Basic human needs - Nourishment part I

Will you give me what I need?

What do we all need to survive? What constitutes the very basic human needs?

Ask anyone on the street and you will get to a very different list... Each will give you his or her list of habits and some basic biological needs. Not all will agree on the degree of importance of each need.

I will address this question from both a Naturopathic point of view and a personal spiritual one.

Naturopathically speaking, our biological primal needs can be summed up in four lines:

1. Nourishment

2. Removal of toxins and waste

3. Motion

4. Vitality

Remember that each of the above needs has to be supplied on all the human planes of existence - physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social and ecological. From the single cell to our environment - everything needs the above list.

If we take a baby,Our beginning, the needs are:

Physical Nutrition: We all need the basic suckling, mothers milk but it starts even earlier - during pregnancy, we need the sustenance that comes from our mother. If our mother is under-nourished, we suffer for it. During both pregnancy and nursing the mother is in charge of double feeding for them both. My experience here shows that good quality wholesome foods help a lot and that a good supplement regimen (Consisting of a very good multi-vitamin + personal adaptations) makes the difference between a reasonable pregnancy and nursing phase and superb ones. I have never had a patient truly eating well and on supplements from the pre-pregnancy phase that suffered pre-ecclempsia or diabetes or any other radical complication (And I've professionally supported very many pregnant woman over the years). When a baby does not get breast fed it still needs this nourishment. It can be raised on alternatives but I would suggest home made after learning the formula from a Naturopath. I have treated many babies fed on industrial alternatives and they all needed support due to this fact. It just doesn't come close to real food.

Emotional nutrition: During pregnancy and nursing the emotional nourishment is just as important as the physical one. A classical (and sad) research with gorillas discovered that a gorilla baby fed with its mothers' milk but without her touch and presence will die ! The value of balanced emotions on the mothers part during pregnancy and between the parents and the baby once it is born is beyond critical. It gives us our emotional-base.

Spiritual nourishment: We live at an era that people rarely appreciate the value of spiritual living. Many people go to work for the financial sake and have no feeling of self realization in their work. This vibe is an under-nourishment factor on the spiritual level. Not only do THEY feel under nourished - they vibrate spiritually on an under nourished vibe and this is what their children take from them on this plane.

[End of part I]

Basic Human Needs - Vitality part I

The word Qi in Chinese

The fourth part of our basic needs according to the Naturopathic perspective is Vitality. 

Can being tired be resolved? What do I need to do to feel livelier like 10 years ago?

Chinese call this Qi, in Ayurveda it is called Prana and the more common name in most modern cultures is Life force. We all know what it feels like to be low on vitality; it is our most common state... Most do not know what it is and what makes it tick.

The Chinese say that there are three sources to our vitality;

1. Internal: We are born with a basic "Qi Battery" - when it runs out, we die...

2. Air: when we breath in air we take some of the Heavenly Qi into our body (aka Oxygen ;) )

3. Food: Nourishment gives us not only building blocks for our body, it gives us the materials for creating our vitality.

To this basic formula one can add emotional and mental vitality and of course spiritual vitality. Another aspect is motion as a source of vitality (We all know that being physically active makes us more vital).

A tool that is important to understanding vitality is sleep. We all need sleep. Sleep is the mode of consciousness most useful for regenerating vitality. Without enough sleep we are like an uncharged battery - with potential vitality that is unavailable for long...

Naturally, our vitality depends on both how much we charge up as well as how much we discharge / use up as we go about our lives. Spending our vitality wisely is crucial for at times we can have great vitality building habits and still feel exhausted because we spend it all and more on a daily basis...

The above may seem rather simple - and it can be. Then again we tend to make our lives a lot more complicated then they need to be - and with vitality more than ever. My goal in this blog entry is to clarify some of the above so as to help you understand the basics. I hope that after reading this you will know where to turn to next time your feel tired.

