As the health-care debate or as I call it “disease-care” continues to rage in America, infecting and offending people in Canada and England through lies and mis-information. I’d like to offer some useful information to help our readers discern what good health care is about.

Health-care does not mean that every imbalance requires an MRI, [...]]]> As the health-care debate or as I call it “disease-care” continues to rage in America, infecting and offending people in Canada and England through lies and mis-information. I’d like to offer some useful information to help our readers discern what good health care is about.

Health-care does not mean that every imbalance requires an MRI, expensive medications and surgery.  Conversly banishing all invasive procedures, medications and all physicians as some in the alternative health care field would have you believe isn’t the solution either. Holistic health-care does not mean that you become a Luddite, a tree hugger or rely solely on psychic powers.

An integrative medicinal approach to health means approaching health issues with the least invasive procedure and gradually progressing to more invasive procedures after careful assessment allowing for time. Integrative medicine uses all possible means available to assess and treat a person.  Assesment requires questioning, observation, intuition, and tests.  Treatment may begin with relaxation exercises through energy medicine, reiki, nutriments, medications and finally operations.

Did you know that Traditional Chinese Medicine works in this manner?  As a matter of fact, using accupuncture in TCM is one of the most invasive procedures a practioner can do .  A true practitioner begins with non-invasive procedures such as diet and exercise then continues on to herbs, massage and finally accupuncture.  Here in the west, we go “straight for the kill”.  We suffer from “getter dun syndrome”, which doesn’t account for the elegance of our biology and physiology.

We suffer from industrial age thinking.  When something falls apart, we break it down to its smallest pieces, fix the pieces or replace them, then put it back together again.  Henry Ford helped develop an efficient way to make cars, he also created the specialist. Now we have specialists for different parts of our bodies and lives.   Our thinking is wrong.  Our bodies are not machines.  They are biological intelligent organisms.  A machine may mimic the body, a computer may mimic the brain, not the other way around.  Our approach to health care shouldn’t mimic a body shop.  Unfortunately our current system of “disease-care” functions in this exact manner.

I recently read an excellent blog post by Dr. Andrew Weil about how our healthcare industrial complex has subverted the elegence of our biology and created high tech solutions with frightening names for common ailments that require simple lifestyle changes.

Integrative medicine allows for the elegance of our body/mind complex.  Your health and lack of health is a whole intelligent system.   Our disease care system would have you think otherwise.

I’ve been watching the circus surrounding the health-care debate and thought to put my in my two cents. First things first, we are not having a discussion about health-care in America, we are having a discussion about disease-care.

If you want health-care, the question is how empowered are you to take matters in to your [...]]]> I’ve been watching the circus surrounding the health-care debate and thought to put my in my two cents. First things first, we are not having a discussion about health-care in America, we are having a discussion about disease-care.

If you want health-care, the question is how empowered are you to take matters in to your own hands? The issue is health-care, not insurance, not bottom line, not how much it costs to have procedures done to you once you’ve gotten ill or had an accident.

What kind of insurance policy to you have in life to promote your own health-care?

These are the basic insurance policies you need for your health.

1. Education
Do you educate yourself about your body and its needs? Did you know that 75% of all Americans cannot name and locate their organs? Did you know that 43% of Americans suffer from common gastro-intestinal disorders? We are talking constipation, abdominal pain or discomfort and bloating. Did you know that most of these are easily rectified with simple dietary changes, yet are the beginning of many diseases?

2. Exercise
Do you actually take the time to exercise? You don’t need run marathons but you do need to move every day. Our bodies are built to move. We are not meant to be sedentary and automate every action. Throw away your remote controls America at least for turning on and off the TV and changing the channels. Don’t look for the closest spot, just park and walk. I know most of my readers are beyond the basics but this is the message we should be hearing about health-care, not about violence at town hall meetings.

3. Rest, Relaxation and Sleep
Did you know that sleep and sleep-related problems play a role in a large number of human disorders and affect almost every field of medicine? For example, problems like stroke and asthma attacks tend to occur more frequently during the night and early morning, perhaps due to changes in hormones, heart rate, and other characteristics associated with sleep. Sleep also affects some kinds of epilepsy in complex ways.

Overworking, over worrying and stressful lives help create sleep dis-functions. Create a practice during your day to dump, or download the problems and bring your mind to a still point.

4. Cleansing programs
You wash the outside of your body everyday but have you given thought to the insides?
How your body processes your food is more important than what you put into it. Yes it is important to provide your body with clean food, water and nutrients. But if your body is not processing the things you put in it, you might as well be adding clean water to mud. You still get mud.

These are the first 4 steps and there are many more.

Start with this type of insurance policy. This type of health-care will eliminate 75% of all diseases. Unfortunately this is not part of our political discussion. Demand of yourself that you will create your own health-care policy and stick to it. Perhaps if each of us as individuals maintain ourselves then we can say good bye to expensive treatments to treat simple issues. Our current disease-care system will shrink and become affordable.

