Tag: natural remedies

What Happens When Your Vitamin D Levels are Low

from Canon 266(1)Dramatic Photo By Lachlan

So – What happens when your vitamin D levels are low?

Vitamin D Deficiency can result in diarrhoea, insomnia, anxiety, nervousness and muscle twitches.

If Vitamin D levels are low over a long period of time, then you could risk becoming alcoholic, or drug-dependent, or suffer hypothyroidism or seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Your Vitamin D can come from the sun’s rays, or from the food you eat. Supplements may be necessary in some cases.

Too Much Vitamin D Is Harmful. Be aware that too much Vitamin D can result in the same problems as those related to Vitamin D deficiency. You won’t get too much Vitamin D from the sun, as the body will only process what is needed from the sun.  But be cautious if you are taking supplements,  and follow the recommended dosage.  Vitamin D is stored in the body.  Too much can result in liver and kidney damage.

Vitamin D is necessary for healthy thyroid functioning. When the thyroid is iodine-deficient, or Vitamin D deficient, then mood swings can result.  So to keep balanced mentally and emotionally, we need a helping of Vitamin D.

Excessive weight gain and heart problems could result if  your Vitamin D levels are low.   The sun’s rays help us to break down cholesterol.  Avoiding the sun completely can result in a build up of cholesterol which can cause us to  put on weight.

You might avoid skin cancer if you avoid the sun:  People with low Vitamin D levels have a lower risk of skin cancer than do people who get plenty of sun. However, there is a catch-22 with this.

Low Vitamin D Is Related To Internal Cancers: Research shows that sun lovers with a higher Vitamin D get fewer internal cancers  than the people with the low Vitamin D count who avoid the sun. You are more likely to develop breast cancer, or another internal cancer, if your Vitamin D levels are low.

Can coffee deplete Vitamin D levels?

This is a commonly asked question. The answer is yes.  Too much coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, and many medications can lead to Vitamin D being leached from the body.

Bones and teeth and Vitamin D Deficiency.  On-going deficiency of Vitamin D and other nutrients can cause rickets in children, and osteoporosis in adults. Weak, chalky and sensitive teeth might be what happens if  your Vitamin D levels remain low over a period of time. Vitamin D helps us to assimilate calcium: even if your dietary intake of calcium is adequate, the calcium will not be absorbed in the body if your Vitamin D levels are low.

Arthritis and Osteoporosis Can Occur With Low Vitamin D Levels: If  Vitamin D levels remain low over a long period of time, the body will start to leach the calcium it needs from the bones.  The outcome of this depletion is arthritis and osteoporosis, and chalky teeth too.

Vitamin D is also essential  for healthy hair growth.

Other Necessary Minerals: For healthy hair, bones, teeth and nails, heart and brain function, we need a balanced diet which includes the trace elements of

Iodine, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Copper, Manganese  and Selenium.

Be careful of the sun in the North Island of New Zealand.  It has become dangerously hot here since around 2011, the time of the dreadful Japanes tsunami and nuclear disaster, and many of us cannot go out into the sun for more than a few minutes at a time now.

I believe that radioactive particles from the Japanes nuclear disaster are now all over the world, high up in the atmosphere. Wherever the ozone layer is sorely depleted, more of this radiation is brought down to earth with the sun’s rays, which poses a risk of a form of radiation sickness.  Sensitive people will be prone to it. This could be a good reason to move to cloudy Dunedin, I feel.  Spending even 15 minutes in the North Island summer sun these days can result in headaches, sun-stroke or radiation sickness for me. Symptoms can last for several days.  I am very sensitive to radiation, so I expect that my reaction will not be a general one, although quite a few of my friends are now complaining of the same symptoms after several minutes of summer sun exposure.

The ozone-layer, which is sorely depleted in parts of New Zealand, means that we burn very quickly. If you live in North Island NZ, then before 9 am or after 5 pm is the safest time to take a short sun-bath for the purpose of absorbing Vitamin D.

Do not wear sun-block when you are taking Vitamin D into the body for health purposes. Sun-block will block the Vitamin D from being absorbed into the skin. Remember that if your skin is slightly oily, then you will absorb more of the vital sun energy – Vitamin D. So it is best to take your sun-bath several hours after showering, to give your skin a chance to restore some of the natural oils to the surface.