The first thing I ask a tired person is: "How many hours of night sleep do you get?" And "When do you go to sleep?". 

The Chinese claim that sleeping 23:00-3:00 is crucial thus going to sleep at 22:00 makes for a good night. Sleep studies show that most adults need around 8 hours of sleep. My simpler answer to this is - sleep till you don't need an alarm clock! For many this solution sounds hilarious - they just go out on the town at 22:00 so how can they possibly get to bed by then? Others claim they only get their children to bed by 21:00 so this leave only an hour with their husband or wife. Bottom line is simple - either you sleep well and enough or the quality of your life drops accordingly since your vitality drops. It's all about prioritization.

The funny thing is many tired people say they have no idea why they are so tired and then tell me they sleep 5-6 hours a night......

The second thing I pay attention to with tired people is to how they breathe. Very few people breathe optimally now-a-days. It's amazing how shallow and erratic the average breath taken is. And worst - people don't normally notice it! Exercising your breathing muscles is just as needed as any other muscle. More so, no other exercise is efficient when you breathe badly.

The third aspect I focus on is food. Nourishment allows for vitality. It is the basic relationship between the basic human needs. Each sustains the others. What people eat today on average has very little vitality in it. It is overly processed, made from low grade materials and the additives that are inserted take away the last of its value. Whole grains, unrefined oils, non-roasted nuts and seeds, fresh vegetables, sprouted legumes - all these are examples of wholesome foods that, when prepared wisely, can contribute a lot to our vitality.

Food preparations can radically alter the vital value of our foods. Steaming, gentle cooking and stir frying are all good examples of food preparation that retains a lot of the vitality. Raw is very often the best but here there is a catch - digesting raw food consumes more energy by the digestive system then cooked food. If our vitality is low this can actually cause us to feel more tired and even at times to fail with the digestion all together. Such situations benefit from gentle cooking more. The opposite can be said about the following cooking methods: Deep frying, microwave cooking, grilling over live coals (Barbecue...) and the likes. These techniques kill the food vitality leaving it devoid of any real value and otherwise damaging our health. A simple alternative for barbecue is using a stone based gas grill. Heat up the stones well, turn off the gas and barbecue to your hearts delight :) .

A lesser known aspect of food and vitality is food intolerance. If we over consume foods (Like we often do with wheat) our body can develop food intolerance to it. It is not the classical allergy response but behaves somewhat similarly by creating a myriad of symptoms in response. The most basic common response is low vitality. Varying your eating habits and going to a professional Naturopath or Holistic Nutritionist for an elimination diet can save you from this predicament.

We don't have to be tired. If you are tired (Or if someone says you are - but that's for the next blog post) go through the check list and do something about it. Your life is never going to be the same again.

[End of part I]

Basic Human Needs - Detoxification part I

One of the classical tools to aid detoxification - Organic juices

The second part of our basic needs according to the Naturopathic perspective is the removal of toxins and waste. 

Remember how you felt when you were young? You were more  vibrant, your skin unblemished, your breath sweet etc... One of the reasons we loose all of this as we age is because we accumulate toxins.

Can it be reversed? To a great degree - yes !

It's spring time and the body feels as vibrant as it can for all the amazing spring energy in the air. This is the best time for a good clean up program ! I am not going to give you specific instructions in this blog and for a very good reason - detoxification is a challenging thing even when tailored by a pro. Alone, without a personally tailored program you may well come out of such an effort feeling worst then you came in. Do yourself a favor and go see a Naturopath.

What do I want to share with you in this blog post? Perspectives. On how to know if you need a detox, on the rules of detox and tips that may improve the process.

So... Do I need a detox?

If you do you may be suffering from one or more of the following:

1. Bad mouth odor or body odors
2. Lots of gas in your digestive tract
3. Skin eruptions
4. Allergies
5. Difficulty digesting fats
6. Foul smelling urine (Even when you drink enough)
7. Excessive weight (Whether you are stuck or more so if you are in the process of loosing it fast)
8. Recurrent headaches
9. Bad habits such as smoking or excessive alcohol consumption
10. Strange reactions to mild alcohol consumption (Falling asleep / pain in joins etc.)

