yoga nidra Archives | Natural Health with Merrilyn Hope

How to Stop Overeating

Compulsive overeating:

This is a problem for many of us at some time during our lives. What are some of the things which can cause us to be compulsive eaters? Emotional causes, depression, stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, toxins held in the body, feelings of self doubt, boredom, and/or nutritional deficiences can fuel our cravings for more and more food.

One very nice remedy for obsessive overeating, which you might add to your well rounded programme to lose weight, is given by Dr Vasant Lad in his Ayurvedic Medicine book, see details below. His Ayurvedic suggestion is to eat bananas. Here is a version of Dr Vasant Lad’s simple suggestion on how to stop overeating:

Take one banana . Mash it up.
Add one teaspoon of ghee to the banana.
Add between 1/4 and 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom powder to the banana.
Mix ingredients together and eat when you are hungry.

Acupuncture and counselling are recommended to all those who have an obsessive eating disorder of any kind, whether it be undereating or overeating. Acupuncture can take care of the physical yearnings and help to increase the energy in the right places. And counselling can help greatly to establish feelings of self worth and release negative emotions.

Look at merrilyn’s post on Qi Gong for Weight Loss for an exercise which will help to build courage and emotional strength, as well as increase qi energy in the physical body.

Alternate Nostril Breathing is a useful exercise which will help relax the body and calm the emotions and the brain. It is a good exercise to do prior to meditating. See merrilyn’s post entitled ‘Yoga Breath and Sleeping Well‘ for instructions on how to perform Alternate Nostril Breathing. See also the post entitled ‘Yoga Nidra’ for a deep relaxation exercise which will aid your ‘How to Stop Eating’ programme.

For more advice on Ayurvedic Remedies, consult Vasant Lad’s book entitled Ayurvedic Home Remedies: A Comprehensive Guide to the Ancient Healing of India. This is published in the U.K., 1999, by Judy Piatkus (Publishers Limited), 5 Windmill St, London W1T. 2JA. Reprinted 2002.

What Happens When You Stop Smoking

You can imagine what happens when you stop smoking.

Giving up smoking is very difficult for most people. A few people manage the cold turkey approach to giving up smoking: something makes them decide one morning that they are just sick of the coughing fit which is experienced every morning upon waking. And that coughing fit is always followed by the crazy routine of going straight for the fags, the cause of the problem. They decide, on the spot, that they’re never going to smoke again, and that’s it. They don’t.

For most of us, achieving our goal of being a non-smoker is far more difficult. It certainly takes a lot of perseverance, in my experience, to keep going on the no-smoking tack, when you repeatedly disappoint yourself by breaking your vow to stop. Read about some helpful tips in Merrilyn’s post http://merrilynhope.com/giving-up-smoking/

It is important to keep motivated and positive about your intentions. All you have to do really, is to Keep on keeping on – Keep believing that you will finally become a non-smoker, despite the slow progress. If you keep believing that, then it won’t matter whether you take three weeks, three months, or three years, as long as you get there. Of course, sooner is better, rather than later, but don’t be disappointed in yourself if you break your vow of abstinence.

Feeling guilty about your failure to quit actually makes you likely to smoke more. Pick yourself up again, and continue trying to give up. Finally, one day, you will have become a non-smoker.

So – finally, you manage to do it. What happens when you stop smoking – how do you feel?

Of course, you will feel proud of yourself. And justifiably, too. Giving up smoking is, along with giving up alcohol, one of the best achievements you will make in your life time. Giving up smoking will improve your health, prolong your life, and give you and your family a better quality of life. The whole family will benefit because there will be more money for good food and outings. Your family, and your friends too, will also be happier, because they are not subjected to your smoke, and because they do not see you getting closer to death with every puff.

