Yoga Nidra Deep Relaxation

Technique For Deep Relaxation:

Yoga Nidra is a deep relaxation technique which the yoga teacher Satyananda has promoted widely in his teachings. It is extremely effective and is very easy to learn. The more you practice it, the better your breathing will become and the more oxygen your body will take in. It releases tensions in  both body and mind through the directing of the awareness in a disciplined way.

You will achieve peace of mind through the regular practice of Yoga Nidra.

It is effective, when done regularly, in changing patterns of behaviour, and in weeding out negative thought patterns from our minds. It is a very beneficial excercise, not only for those who are giving up smoking, but for all who want to improve health and gain peace of mind.

Yoga Nidra is an exercise which can help us achieve great things. It is an exercise which can inspire and influence  people around us because of the good we promote within ourselves. The practice of Yoga Nidra can help shape events in our lives which will benefit others as well as ourselves.

The following is my own adaptation of Yoga Nidra as taught by Satyananda. If you want, you can omit the visualization section, but I have found this to be most helpful especially when people are sick, lonely or grieving.

This exercise is  done with the eyes closed, but you can do it with these instructions in front of you until you get the hang of it. Even this will be helpful.

All you need is half an hour in a quiet space where you can remain undisturbed. Lie on the floor. You can cover the body with a light blanket.

This is ‘savasana’, or ‘dead man’s pose’. Put the arms alongside the body, slightly away from the trunk and thighs so that they do not touch the body. The palms are facing upward and the forefinger and thumb lightly touching. Legs are on the floor with the feet slightly apart from each other, not touching.

Close the eyes. Begin breathing slowly and evenly. Count the breaths and say OM to yourself as you breathe out. This must be silently spoken to yourself, as chanting or speaking while in a prone position is hurtful to the larynx.

Watch the tummy rising and falling with each breath. ‘One’ as you breathe in, ‘OM’ as you breath out. Feel your body relax totally as you breathe out. With each breath, the body is becoming more relaxed. Continue up to TEN.

Keep the even, regulated, deep breaths going. The tummy rising and falling.

Now, we are going to move through the body with our awareness. Don’t worry if you feel you can’t ‘get’ it or that you are out of touch with the parts of the body which we name. It doesn’t matter. You just carry on with the routine anyway and move onto the next body part.

Take your awareness to the right hand thumb—–forefinger—–middle finger—–fourth finger—–little finger—–palm—–back of the hand—–forearm——outer lower arm—–upper arm—–shoulder—–right arm pit—–right side of the chest—–right side of the stomach—–right hip—–right thigh—-knee—–shin—–calf muscle—–ankle—–top of the foot—–sole of the foot—–right big toe—–2nd toe—–3rd toe—–4th toe—–5th toe—–the whole of the right foot lying on the floor.

Keep the even breathing going. The tummy rising and falling. Feel the body becoming more relaxed on the floor.

Bring the attention to the left hand thumb—– forefinger—–middle finger—–4th finger—– little finger—–palm—–back of the hand—–wrist—–forearm—–outer lower arm—-upper left arm—–shoulder—–left side of the chest—–left side of the stomach—–left hip—-left thigh—–left knee—–shin—–calf muscle—–ankle—–top of the foot—–sole of the foot—–left big toe—–2nd toe——3rd toe——4th toe—–5th toe—–the left foot lying on the floor.

Be mindful of the breath. The tummy rising and falling as you keep breathing slowly and deeply. Totally relaxed.

Come back to the awareness of the feet on the floor. Bring the awareness up the backs of the legs, slowly as you continue your breathing, to the thighs, the bottom, the lower spine, on slowly up the spine until you reach the neck. Keep breathing deeply and slowly. Bring the awareness up the back of the head to the top of the skull, the forehead, the temples, the eyebrows, eyes, cheeks, nose, mouth, lips. Remember to keep a relaxed smile on the lips.

Repeat the whole exercise from the beginning – three times to this point. Now hold the awareness in the eyebrow centre. Watch this space for anything you might visualize here. Now leave the eyebrow centre. Move the awareness slowly around the body in a wide circle. Take your time. Just listen for sounds in the direction you have your awareness placed. No need to analyze these sounds. Simply hear, be aware, and move on your radar sensor further round. Listen for the sounds again. Keep this practice up for a few minutes.

Be aware of the breathing again. Nice, slow, even, energy filled breaths. Watch the tummy rising and falling with each breath.

