Holistic Physical Health Foundation

Holistic Physical Health Foundation Principles

... physical behavioural strategies to support a health lifestyle

..... by Dieter Luske N.D.-D.C.H.-D.M.H.-D.H

Holistic Therapy Consultant - Gold Coast - Canungra

"Holistic Therapies” .. the natural way to free yourself from physical and mental decline.

* Health is more than a good diet, everything is inter-connected, if anything is out of balance it will effect everything else.

Physical Health Foundation - Intro

I believe in "Self Help" and that you can heal yourself.

The responsibility to heal yourself is yours, never give up this responsibility.

You and your body on a deeper level know best what is good for you. Get back to this responsibility and this knowledge of what is good for you, so that you become aware that you can heal yourself and stay fit and healthy. This doesn't exclude you from seeking proper health advice, quiet the opposite, get enough knowledge about your own health, to make an informed choice for your own personal, individual health care.

My main objective is to support you with enough information, that you can take care of your own healing.

There is one way a Doctor, Naturopath or Counsellor know they have succeeded; they have become obsolete.

* I always argued, if Doctors don't like that people visit Natural Therapists, they simply should cure their patients.
80% of patients who go to a Naturopath, go there, because they didn't get the information they needed from their GP or medical specialist.

Physical Foundation - the Good Habits:

The most obvious is always the most effective solution. We may have adopted a lot of bad habits, sometimes all it's needed, is to remind one self what is naturally good for us, and changing bad habits into into good ones.

Your Posture

Do yourself a favour, when standing, stand on both feet, supporting the weight of your body equally with both legs. Avoid putting the weight of your body on one foot or leg, as this will distort the relationship of the hipbones and spine.

When sitting, do not slump over, half lying and half sitting. Unnatural distortion of your spine is often the result of sitting improperly.

Choose a chair that has adequate firmness to hold your weight comfortably and then sit straight. Avoid too soft, overstuffed chairs. Recliner chairs are acceptable if they are constructed that when you are reclining your back is in a normal, straight supported position.

If you like to cross your legs, cross them only at the ankles, not at the knees. Crossing your legs at the knees could aggravate an existing back condition as well as interfere with the circulation to the lower limbs.

Workplace: Choose appropriate sitting or standing position at your workplace. Try to adopt different good positions at hourly intervals, meaning; "don't sit on your computer, straining your neck for 8 hours, without hardly ever moving" ... should be obvious shouldn't it?

"Too much sitting" has been recognised as a negative health factor. Standing or walking around will be much better for you.
Many offices have already installed standing desks, to prevent long sitting periods.

Rest, Relaxation and Sleep

Mindfulness: Set aside a special time each day for complete mental and physical relaxation. This is important in the restoration, as well as maintenance, of normal health. A short meditation or relaxation exercise, like a simple mindfulness meditation, on your breathing pattern is all what is needed, and ideal for such a purpose.

Get enough sleep to allow your body to recuperate and repair. If you do not get enough sleep you are drawing on reserves. Those reserves are limited. Find out how much rest you require to awake naturally refreshed and adopt a time of retiring that permits you to get the required amount. Make sure your bedroom is well ventilated and also dark enough. Computers, mobiles or work is not allowed in your bedroom.

For physical and mental regeneration (Alpha brainwave), 7-8 hours deep refreshing sleep is the average. More if you are depleted or sick, less once you have acquired total health.

Sleep on a firm mattress, but soft enough to allow your shoulders, buttocks, etc to depress into the mattress.

Your pillow should support you head so that your neck vertebrae are level with the rest of your spine. Avoid sleeping on your stomach.

Do not sleep sitting in a chair or in cramped quarters.

Exercise

Exercise in the Foundation Programme, has one main reason; to establish a level of fitness to suit "your individual lifestyle".

The "harder" you "live", the harder you have to exercise to create the fitness for your lifestyle.

3 forms of exercise are recommended:

Cardio Vascular - Stretching - Weight lifting

Remember the Important Fact: "One can not store Fitness".

Exercise every day, make it part of your lifestyle. Walking, swimming, bike or mini-trampoline for CardioVascular exercise, at least 20min. daily.

Become active to the point of getting up a light sweat, but don't become exhausted.

