Рубрика: ДВИЖЕНИЕ + ОСОЗНАНИЕ

Our Organs Have Their Own Consciousness And We Can Talk to Them

organs have their own consciousness

Извините, этот текст доступен только на “English” и “Español”.

My teacher Carlos Castaneda taught me this:

Our Organs Have Their Own Consciousness And We Can Talk to Them

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the departure of my dear teacher and guide Carlos Castaneda. I met him in the mid-nineties as a young doctor looking for a deeper meaning in my path as a healer to people.

My life brought me to him without looking for it.

Not long before, as a medical resident in Bariloche, Argentina, I had wanted to go in all the way into the medical knowledge. I come from a family of doctors and scientists, where hard work and dedication to the ethics of truth was a strong value.

our organs have their own consciousnessThanks to high grades, luck and daring, I managed to get into a unique and prestigious program where I was left as the front person in charge of the ER (Emergency Room) every four nights. It was an exciting and also daunting all-in immersion into hospital life that got me dealing with all kinds of medical issues and emergencies. I practically lived in the clinic, and assisted in trauma, strokes, heart attacks or child births.

I had the experience of dealing with life and death decisions, of seeing the mystery of the body healing miraculously and the humbling presence of death in my hands. Life was fast, and surprising. Yet, I missed the touch of a larger, more encompassing view.

In many occasions, the tools I had been given as a Western MD couldn’t help me; It could only take me so far and a more holistic view became a necessity.

One such day, during my night shift, a patient died on my watch.

He was staying overnight after a minor surgery and he developed an acute pulmonary edema that led to him to going into arrest. I moved him into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and tried to resuscitate him, but I couldn’t. It later turned out that a key heart medication the patient needed had not been logged into his chart and was never given to him. He shouldn’t have died. The event caused me to deeply re-evaluate the meaning of my profession and life in general. Medical school did not give me the container for these situations. I even considered to quit medicine.

I left Argentina back to USA, my country of birth. Then, there, serendipity and fate made me meet Carlos Castaneda and everything changed in my life.

When I first met him, he invited me to lunch, at a local Cuban restaurant called The Versailles which he frequented. I remember that, when he invited me, he had said he wanted to know more about me, but I barely opened my mouth during lunch. He was very animated the whole time, and made me laugh so hard with his storytelling that my belly muscles ached badly. He had such a mesmerizing and charming presence and it absorbed me completely.

At the end, as we were walking towards the car in the parking lot, he came close and almost in a whisper said that the reason we were there that day was because I could be a bridge between the shamanism he had learnt from his teacher, don Juan Matus, and the world of health and medicine.

At the time, I had no idea what this meant, but his message of a higher intelligence and energy at play in everyday life came to fill exactly the void I had found in my regular medical life. I was hooked.

A direct apprenticeship that meant being open to new ideas.

Over time, Carlos Castaneda became a mentor and guide. He said I could not run away from my destiny and encouraged me to return to medicine. But he gave me the larger container, he opened up what was to me a new paradigm at the time, one which today, decades later, has emerged in science and in our collective understanding: that there is no such distinction between the mind and the body;

rather, that we are a network of energy and information crisscrossing in all directions between the mind and the body. Peptides and other biochemicals carry the messages of our thoughts and our emotions everywhere, perception affects behavior and behavior changes the very physicality of our brain and body, memories from our life experiences are stored in the organs and in our fascia and,

more than a defined, isolated individual, we are more like a cooperative of many voices including a majority of foreign DNA from a microbiome which gives us fundamental aspects of our identity such as our very personality traits, as a pioneering study from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) recently showed.

our organs have their own consciousnessEverything in us is changing and evolving, not isolated, but in deep resonance with our environment, such as the quality of the electro-magnetic field emitted by our hearts which can cause specific changes in the brains of the people around us.

We now know that it is a fact from research we can enter deep meditation states through practice and then these states can cause definitive changes in all our major regulatory mechanisms such as telomere length (a key biomarker for cell lifespan), inflammation cascades and cell repair. These and other behaviors can change the very expression of our genome through the epigenetic landscape that we now recognize as a highly fluid pluripotential environment in which our body lives.

What my teacher Carlos Castaneda introduced me to was this same viewpoint. It used different language but its syntax carried the same implications and conclusions. It enlarged the scope of possibilities of my human experience, and that of my patients. Modern science and ancient shamanistic principles and practices came together into a similar unit of life: Our internal body-mind world.