Initially, after you have stopped smoking, you will most likely feel more stressed and bad-tempered. This is partly because all those tobacco and combustion toxins which have been stored in your body suddenly begin to be expelled. The body is jolted into throwing off the stored poisons, because of the sudden withdrawal of tobacco. These poisons which suddenly begin to be expelled can cause you to feel very sick, if not irritable.

As the poisons get expelled, and flood through the bloodstream, you might experience heart palpitations, a fluctuating blood sugar level, dizziness, a foul tasting mouth, a yellow-furred tongue, profuse sweating, and other disturbances of the metabolism.

Over Eating can be a a problem for many people. Initially, though, you should not worry about this, unless you are excessively fat. Generally, smokers are malnourished. They have a deficiency of many of the important vitamins and minerals on which our good health depends. So eating up at the beginning of your adjustment to a smoke-free life should not be of concern. The main thing is to eat nutritious food and avoid eating bread and wheat products and fried foods: if you susbstitute brown rice for any bread you might eat, you won’t get fat, and your cholesterol levels will remain healthy.

Avoid Getting Fat: The thing you have to do, is not so much to curb your eating, but to ensure that you are not eating any crap foods. Nourish your body and nervous system. If you are hungry between meals, then try to make the effort to make yourself a carrot juice, or an apple juice. Or simply eat an apple, or a banana – something which will provide sustenance to your body and your brain and your nervous system.

How To Minimize Withdrawal Symptoms

The classic symptoms which you experience when you stop smoking can be remedied very quickly if you take measures to expell the tobacco poisons as quickly as you can. The more quickly that you can rid the body of these harmful toxins, the more quickly will your health be returned to normal and your mood be happy and constant.

Castor Oil to Eliminate Poisons One of the most efficient ways to get rid of poisons in the body and brain is to take castor oil every second day, for a week or two. An irrigation of the bowel is recommended during this time, especially if you have not done a cleansing diet in a while. This washes away the poisons from the bowel immediately, so that you do not reabsorb the poisons back into the bloodstream. These reabsorbed poisons keep the tobacco drugs in your blood. Getting rid of theses poisons from the bowel and blood increases the liklihood that you will quit the tobacco habit forever.

Castor Oil, or Ghee Oil Put either of these two oils into your nostrils at night. Ghee oil has been used in Ayurvedic medicine to help many health conditions, and ghee oil to stop smoking is one of them. Castor oil has a similar effect and is another well-tried remedy.

These oils will help your mucous membranes to heal, and also deter youfrom smoking. Put just three drops up into each nostril and inhale it into the sinuses. You can smear a little of either of these oils into the nostrils during the day time as well. Every time you get an urge to smoke, just put a little of either castor oil or ghee into the nostrils.

The Apple Diet

If you do not wish to tackle the castor oil treatment, you might try fasting on only apples for a day. Eat normally for a few days, then do two days on the apple diet.

The Grape Diet

Grapes work just as well as apples. Just eat grapes whenever you are hungry. Grapes and apples eaten raw will have a cleansing effect on your whole body.

Carrot Juice Diet

Another way to cleanse the body quickly is to take a glass of carrot juice every hour for the whole of the day. Again – eat normally for a few days, then try two days on the carrot juice diet.

Natural Tranquillizers

Of course, your brain has been relying on the tobacco drug, to help with your stress levels. Now this is what happens when you stop smoking: your brain does not make the adjustment to a drug-free existence so lightly. It will tell you that you ‘need’ something. You will fell restless, and perhaps anxious. See the paragraph below on the effects of Vitamin C and Vitamin B, which help to de-stress your body while you get used to doing without cigarettes.

Yoga Breathing, and Yoga Nidra can help greatly in destressing the body and in oxygenating the blood and brain so that you will feel great.

Read merrilyn’s posts entitled ‘Yoga Nidra’, and the ‘Ha Ha Ha Breath/Quit Smoking’ for some simple yoga techniques you can use in quitting smoking.

