Cancer Fighting Foods
Print This Post
Through yogic breathing one discovers an immense sense of simple well-being, which has been absent in one’s everyday life. Later, people who meditate, learn that at any point in time they can access the mellowness and calm they find during meditation. With a little practice they will seek the calm while queuing at the supermarket, stuck in a traffic jam, or facing abuse from the boss in office. All they need to reconnect with this source of peace during yogic breathing is to focus their attention on the longer exhalation and the pause that follows.
Breathing is the visceral function that is totally autonomous with regard to the conscious mind (like digestion or heartbeat, breathing goes on even if we are not thinking about it) and yet easily regulated by will. The control centre for breathing, located at the base of the brain, is sensitive to all molecules (the neuropeptides) that are constantly exchanged between the emotional brain and the organs of the body, including the immune system. Attention to breathing brings people closer to the pulasations of vital body processes and connects them to conscious thought. Yogic breathing techniques (like pranayam) ensure that pure oxygenated blood goes to the cells, resulting in better circulation and no production of lactic acid.
Studies have shown that this balance in the states of resonance or coherence is associated with a number of health benefits. In particular : (i) better functioning of the immune system; (ii) reduction of inflammation; and (iii) better regulation of blood sugar levels. These are precisely, three of the principal factors that act against the development of cancer and many other diseases.
Relaxation with Mindful Meditation
Every one can learn through mindful meditation to influence the balance of autonomous systems, which are central to states of health. Some will do it by reciting a mantra or a prayer. For most people it can be done simply by directing attention within while sitting quietly alone. During meditation let your eyes gently close, turn your attention inward and remember that these are the moments devoted to the powers of healing. During these moments you should have the right to cut yourself off from the world, to not think about either the past or the future. The past is gone and will never come back, and the future is unknowable. Enjoy and savour the present. Meditation sessions should be your most important periods of the day, a slot you give to yourself to feel who you really are, without distraction, worry or thought.
During meditation, cerebral rhythms register a larger amplitude of oscillations than in non-meditative state. In addition, activity within the different brain regions begins to oscillate in harmony. The regions are said to have “synchronised”. Regions of the brain associated with positive mood and optimism (the left frontal regions) become more active. It is a phenomenon comparable to establishing coherence in the body’s biological processes. It has been discovered that this synchronisation lasts even beyond meditation sessions.
