes
6) Pull out oven and stir on cookie sheet
7) Place back in oven for 20-40 minutes

Hummus Recipe
Ingredients
Garlic clove section
Lemon
Organic, low sodium, Garbanzo beans in can
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Cayenne Pepper

1) Open garbanzo beans can
2) Pour juice from can in measuring cup
3) Rinse beans thoroughly and place in blender
4) Chop one section of garlic clove and place in blender
5) Juice one lemon and place in blender
6) Pour 1/4 of garbanzo juice in measuring cup into blender
7) 1-2 tbsp of EVOO
8) Blend on low speed - add garbanzo juice if needed to make proper smooth texture
9) Pour hummus into bowl and make indentation in the middle
10) Fill indentation with EVOO
11) Sprinkle cayenne pepper on top

X - What's your Dosha?- Ayurveda and Autoimmune disease

Ayurveda Living – Understanding Doshas

Like Yoga, Ayurveda (EYE –yur –vay-dah) living is difficult to explain in a blog or two. Again, my intention is to communicate enough to stimulate further pursuit. This blog is one of hope. I believe autoimmune diseases can be managed and beat through living an Ayurveda natural lifestyle.  We have discussed eating natural foods and practicing Yoga for peace of mind.  Ayurveda is an important part of this hope.  It leads to balanced life.

Ayurveda means science of life – knowledge of living – art of longevity. It has roots in India going back to 1500 BC. It teaches that nature has all that is necessary for a healthy life (sound familiar?). It is not a religion. However, if it were, Nature would be its Goddess. It does not follow a prescription rather is more of an art form adapted to the individual.

The basis of Ayurveda is rooted in five elements that make up the universe. The elements are air, space, fire, earth and water. Each of us is made up of these elements in varying amounts. The different levels of these elements affect our physical and emotional make-up.

There are three constitutions or doshas. Your dosha is the foundation of who you are. The three dosha types are Vata (VAH-tah), Pitta (PIT-tah) and Kapha (KAF-ah). Vata is made up of air and space. Pitta is made up of fire and Kapha is made up of earth and water.  

Below is a table to help you understand your dosha. (Thank you to Himalayan Institute for chart.) Place check marks next your characteristics.  Total by dosha category when you are done.

Vata

Physical                                 Emotional                             Off Balance / Stress           

Thin Frame                ___       Talks Fast / a lot        ___         Loses Weight          ___

Prominent Joints       ___        Indecisive                   ___        Constipation            ___

Very Tall or Short      ___      Learns fasts, forgets  ___          Excess Gas              ___

Weight at middle      ___        Enthusiastic               ___         Restless                    ___

Chilly                          ___     Restless/active          ___          Chronic pain            ___

Dry skin                      ___     Sensitive to noise      ___         Light sleeper            ___

Dry curly hair          ___        Creative/artistic        ___          Anxious/ fearful       ___

Small dry eyes           ___       Intuitive                     ___        Drug use/ abuse       ___

Variable appetite      ___        Introspective             ___         Panic attacks            ___

Joint Instability          ___       Likes/seeks change   ___                                                       

Variable energy         ___

Love summer             ___

Pitta

Physical                                 Emotional                             Off Balance / Stress

Medium Build            ___        Words concise            ___        Rashes/ hives            ___

Athletic                       ___        Competitive               ___        Excess sweat/ odor   ___

Warm-blooded          ___         Intelligent                   ___        Gastritis/ulcers          ___

Oily, soft skin             ___        Keen memory           ___        High blood pressure  ___

Freckles, pimples       ___        Irritable/ impatient     ___         Excess bleeding         ___

Premature gray         ___         Controlling                 ___        Eats hot spices           ___

Love cool weather     ___        Courageous               ___        Angry temper              ___

Straight fine hair       ___         Jealous                       ___        Excess alcohol            ___

Pink, pliable nails      ___        Organized/efficient    ___        Headaches                 ___

Excessive hunger      ___        Successful                  ___

Sleep sound/short    ___

Kapha

Physical                                 Emotional                             Off Balance / Stress

Thick, wide frame     ___          Slow speech              ___       Over sleeps               ___

Good stamina             ___         Calm                         ___        Overeats                   ___

Strong                         ___        Responsible               ___        Excess mucus           ___

Lubricated joints       ___          Steady faith               ___        Water retentions        ___

Wt. in hips/thighs     ___           Slow memory           ___        Overweight               ___

