7 Tips for Mind-Body Balance!

One of the guiding principles of mind-body medicine is the interconnection of all things, including the mind, the body, and the environment in which we live. Each of us is an inseparable part of an infinite field of intelligence, and in this very moment, with every breath, we are exchanging millions of atoms with the universe.

From this holistic perspective, health isn’t merely the absence of disease or symptoms; it is a state of optimal well being, vitality, and wholeness.  We are healthy when we’re able to fully digest everything we take in, extracting what is nourishing and eliminating whatever doesn’t serve us. This includes our food, our relationships, our jobs, and all our life experiences. Illness, in contrast, develops when there is a disruption ― a blockage in the flow of energy and information in our body mind. Symptoms and sickness are the body’s signal that we need to restore balance, eliminate whatever is causing the blockages, and reestablish the healthy flow of intelligence.

The Mind-Body Connection:- 

Since the body and mind are inextricably connected, every time we have a thought, we set off a cascade of cellular reactions in our nervous system that influence all the molecules in our body. Our cells are constantly observing our thoughts and being changed by them.

Each day at the Chopra Center, we see guests who reinforce our view that our thoughts and choices and experiences influence our tendency to be healthy or become ill. A man in a toxic work environment has incapacitating headaches that don’t respond to multiple medications. A woman decides she will no longer accept her boyfriend’s demeaning behavior, and her debilitating panic attacks “mysteriously” subside.

Of course, this is not to say that all illnesses are “caused” by our thoughts. The relationship between the mind and body is complex, and sometimes things happen at a physical level for which we don’t have a plausible explanation. We have to acknowledge that we may have an inherent tendency for health or imbalance, and in some cases, genetic inheritance is the major factor underlying an illness. At the same time, we have amazing potential to heal and transform ourselves through our thoughts, perceptions, and choices. The body is a magnificent network of intelligence, capable of far more than current medical science can explain.

Cultivating Balance

Establishing a healthy dialogue between our thoughts and our molecules helps us shift from imbalance to balance. And when we’re in an optimal state of dynamic balance, we naturally tend to listen to our body with love and reverence and make choices that support balance, happiness, and well being. The following seven mind-body prescriptions will help you create this positive feedback loop:

1:-Take time each day to quiet your mind and meditate:-
Meditation is one of the most powerful tools for restoring balance to our mind and body. In meditation, you experience a state of restful awareness in which your body is resting deeply while your mind is awake though quiet. In the silence of awareness, the mind lets go of old patterns of thinking and feeling and learns to heal itself. Scientific research on meditation is accelerating with the growing awareness of meditation’s numerous benefits, including a decrease in hypertension, heart disease, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and addictive behaviors.

2:-Each day eat a healthy diet that includes the six Ayurvedic tastes and a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables:-

Next to breathing, eating is our most vital bodily function. To create a healthy body and mind, our food must be nourishing. Ideal nutrition comes from consuming a variety of foods that are appropriately prepared and eaten with awareness.
A simple way to make sure that you are getting a balanced diet is to include the six tastes (sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter, and astringent) in each meal. The typical American diet tends to be dominated by the sweet, sour, and salty tastes (the main flavors of a hamburger). We do need these tastes, but they can lower metabolism especially if eaten in excess.

The pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes, on the other hand, are anti-inflammatory and increase metabolism. These tastes are found in food such as radishes, ginger, mustard, peppers, spinach, mushrooms, tea, lentils lettuce

In addition to including the six tastes in each meal, focus on eating a variety of fresh and freshly prepared foods, while eliminating or at least limiting items that are canned, frozen, microwaved, or highly processed. These are “dead” foods that weaken health and accelerate aging.

3:-Move your body: Engage in daily exercise.

Regular exercise offers incredible benefits for your body and mind. Drs. William Evans and Irwin Rosenberg from Tufts University have documented the powerful effect of exercise on many of the bio markers of aging, including muscle mass, strength, aerobic capacity, bone density, and cholesterol.
Not only does exercise keep the body young, but it also keeps the mind vital and promotes emotional well being.
A complete fitness program includes exercises to develop flexibility, cardiovascular conditioning, and strength training.Strength training.Find an aerobic activity that you enjoy and will be able to three to four times each week for twenty to thirty minutes. After your body is warmed up, spend five to ten minutes stretching. Be sure to include strength training in your program to systematically exercise the major muscle groups of your body. The key is to start off slowly, find physical activities you like, and do them regularly. You will be surprised how quickly you increase your endurance and enthusiasm for moving and breathing.

