Unfortunately most Doctors regard musculo-skeletal problems as relatively unimportant  and all types of bodywork, including manipulation as having no benefit. This does a huge disservice to their patients as the musculo-skeletal system comprises a major system of the body, and its importance goes far beyond that of providing a supportive framework. The musculo-skeletal system comprises roughly 60 per cent of the structure of the human body, and it expends most of the energy of the body.

A mechanically sound and well-integrated musculo-skeletal system is essential to good health. Many different health philosophies have always recognized this and have developed various procedures to correct imbalances and changes in its function. The Osteopaths are probably the ones who have developed the most sophisticated philosophy and procedures to correct dysfunction in the musculo-skeletal system.

My experience has shown me that dysfunction of the musculo-skeletal system can cause or contribute to all sorts of diseases. This can be in the area where the soft tissue injury is or in distant areas as well. Releasing these chronic holding patterns in these soft tissues not only frees up physical holding which affect function, but also releases emotional holding in those tissues.

“The recognition of the importance, in the overall economy of the body, of the musculo-skeletal system, its proneness to dysfunction, and the repercussions of such changes, and finally the recognition of the ability of therapy to normalize such dysfunction by one or more of a variety of manipulative procedures, represents the essence of osteopathy’s individuality.”

Quote from Leon Chaitow N.D., D.O., M.R.O.

Osteopathy: A Complete Health Care System

When I qualified as a Doctor at 25 years old, I thought I knew everything there was to know about health and medicine. By the age of 30, I realized my medical training was limited and I didn’t really know much about health and wellness. So I went on a journey of discovery to expand my horizons and studied acupuncture, Chinese medicine, Functional medicine, nutrition, yoga and Buddhism. By 50, I realized my life training was limited too as my daughter (a teenager at the time) was pointing out “how stupid” I was.  And now that I am 55, I realize I have amassed a lot of knowledge but have so much more to learn.

As I get older and hopefully wiser with every year, certain insights become clearer. Here are some of them gleaned from the wisdom I have gained from 30 years of marriage, having a 22 yr old daughter, 30 years of practicing medicine and being a perpetual student of life.

More Real Food,  Less ”Food-like Substances”

More Fruit and Vegetables,  Less Sugar, Wheat and Corn

More Organic,  Less Chemicals

More Clean Products,  Less Toxic Products

More Chewing, Less Eating

More Water, Less Soda

More Walking, Less Driving

More Exercising, Less Watching TV

More Recycling, Less Waste

More Outdoors, Less Indoors

More Sleep, Less Worry

More Slow, Less Hurry

More Smiles, Less Anger

More Love, Less Hatred

More Fun, Less Serious

More Letting Go, Less Holding On

More Being, Less Doing

More Generosity, Less Greed

More Forgiving, Less Blaming

More Ubuntu, Less Me!

Ubuntu means what makes us human is the humanity we show each other. It is a Xhosa (South African) word and philosophy emphasizing community, sharing and generosity.

As Archbishop Desmond Tutu says:

“Ubuntu is about the essence of being human, it is part of the gift that Africa will give the world. It embraces hospitality, caring about others, being able to go the extra mile for the sake of others. We believe that a person is a person through another person, that my humanity is caught up, bound up, inextricably, with yours. When I dehumanize you, I inexorably dehumanize myself. The solitary human being is a contradiction in terms and therefore you seek to work for the common good because your humanity comes into its own in belonging”.

Let 2010 be the year of UBUNTU

The Precautionary Principle is a new way of thinking and making decisions about health and the environment. Precaution is a translation of a German term, which literally means “forecaring”, exercising foresight and care. We teach our children to be kind, respectful, caring, responsible and to look before they leap. The Precautionary Principle embraces these qualities and focuses on making conscientious environmental decisions today, that will have a positive effect on tomorrow.

“When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken, even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.”

Chinese Medicine teaches that humans are a microcosm of the earth, and each of us is part of this wider web of life, the macrocosm. When the web is healthy, we are more likely to be healthy. All life is interconnected and human health is dependant on planetary or environmental health.

This is an extension of the Ubuntu philosophy: we are responsible for our world, our fellowman and the environment.

