Universal Connection to Health

Universal Connection to Health Introduction

   

This video is an Introduction to Universal Connection to Health, A Vision of Healthy Living. You will learn about the connection of our physical,emotional,mental and spiritual bodies and the importance of the addressing the body as a whole.

My Little Bougainvillea Tree

The frost of the winter had completely dried out the five bougainvillea bushes we have by the front door of our house to the point that they all looked pretty dead and gone. They were all over five feet tall before Mr. Frost struck.

So we had to cut their five foot something frames down all the way to about a foot tall each with nothing left on except for the dry, pale bark.

I kept checking to see whether I saw any sign of life in them - did not see anything for a few weeks.

It had started to warm up but temperatures were still not steadily holding at the conducive level for these buggers to say," Hmmm, maybe I will come back to life again!"

Finally after about four weeks I saw tiny little leaves growing right at the bottom of the dry bark and within days, the bougainvilleas are now back in business and have almost reached their five feet something frames!

Talk about potential energy and the universal connection!

My little dry bougainvillea plant knew it had the energy and the potential and waited patiently. Each one of them knew they had it in them. And then when it was time, it burst forth in glory ready to take on the world again.

Its in all of us- the potential (energy) for good health, the potential for success, the potential for achieving peace and happiness. But we look OUTSIDE all the time hoping to find it-at a vacation, at the bar, at the shopping mall, at our loved ones, with a hope that something or someone else will make it happen.

 However, peace and contentment are there, right inside of us, waiting to bloom, waiting for the right internal and external signals, waiting for you and me to say "Yes, I am ready. I am ready for all the good things in this universe," allowing it to burst out with abundance.

And now it's up to us. 

Meditation - A Quiet Time With Yourself

To me, the word meditation means to look internally within myself and listen, observe and witness. It is a time I am devoting to be just with myself.

While doing so, I acknowledge and honor the "busyness" of my thoughts, feelings, emotions without judgement. 

With faith I know that as I become more tolerant of spending this quiet time with myself, the thoughts get fewer, the images in my mind's eye become dimmer, and I bring myself from being "out there" to being " within me ". My focus and concentration turns inward. 

Dharana is the sixth limb of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and it is described as concentration meditation. This teaches the mind to focus on an object, gently pushing out meandering thoughts. The concentration can be on your breath or an object such as a candle light, a flower etc.

This concentration prepares the meditator for the 7th limb of the Yoga Sutras, Dhyana or awareness meditation where concentration becomes almost meditative. The awareness is very high but not forced. The meditator becomes one with the task. There is effortless focus and sharp awareness within the meditator.

As a beginner, listen to your body and be comfortable. Please consult with your health care provider before you begin any new activity. Meditation is not a replacement for traditional medical treatment.

Meditation can be done for as long as five minutes to thirty minutes depending on your level of practice. You are in meditation when you are present fully with what you are doing. So you can be in meditation all the time or take deliberate time out to be with yourself " in " meditation.

Find a specific place and time to be quiet with yourself everyday. It can be done seated, lying down or any comfortable place which optimizes the experience.

There is no age limit and goals are very individual specific. Someone might be looking for calmness in their lives, others just alone time and still others, better sleep!

Some of the benefits may be a sense of well being, a better ability to cope with daily stressors, having a positive outlook toward external and internal irritants, analyzing situations from the inside out rather than being reactionary and finally, catching yourself smiling more.

Happy Meditating.

Relieving Morning Stiffness of Fibromyalgia One Movement At a Time

Morning stiffness is a common and a significantly debilitating complaint of Fibromyalgia.

To bring movement and activity back in the joints and muscles after seven to eight hours of near immoblity, it is helpful if the body is gently "awakened" one joint at a time using good body mechanics.

Give yourself permission to take time to get out of bed.

Slowly inhale and exhale paying attention to both the quantity and quality of the breath.

Inhale through your nose and exhale with a sighing sound with your mouth consciously letting go of the tension in the muscles. Repeat this 3 or 4 times.

Now bring attention to your toes and start flexing and extending them. Then move your ankles up and down.

 Make fists with both your hands making sure that your are not clenching the hands. Clenching puts excessive pressure on the joints and may cause some damage to the joints and ligaments.

Move the head side to side with easy movements.

Now, draw some angels on the bed with your arms and legs slowly moving up and down and side to side respectively.

Gently roll to the side that feels comfortable to you.

If drawing your knees in toward your chest is within your level of comfort, do so. If not, rolling like a log without any twists is a great way to turn to your side especially if you have a stiff back. 

Stay here for some time and then using the strength of your arms, push yourself up into a sitting position.

Breathe here again using the same technique of inhaling through the nose and exhaling with a soft sound and expelling all the stale air out.

Respect your body, know your limits and learn to honor when your body tells you've had enough!

Why Should I Meditate??

The word meditation can conjure up images of yogis in dreadlocks sitting on mountain tops in contorted postures with eyes half open chanting some mantras.

True! But not limited to it.

The idea of meditation being hard and not easily attainable can potentially drive people away from a gold mine of health.

Lets face it, all of us in today's world are looking for quick fixes. Something that requires sitting just with ourselves for at least about thirty minutes? Um... too time consuming.

However, is it really true that we have to sit to meditate for at least thirty minutes ?

Meditation is a practice of single pointed focus.

It involves the practice of deliberately bringing attention to an object, a sound, our breathing, or a movement and purposefully continuing to stay focused and alert on that object of focus.

There are several easy ways to meditate.

