Artist: Theresa Richardson
Title: Gaia
Medium: Oil on canvas
Contact: tess11-2@hotmail.com
Feature Article
September 18th marks the 115th anniversary of the birth of chiropractic and its contribution to a wellness based lifestyle. D.D. Palmer, the founder, it turns out was talking green well before it became a household name. Wellness, or ‘green living’ at its most basic level involves living in balance with nature and with one’s self. D.D. Palmer condensed this to three key areas of physical, mental, and chemical wellbeing. Balance in these key areas is without doubt, both a lofty and critical goal. Let’s take a closer look at the effect of chemicals on our wellbeing and what can be done to create a green environment within our own homes.
Toxins refer to anything that does not belong in the body. They may be naturally occurring or man-made. They may come from outside the body or may be generated within. They include some minerals that are poisonous, millions of chemical compounds, living organisms such as bacteria, some electromagnetic energies, and even our thoughts.
The concept that toxic substances cause disease is very ancient. It is mentioned in Greek and Roman medical texts and even older writing as well. Ancient Chinese medical books speak of harmful chi and contain references to toxins that cause illness. Herbal medicine and natural healing methods have emphasised toxin removal for thousands of years. Toxins work in many ways but in the end they prevent the body from functioning the way it is meant to. Let’s look at the recent events of lead poisoning in Mt. Isa as an example.
A list of the symptoms caused by lead toxicity affecting Mt. Isa residents is lengthy. Suffice to say that it affects the musculo-skeletal, nervous, cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive and psychological systems. It is a very pervasive and nasty toxin. What it does however is not nearly as important as understanding where it is coming from and how to get rid of it.
It turns out that toxins like lead, hitch a ride with nutrients. In other words, through the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink etc. Once in the body they exert their effect. Lead for example displaces calcium as one of its mechanisms. It literally blocks the effect of calcium, creating a lengthy list of symptoms. Clearly we need to minimise exposure, but what else can be done?
The very astute reader might have noticed that they are recommending, amongst other things, that Mt. Isa residents ensure they have good calcium intake and overall mineral status. The take home point here is that if you have a healthy calcium intake and reserve in the body, you won’t uptake the lead in the first place. When you are healthy with good mineral and eliminative organ status, toxins can’t exert as much of an effect and the body can often eliminate it.
In the end the strategy for green living is quite simple. Avoid exposure and increase your natural immunity and overall wellbeing to deal with the chemicals that are inevitably going to come your way. Some simple strategies to avoid exposure include cleaning up your drinking water. Copper and lead are issues here. Good quality spring water is best for drinking and a shower filter should be installed to eliminate chlorine and other chemicals from being absorbed through the skin and lungs in the shower.
Food should be organic where possible. 75% of all antibiotics in this country are used, not for humans, but for animals. Residues are inevitable. With plants, cadmium (an extremely toxic substance right up there with mercury) is a natural and inevitable by-product of fertiliser. If zinc is deficient in the soil (and it often is) then the cadmium will be taken up into the plant, substituting for the absent zinc. Cadmium in the plant is then absorbed by whatever animal eats it, eventually ending up in the apex predators (us).
Around the house we really need to take a very close look at the chemicals we use. There are harmful substances in shampoo, soap, laundry and dishwasher detergent, cleaning solutions, clothing, toothpaste, makeup etc. Skin is the largest organ in the body and is a great big sponge. Products are readily available (with a little looking around) that are free from known harmful chemicals.
Nutritionally we need to ensure we are in good biochemical status. Anti-oxidants for example work like an air bag. If you have them in adequate amounts they will minimise the impact, but don’t stop you from having the original crash. In other words you need good mineral, vitamin and antioxidant status BEFORE you have a crash (chemical exposure) to best deal with it. This is why calcium is so important for Mt. Isa residents BEFORE they are exposed to lead.