Now visualize the moon coming up over the water. You are feeling totally at peace with yourself and the world. Watch the moon for a minute or two, rising up over the water.

Now you are walking through the garden of Paradise. Birds are singing. You can hear a stream nearby as you walk down a winding path which has all the plants in the world growing alongside and round about it. You can smell the beautiful fragrances from many different flowers As you walk along the path of the garden of Paradise, you can see a rock pool where a little waterfall is running gently down. You sit here for a moment and breathe in beautiful, cool, moist and fragrant air which heals and soothes you with each breath.

Higher up the path, you can see a Cathedral and hear Angelic voices singing. All the people you love, departed and living, are here, making their way with rejoicing up to the Cathedral. You can decide whether or not you want to continue further up to greet them.

Leave your friends and come back to the awareness of the body on the floor. Hear the birds outside. Move the awareness around radar-like again, but more quickly this time.

Move the awareness now to the throat. Keep breathing. Feel the throat relaxed. Move to the chest. Keep breathing. As you breathe, feel the chest relaxed and toxins and negative thoughts and feelings leaving the body. Come to the stomach. Breathe. Again, feel negative emotion leaving the body, and energy from your breath infusing the area. Move on down—–the hips—–the thighs—–the knees—–shins—–calf muscles—–ankles—–tops of the feet—–soles of the feet—–both feet lying on the floor.

Be aware of the legs on the floor, the trunk on the floor, the head on the floor. Continue to breathe.

The whole face is totally relaxed. You are smiling contentedly. Bring the awareness to the eyebrow centre. Feel at peace within this centre. Keep breathing evenly as you think of the thing which you would like to improve in yourself or within the world. Say a prayer for friends, family and the people in the world who have a need greater than our own. Pray, then, that we might get help with the changes we wish to make in our lives.

We might ask that all patterns of addictive behaviour will cease and that our waking moments be filled with creative, constructive, loving thoughts and actions which will benefit not just ourselves, but those around us.

Say your prayer three times. Give thanks for the blessings in our lives three times.

Prepare now to finish the yoga nidra practice. You can speed up the process of identification of body parts. Take the awareness to the whole  body on the floor, the head on the floor, the arms, the trunk, the legs, the feet on the floor. Bring the awareness up the back of the legs, calves, thighs, bottom, spine, head, back of the head, top of the head. Face, neck, arms, chest, stomach, hips, thighs, knees, shins, calves, ankles, tops of the feet, soles of the feet, ten toes.  Do this section three times.

Move the hands on the floor. Stretch the fingers. Move the head side to side. Move the arms, wriggle the toes, move the feet. Feel the whole body lying on the floor. You are leaving the yoga nidra state now.

Sit up with your eyes closed. Say OM aloud three times. Chant the sound in a relaxed, long breath. Your tone will be clear and strengthened by the yoga nidra practice. Open your eyes.

Thankyou. Yoga nidra is complete.

Giving Up Smoking

Why You Should  Quit Smoking: Of course smoking is very bad for the health. You might get less colds and flu and enjoy a socially more active life while you are a smoker, but giving up smoking will give you benefits to your health which will far outweigh any positives for remaining a smoker. For a start, your life-span will surely be extended.

DSCO 1536

Smoking damages your eyesight. All that smoke drifting up past the delicate eye membranes actually causes damage to the nerves and the lens of the eye. The sinuses and ears are affected, and you lose your sense of smell.

Chronic Lung Disease results from long term smoking.  Apart from the obvious  damage to the lungs, the heart is affected, your veins get clogged, your blood pressure rises, you run the risk of getting arthritis if you do not already have it, and you are more likely to get cancer anywhere in the body than people who don’t smoke. If you smoke and also work in a toxic environment or use  herbicides and pesticides, then you are more at risk of getting lung cancer, emphysema,  melanoma, heart disease or some other degenerative disease than are non-smokers.

But giving up smoking can be so, so, difficult. Here are some suggestions which might be helpful in getting you on your way to recovery from smoking.

First, you need to change your mindset. Breathing exercises and meditation can help with this. Alternate Nostril Breathing is very good for people giving up smoking. This exercise, while being relaxing, oxygenates the blood and helps clear the lungs of toxins. Deep relaxation exercise such as Yoga Nidra is very good for the general physical and mental health, but also gives you the opportunity to visualize the  improvements and changes you wish to make in your life while you are in a deeply relaxed state of mind. Regular, daily practice of yoga nidra where you state your affirmations to yourself, will really help you in giving up smoking. Other types of meditation are also helpful, as is regular prayer.

