Yoga Practice at Friday Harbor HH

Here on beautiful San Juan Island, we have been offering the sort of yoga practice that works on multiple levels, from the physical to the mental, and even spiritual levels of a person. How is this type of yoga practice different from others? We have spent fifteen years exploring yoga’s effects on the body, emotions and mind as an integrated system, and deeply researched yoga’s relationship with medicine and healing. When it comes to the human heart, we can say that yoga can have a profound effect in supporting this most vital of organs.

Arteries should be Flexible Too

The heart does not function alone as a pump. The vessel walls of the arteries, which by nature are elastic, have a supportive effect on the heart’s pumping by echoing what the heart does. This supportive effect is lost if the vessel walls become stiff and sclerotic. So keeping a healthy heart means tending not just to the ventricles, atrium and aorta, but to the network of myriad arteries and arterioles which disseminate through the body.

Flexible Hips Lead To A Flexible Heart

Interestingly, recent studies of persons who were encouraged to practice forward bends from the hip found that their arterial and cardiovascular health was superior to the control group. This study revealed that consistent forward bending, a mainstay of yoga practice, directly benefits heart muscle. We suggest that this can be explained in the way we have indicated.  So hip openers and forward bends in asana practice support your heart.

Breathing and Heart Health

In Yoga, breath is all important. It is commonplace to say that a yogi’s lifespan is measured not so much in years as in the number (and quality) of breaths he takes. Proper breathing delivers oxygen and other vital nutrients to the cells.  Deep, complete exhalations allow the body to constantly detoxify via the breath. Dark venous blood carries toxins from the tissue to the lungs, and then fresh re-oxygenated, red blood is sent to the heart from the lungs as a gift. No wonder good breathing enhances the health and lifespan of the heart.

Breathing Deeply Can Prevent Diastolic Dysfunction

Most of the time we breathe in very shallow ways. This means that much of the lung is not actually used for respiration, and sits idle ( a little like the brain, the greater part of which is not actually switched on for most of the time). This poor breathing fails to draw air into the lower portion and especially rear portions of the lung. However, if we perform deep, yogic  breathing where oxygen is strongly drawn into the rear part of the lungs, the lungs expand in such a way as to physically massage the heart that lies in between the two lobes. Why is this so important, especially for women?  Because heart disease has now become the leading cause of death for women in this country, and a new disease called “diastolic dysfunction” is now affecting more and more women, especially as they grow older. With diastolic dysfunction, the ventricles have become stiffened, and when they attempt to re-fill with blood the stiffened walls lack elasticity, and this stiffness then will drive the diastolic pressure way up (that is the lower of the two numbers taken when  measuring your  blood pressure). But when you perform deep yogic breathing as we teach here, it causes the lungs to physically massage the heart muscles, thus preventing stiffness and the development of diastolic dysfunction.

The Heart as Home of  the Mind

The heart, however, is more than a pump. On a subtle level, it houses the core of what we are: our soul. The area in front of the body in the vicinity of the heart has been found to exhibit more electro-magnetic activity than the areas close to the brain. The heart is truly our center, our home. So, a yoga practice which nourishes the heart on an energetic and electro-magnetic level treats also our soul, that deep part of us living in the heart.

Why People Die Over The Christmas Period

It is a fact that there are a disproportionate number of emergency room visits and deaths over the holiday period. Why is this? It is because of the sadness that can come upon people in the depths of the winter, when we are supposed to be celebrating but all too often feel our loneliness, disappointment or losses so keenly they may become unbearable for a weakened heart. At such times, the courage to live can suddenly drain out of us, especially for those who may have recently lost a loved one, or suffered a major disappointment.

Yoga and The Warrior Heart

Yoga is usually thought of as a gentle and relaxing exercise. But actually, done properly, yoga strengthens the entire system, irrigating it with energy, courage and stability. The yoga we teach is extremely expressive and interactive, generating the energy of inner focus and expansion. In this way it makes the heart more open but also less easily broken. It develops courage along with compassion.

What Herbs Are Good for the Heart?