4:-Take time for restful sleep:-

Restful sleep is essential key to having health and vital energy. When you're well-rested, you can approach stressful situations more calmly, yet sleep is so often neglected or under
emphasized. There is even a tendency for people to boast about how little sleep they can get by on. In reality, over time, inadequate sleep disrupts the body’s innate balance, weakens our immune system, contributes to weight gain and depression, and speeds up the aging process.
Human beings generally need between six and eight hours of restful sleep each night. Restful sleep means that you’re not using pharmaceuticals or alcohol to get to sleep but that you’re drifting off easily once you turn off the light and are sleeping soundly through the night. If you feel energetic and vibrant when you wake up, you had a night of restful sleep. If you feel tired and unenthusiastic, you haven’t had restful sleep.You can get the highest quality sleep by keeping your sleep cycles in tune with the rhythms of the universe, known as circadian rhythms. At the Chopra Center, we find that if people can commit to a consistent sleep ritual, they can usually retrain their mind to experience healthy sleep patterns.

5:-Release emotional toxins:-

Many of us harbor emotional toxicity in the form of unprocessed anger, hurt or disappointment. This unprocessed residue from the past contributes to toxicity in our body and needs to be eliminated. You can begin by asking yourself, “What am I holding onto from the past that is no longer serving me in the present?”
Once you have identified what you want to release, spend some time journaling about how your life will be different when you change. Then you can do a specific releasing ritual that declares to yourself and to the world that you are letting go of whatever it is you’ve been holding on to. If you need more help in this area, consider attending the Healing the Heart workshop at the Chopra Center. In a nurturing, supportive environment, you will be guided intensive, loving process to release emotional pain and then fill the newly created space in your heart with love and self-nurturing behaviors.

6:-Cultivate loving relationships.

Enjoy a good belly-laugh at least once a day.
From the scientific perspective, laughter is an elegant mind-body phenomenon that reduces the production of stress hormones and boosts the immune system. Researchers in Japan found that people with rheumatoid arthritis who watched “rakugo” or comic storytelling experienced a significant decrease in their pain and stress hormone levels as well as an increase in two immune-enhancing

Group Activities!

Here is a list of ideas that I have employed at various times in a mental health setting for groups of adults, children, and teens.

1.:- Lifeline:-
 (adapted from a standard Expressive Therapies activity I learned at Lesley University)

On a piece of paper, make two points on the opposite ends of the paper, one labeled "birth" and the other labeled "now."  Draw a line between the two points.  Identify at least three high points and three low points in your life and graph them according to your age (horizontally) and according to the feelings in the experience (vertically).  Low points will be below your lifeline and high points will be above your lifeline.  Connect the points with lines making a zig-zag line.  Share the events with the group and the group responds with cheers, applause, and praise on the high points and boos and words of encouragement at the low points.  If participant doesn't feel comfortable sharing details of their lives, they can simply say, "Age 6, high point." 

2:-  Inside - Outside Bags/ Boxes:-
 (standard Expressive Therapies activity used at Lesley University)

Decorate a bag or box with images and words on the outside to represent the qualities you show to the world.  Decorate the inside of the bag or box with images and words that represent the inner qualities that are hidden to most people. 

3.:- Feeling Code Collage:- 
 (learned from my art therapy supervisor, Susan La Mantia)

Take one sheet of paper and draw and color an image to represent various feelings, such as happy, sad, mad, scared, embarrassment, love, peace, crazy, bored, etc.  Label each image with the feeling.  Participants can also choose feelings to add to the list.   Encourage participants to use creativity; i.e. "happy" might first make you think of a smiley face, but it could also be like a purple and green spiral or a puppy.  On a second sheet of paper, use the feeling code to make another drawing in which the images can be made bigger, smaller, repeated, overlapped, or arranged in a unique relationship to other images.  Title the new drawing and discuss. 

4:- Cooling My Hot Spots:-

Using a pre-printed picture of a human silhouette, use color and image to represent feelings of anger or emotional pain on the place of the body associated with the feelings, i.e. black pit in the stomach, red squiggles on the fists wanting to punch, etc.  Draw a cooling image and phrase beside each of the hot spots, i.e. a waterfall with the words, "Let go," or music notes with the words, "Don't let other people get you down."

