Health - Tip of the Month

Hello. My name is Renee Angelovic and I am excited to bring you some helpful tips that have worked for my family, clients and myself over the years.

First let me tell you a little about myself. I have been married for 37 years. For 30 of those I have been a mother of two, and for the last 5 years, a proud grandmother of 3. I have been practicing a holistic approach to health, nutrition and lifestyle for this entire time. I have also been a massage therapist since 1990 and have spent many of those years compiling natural remedies for the relief of pain and discomfort associated with life's ailments and injuries. I have used these for myself and shared them with all those I care for. I am now delighted to share them with you! Please check in regularly to see what I have to offer.

The kindest most healing thing you can do for yourself is to take deep, full, belly-filling breaths under times of stress, whether they are physical or emotional; the kind of times our world is facing now.

Breathing has many incredible benefits:

With pain, using your focus and intention when you take a deep breath can really intensify your own healing powers. Sometimes, when in pain, just taking time to breathe into that area will be enough to allow your body to relax and begin to heal. Breathing, while holding certain stretches for two minutes, may relieve pain by stimulating communication in the cells between the central nervous system and the muscle tissues. ¹

Another powerful form of using breath for healing yourself and others is called Tonglen. This is a Tibetan word meaning "sending and taking". In this practice you inhale into your pain or that of another, opening your heart and mind to whatever arises and exhaling out happiness and relief from the pain. As I said, this is a powerful meditation and may require some educating before use. There is a good deal of information about this practice on the internet under Tonglen or Pema Chodren, author of A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times. ²

In meditation, to relax or even just to fall asleep, focus on your breathing without trying to change or influence it at all. Follow the contours of your breath quietly through inhalation and exhalation and see if you can perceive the points where it changes from one into the other. The goal here is to keep your attention on your breath cycle and simply observe. This can be a nice way to harmonize your body, mind and spirit.

Dr Andrew Weil teaches another breath meditation known as the four-seven-eight practice where you place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, keeping it there during the entire exercise. Exhale completely, through your mouth, making an audible whoosh sound. Now close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose for a (silent) count of four. Now hold your breath for a count of seven, then, exhale audibly through your mouth for a count of eight. Repeat this process four times. It's not important how fast you do this exercise but that you can keep the four-seven-eight ratio as you inhale, hold, and exhale. Try doing this exercise twice a day for awhile. You may find you can slow it down, increasing your state of relaxation, and focus. This is a good goal for all of us!! ³

Happy Breathing! This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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