In yogic medicine, or Ayurveda, a herb named Arjuna is extremely benficial for the heart. This herb was named after the famous warrior of the Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita. It serves to render the physical heart stronger by also developing a warrior like strength within. Other very beneficial supplements include Co-enzyme Q10, L-Carnitine, D-Ribose, Omega 3 rich fish oil and Magnesium. These particular supplements support heart health on a physical level, and can together form a very effective protocol for heart maintenance and preventive care. Talk to your health care professional about this combination, or contact us through the consultations page on this site for more detailed information:

http://www.fridayharborholistichealth.com/consultations/ 

We are seeing an epidemic of blood glucose disorders in the developed world. But diabetes is far from unknown in so-called third world nations. And in rich countries such as the US, there is a disproportionately large number of Native Americans, Hispanics and African Americans suffering from Diabetes Mellitus Type II. Much of this can be attributed to dietary factors, specifically diets very high in processed carbohydrates and sugar-laden sodas along with inadequate exercise. However, diabetes is not simply a blood glucose disorder and frequently involves cardiovascular and cerebro-cortical dysfunctions. The former is known as “Metabolic Syndrome”, which I will address in a separate post. As far as the brain is concerned, some people consider Alzheimer’s to be Diabetes Type III. By this they mean to suggest that brain decline is directly linked to insulin resistance and pancreatic malfunctioning.

Sweet Tooth Overdose

If we consider how excessively sweet most processed food is, and how it is laced with either high fructose corn syrup, neuro-toxic artificial sweeteners (such as aspartame), or plain old refined white cane sugar, we get a sense of how imbalanced people’s diets are in general. Then consider how much sugar and soda Americans consume on a daily basis: according to the American Heart Association, adults consume an average of 22 teaspoons of sugar a day, and teens a whopping 34 teaspoons.

Bitter is Good for You

Modern diets, unlike the diets of yesteryear, are extremely deficient in the bitter flavor. People reject the bitter flavor in food much as they tend to reject bitter experiences in life. But just as bitter disappointments can make a person stronger and even happier, so the bitter flavor in foods can restore health and protect your organs. The bitter flavor is very cleansing for the blood and organs. Bitter herbs are anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic. They assist the body in ridding itself of toxins.

One such bitter plant has been used in China, South America and in India for many generations and that is Bitter Melon. This bitter gourd looks a little like a cucumber, but must be sliced open and then cooked after removing the seeds. Prepared properly, it can be delicious.

Bitter Melon has been studied and found to contain substances that have an insulin like effect. This explains its long recognized ability to lower blood sugar. Besides its glucose lowering abilities, Bitter Melon can also help with fungal and parasitic problems, scabies, pruritis and blood disorders. It has also been recognized as a plant useful for HIV positive persons, as it assists the immune system in combating HIV.

How Should I Take Bitter Melon for Diabetes?

The optimal way is to drink the juice of the melon. You would have to use a blender or a juicer. However, if this is too unpalatable or difficult, capsules of dried bitter melon may be substituted. It is important to look for organically grown melon products.

What Else Can Work?

People are generally unaware of how many natural substances can powerfully assist in reducing blood sugar disorders. Some of these plants have been used for hundreds of years by herbalists; a few of them have been recently subjected to scientific study. One such example of a scientifically investigated plant is Abuta (Cissampelos pareira). When combined with synergistically combined with other herbs, its effect can be greatly magnified.

Persons seeking more information or guidance about blood-sugar lowering herbs and protocols can utilize the consultations page on this website.

The essence of our practice, and of what we are, is light. But surely, light could not exist without darkness. Darkness is the mother of light. Darkness gives birth to light and then swallows it up again. These two can never be separated. Yet light will always return. In the rebirth of light, darkness finds its purpose and its fulfillment.

The Light Returns

Light Pours Through

Golden Bird brings Light

Women’s Wisdom

Traditionally, women have ruled in the kitchen and thus came to understand intimately the healing powers of herbs and spices. Plants, herbs and spices are a direct extension of Mother Earth, and the nurturing powers she generates. By contrast, drug companies which extract potent phyto-chemicals from plants and then market their patented, abstracted components are essentially raping the Earth for profit. This process has a long and dark history: in medieval Europe, vast numbers of women healers were burnt at the stake by religious authorities, whilst in India, the occupying British sought to stamp out the use of herbs by native Indians. More recently, multi-national biotech corporate conglomerates – and especially Monsanto – have attempted to force their toxic GMOs on to the world and the result in India and elsewhere have been failing crops, starving multitudes and hundreds of thousand of desperate Indian farmers committing suicide. GMOs are threatening the very survival of the planet since they disrupt all major eco-systems at the level of DNA.

