by dr.heather on August 31, 2010
Breathing is essential for life and completely involuntary. Although we can control and regulate to a degree…yes?
Last week was absolutely crazy for me. I was very excited to have the Merrin back in school, Pearl homeschooling and have a regular schedule back. It was fantastic week but the shift from complete unstructure ( have to love the summer) into complete structure ( soccer games, homework ) made me see how completely off a schedule I was!
And I forget to do some deep relaxing breathing.
The deep belly breaths are what bring the needed oxygen to every deserving cell in my body ( HBD: A Heart Pumping Adventure). On average, people take in about 20,000 breaths ( optimally 6 breaths per minute) a day which help feed our cells, relief stress and tension and improve overall energy. At times, we have a tendency to shallow breath, which means we are breathing 12 to 14 quick breath per minute.
I did a lot of shallow breathing last week. Not so smart.
Long term shallow breathing not only leads to low blood oxygen, it may lead to muscle atrophy, impair skeletal muscle and possibly giving me another excuse not to go to the gym. My one week of not so optimally breathing, made me feel overtired, exhausted and one grumpy person,
Dr. Andrew Weil says: “If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly.”
At various times of your daily life, take a moment and place your hands on you belly and actively draw in a long deep breath. Feel you belly expand as the fresh oxygen enters and fills your lungs. As your belly relaxes, allow for the air to slowly be breathed out. Concentrate on this for 5 counts. Encourage yourself do this 3 times a day and work up to more. You will feel better!
Breathe deeply, often and be well,
PS Deep breathing also stimulates the lymphatic system, which in turns keeps your immune system alert and strong. Good for fighting off colds!
Image credit: Daniel Cox
by dr.heather on August 29, 2010
I love this kind of information – it’s fun, educational and also bring in some history.
(And it ties into the Ultimate HBD Gift Bundle contest going on right now – hopefully this will inspire you and your kids to get creative and enter!)
It’s the ancient and intriguing theory of the Doctrine of Signatures. The theory is based on the idea that when you look at certain whole foods you can see a pattern that resembles a specific body organ. It is said that this pattern acts as a sign to the benefit the whole food provides the eater.
Fun fun!
It dates back somewhere between 130-200 AD with Galen of Pergamon. Later writings, one from the father of modern medicine, Paracelsus (1493-1541 AD), Jakob Boehme (1575-1624 AD) who wrote two books on the subject, and William Coles (1626-1662 AD) who was an herbalist, botanist and doctor in the 17th century. Although, not much has been written on the subject since then.
The Doctrine of Signatures of Whole Foods!
A sliced Carrot resembles the human eye. And YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to the eyes. ( helps you see in the dark too!)
A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. Research indicates that tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food. ( thinking they look like the alveoli in the lungs – listen to HBD: A Heart Pumping Adventure to learn more!)
A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuro-transmitters for brain function. ( I learned about this from my Chinese medicine doctor. Once I had this information, I began to eat walnuts while studying for exams!)
Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys. ( the HBDs go for a ride in the loops and turns of the kidney in HBD: A Heart Pumping Adventure.)
Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body. ( We LOVE bok choy – we need to start eating it more!)
Eggplant, Avocados and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female – they look just like these organs. ( baked pears are great for the lungs too – think about that when someone is coughing.)
Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm as well to overcome male sterility. ( good to know if struggling with infertility – an easy thing to include in your diet.)
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.
Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.
Grapefruits, Oranges, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
Onions look like body cells. Today’s research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. ( they sure do produce tears!)
Be well,
