1) Water is the substance of life. Life can not exist without water. We must constantly be adding fresh water to our body in order to keep it properly hydrated. We can only survive 3 – 4 days without water.

2) The body is comprised of 70 – 75% water and this ratio must be maintained for good health. This is the most important element we put into our body. Dehydration can occur at any time of the year, not only during the summer months when it is hot. The dryness that occurs during winter can dehydrate the body even quicker than when it’s hot. Many victims of diseases such as cholera die primarily through dehydration, not from the disease itself.

3) It is difficult for the body to get water from any other source than water itself. Soft drinks and alcohol steal tremendous amounts of water from the body to properly digest the high levels of sugar. Even other beverages such as coffee, mil and juice act similarly.

4) Water plays a vital role in nearly every bodily function. Since the blood is 90% water and the brain consists of about 96% water, you should drink only the best quality water.

5) Water is essential for proper digestion, nutrient absorption and chemical reactions. “Wetter Water,” of hexagonal molecular structure created by the electrolysis process, can permeate the cellular membranes easier, resulting in increased benefits from food or medication.

6) Water is essential for proper circulation in the body and vital to every cell.

7) Water helps remove toxins from the body, in particular from the digestive tract. Acidosis is the body’s worst enemy. Ionized water can help reverse this condition.

Water regulates the body’s cooling system, so be sure to drink 8 – 10 glasses per day.

9) Consistent failure to drink enough water can lead to Chronic Cellular Dehydration. This is a condition where the body’s cells are never quite hydrated enough leaving them in a weakened immune state and vulnerable to attack from disease. It weakens the body’s overall immune system and leads to chemical, nutritional an pH imbalances that can cause a host of diseases.

10) Good Alkaline Water, with a pH of 7.5 – 8, helps to balance the acidity created in the body from food digestion, exercise or even stress. Diseases flourish in an acidic environment.

RECOMMENDATION: You should drink half your body weight in ounces of water every day to provide you MINIMUM water replacement requirements, e.g. 160 lbs. = 80 oz. Water.

By Angela Abbette
The view of health by Native Americans is both all encompassing and thoughtful. Traditional medicine can play a more stoic and relentlessly lend to the scientific approach, but Native Americans have a more holistic outlook.

Health is viewed as a balance or harmony of mind and body. The goal is to be in harmony with all things, which means first being in harmony with oneself. Harmony is thought to neutralize problems and help one’s life to become beautiful. Good health makes it easier for all people to do their part in the universe, to serve others, and to fulfill their personal life visions.

Life is considered in all of its dualities: winter/summer, cold/hot, day/night, mind/body, spiritual/physical, work/play, and so on. Native people believe that the two sides of everything deserve equal attention and that both should be nourished with love. A healthy person who is walking in balance is energized and alert, and even in the presence of disease will still feel alive and fulfilled.

Traditionally, Native American people lived long, happy, healthy, and balanced lives. They did everything to respect and honor Mother Earth and the Great Spirit. They ate wholesome food and considered all food to be blessed as a gift of life from the Creator. They got up with the sun and went to bed with the moon. Exercise was a natural part of their lives, integrated into daily activities. These good health habits, a sense of joy, and a purpose in life are key factors for living into old age.

Illness occurs when balance is disrupted. It is believed that most illness begins in the head and that people must get rid of ideas that predispose illness. If the mind is negative, the body will be drained, making it more vulnerable. When people open up to the universe, learn what is good for them, and find ways to be happier, they can begin to work toward a longer and healthier life. Many ancient people had ways to get rid of this negativity. The Mayan people of Mexico would stand in a stream of flowing water and talk out all their angers, fears, sorrows, or troubles over the water. The moving water would take all the emotions they poured out of themselves into the current and away from them.

Role of Medicine Women and Men

Although they are the primary care providers in many places, the responsibilities of medicine women and men go beyond healing illness. They also evaluate advice and treatment given by other health care practitioners. They often have a strong influence on the acceptance or rejection of the treatment plans from conventional health care providers. They may also function as tribal social mediators, dispensing traditional wisdom and suggesting action. Medicine people reaffirm and strengthen tribal identity through the recounting of myth and song. They have an extensive knowledge of their communities and of family relationships and interaction. They are the formulators and teachers of the old religion and creators of the new. Medicine people are figures of authority and awe as instruments of the Creator.

In conclusion, keeping all things in balance and retrospect is a simple foundation and simple approach to maintaining good health and a healthy life.

A Good Night’s Sleep the Natural Way

Yoga before bed, can help you sleep well!

As with any exercise, precaution should be taken if you are dealing with any serious illness or medication. Listen to your body and stop if you begin to feel discomfort. If sleeping problems persist, always see your doctor.

First, kneel down and sit on your heels. If this is uncomfortable for you, you can sit on the floor between your heels. If this too is not comfortable, you can sit in a cross legged position. Keep your spine straight and lay your hands in your lap. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Stay here for about a minute and try to let go of any thoughts, especially any worries or thoughts from your day.