Spices are the Opposite of GMOs

Spices are amongst the world’s first and most powerful medicines. Spices aren’t just good tasting substances, they are healing substances, they are medicines. Whereas GMOs disturb and even destroy our digestive systems, spices do the reverse: they maintain, repair and revitalize us from within.

Don’t Buy Irradiated Spices

Commercially degraded and irradiated in the US, it is important to purchase spices that have been grown organically and not been subjected to radiation. Although more expensive, spices that have not been processed retain their medicinal potency.

Cinnamon for Type II Diabetes

Cinnamon is delicious and warming. But did you know it also reduces hyperglycemia and thus can be used with diabetics to bring down blood glucose levels? Studies in Pakistan have demonstrated that cinnamon consumption of just 1/4 teaspoon twice  a day can reduce blood glucose levels by 20 points. This is particularly interesting given that I have personally seen patients on metaformin where the drug has had no beneficial effect whatsoever on reducing their fasting glucose levels. Such patients, by contrast, have seen their levels drop when administered herbal therapies for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. If you would like more information about powerful herbal alternatives for these conditions, you can arrange a consultation through our consultations page.

Cinnamon is Anti-Microbial

Cinnamon improves the circulation and reduces inflammation. Harmful bacteria do not enjoy the presence of cinnamon any more than sugar does. Yeasts such as candida dislike cinnamon.  Essential oil of cinnamon is especially powerful. And since harmful micro-organisms thrive in the presence of excess sugars, consuming spices such as cinnamon makes a whole lot of sense, and is simple, kitchen-sink medicine. That is not to suggest that simply consuming cinnamon or other spices will eradicate your health concerns. But they may well provide a surprising and cost effective benefit, with zero toxic side-effects.

Anti-Candida and Anti-Diabetes Protocols

There are multiple barks, leaves, plants and spices that have been used in traditional medicines (Ayurvedic, Chinese, South American and European) to combat our chronic modern diseases such as Diabetes, Candida, Urinary Tract Infections, Poor digestion, Poor Circulation and Chronic Inflammation.  We can advise you about viable products to take that have been scientifically studied, or used effectively for generations in other countries. Taking drugs to suppress these problems – which is the pharmaceutical approach  - only drives the problem deeper inside the body, and gradually weakens the person through an ever increasing series of “side-effects”. By contrast,  spices such as cinnamon, direct from Mother Nature, and preserved over many centuries by the natural wisdom of women, offer viable alternatives for those seeking to recover their health.

Over the past decade or so, Yoga has grown enormously popular in Western countries, and its influence has also been spreading to developing countries in Asia and Latin America, countries that have experienced rapid  economic growth. Yet, just as Yoga has entered the mainstream, something seems to have been lost of its essence. So, what is that essence?

Perhaps we can say that the essence of Yoga is a serene connection between human beings and Nature. Yoga is an act of “re-connection”.  Yoga restores in us the mysterious life-force streaming through each and every thing in the cosmos. It re-connects us with our own submerged vitality; it restores to us a sense of meaning and purpose. It humanizes us.

But, wait a minute: isn’t Yoga basically about stretching, getting fitter, re-conditioning joints and muscles and all that stuff? Well, read on and find out.

Standard Yoga

Most Yoga  nowadays is taught in studios. The focus is usually either therapeutic (to limit aches and pains) or athletic (to stay trim, flexible and attractive). These things are fine, but standardized Yoga has not succeeded in connecting the mind and body in a really profound and powerful way, which was the supreme goal in ancient times. So how do we do this?

A Different Way of Doing Yoga

At Friday Harbor Holistic Health, we are pioneering a different way of doing Yoga. We focus very strongly and even scientifically on strengthening the physical body and making it more supple and graceful. But we also address the energy flows that oversee the health of the physical body, plus the emotional and mental layers of the human being. In ancient Yoga practice, this was called Pancha Kosha Yoga (or 5 level Yoga), referring to the five strata that compose us (physical, energetic, emotional, mental and spiritual). Our goal has been to develop teaching methods that are dynamic and mesmerizing, whilst being very safe and exacting in terms of movements and energy flows.