What it means ‘I can talk to my internal organs.’

One practice that Carlos Castaneda taught me was “talking to my organs.” The idea was simple: just as there is the overall me, there are also many smaller individual aspects of that me, represented in my tissues and organs themselves. In the dynamic world of information within my body, there is a distinct consciousness in each of my organs. Our organs store memories and also contain information. And they can talk to us. The big me can go in and establish a dialogue with the different organs and tissues.

In over twenty years of teaching workshops and clinical practice, I have found this to be very accurate and of highly practical value to understand ourselves and what our bodies are experiencing.

At times, I would see Castaneda ‘talking to his liver’, for example. He would talk to it in a very kind way, thanking it for all the work it took on. He would caress his ribs right where the liver is, and also pause and take a moment to ‘listen’ to it.

More than 500 vital functions have been identified in each liver cell, 24/7. It is the organ that organizes and distributes our internal nutrients and resources. In our busy modern lives, it tends to get overburdened. It stores ‘excess’ material, not only physiologically but also in our Consciousness.

our organs have their own consciousnessOur stressors are ‘stored’ in the liver.

When our liver gets overwhelmed, it also gets tight, and interferes with other neighbor organs, such as our stomach and intestines, or our sense of calm in our heart.

Our organs can tell us a lot of things. For instance, a patient who came to treatment for severe constipation, had received standard help from doctors such as increasing fiber and exercise, stool softeners and even antidepressants, with weak results. During the consult, using guided imagery, we established a conversation ‘between his higher self and his colon’, and his colon told him that the reason it was holding its movement was because he was feeling stuck at work. He had a long term dispute with his business partner that wasn’t being resolved.

The colon was storing that emotional and perceptual component of his inner life.

He realized then that he had been very rigid in his position about the dispute and needed to move on. The day after he signed the dissolution papers he had a bowel movement and within a month he had his regular rhythm restored.

Another fascinating example of how our organs store information and life experiences, even highly specific and detailed stuff, was reported by Paul Pearsall, Ph.D., in his book The Heart’s Code. I heard about this account by Ron Hulnik, Ph.D., one of the founders of the prestigious program in Spiritual Psychology at the University of Santa Monica, where I am so excited to be currently taking a Certification. Pearsall, a clinical neuropsychologist in the Transplant Donor Department at the University of Arizona, describes how organ recipients take in memories and personality traits from the donor. He tells the case of a girl who had received a heart transplant from another girl who had been murdered. She soon began to have dreams and flashbacks of being murdered herself that eventually became so vivid and detailed that her mother reported it and it led the police to identify the actual murderer and prove the case in court. The implication of such an unequivocal event makes it undeniable that the organs themselves, independently, are capable of storing a high level of specificity of information.

How do I talk to my organs?

There are two steps and one rule to do this. our organs have their own consciousness

The first step is doing something to quiet the mind chatter and be present. This can be one minute focusing on our breathing, or even just one breath!

The second step is to turn our attention to a particular organ with an attitude of inquiry and establish a dialogue.

The rule is that when we ask a question, we have to be direct, as if we were talking to someone right in front of us, and then pause and wait for the very first thing that comes to mind, without preconditions. It might be a thought, an image or a memory. It might be the feeling of something that could become clear at a later time.

The rule means that it is spontaneous information that formulates in our Consciousness in the pause immediately after we address the question to the organ.

Sometimes, there doesn’t need to even be a question; all that seems to be needed is to turn our attention to the organ with the intention to see it and listen to it.

The Practice.

For the next moment, close your eyes and let your attention shift from the outer world to the inner world. You can simply let your body release any tension that it doesn’t need, right now.

In one sweep from head down to toes, just scan across your whole body with your attention and let each muscle relax, let each joint soften, letting all the nerves just open, the circulation and the skin open. And let your body do this at its own pace.

Now, open your inner eyes and go with your attention to the organ you want to talk to, listen to, or just hold space for. Allow yourself to use your full imagination and live it inside of you.

Have you been having any issues with the health of this organ? Connect to these symptoms, and specifically to the emotions that these symptoms arise in you. Stay attuned to these emotions for a moment. Don’t judge them or try to change them, just be with them.