Applying a little olive oil, or avocado or grape seed oil, can be useful in restoring oily moisture to the skin before you take a sun-bath. Also remember not to wash directly after the sun-bath: the oil on the skin is still processing the Vitamin D from the sun for several hours after the sun-bath. Leaving your shower or swim for a bit will help the skin to absorb the valuable vitamins being processed.

The foods which contain high amounts of easily assimilated Vitamin D are fatty fish, fish oils, eggs, liver, and butter. Sardines, tuna, mackerel, and especially salmon, are all good sources.

Vitamin D is stored in fatty tissues, which means that it is stored in the body. Care is needed, therefore, not to overdose on Vitamin D through supplement additions to the diet.

The recommended dose varies depending on whether you get enough sun, how good your diet is, and what conditions you are treating, but a safe dose seems to be about 400IU daily for most people.

Some sources give between 400IU and 800IU per day, but it is better to be on the safe side. A large dose of Vitamin D over a period of about six months or less will cause many of the symptoms which you experience when your Vitamin D levels are low. Do not over-do Vitamin D.

Iodine Scalp And Hair Remedy

Iodine Tonic For The Health of the Hair:

Iodine is a wonderful, natural, relatively inexpensive item for restoring hair growth and improving the scalp tissue.

Note: However, you should visit your doctor or natural health practitioner for advice on whether you should use iodine or any other natural remedy or technique, for that matter.  No responsibility is taken by this author should the treatment not work, or makes you feel worse or the condition is made worse by following any suggestions made here.  Commonsense should prevail, and so should caution.  Alas, as some comments to my website show, some people lack these components to their make-up, so I must advise a visit to the health professional as a generality for all concerned.

If you apply iodine on a regular basis to the head, you not only nourish the scalp but the whole body as well, as iodine is absorbed gradually through the tissues of the scalp and into the body where it is utilized to help immune function, the improving of which helps to stave off diseases like cancer and arthritis and makes minimal the effects of flu, colds and other infections.

Generally speaking, if you are healthy, then you should have a good head of hair. Generally speaking, if your hair is thinning or falling out rapidly due to sickness, or a shock, or old age, then you should look first to iodine to help restore the hair and the general health simultaneously.

Merrilyn’s new book is available on Amazon:

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

In the 1950’s, when I was growing up, iodine was commonly used by our mothers so that we would not become iodine deficient and become sick. Our mum would paint the soles of our feet once a week or two, or we would get dosed with iodine via the cut on a hand or leg, where my mother would douse the iodine.

At some stage, common salt became iodised so that we would get enough iodine in our diets. If you do not use salt, then I would say that you are possibly iodine deficient, in which case the Iodine Scalp-Hair Remedy will be an ideal way for you to take extra iodine into your body and nourish your hair and scalp at the same time.

If you continue to use the Iodine scalp remedy, then you should expect to see favourable results after several months, when new hair should be starting to grow. I myself have found the iodine scalp-hair treatment to be very effective.

Of course, you can overdose on iodine – sensitive people or people who have low blood pressure or who exercise too little need less iodine on the skin in order to absorb what is necessary for hair maintenance and healthy immune function. People who exercise a great deal, or swim regularly, can take more iodine on the skin, as much of what is applied will be sweated off in exercise or in the water.

The best thing is to use moderation in using Iodine as a scalp-hair remedy:  too little is better than too much. Too much iodine absorbed through the skin can give you heart palpitations, hot flushes and anxiety if you are at all sensitive to chemicals. However, remember that iodine is a NECESSARY  component for good health, so do use it, but use it carefully.

METHOD for using Iodine as a scalp-hair remedy: After washing the hair, you can apply a little iodine. Just three or four dabs of the finger to the bottle is enough. Each time you dab, put the iodine on a fresh part of the scalp. Then, once you have applied your three or four dabs to the area you are treating, massage with the fingertips all over the scalp. With the massage, you actually transfer small amounts of iodine to the whole head of hair. The massage serves to increase circulation to the hair follicles, which also helps hair growth, and stimulates the kidneys and other organs simultaneously.

Always use the Iodine scalp-hair applications AFTER washing the hair, as if you wash the hair soon afterwards, much of the iodine will be washed away. Try to leave the iodine on the hair without washing it for a couple of days or so to give the iodine a chance to be absorbed into the scalp and into the body.

Two or three dabs of Iodine could be applied to the scalp twice a week, no matter what your body size or condition. After the next wash, dab the iodine to another part of the scalp. In this way, you ensure that all parts of the scalp eventually get treated.