Yoga as Energy and as Art

Yoga should enhance our energy and clear our spirit. In this sense, Yoga is comparable to Qi Gong. Yoga is also comparable to Shamanic practices in that it potentially develops a supra-rational aspect of our awareness.  However, Yoga is also methodical and coherent. But above all, we feel that today, the single most important thing is this: Yoga needs to be expressive. Our style of teaching aims at developing subtle grace and dynamic balance. It is the art in Yoga that we always strive for. Art widens the heart and opens the mind.

Yoga Liberates

Anything beautiful and expressive is liberating. When we teach, our goal is to bring out this potential in students, to make them more sensitive to this part of themselves. The stretching and strengthening, the breathing and balancing work are all vital. But they are preparatory steps. The goal is to re-discover within one’s own bodily movements the subtle harmonics present in Nature. When the mind enters this territory, it wakes up and sees things in new fresh ways. In ancient times, this was called moksha, or liberation.

Freedom is the Ultimate Goal

Freedom is the ultimate goal: first, freedom from pain, stiffness and weakness. Then, freedom from fear and clumsiness. Eventually, freedom from whatever may have been limiting us, whatever was conditioning our perceptions and thought processes. Yoga is about waking up. At Friday Harbor Holistic Health our classes and teaching programs are ultra-modern ways of helping contemporary people walk the ancient paths.

New Exercise Opportunity for Men

We are very excited to announce the start of our new Men’s Yoga class at XYZ in Friday Harbor! It will be taught by the director of Friday Harbor Holistic Health, Nicholas Corrin. Nicholas is a well known Ayurvedic and Oriental medicine doctor as well an accomplished yoga teacher who specializes in injury repair, fitness, preventive medicine and overall mind-body health.

Why Just for Men?

The Men’s Yoga class has been designed to assist men get into a strong yoga practice. It is suitable both for beginners and for those men already involved in yoga. For beginners, it will provide a very effective entry-level experience and give you the confidence to move on to regular classes of all sorts. For more experienced practitioners, it will boost overall strength, conditioning  and flexibility and move past kinks, joint blockages and inner obstructions.

Men Are A Little Different

Because men’s bodies are so different from women’s, many men feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about joining a yoga class. Men are generally tighter and stiffer than women, especially around the hips and shoulders. This means that they usually need a different emphasis in practice, to loosen up tight spots and develop greater fluency. Men have greater upper body strength whereas women’s frames are more grounded, with their center of gravity in the lower abdomen. Because women are designed to bear children, their bodies also secrete a hormone called relaxin every time they ovulate. Relaxin works to loosen their joints, especially at the hips, preparing them for childbirth. Because nature does not assist men in this way to stay flexible, they need specific techniques and additional exercises to maintain their suppleness.

Beyond Flexibilty

Yoga, however, is much more than stretching, much more than mere flexibility. Yoga  also provides increased strength, vitality, youthfulness, sexual stamina, mental alertness, inner calm and joyfulness. It is a shame that so many men feel too inhibited to get into a regular yoga practice, and thereby fail to access all these benefits. The new Mens’ Yoga class at XYZ is designed to change all that!

When and Where?

The class will begin on Wednesday, September 14th. Class will be held at the XYZ movement center in Friday Harbor, and will be from 12 noon-1:00PM every Wednesday. Mats and other props are all provided. Just wear comfortable clothing and make sure you have not just eaten (please allow at least two hours for digestion before class begins).

See you there!

Any questions, please call us at (360) 375 7052. Or email us at info@fridayharborholistichealth.com

The failure of our current medical system is simply one glaring aspect of our failure to live in harmony with the Earth and its myriad eco-systems. This health system has now brought the US economy to its knees, and those arthritic knees are buckling fast.

Medicine has evolved into a for-profit industry spewing out toxins like all the other exploitative industries to which it is linked by corporate and political alliances. This medical system is thus complicit in ignoring, even aggravating, our broken relationship with the environment, even as it generates further imbalances within our minds and bodies. Overuse and over-prescription of increasingly harsh medications damage the body’s internal environment in ways that mirror the ecological dis-harmonies in nature.

