Insights from Cold Hands Cold Feet
I was driving into the office the other day and became aware of cold hands. They had been warm before I had left the house so there had been a change. "What's going on," I asked myself, but of course I knew that I had made this observation in the past. So cold hands and cold feet were there before but this time I was aware of the imbalance of the cold quality
I began to put it together. As we have discussed in previous blog posts, the biological energy field expresses itself through qualities of sensation. There are 10 biological pairs of sensation. For example, the sensations of hot and cold, light and heavy, subtle and gross are examples of these paired potential sensations.
We can only know the energy body through sensations experienced in the mindbody. So when I felt the cold hands it occurred to me that the biological energy pattern of Vata, the principle of movement in the physiology, must be being aggravated. It was subtle(as is usually the case in energy science work) but real and a tip off to slow down and breath. When we get into a rush, we invoke the sympathetic nervous system and from a matter field perspective, we vasoconstrict(aggravating Vata) and this reduces blood flow to the hands.
From an energy perspective, the energy field was sending me a signal to slow down and breath which would activate the parasympathetic nervous system and restore balance to my energy physiology.
Foods can produce the same shifts in the energy mindbody. Have you ever felt hot after eating a very spicy meal? This is yet another message from the energy field. All we have to do is pay attention.
To good health DrBill
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Energy Science Nutrition and the Blood Diet
Dr Oz, the popular commentator on current medical news and research, recently had comments on the so called "blood diet" which thrilled the partisan followers of the diet In an interview Dr. Oz said it makes sense that your ancestors diet could be better for you, but we can’t prove it, but sometimes you can’t prove things except in people’s kitchens
In 1996 Peter D'Adamo, a naturopath, introduced his Eating Right For Your Blood Type after his father had researched in his own patient population that there seemed to be connections between patient's food selection, their blood types, and sense of wellbeing and health
A Secret: What the Blood Diet Really Tells Us
In all the commentaries I've read about the "blood diet" I have yet to come across someone discussing the uniqueness of this dietary approach
In all the antecedent "diets" that we have been regaled with over the last 50 years we have always been told which foods not to eat and those that we can eat, from Jenny Craig to the South Beach to the Paleo to the vegetarian Forks over Knives approach
But let's think about this The "blood diet" has for the first time in the history of diet domaindom created a concept that says that foods should be selected according to what biological physiology is eating it That seems to make intuitively good sense!
In this case the "blood diet" says that we will feel and do better if we eat foods are favored by way of our blood type
Comparing Energy Science Nutrition With the Blood Diet
In the Ayurvedic Institute's quarterly newsletter a comparision was made between the D'Adamo's "blood diet" approach and the VPK nutritional format by a naturopath who had attended the Institute's program and had incorporated Ayurveda into his scope of practice
What he found was that there seemed to be a very close fit with the blood diet and the energy science nutritional formal but because of the nuances of the Ayurvedic format felt that the energy science approach worked better
Not everything grown on the planet is fair game
"If I want 2 bowls of ice cream a night then by God I'm going to have it I dont care whether it bothers my health or not because I make the choices here So don't tell me what to do, OK?"
There is nothing wrong with the (blood) diet says Dr. Adrienne Youdim, her only criticism is that perhaps it’s too restrictive
We all want our freedom and don't want that freedom to choose restricted in any way But with that freedom comes a consequence for we don't get to choose the results of our choices
With the "blood diet" has come a subtle message that we should limit our choices according to our biological physiologies This has been the message of the energy sciences for thousands of years
For our contemporary planetary societies it's the primary out of our serious chronic medical problems
The Value of Energy Science Nutrition
Not only do the energy science nutritional formats give us guidance as to which foods produce balance in our physiologies but there is another dimension not even discussed in contemporary nutritional literature
This nutritonal format comes as part of a complete package for living a healthy lifestyle since nutrition is part of the whole package
We can no longer isolate foods and their physiologic consequences apart from the quality of our sleep, work, and exercise Nutrition comes as part of the whole enchilada, so to speak
And is intimately spliced with bowel pattern, stamina, endurance, and sense of wellbeing
Until next time Ciao To health as a Skill Love DrBill
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Creating Imbalance with a Sour Taste in the Mouth
In high school chemistry we learned that acids are neutralized by alkaline chemicals. Perhaps we know that for us biologically the acid taste is the sour taste in Nature and that the alkaline is the bitter taste.
So if I have "heartburn" and a sour taste in my mouth it means I have excessive acidity in the stomach and to feel better I can neutralize my problem with baking soda, a common alkaline material off the shelf in the kitchen. Voila! Carbon dioxide gas is produced in my stomach as the byproduct in my acid base balancing I belch and feel better. Thanks very much, now on with the day
Whoa, what a minute! Why did I get this in the first place? Energetically I consumed too much of the qualities of hot, light, sharp in the form of pizza with pepperoni, tomato sauce, cheese, and coke the night before. Now with that energetic knowledge, maybe I should rethink my choice about pepperoni pizza and carbonated drinks?