Now, begin to talk to the organ, as if it was a person you are talking to. A person that is also you, or an aspect of you. Hold an attitude of appreciation, companionship and support. This part of you has been suffering and you want to be there for it. Lovingly express to the organ your support at this time. Talk to the organ as if it was your own 5-year old kid.

Ask simple, direct questions such as:

“Why are you in pain?”

“How does this relate to my life right now?”

“How can I help for you to feel better?”

“Is there anything I can do for you to stop this symptom?”

Remember, don’t prejudge or discard whatever arises when you ask. Spend a moment or as long as you feel is right in this dialogue, or simply sit in the presence of the organ, holding your Consciousness there. 

When you are ready, say thank you to your organ for being available to you. Ask permission to further dialogue in the future. Come out at your own pace and immediately take count of the experience and of any information that came from it.

I highly recommended to write down this information.

That’s it.

Simplicity itself!

Young, Vital and on the Move: The Vascular System

Извините, этот текст доступен только на “English” и “Español”.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that young vessels equate to young age and that a healthy, vital flow in the blood vessels makes every other part of your body shine and function well. Open yourself up to discovering the universal flow and connections that are inherent in your arteries, veins and lymph glands.

Our Vascular System is one of the most amazing elements of our body. As a teacher’s assistant during medical school, I was able to see firsthand the incredible complexity of our network of vessels, the arteries, veins and lymphatics. A few years ago, the German medical artist Gunther von Hagens toured Europe and the United States with an exhibition called “Body Worlds,” where, through a medical education process called plastination that turned the liquid within vessels into an acrylic compound, he was able to show whole segments of just vessels, with no other structures. Smaller and smaller tubes that ultimately became thin as hairs, spreading in shapes that made out the exact body of each organ—a sight to behold! A true community where every single corner is linked to the 3 main attributes of the system:

  1.  Each cell receives oxygen and nutrients through an artery
  2. Each cell delivers CO2 and toxins through a vein
  3. Each space between cells drains leftover excretions and debris through a lymph vessel

In Eastern thought and martial arts practice, the term vessels was the original description to what later was translated in the West as meridians, or channels. It was the observation of circulation by the ancient physicians and healers which gave them an understanding of how to move information and resources—energy, throughout the human body.

In shamanistic principles, as I learnt them from my teacher, Carlos Castaneda, the body can revitalize by means of a process that he called energy reallocation. The circulation in this case occurs through a network of vessels carrying a vital force called tendon energy. During the practice of physical movements, which we call Energy Passes, we deliver jolts or strikes to a certain count, stimulating the flow of tendon energy along vessels from the feet to the head.

Learning how to feel our vascular system, and how to activate each of its three parts, can bring lots of benefits and it can also be fun to do. Join our last class of the year this coming Saturday, November 12 to learn more!

Register Here

Miles Reid, L.Ac. National Board Certified
in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology
Medical Doctor (AR)
Founder Energy Life Sciences
Clinical Director
Dr.Reid@energylifesciences.com
info@energylifesciences.com
elsi.wpengine.com
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Выключайтесь, чтобы оставаться в игре

Работая врачом в многолюдной клинике, я часто испытываю те же затруднения, что и мои собственные пациенты. То есть я работаю над тем, как оставаться сосредоточенным и присутствующим, без ощущения дефицита времени, которого не хватает на все дела. Начиная с профессиональных встреч ранним утром, через поток пациентов в течение дня, к важному времени, когда я со своей семьей, основной задачей для меня является – быть присутствующим физически, умственно и эмоционально, оставаясь энергичным в каждый момент времени.

Мне необходимо одновременно активно слушать, мыслить критически, планировать дела, совершать небольшие движения и необходимые манипуляции во время лечения. Когда я делаю все это, мое сердце должно быть открытым и соединенным, дух благодарным и радостным. Мне нужна ясная память, расслабленные и упругие мышцы, тело, функционирующее в балансе и, в целом, мне необходимо генерировать энергию для поддержания моего дня. Это базовое требование, без какого-либо дополнительного эмоционального или социального опыта, который может проигрываться в уме в любое время. Добро пожаловать в современную жизнь! И, держитесь крепко в седле, эта поездка станет более интенсивной в течение нескольких следующих лет. Время ускоряется.