5:-  Three Animals:- 
  (adapted from a game I used to play with friends - I have no idea where we learned it from.)

On a sheet of paper, write the name of your favorite animal and three qualities you like about that animal; i.e. cheetah: sad, caring, and shy.  Next, write the name of your second favorite animals with three qualities, and finally, your third favorite and its three qualities.  Consider the possibility that the first animal represents how you want others to see you, the second animal represents how people actually see you, and the third animal represents who you really are.  (Reading them aloud with their meanings with the group can be quite humorous.)  Next, draw, color, or paint a mixed breed animal with the three animals you chose, such as a creature with a cheetah head, a mouse body, and a fish tail.  Add a habitat, food, family and friends for this animal.

6:-Relationship Needs:-

Select a magazine picture to represent you and glue it to the middle of a large piece of paper.  Select magazine pictures to represent the six most important people in your life and glue them in a circle around you.  Draw a line connecting each of the people to the picture of you.  On the top of each line, write a word or phrase about what you need from that person.  Under each line, write a word or phrase about what that person needs from you.

7:-  Wise Puppet:-

Using craft materials, create a puppet of a real or imagined character that represents wisdom, such as a grandfather or Yoda.  Each person enacts a skit with their puppet in which the participant asks the puppet for advice about something in life.  Participants should use a special voice for their puppet characters and keep the conversation with their puppet going as long as possible.

8:- Good and Bad Mandalas:-

Discussion: The world has happy and sad aspects, but sometimes negative events can lead to positive events.  Consider the possibility that the negative and positive events are in some kind of harmony and that there is a larger order of goodness.  Draw, color, or paint a mandala that includes both happy and sad things in life, intertwined with each other, in a balanced and colorful harmony; i.e. gravestones next to blossoming trees, broken hearts next to rainbows, thief next to a policeman, etc.

9:- Treasure Map:-

On a piece of paper, label one corner, "The beginning" and another corner, "Success."  Draw a windy path between the two points.  Using collage materials, create stations along the path with creative titles, such as "Crossing the desert of loneliness," "Forgiveness and letting go," "Climbing the mountain of determination," "Resting in the shade of a caring friend," etc.

10:- Affirmation Poster:-

Think of a sentence or expression that makes you feel better when you are depressed/ angry/ anxious.  Make a large poster of the saying using glitter, favorite colors, and/or images to put on your wall; i.e. "This will pass." or "You're worth whatever it takes." 

Art Therapy Techniques To Help You De-Stress

Art therapy is a form of therapy that encourages creativity and self-expression as vehicles to reduce stress, improve self-esteem, increase awareness and help remedy trauma. While many other forms of therapy depend on verbal language to express feelings and overcome personal obstacles, art therapy allows for other, more abstract forms of communication. This tactic makes room for elements of the subconscious that perhaps are not yet ready or able to be verbalized come to the surface.

You do not have to be an artist to enjoy the benefits of art therapy. In fact, most of the exercises rely not on the final product you create but on the therapeutic, meditative ritual of the creative process. If you're intrigued by the process of relaxation through artistic imagination, we've compiled a starter kit to get you on your way.

The following 10 suggestions are simple ways to explore your inner creative voice while turning off the negative influences that so often get in the way. They may not all work for you, but hopefully one or more of the following techniques will serve as the artistic equivalent of a long, hot bath.

1. Design a postcard you don't intend to send:-

Whether it's a love note to someone you're not ready to confess your feelings to, or an angry rant you know is better left unsaid, sometimes enumerating all the details helps deflate the issue at hand. While writing the text can be therapeutic in its own right, designing the postcard gives even more value to the object. It also allows you to activate different portions of your brain while relaxing in a manner similar to coloring in a coloring book. Once you toss that signed and sealed letter in the trash (or tuck it away in a drawer), you'll find its message has lost some of its power.

2. Cut and paste a painting to create a collage:-

Create a painting on a material like paper or cardboard. When you're finished, cut or tear it up. Then use the pieces as building blocks for a new artwork -- a collage. See how your original artwork transforms into something new and exciting, something unpredictable. This exercise illuminates the close proximity between creation and destruction, encouraging us to take risks to push ourselves creatively and in other aspects of life

3. Build an altar to a loved one:-

Take inspiration from folk art and create an altar honoring a unique relationship between you and another person, living or not. Decorate the shrine with photographs, letters and relics of memorable times spent together, as well as new art objects you've created in their honor. Anything can become artistic material, from gifts you've exchanged to a candy wrapper you know your subject would love. Building a totem to another person awakens memories and creates a physical manifestation of a relationship that can provide comfort in tough times.