A Toxic World of Toxic Waters

Whether it is water from the faucet, from the shower head, from over-priced, over-hyped bottles with fancy names, or whether from streams, lakes or ocean, water has gradually become a source of poison as much as a source of life. At the same time, greedy multinational companies have been purchasing water at source in developing countries and grabbing water rights, much as in the past they performed the same manoeuvres for oil and mineral resources. Water is the new oil. But is it becoming equally toxic as the black gold?

The Threat to Our Brains

A report in the May issue of Discover magazine highlighted the work of Elijah Stommel at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire. Dr. Stommel, a neurologist, found by computer generated mapping that cases of ALS  – amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – in New England correlated geographically with bodies of water, and in particular with Mascoma Lake, a rural idyll not far from Dartmouth. What these bodies of water contain that link with ALS is a neuro-toxin called beta-methylamino-L-alanine, or BMAA. The presence of this environmental toxin has been shown to be a significant causative factor in the development of ALS. This terrible disease causes progressive and irreversible deterioration of motor neurons in the brain, leading eventually to a painful death by suffocation.

Blue-green Algae Can Turn Nasty

Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, are some of the most ancient forms of life on this planet. They offer us remarkable benefits as a food source and contain, when healthy, an astonishing array of trace minerals that can assist the immune system to clean up the body and reduce chronic ill-health. However, when cyanobacteria have become disturbed by toxins in the environment, they can transform into noxious micro-organisms. Such algae will synthesize toxic compounds that threaten human health. BMAA is one such example of a toxic compound capable of destroying brain tissue in susceptible people. BMAA may well be linked to Parkinson’s, MS and Alzheimer’s disease.

Neuro-toxins threaten the survival of species

We humans have felt few qualms about using neurotoxic chemical as pesticides. Yet now such chemicals are returning to haunt us. The increasing infiltration  of  our global bodies of water by industrial and human waste products, agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals used in the medical industry, not to mention the deluge of radioactive contamination spilling into the Pacific from an as yet uncontained catastrophe in Fukushima, has made consumption of fresh water fish and all seafood a definite risk.

Nano-bacteria in the Hydrological System

The general public is still quite ignorant about the use of nano-technology in industry and applied sciences, but all the more so about the existence of nano-bacteria in nature. We are coming to understand a little more of the existence of these unstudied creatures: nano-bacteria live at atmospheric levels where clouds form and participate in cycles of condensation and rain. They are essential to the maintenance of cyclic and seasonal weather patterns. If they are damaged by pollutants such as the aluminum and barium particulates found in geo-engineering spumes, these tiny bacteria can turn noxious. Their tendencies to switch on rainfall can be warped, and they can even descend into the denser air that we breathe, leading to infectious respiratory diseases.

A Wake-up Call

Toxic cyanobacteria and nano-bacteria are not, as far as we know, products of nature. Rather, they result from a tampering with nature, a disregard for man’s responsibility to honor the environment and accord it the same rights that we demand for ourselves. That these tiny creatures have the power to produce toxins which can paralyze our bodies may be  a message we already know in our deeper psyches. The message is that we are all bound up in one fate, humans and the more-than-human world; that is, the environment and the myriad creatures that inhabit it. Medicine must take care of all life if humans are to survive at all.

So, What to Do?

How can we realistically protect ourselves? Fortunately, we now have multiple effective means of  shielding ourselves from the increasing barrage of toxins in the air, food and water. Preventive medicine such as we practice at this clinic focuses on methods to de-contaminate the body and enhance the immune system so as to minimize the risk of disease. But more is needed: we all need to participate in ushering in a different kind of world, one based on reciprocity, mutual respect and environmental courtesy, not on greed, short term profit and passing the buck. But for this to truly happen will require a veritable sea change in American culture. Where do you stand and what are you doing about it?

Dr. Helen Caldicott is right and George Monbiot is wrong. Caldicott is a physician and Monbiot is just parroting the denial stance of institutionalized scientific bodies which kowtow to the views of corporate-run politicians. Monbiot’s sycophantic figure is evidence of how statistics can be laundered and bleached until almost all stains of human suffering have been removed.