Независимо от того, что происходит в моей жизни, меня поддерживает практика, о которой я узнал от моего учителя Карлоса Кастанеды. В частности, он научил меня различным сериям движений, наполняющим энергией тело и ум. Одним из его любимых движений было очень простое и чрезвычайно мощное, которое он называл «включение тела». Практичное, наглядное название (квинтэссенция Кастанеды).

Чтобы «включить тело», сначала нужно полностью расслабить его, а затем, в долю секунды, после быстрой команды, задействовать совокупность всех мышц, суставов и даже внутренних органов, с последующим выключением снова. Это воздействует на нервную систему таким образом, что мы приходим в состояние готовности и легкости одновременно. Во многом это похоже на короткий холодный душ, а затем быстрое растирание кожи, чтобы согреться и создать прилив крови, что очень бодрит. Идея включения очень заманчива, но настоящая жемчужина спрятана в противоположном состоянии – выключении. Наша способность быть включенным слабеет, если нет равной и противоположной способности – быть выключенным.

Radiant Health2016«Ты должен выключиться, чтобы включиться», – говорил мне Карлос Кастанеда. Чем больше дистанция между состоянием выключенных мышц и состоянием включенных мышц, тем мощнее активируется осознание тела. Когда мы применяем это к сердечной мышце, мы называем это вариабельностью сердечного ритма (ВСР). И чем выше вариабельность, то есть больше дистанция между ударами сердца, тем больше мы можем говорить не только о здоровом сердце, но о всех системах организма.

С биологической точки зрения выключение является данностью. Хотя мы, возможно, забыли, что можем выключаться естественно и без каких-либо усилий с нашей стороны. Это наша природа. Это то, что я однажды видел собственными глазами на сафари в Серенгети. Группа львиц преследовала стадо импал. Казалось, антилопы обезумели и бегали хаотично. Наконец, львицы поймали одну и собрались для трапезы, и сразу же, тут же, рядом, импалы продолжили пастись, как будто ничего не случилось. Тогде почему же мы, когда, например, чувствуем себя обманутыми из-за чьих-то слов, продолжаем беспокоиться и переживать в течение нескольких дней или месяцев или даже лет?

Рекордсмены знают, что умение выключаться столь же важно, как момент включения. Известные теннисисты являются отличным примером. Как игроки поддерживают энергию на протяжении матча, который длится часами? Они включаются и расслабляются от момента к моменту. Некоторые игроки выглядят так, словно у них есть уйма времени, чтобы вернуть мяч через сетку.

Мы тоже можем иметь достаточно времени и действовать на нашем самом высоком уровне.

На нашем апрельском ретрите «Сияющая энергия + Блестящее здоровье», который пройдет в Лос-Анджелесе, мы покажем как переобучить тело, чтобы уметь выключаться, когда больше нет необходимости быть включенным. Это позволит вам достичь состояния глубокого покоя, подключиться к источнику вашей энергии и двигаться с легкостью. Вы узнаете, как идентифицировать сдерживающие шаблоны, застрявшие в ваших фасциях, удивительной сети мягкой ткани, которая задействуется, чтобы помочь сделать все, что нам нужно делать в жизни. Вы научитесь отпускать эти шаблоны, чтобы они больше не влияли на цикл «включение-расслабление», который необходим, чтобы мы могли делать лучшее.

Group-4b

Времена изменились, и в современном мире нам жизненно необходимо учиться адаптироваться к растущим требованиям, которые жизнь предъявляет нам. Большой поддержкой будет получение специализированного лечения, чтобы помочь восстановиться вашему телу, а также инвестирование времени в поиск неврологического баланса. Эти вещи не являются роскошью. Теперь они, более чем когда-либо, предметы первой необходимости.

Здоровья, радости и энергии,

Д-р Майлз Рид

3 Reasons to Get More Sleep

So how’s that sleep thing going for you? Do you feel rested?

You’ve probably heard this, but sleep really, truly is important. Getting enough sleep is vital for optimal health and wellbeing. Yet most of us don’t manage to sleep enough, or sleep well. This can be complicated by hormonal shifts, especially for women. (Check out Aerin’s Sleep Class for Women, live online or at our offices in LA!)

woman sleeping on clouds

For everyone, though, sleep deprivation can lead to trouble both instantaneously and over time. From accidents to chronic health problems, sleep deficiency can be dangerous. Let’s look at why good sleep is so important. Sleep affects:

  • Brain function
  • Physical health
  • Performance and Safety

Brain Function

Research reveals that the brain actually shrinks when you don’t get enough sleep. With less sleep, cognitive function declines and ventricle enlargement grows (a marker for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease).

