health and wholeness

[Guest guest]

Hey all,

 

 

I hate to use this list as a clearinghouse for medical information, but I've

been very impressed by some of the information being given out recently and I

was wondering if anyone had any ideas for me. (and how many of us it takes being

broken and battered to find our way into a humble position of patience and

perserverence! how much better for those of you that live joyful lives and are

still on the mat everyday!)

 

 

just briefly, I am a 23 year old male. I have always considered myself a

spiritual seeker, and have had an interest throughout my life in all things

mystical, whether hokey or not: drugs, yoga, astral projection, astrology,

monasticism, mantras, magick, catholicism to name a few! I was born extremely

(over 3 months) premature, and was extraordinarily sickly growing up: strep

throat, pneumonia, whooping cough, mono, ear infections, cavities - you name it

and I was probably in and out of the hospital with it or had it a few times a

year: so my formative years were pretty much spent on a diet of antibiotics and

standard american processed crap.

 

 

About 5 years ago I got to college, and I started to exert some control over my

food choices and switched to what I call the Taco Bell vegetarian diet. About a

year after I got to college I started dealing with depression, which up until

that point in my life had been a pretty foreign thing (not routine sadness, but

they day in/day out monotone color scheme of chronic low-grade depression) I had

a few fairly major depressive episodes over the course of the next few years but

mostly just gritted my teeth and existed in my almost-okay world. About 2 years

ago I started having really bad anxiety and panic attacks where I couldn't sleep

or eat for days and just walked around. I also started dealing with very

obsessive worrying about irrational things (whether I was an alcoholic, whether

I would grow up to be a child molester, whether I am supposed to be Christian,

etc) once again, one of those things that I certainly never foresaw in my life,

and is hard to explain in any terms other than you have to have experienced it

yourself to understand how crippling these seemingly external (but decidedly

internal) thought patterns can be. I also started having problems with

impotence, worsening allergies, etc

 

 

About a year ago I started having problems with a chronic pain at the base of my

spine, in the perineum area and also a lot of problems with horrible fatigue,

dizzyness, jumbled words/spelling when I am writing, being cold all the time,

etc.

 

 

After 4 1/2 years of gradually increasing symptoms I sometimes feel as if I'm

not going to be able to go on another day, but I know there has to be a key to

unlocking all of this somewhere. I wasn't always like this and I shouldn't

always be like this.

 

 

On my better days, I consider all this my guru. (I prayed for a teacher and woke

up depressed!) Over the past year I have been eating a mostly whole foods, vegan

diet, with some fish and yogurt. (my vegetarian diet had gotten progressively

better over the years, but this was a big step) No white sugar, processed foods

,etc. My primary foods are kitcheree, millet, tofu, quinoa, brown rice+

veggies, rice+beans, corn chips and nut butters. I drink only water and ginger

tea. After 3 months without them I recently added fruits back into my diet

again.

 

 

I have been to see TCM practitioners and naturopaths to no avail (and much

expense) There have been minor improvements that usually just go right back to

failure again within a few weeks. Right now I am working with a psychologist and

a homeopath - the homeopath seems convinced that the remedy he is giving me is

working, and recently I have begun to notice some changes in my energy levels

and in my dreams, so I will remain patient. The psychologist of course, wants to

push me towards western pharmeceuticals since my symptoms fit such a nice

picture of dysthymia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (and I recently found my

birth parents - i was adopted - and there is some genetic history of

anxiety-depressive disorders that show up in early adulthood) but so far I have

resisted going that route. (no disrespect or hard feelings towards those that

choose that route) In TCM terms I'm pretty sure I have some major kidney

disfunction: Auyervedicly I'm definitely a vata type already and this would

point towards some major vata overload! Holistically, I know that this is all

linked to my digestive system somehow, since that is where I feel my anxiety and

unease. I thought maybe candida from all the years of antiobiotics + sugar, but

my sugar free diet and parasite cleanses haven't helped...at all. I've been

tested for food allergies and eliminated all my allergens (wheat, yeast and

shellfish primarily)