See my post on YOGA NIDRA and post on YOGA BREATH and SLEEPING WELL

The best thing is to give up drinking alcohol at the same time, or even before, you plan on giving up smoking. The two go together like a horse and cart. If you continue to drink, you will always feel there is something missing each time you have that glass of wine or that beer. But the other reason is that all alcohol is acid-forming and an acid body makes it very hard to give up smoking. This can be a good part of the reason we become addicted to alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs. Changing the diet to an alkaline one, which includes most fruit and vegetables, is very helpful.

People with hypoglycaemia, that is, fluctuating blood sugar levels, might  find it difficult to give up alcohol and smoking. A diet devoid of sugar, wheat  and yeast products including bread, and dairy products is important in the case of people with low blood sugar levels. Yeast foods are problematic and are best left out of the diet as they contribute to people getting candida. Yeast foods include all alcohol, vinegar, tomato sauce, soya sauce and bread.

Brown rice should be substituted for bread. Rice  is absorbed as sugar more slowly into the bloodstream which means that the blood sugar remains more constant. This is favourable to your health and your emotional state, as you will not feel so tired, depressed or inclined to take a cigarette. Another point in favour of substituting rice for bread, and other wheat-based foods like pasta, is that rice, especially brown rice, is less likely than wheat to make you fat.

Eat plenty of green vegetables, root vegetables, fresh fruit, nuts, eggs , fish,whole grains like buckwheat and rice, and meats in moderate amounts. Eat at regular meal-times. Snack on nuts, almonds and a little dried fruit, or fresh fruit, raw carrots and celery during the day. Almonds are a good quality protein: half a dozen a day is a good amount to begin with, then you can increase the amount to about ten.  The combination of nuts and fresh and dried fruits, carrots and celery, can be eaten whenever you have a craving for a cigarette and will not cause you to put on weight, so long as you are avoiding sugars, wheat and dairy products. Eating nuts and fruits etc during the day will help you prevent low-blood sugar  which will help you in giving up smoking.

A diet insufficient in the essential vitamins and minerals can also make us less inclined to give up smoking. Insufficient intake of the essentials can leave us with a semi-permanent state of depression which alcohol and cigarettes – and coffee – temporarily relieve.

A booster of B complex vitamins is important to help with general health and improve your stress levels. Take the stated dose. Niacin is very good, but you do need to talk to a health professional about this one, as it can cause a sudden but temporary  rise in temperature  in some people. If you are able to take it, then it is very good for flushing toxins out of the brain: this effect also helps counteract depression and helps with memory loss.

1000mg of vitamin C morning and night is a good and safe detoxifyer as well as a mild sedative which will help counteract the desire for tobacco. If you do not have candida infection, then standard Vitamin C is fine, but calcium ascorbate is the best form to take, because it is alkaline.

Zinc, magnesium and selenium in moderate doses, all help to counteract stress, depression and the desire for a cigarette.

Homeopathy may be of help.  Read about one remedy which has helped many people http://merrilynhope.com/homeopathic-remedy-to-reduce-craving-for-tobacco/

NOTE: Talk to your health professional to make sure these supplements are not conflicting with any other medication you may be on before you add these to your anti-smoking regime.

Richard Webster has devoted many years to helping people with behavioural problems, including people’s addiction to smoking. He published a booklet which accompanied some tapes  called ‘Ezi-Stop’. This was published by Prestige Marketing 1995.

Richard recommends baking soda to keep the body alkaline. You can brush your teeth with it: a small amount is absorbed through the tissues of the mouth and into the bloodstream. This helps the body towards sustaining an alkaline p h level. Richard recommends putting a dab of baking soda  onto the tongue whenever you have a craving for a cigarette. This helps negate the craving for nicotine.

NOTE: Richard also warns that baking soda should not be used by people who have high blood pressure or who are on low sodium diets. Baking soda is a salt and should not be used in these cases.