Recent work by Oxford neuroscientist Russell Foster even links abnormal circadian rhythms to mental illness, including schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder.

Additional studies show that lack of sleep has a direct impact on memory, focus and the ability to make decisions and control your emotions. It has also been linked to depression and mood swings.

On the upside, studies also clearly indicate that proper sleep improves learning and problem-solving abilities. In fact, when you sleep well, your brain actually forms new learning and memory pathways.

Physical Health

When it comes to disease prevention, good sleep is key. Studies show that getting six to eight hours of sleep per night lowers your risk of developing:

  • Obesity
  • Diabetes
  • Kidney disease
  • Hypertension
  • Heart disease
  • Stroke

In fact, it’s estimated that 30 – 40 percent of all medical problems that a general practitioner sees are, directly or indirectly, related to lack of sleep.

Sleep affects healthy growth and development, immunity, hormones (including stress hormones), the body’s reaction to insulin and more.

It might surprise you to learn that getting good sleep is essential for weight control. It’s been shown that sleep directly influences the level of hormones that make you feel full (leptin) or hungry (ghrelin). When you don’t get enough sleep, your levels of ghrelin go up and leptin down, resulting in you feeling hungrier and more likely to overeat.

Performance and Safety

Lack of sleep not only affects us individually, but it also affects those around us—our families, coworkers and even our communities. Insufficient sleep can lead to everything from lack of concentration, moodiness and reduced physical performance to a public safety hazard.

A study led by Dr. Charles Czeisler of Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep, for example, found that hospital medical errors could be reduced by as much as 36 percent when limiting doctor’s work shifts to 16 hours and reducing their total work schedule to a maximum of 80 hours per week.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conservatively estimates that driver fatigue is responsible for 100,000 reported crashes each year (other data suggests that it the numbers are closer to 1 million crashes and 8,000 deaths per year). Sleep deprivation was also identified as a significant factor in the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident, and the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl.

Getting More Sleep

It’s clear that sleep deprivation is a serious matter. So what can we do to improve our quality and quantity of sleep? Stay tuned for tips in upcoming blog, and if you are a woman in the LA area, you won’t want to miss Aerin’s Sleep Class Series for Women (you can take just one class or the entire series).

For now, how much sleep is enough sleep? Studies show that for most adults, six to eight hours per night is optimal.

Wishing you good sleep,
Dr. Reid

Mind over Matter?

How powerfully do our thoughts influence our health and wellbeing?

The intricate connections between mind and body are only beginning to be scientifically understood. What we do know at this time is:

  • Our emotions affect our physiology
  • The brain is an amazingly adaptable and powerful organ
  • Regular exercise can improve memory and cognitive functioning

neurons-human-brain-cells-under-a-microscope-patternStudies continue to illuminate the interrelationships between the mind and body, and suggest that we only understand a small fraction of what we’re capable of (see what Drs. Deepak Chopra, Dan Siegel and others say on Discovery). What has become clear is that what we think, feel and believe plays a role in how our DNA expresses itself.

So what can we do with what we do know? We can be self-empowered in our own healing process. We can think loving thoughts, be compassionate in our relationships with others, exercise and eat healthfully. We can recapitulate, meditate and form health partnerships with caring and knowledgeable health-care providers.

The relationship between psychology and the immune system, between mind and body, is at the core of my medical practice, and helps inform my Being Energy classes.

5 Steps to Feeling Good

Feelings. The senses. Our emotions. Being aware of your feelings can have a directly positive influence on your health and wellbeing. I’ll share a couple of exercises with you here, visual and physical, to help you hone that influential connection between feelings and health.

sunriseAlso, remember our next online Nutrition class on Saturday, October 3rd. Join me to learn all about the senses, including the 6th sense!  You’ll gain tools for opening your perception for greater joy and vitality. I hope to see you there.

For now, let’s look at connecting to your feelings. Here is a very effective visualization exercise for you to try.  To prepare, begin by writing any physical symptoms that cause you discomfort. Also write down a few things that symbolize your ideal of wellbeing (for example, clear thinking).