 

 

I feel intuitively that Kundalini Yoga could be a big part of my path both

spiritually and healthily (and only a fool would separate them!), although I

primarily identify as an earth-based pagan and a pragmatic occultist (with some

heavy overtones of catholic guilt!) I approach with some amount of trepidation

and fear and a reluctance to accept anyone's word as final or authority on any

matter, but with an open heart, a quest for truth, and a somewhat broken

body+mind. I have though about studying naturopathy myself but I feel like

alternative methods should be able to heal me first! I've studied plenty of nice

theories as to the patterns of imbalance my symptoms show, but the proof is in

the pudding so to speak.

 

 

I understand that change is an inevitable part of healing rather than curing.

And I am willing, if sometimes scared, to change in whatever ways are necessary.

But it makes it hard not to occasionally go out with friends and grab a beer and

pizza when 4 months of super strict diet and twice-daily meditation and daily

exercise don't seem to make any dent in anything. It's hard to listen to the

little voice when you feel as if you are sharing a brain with a roaring lion.

And platitudes about the mind being a servant of me and me not being a servant

of my mind and easier said than done when it takes an hour just to get out of

bed in the morning, my crotch feels like its on fire and I have to hear stupid

worries on endless replay 700 times before breakfast

 

 

I could go on forever when I get in self-pity mode, so I'll cut it off. Any

recommendations for specific exercises that might be helpful would be great. I

recently finished 40 days of sa ta na ma (the first time I've ever done anything

for 40 days straight...i don't even think i've ever brushed my teeth 40 days in

a row!) and have been doing a hatha yoga set every morning along with some

personal rituals of clearing, opening, strength and healing. I was attending a

KY class two mornings a week, but have had to back off in recent works because

it was hurting my back A LOT (I need work on those core stomach muscles) so

instead I've been trying to do a very modified nabhi kriya every morning and

some breath of fire. I was thinking about starting ra ma da sa. Any other

suggestions from you other stumblers on the path out there?

 

 

Relax & Renew is on the way. Intuitively I feel my root issue is fear, even all

these symptoms wouldn't matter so much if I wasn't so terrified I would always

be this way and never be happy+healthy again. I am really trying to work on

posture and making eye contact with people since I have a tendency to walk with

my head down and sit with my chest closed.

 

 

oh and my birthday is 04 July 1979 - the 4 and 7 are right there staring

straight at me and the moon in scorpio doesn't help matters!

 

 

hungry for God, striving towards wholeness

 

 

all love,

*j

 

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[Guest guest]

Hey Jack,

 

You paint a pretty complex picture of your situation. Diet and homeopathics and

nutritional supplements will help you get over the physical past. In respect to

everything else, the anxiety/panic is probably the key. It will cause a lot of

the other stuff you are experiencing. So you probably need to do two things.

Practice meditation which is going to help you get at what is behind the

anxiety: fear, rage, that kind of stuff. I would suggest the Har Har Gobinday

meditation which is in the on-line course. Find a healer that has experience

working with deep-seated emotions. Good luck.

 

Seva Simran

[Guest guest]

> Hey Jack,

>

> You paint a pretty complex picture of your situation. Diet and

homeopathics and nutritional supplements will help you get over the

physical past.

 

yes, but....I guess my point was that they AREN'T working...i've been

working with various natural healing modalities for a year now and am

worse off than ever

 

In respect to everything else, the anxiety/panic is probably the key. It

will cause a lot of the other stuff you are experiencing.

 

hmmmm...I think anxiety is the lock, i am looking for the key

 

So you probably need to do two things. Practice meditation which is

going to help you get at what is behind the anxiety: fear, rage, that kind

of stuff. I would suggest the Har Har Gobinday meditation which is in

the on-line course. Find a healer that has experience working with

deep-seated emotions. Good luck.