And when in doubt - detox :)

How about the rules of safe Detoxification?

When going through a cleanse it is imperative that you do it right. The toxins that are cleared during this kind of a process may have accumulated throughout your life and on the way out, when in the blood, they can make you feel quite bad. If the organs of elimination are not functioning well or your vitality is low you might suffer quite a bit during the detoxification with less then optimal results.

1. Make sure you rest well during the detox
2. Make sure a health professional (Naturopath or Chinese Medicine practitioner) checks that your elimination organs are functioning well enough for the detox (Live & Kidneys mainly) and that your vitality is up to par.
3. Find the Detox most suited to your needs - there are many.
4. Do not undergo a water based fast for more then 3 days in a row without professional supervision.
5. When in doubt stop the program. Some symptoms are a sign that the detox is happening but some mean that your body is not up for the task.

Remember - a safe detox is a good detox !

Tips for a really good detoxification process:

• Combine several tools of different orientation (Nutrition / massage / Sauna when appropriate / Classical Hydrotherapy / Trampoline / Physical exercise / Herbology / Aromatherapy etc.) - not all at once of course.
• Cleanse the mind not just the body (More about this in a future post).
• A professional enema can upgrade the detox when relevant.
• Keep yourself  warm - especially during fasting if applied.
• Brush your skin regularly (e.g. With a natural loofah during the shower).
• Breathing exercises raise your vitality and improve the detox.
• Physical exercises are usually a must - but find your dose and don't over do it.
• Make sure you are not deficient in vitamins and minerals.

Have a colourful and radiant spring !

Basic human needs - Nourishment & Vitality part II

What makes for Physical nourishment ?

Food, drink, sleep and of course breathing. Most people tend to take breathing for granted. It is automatic and therefore taken care of by the body. The truth is slightly different. Breathing is a semi automatic function. This means we have control over it to an extent. Enough to make a crucial difference in the quality of out lives when we invest some time to learn and practice better breathing.

Most of us breathe just enough not to die. is that enough to supply us with optimal oxygen levels? The more stressed and unaware we are the less we breathe. This can easily be proven by practicing Yogic breathing techniques. For one thing, many people find themselves dizzy from hyper-oxygenation at first. Their brain is so not used to reasonable oxygen levels it gets shocked... Another way to prove this is simply by practicing breathing techniques. After a short time it becomes very obvious that this is improving the quality of your life.

I used to find this fact quite flustering. If breathing help one relax, why do people in distress choose to breath less ? It seemed paradoxical. Thinking this through I remembered that our stress response is primordial. It comes from a period of survival-ism. Which would you prefer if you were faced with a raging lion in the night (That hasn't noticed you) - being quiet or loud? Breathing can become somewhat loud when we breathe rapidly as we often do when stressed (Unless trained) and so breathing in such moments can be dangerous... It is of course only a theory but the fact remains - when stressed we breathe less. When stressed for long periods of time we train ourselves to breath less on a regular basis. The price being insufficient oxygenation for optimal living.

The results of inadequate breathing are:

1. Low vitality

2. Less than optimal brain function (Concentration, memory, cognitive abilities etc.)

3. Higher stress levels

4. Lower emotional control

5. Higher acidic tissue levels (From accumulation of Co2 = higher tendency to 

    inflammations, allergies and cancer)

And much more.

If you wish to lead a healthy, vibrant and alert life - learn to breathe !

In the following video I will be sharing the first of several breathing techniques I employ for my own well being as well as for my patients and students. I call it 1:4:2. The brief instructions for this exercise follow.

