3 Ways to Improve Your Health

It is important for you to know about what is killing us and how we can prevent and in some cases cure these diseases. I first got interested in using alternative methods in combination with western medicine in the early 1980's when my 14 month old niece came down with what the doctors thought was pneumonia.

I stood by her bedside in the ICU and watched this beautiful little child not yet 2 years old struggling to stay alive. She was in one of the major hospitals in the country and they couldn't help her. The doctors came to my brother-in-law at one point and said that they had tried everything they knew how to do. She had been seen by all of the major hospitals in the area and they were all baffled by what was going on with her.

My brother-in-law came to me and asked what he should do. He came to me because I was the weird one in the family that was into alternative ways of healing. I suggested that he find the best holistic doctor he could and have them take a look at her. At this point, there was nothing to lose. Every time the doctors tried to get her off the medication that was keeping her alive, she would start to fail.

A holistic doctor was called in and he took tests of her hair, nails, etc. He plotted his course of treatment, she started to respond and eventually recovered from what was making her ill. The doctors at the hospital and the holistic doctor worked together to make this happen.

All of this got me to thinking about the importance of combining alternative treatments with our western medical practices. It never made sense to me that western medicine was the end all to recovery when Chinese medicine and other practices have been around for thousands of years. It is a little bit like throwing the baby out with the bath water, if we don't look at all of these practices. So over the years it has become more and more obvious to me that we need to connect these practices if we want to free ourselves from:

Stress

Hypertension

Heart Disease

Osteoporosis

And even Cancer

Oh, by the way, you may be wondering what my niece had that western medicine couldn't cure her and an alternative approach did. She had a build up of lead in her system.

I think this experience opened a number of people's eyes to the fact that there is more than one way to look at curing our diseases. The holistic practitioner that my brother-in-law got to take care of my niece was asked to speak to the doctors at this major hospital. This was an encouraging beginning.

Getting back to the use of alternative ways to increase your health, flexibility, and longevity, I can think of three proven ways to do this:

Yoga

Meditation

Pilates

Let me explain. Yoga for instance has been practiced for more than 3000 years. There must be something to it if it has been around that long. It helps you to maintain or regain your flexibility, strength, and balance. As an aging person myself, I know how important these benefits are to my well-being. This is just a drop in the bucket for the many benefits that the practice of Yoga can help you with in regaining your optimal health. It can help control or even cure the various illness that are plaguing our society today. I came across a report that showed 77 ways that the practice of Yoga will benefit us. After every report I read, it was more and more plain to me that the practice of Yoga was going to be a major part of my life. We would be crazy not to do it.

An integral part of a Yoga practice is Meditation.

I know when I meditate my day has a more balanced feel to it. The other day I was in a deep mediation, the phone rang and it brought me back to this plane rather quickly. The rest of the day I didn't quite feel like my feet or body for that matter were in this world. It was a very peaceful day although a little unreal. I guess there is a reason they tell you to meditate in a quiet place without interruptions.

I have always connected exercise with Meditation. When I exercise, I Meditate. The benefits you can get from Meditating are lowering oxygen consumption, decreases respiratory rate, Increases blood flow to mention just a few. There are so many more.

Pilates is another practice with increased benefits to your health and well-being.

What got me to start doing Pilates several times a week was when I found out that Susan Lucci of "All My Children" fame has been practicing Pilates for over 15 years. When she was on the Oprah Show she told Oprah that she is 62 years old and in my mind she looks and acts at least 20 years younger. That was all it took to get me interested.

Once I started to practice Pilates, I found that my back and joints in particular were much improved and being a 64 year old woman who is a bit over weight (working on that) it makes me feel incredible. (I am losing weight too AND getting into better shape at the same time!) What you will gain from doing Pilates are whole body fitness, it is adaptable to any fitness level, creates strength with out bulk and many more benefits.

As you can see the enormous benefits you will get from these three practices (Yoga, Meditation, and Pilates). Some of the benefits are similar with each practice. It seems to me that one improves on the other. With the research that I have done, it has been made very clear to me that in order to live a long, active, and health lifestyle, I must maintain my practice of Meditation, Yoga, and Pilates. As a senior citizen who has just started these practices in the last few years, I really wish I had started sooner but it is never too late.

Janis Macleod is the founder of http://www.SurroundingMeditation.com where you will find accessories that will support you in your Yoga, Pilates, and Meditation practice.

Also check out our blog at http://www.SurroundingMeditationblog.com where you will find great information regarding the diseases talked about here and where to find alternative resources to help manage them.