So, you are about to give up smoking, maybe for the umpteenth time. Richard recommends signing a contract with yourself- you agree with yourself, that on a certain day, at a certain time, you will throw the rest of the cigarettes away and become a non-smoker.
Make a list of all the benefits to your health and your budget.
Make a plan of what you will eat for breakfast, lunch and tea. Do not leave anything to chance, as you really need to take care of your blood sugar levels and make sure they do not fluctuate. Ensure that you have enough protein included in the diet and eat plenty of cooked greens, raw and cooked fruits, nuts and brown rice.
Eat at REGULAR times of the day – proper meals – sit down to eat, give thanks for the food and give thanks for being a non-smoker.
Eat your healthy snacks between meals -nuts, dried and fresh fruit and vegetables. DO NOT eat any sugar, wheat or dairy-food (butter is usually ok)during this period. It is best to cut these foods out for good. In my experience, it is when my health recovered after following such a diet for many years, that I relaxed my rules and let these problematic foods into my diet because I thought I was “cured” – not so – this caused a drastic decline in my health and I became addicted to alcohol and cigarettes. These days, I am following the old rules again – no sugar, bread, dairy products, except for butter.Consequently, my health is great, and praise God – I am neither a smoker or a drinker.
COFFEE – beware of drinking too much coffee, especially while you are giving up alcohol and cigarettes. Coffee is also addictive. Drinking too much coffee will dehydrate you and deplete your body of the much needed vitamin B and other vitamins and minerals which help you cope with stress. Excess coffee will give you bad skin as well as weaken your kidneys. Dehydration will make you inclined to drink alcohol and to smoke, both of which compound  dehydration of the body tissues

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER while you are giving up smoking. Herb teas and green teas help with detoxifying, and make a pleasant and refreshing change to coffee and tea. Ceylon tea is an antioxidant and is good for the health in moderate amounts – but try to avoid putting milk into the tea. Milk in tea and coffee is possibly the most toxic way we take milk, as the milk solids are rendered indigestible by tannin. Tea with milk puts a strain on the liver because the livercannot process the plastic-like protein which results. Toxins then form in the intestine and are absosrbed into the bloodstream. The poor old  liver then has to try  to remove them.. This  condition of perpetual poisoning can give us addictions to alcohol and cigarettes because these things temporarily disguise the symptoms of stress originating from the liver.

Remember your affirmations, your agreement to yourself and your YOGA NIDRA practice. Eat well. Sleep well.
Good wishes for your giving up smoking – don’t be discouraged if you “fall off the wagon” – simply start again being a non-smoker. Think of how great you are going to feel being a non-smoker. Think of the benefits to your life which you are already beginning to experience. Cut down – cut down – cut out.

Healing Broken Capillaries on the Face

Broken veins on the face take a time to heal. They take time to arrive, generally, and they take time to heal.  Healing broken capillaries requires an all-out wholistic approach.

Avoid Alcohol and Cigarettes. First of all, it is important to cut out those gin and tonics, indeed, all alcohol, and smoking. These are probably the worst things for the veins.

It is very important to lower the blood pressure if it is at all high. Alcohol, smoking, and of course, toxic chemicals in the form of insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers and petro-chemicals all have a deleterious effect on the health, including the veins and small capillaries.

Even some medications, taken on a regular basis, can cause a break-down in the small capillaries. A common example is simple aspirin. People often take this to thin the blood in order to hopefully prevent strokes. But this can cause internal bleeding and a seeping of the blood in the small veins which shows up as “broken veins”. If you take aspirin or its counterpart, you most probably have already noticed that wee red spots show up on the tender skin of the upper belly. This is an indication of the bleeding which is going on through the capillaries as a result of  taking this type of medication.  These go away, in time, if the aspirin-for-stroke treatment is discontinued.

Keep the Diet Alkaline

An alkaline diet is important in healing any disease. High fiber greens such as  cooked broccoli, and lettuce and sprouts  in salads, apples, bananas, are all good foods to help your health. Eat good quality oils such as avocado oil, grapeseed oil, wheatgerm oil, to get adequate vitamin E to help with the healing of the broken capilliaries. Eat adequate protein: fish is an especially good  healing food.

Do go and talk to a naturopath or homeopath (or your doctor) to see about alternatives and if it is safe for you to discontinue with your medication.

Hints for healing and to remove broken capillaries:

Avoid alcohol, tobacco, toxic chemicals, make-up, and medication (if your health professional advises it is safe to do this)

Take an active role in stabilizing your blood pressure it it is high. More greens, more fruit, enough good quality protein each day. Avoid sugar, cut down on coffee. Avoid dairy products except for butter. Cut down on bread: Instead, use more brown rice in the diet.