Alternate Nostril Breathing is of great value in calming the emotions and in acting as a deterrent for smoking. Simply block off the right nostril with the right hand thumb. Breathe in through the left nostril. Hold for a second, then release the thumb from the right nostril and put the ring finger over the left nostril. Your middle finger and ring finger should be resting above your nose on the eye-brow center.

Exhale through the right nostril. Breath in through the same nostril you have just exhaled from , that is the right. Hold the breath for a second, then swap the fingers over so that the left nostril is released. Breatheout through the left, then in again through the same nostril. Change the fingers to release the other nostril and repeat, exhaing through the right nostril, then breathing in again through the right nostril.

This can be done in bed at night. It helps to bring restful sleep and calm the brain.

Diet and Vitamin Supplements

Generally, a low carbohydrate/ high protein diet is the one which is recommended for people giving up smoking or alcohol.

You can give your brain that ‘added something’ by nourishing it with foods and vitamins and minerals which will negate those unwanted cravings. You can improve your stress levels enormously with the following specific vitamin supplements.

Vitamin C, especially the non-acidic form such as Ester C, or Calcium Ascorbate, will work not only as a detoxifying agent, but as a soothing, mild tranquillizer. This makes Vitamin C especially useful when you are giving up smoking, or alcohol. Take 1000 mg three times a day to begin your smoke free life. A dose should be taken last thing at night, as this will help you to sleep well.

Vitamin B Complex is another important supplement for giving up smoking. This nourishes your nerves and brain so that you do not suffer the effects of giving up smoking so intensely.

Zinc, Magnesium and B6 are essential to good health. You need an extra boost of these minerals when you are giving up smoking.

Calcium is another important mineral which helps us to sustain good health. Alcium also acts as a mild tranquillizer, so this is another one to add to your diet. If you ate a small can of sardines, or some mackerel, every day, then you will be getting plenty of calcium from the small bones in these fish.

You might experiment with merrilyn’s recipe for home made calcium supplement in the post “Best Calcium Supplement’. This supplement is better absorbed than calcium tablets are, or even dolomite powder, because it is naturally mixed with other minerals like magnesium and zinc, which aid the absorption of calcium.

Iodine is another important mineral, and you will get this in ample supply from eating sardines or any sea food.

Look at merrilyn’s posts entitled ‘Giving Up Smoking’, ‘Giving Up Alcohol Vitamins’, and ‘Detox Diets’. Also:

‘Homeopathic Remedy To Reduce Craving For Tobacco‘

Yoga Exercise for Varicose Veins

Yoga exercise is beneficial for everyone, as we all know. Here are a few very simple yoga exercises which will benefit people with varicose veins.
The first category of yoga exercise for varicose veins is the one which improves circulation. Improved circulation will help those sore veins.
The second category is the inverted posture: Inverted postures help drain old blood out of the legs, enabling new blood to nourish the veins. This exercise has the effect of relieving those tired and aching legs. The inverted posture also benefits the brain and the thyroid, as it causes more blood to reach the head area.

We will begin our exercise programme with some very simple yoga exercises which almost anyone can do.

Day One: The first exercise which you will learn, ‘the simple leg raising exercise’, will help your cicirculation, and give your legs a small opportunity to rest, as well.
The Simple Leg Raising Exercise: This exercise, believe it or not, has the combined effects of stimulating the circulation AND draining old blood from the legs. It is great for preventing constipation. It can be done at any time during the day, but it is a good one to do just before you go to bed, followed by the next listed here, the ‘simple inverted posture’. For preventing constipation, try to do the leg raising exercise as soon as you get up. These take so little time – the benefits are so great for the little time spent in doing them.
Just lie on the floor, hands beside the body on the floor. Breathe in a long, slow, deep breath. Hold the breath, and as you do, lift the legs up slowly until they are perpendicular to the body, upright, with the toes pointing towards the ceiling.
Hold the legs in this upright position, while you breath out slowly. Slowly take another breath in and out while you keep the legs up with the toes pointing towards the ceiling.
Take another slow breath in, filling the lungs completely. Hold the breath as you slowly lower the legs to the floor.
Breathe out again while your legs are lying relaxed on the floor. Take another breath in and out. Then take a deep breath in again, and hold the breath while you repeat the precedure of lifting the legs slowly up until the toes point to the sky.
Release the breath again, while you hold the legs in this position. Another breath in, and out. Then another breath in which you hold while the legs move down slowly to the floor again.
Repeat a third time. Then relax on the floor, breathing normally. Watch the breath as you lie relaxed on the floor, and feel the effect of having done this exercise.