Start by doing it just for 5 minutes at a time.

You can be standing when you do it as long as you are sure you are not going to fall off somewhere!

You can do this single pointed focus in the shower! Just focus on the in breath and the out breath to help you begin!

You can do it walking. Slow easy steps and just focus on each step..just say "lift, move, place and shift" with each step you take. Your focus shifts to just thinking about lifting your foot, then into moving and so on. You have slowed your thoughts down!

And of course, you can sit to meditate! And do it for thirty or more minutes!

Meditation makes us focus on one task at a time even if it is for five minutes to begin with.

That naturally slows down the thoughts.

Which makes the breathing deeper and calmer-

Which gets more oxygen into our body and be used efficiently-

Which relaxes the muscles-

Voila! More alkalinity which helps improve our various bodily functions!

Just by single pointed focus we have changed our whole internal environment into a healthier and stronger place! Its ACTUALLY that simple.

Lesser chance of succumbing to outside and inside pollutants.

Worth thinking about? I think so.

Ponder upon it...if we slowly increase the time we do invest in single pointed focus and commit to being fully present in the present, isn't that the BEST present we can give ourselves?

Good health and more money to spare!

Health is Wealth! Without health there is no wealth because you will be too busy paying medical bills.

 

Energy Conservation Techniques and Correct Body Mechanics For Fibromyalgia and Conditions Causing Chronic Pain

Fibromyalgia is a condition characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, anxiety, depression, headaches along with mood, memory and sleep issues, to name a few of the co- existing conditions.

Having to live through this constant debilitating pain and discomfort can take its toll on the body and cause further aggravation of symptoms.

Daily living tasks are energy consuming for anyone but require even greater use and expenditure of energy for those living with fatigue, pain and subsequent exhaustion.

I am going to list some simple ways of making those everyday tasks a little easier.

Breathing-

One important thing to remember while engaged in activity or at rest is the breathing. As far as possible, keep the breath even i.e the inhale and exhale the same length. Not rushed but quiet and deep. 

Limit the amount of work-

Take a look at what jobs can be eliminated in the day. Are there whole jobs or maybe steps of a job that are not essential but are still being done because of force of habit?

Declutter your work space. 

Sit down whenever you can-

Sitting requires less energy than standing. Arrange work areas so that things needed for that particular task are handy and there is no walking to and fro which is very energy consuming.

 Use Efficient Ways Of Doing Things-

 Use of both arms in symmetrical, smooth movements whenever possible.

Use the strength available from the stronger and bigger proximal muscles or muscles closer to the center of the body versus the smaller distal muscles or muscles away from the center of the body. This requires less energy expenditure.

Let gravity assist you in tasks rather than working against it.

Use a wheeled kitchen trolley to transport items when possible.

Good Body Mechanics-

Principles are based on good joint alingment within the tolerance of pain.

Keep the head alinged with the trunk

Keep shoulders and hips parallel

Tuck the hips and use a low stool for resting one foot while standing

Push instead of pull

If a person must lift (and carry), "he should keep the object close to the body to reduce the length of the resistance lever arm and subsequently the strain on trunk muscles and spinal ligaments." (Trombly 412)

Avoid repetitive movements.

Rest Rest Rest-

Fatigue can lead to poor body mechanics and result in decreased safety.

Remember to take those rest breaks. Respect your body and rest even before you start to feel fatigued.

Delegate tasks to others when possible.

Its Okay to Validate Yourself-

Start Journaling Your Daily Routine, Thoughts and whatever else you might want to write about. 

Taking some time to "listen" to your self may make you identify some unresovled needs.

Allow Yourself Time To Sit Down and Relax.

You deserve it!

 

Trombly, Catherine A. Occupational Therapy for Physical Dysfunction. 3rd. Baltimore: Williams $ Wilkins, 1977. 412. Print.

 

Basic Sun Salutation

 

Sangeeta Kirtikar of Universal Connection to Health demonstrates basic sun salutation as a great way to start the day. Sun Salutation not only helps to activate the muscles and joints but also stimulate the organs of the body.

Universal Connection to Health: Yoga at Work

 

Sangeeta Kirtikar, founder of Universal Connection to Health, shows that yoga can be incorporated even in a busy schedule.

Universal Connection to Health: Applications to Daily Life

 

Sangeeta Kirtikar, founder of Universal Connection to Health, with her Occupational Therapy and Yoga background shows how yoga can be brought into activities of daily living.

A Tribute to Our Human Kind

As I am watching the news of the tsunami hitting Japan and the unimaginable casualness with which it is causing all the damage - wrapping massive boats, trucks and cars in its huge arms, I am again reminded of the immense, unthinkable power of our universe.

It makes me chillingly silent.

Then as the news of the calmness and strength of the people who, even as I type these words, are caught in the midst of mayhem, reaches me I am reminded of something far greater!

Strength and resilience! The same power that is in our universe resides in us humans as well! We are part of that universe, aren't we?

 The power to jump back up and pick up the pieces and put them all together in a really tough situation. That makes me want to salute our human kind!

It makes me warmly hopeful.

About Universal Connection to Health

Universal Connection to Health is a vision of healthy living. 

We are all made of four bodies physical mental emotional and spiritual.

Universal Connection to Health addresses all four aspects to bring about health and healing from the inside. We have been given immense potential to heal ourselves. It all depends on the environment you provide for your body, internally and externally.

All programs of Universal Connection to Health revitalize you down to the tiniest cell using the 3 A s. Awareness Acceptance and Accomplishment.