Foods for Better Health & Wellness

Kalee Carson

Self-Healing Techniques

As promised in last week’s article, this week I am going to talk about Self-Healing Techniques. There are quite a few out there, however, I am going to focus on a few of the ones that are the best known. Acupressure, Reflexology, Breathe Therapy, Yoga/Meditation, and Healthy Sleep. These are some of the easiest to do and require little to no extra equipment unless you intend to take them further and make them a regular practice.

Acupressure

How many times have you rubbed your temples when you felt a headache coming on? Or maybe you came home after a long day at work and you pulled off you shoes and rubbed your aching feet. Did you know that you were practicing Acupressure and you didn’t even know it?
Similar to Acupuncture, Acupressure uses the points along the meridians that move the Qi in our bodies. Instead of accessing those points with needles we access those points using pressure and massage, sometimes using essential oils to reinforce the effectiveness of the technique. There are many trigger points located all over the body. One handy trigger point to know is located at the bridge of the nose, right between the eyes, when you have motion sickness, putting pressure in this spot can help!

There are many websites with information on acupressure points; however, I recommend that you start with some of the easy points that are basic and see how they work. For more info see www.acupressure.com

Reflexology

I had my first experience with reflexology when my son was very small. At the age of about 18 months he started having severe sinus infections that soon became resistant to many of the common antibiotics they were giving him. He began to need hospitalization and stronger IV antibiotics and we were growing more concerned about the cause of the infections. In between the infections, we would attend local intertribal Native American ceremonies (I have a small amount of Cherokee blood) as a way to get our minds off things and as a spiritual outlet. At one of the ceremonies I met a medicine woman who taught me how to use the reflexology points in my son’s hands and feet to help open up his sinuses and help them drain and also to massage his arms to help the lymph system drain the infection away and help the body get rid of it. It helped him to be more comfortable and less congested and it was a technique I used even after this particular crisis was over, any time he even had an ordinary cold.

The premise of Reflexology is that there are areas of the hands and feet that correspond to different parts of the body. Stimulating these areas with pressure/massage can effect change/healing. There are charts that are used as guidelines which chart the hands and feet and the right and left are different as well. Here are some simple charts to start with, foot reflexology chart & hand reflexology chart.

Practice with a partner and see what kinds of relief you can achieve. You can even use essential oils to make the massage more effective, just be sure to dilute them in some kind of carrier oil like almond oil or olive oil. Lavender or orange essential oils are good ones to try. Another one to try for a headache is peppermint, if you are feeling a headache coming on, rub a drop or 2 between your hands and breathe it in. It will make you feel better and revitalized!!

Breathe Therapy

So you’re probably wondering why there’s a therapy for breathing, right? Well, I’m sure most of us don’t think about our breathing most of the time, unless we are running or doing something strenuous and we are actually out of breath.

The truth of it is that if we are not breathing correctly, we are not completely getting rid of the toxins that are in the bloodstream. We take in air, which contains oxygen, the lungs process the oxygen and put the necessary nutrients into the bloodstream. The oxygen (O2) is used by the body’s cells and they then return carbon dioxide (CO2,the toxin) to be carried out by the blood and excreted by the lungs. If we are not breathing deeply, we are not completely ridding the blood of the CO2, nor are we getting enough O2 for the cells to perform all the functions they need to do. We become toxic.

We have to learn to breathe from our abdomen rather than from our chest. When we breathe our abdomen should rise and fall if we are breathing properly and deeply. The primary causes of faulty breathing are anxiety, poor posture, too tight clothing and in some cases surgery. Proper breathing techniques will help to alleviate tension, relieve asthma and insomnia, increase metabolic rate and boost your immune system.

One of the best exercises for the muscles that control breathing is laughter!! So put on a funny movie and exercise those breathing muscles every chance you get!!! Take a look at this and it will give you a good idea of what it’s all about!! www.veria.com.

Yoga/Meditation

Yoga and meditation are two different things, but they go hand in hand. The practice of yoga can be meditative or it can be quite physical. Yoga originated in ancient India as a physical, mental and spiritual practice to achieve “union” with the divine, mentioned frequently in the Upanishads (ancient texts that make up the basis of the Hindu religion) For the Hindu it remains that today, for others it is a form of exercise, relaxation and meditation. It is enjoyed by peoples from many different spiritual backgrounds and nationalities for its physical and emotional benefits.

Even the gentlest form of yoga, Hatha yoga, has been proven to lower blood pressure and improve heart disease. There are many different forms of yoga from the rigorous style of Ashtanga to the fluid movements of Vinyasa to Hot Yoga there is sure to be a style for everyone. There are also modified styles for those who can’t get down on the floor to do the moves in a chair, in a tub, or on a bed. The American Arthritis Foundation has endorsed Yoga as being beneficial for many types of arthritis as well!! There is even plus size yoga for those who need modified movements to slim down with. Today yoga is not just for the skinny Twiggy next door, it’s for everyone!!

So is meditation, for that matter. Who among us doesn’t need a few minutes a day to just clear our minds and let the troubles of the day fade into the background for a while? Well, that’s what meditation can do for us. There are many different ways to get to that blissful state; maybe a CD, maybe a dark room with a lit candle, maybe just sitting quietly and letting your mind go blank. There are classes, and websites to teach us how, spiritual leaders and motivational speakers such as Deepak Chopra have guiding instruction for us. www.chopra.com. Give them a try!!

Healthy Sleep

Last but certainly not least, healthy sleep. Now most of you are probably either on one side of the fence or the other on this; you don’t sleep well and you can’t figure it out, or you think you sleep just fine.

Well, let me ask you this, what is your sleep hygiene like? Sleep Hygiene you say, what is that? Well, it’s what you do, and how you do the things you do before you go to sleep, how long you sleep, things like that! It all has an effect on how well and how long you sleep each night.

First of all, you should not sleep less than 7 hours a night, which is a minimum for good health. If you experience daytime sleepiness you should try to increase that to 8 hours a night. You should also go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including weekends (yes, I said including weekends).

Then we should take a look at where you sleep. Is it comfortable? The bedroom is only for sleeping and sex, not for watching TV, or working on the computer, or playing video games!!! Sleep and sex!! Period!! Make it so!!

Once you have done that, make it a place you are happy to be in, inviting colors, scented candles, soft lighting. Your windows should have coverings that can be opened and closed. Natural light is important to let your brain know when it is time to wake up and when it is time to go to sleep. Open your windows in the morning to let in the light and let the sunlight wane naturally as the evening winds down at night to trigger the natural production of melatonin.
Put away all electronic devices at least one hour prior to the time that you plan to go to sleep. The light emitted by electronics excites the brain and keeps you awake longer. It takes at least an hour for the brain to calm down from this effect.

Be sure the temperature in your room is comfortable. Not too cold but not too warm either. Science has shown that 68 degrees is the optimal sleeping temperature, but you can experiment with your own.

Lastly, no raiding the fridge before bed!! A large meal in the stomach will surely interrupt sleep as will spicy foods. If you need to eat something before bed, a small snack of cheese and crackers or grapes will do nicely. Alcohol and cigarettes will also disrupt sleep patterns.
I hope these will help you find some comfort and relief and better health in the days and weeks to come!!

Until Next Week, Stay Healthy!

Love,
Kalee Carson

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