Byline: Jane Alexander
BALANCE is the key to good health. If your body and life are in balance, you will feet fit and healthy, relaxed and happy. But, if you allow yourself to fall badly out of balance, the result is generally poor health, even illness.
Keeping our bodies and minds in true equilibrium is a delicate matter which takes far more than eating a lean salad meal after a blow-out the day before. True balance involves working out what best suits your mind and body - and then providing it.
Balance is the aim of virtually all natural health. See a naturopath, an ayurvedic physician, osteopath, practitioner of (TCM) Traditional Chinese Medicine or any other natural health therapist and their aims will be the same - to bring your body and mind into their correct balance.
One of the most popular approaches is that of TCM. Chinese medicine sees imbalance quite starkly: the world is divided into two forces - yin and yang. Yin is dark, cold, negative, passive and feminine; yang is light, active, warm, positive and male.
Disturb the balance of yin and yang, and the result is disharmony, and eventually ill-health. In addition there are five elements (fire, earth, air, water, wood) to keep balanced.
So when a TCM practitioner diagnoses, he or she looks to see how much of each element is within the body and what kind of energy is being transmitted. Then it is possible to stimulate or quieten unbalanced organs by food, exercise, massage, herbs or, as a last resort, acupuncture.
At this time of year, with winter fast approaching, the need for balance is even more urgent. As profound shifts occur in the natural world, so, too, do they take place within our bodies and minds. Such turbulent energy can easily fall out of kilter and so, as we see the back of summer, we need to keep ourselves in balance to stave off illness.
GAINING BALANCE THE CHINESE WAY
ADAPT YOUR DIET: Oriental medical practitioners studiously avoid strict rules because they say no single diet is suitable for everyone. However, good guidelines are as follows:
* EAT sparingly. The Chinese say you should eat, not until you can barely move (as is the Western custom) but until you are 70-80 per cent full.
* ALL food should be chewed thoroughly to allow the enzymes in the saliva to start digestion.
* FOOD should be fresh, organic and in season.
* AVOID extremes of temperature. Ideally food should be steamed, poached or stir-fried.
The traditional diet follows medical guidelines almost exactly, being high in complex carbohydrates, vegetables and fruits, while low in saturated fat. Fish is rated highly and meat is eaten only in small quantities.
EXERCISE
TCM says exercise helps to balance the organs and allows vital energy, chi, to flow freely. However, they prefer less vigorous forms of exercise than we in the West. The reason, say the authors of Back To Balance, is that while highly aerobic forms of exercise build musculature and strengthen the body's frame, they actually deplete energy.
Yoga is an alternative system which builds up the energy supply rather than depleting it. If you aren't keen on learning something new, try walking - it's great for your health.
MEDITATION
THE ancient sages called it `mental fasting' believing that by withdrawing all distracting thoughts and disturbing emotions from the mind, they could purify the mind and restore the body.
Simply spend a few minutes each day sitting quietly and following your breathing, Alternatively you could focus on a candle flame.
You don't even necessarily have to meditate, says Dylana Accolla in Back To Balance: `Just sitting and taking stock of the day or your state of mind can do wonders.'
BREATHING
GOOD, balanced, deep breathing massages and stimulates all the internal organs. It allows the free flow of oxygen around the body, vitalising the whole body. It can calm you down and keep you free from stress.
* BACK to Balance, by Dylana Accolla with Peter Yates (newleaf [pounds sterling]12.99).
Available in bookshops or mail order on 01903 732596.
HOW TO ACHIEVE PERFECT BALANCE; SELF.Byline: Jane Alexander
BALANCE is the key to good health. If your body and life are in balance, you will feet fit and healthy, relaxed and happy. But, if you allow yourself to fall badly out of balance, the result is generally poor health, even illness.
Keeping our bodies and minds in true equilibrium is a delicate matter which takes far more than eating a lean salad meal after a blow-out the day before. True balance involves working out what best suits your mind and body - and then providing it.
Balance is the aim of virtually all natural health. See a naturopath, an ayurvedic physician, osteopath, practitioner of (TCM) Traditional Chinese Medicine or any other natural health therapist and their aims will be the same - to bring your body and mind into their correct balance.
One of the most popular approaches is that of TCM. Chinese medicine sees imbalance quite starkly: the world is divided into two forces - yin and yang. Yin is dark, cold, negative, passive and feminine; yang is light, active, warm, positive and male.
Disturb the balance of yin and yang, and the result is disharmony, and eventually ill-health. In addition there are five elements (fire, earth, air, water, wood) to keep balanced.
So when a TCM practitioner diagnoses, he or she looks to see how much of each element is within the body and what kind of energy is being transmitted. Then it is possible to stimulate or quieten unbalanced organs by food, exercise, massage, herbs or, as a last resort, acupuncture.
At this time of year, with winter fast approaching, the need for balance is even more urgent. As profound shifts occur in the natural world, so, too, do they take place within our bodies and minds. Such turbulent energy can easily fall out of kilter and so, as we see the back of summer, we need to keep ourselves in balance to stave off illness.
GAINING BALANCE THE CHINESE WAY
ADAPT YOUR DIET: Oriental medical practitioners studiously avoid strict rules because they say no single diet is suitable for everyone. However, good guidelines are as follows:
* EAT sparingly. The Chinese say you should eat, not until you can barely move (as is the Western custom) but until you are 70-80 per cent full.
* ALL food should be chewed thoroughly to allow the enzymes in the saliva to start digestion.
* FOOD should be fresh, organic and in season.
* AVOID extremes of temperature. Ideally food should be steamed, poached or stir-fried.
The traditional diet follows medical guidelines almost exactly, being high in complex carbohydrates, vegetables and fruits, while low in saturated fat. Fish is rated highly and meat is eaten only in small quantities.
EXERCISE
TCM says exercise helps to balance the organs and allows vital energy, chi, to flow freely. However, they prefer less vigorous forms of exercise than we in the West. The reason, say the authors of Back To Balance, is that while highly aerobic forms of exercise build musculature and strengthen the body's frame, they actually deplete energy.
Yoga is an alternative system which builds up the energy supply rather than depleting it. If you aren't keen on learning something new, try walking - it's great for your health.
MEDITATION
THE ancient sages called it `mental fasting' believing that by withdrawing all distracting thoughts and disturbing emotions from the mind, they could purify the mind and restore the body.
Simply spend a few minutes each day sitting quietly and following your breathing, Alternatively you could focus on a candle flame.
You don't even necessarily have to meditate, says Dylana Accolla in Back To Balance: `Just sitting and taking stock of the day or your state of mind can do wonders.'
BREATHING
GOOD, balanced, deep breathing massages and stimulates all the internal organs. It allows the free flow of oxygen around the body, vitalising the whole body. It can calm you down and keep you free from stress.
* BACK to Balance, by Dylana Accolla with Peter Yates (newleaf [pounds sterling]12.99).
Available in bookshops or mail order on 01903 732596.
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