NOTE:  Eucalyptus oil and Apple Cider Vinegar are also good to encourage hair growth and nourish the scalp, but do not use these on the same days as you use the Iodine on the hair.

The reason you do not combine these treatments is that if either one of these items is mixed with iodine, unpleasant and slightly toxic fumes are emitted which can have the effect of making you dizzy. Then you will feel compelled to rush off and wash everything, iodine, eucalyptus, cider vinegar, the lot, which would render your treatment useless.

If you use cider vinegar after washing your hair to neutralize the alkaline effect of soap or shampoo, then wait until the following day before you apply any iodine, or at least 8 hours, I would say.

The Iodine scalp-hair emedy is also very effective in keeping head lice and other lurgies at bay. There again – if the hair and scalp are healthy, then head lice are not likely to be  drawn to it.

Iodine has the effect of acting as an insecticide as well as helping to improve the general state of health of body and hair. The other important thing in treating head lice, though, is to use apple cider vinegar after using soap or shampoo on the hair. Head lice love scalps which are alkaline, either from using alkaline products like soap or shampoo, or from using too many acid-forming foods in the diet. If your child or yourself have succumbed to head lice, then DO use apple cider vinegar after each wash. In this case, you will apply the iodine to the scalp the following day or 8 hours later.

POSTSCRIPT; Last night, within about an hour of publishing this article, I received a bit of spam from somebody trying my intelligence. The question went something like: ‘I have spilt either iodine or hair dye on my white floor. How do I get this terrible stain out?’ ….. In case this questioner is serious….. Try baking soda, slightly dampened with a lot of elbow grease…..but more importantly, you should not be using hair dye whilst you are applying the iodine remedy to the hair, as hair dye most surely will react with iodine. I should imagine the result could be LOSS of hair. If you seriously want to rejuvenate your hair growth, then you won’t be using commercial hair dyes AT ALL.  Powdered henna is natural and should be OK

See also: http://merrilynhope.com/best-vitamins-for-hair-growth/

Regrow Hair

Natural Ways To Improve Hair Growth and Condition

 

 

Colon And Liver Cleanse Helps Candida

Detox With Castor Oil, or Olive Oil, or Grated Apple:  There really is no need to buy expensive products to cleanse the liver and intestines. There are many home remedies which you can use to do this, but the cheapest and most effective  method for a Candida/Colon Cleanse that I know of is the castor oil cleanse which is followed up by a bowel cleanse with water and a little sea salt. All you need is a bottle of castor oil which, in New Zealand, costs between about three dollars to about six dollars, depending on whether you buy it at a supermarket or a chemist shop. Of course, this will last for about seven doses or so, as you only need to take between one to two tablespoonsful in one dose.

The CASTOR OIL treatment, which is usually two tablespoons of castor oil taken in the morning followed by a cup of brewed black coffee without sugar or milk, is effective for ridding candida from the digestive system. Eat only fruit or a bowl of porridge with a grated apple added to it on the day when you decide to do the castor oil treatment. Avoid dairy products, wheat and meat on the day you do your cleanse.

If you are not suffering from some life threatening disease and feel that you are quite healthy, then you can get away with using castor oil and not using an enema. However, even if you are healthy and you do not have too many accumulated poisons in the body, the castor oil cleanse is far more effective if you use a water enema, as this helps to wash away the poisons, which the castor oil expels from the liver, more quickly.

If you do not have some life threatening disease or recurring candida, then you could use the castor oil treatment only occasionally, say once a week, or once a month, whatever you think is necessary. However, if you have recurring candida, allergies or some illness which is debilitating, then you might need to use this treatment more often, and follow a strict dietary programme in order to get well.

Another inexpensive Candida/Colon Cleanse is OLIVE OIL WITH LEMON JUICE. Take this on an empty stomach before you eat a light breakfast of fruit, or juice, or porridge with a grated apple added to it. Use half a cupful of OLIVE OIL. Fill up the cup with LEMON JUICE.  Stir  the two together briskly in a larger cup and swallow the lot as quickly as you can. This treatment is made more effective, as is the castor oil treatment, if an enema is used within five hours of taking the oil. This cleanse is also made more efficacious if dairy foods, wheat and meat are avoided on the day you do your cleanse. Try to eat only raw foods and their juices for the whole day, with a bowlful of porridge  being the only cooked food, eaten with a grated apple. This diet enhances the cleansing effect of the OLIVE OIL AND LEMON treatment, giving an inexpensive candida/colon cleanse.

