Top 10 tips for body and soul

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Top 10 tips for body and soul

Every week of the year, our experts offer their most deeply held wisdoms

on the care and maintenance of our bodies and spirits. Here are the

choicest pieces of advice that came our way in 2004.

http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2004-12-23/goods_health.php

 

BY Sibylle Preuschat

 

1. ON LETTING PASSION TWEAK YOUR PERSONALITY

" When you feel an erotic charge, you can gaze upon the person who awakens

it and mentally, with awe, repeat a mantra of gratitude and praise. The

erotic spark arises as a reminder that everyone is divine. Then gaze at

the very next person you encounter and repeat a mantra of praise. People

feel it, they light up and give right back, energetically. When I do this,

I feel more open to others, more confident and sexy and not constricted by

mental boundaries of gender and physical appearance. " PATRICIA JOHNSON ,

Tantra teacher, Yorktown Heights, New York (September 30-October 6)

 

2. ON KEEPING THE TIPS

" Not a single national medical organization in the world approves of

circumcision. The harm far outweighs any possible benefits in every case.

The idea that sex with a circumcised partner prevents cervical cancer was

shot down 20 years ago. In an Israeli study, the incidence of urinary

tract infection in men is higher after circumcision. A study surveying

women found that circumcised men put so much effort into getting their own

pleasure that they aren't actually making love to the women; the men who

had their entire complement were more loving. It takes courage for someone

who's been circumcised not to have his son circumcised. " GEORGE C.

DENNISTON , MD, founder and president, Doctors Opposing Circumcision, Port

Townsend, Washington (March 11-17)

 

3. GIVING UP MOULD IN A JAR

" There isn't a single peanut in North America that isn't contaminated with

mould. Aside from people who have deathly allergies, many who are feeling

chronically ill may be very sensitive to mould. Healthy people should also

stay away. If you have too much of this in your system, it can affect your

immunity. I don't know what the safe level is. There's something wrong

with every food, but this is really an avoidable disease-causer. I think

peanuts should probably be banned. " ZOLTAN RONA , MD, MSc, Toronto

(October 21-27)

 

4. GETING A HIT OFF OUR SOLAR ALLY

" Dermatologists don't have a clue about human nutrition. A little bit of

sunlight should be considered a friend, because it provides you with your

vitamin D requirement. In the absence of sun, you need at least 1,000 IU a

day to satisfy your body's requirements. You'd have to make a major effort

to begin to approach that. Wearing a sunscreen of SPF 8 reduces your

ability to make vitamin D by 95 per cent. I'm not suggesting you bake

outside. Just get some sensible exposure. " MICHAEL F. HOLICK , professor

of medicine, physiology and biophysics, Boston University Medical Center,

author, The UV Advantage (June 3-9)

 

5. ON BEING BUGGED INTO AWARENESS

" Bedbugs are indicating outwardly, symbolically, the need for unification

of masses of people. There are definitely many groups, creatures and

beings we sweep under the bed. Bedbugs in hotels target the people who

have the most status and wealth, who need to learn how to be grateful.

Bedbugs wouldn't be an irritant if there were more concern over making

sure that everybody was being taken care of. Have you considered that

bedbugs have more constructive things to do than to bite people? They're

doing that to get your attention, but they'd rather be doing other

things. " ROCHELLE GAI RODNEY , animal communication specialist channeling

the bedbug spirit, Toronto (March 4-10)

 

6. AVOIDING YOGIC HURTS

" The main reasons for injury are inattention and excessive ego attachment.

The ego gets in the way and says, 'I'm going to get my nose to my knee no

matter what.' When we give ourselves these messages we are not honouring

our present condition. It's important to practise with energy and effort,

and essential to practise with patience. We encourage students to start

their practice with an elevated intention , for example, to make others

happy. Thus, the small self is put aside to make space for mindfulness and

compassion. " JEANNINE WOODALL , co-founder, Jivamukti Yoga, Toronto

(November 18-24)

 

7. CONJURING EVERYDAY BLISS

" To be happy we don't need beauty, but we must accept and like ourselves.

Instead of fame, we need optimism. Rather than wealth, we need a purpose.

We don't have to have a special talent but need a job or activities we

enjoy. Instead of perfection, we need realism to help us accept our

weaknesses and learn to manage them. We don't need possessions but must

have loving relationships. We need wisdom rather than intelligence,

autonomy rather than conformity. Happy people resist social pressure and

exert personal control. The things needed for happiness are all within our

control, and we can work toward them. " ANDREW WILLIAMS , research

psychologist, author, How Do You Compare?, Ames, Iowa (July 29-August 4)

 

8. ON HELPING LOVED ONES LEAVE

" Many people experience the feeling in a room where somebody is being born

or somebody is dying as very similar. There is a powerful feeling of love,

and people experience something that's much bigger than themselves. I

advocate home funerals so that families are empowered. We've given away

being part of the death process, being beside those we love as they move

into other realms, which allows people time to say their goodbyes in their

own way. I think one of the reasons people often grieve so long is that

they didn't have the opportunity to say goodbye in a way that was

meaningful to them. " JERRI LYONS , death midwife, founding director of

Final Passages, Sebastopol, California (October 28-November )

 

9. VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SELF

" The real nub of it all is wearing a red nose. That forces you to confront

your self-image. The red nose has been called the world's smallest mask.

It's not a mask that hides you; it's a mask that reveals you. The nose

draws attention to your face and your eyes and really exaggerates who you

are. People see you differently, and you see yourself differently. It

breaks through that day-to-day mask we all wear. If readers want to be

daring, they can forget the Kama Sutra and wear red noses while having

sex. People have this fear of being ridiculous. Once you overcome that

fear, it's very freeing. " NEIL MUSCOTT , artistic director, Cirque du

Poulet, Toronto (February 26-March 5)

 

10. TAMING A TOXIC DINNER

" Taking Ipecac 6CH every five to 10 minutes in the time that it takes to

get to the hospital could actually save your life from food poisoning.

Symptoms showing you need it include retching, a sensation that something

is eating away at your organs, severe nausea and vomiting that do not

provide relief, and black stools or bloody diarrhea. Metallum album 6CH is

useful when digestion problems are caused by meat or poultry. For tainted

shellfish the remedy is Lycopodium 6CH. If you eat a spoiled fruit or

vegetable, take Natrum phos 6CH. I highly recommend travelling with Ipecac

at all times. It will give relief in all food poisonings. " DANIEL LUPU ,

homeopath, Toronto (November 11-17)