Blog# 114 Four Ways to Support Your Immune System
Avoid foods that have been sprayed with chemicals, especially round up. Not only are these sprays poisonous to humans and most other living things, they also may weaken human immunity and allow some viral infections to more easily take hold in the body. Eat organically raised, wild caught, grass-fed foods as much as possible, and avoid processed foods.
Exercise regularly and allow yourself to sweat. Sweating in a sauna is also a type of exercise for the circulatory, immune, lymphatic and other systems of the body. Sweating helps with detoxification. Raising the body’s core temperature helps kill off many unwelcome residents, such as bacterium, viruses, parasites, and even some cancer cells. Don’t overdo this, however, or it can stress the heart or drain the body’s vitality.
Be happy and loving. We can choose to be happy and to regard and treat fellow creatures lovingly. The more we choose happiness and loving attitudes and behaviors, the easier this becomes, and the less stress we experience in our daily lives. Less stress equals better health and a sharper mind.
Qi Gong can help balance the immune system and protect health. I recently learned a Qi Gong exercise sometimes called the eight directions. It is reasonably easy to describe and practice. The exercise is designed to protect and even enlarge a person’s energy (Qi) field, and this enhances the ability to counteract harmful energy from outside sources. It also is designed to calm and harmonize internal energy (the mind and emotions). The two most challenging things in this exercise are to learn to stand properly and to learn to quiet the mind and focus it internally. Standing properly includes having the shoulders relaxed, spine straight, knees slightly bent and sacrum tucked slightly forward. Most readers of this blog have experienced some sort of meditation or self-hypnosis. Even the inner smile meditation, which I teach routinely to most patients and students will be sufficient. This exercise requires a wooden rod that is about four feet long. Bamboo might be the best material, but any wood will do. It should be round and smooth, about the diameter of a broom or mop handle. You could also use a wooden sword if you are familiar with sword practice. As you do this exercise, you start relaxed, feet shoulder width apart. Then, for the first direction, right, step to the right with the right leg and push off with the left leg, while extending the dowel/sword out to the right, with your right hand forward, palm up and push out with your left arm, palm downward. The second direction, left, just involves pivoting to the left and doing everything as described previously, but for the left side, with left arm and left leg forward. The third direction is upward. Feet are evenly placed, shoulder width apart. Point ad raise the dowel directly upward. The fourth position is downward, and the dowel is just brought downward, striking the ground. The fifth direction, forward, involves pointing the dowl directly forward while maintaining the previous foot and leg position. Direction six is backward, and involves pointing the sword directly backward, maintaining the leg position and turning the waist to one side, to look backward. Direction seven is circling and involves moving the dowel/sword around your body, and at least somewhat above your head. Feet remain pointing forward, shoulders width apart. If you were looking backward and to the right in the previous direction, then circle the sword to the right, backward and around. If you were looking backward and to the left, then circle to the left, backward and around. The last direction, inward, involves placing the dowel/sword perpendicular to the floor and resting it against your body, placing your hands, one palm over the other, just below the navel, and quieting your mind for as long as you want. This entire exercise can be done repeatedly or just once, and can last a minute or an hour, it’s up to you. Enjoy.
This blog’s offer: contact me free of charge with any questions about this exercise. You may need to meet with me to receive an answer that you can understand and use.