Simple Leg Clasping Exercise: This is another good one to prevent constipation, as it massages the stomach area. This also aids digestion. The legs benefit too, as they are drawn up with the knees getting applied pressure as you do so. Lie on the floor. Draw the knees up towards the chest. Clasp the hands around the knees. Breathe in a deep breath. As you breathe out, pull the knees towards the chest, tugging the legs towards you. Release the pressure on the knees as you breathe in again, relaxing the pose a little, but keeping the hands clasped around the knees. Breathing out, pull the legs inward towards the chest again. Hold for a second, then breathe in as you let the knees move outward again. Repeat for up to five rounds.

Rest.

Easy Knee Massage: After you have done the above exercise, whilst you are still lying on the floor, or on your bed, you can give some gentle massage to the knees, using only the legs. Draw the knees upward off the floor. Just gently rub the inside of one knee against the other for half a minute. Put the legs down. Repeat. Then stop. This simple exercise will benefit your legs if you perform it at least once a day. You can do it even while you are in bed before sleeping, if you haven’t already done your exercises..

Simple Inverted Posture for Varicose Veins:
Lie close to a wall, close enough to touch the wall with your feet, with your knees bent.
Now place your legs up the wall. About two or three feet up the wall is a good height. Simply rest there, with your feet touching the wall. The wall holds the weight of your feet. Lie there for ten to twenty minutes, doing your yoga breathing. Imagine the tummy rising and falling with each breath, even if it is not moving much in this position. This exercise is also good for chest ailments, and asthma. Stop doing the exercise when it becomes uncomfortable, or if you are short of breath.

YOGA NIDRA , or the ‘Yoga of Sleep’ is beneficial for treating varicose veins. It is also excellent for destressing the body, and ridding feelings of anxiety, so these are very good reasons to do this exercise. People with varicose veins often have high blood pressure and high levels of stress which contribute to health problems. This is the very exercise to relieve these symptoms. This exercise could follow the inverted posture above. For instructions on how to do yoga nidra, see merrilyn’s post entitled: ‘yoga nidra’. Also see merrilyn’s post entitled ‘Yoga Breath and Sleeping Well’

Day Two: So – now you have done two simple yoga exercises, and maybe you have even done Yoga Nidra.Stimulating Circulation – Churning the Mill: This exercise most definitely belongs to the stimulating category. Churning the Mill is also great for massaging the intestines, which helps prevent constipation. Constipation is one of the main causes of varicose veins, and must be avoided if you are to improve those veins and prevent the condition from worsening. Perform Churning the Mill as soon as you get up, before the above two exercises, if you are able. It can be done at any time really, but it should always be done before the gentle exercises of your routine. Always perform Churning the Mill before Yoga Nidra.

Sit on the floor with your legs spread apart. Clasp the hands together. Breathe out, as you stretch out as far as you can over your left leg, without straining. Now, holding the clasped hands together, move the hands across to the right leg, reaching towards the foot. Breathing in, bring the clasped hands up along the leg, top the top of the thigh. Lean the body back back as you do so. Keep the arms straight if you can, for the whole of the exercise. The idea is that you bend backwards slightly as you draw the clasped hands up the legs, so that you keep the arms straight. Breathe out as you take the clasped hands back down the left leg towards the left foot. Breathe in as you bring the hands along the right leg, upwards towards the right thigh.