Now, look at the first item on your symptoms list. With that in mind:

  1. Connect to the symptom. Close your eyes, breathe easily and allow any feelings, emotions and/or images related to this symptom and this part of your body to rise up, without judgment.
  2. Connect with the feeling or image. Clearly identify what’s coming up for you. What are you feeling? (For example, “My knee gives me pain when I walk; it makes me feel unworthy, and incapable of moving forward.”)
    Stay with the feeling. Resist avoiding it and instead just be there with it, allowing it to exist for what it is. Be open to what it has to teach you. Then open your eyes slowly and write down the feelings that came up for you.
  3. Track the feeling to its origin. Close your eyes again and return to the feeling or image. Once it’s clear in your mind, ask yourself: Where is this coming from? When have I felt this before? Does it relate to a past experience?
  4. Learn from the feeling. How is this feeling or image preventing you from enjoying optimal health? What past experience or belief is standing in the way of you feeling your best? What is the payoff for you holding onto this feeling? What can you learn from it? What will it take for you to resolve this feeling, or dissolve this image? What do you have to let go of in order to change?
  5. Take action. You have the power to decide to let go of this feeling.

Repeat these steps with something from your list that symbolizes wellbeing, shifting the focus in step 4 to what is preventing you from having the sense of wellbeing that the image or feeling gives you. What barriers are in the way? And what is the payoff to staying within those boundaries?

You may want to repeat this for other symptoms of disease and symbols of vitality on different days, focusing in on one pairing at a time.

This also relates to a physical exercise we want to share with you. The exercise is part of the body of the Being Energy work. The following video takes you through this simple exercise, called a Being Energy pass.

In the video, you’ll notice me mention “recapitulation”—this word in the Being Energy work means to look back to the past to the root experiences of behaviors and beliefs that are blocking you in the present. Recapitulate, as defined in Merriam-Webster and how we use it in Being Energy, means: “To give new form or expression to.”

6 Windows to Perception: Overcome Sensory Overload and Optimize Your Awareness

It’s almost here! Being Energy’s next Nutrition class—all about the senses. I invite you to join me live, online on Saturday, October 3rd. We’ll explore the importance of the five senses and how to optimize them, and even give you an exercise for activating your 6th sense for expanded perception.

eyeball-closeupSo why are we doing a class all about the senses? The senses are our windows to the world. They give us information that we use to stay safe, interact with others, experience our world and understand life (the hallmark of our species).

The challenge is that we’re so constantly bombarded with a stunning array of input, that most of us suffer from sensory overload. What we register consciously at any given moment is but a fraction of what is coming at us. So what should we pay attention to? How do we prioritize? How can we focus on what is important and ignore the rest?

The art of developing our attention is perhaps more important than ever before in human history because we are faced with more sensory information than ever before.

We do have a natural filter, the reticular activating system (RAS), that enables us to sort out what information to pay attention to and what to prune so that we don’t go crazy. Moreover, it is a filter that is trainable. We can consciously engage our awareness to manage our sensory perceptions.

An important thing to understand is that our beliefs and past experiences shape how we filter sensory input. The great news about this is that we can focus on the senses to quiet the mind (and vice versa) to affect our interpretation of what we are sensing. We can free ourselves from belief systems that don’t serve our overall wellness to activate a greater awareness of what is both seeable and un-seeable around us.

The eyes are especially important. They are often more fatigued by overstimulation than any other sense organ. We make countless decisions each day based on what our eyes are telling us. There is a voluminous amount of information to process. Computers, smart phones and TVs vie for our attention and cloud our visual sensibilities.

In the Being Energy Nutrition class on Saturday, I’ll teach a technique to soften the eyes, and relax and release the eye muscles to open up your perception.

Relaxing is a key thing for all of our senses, in fact. When we can quiet down the way we normally use our senses, we make way for opening to a more expansive way of interpreting sensory data. When you relax your eyes, for example, you’re able to see other aspects of the world. When your eyes become silent, you can see silence. This is true of all five senses. It is also a key for waking up the 6th sense.

When we activate our 6th sense, we have the capacity to apprehend what isn’t commonly available to us—something that we sometimes feel in our gut or our heart.Nutrition 2015_Featured_2

I’ll talk more about the 6th sense and how to cultivate it on Saturday. I hope you can join me!