White even teeth      ___           Stubborn                   ___        Lazy/ inert                 ___

Thick lustrous hair    ___          Comprehends slow   ___        Greedy                       ___

Large Eyes                 ___        Feelings hurt easy     ___        Complacent                ___

Slow/regular bowels   ___        Nurturing/maternal   ___        Depressed                  ___

Thick oil cool skin      ___        Loyal                        ___       

Chilly                          ___        Slow to change         ___

Aversion to humidity___

Totals

Vata    ____       Pitta    ____       Kapha ____      

           

VATA

Vata is made up of air and space.  Vata people are variable – like the wind. Their physical characteristics are asymmetrical (wiry hair, crooked teeth), light (pale, skinny and bony), and airy (dry skin, prone to chilly.) Their emotional make up is inconsistent – spacey, forgetful, energetic, restless and sensitive.

These traits under stress cause some irregularities. Vatas have irregular digestive tract - constipation and diarrhea, irregular emotions – anxious, panic and irregular habits – sleep, eat and calendar management. They are good at spontaneity, creativity, averse to repetition and consistency. We all know vatas. We may refer to them as airheads, flighty, ADD, lanky, skinny or not dependable.

PITTA

Pitta has a fire that burns within. Pitta has “ordinary” physical traits. Its outstanding features are on the emotional side. Pittas are very competitive, organized and intelligent. These traits lead to Pittas being driven and successful.

When Pitta gets under stress the fire burns out of control. This leads to eating more – especially spicy food, skin problems, excess sweating, body odor and anger. We all know driven people who have to succeed. This is because of the Pitta fire.

KAPHA

Lastly, Kapha is made up of water and earth. Kaphas outstanding features are emotional. They are “grounded”, calm, under control and stable.  Kaphas physical features are also earthy and moist. Oily skin, heavy hips, wide frame all make up the solid grounded Kapha features.

When Kapha is off balanced it tends towards slow and lazy. The “solid” structure and disposition needs energy to move. When off balance it stalls.

People usually have one or two prominent doshas. It is rare that someone has a balance of characteristics across all three doshas.  (Pittas right now are changing their answers to become one of these rare breeds – Vatas have forgotten or are anxious about what they are and Kaphas are thrilled to be Kaphas.) A combination dosha has traits from two doshas. 

VATA-PITTA

A Vata-Pitta is light and intense when in balance. When unbalanced a VP has difficult digestion, angry and fearful. A VP can be confused between the Vata insecurity and the Pitta desire to lead.

PITTA-KAPHA

A PITTA-KAPHA is confident and driven. PK’s have great success. They combine the stability of K with the adaptability of P. A PK out of balance can be self absorbed, cocky and over moist – sweaty and oily.

VATA-KAPHA

Vata and Kapha share coldness. The VK needs heat. VK has tendencies to do overdo things and does not use discretion. The emotional deep nature of K mixed with the inconsistent nature of V makes the VK emotionally traumatic.

Meniere’s and ALL autoimmune diseases are signs of an out of balance person. When your immune system is showing signs of being weak or sick, your life is out of balance.  You can manage and beat your disease by eating the right food and living an Ayurveda lifestyle

Ayurveda focuses on five areas of your daily life to stay in balance. Each dosha has different needs in each of the five areas. The five areas are: Diet, Exercise, Sleep, Meditation and Relaxation. Each of us needs to practice these five disciplines daily to be in balance. Remember, this is the science of life, a way to interact with nature and stay in balance.

There are two books that helped me begin to understand Ayurveda living. They are:

The Guru in You by Cameron Alborzian

Prakriti – Your Ayurvedic Constitution by Dr. Robert E Svoboda

Read The Guru in You first . It is a short, easy, enjoyable read that is a good introduction to Ayurveda balance. It’s fun because the author made a life transformation from America’s top model to living a natural Ayurvedic life. Once you understand the fundamentals, I recommend Prakriti as a next step reading. Prakriti is more informative and dry. It covers the five areas of daily life for each of the doshas.

I think this is a good time to break. In summary, Ayurveda is an ancient Indian philosophy on the knowledge of living. The world (including each of us) is made up of five elements – air, space, fire, water and earth.  These elements make up our constitution. Knowing your constitution is the basis of your physical, emotional and mental make-up. This is an important first step to mapping out your transformational journey. Once known, you build a daily routine of diet, sleep, exercise, relaxation and meditation to match your dosha. Through daily practice you conquer your autoimmune disease and your life becomes balanced. 