Living a healthy life is dependent upon what you put into your body as well as what you think about the food you put in your body.  Financial worries can cause indigestion and dis-ease. Eliminate the stress of choosing between healthy food and finances by becoming informed.

Many people are choosing to be frugal yet [...]]]> Living a healthy life is dependent upon what you put into your body as well as what you think about the food you put in your body.  Financial worries can cause indigestion and dis-ease. Eliminate the stress of choosing between healthy food and finances by becoming informed.

Many people are choosing to be frugal yet still want the benefits of organic foods.  The Environmental Working Group has been monitoring food and has been putting out this report since 2000.  The Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides features the fruits and veggies with the most and least pesticides.  The updated lists helps you compare the best organic fruits and vegetables for your dollar, if organic isn’t available or affordable.  Not only are the lists in a printable form but you can also download the application to your iPhone so you can have it with you when shopping.

Please remember that you never want to buy food that are genetically modifies or GMO’s.  Unfortunately in the US the manufacturer’s are not required to label GMO products.  Certain European countries have a ban on GMO foods. In the US there are some companies that are labeling their food “non-GMO”  please be sure to choose these over other foods.

The key foods to buy organically grown and/or manufactured from organic ingredients are:

• Heavily treated produce and meat
• Leafy greens
• Frequently eaten foods
• Wheat, Rice and Corn – buy as non processed and organic as possible.

Milk is a common source of the herbicide atrazine (a known endocrine-disrupter) and the growth hormone rBGH which has been genetically engineered to boost milk production.  Again choose milk that is organic and/or rBGH free.

Eggs

Eggs are one of the more bio-available proteins especially for growing folks, pregnant women, and those needing a protein source, especially if you digest them well and aren’t allergic to them. They have many nutrients that feed the body tissues, the sexual glands, sperm and eggs, and hormones. However, eggs are typically produced in factory farms where the hens often live in crowded, unhygienic conditions.  Our best egg option is organic eggs, which are now becoming more available. The next best option is free range.

Meat

Buy free range and organic meat.  Farm animals are fed pesticide laden foods but they also are given high dosages of antibiotics, which is one of the causes of the super bugs we see today, which cannot be treated with regular antibiotics.

Baby Foods
Whenever feeding an infant, we want to make sure we do not stress their sensitive and vulnerable systems with chemicals. I suggest a completely organic diet from the first feedings at about six months through age two.

Shop Locally
Ideally, it is healthiest to eat foods grown and cultivated near our area and in the season they are harvested. Seasonal eating is one of the keys to a balanced and wholesome diet. These foods are the freshest, often the most economical, and usually less treated, even non-organic, because they don’t need to be protected for shipping long distances.

These are some other ideas for frugal healthy choices:

• Comparison shop the organic sections of a number of stores
• Buy locally produced foods. They have less pesticides.
• Farmer’s markets have great seasonal produce.
• Join a community supported agriculture farm.
• Order bulk and dry goods on internet.
• Save your organic dollars for the freshest foods. For things that you don’t use that much or for refined foods, buy the less expensive conventional product.

Ideally, our entire diet could be made up of wholesome, healthy organic and clean foods but sometimes that is simply impossible or stressful to do so. Taking the stress out of eating is just as important as eating healthy food.  So what happens if you don’t have this information at your fingertips when you are at the store shopping?  You can always test for foods using muscle testing.

Overall, it’s important to eat healthy to Stay Healthy!  Enjoy what you do choose to consume.

Sometimes we know exactly what our pets need and other times we just don’t have enough information. If breaks our hearts when our pet is in need and we just can’t find a good solution to help them. I live in Florida where we get some pretty big storms, both my cat and dog tell [...]]]> Sometimes we know exactly what our pets need and other times we just don’t have enough information. If breaks our hearts when our pet is in need and we just can’t find a good solution to help them. I live in Florida where we get some pretty big storms, both my cat and dog tell me that one is about to happen and they make sure to have a paw, tail or head touching me during the storm. I think its their way of saying… “Mom send me some healing energy.” Thank you Lisa for sharing your story. Ubu is my beloved 15 year old rescued yellow lab. Since we adopted him 12 years ago he has exhibited many fears: tall people, long sticks, loud noises. Ubu, like many other dogs, is terrified of thunderstorms. During storms he goes into the closet, his hideout, and begins drooling, hyperventilating and crying. I have slept many nights in the closet trying to calm him down. The experience has been so taxing that we have tried everything including veterinary prescribed drugs. While the drugs seemed to work, he would get very lethargic, so we stopped them. Recently, as I was Twittering about my experience with Ubu during a storm, my Twitter friend Medical Intuitive Mirit Turley recommended Rescue Remedy. Rescue Remedy is a natural stress relief formula for humans, but safe for pets. It became the answer to the problem, I put a few drops in his water before the storm arrives and he is able to handle the storm with no side effects, no hyperventilating, no crying, and better yet, no sleeping in the closet for me. He recently slept through a storm and his snoring was actually competing with the thunder. I am grateful for my Twitter friend and for Rescue Remedy.