The lean backwards is important, as this brings the stomach muscles into play. This stimulates circulation whilst it massages the stomach area.

Continue the exercise. Begin with five rounds, or do only one or two if you find it difficult. Change the direction to perform the same amount of rounds going the opposite way. Build up your practice slowly so that you can do ten rounds each way.

Memory Loss

Natural Health

Consider the possible environmental causes – see Merrilyn’s new post, published 12 Feb, 2017:

Global Amnesia Cause Probably RoundUp Glyphosate Formaldehyde

Memory loss is something which concerns many people today. Even young people can suffer from memory loss.

We are all afraid of getting alzheimer’s disease: when the memory and brain function have declined so badly that we are incapable of making decisions and caring for ourselves, then we have lost control of our lives, we get put into care, and our active contribution to society ceases. We all wish to avoid this scenario.

There are several main causes of memory loss in people who are not yet old. If you have reason to believe that your memory function is declining, or is impaired, then it would be prudent for you to consider the list below which outlines memory loss factors, then you can begin to take measures which will help remedy the problem.

SLEEP DEPRIVATION can cause memory loss. Lack of sleep makes you feel tired, and it also makes the brain tired. This causes not just short term memory loss, but a general inability to think clearly, to make decisions or string your sentences coherently together. Sleep deprivation can also cause you to become depressed and listless.

DEPRESSION, whether it be from lack of sleep or from a deep-seated emotional cause, or from lack of certain nutrients in the diet, can cause short term memory loss. Addiction to alcohol or other drugs can cause depression.

ANXIETY which is often associated with sleep deprivation and depression, can inhibit brain function, including memory. Vitamins and good nutrition can help enormously in minimizing anxiety, and DEEP RELAXATION exercises which include YOGA BREATHING and YOGA NIDRA do wonders for alleviating stress, anxiety and depression, thus helping the problem of memory loss. Try to remove emotional factors in your life which could be causing anxiety, or learn, via these yoga techniques, to overcome them.

POOR NUTRITION alone can be the cause of short term memory loss. Lack of IRON is a well known factor in memory loss, poor mental function, and general tiredness. Lack of VITAMIN B complex components, especially NIACIN, and VITAMIN B12, can contribute to temporary memory loss.

A fluctuating blood sugar level (hypoglycaemea) means that the brain is not being fed a constant supply of blood sugar, and this is the cause of many people’s memory loss.

Keeping sugar to a minimum and using other quality foods which help the blood sugar level to be more stable should be the aim. Use rice instead of wheat products and bread. Eat adequate protein. Include enough good quality fats and oils in your diet: These things all help improve memory function.

If you find that some days your memory is good, while on other days it seems to be poor, then try a diet which excludes wheat, bread, sugar and dairy products, alcohol and coffee for a while. On the other hand, a quick-fix of sugar, best from fruit or honey, can alleviate a sudden attack of memory loss, but it is best to avoid letting things get to this state of affairs by following a good dietary regime and leading a sensible life style.

ADDICTION TO ALCOHOL OR MARIJUANA OR OTHER DRUGS can cause short term memory loss as well as long term memory loss. Too much COFFEE can affect memory function also: too much makes the brain tired, as it, and alcohol, etc, deplete the brain of essential nutrients, causing a state of malnutrition. Many young people smoke marijuana thinking that they are avoiding the harmful of effects of alcohol – well, alcohol probably affects the liver and nervous system more drastically, but marijuana affects the brain and its memory function much more quickly than alcohol: it doesn’t take very long for a young brain to manifest the memory loss effect of smoking marijuana. Of course, some people have more resistance to the stuff than others, but there is plenty of evidence to show that marijuana causes memory loss.