Good luck on your transformational journey.

IX - Using Yoga to Battle Meniere's and other Auto-Immune

Thousands of pages have been written on lifestyle practices to improve your health. There are life coaches, physical trainers, psychologists and others to help you be happy. My goal is to focus on the fundamentals of two practices - Yoga and Ayurveda. Sometimes we lose the basic messages with the thousands of pages written. This blog will simplify (may over-simplify) these centuries old practices to a few pages. The purpose is to not explain in detail; rather to stimulate further pursuit.

Yoga is not sweating profusely in a hot gym while putting our bodies in unnatural positions. Hatha (exercise) is a very important part of yoga (more later in this blog). However, it is only a small part. Please don't let the exercise distract you from the pursuit. Either by only doing Hatha and ignoring the other important aspects, or not pursuing Yoga because of the exercises.

Yoga is the process to connect to the world around us and find inner peace. It has eight branches - or steps - to attaining this ideal. The branches are sequential - they build on one another. Like algebra, you can't jump to the end without achieving the previous steps. When the eight steps are completed an individual will have inner peace and happiness. There are NO shortcuts. This is the only way to peace and happiness. Yoga teaches good health is a prerequisite to be spiritual and happy. In other words, you cannot be whole unless you are in good health.

The first step (branch) is detachment or restraint. Think about that. The basis on which all happiness comes is to control ourselves. WOW! This means skipping dessert and concerts, not shopping, abstinence and not caring who wins the game is the foundation to happiness. If that is true, no wonder there are so many unhappy people. Can this really be true?  It is interesting that all religions speak of restraint. I am most familiar with Christianity - where the ten commandments speak of "Thou shall not".

Are we really happier when we control ourselves? Let's look at a few examples. When we party, the enjoyment is in the moment. However, the "hangover" - literally or otherwise may last a day or longer. Desserts tastes great. However, we regret the calories and our indulgence for a lot longer.  Winning in competition is also a moment's pleasure. There is always a next event. Who won last year's championships? They are long forgotten.

Our bodies are built to help us understand restraint is important. In my previous posts, I wrote on the long term negative impacts from inflammatory foods. I find it interesting when people say, "I can't give up (insert here - sugar, yeast, dairy, liquor, processed food, etc).  I bite my tongue from saying, "Well then you can't be happy." According to Yoga, this is true. Our immune system communicates to us through pain and suffering when we go overboard. The solution is to listen and apply restraint.

Speaking is a great way to practice restraint. Only say things that are positive and true. Silence should be the only alternative. Don't allow  yourself to criticize.  Over time, you will stop being critical. Restraint with your speech will assist with restraint elsewhere in your life.

Emotional detachment is equally important to peace and happiness.  We have all heard the line "If you love something, set it free." That is emotional detachment. It does not mean stop caring. It means to not disassociate with the emotion. In the book, Guru in You, by Yogi Cameron Alborzian - an ex top male model turned Yogi, he discusses in detail the process of detachment. Here is a man who was the world's top model and used to all the spoils that go with that life style.  He was living a life of excess and transformed to a life of balance and restraint. He wrote something in his book that explained emotional attachment to me. Imagine going to a game and watching your home team without caring who wins. Try it! What's amazing, with practice, you will be happier when you emotionally detach.

The second branch (step) of Yoga is observation with compassion. Once you detach, you become more observant. When you free your mind you become more objective. Objectivity looks past ugly and pretty doesn't distort the truth. The real world opens up. Through observation, you feel connected to others and nature. You realize the beauty of the world everywhere. This has been the most fun part of my transformation.

Listening is observing with your ears. Listen without judgement or comment. The key is listen to learn. Too often we listen to respond (i.e. refute, recommend, comment or edit). Detach from your thoughts and needs and free yourself to listen and understand others. Practice this by having conversations with people who have different points of view (try politics). Seek them out and just listen. Ask questions: probe; understand their point of view. Don't comment on their views. Instead, say, "I understand your position. Thank you for sharing." Truly listening, without judgement, will lessen your stress and improve your life.