Vitamin E Supplement  Take the maximum dose of vitamin E which is very helpful in strengthening the walls of the veins and capillaries. (But do not take vitamin E if you are taking blood thinners such as warfarin)

Vitamin C/Ester C  Take 1000 mg of vitamin C morning and night. This also helps remove toxins in the veins, and aids in their  healing.

Cayenne Pepper Use cayenne pepper daily. Just a small amount on your food will give you the benefit of an improved circulation. You can put a little cayenne pepper in your shoes to get the same effect.  Cayenne pepper, because it improves the circulation in the larger blood vessels,  helps reduce the small broken capillaries on the face.

Use comfrey leaves – boil up a couple in a cup of water until they have become very soft. Let them cool, then mush  up and apply over the face before bed.  Leave on the face for 5 minutes. Put the remainder in the fridge to use over the next 2 or 3 days. If you can’t obtain comfrey, then you could use cut cucumber to lay over the cheeks for five minutes. Yoghurt smeared on the skin is another food which helps to aid healing.

During the day, use apple cider vinegar which is high in potassium and vitamins to dab onto the skin several times a day. This combines well with the comfrey or yoghurt treatment.

You could try the herbal/homeopathic Weleda brand of cosmetics. These are truly petro-chemical free and are totally organic.

Vitamins for Hair Growth

Vitamin and Mineral Supplements are very useful in helping to maintain, or to regain, good health. We are fortunate that we can buy these at most supermarkets and health food stores, and we pray that this situation may long continue. The best vitamins for hair growth are outlined below, with that king of minerals, zinc, and his trusty retainers, magnesium and silica.

Vitamin B Complex

Vitamin B is important for good digestion. It is important to have enough of this in the diet for us to be able to deal with stress. If we are deficient in Vitamin B, then stress related conditions like eczema and hypoglycemia can result, with a lowering of normal stress levels. This can, of course, result in the hair falling or thinning.

Falling hair is a sure sign that your diet and your life style need adjustment. While you are working on improving the state of these things, it is a good idea to take a Vitamin B complex supplement to give your health a boost so that you may recover both your health and your hair more quickly.

Vitamin B is a priority for hair growth. Take the maximum dose on a daily basis to improve the health of your hair.

Vitamin C

This is needed especially if you are not eating enough fresh fruit, but Vitamin C is good for overall health as it helps in the assimilation of other vitamins and works as an antioxidant.  It also helps in maintaining good skin tone. The scalp is skin, and so it benefits by having an adequate supply of Vitamin C in the diet.

Vitamin C helps enormously in our ability to cope with stress. Take ester C, or calcium ascorbate at night to help you sleep well.

If your health is below par and your hair is showing signs of falling out, then taking 1000 mgs morning and night will help.  Start with just 1000 mg in the morning. After a few days,  build up the dosage by taking again at night. Cut back to just the evening dose if your bowel motions remain disturbed.

Vitamin C also aids digestion. Good digestion means you will absorb more of the nutrients which you are eating in your food, which, in turn, helps to build up good health and strengthen the immune system.

Vitamin C works as an antiseptic and a healer. It is also a  mild sedative, so this should help you to sleep well if you take a dose at night-time. Loose bowel motions can occur initially, but do not worry. This is just your insides  clearing themselves of debris. Drink extra water to help with the cleansing process.

Halibut Liver Oil

This contains high amounts of Vitamins A and D. Both these vitamins, taken in the fish oil, help the growth of nice, healthy, shiny hair. Take the maximum dose each day if you are working on hair which is thinning.

I took slightly more than the stated dose when I needed the benefit of Halibut Liver Oil Vitamins, but I cannot recommend this practice to people reading my article. Especially when any of the family had a chest infection, I doubled the dose, but for one or two doses only, as that was all that was needed to beat most infections. After that, I would return to a maintenance dose about twice weekly.

Best to take this in the morning, as Halibut Liver Oil  might interfere with your sleep if taken too late in the day.

Zinc and Magnesium

The above list of Vitamins for Hair Growth should be helpful to all those who are building their health in order to have better hair.

But the supplements Zinc and Magnesium  must be mentioned in this article. These two minerals are highly important for recovering your health and your hair. It is best if you take the full set of recommended vitamins, rather than just buying these, but if you are on a budget and can only afford ONE vitamin, then get the combination which has both of these.

Zinc helps you cope with stress. A deficiency of zinc and magnesium could result in your having thin hair, or hair which is falling rapidly.