4. Draw in total darkness:-

So much of the stress we experience when making art comes from the judgments and criticism that seem unavoidable every step of the way. Try creating artwork in total darkness to make art free from that inner art critic inside your head. (Think of it as a form of blind contour drawing.) You're suddenly freed up to create lines, shapes and patterns simply because you feel like you should. When you turn back on the lights, we suspect you'll be surprised by what you find.

5. Watercolor your bodily state:-

Lie down and close your eyes. Visualize your body as you breathe in and out. Try to imagine your breath as a particular color as it enters your body, another color as it exits. What do you see? Draw an outline of a body on a large sheet of paper, and inside, create a watercolor based on your bodily state. Think about what these colors mean to you, where they are densest, where they are most opaque. Think of this as the most relaxing self-portrait you'll ever create.

6. Create a Zentangle-inspired creation:-

Zentangle is a drawing method invented by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, designed to make drawing meditative and accessible to all. To learn the official method you must be taught by a Zentangle Teacher, but you can recreate the basic idea on your own. Use a piece of paper, cut into a 3.5" square piece, and draw a freehand border around the edge in light pencil. Then use your pencil to draw a curved line or squiggle within the border, called a "string."

Now switch to a pen and begin drawing a "tangle," a series of patterns and shapes around your "string" and voila! You got yourself a Zentangle. The process is designed to encourage deliberate, ritual creation and allow room for human error -- no erasing, that's against the rules. Traditional Zentangles are always black and white but we fully support experimenting with color. The entire process shouldn't take more than 15 minutes, and can be repeated whenever you feel the urge. Keep some 3.5" squares handy so you can always create when inspiration strikes.

7. Produce a permission slip

Think of the societal and self-imposed pressures you feel on a day-to-day basis, the personal traits you see as faults, the natural slips you see as errors. Choose one of these things and give yourself, in ornamental detail, permission to do just that. Turning one simple defeat into an accomplishment can minimize feelings of self-hatred, allowing you to achieve more of your important goals. Remember, it's an art project, so make it pretty.

8. 'Write' a found poem 

Don't consider yourself a poet? Let someone else do the hard part of coming up with the words by grabbing your material from old books, magazines, newspapers or even letters. Cut out words that jump out at or inspire you. Collage your found materials just as you would a visual collage. You can have a topic or story in mind at the beginning, or just get started and see where your word collaging takes you.

9. Craft a mark-making tool unique to you

Instead of spending the majority of your time on an actual painting, why not focus a little of that attention on crafting an alternative paintbrush all your own? You can make a mark-making tool out of nearly anything, whether it's a row of toothpicks (glued to a cardboard base) and dipped in paint, or a DIY paintbrush made from pom-poms and yarn. When you finally get around to actually making a piece with your new tool, you will have relinquished some of your artistic control to your distinct artistic medium, which, of course, is a work of art in itself.

10. Make a forgiveness box

If there is a certain person -- including yourself -- you don't want to harbor negative emotions toward any longer, try making him or her a forgiveness box. Decorate a small box with soothing images and words that can be either specific to an individual or catered to your desired inner state. You can write the person's name on a slip of paper and include it in the box if preferred, and the name can be removed and exchanged if needed. The act of making the box will bring up happy memories of whomever the box is for, as well as help you physically work toward a place of forgiveness.

Healing Mind Live in Group Activities!

Here is a list of ideas that I have employed at various times in a mental health setting for groups of adults, children, and teens.

1. Lighthouse:-

Visualization: You are lost at sea on a stormy night.  You see a glimmer of light leading you to land.  If you row hard, you can make it.  Someone waits for you with a warm meal, dry clothes, and a place to rest. 

Draw, color, or paint an image of a lighthouse as a source of guidance in your life.  Depict yourself somewhere in the image, either in a boat on the water, in the lighthouse, etc.  Add words to represent your sources of guidance in life, i.e. faith, family, hope. 

2.  Joyful Memory:-

Everyone shares the most joyful memory that comes to mind.  Each person directs the scene, casting group members in the various roles, including him or herself.  Participant watches the scene and comments on the feelings and memories that come up.