Compassion is necessary to observe things as they really are. True compassion is to put yourself in others' position. See their position, listen to their views, feel their emotions, appreciate their circumstances. Don't judge, try to change, or reinforce. Just be compassionate. Again, when this is done, beauty is much more apparent. There is a great Yoga sutra that explains dealing with others:

* Be kind to the friendly
* Be compassionate to the unfriendly
* Delight in the virtuous
* Disregard the wicked

The third step of Yoga is discipline or practice. Discipline brings consistency, quality and dependability. Three important aspects to a fulfilling life. You cannot get better at something unless you work in a disciplined fashion to improve. The London Olympics are going on as I write this blog. Think of the discipline of all these athletes - from swimming to gymnasts to track. Each, tumble, stride and stroke has been practiced, evaluated and improved for hours a day over many years. This discipline helps manage life as well. Think of monks as life's olympians. Practicing to be the best at pursuit of peace and happiness.

According to Ayurveda beliefs, there are five areas of discipline to have a healthy and happy life - Sleep, Diet, Exercise, Relaxation and Meditation. (These five areas will be discussed further in a later post.) Do you brush your teeth daily? Why? What else do you do EVERY day? Why? What should you do every day? Why don't you? What are the obstacles?  Yoga and Ayurveda force you to analyze your daily habits and rearrange to include these five practices to achieve happiness.

The first three branches of Yoga focus on dealing with the outside world.  You can dramatically improve your health and happiness through detachment, observation with compassion and practice. Steps 4-8 of Yoga focus on different levels of pursuing inner peace. It is necessary to be able to control outside variables before you can find the truth within.

VIII - RESET WHAT WE LEARNED

OK, I think it is time for a reset. I hope to recap what we have covered in the first seven posts. The next few posts are going to veer into lifestyle. Before doing so, let's recap:

THIS BLOG IS ONE OF HOPE. This is the MOST important point! I believe auto-immune diseases – like Meniere's – can be managed through life style changes. It is difficult. Like all life challenges, THE REWARDS OUTWEIGH THE CHALLENGE.

·      There are a few covenants to use in pursuing a healthy life:

o   The body is one organism governed by the immune system

o   Fluidity + Mobility = Longevity

o   The three step process to healing is: clean, heal, nourish

o   We are designed to breathe fresh air, drink water and eat natural foods and animals that eat natural foods

§  Anything else taxes the immune system

·      When looking through the immune system lens, the three most important parts of the body are: 

o   PSOAS

§   Physical and Emotional center of the body

§  Connects legs and hips to spine

§  Fascia runs through psoas

o   FASCIA

§  Sophisticated system of connective tissue from head to foot

§  Varies from bands to sheaths

§  Network on which lymph travels

o   LYMPH

§  The “motor oil” of your body

§  Delivers nutrients and extracts toxins

§  Needs to be cleansed annually

·      CLEANSE LYMPH ANNUALLY

o   Like changing the oil in your car

·      To clean the lymph, you need to avoid the following FOR AT LEAST 40 DAYS:

o   Bad air – smoking, mold, allergens, and work hazards

o   Unnatural drink – unfiltered well water, aspartame, sweets, beer, alcohol – anything in a can (even Gatorade)

o   Unnatural food – yeast, dairy, sweets, preservatives

o   Medications – synthetic medications manage symptoms instead of curing problem

·      To assist the cleanse, add the following

o   Breathe clean air daily – walk outside

o   Natural drink – filtered water and American herbal tea

§  Two favorites are Yogi Tea and Traditional Medicinal

o   Natural Foods

§  Nine helpings of fruits and vegetables

§  Natural herbs and spices

§  Nuts and Legumes

o   No medications – NONE

·      A “sick” lymph shows in a myriad of symptoms.

o   Headaches (migraines too), runny nose, diarrhea, heavy menstruation, cramps, joint pain, rosacea, dry eyes, ringing ears, vomiting, pressure in the ears, dizziness, light headedness, FAT, etc.

o   All can be cured with a thorough cleanse

Recommended Readings:

·      Healthy Self – Improve your immune system and improve your life

Yashpal “Paul” Chhabra

·      The Endless Web – Fascial Anatomy and Physical Reality

R Louis Schultz, PhD; Rosemary Feitis, DO

·      Rolfing and Physical Reality

Ida Rolf

VII - More on Lymph and auto-immune disease

In rereading my last blog, I did not express the importance of lymph. Make no mistake about it - lymph is the most important part of your body! If it is so important, why don't we hear more about it? At the risk of being a cynic - I will give you information on the importance and opinion on why we don't hear more about it.