1:4:2 - how to

1. Exhale fully and slowly

2. Inhale to the count of 5 (X1)

3. Hold your breath to the count of 20 (X4)

4. Exhale to the count of 10 (X2)

5. Repeat 10 times morning and evening

If 5:20:10 is too hard (Go for 70% effort, no more) reduce the count to 4:16:8 or even 3:12:6 - over doing it is in efficient to advance. When you find it too easy you can advance to higher counts (The highest in the textbooks being 16:64:32).

Who are you ? Part I

One of the oldest philosophical arguments is the one over the question: Are we born Tabula rassa (Blank slate) or are we pre-molded to some degree?

This question is a very important one if we want to fulfill our destiny in this world (Our Dharma as the ancient vedas call it -  assuming we have one of course). 

I have been studying this question for many years and my answer is: We are far from Tabula rassa... We come with many lives worth of experience and perspective and with a pre-formed notion of who and what we are. It is not that we lack free will to choose our profession and path in life. We are simply more ready for a certain path and so will more likely succeed in it better and with less effort.

How did I come to these conclusions? Well, it all started with my son when he was 5 minutes old 😊 . I chased after him from the cesarean to the ward where they let him rest for the first time. He was crying loudly till I reached him, then grabbed my two fingers strongly, looked me right in the eyes, stopped the crying and I could almost hear him say "What took you so long?'... The depth in his eyes in that moment did not seem to belong to a 5 minute old baby. It felt more like a 70 year old man looking at me right then.

A few years later, I realized another point that made my argument above stronger: Everyone knows what they are not. Ask anyone if they would like to be a profession they are not and in the majority of the cases you will get a very clear "no!". They never tried it out, have no experience with it very often and yet it is clear to them they are not this. Ask them what they are (And not right now - their optimal choice of profession) and they will more likely then not remain silent. Once in a blue moon I run across someone that is living his or her dream. Working in just the right profession and feeling realized and fully alive. Most people we all know work in the wrong profession and are either bored or they hate their job.

With this information in hand I have searched for the answer of "Who am I?" for many years. My own personal journey has helped me as well as several teachers. Each contributed a piece to the puzzle. 

The first challenge was to find a way to get to this hidden information. Asking the question directly did not seem effective so I chose to look for the symbolic counterpart. Within each of us are one or more archetypes by which our essence is defined and from which we can deduce our profession. Using archetypes instead of common professions removes the blocks from our psyche. They make it possible for us to face our true nature without the masks or social dictum or other blocks that may hinder it otherwise. Even with archetypes as a guide to the truth it takes some trickery to remove the final resistance from our mind. 

This I found can be achieved in several ways:

1. Going back to cavemen era. This era was populated by archetypal professions. You had a cook (Not a hundred derivatives of the cooks as in modern times), An artist, a healer etc. Those were simple times and this was reflected in the list of professions. Finding yourself in the era using guided imagery is much simpler then trying to deduce your profession from a long list of "google professions page".
2. In the same manner, any age past can be used. Each with unique professions at their best or correlated in our personal minds to a profession we own. As an example, thinking of the Artist most people today are concerned with not being able to make a living and so most deny this archetype. Send such a person to discover him or herself in the renaissance period and they will most likely be thrilled to be called artists.
3. Another way is to seek inspiration out side. In characters from books, moves, theater and life. Everyone has such images in his mind. Saved in there to inspire us. Those who inspire us by doing in the content of what they do (No in the "how" they do it) reflect archetypes within us.
4. The fourth and Last of my main tools (Though some endeavor to invent other tools of their own). Seeking moments in our past when we felt that a certain chore or challenge or action fit our bill. Reflected our essence. While we were engaged with this task we felt that it was an accurate place for us to be. Remembering those moments can help us glean archetypes that have thus shown their faces.

Focusing your life

How focused are you?

How many times of late have you realized your thoughts are chasing their own tails? Jumbling and confusing you or just shifting your attention one way when your intention is trying and failing to think of other things? Can you keep a line of thought through? How about when you are tense or tired?

