As is clear by now, when it comes to physical or emotional problems, my medicine of choice is usually homeopathy. But sometimes, simpler methods will do. And sometimes, a homeopathic remedy isn’t the best way to get to the root of a problem.
In the January 2012 issue of the Impossible Cure Newsletter (see Healthy Tips for 2012), I spoke about basic, commonsense ways to maintain good health — eating properly, exercising, drinking plenty of water, living in a healthy environment — as well as the curative powers of certain vitamins, apple cider vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide.
In this article, I will talk about four profound healing techniques that I incorporate into my every day life. I believe that each of these techniques helps me and my family to maintain our health and I encourage each of you to explore them for yourself. They are all non-invasive, do not interfere with any health regimen, and may provide you with the tools to overcome many health problems. And if they don’t help you, you always have homeopathy!
The first two techniques are probably less known to you and work directly through physical technique. The second two are a bit more metaphysical, but are becoming widely recognized as paths to good health.
Y-DAN
Y-DAN is a very simple and quick form of Qi Gong exercise. I perform it most mornings and it takes me only 15-20 minutes to do so. Afterwards, I always feel refreshed, more limber, more alert, and ready to meet my day. Like other Chinese forms of movement exercise (e.g., Tai Chi), Qi Gong uses body movements to help improve the flow of qi (chi) — known in homeopathy as the vital force — thereby improving health. Y-DAN is a short and easy form of Qi Gong that is popular in Taiwan. It was supposedly used by the Chinese imperial families and kept secret until recently. It is so easy to do that even elderly and physically limited individuals can usually perform it. I learned about it from a Canadian website, SensibleHealth.com, which also provides useful information about hormonal health. You can purchase a Y-DAN video from that site.
Gokhale Method
For the past year or so I have experienced ongoing physical symptoms that homeopathy could not address. Through much exploration and the help of a few therapists, I was able to get to the root of my problem: my chronic forward neck position — a problem that many of us have to some extent. An underlying root of my own forward neck is that I have been a lifelong mouth breather and tongue-thruster (the way I swallowed was incorrect). So last Fall, I embarked upon a nine-month regimen to retrain the way I breathe and swallow — not easy at age 57. Indeed, my wonderful oromyofacial therapist, Kathy Winslow, mostly works with 10 year olds! However, even after these problems were largely corrected, most of my symptoms remained. The remaining piece was correcting my habitual poor neck posture.
That’s where the Gokhale Method came to the rescue. This remarkable posture therapy has changed my life. I even convinced my 25-year-old son Izaak to attend the class as well. He has poor posture and was already beginning to experience shoulder pain at work. He too felt that the short six week course was life-transforming.
After learning the Gokhale Method, I can tell you that many, if not most, of the physical aches, pains, numbness, tingling, etc. that people experience today is due to our extremely poor posture. Even our chairs are now designed to encourage this poor posture, which only came into vogue about 100 years ago. Through meticulous research, Esther Gokhale found some last vestiges of our more natural human posture (still visible in some non-Westernized cultures) and found ways to teach us to achieve it again. During her six week training program, you can learn once again to sit, stand, and sleep in postures that were standard for humanity until about a hundred years ago. Her excellent book 8 Steps to a Pain Free Back can also provide help if you cannot attend one of her classes. Check it out!
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)
After homeopathy, EFT comes close to being one of the most miraculous therapies you can learn about. Although seeing an EFT practitioner can be quite helpful, especially until you get the hang of it, EFT can easily be learned and performed by you on yourself or on your loved one.
Sometimes called “tapping”, the technique is quite simple: you repeat a statement of the form:
“Even though problem, I deeply and completely love and accept myself”, while simultaneously tapping on a sequence of acupressure points. It is amazing but true — by following the recommended procedure, you can eliminate many physical and emotional problems, even longstanding problems and phobias.
One of the keys to effective EFT is the use of the technique to uncover even deeper problems that underlie the presenting problem. For example, if you are tapping on your asthma problems, you might suddenly recall a car accident in your youth. Then you would tap on that event. And so on.
There is quite a lot of information about EFT on the web, including instructive videos and books, so I will leave you to explore them yourself. Here are some useful links:
- Gary Craig (the developer of EFT) site: EmoFree.com
- EFT Universe
- Gary Craig’s book: The EFT Manual
Meditation
Numerous studies have demonstrated the physical and emotional benefits of a regular meditative practice. As I describe in my book Active Consciousness, meditation can create measurable beneficial changes in the brain. Even eight weeks of regular practice has been shown to enhance immune function.
So why not start meditating today? Attend a local meditation class, or consider buying and reading Active Consciousness, which provides a series of useful exercises that will introduce you to the world of benefits that can be achieved through meditative practice.
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