Lymph is to your body as oil is to your car. It is the fluid your immune system uses to deliver nutrients and extract toxins. When your oil is changed, the dirt in the system is cleaned. It all ends up in the oil pan. Like oil, your lymph needs to be cleaned periodically. Your lymph should be cleansed every year instead of every 3,000 miles. A cleanse takes at least 40 days annually. The first cleanse will take much longer as you transition to a natural diet.

Think of your immune system as the air traffic controller for your body fluids. It uses the lymph to carry out its mission by traveling through the fascia. As the immune system detects a problem (toxins) or opportunity (nutrients) lymph is sent to address the issue. The lymph is capable of exchanging fluids with the circulatory system. So as toxins are extracted, they get filtered and sent to the digestive, circulatory and respiratory systems. That is why your sinus drains down the back of your throat when you have a cold (digestive system), excessive peeing (circulatory system being filtered by kidney and liver) and sneeze or runny nose (respiratory).

Think about it...I think all mothers know to look at the color of the nasal mucus (snot) to see if there is infection. Your mom, may or may not have known she was looking at lymph. The clarity and of the lymph dictates the health of the lymph. Therefore, the clarity of the lymph shows the health of the overall body. Another example, when I was first having trouble, I had an MRI of my brain. The results showed multiple lesions which may be Multiple Sclerosis. To rule out MS (an auto-immune disease) the hospital did a spinal tap. The spinal tap fluid is lymph. MS was ruled out because the spinal lymph was clean. Just the hospital version of checking snot to determine the health.

Most of the immune system workings are done during sleep. At this time, your body is shut down and the immune system can clean without having to worry about other fluids. I believe sleep is the most important part of the day for a sound body. You should NOT EAT THREE HOURS BEFORE GOING TO BED. Eating close to bed time occupies your immune system to digest food. If you haven't eaten, your immune system is free to take inventory of the rest of the body. Eating close to sleep is like cleaning up dinner while you are still eating. It can be done, just not efficiently or completely.

Think about when you wake. You probably have to pee, cough, sneeze, etc. The body has rounded up the toxins and now its time to excrete them.

The body has seven ways to rid itself of toxins: 1) Urinate 2) Defecate 3) Sweat 4) Bleed 5) Runny nose 6) Tears 7) Vomiting

Lets discuss this further...Think about "symptoms" of getting sick - fever (sweating), frequent urination, diarrhea, runny eyes and vomiting.  "Heavy menstruations"is an example of sick lymph showing up as bleeding. The body is flowing the toxins out of the body. All of these symptoms are usually accompanied with pain - in the head, joints, stomach or muscles. This is inflammation of the fascia (which is where lymph resides and travels).  This also explains why menopausal women have hot flashes. Any time the body heats up it is trying to sweat out inflammation caused by excessive toxins. All of these things are "more likely" at night because that is when the immune system does its best work. When looked through the immune system and lymph lens, excessive flow (diarrhea, menstruation, hot flashes, urination, sweating, and tearing) are GOOD! It is your body trying to cleanse.

The workings of the lymph is so simple it does not seem possible. I know how strange it seems to be told these symptoms are good and all mean the same thing.  At first, I did not believe it. However, I have had too many experiences that proved it to be true. Your success will be based on understanding how your body speaks to you and responding.

The reason we don't hear more about the immune system and lymph is that there is no medicine, surgery or medical procedures that can be sold to help the problem. (Some will say vitamins will help fight off disease. I beg to differ - more in a later post.) In fact, we value the immune system so little, we cut it out (lymph nodes, tonsils and appendix are examples) when it becomes a problem. The only way to cure the immune system is to clean the lymph through a total cleanse and get the lymph moving through exercise and lymphatic massages.

Any medicine or synthetic preservatives just makes the lymph worse. In fact,  the immune system does not know how to process synthetic foods and drugs. So the body deposits it the body causing fat and pain. Therefore, calories are not as important as inflammation and unnatural foods. Our country is so overweight because our food is not natural. I believe you can eat all the natural fat and calories you want as long as you don't mix unnatural substances with it. Your immune system will flush out natural excess. Nuts are a good example of how the body handles natural calories. Nuts have a high amount of fat and calories. However, if NOT mixed with unnatural substances, the body flushes the excesses.