The class airs live on September19 at 8:30am Pacific Time. For more information, and to register, please see beingenergy.com.

Как быть гибким, чтобы оставаться сильным

Движение. Энергия. Здоровье. Жизненность. Все это связано. В Быть Энергией мы считаем важным принимать во внимание все вместе. Но чтобы понять целое, вы должны смотреть на детали и наоборот.

Движения являются ключевой частью того, чему мы учим на наших классах и семинарах, потому что движение, так или иначе, является фундаментальной частью жизни и ключом к здоровью и счастью.

Coconut-TreesМы хотим культивировать гибкость в движении. Быть гибким означает также быть сильным. Таким образом, на наших ежедневных онлайн классах Ум + Тело + Дух.  Мы также выпустили новую видео библиотеку,с коллекцией ежедневных 30-минутных занятий, многие из которых ориентированы на движение.

В этом году, во время одного из классов Быть Энергией  «Питание + Здоровье» », наш коллега Джордан Хоффман поделился некоторыми философскими и простыми упражнениями Айкидо. Джордан много лет занимается Айкидо и имеет черный пояс, 2-й дан, в дополнение к выдающимся знаниям в акупунктуре. Он поделился ценной информацией.

Так как класс был посвящен костям, сухожилиям и мышцам, Джордан говорил о сохранении связок и сухожилий в хорошем и открытом состоянии, и как это позволяет энергии течь через тело. В каждом здоров суставе есть пространство. Это пространство позволяет движению быть комфортным и свободным. Когда мы испытываем стресс, зажаты или напряжены, мы сокращаем, уменьшаем это пространство, что приводит к скованности и напряжению. Это также замедляет нас и создает почву для возможной травмы. Но если мы гибкие, мы можем двигаться быстрее, с большей текучестью и грацией. Когда возникает препятствие, чем более мы гибкие, тем лучше мы можем ориентироваться в ситуации.

Подумайте о ветке молодого дерева. Вы можете согнуть ее и она не сломается, она остается гибкой, но старая ветка может треснуть. Точно также мы хотим, чтобы наши кости и суставы были гибкими. Мы хотим иметь возможность легко перемещаться с ветром перемен и вызовов.

 

 

Вдохновляющим примером гибкости и изящества в любом возрасте является основатель Айкидо Морихей Уэсиба (14 декабря 1883 – 26 апреля 1969). В этом видео 1935 года эти качества, и даже больше, становятся понятными.

Здесь вы можете увидеть последнюю публичную демонстрацию, в 1969, в 85-летнем возрасте (запись немного нечетка, но тем не менее, стоит посмотреть).

Так как же мы можем воплотить это? Что мы можем сделать, чтобы отвечать на вызовы жизни с силой и грацией? Мы можем начать с осознания.

В конце каждого дня вы можете заметить как становитесь короче, жестче, напряженней, более сжатыми. Развитие осознания является важным шагом к сохранению состояния силы и, одновременно, гибкости. Держите в своем сознании образ пространства в ваших суставах. Думайте об удлинение вашего позвоночника. Если вы стоите и замечете, что ваши колени заблокированы, смягчите их, позволяя энергии течь через суставы и все ваше тело.

Для вашего здоровья, силы и гибкости,
Д-р Майлз Ри

8 Great Reasons to Meditate Today

You can enjoy positive effects from even just one meditation, and the long-term benefits multiply with continued practice.

Recent studies show that meditation not only reduces stress—which would certainly be enough reason to try it—but it actually affects our DNA, protecting the life of our cells and slowing aging. One study showed that just one meditation session can have a positive impact.

Meditating at Chichen ItzaAccording to the Mayo Clinic, “Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that benefits both your emotional well-being and your overall health.”

Scientists are just beginning to understand how and why meditation works, but its mental, physical and emotional benefits have been appreciated since ancient times.  It has been proven to lower stress and to help combat illnesses such as:

 

  • Cancer
  • Heart disease
  • High blood pressure
  • Asthma
  • Depression
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Pain
  • Sleep problems

The greatest benefit comes from a daily practice, and there are many forms of meditation to try. From Mindfulness and Transcendental Meditation to Tai Chi and yoga, it can involve movement or stillness, attention or transcendence.