3.  Good and Evil:-
 (This one seems complex at first but once everyone gets it, it's a very fun and powerful activity.)

Clients take six strips of paper each.  Write three Negative Messages or beliefs on three of the paper strips; i.e. You're dumb, you're ugly, etc.  Write three Powerful, Positive Responses to the messages on the other three paper strips; i.e. I have confidence in my abilities.  I'm proud of the way I look. 

Form two rows of three standing opposite each other.  Let participants choose if they want to be in the "Good" row or the "Evil" row.  A participant gives one of his Negative Messages to each person in the "Evil" row.  He gives the corresponding Powerful, Positive Response paper to the person in the "Good" row that is facing the "Evil" side.  The participant stands between the first pair as they read the messages on the sheets and try to influence the participant using ad lib sentences.  The "Evil" person extends her arm out to block the participant from passing. 

e.g. Evil: "You're really dumb.  You are always so slow.  Why don't you ever understand anything?"  Good: "I'm proud of my abilities.  I may not be perfect, but I'm exactly who I need to be."  Participant listens to the two sides and finally chooses the "Good" side by repeating the Powerful Positive Response and pushing past the "Evil" person's arm block.  Participant repeats process with next pair until finished with all three pairs.  Repeat for each person. 

4. Friendship Mural:-

Big banner: "A true friend is someone who..."

Clients fill the mural with images and words that complete this sentence. 

5.  Resilience:-

Draw, color, or paint an image of a being in nature that survives in a harsh environment: a flower in a sidewalk; a fish at the bottom of the ocean; a creature in the desert. 

6.  Violence:-

Discuss quote from Elie Wiesel: "Violence is a form of communication for a person who fails to find words"  

 Participants complete the following sentences for a journal activity:

Violence happens because...

Someone who is violent toward others is trying to...

Someone who is violent toward himself is trying to...

Someone I have trouble communicating with is...

What I really need is....

What I wish people would understand about me is...

7.  Powerful Ally:-

Think of a person or character, real or imaginary, who is powerful, strong, or wise.  Remember a time you felt alone, scared, out of control, or helpless.  Imagine that the Powerful Person is there with you during the experience, either offering help or just being with you.  Participants enact the memories with the Powerful Person present in the scene.  Each participant casts the needed players in the scene and instruct the players how to enact the various characters' actions.  Client plays herself in the scene.  

8.  Inner Child:-

Draw yourself as a child on your paper.  Add images and words to give this child everything that it needs, including a supportive nurturing parent. 

9.  Purpose in Life;- 
   (adapted from an activity used in the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium)

Fold paper into three sections.  In the first section, list your gifts, strengths, talents, including abilities and personal qualities.  In the third section, list problems in the world that are concerning to you, such as child abuse, animal abuse, unemployment, etc.  In the middle section, use creativity to devise at least three ways to use your gifts in the first section to solve problems in the third section.  Draw and color an image of one of these ideas as if it has already happened and succeeded in solving the problem.   

10.  My Relationship with:-

Select a magazine image for yourself and another person with whom you have conflict or difficulty.  Glue each image on opposite sides of the paper.  Draw arrows from the other person to yourself and write words above each arrow to indicate the disagreeable actions of the other person.  Draw a protective wall between you and that person using bricks, laser shields, or any kind of imaginary protective device that believably prevents the disagreeable actions from harming you.  Now safe from harm, add images, words, and colors around the picture of the other person to depict your wish for their healing, growth, and peace.  Write your prayers or hopes that they will receive what they need to be happy.  Add images, words, and colors around the picture of yourself to describe what goals and values you will pursue once you are healed from the negative impacts of this relationship.

Balance Your Mind, Body & Soul!!

Here is a list of 15 simple things to consider incorporating into your healthy routine to help balance your mind, body, and spirit.

1. Exercise - Find an exercise you enjoy and start doing it regularly.

2. Be grateful - Stop to think about the things you have going for you  and  appreciate them.

3. Get plenty of sleep - Sleep is regenerative for your body. The more sleep you get the better you will perform the next day.

4. Breathe deeply - Whenever you think about it stop and take a deep breath. Over time this will become a healthy habit.

5. Install a shower filter - Chlorine is a poison. You don't want to inhale it or absorb it through your skin while showering.