In the same position, keeping your spine straight, lean back about 30 degrees. Use your abdominal muscles to keep you balanced. Breathe long and deep in this position for about a minute.

Keeping the same seated position, cross your arms, holding on to opposite elbows. Start to slowly circle your torso in a clockwise direction. Close your eyes and make the largest circles possible without loosing your balance. Continue circling and breathing deeply for one to three minutes.

Otherwise, bend forward and, if you can, grab your toes. If not, don’t worry and do not strain, just grab your ankles, calves or wherever you can reach comfortably without bending your knees. Keep breathing deeply through your nose and try to relax all the muscles in your legs and spine. Three minutes are recommended here, but you can do as few as one.

Bring your spine straight with your legs still out in front of you. Bring your hands to the floor by your sides and use your arms to lift your body off the ground. Lift up and drop down 20 times. Don’t worry; you don’t have to lift your feet. (This move should be avoided if you are pregnant or on the first three days of your menstrual cycle).

The last posture is bridge pose. From a seated position, bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. Place your hands on the floor under your shoulders and lift your hips up. Make sure your hands and feet are planted firmly on the floor. Your arms and legs are at a 90 degree angle to the ground, while your body is parallel to the floor, forming a bridge. If you can, let your head drop back and breathe long and deep. Squeeze your abdominals but relax your glutes, (your butt muscles). Hold this pose for as long as you can from one to three minutes continuing to breathe deeply.

Lie down flat on your back for 30 seconds. Again, breathing long and deep. And here comes the best part! On the next inhale, stretch your hands up straight, as if reaching for the stars. Really stretch, reach up and breathe in as much air as possible. Hold your breath in as you grab hold of some of those stars and start to pull them down. Exhale slowly and pull down as if you are resisting and opposing force—your hands and arms should shake. Pull your hands down to your chest, exhaling fully. Breathe a big sigh of relief. Go ahead let it out! Repeat this motion 3 times and go to bed.

The Yogis have used these secrets to a great night’s sleep for thousands of years. Now it’s your turn to share in the benefits. Do this every night and you will wake up every morning feeling refreshed, regenerated and full of energy to take on your day.

Author: Page Turner is a freelance journalist, Children’s book author and Managing Editor at The RAY Magazine. She is a certified Yoga Instructor and Hypnotherapist pioneering the world of online yoga.

(This article was originally published Spring 2008 in Applaud Magazine)

Yoga is an ancient practice and a word meaning to unify or yoke together. What does yoga yoke together? – the mind, the body and the spirit. Springtime is a time when we move out of our winter slumber and start to think about bathing suit weather, we realize that we may not have been as diligent with our exercise routine or maybe we are ready to try something new. One of the major benefits of a yoga practice is that it does tone and strengthen the physical body. Stretching and flexing the muscles, developing upper body strength, improving balance, getting that yoga butt, all are great motivation for starting a practice.

The subtle benefits of yoga though are even more beneficial. Within the practice there is a great deal of time spent learning to focus on the breath. Awareness of the breath connects us at the deepest of levels to the life force that sustains us. Deepening our breathing instantly takes us into a state of relaxation releasing us from the fright or flight response created by the shallow upper chest breathing that most of us do in our daily life. Breath awareness alone is enough to transport you to a deeper space of subtle connection with your own spirit and with the spirit that is all around us. Practicing with a group provides opportunities to share the breath with each other and to note how we are all connected. Group practice also provides a magical support system and can enhance the energy of your practice as each member of the group contributes to creating a safe and supportive environment for each other.

Often as the practice deepens, the asanas or poses will activate releases of emotions, thought forms and other toxins that are stored in the body at the cellular level. The asanas are designed specifically for these subtle benefits as well as the more gross benefits of a lean and muscular physical body.

There are many wonderful styles of yoga and a wide variety of studios throughout the region for sampling them. Yoga is also available at most gyms. Private in home instruction can be a great way to learn the poses and to refine and customize a practice that is perfect for you and your body type and ability. Finally there are a lot of great video based instructional tapes that you can just pop in to your VCR or DVD player and begin your practice right on the living room floor.

As you begin to explore the world of yoga you will discover that the asanas or poses are merely a scratch on the surface of this ancient practice of alignment. There are whole workshops dedicated to just learning the different types of breathing that you can do while practicing. Chanting is another practice that is a part of the yogic tradition. There are also philosophical writings that are available for study. Yoga is a multi-layered, deeply transformational way of life that you can spend your whole life exploring. Come to each practice with beginners mind, that way you’ll reap the maximum benefits!

Amethyst Wyldfyre is a multidimensional healing artist and initiated shamaness in the Inka Tradition who uses sacred sound, color, aroma, light and energy to catalyze positive change, healing, growth and evolution on a personal and planetary level. She teaches at a number of locations and has a private healing practice in Nashua, NH. She practices yoga daily to maintain balance, focus and to stay in good shape physically, mentally and spiritually.

For more information about her and her evolving work contact Amethyst at her blog or website.

(Photo credit – Darlene Pina Yoga Teacher with Amethyst Wyldfyre in Triangle Pose – Photo by Keith Spiro used with permission)