Drink peppermint tea or chamomile tea directly after using either CASTOR OIL or OLIVE OIL AND LEMON JUICE to alleviate any feelings of nausea.

Both the castor oil treatment and the olive oil and lemon juice treatment, besides both being an inexpensive candida/Colon Cleanse,  are supposed to be helpful,  in expelling gall stones and kidney stones from these organs.

Ridding the Body of Cancer

You Can Reverse Cancer:  Ideally, cancer prevention is what we should all be mindful of. But if you already have cancer, you might be exploring the alternatives to allopathic treatment.

Alternative cancer treatments are not just the domain of naturopaths, acupuncturists and homeopaths etc. Many conventional doctors have devoted their life-times to treating people by natural means.  In New Zealand, Dr Eva Hill pioneered natural remedies and cures  in  the early 19th century: Walter Last, more recently, helped many people in Whangarei. Dr Ann Wigmore, an American, contracted cancer, cured herself of it, then proceeded to treat other people using the methods she had proved successful. She set up a clinic in Australia after establishing her clinic in U.S.A.  Dr Max Gerson was another famous doctor who researched alternative cancer therapies: his clinic in Mexico still treats hundreds of people every year.These people have helped and cured many people of cancer and other degenerative disease. Their documentation which records their methods and their successes are extremely useful resources as proof that natural cures are possible.

Jacqui Davison, bedridden and  given only days to live after following conventional treatment, was encouraged by her daughter, who had just read Max Gerson’s book on treating people with cancer and other degenerative disease, to start detoxifying.  And so she immediately began taking castor oil every second day, using enemas  daily, and drinking juices, not because she really believed it would work, but because there was nothing to lose, and her daughter was adamant that she try. She lived not only to tell the tale, but to write a book about how she, with the help of  her daughter, had tackled the disease. I found her book to be enormously encouraging. Because it was an account of a lay person’s own  experience, it was very down-to-earth: a step-by-step account of her progress and the methods she used to beat the melanoma.

This article will endeavour to give a guide as to some possible alternative treatments you might consider. Examples will be drawn from my own experience, and from the teachings of the above doctors, and other therapists and teachers such as Jacqui Davison. You  then are best advised to discuss them with your health practitioner.

Years ago I became frightened by a lump in the breast. My health was run down. Emotionally, I hadn’t recovered from the loss of a child about five years earlier. Prior to this very sad event, my young son and I, and my unborn baby, had been aerial sprayed via helicopter with “2,4,5,T”, known as  “agent orange” in Viet-Nam, at our Hokianga home.  “2,4,5,T” was used frequently in New Zealand in the 1970’s as a defoliant, in this case, to rid the hillside of the blackberry which was prolific there. We were very ill after the spraying. Our  drinking water came from the stream which ran across our property, and so poisoning was thus intensified. It is probable that traces of this chemical were still in my body which lead to the development of a lump in the breast a few years later.

I was advised by a doctor to have a biopsy, and that I needed to take it seriously for the sake of my other children. I was grateful to this doctor, as he inspired me to do just that – take it seriously – without a biopsy. The warning was enough for me to change my life-style almost immediately.

I already knew that in some cases, putting the knife in can make things worse, and anyway, I really didn’t like the idea of having a breast off. So I armed myself with the available  literature  of the above authors’ works and began avidly reading.

Dr Ann Wigmore had been sure she had cancer of the breast, as she had seen enough cases of it to identify it when it occurred in her own body.  She changed her life-style and her diet immediately and went to live in the country  in a tent for a while, where she could breathe fresh air and meditate undisturbed. After six months her wheat-grass juice, raw foods and detoxification had brought about a recovery. But her medical colleagues said it couldn’t have been cancer if she had recovered without radiation and chemotherapy, or having it surgically removed. So she agreed to a biopsy to prove her point. The biopsy proved positive for cancer, but the opening of the area caused the cancer to start growing again. So she went back onto her cleansing diet and followed her chosen therapeutic techniques. This time the cancer was more vigilant, and it took her two long years before she had fully recovered.

If you have cancer or some other life-threatening disease, then you need to act promptly. Since a build-up of toxins accompanies the cancerous condition, it is imperative that you start a rapid detoxification programme right away. Personally, I think that even if you have opted for conventional treatment, detoxifying is important if you do not want the cancer to return. Of course, it is essential to combine the cleansing process with a diet rich in organic raw fruits and vegetable and their juices.