 

> I know there must be something there. Why else would I be in so

much pain at the end of the night from holding my muscles so tight all

the time? But I can't for the life of me figure out what it is! I will look into

that particular med - I know we did it in class a few times.

 

thanks,

j

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[Guest guest]

> always be this way and never be happy+healthy again.

> I am really trying to work on posture and making eye

> contact with people since I have a tendency to walk

> with my head down and sit with my chest closed.

>

 

OK, I suggest we start working to correct the upper

posture, to help get things back on track ( and, we

surely can). Let's

concentrate on the smaller aspects. They are more

easily dealt with too. The bigger

picture will eventually and automatically be taken

care of.

 

First, one needs to know that the brain on an average

weighs 15-20 pounds. That is quite a lot of weight.

Only when it sits centered on the brain stem and

supported

on the cervical part of the spine ( neck portion ),

is the weight of the brain evenly distributed on

the spine. So, leaning your head back and forwards

stretches and puts a strain on the cervical part

of the spine. Also, it gets it constricted and

restricts the energy and information flow

up and down the spine.

So, try to hold the head straight as much as you can.

When you read books, lower your gaze. This is also

very easy on the eyelids, as it is only when you

look ahead or up, that you need to use the eye

muscles to keep up your eyes open. So, you can

read for longer without straining your eyes.

Similarly, while you use computers, scroll down

things you want to read towards the bottom of the

screen and then read. This will eliminate a lot

of eye strain, and indirectly help posture too.

So, you dont have to bend

your neck and slouch your shoulders. So, this will

help in keep your chest upright and improving

your breathing capacity.

 

Now, if you already slouch, it is because you have

a weak spine, weak shoulder muscles, weak neck

muscles.. When all these things are strong, you will

automatically sit erect. You will feel that

sitting erect is your most comfortable position.

You wont want to have it any other way. If you slouch,

it is because, given the strength of various body

features, this is what your body can comfortably

choose to do. So, how to improve on strengthening

the muscles quite effortlessly, reasonably quickly,

and evenly. Please go through the list of savasana

exercises I mailed just last week. It is very

non-stressing, very wholesome, very easy, and very

effective. I really can't

think of a better set of exercises to jump-start

your progress. Do this set of exercises twice in

the morning, twice in the afternoon, twice in

the evening, and twice in the night. Also, if you are

living in not a very cold place, find a patch of

grass, lie in savasana and do the set of exercises.

It is very therapeutic, very relaxing, and very

energetic, as you can take the electromagnetic energy

from the grass and the earth. These things will also

absorb the excess heat from your body ( which is

primarily responsible for screwing up functioning of

the body parts ). Besides, to lie down on a bed of

grass in savasana, and gaze up at sky is the ultimate

experience anyone can have, if you ask me.

 

Make sure you certainly do the

rolling-out-of-the-elbows exercises.

What this will do is work on stretching the sides of

the chest ( many do not use these muscles while

breathing, and hence, they slouch). Also, it will

correct spinal alignment in the cervical and thoracic

region ( upper part of the spine ), improving

the flow of nervous signals to and from the brain

and in the upper part of the spine. Incidentally,

some cases of ADHD and OCD have been known to result

from an incorrect alignment of the cervical vertebrae,

restricting brain capacity.

The chiropractors use a surgery to fix this up

( which probably could be easily corrected by

rolling in and out of the elbows ). So, I strongly

recommend this exercise for you. And, remember

to do the stretches slooooooowly. If you want

more similar tips, check out my website

at voth.chem.utah.edu/~gayathri/yoga_poses and

look up these-maybe-good-things-to-know.

 

 

And, try to sip lots of water all throughout the day.

Try and gradually improve your water intake. This

is going to take a while too.

That will enormously help your system to cool down.

Take a multivitamin tablet too.

 

So, let's see how things go for the next week.

And, build up more from there.

 

Good luck!

gayathri

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

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[Guest guest]

--- Gayathri Narayanan <gaia3_71 wrote:

> > always be this way and never be happy+healthy

> again.