Meditation is something that helps you turn the volume down internally, and shift away from the stress response toward a parasympathetic response. It may include breathing in a purposeful way, using guided imagery and your imagination or focusing on an object. I often coach patients in meditation techniques to address their particular situation.

The effects can be very powerful.

Here are eight scientifically proven benefits of meditation:

  1. Stronger immunity. Multiple studies show that meditation improves immunity in a variety of ways, from boosting antibodies to slowing down the production of CD-4 cell counts to stimulating the brain areas that control the immune system.
  2. Less pain. Meditation can reduce the experience of pain and lower activity in the brain’s pain-processing regions.
  3. Stronger and faster mental function. Meditation strengthens the connection between brain cells and may lead to increased gyrification (cortical activity linked to the brain’s ability to process information more quickly).
  4. Brain restructuring. It’s amazing to consider, but meditation can change your brain structure—brain scans of longtime meditators show increased gray matter, which is associated with intelligence, sensory perception, emotional stability and stress response.
  5. Increased learning ability. Research shows that students who meditate have better test scores, improved attendance rate, increased intelligence and creativity and less stress.
  6. Emotional stability. It appears that when exposed to stress, long-time meditataors show less activity in the right amygdala—the part of the brain that plays a key role in processing emotions.
  7. Better focus. A University of Washington study conducted by Dr. David Levy showed that those who are trained in meditation experience less negative emotion in multi-tasking tests and can switch tasks less often and more effectively. Meditators also showed improved task-related memory.
  8. Weight control. It turns out that meditation can actually help reduce belly fat. Increased stress increases certain hormone activity that can lead to weight gain, and study after study shows that meditation can significantly reduce the body’s response to stress as well as increase serotonin, a hormone that influences sleep, mood and appetite.

Meditation, in whatever form we choose, can play an effective and enjoyable role in our health and wellbeing.

If you participate in our upcoming LA retreat Radiant Health + Radiant Energy, you can experience the benefits of meditation in a fuller context. Or join us in Amsterdam in October!

5 Ways to Get the Most out of Exercise

Whether we love it or hate it, we all know that exercise is important to our health and longevity. Given that, why not have some fun with it and maximize our exercise routine for faster results?

Physical activity helps both your body and mind stay strong, healthy and resilient. It helps you detoxify, oxygenate and think more clearly.  Studies show that regular exercise:

  • Reduces stress
  • Combats disease
  • Boosts brainpower
  • Improves memory
  • Controls weight
  • Increases energy
  • Releases endorphins
  • Improves mood
  • Promotes good sleep

The great news is that you don’t have to climb a mountain. There are simple things you can do to stay physically fit (which also helps you stay mentally fit), and you can start from wherever you are now on the fitness spectrum, at whatever your chronological age may be. The important thing is to get moving.

Maybe you already have an exercise routine that you enjoy. Great!

Girls_jog_along_Morro_Strand_State_BeachIf you don’t already exercise regularly, you can start today and you’ll instantly add to your energy bank account. Choose something that’s fun for you. If going to the gym is intimidating or boring for you, head outside. If the weather is uncomfortable, find an indoor activity that you’ll enjoy.

Whether you’re a seasoned pro or new to a regular exercise routine, there are five things to keep in mind. For best results, you’ll want to incorporate the following elements into your routine to make sure that your body is getting everything it needs. Your weekly routine should include:

  1. Cardio activity two to three times a week. This can include energetic walking (vs. strolling), jogging, running, bicycling, dancing, tennis or other active sports, or other exercise that gets your heart pumping.
  2. Stretching and movement for flexibility two or three times a week. This can include basic stretches, yoga, etc. It can be simple.
  3. Core strengthening exercise and/or weight-bearing activity. Gyrotonic (we offer sessions at Tilo) and Pilates are great choices. The important thing is to strengthen and maintain the strength of the deep muscles in your abdomen—your power center.
  4. Energy redeployment. Gyrotonic is again a great choice., as are certain types of yoga; the idea here is that you want to reorganize your energy toward your center of vitality to nourish your internal organs.
  5. Set your intention clearly. Align with what you are doing so that your activity and intention match. It may sound odd, but it is very powerful, effective and enjoyable to have clear intention in what you do.

dt.common.streams.StreamServerThe greatest benefit from all this physical movement will come with a joyful mindset. Exercise can be fun! Have a good time with it. Try something new. Shake it up.

In good health,
Dr. Miles Reid