Scientifically speaking, Monbiot is uneducated: radiation kills, and it does this in two ways: Fast and slow. The fast way is through acute radiation poisoning, and our hearts must go out to the heroic self-sacrifice of the Fukushima emergency workers who have put their lives on the line by stepping into the radiation cauldron. The fast way involves massive damage to internal organs, hair loss, vomiting and early death.

Monbiot understands the fast way, he does not understand the slow way. The slow way is insidious: the body will absorb some lower quantity of radioactive isotope over a longer period of time. Depending on the nature of this isotope, once inhaled or ingested, it will migrate to a particular area of the body, brain, reproductive system, bones or other. A tiny amount of a radioactive isotope with an extensive half life will emit radioactive signals at whatever site within the body where it is lodged. Over time, these signals will disturb surrounding cells, killing them or rendering them pre-cancerous. These “internal emitters” are like tiny, deadly sleeper cells. Eventually, the DNA itself will be warped. We have seen how this has happened at Chernobyl, but we have also seen something similar occurring elsewhere as a result of Monsanto’s genetic engineering, and also as a result of hormone disruptors like bisphenol-A in our food chain. GMOs and xeno-estrogenic endocrine disruptors  are generating male-female fish  and now humans with abnormal genitalia, and drastically lowered fertility.

Protection and Survival: co-factors

Protection from the effects of radiation emitted from stricken reactors is currently the subject of intense and urgent research by many people in both the conventional and alternative health fields. The large number of variables (precise types of radioactive substances, concentrations, half-lives and duration of exposure) make it difficult to quantify risk for individuals. But your risk of cellular damage from “slow” radiation exposure will also depend on a variety of co-factors. Non-acute radiation works on the cells slowly, and insidiously. The process can take anywhere between 2 and 60 years to “mature”. This means that, to a certain extent, you have time on your side: time to take steps to optimize your overall health, strengthen your immunity and decrease levels of inflammation. This means decreasing free radical surges within the body, which is typically how cancers are instigated at epithelial levels.

We can say that a person’s response to radiation will depend on how healthy that person is. If the person already has lowered immunity or chronic inflammation, their susceptibility to radiation damage will be greater; if that person is consuming processed foods, pharmaceutical drugs, GMOs or other toxic products, their susceptibility to radiation induced cancers will be greater. On the other hand, if the person is balancing their autonomic nervous system, consuming healthy food and water, increasing their anti-oxidant intake, and taking radio-protective and anti-cancer herbs, their chances of remaining healthy and limiting the radiation damage are obviously greater.

Increasing Glutathione and Decreasing Inflammation

Glutathione is the most important anti-oxidant within the cell. What we frequently see in chronic disease is serious depletion of glutathione levels. This is evident with both heavy metal poisoning and with viral infections such as AIDS. Increasing the body’s stores of glutathione would appear to be a sensible way to protect against radiation induced inflammation. Glutathione can be increased by consuming whole whey products, which also help sustain healthy protein levels in the body.

Seaweeds

Seaweeds are well known to protect from radiation. In Chinese medicine, certain sea vegetables have also been used traditionally to remove lumps and masses. The salty “flavor” is considered to be an energy that washes away and dissolves masses. However, the problem we are facing is that so much of the ocean has become polluted, and this obviously affects sea vegetables. The iodine rich seaweeds are often found now to be very high in bromide. So it is becoming difficult to know whether consuming seaweed is a good or bad decision, without knowing how unpolluted the source is. Are there alternatives? As far as I can make out now, blue-green algae, chlorella and spirulina are related plants that offer some comparable types of cellular protection.

Marine Plasma

Quinton Marine plasma is derived from secretions of zoo-plankton harvested from deep vortices in the planet’s several oceans. This very remarkable substance, which is cold-filtered to purify it (not heat sterilized) has almost miraculous powers to rebalance and restore the body. It does this at the level of the plasma. (The plasma is the colorless fluid in which red and white blood cells swim). Marine plasma has a bio-chemical profile which is almost identical to human amniotic fluid, cerebral-spinal fluid and blood plasma. Please search this site for more information regarding Quniton Marine Plasma.

The Essence of Water

In Ayurvedic medicine, the body is considered to be made up of dhatus. This means levels of structure, or metabolism. Everything begins with rasa which means a basic liquid, or plasma. This is another way of saying that the health of the entire human being depends upon the quality of their plasmic fluids. If these are clean, balanced, properly nourished and smoothly flowing, the person will remain healthy for a very long time.