INFINITY YOGA Lisa Jones-Parra aka Sat Purusha Kaur

300 West Gray, Suite 112 Norman, Oklahoma  73069

Studio:  http://www.infinityyogaok.com

Online Store:  http://www.infinityyogashop.com

Wendy was a woman who lived on her own in Queens, NY  She lived a very simple life.  She had a few close friends and a daughter who was distant.  Wendy’s job was not too stressful. She could go to work and come home and do her crafts and take care of her home.  Wendy [...]]]> Wendy was a woman who lived on her own in Queens, NY  She lived a very simple life.  She had a few close friends and a daughter who was distant.  Wendy’s job was not too stressful. She could go to work and come home and do her crafts and take care of her home.  Wendy lived a simple life.  When I first met Wendy, she never complained.  Wendy was satisfied with her life.  No major dramas in her life and she liked it that way.

When Wendy was diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer or adenocarcinoma, she was told that she had six months to live.  Wendy didn’t notice the changes in her body or additional pain, because she had become used to her body being in pain.  She couldn’t remember a day without pain since she was in her early 20′s.  Wendy had some undiagnosable pain, which today there would be more exploration of her possibly have other chronic diseases like fibromyalgia.

Wendy confided in her good friend Carol, a nurse who was exploring energy healing and was experienced in alternative/herbal therapies.  This was at a time when I was completely untested as a healer.  I had only worked with people who had some pain. Carol had met me at a crystal healing class, where we teamed up in groups of 4 channeling healing energy of crystals to assist people in their healing.

When I first met Wendy she was bright and full of cheer.  She had accepted her physician’s diagnosis and treatment.  She decided would receive chemotherapy treatments and she was open to other ways of healing.  The only thing Wendy was sad about was losing her hair.  She knew that she was going to lose her hair from the chemotherapy treatments.

Wendy agreed to see us twice a week.  Carol suggested that Wendy start taking an herbal remedy called ESSIAC TEA to help detoxify the effects of the chemotherapy.  The first time we met with Wendy as a group to do healing, the effects where immediately noticeable.  Wendy was tired and not her usual bright self.  One of the most shocking things about Wendy was that she had lost her hair within two weeks of beginning chemotherapy.  This was Wendy’s first lesson about the power of the mind.  She had convinced herself that she would lose her hair and she did with amazing rapidity.

Week in and week out we visited Wendy in her apartment spending anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours with her in session.  Some days were good others not so good.  Slowly Wendy’s life story came out and we began to see the emotional components of Wendy’s cancer.

I now know through my studies and observations as a medical intuitive that each type of cancer has a specific mental and emotional component.  At the time I was only concerned with healing the physical body and if the emotional, mental and spiritual components were attended to that was a bonus.

Wendy’s started talking about her issues at work and how she couldn’t stomach the people she worked with.  She revealed that she didn’t like the person her daughter had become and that there was a great gulf between them.   Eventually underneath the calm loving exterior, Wendy began to reveal emotions of resentment, pain, jealousy that she never admitted to herself.  She also revealed dreams that she had of things she wanted to do in her life and the relationship she wanted to have with the only living member of her family, her daughter.

We began to outline a plan for Wendy of how to change the relationships she had in her life.   We started with the least scary to most scary.  Healing her relationship with her daughter was the scariest thing she faced.  She even admitted that it was scarier to her than facing her cancer and possible death.  Slowly Wendy started confronting her co-workers.  She forgave those she needed to forgive and place boundaries around others.  With each person she completed her unfinished business with Wendy seemed to get stronger.  Finally she was ready to deal with her daughter.  Wendy started believing that it was a matter of life or death that she forgive her daughter and get on good speaking terms with her.  In one swift move Wendy accomplished this.  She said this was the scariest thing she had ever done in her life.  Somehow she was able to forgive her daughter and renewed a close relationship with her.

With each step Wendy got stronger and stronger, there was a glow to her skin, no more pale skin.  Wendy had more energy and she began to dream of the things she would do when the chemotherapy was done and she was healed.  Wendy felt like she was healed, she no longer wanted us to come to her home twice a week, she wanted us once a week and then reduced to every other week.  After three months, Wendy went to the oncologist, when she was tested for the cancer again.  Wendy was called into the office for the results.  Her oncologist told her the news.  Actually he apologized, he was sorry but apparently Wendy had been mis-diagnosed as they did not find any cancer, he said.  Wendy was ecstatic, and at the same time she was angry at her doctor, because just like any good patient, Wendy had undergone several tests when she received her diagnosis and had gotten several opinions.  Her Doctor simply refused to believe that the work she had done with her herbs, diet changes, and inner work.  He preferred to believe that she never had cancer in the first place.  But Wendy knew better, then left on her dreamtrip to Alaska.

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