More and more children and adults are given drugs to help them concentrate. Is there an alternative? Are we malfunctioning or simply lacking the tools to live out a focused life?

There are many tools out there that claim they can help with ADD and other "syndromes" of attention issues. In order for one to know which are effective and good and which are detrimental there are two ways to go: Try them out or ask the right questions and you will know in advance...

Let me suggest a few questions :)

1. Are you living right? is your lifestyle promoting focus or disrupting it?
2. Are you toxic? Lead poisoning (for example) can lead to deteriorated attention capacities.
3. Are you in the habit of promoting your attentive abilities naturally? For example are you meditating regularly?

Many more questions can be asked here and every question above raises ten more on the same issues. Allow me to suggest a few ideas on the matter:

A. When you are tired, undernourished, toxic, stressed out (etc.) you are bound to have  

     issues with you focus.

B. When you tire your mind out but don't take the time to give it a good rest (a.k.a. 

     meditation) your mind is bound to function less efficiently...

A is easy to understand - If you are tired from lack of sleep your mind is less effective. Deficiency in vitamins and minerals cause dysfunctions depending on the deficiency but as a rule effect the mind greatly. My blog series on basic human needs covers this well.

B is somewhat illusive to the western mind. In the east it is common knowledge. So what is it about meditation and other mental practices that can make the difference so much?

Meditation practices are numerous and can be divided into two for the sake of this explanation: Mindful meditation that observes the mind and thoughts and Zen like meditations that seek to achieve a quiet mind. Achieving the goal of a focused and clear mind can be done using both types for different situations but my experience shows that for the main goal of focusing and clarity the Zen type is stronger. It helps us connect with the here and now and put aside the past and the future. It stops the noise of relentless thinking and allows for our thoughts of choice to emerge unhindered and clear.

Whether you are a teenager mid exams or a college student - your studies will improve greatly with a healthy lifestyle combined with meditation training and habit. It is just as valuable to any adult coping with financial / marital / social ordeals. As a matter of fact anyone will benefit from this combination.

So you finished a chapter of healing with us, now what?

Most people understand how to follow our instructions during therapy. It is after a chapter of therapy is done that they enter a state of "Limbo" where the rules can appear unclear. Allow me to suggest a few tips for this stage:

1st thing - don't forget we are here :)

Whether you find yourself dealing with more of the same health issues or a new symptom: Talk to us ASAP. Don't wait "a few weeks" to see if it goes away... Small symptoms (And especially new ones) tend to be much easier to heal earlier rather than later.

Don't stop our recommendations without first talking to us.

Unlike many drugs, stopping most natural therapies will not cause harsh symptoms but that doesn't mean there isn't a "right" and "wrong" way to do it. Also, not all therapies need be stopped once you are well. Prevention is a very good idea. Talk to us and we will help you maintain good preventative measures. Not all you got from us during therapy need be used on the long run and some things are not used for active phases but are great for prevention.

Technical updates

If you have a new email (!), phone number, address, online kupat holim code, child (Mazal Tov!), or have gone through any other major change, its probably a good idea to update us. In this way we can remain effectively at your service in the future.

Long term followup

If you are suffering an illness that has yet to heal or is in remission and are taking a break from our therapy, Don't wait too long for the next appointment. If more then a month goes by the time it will take to get us up to speed will leave little time for new suggestions and therapy and advancement will be slower.

Qi Gong sessions

If you are in an on-going therapy in the present you are welcome to join us for our Qi Gong sessions (+ Breathing exercises and meditation) for FREE. If you are not in therapy at the present you are still welcome to join us for a symbolic fee.

Seasonal sessions

If you are done healing what you came to us for and have ended this chapter - don't disappear till you need us again. Coming once to twice a year for seasonal checkups will keep us in the loop with your life events and changing health so we can better intervene if your health drops and practice prevention where possible and help you stay healthy. It is also an opportunity to work on bad habits one at a time over time.