We are made up mostly of water, of rasa. So is our planet which, if we gaze upon her from outer space, is clearly the blue planet, a planet clothed in water. How we treat the water round about us, and also the water within us, is key to our survival. The secret to protection against radiation damage has to involve the protoplasmic water within the cell as well as the extracellular fluids, cerebral spinal fluid and amniotic fluid. What we have learned from Dr. Emoto’s research is that this water within us is highly susceptible to our thought patterns, intentions and feelings. Protection of our internal cellular mechanisms cannot be separated from protection of the global environment, as water is everywhere and all life depends upon it.

What we also know from morphogenetic field study, is that a small part can shift the whole. This means that an individual human being has a far greater capacity than is generally assumed to affect positive change, not only within her/his own body, but within the greater world outside, including the elemental realms of water.

The waters being addressed include both the “enslaved” water in the cooling systems with their massively high levels of contamination, and the ocean waters surrounding Fukushima: recent analysis of sea water up to 300 meters off shore measured quantities of radioactive iodine 3,500 above the so-called acceptable levels.

The cryo-photographs documented by Emoto have shown us a hidden world: a world of sentience and a world of intelligence within the water molecule. Water responds to input, whether chemical, electromagnetic or psychological by altering its internal structure. By saying “I hate you” or, “I love you” to a vial of water you will radically alter its molecular configuration. This becomes observable in a photo of a drop of the water that has been influenced, just before it freezes and forms a crystal. Emoto’s photography has unveiled for us a remarkable, hidden world of feeling, of reciprocity, of osmosis between the human and the watery translucence at the origin of all life.

Water is life. And we are over 75% water. Which is why we are praying today: to ourselves. Or to that part of ourselves that is one with the rest of nature, and that has not been utterly submerged in the insane momentum of human economics, politics and the desperation of current human destiny.

This is the first of an important series of postings I am composing on how to maintain both your heart and bone health. Why am I putting heart and bones together, you may be wondering? What do they have to do with each other? The answer is calcium. Calcium belongs in the bones, not in the arteries. Very often heart disease occurs when calcium gets stripped from bone and deposited on the arterial walls. This results in what we call arterial calcification (a hardening of the arteries). Meanwhile, when calcium leeches out of the bones, the bones themselves get thinner and weaker: a condition known as osteoporosis.

Clearly, heart disease (and stroke) are directly linked to the amount of calcium floating around in the blood – calcium which ought to be in your bones.  Do you remember playing on a seesaw as a child? Imagine a seesaw with a normal-sized kid on one end and a teeny little guy on the other.  That seesaw will be locked in one direction. In the body, it is similar. Some metabolic deficiency (little kid) might create an imbalance, and cause calcium to leech out of your bone matrix and coat the lining of your arteries. We all need to avoid this, and maintain our strong bones and supple arteries.

Anti-Aging Basics

Without doubt, two of the most obvious signs of advanced aging are a weak heart and brittle bones. So it is only logical to focus on preventive medicine to combat these two problems. Post-menopausal women are particularly at risk as a consequence of hormonal changes affecting their metabolism. Although female incidence of heart disease still trails that of men, there are recent signs of acceleration amongst women’s rates. It is advisable for any woman in today’s world to consider heart health and osteoporosis prevention as two sides of the same challenge. And research teams both in Japan and in the US have correlated both types of disease with extremely low blood levels of Vitamin K.

Standard medical thinking has been puzzled by the simultaneous occurrence of arterial calcification and osteoporosis, calling it the “calcification paradox”.  Actually, it is not a paradox at all. It is simply calcium going from the right place into the wrong place. Many factors can cause this problem including environmental toxins, parathyroid problems, parasites, food additives and flavor enhancers, over consumption of soda, and acidic diets. But Vitamin K is an absolutely key player in protecting us, and in reversing possible damage to the body.

What Should You Do?

There are several key nutrients you want to make sure are in your diet (in the right amount) to avoid heart problems, osteoporosis or osteopenia (a milder form of osteoporosis). I will focus on each of these essential nutrients in different postings. There are also important herbs, teas, exercises and meditations which are very beneficial for healing either the heart or the skeleton. But today we will talk about Vitamin K.