DENTURE plastic/acrylic could be contributing to your state or memory loss. Check out the article I have posted on DENTURES which follows this post on memory loss. Dentures should be made of quality materials and really are best, for the benefit of mental function including memory, to be changed for a new set every three years or so. In my experience, the life of a denture is about three years before it begins to affect memory adversely.

DEHYDRATION: Insufficient water causes the brain to malfunction and suffer memory loss. WATER is necessary for a healthy brain. Alcohol, coffee and other drugs and medications can make you dehydrated. Check your water intake: start your remedial measures to counteract memory loss and improve your brain by drinking plenty of water each day.

SLUGGISH BOWELS can, and DO cause memory loss. It is very important to get the bowels cleared of effete matter which causes auto-intoxication. A diet which includes plenty of fresh, raw fruit and vegetables, and which avoids those dairy products which clog the bowel with mucous, is imperative. Using rice, preferably brown, instead of wheat products, plenty of salads with sprouted grains and seeds with adequate proteins will help cure your sluggish bowels.

ENVIRONMENTAL POISONS, such as preservatives in our food, herbicides on grass verges, household poisons such as pesticides and weedkillers, and petrochemicals, are very bad for your health generally: they contribute to cancer setting in, but also affect your memory very badly. Fly sprays, potions which kill fleas on the dog or the cat, are all very harmful for the general health and for the memory, both to your pet and to you. Every time you pat your pet you will be getting a dose of that poison you put there to counteract fleas. Make sure that you buy safe homeopathic or herbal preparations for your pet.

Many hair products, especially hair dyes, could be affecting your state of memory loss.

FORMALDEHYDE is extremely toxic to humans and to animal life. Formaldehyde is probably the most potent of the chemicals known to cause memory loss. It is found in many products used about the home, and is even found in some cosmetics and balms. It is found in particle board flooring (fake wood, or chip board) and in many synthetic building materials. It is found in many glues, paints and varnishes. It is found in dyes and in leather-tanning products. Much of our clothing, which comes now from China, is made with cheaper dyes and materials which use formaldehyde and other extremely poisonous chemicals.

If you handle photocopy print, or inks a lot, then beware – many of these contain formaldehyde and other dangerous chemicals.

When formaldehyde first became popular as an antiseptic in the 1950’s, it was used widely in hospitals and dental surgeries in New Zealand and other parts of the world. It was regarded as a best friend to nurses, doctors and surgeons, as surgical objects, after being used on a patient, could be placed in a jar of formaldehyde which would sterilize them immediately. No one was aware of the dangers to the health, especially to the brain. I read an article years ago which documented two nurses who were working in New Zealand in the 1950’s. Their memories were shot well before time, and they attributed this to the fact that they had freely used formaldehyde, even dipping their hands in a bowl of it to quickly kill off all germs, while they had been working in hospitals. They were reported as saying that there was no point in reading a book, as they had forgotten completely what the plot and the characters were all about by the time they had gotten very far along with the story.

I had peritonitis when I was about five years old, in early 1955, the year of my sixth birthday. I remember the glass of formaldehyde which sat beside my bed in the hospital where the operation to save my life had been done. The smell of the glass of formaldehyde made me feel sick, but the worst thing was the thermometer which permanently sat in the fluid. The nurses would come around, take the thermometer out of the liquid formaldehyde, give it a quick flick, and put it straight into my mouth. I was getting dosed, inadvertently, with formaldehyde. I quickly began to associate the ‘white outs’ in the brain, when it was apparent to me that not only could I not remember anything, but it seemed as if I did not exist at all; and confusion and drowsiness, the heavy sleep which followed, with the stuff in the jar, as these things happened to me straight after each thermometer reading. I therefore began to scream loudly every time they came to take my temperature, and to fight them off, but to no avail, of course. I was simply held down and forced to take the thermometer. I remember, after returning home from hospital, screaming hysterically every time my mother opened the bottle of dry cleaning fluid, which was carbon tetrachloride: I feared that this might put me to sleep just as the formaldehyde had done, as it smelt similar. I suspect it probably is just about as bad in its effect on the memory, but I never waited to find out. I would run out the door to gasp at the fresh air outside. Because of this early experience which sensitized me to formaldehyde, I have to be very careful with anything containing formaldehyde, or indeed most chemicals, as they can cause complete memory loss. But fortunately, once I get onto a fasting diet and the offending toxins are removed from my body, my memory improves again.