Minimising exposure and maximising body function is the key to being well, and a modern day ‘green’ lifestyle can contribute and accomplish this. A caution is important here. It has become abundantly clear that supplements are essential to complement diet. A problem is that with nutritional status too much of something is just as damaging as too little. The warning therefore is, don’t supplement haphazardly, guessing at what you need. Talk to an expert and determine what you need and regularly retest or measure to determine that you are on track and not over- or under-dosing.
Green living and the wellness lifestyle are in my opinion no longer an option. As in any ecosystem there is a delicate balance and if you keep putting toxins in, eventually the ecosystem fails. Simple steps can make a difference. We owe it to our health, our children and our future children to ensure the health of ourselves and our planet.
Dr. Todd Lizon B.H.P.E., D.C.
Nutritional Balancing and Lifestyle Integration
Ph. 0447 126 800
Regular Article
When people ask me how something as simple as breathing could heal them, I usually first ask them if they believe that our state of mind, including our emotional stress levels, are as important to our health as proper diet, sleep and exercise. As this is now widely known to be the case, I then direct their attention to everyday situations in which we, as a species, display signs of an innate understanding of the link between breathing and our emotional state…
When someone is ‘freaking out’ or boiling up with anger the instinctive advice we give is, “Take a deep breath.” When we are intensely pleasantly surprised and delighted we say, “It took my breath away.” We often hold our breath in a state of anticipation or suspense; romantic liaisons are described as engaging in heavy breathing; fear has been known to make one ‘catch one’s breath’, and we all know that a breath of fresh air revitalises us.
Breathwork, also known at times as Rebirthing, is a gentle and safe process where a specific conscious breathing pattern creates an acute narrowing of focus, through which an altered and elevated state of awareness of one’s being is experienced.
This breathing pattern, called ‘conscious connected breathing’, allows the flow of life force, oxygen and awareness to course through the body, and sensations, emotions and memories stored in the cellular memory of the body, usually kept out of conscious awareness, are accessed and flood up into awareness.
From here the session is experienced as a combination of intense physical, emotional or spiritual sensations. That is, some mainly feel vibrations and emotions in their body, while others journey into their psyche and beyond with visions and imagery. I like to say that ‘Spirit’ (which actually contains the concept of ‘breath’ at its root meaning), wisely and lovingly uses whatever symbology and metaphor that resonates with the individual at the time, according to what they need to move forward in their life.
Some might experience a sensation of blockage, stagnancy, frustration – being given an opportunity to decode the fear message from the body and clear the past event and/or limiting belief underlying it. Grief, stress, past trauma and depression can all be released through ‘breathing through the feeling’ – by giving it a space to be acknowledged, forgiven and healed.
Some experience ‘being plugged into the circuitry of the universe’ – with heat, pulsing, and tingling in the body. This is what I like to call ‘a tangible experience of energy’, as after a breath no one ever doubts again the concept that we are all matter vibrating at a certain frequency – protons, electrons and neurons held together in our particular current form by a conscious willing to do so.
People might cry unshed tears, laugh in wonder at the beautiful, inexplicable immensity, release tensions through shouts and groans, meet with a divine source according to their belief system, or find illumination, clarity and peace.
A client of mine described the experience: “I have done a lot of work dealing with the hundred-and-one questions that come with (the ordeal I have been through) but breathing has shown me a reality far beyond the specifics of it. It has shed a light on my purpose and given an insight that I struggle to explain in words. During the breathing everything connects, the pieces match, the world fits and I laugh, cry, smile and scream in response.”
This breathing process is also strengthening for the circulatory and immune systems, and is highly detoxifying and energising.
As the process can involve dramatic physical and/or emotional release, it is not recommended during pregnancy, or for those with severe heart conditions (such as angina or hypertension), epilepsy, recent surgery or injury, or severe psychiatric disorders. Please check with a medical practitioner if you are unsure if the process is suited to you, and feel free to contact me to discuss your situation.
Please contact for more information:
Rebecca.castaldini@gmail.com, 0405 021 570