“Man did not weave the web of life — he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”
– Chief Seattle

For years teachers and inspiring colleagues have referenced the heart as the key to inner peace, abundance, and health. Over the next few installations I’ll explain how your heart holds your highest potentiality for consistency, as well as every current answer to any ancient question regarding what is possible in your present life and evolution.

Two of my biggest curiosities that led to the Heart: Why does another person’s inner state have an effect on my own? And what should I do when I’m in the company of strong negativity and it seems to have an influence on my own state?

Different cells in our bodies, as well our very fields of energy, even without proximity to one another, synchronize with one another. Each of us are cells in the global heart. This is why we feel “affected” by the moods of others. When we hold resentment and hostility, our heart rhythm shifts the actual shape of the heart muscle; a very different shape from the one created when we feel happiness and joy. You can factually pick up the emotions of another person, even at a distance [non-locally], with your own heart.

We all crave happiness, to see the good and to be nourished by our interactions. Our hearts are all working towards finding the optimal good-feeling shape all the time. Without the clarifying element of our attention, this shared biological resonance becomes a muddy experience of identification with other people’s toxic emotions and projected thoughts. Which has high costs. It takes more energy to adopt and sustain judgments than it does to accept and appreciate.

The most efficient thing you can do is to put your attention on your own heart and create more coherence, symmetry and patience in your own rhythm, by simply breathing. What works for me: I bow my head and turn my actual eyes to my heart in moments of reactivity, and a previously inaccessible patience washes over me. This one movement, chin to chest, invariably helps me find pause and choose my course of action [I have a 3-year old- trust me, this works]. Twenty years of research reveals that to put your attention in your heart for a few breaths generates a coherent heart pattern, experienced within yourself as a healthy calm that inspires others nearby — cellularly — to slow down.

Deepak Chopra is one of the clearest modern thinkers on this concept. In one of his talks, he explained in simple terms the reasons to put attention on your heart, offering the first four Heart Sutras as ways to cultivate particular qualities of heart in order to transform anything potentially draining or poisonous (people, environments, situations, your own feelings) into nourishment — although I’ve found that one single breath with the faintest hint of self-acceptance will usually do the trick.

PEACE, 1st Heart Sutra
Establish yourself in a state of nonviolence, in your attitude and your physicality [even a judgmental word or dismissive gesture is a form of violence]. Nonviolence is a path to deep creativity; in nonviolence we free ourselves to find alternative solutions.

HARMONY, 2nd Heart Sutra
Our biological circadian rhythms mirror exactly that of the universe at any time; when you harmonize with that rhythm through your breathing, you experience harmony and diminish stress levels in your body.

LAUGHTER, 3rd Heart Sutra
Laughter provides a needed shift in perspective; when you can find the humor, even inwardly, you keep your vantage point flexible and will actually discern the quality of energy you’re offering.

LOVE, 4th Heart Sutra
More than an emotion or an experience, Love is a state. When in love, as you know, everything becomes more bright and beautiful; when you locate that state in your heart, even momentarily, you are connecting to the abundance of the universe.

The most interesting and important remembrance in your day-to-day: The most challenging encounters provide the most direct access to your heart. They are showing you the exact route to your remembrance of your heart’s capacity to receive and transform poison (carbon dioxide) into nourishment (oxygen) for your entire body.

In the moments when you’re most likely to engage, erupt, or even eject due to someone else’s toxicity [or your own], bring your chin to your chest and take one breath to bring peace, another to harmonize your heart to the larger field, another to laugh to yourself, and one more to locate the love in this moment, because something of it has reminded you of your heart. This is how you will arrive, quickly, at a vantage point from which you can see the moment prior to your engagement with the negativity, and shift it.

No matter what the situation; tired child, misunderstanding at home or at work, this quick 4-breath practice helps me shift from a reactive mode [in which I'm about the feed the web of negativity] to a reflective mode in which I’m offering my attention with no expectation, attuned to my own heart and therefore the generous heart of the universe. When we can make this shift, someone else’s tension no longer influences our mood, and we’re able to tap into the quiescence and stillness that is eternally present.

May you remember to give what you can and receive what’s available. This is what is known as living in the intelligence of the heart.

Follow Elena Brower on Twitter: www.twitter.com/VIRAYOGA

In our hyperlinked world, we can know anything, anytime. And this mass enlightenment is our first step toward Buddha nature.