6. Ground yourself - Literally. Plant your bare feet on the earth as often as possible.

7. Eat organic - Chemicals are killing pests on the crops. They are not good for you either.

8. Do more yoga - Great for the body and mind. Mind Body Green readers know the importance of this.

9. Smile more - It feels great :)

10. Spend more time with loved ones - In our busy lives we need to make time for the people who matter to us most.

11. Live your passion - Do more of what you love.

12. Meditate - Set some time aside each day to rest your mind.

13. Drink clean water - Get a filtration system for your drinking water. Fluoride is not good for your body.

14. Get outdoors more - Go for a hike and enjoy nature.

15. Eat plenty of greens - Dark leafy greens are rich in vitamins, minerals and chlorophyll. They help alkalize the body.

Slowly start incorporating these ideas into your daily routine and see how they positively impact your overall health.

Exercises for Healing the Mind, Body and Spirit!

The mind, body and spirit are deeply connected. You cannot truly be balanced and happy if your mind, body or spirit is not at peace. There are many forms of exercise that can help nurture you in ways beyond vigorous aerobic exercise. These exercises improve the mind as well as the body, helping you feel whole. They help to free the mind, strengthen the body and connect you to your spirit.

Yoga:-

Yoga is great for calming the mind and stretching the body. Yoga also teaches you to focus on your breathing, which helps improve your lung capacity. It improves your flexibility, posture and strength, while helping you to relieve stress. There are many different types of yoga, so pick out which type works best for you.

Tai Chi:-

Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art that focuses on slow and graceful movements. Practicing Tai Chi regularly helps bring balance to your life, both emotionally and physically. The movements in Tai Chi are gentle and relaxing, so this type of exercise if great if you are looking for something low-impact. Tai Chi is believed to improve the flow of energy in the body and bring about an overall sense of well-being and happiness. It also helps you get better sleep and helps to reduce pain.

Meditation:-

Taking a moment to clear your mind and meditate is great for your mind and spirit. We live in a fast paced world and that can cause a lot of daily stress. Meditation is a good way to calm down after a long crazy day and focus on relaxing and letting your stress go. Research has shown that regular meditation can lower cortisol, the stress hormone. It also helps you to sort out your thoughts and give you time to take a break from all the responsibilities of life.

Walking:-

Walking helps you get up and moving in the environment around you. Walking near a river or in a forest can be great for your spirit, giving you time to connect with nature. Walking is also great stress reliever. It is good for circulation, improves breathing and exercises the heart. Walking is easy to incorporate into your life because to get started all you have to do is get out there and walk. It is low impact and fun.

These are some of the ways you can exercise your body, mind and spirit to achieve a more balanced life. Being more balanced means having more energy and more drive to do the things you love. By practicing any one of these exercises you are improving your overall health and supporting a happy outlook on life.

Healing With Water!

Water is probably the single most important component to long term health. Every life-giving and healing process that happens in your body happens with water.

Drinking sufficient amounts water is one of the best investments you can make in your health.

How Much Water Do You Need?

Various sources, including the Mayo Clinic Women's Health Source, suggest that you should aim for oz of water per pound of body weight. So if you weigh 130 pounds, you should be drinking about 65 oz of water or 8 glasses of water per day.

To prevent dehydration, you need to drink at least 6-8 glasses of (non-sparkling) water each day. You should increase this amount when exercising and on hot days, or if you have been sweating excessively.

Exercise:-

It is good to drink one glass of water before you exercise and an additional glass every 20 minutes or so during the activity. This can be increased considerably during hotter weather or more strenuous exercise.

Weather Extremes:-

To compensate for water loss during hot or dry weather, at high elevations or during times of high or low humidity, it is good to drink an additional one to two glasses of water per day. Indoor heat or air conditioning can also be excessively drying.

Caffeine and Alcohol:- 

Caffeine and alcohol can pull as much water out of you as you put in, sometimes more. A German study showed that adults who drank six cups of coffee per day experienced chronic mild dehydration.

Drinks containing caffeine and other chemicals are taxing to the digestive system. The phosphorus content in cola drinks is so high it can lead to a calcium/phosphorus imbalance and contribute to diseases such as osteoporosis.

Alcohol is also a very strong diuretic, causing the body to excrete water, which often leads to advanced dehydration. It is recommended that you drink an extra glass of water for every caffeinated or alcoholic beverage you drink.