Dr Max Gerson believed that if you did not follow his dietary and cleansing regime to the letter, then it was a waste of time trying to cure yourself  naturally if you simply were to choose the elements of the programme which suit. His recipe was tried and true.

Consistency is extremely important whatever regime you choose. If you were to lapse once and, say, eat a plate of macaroni cheese or a slice of chocolate cake following your big salad and juice, then you would be negating the effects of the cleansing, nourishing food by putting clogging food that will feed the cancer into your bowel. This makes more toxins to clear out of the bowel. Even one instance like this can halt the healing of cancer and other disease. Done once, like smoking, it will be difficult not to partake again. This is why Dr Gerson was adamant you stick to his regime without any deviation.  However, there are many different techniques for treating cancer and other degenerative diseases, including conventional allopathic treatments and macrobiotic diets. A combination of treatments can work, but you must be consistent in following your chosen combination of therapies.  The main thing is to avoid forbidden foods completely. These are generally dairy foods, sugar, wheat and cooked food if you follow the recommendations of Eva Hill, Walter Last and Dr Gerson.  Detoxifying must continue, whatever diet you choose, with excellent nourishment taken in the form of non-mucous forming foods.

Each case is different, and each person capable of just so much determined effort. Sometimes our family support systems break down, or we get old and tired and cannot summon up the effort required to sustain a long period following a demanding dietary and detoxification programme. Our circumstances might restrict us as to the availability of organic food, expensive vitamins, and a  life devoid of stress.

But whatever the limitations, and whatever therapy you decide on, essentially, detoxification and maximum nourishment are  the keys to success. The two main elements of Dr Max Gerson’s treatment, apart from the diet of mainly raw foods and juices every hour, were the two detoxifyers – enemas and castor oil.

CASTOR OIL AND ENEMAS: Dr Gerson found castor oil to be the most excellent purgative and healing agent. I used this treatment to rid myself of the breast lump. Two tablespoons are taken  every second morning followed by a cup of black coffee. This has an immediate effect on the liver and gall bladder, exciting these organs to expel toxins stored there. Castor oil has the ability to attract poisons and carry them off, so it is very powerful in helping to cure cancer.

This is only HALF the treatment for expelling toxins rapidly from the body. Dr Gerson found that, initially, his most fragile patients would seem better after the castor oil. But after the third day, they grew worse. He figured out that this had to be because the toxins expelled by the liver were not being carried away fast enough by the bowel, but were being reabsorbed into the blood stream which caused auto-intoxication. This was dangerous, as a life-time of stored toxins were being released suddenly and then being taken into the bloodstream via the walls of the intestine.

One thing for it – ENEMAS. He began using enemas within five hours after the castor oil was taken, and then again several times later in the day. He found his success rate of survivors, many of whom were on death row, increased dramatically after he introduced regular enemas into the routine.

Most people, especially men, are extremely reluctant to put an enema tube into the “you know what”. The fact is, if you have a terminal illness, then you cannot be so proud. Washing the bowel out in order to rid the body quickly of those killer toxins is IMPERATIVE for your SURVIVAL. The more advanced the cancer, the more rigorous the methods needed to stop the cancer in its progress.

Dr Gerson used coffee enemas as well as water enemas. Coffee, taken through the rectum, caused the liver and gall bladder to release poisons quickly, intensifying the effect of the castor oil.
Coffee enemas have the effect of reducing pain, which is helpful in treating cancer and other conditions like arthritis.

I used coffee enemas perhaps once or twice a day as part of my detoxification programme. I have experimented in recent years with coffee enemas to clear the liver, but I find the caffeine gets absorbed into the blood stream which is not desirable at all. This might be because I have weak-walled intestines, and/or it might also be because I have become a coffee drinker in recent years. When you are on this detoxifaction programme, you must NOT drink coffee at all – only once every second day after that dose of castor oil. This really puts you off drinking coffee for pleasure while you are “taking the cure”.

NOTE: The regular washing of the bowel as in the Gerson treatment should not be done unless you have a serious illness. Then you will be taking castor oil as recommended, and following a diet in optimum nourishment. If you were to take frequent enemas and doses of castor oil without replenishing your vitamin-mineral intake through copious amounts of raw juices and foods, and supplements,then you will become severly depleted, as the “good” vitamins and minerals get washed out along with the toxins.