> > I am really trying to work on posture and making

> eye

> > contact with people since I have a tendency to

> walk

> > with my head down and sit with my chest closed.

> >

>

> OK, I suggest we start working to correct the upper

> posture, to help get things back on track ( and, we

> surely can). Let's

> concentrate on the smaller aspects. They are more

> easily dealt with too. The bigger

> picture will eventually and automatically be taken

> care of.

>

> First, one needs to know that the brain on an

> average

> weighs 15-20 pounds. That is quite a lot of weight.

> Only when it sits centered on the brain stem and

> supported

> on the cervical part of the spine ( neck portion ),

> is the weight of the brain evenly distributed on

> the spine. So, leaning your head back and forwards

> stretches and puts a strain on the cervical part

> of the spine. Also, it gets it constricted and

> restricts the energy and information flow

> up and down the spine.

> So, try to hold the head straight as much as you

> can.

> When you read books, lower your gaze. This is also

> very easy on the eyelids, as it is only when you

> look ahead or up, that you need to use the eye

> muscles to keep up your eyes open. So, you can

> read for longer without straining your eyes.

> Similarly, while you use computers, scroll down

> things you want to read towards the bottom of the

> screen and then read. This will eliminate a lot

> of eye strain, and indirectly help posture too.

> So, you dont have to bend

> your neck and slouch your shoulders. So, this will

> help in keep your chest upright and improving

> your breathing capacity.

>

> Now, if you already slouch, it is because you have

> a weak spine, weak shoulder muscles, weak neck

> muscles.. When all these things are strong, you will

> automatically sit erect. You will feel that

> sitting erect is your most comfortable position.

> You wont want to have it any other way. If you

> slouch,

> it is because, given the strength of various body

> features, this is what your body can comfortably

> choose to do. So, how to improve on strengthening

> the muscles quite effortlessly, reasonably quickly,

> and evenly. Please go through the list of savasana

> exercises I mailed just last week. It is very

> non-stressing, very wholesome, very easy, and very

> effective. I really can't

> think of a better set of exercises to jump-start

> your progress. Do this set of exercises twice in

> the morning, twice in the afternoon, twice in

> the evening, and twice in the night. Also, if you

> are

> living in not a very cold place, find a patch of

> grass, lie in savasana and do the set of exercises.

> It is very therapeutic, very relaxing, and very

> energetic, as you can take the electromagnetic

> energy

> from the grass and the earth. These things will also

> absorb the excess heat from your body ( which is

> primarily responsible for screwing up functioning of

> the body parts ). Besides, to lie down on a bed of

> grass in savasana, and gaze up at sky is the

> ultimate

> experience anyone can have, if you ask me.

>

> Make sure you certainly do the

> rolling-out-of-the-elbows exercises.

> What this will do is work on stretching the sides of

> the chest ( many do not use these muscles while

> breathing, and hence, they slouch). Also, it will

> correct spinal alignment in the cervical and

> thoracic

> region ( upper part of the spine ), improving

> the flow of nervous signals to and from the brain

> and in the upper part of the spine. Incidentally,

> some cases of ADHD and OCD have been known to result

> from an incorrect alignment of the cervical

> vertebrae,

> restricting brain capacity.

> The chiropractors use a surgery to fix this up

> ( which probably could be easily corrected by

> rolling in and out of the elbows ). So, I strongly

> recommend this exercise for you. And, remember

> to do the stretches slooooooowly. If you want

> more similar tips, check out my website

> at voth.chem.utah.edu/~gayathri/yoga_poses and

> look up these-maybe-good-things-to-know.

>

>

> And, try to sip lots of water all throughout the

> day.

> Try and gradually improve your water intake. This

> is going to take a while too.

> That will enormously help your system to cool down.

> Take a multivitamin tablet too.

>

> So, let's see how things go for the next week.

> And, build up more from there.

>

> Good luck!

> gayathri

>

>

>

> Web Hosting - Let the expert host your site

> http://webhosting.

>

 

 

 

 

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