Vitamin C in mega doses is one of the best things to get rid of toxins from the body and the brain. 1000 mg of ester C or another non-acidic type of Vitamin C such as calcium ascorbate, work wonders. You can take a 1000mg dose once, or twice, or even three times a day in cases of acute poisoning.

ELECTRO MAGNETIC RADIATION. This is affecting people’s memories today. Cell phones, cell phone towers, electricity transformers which are located near your home, electricity meter boxes which are too close to your bed or working space, TV aerials too close to where you sleep or work, an environment which is too well-circuited with electricity wires and plugs, such as apartment buildings where you have a super-charged electrical environment because of the TV upstairs and below and to the side of you, and all the wiring to go to stoves, meter boxes etc above and all around you: all these things affect your brain function, including your memory. Apartment buildings are bad also because of the clusters of cell phones being used all about you: this energy is intensified with more cell phones being in use together.

MENTAL STIMULATION: It is important to stimulate the brain on a regular basis. Crossword puzzles, chess and card games, writing short essays on chosen topics, reading stimulating books, learning new pieces on the piano or another instrument, and conversing with people, all stimulate the brain. Communicating with people and interacting socially is very good for mental function as well as the emotional state. It is amazing how quickly you can lose confidence in communicating verbally with people if you are living in isolation. The brain becomes really slow at responding if it is given a chance to be idle for too long. Keep the brain active by enjoying activities where you get to talk to people, about meaningful things, or simply just in a caring way, to friends, family and neighbours.

CONCENTRATION: Make sure that you concentrate totally on the task in hand, or on the conversation you are having. Do not allow yourself to daydream whilst you are talking to somebody, or, say, listening to the news. How can you remember the important things people tell you if you are not listening with full attention? Day dreaming is OK too, but day dream with your full attention, and not too long at a time. Try to have a half hour of snoozing/daydreaming, or meditating, and then get straight onto a specific task which you will give your full attention. Give yourself projects which you find exciting: having goals is a great thing for encouraging the memory to perform well.

EXERCISE: Physical exercise, whether it be from yoga, or light jogging, playing tennis, swimming, or such-like, cannot be underestimated in the beneficial effect on the physical body and the brain. Memory loss can be helped enormously by taking up an exercise such as these listed above, especially if they are done daily, or at least three times a week. Working up a bit of a sweat helps eliminate toxins from the body and the brain. Physical exercise also helps move the lymph around the body and to the brain: this is important in helping your brain to function optimally, as the nutrients are carried throughout the body and brain, not just via the blood, but via the lymph.

SAUNAS are very useful in helping memory loss. Saunas will help your body to sweat out all those toxins which are impairing your mental function.

Modalities such as MASSAGE, ACUPUNCTURE, ACUPRESSURE, HERBAL MEDICINE, HOMEOPATHIC MEDICINE, and AYURVEDIC MEDICINE can also have a beneficial effect on the brain when the right treatment is given.

GINKGO is reputed to help people with memory loss. However, I find that I cannot ingest the stuff, as it has the effect of lowering my pulse rate too much, which makes me feel terrible. Funnily enough, though, I picked up some fruit of a giant ginkgo tree in Remuera yesterday, which I took home to have a go at growing from the seed inside. Just handling and smelling these pale, lemon coloured fruits has had a definite positive effect on my brain and powers of recall. But I have kept them outside to avoid a negative effect which could result from having too much of the stuff around me.

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.