Our body already knows how to restore itself. We Just have to provide the tools it needs for repair. By giving our bodies & minds the tools to maintain health, we nurture what’s good rather than destroying what’s bad. David Servan-Schreiber,M.D., Ph.D., author of the bestselling: Anticancer: A New Way of Life states, “My conviction is that healing is less about battling illness and more about nourishing life.” Nuturing the body’s innate healing abilities through life-style choices has long been a cornerstone of disciplines such as Traditional Chinese Medicine. One of the many beauties of Chinese Medicine is the belief of the mind-body link in maintaining health.
Once considered a radical idea in Western medicine, the mind’s power over the body has garnered considerable respect over the past decade thanks to a growing body of neurological research and technologies such as MRI’s. Researchers have established that biochemical released from the brain during various moods affect how well the body repairs itself. Negative feelings such as anxiety, fear and loneliness have been shown to trigger stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine, which inhibit the immune system,while positive feelings like happiness, love and peacefulness can boost our healing ability through neurotransmitters such as dopamine and oxytocin.
The great news about maintaining health is that our minds and bodies know intrinsically how to do it. Remember that it’s the cumulative effect of many stressor on the body, mind and spirit that wears you down and make you vulnerable to becoming ill.
Here are a few ways to help you boost healing:
1) Ease Stress with Pleasure: Relaxation and pleasure are healing states of mind. Seek out stimulation by admiring a work of art, listening to music, making love or tending a garden. All these help the brain in releasing those feel good hormones.
2) Find Something to Believe In: Research indicates that people who have a spiritual faith of some kind are better equipped to deal with illness. Being spiritual can range from having a sense of peace, faith in God, or having a compassionate view of others. I see a link between spirituality and health through the social support we get from being part of a spiritual community.
3) Talk It Out: Hostility is bad for your health. Studies show it can raise levels of cytokines, behavior-regulating proteins in the immune system that are associated with arthritis, osteoporosis and other conditions. Learn conflict resolution skills through a counselor or at least find a spot to let yourself go to complain in a constructive manner. Complain to a wall, chair, or a tree stump. Give a voice to your dejected, sarcastic, nasty, bratty self. Yell or whine as long as you want and end the session by thanking whatever you complained to and then go do something really fun.
4) Get to Bed: Sleep and immune health are inextricably linked. It’s the time your body restores itself: Tissue repair, muscle growth, protein synthesis all are happening. Studies have linked sleep deprivation with lowered immune ability, increased obesity and inflammation. Things to do: Create a pleasurable bedtime ritual such as a hot bath. Try some breathing exercises to induce relaxation. Lying in bed, breathe in through the nose for a count of 4, then hold the breath for 7 and slowly exhale through the mouth for 8. Repeat 3 times. Say OM A regular daily yoga practice have shown a 22% improvement in sleep quality.
Acupuncture also helps with stress reduction and sleep induction. There are also herbal formulas that your acupuncturist can customized to you in helping your body de-stress and sleep better.
5) Eat Plenty of Healing Foods: Create an inner healing environment by feeding your body nutrients that boost immune function and lower inflammation. Try a range of colorful fruits and veggies such as apples, oranges, tomatoes, berries and dark leafy greens. Enhance your immunity with the building blocks of lean protein such as salmon, turkey and chicken. For vegetarian options include beans and legumes (lentils, chickeas, kidney beans), nuts and seeds (sunflower and pumpkin). Opt for foods low in sugar because sugar can lead to inflammation. Have a high ration of fiber to sugar such as artichokes, oatmeal and brown rice.
Get enough good bugs by eating fermented foods to promote the beneficial bacteria or probiotics. Remember the GI tract plays a critical role in the immune response because of its large surface area always comes in contact with so many microorganisms and potential pathogens. So crowd out those bad bugs with yogurt, kefir, miso, tempeh, unpasteruized pickles and sauerkraut.
6) Move & Groove: It’s hard to overstate the benefits of being physically active. Regular moderate exercise promotes circulation, strengthens heart function, and delivers nutrients and oxygen to the cells. In Chinese Medicine, exercise is considered an activation of Qi or energy flow. Try tai chi or qigong which are ancient Chinese practices that combine slow, controlled movements and breathing exercises to encourage the flow of Qi. A recent study found that those who practice qigong have a lower inflammation level and improved mood, both of which are factors in healing.
Jan