Vitamin C has been used by many to diminish cancer growth and help arthritic and other degenerative conditions. Ian Gawler who wrote ‘You Can Conquer Cancer’ (Hill of Content Publishing, Melbourne, 1984) reports that he has successfully used Vitamin C in the treatment of cats which had confirmed cases of lymphosarcoma. Four out of five cases went into total remission after being given intravenous doses of Vitamin C. He used 1 gram per kilogram of body weight, five days in a row.His treatment of dogs, using the same method, was not so successful.

Yoga Breath and Sleeping Well

Learn How To Sleep Well With Yoga Breathing;

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This article will give information which will help you to reduce tension and help you to sleep properly. The yoga breath is an integral part of spiritual healing.  By doing yoga breathing, you  will  take in the prana which will raise your vitality.  This vital force not only helps your own health – by practicing the yoga breath regularly, you will have  more energy to help other people heal themselves.

The most important techniques mentioned here are age-old practices derived from yoga teachings.

The health benefits of yoga breathing are numerous. A calmer brain, better circulation, better concentration, being more focussed, and a feeling of well being will all come with doing a simple yoga breathing practice each week.

The most basic of the breathing exercises are the alternate nostril breath and the OM chant. They are both easy to perform. Both are great oxygenators of the blood. Their good and healthful effects on the nervous system are felt almost right away.

Recommendation: Start with just one of these exercises below, either the Alternate Nostril Breath, or the OM chant practice.
You could safely add the Breath Counting Exercise No. 4,  done in bed at night, to either exercise  No.1 or 2. But don’t overdo things. It is better to start with a moderate amount.

1) Alternate Nostril Breathing:

This can be done in bed at night if you haven’t managed to practice earlier in the day. It calms and soothes the brain and regulates the breathing, all of which help to relax the body and calm the nerves.

Ideally, you will choose the same time each day to perform the exercise so that you get the maximum benefits of a regular practice. Just before bed is good, although in time, you might like to add it to an earlier yoga practice which includes some asanas.

Sit in whatever position you find comfortable.

Take a slow, deep inhalation. Close the eyes and slowly breath out.

Put the right hand middle finger and index finger on the brow between the eyebrows. Keep these fingers on the brow while you perform the alternate nostril breathing exercise. Place the thumb over the right nostril and close it. Breath in slowly through the left nostril. Hold the breath while you lift the thumb off the right nostril. Put the 4th finger over the left nostril and close it. Exhale slowly and evenly through the right nostril.

Repeat the procedure, breathing in through the open right nostril. Hold, block off the right nostril with thumb, release the 4th finger from the left nostril, and exhale through the left.

This constitutes one round. Continue by breathing in again through the open left nostril. Hold breath while you release the right thumb, breathe out through the right, draw in the breath through the right. Follow the instructions for closing off each nostril as indicated above and continue until you have completed 3 full rounds.

After 3 full rounds,  take the hand down from the brow and place on the right knee. Take 3 full, slow breaths as you sit there with your eyes still closed. Repeat the full exercise, remembering to take the breaths with hands on knees at the end of each cycle of 3 rounds.

Do for around 5 minutes to start, and build up to around 10 minutes.

2) OM Chanting:

This is very beneficial for the mind, body and soul. It can be seen to aid spiritual development by the fact that one’s tolerance levels are improved, for a start.
It is an excellent practice to add to your daily routine of exercises, or it can be done at any time of the day to benefit your health and sense of well-being.

OM Chanting  can even be done in the car while you are waiting in traffic. It is a big help in avoiding stress in such situations. Of course, you will do this exercise with your eyes open if you do it in the car. But ideally this is best done in seated position, after your other yoga practice, with your eyes closed.

Never do this exercise while lying down, as the prone position means pressure is put on the larynx it you speak. The voice-box is hurt if you lie down to chant or speak

So- important to be upright in a seated position for benefits.
Simply take in a deep, slow breath and say OM as you breathe out. Try to regulate the breath so that it comes out slowly and so that the sound of OM is emitted in one nice, evenly toned, steady volumed sound.

When you have exhaled completely, fill the lungs with another breath and continue to slowly exhale as you chant OM.

Make your OM chant last as long as you can while you sing out the purest, most even note you can sustain.

This exercise is very good for the nervous system. After a few days or weeks of regular practice, you will notice that the tone of your voice improves and that the sound is steadier and easier to regulate. You will notice, too, that the volume of breath your lungs are capable of taking will expand.