Zinc helps in the digestion of carbohydrates, so it is especially important for anyone with allergies, or anyone who suffers from hypoglycaemia.These conditions can cause the hair to fall out. A diet low in sugar is needed. It is best to avoid wheat and dairy products if you think you might be sensitive to these. Upping your zinc intake is sometimes all that is needed to improve digestion of these foods.

Zinc is low in New Zealand soils, so most N Zers need an extra boost of zinc with magnesium at least once a week. If your hair is thinning, then you should take a daily amount of the recommended dose. Do not ever take more than the stated dose.

Because our food is lacking in these minerals which creates  a need for NZers   to buy these supplements , it seems a crime that drug companies are driving to get the monopoly on sales.

Zinc with Magnesium should be the first mineral  supplement to the diet if one has thinning hair.

Silica is an essential mineral for the health of the hair. You can buy homeopathic silica in what are known as ‘cell salts’. But the easiest way which you can help your hair in its requirements of silica is to eat a bowl of oatmeal porridge every day.  OR you can drink oat straw tea, which is especially high in silica. Comfrey tea is also high in silica……….

Comfrey Tea – for internal and external use

A good natural way to get a high count of minerals and vitamins into the body to benefit the hair is to take comfrey tea on a regular basis. Two leaves simmered in a pint of water will give you a tea which is high in silica. This helps the growth of hair, nails, teeth and bones. It helps heal liver and intestines and skin conditions like ezcema. Take a small cupful morning and night. Keep the remainder in the fridge for up to two days, then make a fresh lot if you haven’t finished the first brew.

Comfrey Hair Rinse:  The same brew can be used, once it has cooled, to put through the hair after washing. If you are making a special brew for use on the hair, then you could make the mixture slightly stronger by adding a 3rd leaf to the pot. The silica in the sliminess of the leaf really makes the hair shine beautifully. It also helps heal the scalp to prevent dandruff.

Comfrey supplements in tablet form, if you can get them, and shampoos and soaps with added comfrey, are a good idea. But nothing beats the effects of the fresh herb, brewed up for 5 or 10 minutes, taken as a tea and/or applied as a hair rinse.

Apple Cider Vinegar:   This is great for promoting hair growth. If you apply it after using soap or shampoo, then the alkaline effect from these products is negated. Apple cider vinegar is rich in potassium and other minerals and vitamins which nourish the scalp. It is best not to use iodine on the scalp right away if you have rubbed apple cider vinegar into it. The two do not combine well. Wait for the following day after the application of cider vinegar to apply any iodine to the scalp.

It is best not to take apple cider vinegar internally on a regular basis if you have falling or thinning hair. This is because candida albicans is a problem with many people, and this condition can contribute to hair loss. Putting the apple cider vinegar onto the hair when it is still wet will feed the hair follicles directly. This shouldn’t cause problems with candida unless you are in the early stages of recovery. Use about a dessertspoonful of apple cider vinegar for one treatment. Don’t wash it off.

If you found this article informative you may also be interested merrilyn’s update: Best Vitamins For Hair Growth.  The posts entitled  Regrow Hair; and Iodine scalp/Hair Remedy have more ideas for improving hair growth.

Iodine Hair Growth

Iodine Can Help To Restore Hair Growth

It is important to consult your doctor or health practitioner first of all, before using any iodine on the hair.  Some people do not manage to follow instructions very well, and I have had several people claiming that the iodine treatment made their hair fall out. No responsibility can be taken on my part if hair continues to fall, or if you use the iodine treatment unwisely.

If these people had followed instructions faithfully, and only used no more than two finger dabs of pharmaceutical liquid iodine to put on the hair, then no problem should have arisen.

But do ask your health practitioner first, before using any iodine on the hair.

This is how I use iodine on the hair:

After each wash, dry the hair well, then apply just two finger dabs of liquid iodine onto the scalp. Do this while the hair is still damp.  Then massage the hair thoroughly to distribute traces of iodine over the scalp.

A trace of iodine is all that is needed to encourage hair growth. Your hair follicles will absorb small amounts of iodine into the scalp, which will nourish the hair roots.

 

Merrilyn’s new book is available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.ca/Cancer-And-Good-Health-Notebook-ebook/dp/B01DHMH6DG

See also Merrilyn’s posts http://merrilynhope.com/best-vitamins-for-hair-growth/  http://merrilynhope.com/natural-ways-to-improve-hair-growth-and-condition/The posts entitled  Regrow Hair; and Iodine scalp/Hair Remedy have more ideas for improving hair growth.