Here are a couple personal stories that may help you understand what your body is telling you:

I have Meniere's. My first attack (which at the time I thought was food poisoning) happened at 3:00am in the morning (during sleep when the immune and lymph do their best work). I woke up and the sheets of my bed were soaked with sweat. I went to the bathroom to urinate and ended up getting sever dizziness and vomiting for four hours. Basically, my body was determined to get the toxins causing pain inside of me - out. At the same time, I had severe back pain and ringing in my ears which was my fascia telling me the lymph was sick. Of course, I had NO idea of this at that time.

Since, I am getting too personal, I would like to tell you about my cleanse. After I rid myself of aspartame, I stopped eating dairy. At the same time, I ate nine helpings of organic fruit, veggies and herbs a day and walked for sixty minutes. This had a three-fold impact on my health; anti inflammation diet, elimination of one of the key toxin group and increased lymph flow. After two weeks, the body started flushing the dairy toxins. I had days where I would urinate 15-20 times a day. I had severe diarrhea that looked like an oil spill. In the morning I would wake and have excess phlegm in my throat. My health mentor kept reassuring me that all this was good. The same thing happened when I stopped YEAST and SUGAR. Eight pounds with each - 24 pounds total. More importantly, I felt lighter - less taxed or lethargic. I tell you these things so you can recognize these symptoms. Please recognize when your immune system is telling you to stop polluting it.

My health mentor has convinced me the lymph is the most important part of the body. I joke with him that if it replaces the heart we will change valentines' hearts to snot. I envision valentines being a national holiday sponsored by Kleenex and Hallmark. Valentines being sent with pictures of snot on the cover and the inside speaking of love. :-)

The point I am making is that your lymph is beautiful. Understanding your immune system and the purpose of the lymph makes sense and helps explain why our whole body acts the way it does. It is not a group of independent parts working together. IT IS ONE. Monitored and controlled by the immune system which utilizes the lymph traveling through the fascia. When we are sick the fascia will have pain - anywhere from head to foot - and the lymph will force fluids outward. It is important for us to understand the symptoms and do what is necessary. Clean the lymph thoroughly and then annually. This is the ONLY solution to a happy, healthy life.

VI - Three Important body parts you never hear about

What are the most important parts of the body? In western medicine we might say the heart, brain and blood. When you look at the body through an immune system lens the answer is PSOAS,  FASCIA and LYMPH. Lets look at each of these critical parts of body, how they interact with the immune system and impact your health.

PSOAS (pronounced SO-as)

Lets start at the beginning - the psoas. The first question is: How is this the beginning? Isn't it in the middle of the body. It is because the psoas is where the body started life at conception. The original cell at conception was the middle of the body; it's where we attached to our mothers during the birthing pregnancy. It is a logical place to start. Think of making pizza pie. To make the crust we place a dough ball in the middle of the pan and stretch in all directions. The same thing happened to our body during pregnancy and throughout the growth or our bodies - we expanded from the middle.

The psoas muscle (referred to as tenderloin in some animals) is the center of the body connecting the legs to the upper body.



As you can see, the psoas is very complex. Notice the many connections from the hips to the spine and  the legs.  This is the key body part connecting north and south - it is where the legs connect with the back. It is the key muscle determining the flexibility of hip flexors. A healthy, flexible psoas allows olympic divers to press their chests against their thighs during a "jack-knife" dive. An unhealthy tightened psoas pulls everything toward the middle. We notice this in old people who cannot stand upright. Our posture is determined by the psoas. When healthy and loose we can reach from the hips; shoulders go back and are in straight horizontal line with our hips and knees. When tight, the psoas constantly pulls the spine which brings the shoulders and head forward. Thats why we see those old people walking at half mast.

The legs are also impacted by the psoas. The psoas has direct link to your hip flexors. When loose, hamstrings and IT band stretch sufficiently to allow bending and lifting without pain or restriction. However, when tight, cramping will appear in hamstrings, calves and feet  (plantar fasciitis). Our fascia, (which will be discussed in a second) runs from head to foot and it all goes through the psoas.

We hold our emotions in our psoas. Anxiety and stress tighten the psoas; laughing and crying release the psoas muscle. Intuition comes from the psoas. Hunched shoulders of the emotionally abused and depressed is a tightened psoas. We have sayings that refer to these emotions: tight ass, belly laugh, gut decision, etc. This answers the age old question why do I cry when I laugh? Both laughing and crying are "releases" from the psoas. In fact, burping and hiccups are diaphragm releases that can be caused from psoas releases. Just further proof that it's all connected. In all animals it starts in the middle, the PSOAS.

