Tag: holistic

Healthy Sleep by Andrew Weil, Rubin R. Naiman

Healthy Sleep by Andrew Weil, Rubin R. Naiman

Doctors Andrew Weil and Rubin Naiman have created an audiobook to help cure the various troubles one may have while falling to sleep.

I liked their multimodality approach to a problem that everybody seems to have. They start with an exercise to help you figure out what type of sleep problem you may be facing. They discuss the differences between “rest” and “sleep”, which I had never considered. They also talk about how to structure your bedroom to give yourself the best opportunity for sleep.

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Dr. Weil gives some natural suggestions for sleep like maintaining a consistent diet and exercise routine, going to sleep the same time every night, realigning your body with the natural rhythms of the outdoors, and more. He also discusses holistic remedies and the doses he recommends to his patients with potential side effects.

There are also multiple meditations to assist with relaxation and then sleep. As Dr. Naiman points out in the program, one does not truly “go to” sleep as it’s not a location or something you can “catch”. Sleep is more about stepping back and allowing your body to naturally do its thing.

The doctors also go into the importance of dreaming for the health of the psyche. If you’re not sleeping, there’s some underlying issues that your consciousness may not have time to deal with during the waking day. Managing your sleep is more than a benefit for your health, it is also vitally important for your mental health too.

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In addition to sleep for individuals, they talk about sleeping with a partner and the special challenges that can bring. I could see this being particularly helpful for sleep-challenged couples and is another aspect of the sleep environment that I hadn’t necessarily considered before.

Highly recommended for people who are looking to increase or improve the quality or quantity of their zzz’s.

Thanks for reading!

Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing by Andrew Weil

Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing by Andrew Weil

Andrew Weil presents pranayama, Eastern breathing techniques for health and well being, for a Western audience. If you have never tried meditation or deep breathing before, this would be a good place to start.

Weil talks about how breathing is one of the only bodily functions that can be performed both consciously and automatically. That unique control allows for a bridge to be made between the conscious and subconscious minds. Ever notice how people who are upset breathe faster? There’s reasons for that.

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The first disc of this audiobook is almost unbelievable in Weil’s claims of healing mental and physical disorders through simple breathing, but I don’t think he’d lie about it. I guess our culture has always put so much belief in Western healing through the use of medicines and concrete therapies, that we haven’t always entertained other types of healing.

Of particular interest to me was Weil’s testimony about a patient of his with anxiety disorders that were so severe that they were causing heart palpitations. His patient was given medications to suppress the anxiety, but after awhile they stopped working and Weil’s patient was forced to find something else. He approached all manner of doctors and psychologists, but didn’t see any movement forward on his problems until he began to practice Weil’s breathing techniques.

I know a few people in my own life who might find that story interesting too. Couldn’t we all use tools to increase our inner peace and decrease those pesky anxieties?

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The second disc is half a dozen or so different breathing exercises. They’re all fairly simple and you can do them in minutes.

I listened to this audiobook years ago and, honestly, forgot everything I learned. But I explored it again last week and realized that it was never too late to get back on track. Recommended self help book for anybody who breathes. 🙂

Thanks for reading!