My mindbody just told me that it didnt like the choice that I made last night. If I want to respect my mindbody and not hurt it maybe I should think about my next choice.
Well, hmmmm, anybody interested in some pepperoni pizza tonight with extra garlic? DrBill
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Health and Doing Energy Science Work
Anything worth doing, is worth doing for a long while
I think we have all made the observation of rock that has a groove in it from the steady drip of water moving over the rock surface. Perhaps to our amazement we remember that over time even the softness of water is capable of eroding even the hardest and seemingly most immobile surface of rock through the consistency of its action.
In past blogs we have referred to the balance that exists in Nature. The hard, static, dense surface of the rock gives way to the soft, mobile, liquid qualities of water. The matter field is gross and the energy field is subtle. Because of knowing ourselves in the matter field context(bone is hard and blood is wet) we identify with the gross characteristics of our lives.
But it is in the subtleness of the energy field where real healing takes place. It is consistency in action that can literally move mountains. Another word for consistency is intention. In the flow of Nature we see intention at work as we observe the rock being carved by the action of water.
What does this have to do with medicine, healing and preventing disease? From a medical perspective, everything! Because without intention, there will be no healing even in medical matter field discipline. If you don't take your blood pressure medicine then hypertension and the possibilty of the complications of stroke and heart attack are increased.
From a disesase prevention perspective, intention or consistency(even the word discipline comes up) when guided by subtle energy field principles, can show us health promoting habits that promote balance in our lives.
Some simple examples. Bedtime between 9:30 and 10:30 pm every night is a great habit of health. The biggest meal of the day around noon time takes advantage of a strong digestive fire. These are habits that are subtle, but over time they will produce healing benefits. The energy nutrition as outlined in Foods Heal is a powerful way to heal the body if done consistently.
In future blogs I'll talk about the healing properties of food. Stay tuned!! DrBill
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Food Cravings and 3 Things To Do
Happiness for me is largely a matter of digestion
Lin Yutang Chinese writer, inventor, and liguist
What this quote implies is that if the digestion of food and thoughts are good then contentment will follow The person will be happy The energy science of Ayurveda has stated for 5000 years that if the strength of digestion(aka agni) is good then health and happiness naturally follows As a matter of fact it's said that a person is only as old as his agni since digestive fire bestows longevity and strength
But when food cravings or addictions occur, is that an aspect of too strong an agni? Or are cravings a normal aspect of digestion? Let's examine this from an energy science view
Normal cravings
Cravings can be due to psychological or physiological factors If the sweet taste is craved it may mean that the person is craving love However, if there is an imbalance of the hot quality someone may be craving the sweet taste to reduce the hot quality because the sweet taste carries the cold quality
Vata, the energy pattern of movement has a normal cravings for the warm drinks and hot foods that carry the spicy, mushy oily properties If it's cold out during the winter, Vata becomes aggravated in the gut and you would naturally seek warmth and a cup of hot chocolate or cider
Pitta, the energy pattern of transformation expresses the hot quality amongst others and when it's hot out a person will nnormally craves cold foods, drinks, and cool air
When Kapha, the energy pattern of stability becomes aggravated in the gut, the cool qualities will prompt the person to normally seek hot, spicy food
So you can see that you will naturally seek out how to bring about balance in the body if you are sensing aggravation in yourself And these are normal cravings In actuality they are not real cravings as much as the body just looking to balance itself
Abnormal Cravings
Once there is dissemination of these bodily qualities and tissues are affected, wrong cravings show up
For example, someone with too much of the hot quality begins craving the hot qualities in foods such as hot chiles, cayenne pepper, and horseradish dependent on what's available and the personal preferences for the hot taste These are abnormal cravings and should not be satisfied
When someone is overweight, they already have too much of the sweet taste whose qualities are heavy, slow/dull, liquid, oily, cool, dense, static, cloudy When they crave cookies, candy, and chocolate, they are adding more to the already imbalance of qualities This then becomes again an abnormal craving
If someone is a skinny mini and has a strong Vata imbalance, seeking out cold salads, rough, dry, and crunchy salty chips, there is an abnormal craving being satisfied
3 Things to Help With Abnormal Food Cravings
1 Determine if the craving is normal or abnormal; if abnormal try not to cave into the craving Of course, this is easier said than done but just by observing the mind obsessing about a particular food can be a ginormous step in the right direction Then let it go if you succumb to the craving Just making the observation is enough
2 Improve your agni There are multiple ways to do this Using ginger pickle, observing appropriate food choices according to your energy makeup, avoiding incompatible food combinations are all fundamental first steps to enhancing digestive fire Use of ghee or clarified butter which has the qualities of digestive fire or agni will help burn away toxic load in the peripheral tissues
3 Fasting of any kind is beneficial Chose one day a week and fast for that day If Vata or Pitta dominant, do juice fasting If Kapha, do water fast for 24h Fasting will be difficult for Kapha but it is a major player is managing cravings long term for this energy pattern There are many other different forms of fasting that can be explored but this one day a week is a good start
So have fun with your cravings and see them for what they are
To health as a Skill Love DrBill
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