Heal your body

There are three main aspects to healing your body and that means having complete control over your —

mind (thoughts, meditation)
body (food, exercise, personal hygiene)
soul (self realization, inner well being)

1. The MIND

The mind is a powerful tool, when it comes to healing your body. Constant positive self affirmations, reciting mantras, and saying prayers makes our belief system strong and allows the mind to 5 R’s.

Relax: your nerves
Resist: temptations
Recuperate: energy levels
Regularize: body’s functions
Reduce: stress

Remember, you are in this world to enjoy good things, live a happy life and make the most of it.

2. The BODY

How you take care of your body depends on a lot of things but let’s focus on food, exercise and personal hygiene.

Food

Food should be home cooked so you can control what ingredients are going into your dish. Soon you will realize how much fun is it to try new recipes and get creative. In the long run, it’s a very healthy habit as you take note of staying away from processed and synthetic additives . I specially control the use of salt and only add it after the meal is ready to be served. The idea is to keep it as natural as you can without too much of seasoning.

Have a big bowl of soup for starters. Soup made of corn, beans, carrots and green bell pepper is a great appetizer. You may also try finding soup recipes online. Soups before a big meal also help to lose weight and optimize the digestion process.

I drink a litre of water one and half hour later of every heavy meal. This is a great way to keep my body hydrated and wash off/dilute acids and make my body alkaline. A few drops of fresh lemon juice added to the water makes a big difference.

After you have curbed on your salt intake completely, your next challenge is to control your sugar consumption. Cut down on all soda drinks, ice creams, chocolates,muffins and cakes. Remember anything that looks good and is mouth watering may not be good for you.

Sugar is very damaging to our body. One…it causes ageing by shooting up the sugar levels in the body, two… it’s fattening and gets stored in the body unless its expended by the body through some kind of physical exercise, three…it makes the body acidic, four….its highly processed.

Since we will be relying on home cooked food for these eight weeks, make sure you fore go all invitations to party, eating out at restaurants, take home pizza’s, burgers and those delicious KFC’s that you are all addicted to.

Stay away from all kinds of processed, bottled, canned foods that contain preservatives including those yummy sauces, cheese toppings and salad dressings.

Okay, now that I have walked you this far of what not to eat, let’s talk about what you can eat.

You can eat anything that has been freshly made from raw foods, is home cooked and vegetarian. Spinach, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, green bell peppers to name some of the wonderful vegetables that are available easily all round the year.

Avoid all kinds of meats. Fish if poached or baked is alright to eat.

Coffee/tea intake has to be cut down to two cups in a day if you are addicted to it. Make sure you drink a litre of water right after you have had tea or coffee. Water is a great way to keep the body alkaline at all times.

Alcohols are a no-no strictly.

Exercise

Why should you exercise your body?
It not only helps you burn fat but also helps in keeping your body fit. Try aerobics,stretches, yoga, weights or else just take a stroll with your dog. It’s up to you.

Personal hygiene

Cleansing your body in a proper way is important. The shower water should not be too hot or too cold, it should be just warm enough so that you can comfortably take a shower with it. What you use on your body should be gentle and natural without any chemical surfactants. That irritates the skin and causes it to itch more. Freshly squeezed and diluted lemon juice is a great face and body cleanser. The bottom line is look for products that are free from heavy perfume.

You have to make sure you hydrate your skin with a good moisturizer (hypo-allergenic). Minimize the use of excessive perfumes and body sprays that are packed with chemicals. Anything that’s natural and gentle can be used over the body.

Avoid direct contact with surface cleaners, washing liquids, soaps and other house cleaning products. Always use a set of gloves while handling these chemical products.

3. The SOUL

Do some soul searching everyday. Think of yourself as a part of God and love yourself. Establish a spiritual connection between yourself and the supreme power, the one and only that runs this entire universe and takes care of us.

Let go of all your worries, problems and let Him show you the way and see how your life changes. Know that if you are genuine and truthful, and ask anything through prayers, it gets answered. Smile always and be happy.

Some suggestions:

Always maintain a case history file and don’t change doctors frequently. Instead ask your doctor to change the medication. Sometimes it’s a matter of trial and error.

Author: Deepa Khare