Metaphysical Considerations:-

Metaphysically speaking, water is the element related to the second energy center. Proper water intake helps to regulate this energy center  also known as the emotional center, which allows you to feel pain and pleasure.

An under functioning second energy center may be manifested in repressed feelings, and an over stimulation may be manifested as addictions or greed. Therapies for the second energy center include water intake, swimming and luxurious baths or showers.

Help Your Body Heal Itself:-

While water is not an absolute cure-all, it is a primary ingredient in every preventive and healing process within your body. So many common ailments and diseases may be prevented with an increased intake of water. Headaches, hypertension, back pain, arthritis and asthma can all benefit.

Your body instinctively knows how to sustain good health. One of the best ways to prevent, treat, and in many cases cure illness, is to give your body the right tools. With the proper intake of water and the right minerals and nutrients, your body can overcome almost anything.

Laughter Is Good Medicine!

You have probably noticed that you feel a lot better after a good belly laugh. The problem is that your sense of humor generally abandons you just when you need it the most - when you get sick.

New evidence suggests that you may want to consider laughter as part of your comprehensive wellness program. It not only boosts your mood, but it also revs up your immune system, protects your heart, lowers blood pressure, reduces pain, improves lung capacity and provides a general sense of well-being. A good belly laugh also reduces stress hormones in your body.

Humor and Healing

The mere fact that you feel better after a good laugh should lead you to conclude that humor must be good for you. But research now confirms that your sense of humor promotes physical health. Clinical studies over the last 20 years have demonstrated that laughter plays an important role in healing. As a result, hospitals and health care organizations are initiating a number of humor-related programs, ranging from "laughter channels" on TV to visits by clowns.

Presbyterian Inter community Hospital in Whittier, CA has trained 25 clowns with the mission of putting smiles on the faces of its patients. "We have discovered that clown therapy works," says hospital President and CEO Daniel F. Adams..

Immune System Enhancement

Whether or not you get sick depends on your body's ability to fight off disease. Research has proven that positive emotions such as laughter enhance your immune response.

According to Dr. Lee S Berk of Loma Linda University in California, laughter helps increase the count of white cells and also raises the antibody levels. After "laughter therapy" he noticed an increase in antibodies in the nose and respiratory passages which are believed to have a protective capacity against some viruses and bacteria.

In a BBC article about laughter and hospital treatment, researchers found that the healing power of humor reduced pain and stimulated immune function in children with cancer, AIDS and diabetes and in children receiving organ transplants and bone marrow transplants.

High Blood Pressure and Heart Disease

Those who suffer from heart disease may discover that laughter can improve their blood circulation and oxygen supply to their heart muscles.

The most astonishing evidence of the power of laughter comes from a 1997 study of 48 heart-attack patients whose therapy included 30 minutes of laughter a day. After a year, ten patients in the control group had suffered repeat heart attacks, compared to only two in the group that watched comedies.

Another study demonstrated a drop of 10-20mm pressure after patients participated for 20 minutes in a laughter session

Pain Reduction

Laughter increases the level of endorphins, which are natural pain killers found in your body.

Norman Cousins drew the attention of the medical community to the pain-reducing power of laughter in his book Anatomy of an Illness. He discovered while watching comedy films that belly laughter eased his pain and noted that ten minutes of belly laughter gave him two hours of pain-free sleep. Over a dozen studies have now documented that humor does have the power to reduce pain for many people.

In one study, people listening to Lily Tomlin joking about the phone company were less sensitive to pain than those who listened to an academic lecture. Another study showed that when elderly residents in a long-term care facility watched funny movies, the level of pain they experienced was reduced. In a third study of 35 patients in a rehabilitation hospital, 74% agreed with the statement, "Sometimes laughing works as well as a pain pill."

"A clown is like an aspirin, only he works twice as fast."

                                                                   

Respiratory Relief

Laughter is one of the best exercises if you suffer from asthma and bronchitis. It improves your lung capacity and oxygen levels in your blood. Doctors often recommend chest physiotherapy to bring out mucous from the respiratory passages, and blowing forcefully into an instrument or blowing balloons is one of the common exercises given to asthmatics. However, laughter does the same job, but more easily and cheaply.

Stress Relief

When confronted with a threatening situation, animals have two choices: they can fight or they can flee. You have a third choice: you can laugh. Humor may be one of the best antidotes to stress. You cannot laugh and worry at the same time!