This is the ACE exercise of all yoga teachings in my opinion. No wonder that it is the chant of Buddhism and the favoured chant of many meditation teachers.The Christian AMEN is a little similar but it doesn’t have the same vitality, when chanted repeatedly, as the OM chant. This is mainly because OM has just one syllable, whereas AMEN has two. The vibration from the OM sound vibrates through the head, down the spine and through the entire body. It calms the brain, feeds more blood to eyes, ears and nose, causes a toning up of the nervous system, and encourages the natural flow of  PRANA, or CHI, throughout the body. This effect helps to remove toxins, especially from the ears, nose, throat and brain. You could add this to the Alternate Nostril Breath.

Recovered smokers would do well to practice OM chanting on a regular basis, as it helps to restore and strengthen the lungs and improve the voice as well as calm the nerves.

(Note – I would seriously advise anyone who is still addicted to alocohol or drugs of any kind to postpone the practice of OM chanting until they have ceased taking their drugs for good.)

This is an excellent exercise for singers and for people who do a lot of public speaking, as well as those who simply want a good night’s sleep.

3) Group OM Chanting:

This is a unifying and powerful healing practice. Everyone sits, eyes closed, chanting OM. It doesn’t matter what note you strike. Everyone strikes the note they feel is comfortable for them and joins in the chorus.When the first has finished the OM chant in their own time, they simply take another breath and continue with another OM round, no matter whether the others have finished their OM breath or not. This keeps a continuous vibration of OM which is very soothing and healing to the nervous system. Of course, eventually you will all arrive at a moment when you are all inhaling together, but the object is for everyone to chant in their own time, withdrawing when necessary to take a breath, and then adding to the resonance again by chanting OM. You will find, after 10 minutes of practice, that the sound has become more harmonious, with the chanters naturally favouring of 3rds 5ths and octaves of their own accord. This, of course, is not the object, but just occurs naturally. The idea is to be uninhibited and make whatever note you are capable of holdng for the length of the breath.

4) Silent Breath Counting:
This exercise is taken from Yoga Nidra, or the Yoga of Sleep as taught by Satyananda. Yoga Nidra is preferably done on the floor as part of a daily practice. But this short version can be done in bed.
The OM chant is used here to calm the mind, but it is said silently to oneself. (Remember- no vocal sound while you are lying down, as this hurts the voice-box)
The good effects still prevail even though the OM sound is said silently to yourself, without vocalization.
Close the eyes. Breathe in slowly and deeply, counting mentally ONE…… as you breathe in. Hold briefly, then, as you breathe out, mentally say OM…… slowly to yourself.
Breathe in, mentally saying TWO…… to yourself. Hold. Breathe out slowly mentally saying OM…… to yourself.
Breathe in, mentally saying THREE……etc.
Continue up to TEN breaths.
This oxygenates the blood whilst slowing the mind down. You can’t possibly be considering other thoughts while all you concentration is on the breath, and counting, and silently chanting OM.

5) Prana Absorption Excercise – Hands from  TUMMY TO BROW with Co-ordinated Breathing:

This  exercise, if done daily, will help aid sleep. It is also a very good healing excercise. It is powerful simply done as an energy enhancer and to help destress the body and mind.

It can be done in seated position, or lying prone on the floor in Savasana. Close the eyes.

Inhale, pressing the fingers firmly into the solar plexus in the middle of the stomach. Take a deep, slow breath, filling the lungs completely with air. Imagine the bright yellow energy from the sun filling the solar plexus and feeding the nervous system.

Hold the breath briefly before you exhale as you then place the hands onto the brow at the eyebrow centre. Slowly exhale, imagining the energy from your hands soothing your brain. Repeat until you have done 10 breaths.

The exercise is very beneficial in balancing the nervous system and creating harmony between the chakra centres in the eyebrow centre and the solar plexus centre. For concentrated healing on one area of the body, do 10 rounds as outlined above. Then do another 10 rounds, breathing in with hands on the solar plexus, but put the hands on the part of your body which needs healing as you breath out each time. Imagine the healing force in your hands  going into the area, helping to create a whole and perfect condition.

The simple tummy-to-brow- excercise is good for building up enery, or PRANA n the body if you are about to do spiritual healing to help somebody else. Do directly before you help another person. It helps focus the mind as well as improve vitality.