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Greetings!
On August
15, 2009, all of us here at BEST Life Media will be
attending our author's biggest event yet in the United States--the Brain Art Festival. From 6:00 - 8:30 pm,
Radio City
Music Hall will be filled with the sounds and motions
of rhythm. Join Ilchi
Lee and many performers in a celebration of the
grandest potential of our lives and our planet. Tickets
available through Ticketmaster.
Click on the screen below to see a promo video
for the Festival -->
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Sweep Away Back Pain
We all know someone with lower back pain. Maybe you
even have it yourself. According to the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), in fact, back pain is the second most common neurological
disorder in the United States.
One of the remedies the NIH recommends to help you recover from lower
back pain is exercise, especially strengthening exercises for the
back and abdominal muscles. It includes yoga in its recommendations
as a way to stretch the muscles, thereby easing pain.
Simple exercises such as those described and illustrated for back
pain in Meridian
Exercise for Self Healing by Ilchi Lee can help us take control of the pain in
our lives. By performing meridian exercises regularly, our muscles
will loosen and allow rich, oxygenated blood to flow into them,
nourishing them and permitting energy to circulate throughout the
body. On the other hand, when we are too sedentary, energy in our
body becomes obstructed, resulting in increased pain and stiffness. 
This exercise increases heat energy in the lower abdominal area,
which then permeates the entire body. It eases chronic lumbago and
establishes an overall feeling of well-being.
- Relax
your body before you exercise to release tension.
- Stand
with your feet wide apart. Place your hands behind your waist.
- Inhale.
Bend your upper body from the hips. With your palms, sweep down
the backs of your legs and grasp your ankles.
- Gently
pull your torso toward your ankles to place your head between
your legs.
- Maintain
this posture and attempt to stretch
 farther.
Breathe comfortably and feel the strengthening in your lower
abdomen, waist, and lower back.
- Exhale
and slowly return to the starting position.
- Repeat
twice.
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Balancing Act
Lower back pain can sometimes be caused by an uneven
posture or unbalanced leg length. Not only does this condition cause
pain, but it can affect your gait, make your posture slump to either
side, or put strain on some body parts while relaxing others. Its
effects are not limited to physical distortions, but also adversely
influence your energy circulation and emotional well-being.
Luckily there are some exercises that, if performed daily, can adjust
muscles and bones for good. In order to do them you first need to
assess which leg is longer.
Assessing Your Leg Length
- Ask
someone to help you.
- Lie
down on your back on a hard, even surface.
- Relax
your entire body, making sure it's not bent to one side.
- Ask
your partner to grab your feet, gently shake your legs to
loosen them, and then gently pull them away from the hips while
resting them on the floor. Make sure that both feet and ankles
are at the same angle to the floor.
- Then
your partner should look straight down above your feet and
compare the positions of the right and left ankle bones.
- Turn
over onto your stomach and ask your partner to observe the
positions of your heels and toes. Which leg is longer?
Corrective Exercise: Kiss Your Knees
Improves overall realignment and releases stiffness
throughout the entire spine. Corrects spinal misalignments and pelvic
torsion.
- Lie
down on your back in a comfortable position.
- Bend
your knees in toward your chest, keeping them along the midline
of your body and holding them with your hands.
- Pull
the knee of the longer leg 2 to 3 inches closer to your face.
The foot of the shorter leg should be placed slightly on top of
the instep of the other foot.
- From
this position, slowly pull both knees toward the center of your
chest as far as you can.
- Return
to your knees to their position in Step 3.
- Repeat
this motion 20-50 times.
- Next,
while pulling your knees to the center of your chest as in Step
4 above, bring your chin up to your knees as far as you can.
- Return
your head and knees to their position in Step 3.
- Repeat
this motion 20-50 times.
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I hope our alternative health tips add
something to your life.
Michela Mangiaracina
BEST Life Media
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