What is Vitamin K?

Like many other vitamins, Vitamin K is a group of substances with several members. They used to be given numbers (Vitamin K1, Vitamin K2, Vitamin K3 etc.)  More recently, Vitamin K has been re-classified as two  sub-groups belonging to the main K group of naphthoquinones.

The first of these sub-groups are the phylloquinones. They used to be known as Vitamin K1. They are found in plant foods, especially dark leafy greens. This group has long been known to be vital for normal blood clotting.

The second sub-group is known as the menaquinones. They used to called Vitamin K2. These are derived either from animal products including meats, eggs, butter and cheese, or they are synthesized in the gut by our friendly flora. They are always bacterial in origin and are generated by a type of fermentation. The menaquinones have been recognized as vital for directing calcium into the bone matrix. However, this is also done by cleaning up the blood from circulating calcium, and thus preventing pathologic calcification and concomitant blood clotting. The menaquinones are called MK, and are given numbers. Perhaps the strongest and most important is MK-7. This is formed by the bacteria that ferment soy beans: bacillus natto. An extract from natto, called nattokinase, is often given to people to ensure that their blood flows smoothly and does not become viscous. Viscous blood is unhealthy blood. In Japan, natto has been consumed for generations, and may have much to do with the longevity of the Japanese. MK-7 is also found in a few cheeses, whereas MK-4 is generally found in meats, cheese, butter and eggs.

A Combination of Vitamin K1 and K2 is Best

It has long been recognized that Vitamin K is important for bone health, but only later did researchers explore its relationship with cardiovascular health. A groundbreaking report, published in the Netherlands in 2004, the Rotterdam Study, concluded that Vitamin K played a significant role in arterial health, and that different types of this Vitamin had different effects. The Rotterdam Study’s authors stated that it was K2, the menaquinones which protected the arteries from calcification, by driving the calcium into the bone matrix.

However, more recent research has indicated that, contrary to earlier theories, the phylloquinones (aka Vitamin K1) also play a vital role in preventing atherosclerosis and arterial calcification.  A study published in 2009 compared a group of 200 people given phylloquinone supplementation with a control group of 188. The researchers showed the phylloquinone group to have significantly less evidence of coronary arterial calcification than the control group had.

So phylloquinone (aka K1) also protects your heart, and keeps that calcium from straying out of your bones. The implication is clear: you want to ensure you have adequate amounts of both K1 and K2 in your diet.

Dietary Sources of Vitamin K1 and K2

Dark leafy greens are the best source of phylloquinones. So Popeye is your role model – but preferably consume your spinach fresh, not out of a can!

King of the pile is Kale (1,062 micrograms), followed by spinach (888mg), collard greens ( 704mg), chard (572 mg), and turnip greens (529mg). Kale is a truly remarkable food which comes in many varieties, including purple kale and dinosaur kale. It can be made into delicious soups, fresh juices combined with apple, or fresh salads, cut fine and marinated in lemon juice and garlic.

On the menaquinone side, if you are a vegan, you may be depriving your body of this important nutrient. Ironically, vegans who consume no dietary cholesterol may induce coronary arterial diseases because they have no menaquinones (K2) in their diet. This is particularly important for post-menopausal women: veganism is not likely to give you the full range of nutrients your body needs.

The strongest source of menaquinone is from natto, or from taking nattokinase. Fermented soy and several cheeses are likely to provide you with menaquinone (K2) as well.

Don’t forget that menaquinone is also made in the body by the friendly bacteria in your intestines. If you have recently taken antibiotics, if you take a lot of antibiotics in the past, or frequently take pharmaceuticals, if you are a heavy drinker, or consume a generally unhealthy diet, it is very likely that your friendly flora are suffering. You will need to change this and rebuild the acidophilus, bifidus and other probiotic strains in your gut. Those little guys are keeping you alive, supporting your immune system and pumping out Vitamin K2, the menaquinones.

Supplements

If you are taking multi-vitamin supplements, you should check to see that Vitamin K is part of the formula. It may specify K1 and K2, or it may say MK4 and MK7. Whatever it says, you should make sure you are getting both varieties of K. Especially if you are at risk for osteoporosis, it is important to consult with your health-care professional to evaluate your overall dietary intake of Vitamin K.