Lee Berk, M.D., Ph.D., has conducted studies showing that laughter can fend off many of the physiological effects of stress, including those caused by the hormones cortisol and epinephrine, which can trigger increased blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar.

Prolonged and chronic stress can suppress your immune system, increasing your risk for viral infections and even tumors. According to Dr. Berk, the positive biological effects of a single one-hour session of viewing a funny video can last from 12 to 24 hours.

"Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress," says Dr. Berk. Heart disease patients are often given drugs called beta-blockers specifically to block these hormones. "Laughter can do that same thing," says Berk. "And it's a lot more fun."

What You Can Do

Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful healing tools you have, and laughter may be one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. You may want to consider adding a hardy laugh to your disease prevention program by

* Actively seeking out things that make you laugh;

* Taking in regular doses of funny movies, books and videos;

* Cutting out newspaper comics that make you laugh and posting them on

   your refrigerator;

* Finding a funny saying to repeat to yourself when things get tough;

* Telling a joke;

* Laughing at yourself;

* Looking for the funny side of events;

* Trying to use humor to handle anxiety;

* Hanging out with happy people.

Healing With Your Mind!

Did you know that your thoughts, beliefs, feelings and emotions influence the health and wellness of your physical body? Whatever your predominant thought is, your body will reflect that back to you in its state of health.

If you believe your body is vulnerable, if you believe the least little germ or the latest epidemic is going to get you, then it probably will. If, on the other hand, you believe you are safe, your body is safe, your body is healthy and that its natural state is one of perfect balance, your body will probably reflect that back to you.

Your Mind Is Like A Magnet:-

Your subconscious mind has no discretionary powers. It accepts whatever is fed into it. It is like a magnet. Each word and each thought can attract associated events and circumstances. The net result is that you may get sick or continue to be sick. However, filling your subconscious mind with affirmations that you are healthy and happy can bring about positive results.

The Power Of Your Mind:-

A report in New Scientist (November 2001) revealed that just thinking about performing strenuous exercise can actually affect your body. A team led by Dr. Guang Yue, an exercise physiologist at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio, studied 10 volunteers between the ages of 20 to 35 who were asked to imagine exercising one of their little fingers five times a week. After a few weeks, the strength in their fingers actually increased significantly!

The Placebo Effect:-

Studies have shown that thinking you are better can produce significant positive changes in recovery. This phenomenon of positive thinking is known as the placebo effect. Thus, a patient who takes a placebo (a substance containing no form of medication) may think they are going to improve because they believe the placebo is an actual drug.

When you have confidence that a medical treatment is going to be successful, or that you are going to recover from an illness quickly, you are more likely to achieve these results. Many patients who receive placebos report an improvement in their medical condition, despite the fact that they didn't receive actual treatment or medication.

One Harvard Medical School research study on the power of the mind in curing illness produced a wealth of scientific data, as well as anecdotes from patients, which established that "remembered wellness" (another term for the placebo effect) was a major factor in relieving serious medical conditions.

 

Optimism and Healing

An optimistic outlook can definitely be a factor in how well you heal from an injury, an illness or surgery. Those who maintain a positive outlook often enjoy life more than those who are negative-minded, but are they any healthier? For many people, the answer is "yes."

Healing Tips!

Some Positive Healing Tips:-

1:- Create a mental image of body mending and healing;

2:-Don't feel  guilty about your health  problems.(While there are some disease you    can try to prevent through good nutrition and exercise,other may develop and persist no matter what you do.

3:-Send yourself a constant stream of affirmations about you good health.(e.g,''I am getting strong everyday.'')

4:-Seek out your friends.(Friendships are an important factor in good health.Get a pet or plant.(Stroking an animal can lower your blood pressure and slow down your heart rate.Both plants and animals require loving care and can make you feel needed.)

5:-Laugh.(Humor can help make life face fee richer and healthier.Consider putting together a ''kit'' of emergency laughter ration,containing things like funny video,jokes books,cartoon and photographs.Take this kit out Whenever you feel down.

Positive Attitude and Wellness:- 

Your body can restore itself to health because you have encouraged and loved it back to its natural state of balance.When you truly look upon it as your friends and give it the same kind of love, caring and compassion you would bestow upon a beloved child, it may reward you beyond your wildest dreams.