The way to heal your psoas is twofold. First, to clean the lymph system so the psoas has proper nutrition flowing through it (see lymph below). Second is through a psoas release. At times, the psoas is so tight that it takes months or even years to get a full release. A psoas release is an intense massage technique. During a release a patient can have laughing attacks, crying spells, recall forgotten emotional tragedies, etc. All that is stored within the psoas comes pouring out. Think of your body like a spring with the psoas in the middle. When tight the spring is pinched. When released it opens and allows you to open the rest of the body to release or stretch.

FASCIA

How does the flexibility spread to all parts of the body if it starts at the psoas? The fascia is an elaborate system of bands and sheaths from head to toe that hold our skeleton, organs and muscles together. Think of this as seven layers of wet suits from head to toe. The deepest level wraps the spine, the outer most level is just under the skin. There is a level outside the ribs and one inside the ribs. At times, the fascia is very similar to under armor clothing where it is sheath spread out over an area (in the chest area), in other areas, it is a rubber band (around the knees). This is why so many people have knee pain. The fascia is so minimal around the knee. Sick lymph will show many times show in the knee first.

And here's the Deep Front Line from the inner arch (left) to the bat ears of the temporalis muscles coming from the jaw (right). 

The pictures above are from the Tom Myers site anatomy trains.
(www.anatomytrains.com/blogs/tom-myers/2009/05/30/374)

This is the first American dissection of fascia in 2006. (Think about it - most dissections are done horizontally to show body parts.) It clearly shows the connective links from head to toe. When the middle tightens, you can see how everything is pulled. That is why headaches to foot pain are caused from sick fascia and tight psoas. The theory is simple: Bad food and emotional tension tightens the psoas, pulls the fascia and causes pain in the weakest part of the body causing symptoms ranging from migraines in the head to plantar fasciitis in the feet and everything in between.

Try this:
1) Sit on the edge of your chair.
2) Interlock your fingers in front of you.
3) Straighten and push your arms away from you with palms pointed away
4) Now lift your arms above you and in back of your head with your arms straight and REACH

Notice how you feel this in your chest, middle section and many times your toes will move outwards when you reach.  Now look at the picture above and do it again. Many of you will feel all parts of this frontal line stretch. Welcome to the world of fascia.

To regain flexibility and have the ability to move through space with grace a myofascial release is necessary. After the psoas is released, a trained myofascial expert can "spread the pizza dough out from the center. The sequence above the waist is; psoas, diaphragm, chest, shoulders, arms, neck and head. The sequence below the waist is quads, hamstrings and IT bands, calves, feet.

LYMPH

OK, now that you know how we start in the middle, spread to the outside through fascia - the question is how do I stay healthy? The answer is the lymph. Lymph travels through the fascia delivering nutrition to all parts of the body. A friend of mine, Paul Chhabra, is on the front end of research proving that what we ingest is the biggest factor on fascia health.

The body is designed to eat natural foods from plants and animals that eat natural plants. When something different is eaten, the immune system is taxed to clean out the toxins brought from the foreign foods, drink, air or meds. As the immune system becomes taxed and can't keep up, the lymph becomes polluted and deposits toxins throughout the body. Our bodies then become more susceptible to disease and pain. The following are ALL symptoms of toxic lymph traveling through fascia:

Joint pain, head aches, runny nose, cough, sneezing, muscle pain and cramps, light headedness, ringing in the ears, rosacea, sweating, stomach ache, vomiting, etc.

There are three steps to healing all body parts: 1) Clean 2) Heal 3) Nourish. Too often, we take meds to rid the symptoms without curing the cause - a dirty lymph system. The meds rid the symptoms but often make the lymph more toxic. The only way to rid the symptoms AND improve your health is to do a food cleanse - eating only natural foods and flushing the toxins out of our body. The REALLY good news is that anti-inflammatory natural foods have cleansing properties. So green veggies and herbs act as soap for the lymph. Drinking filtered water and herbal teas flushes the toxins out after the "soap" scrubs them out of our joints, etc. The lymph will extract the toxins and use the circulatory system, sweat glands and digestive system to exit the body.

In summary, when looking through the immune system lens, the three most important parts to your body are, psoas, fascia and lymph. The three are integrated and coordinated to deliver nutrition and clean toxins throughout the body. It is a biological miracle. The best way to stay healthy is to breathe good air,  drink clean water and herbal tea, eat natural foods and avoid synthetic medications.

God Bless