Cardio Vascular - Walking Program:

Walk a distance, which you can walk comfortable in 20min. Having established this distance, slowly increase the distance, but stay in the 20min. time frame.
Doing this, is building up fitness without exercising the whole day.

Stretching Exercises:

Do stretching exercise like Yoga for mobility and strength. Never strain yourself. 20min. beginner Yoga stretching, "salute to the sun" and about 8-10 yoga position.

The aim is to tone up muscles, while at the same time improve digestion, keep weight down, stimulate circulation, correct metabolism and tissue oxygenation, increase vitality, encourage proper elimination, enrich mental function, invite restful sleep and combat depression.
Take a yoga class, the combined results from doing yoga and taking the time out for it, will show profound positive health results.

Other recommend exercise or movement education are: Thai Chi - Feldenkrais - Pilates

Weight lifting - Muscle building (keeping):

NUMBER ONE RULE: "USE IT OR LOSE IT"

However, something else is even more important, which is the ability to grow new muscle tissue. Doing that has shown to increase immunity, amongst other benefits. You are actually producing brand new cells, which has an anti-aging effect.

Muscles need time to grow, don't lift heavy weights every day, I suggest just 2 -3 times a week. Always have 2 - 3 days of rest after a weight lifting session.
20 min. per session is enough. If you can lift a weight for 12 - 15 repetition, increase the weight being lifted.
Recommendation: Get some instruction and a free weight lift program worked out for you.

Conscious Breathing

What can I say, is there anything more important than breathing? Try without it ...

Obviously, we all do "breathing", but like everything, to get a good result, we need to show a bit of effort, and do it "Consciously", as in breathing exercise.

Give your lungs a good clean out.

At least once daily, better twice, do a circle of conscious breathing. This will strengthen your lungs, and they will process more oxygen with less effort. The heartbeat will grow stronger pumping an increased volume of blood to the muscles. Sagging tissues will regain firmness. Your face will have a better colour.

Body temperature is controlled through automatic change of breath between the right and left nostril.

The right nostril represents the sun, heat and energy.

The left nostril, the moon, the cooling power, and the expansion of the mind.

Breathing Exercises:

1 breathing circle consists of:

Inhale to the count of four, holding to the count of four, exhale to the count of four, retain to the count of four.

Repeat this circle 10 times. - Breathe through the nostrils. - If you develop chest pain, stop until pain is relieved. - In the City, do your breathing exercise in the early morning, before traffic builds up.

One Nostril Breathing:

Close the right nostril with the right thumb. Slowly inhale deeply through the left nostril, then exhale through the same nostril, do that 6 times.

Next, inhale trough the right nostril by closing the left one with the ring finger of the right hand. Exhale through the same nostril, 6 times.

Complete Deep Breathing:

Fill the lower lungs by lowering the diaphragm as the abdomen expands.

Then fill the middle part of your lungs, pushing out the lower chest.

Then fill the upper lungs, lifting the chest.

Then the uppermost part of the lungs, slightly draw in lower abdomen.

At the end of inhalation, raise shoulders slightly, permitting air to enter the extreme upper lope of the right lung.

Retain the breath for at least 15 sec., exhale slowly, relax.
.. and now .. breath normally again :-)

Mindfulness Breathing: simply become aware of your breathing ... follow your breath, breathing in ... and breathing out ... don't think of anything else, just be mindful of breathing ...

Creative Activities:

Creativity is a very important factor for a health and happy life.

We all are capable of creativity. If you think you are not creative, it may just be that you are not aware of your creative activities. Creativity is happening within your "right brain", but most of us, use predominantly our left brain, as we need it for talking, problem solving, logic. To achieve a good balance, become aware of your creative pursuits; what is it that you do different to other people for example?

However, I recommend to go one step further and immerse yourself in a creative activity like: art - music - dance - creative writing, poetry, theatre - movie making - cooking - gardening, actually most activities can be done with a "creative intention", just ask yourself the question; "How else could I do ...... such and such ... "? .. and come up with a creative solution. - See here for Art Classes

Next: Part 3 - click > Nutrition - Diet Foundation

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Article provided by ...

the editor of Use Nature, Dieter Luske

* Disclaimer - Any general advice given in any article should not be relied upon and should not be taken as a substitute for visiting a qualified medical Doctor.