Volume 9 November, 2009

LIVE LONG, PAIN FREE AND PROSPER

A NEWSLETTER FOR LIVING MY FATHER'S SECRET
Dear Friends,

In this newsletter, I have included a gift from me to you, to help make the holiday season a little more relaxing..............

Losing your breath is a scary thing. Imagine what it must be like to suffer with Asthma, or chronic lung disease. Or to have such stress in your life that you forget to breathe. Not being able to catch one's breath is something everyone has experienced and some experience every day.

Breathing properly is so important that it is actually taught and emphasized in flight training for pilots. Being aware of the fact that anxiety and stress cause us to breathe rapidly, blowing off too much carbon dioxide, thereby stressing our respiratory system is sometimes all it takes to make a difference. There are real symptoms associated with this hyperventilation which can result in panic and therefore an even greater tendency to hyperventilate. This rapid breathing causes physical symptoms such as dizziness, lightheadedness, vision changes and even to passing out.

The Journal of the American Medical Association reported on an article from Jane Brody at the NY Times, indicating that awareness, and simply breathing differently could substantially reduce asthmatic attacks, the need for inhaler use and the cost of treating these difficult and scary problems. Dr. Konstantin Buteyko found hyperventilation was an underlying cause of asthma attacks in many patients and studied this over half a century ago (interestingly, about the same time my father was first exposed to flight hypnosis in pilots). Buteyko "concluded that hyperventilation...could be the underlying cause of asthma, making it worse by lowering the level of carbon dioxide in the blood so much that the airways constrict to conserve it."

One study of Buteyko's method (which is based on slowing down your breath) reported that there was a 90% decrease in the need for inhaler use and 50% decrease in the need for steroids once the breathing method was learned.
What does this mean to you and your loved ones? It means that learning to breathe slowly and easily is good for your health. Breathing is the foundation for healing in many disciplines including yoga, tai chi, meditation, biofeedback and chi gong. In working with our self-hypnosis patients, breathing is one of the first things we focus on. In fact, simply slowing your breathing to fewer than 8 breaths a minute brings you to the relaxed alpha state; which slows your heart rate, lowers your blood pressure, opens the airways to your lungs......AND makes your feel good. How is that for cheap medicine?

Here is a stress release, relaxation technique, for you; from my latest book A Surgeon's Self-Hypnosis Healing Solution - My Father's Secret. Take 5 minutes, shut off your phone and treat yourself:

Begin by allowing
your eyes to gently relax, and fix your gaze on a particular
point or object or a blank wall.
Once you've done this, begin noticing your breath. Begin
to make your in-breath slightly longer and perhaps even hold
it for a second or two, at the top of the breath, once you've
taken in a full breath. And remember, it is important not to
force this but to-in a relaxed manner-bring the breath in
and then allow the exhale to occur very, very, slowly, allowing
the air to gently leave through your nostrils, a little at a time.
Don't try to slow your breath down all at once-from sixteen
down to about eight breaths a minute-but rather, gently
and progressively with each breath, allow it to take a slightly
longer time to draw the breath in, and then let the breath out
gently, slowly, and progressively, longer. Again, if you like, hold
the in breath for a second or two at the top of the breath before
beginning your slow exhale through your nose. Also, concentrate
on deep, fully-filling breaths, not shallow ones, but be
comfortable with the volume, never force it. Some people find
it helpful to attain the best in breath by expanding your abdomen
or stomach area first (letting the stomach come out) and
then letting the lungs and rib cage expand. In this case the
opposite is done with the out breath, the chest coming down
first and then the abdomen. In some practices, this is called
belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing. See the healing
air and oxygen entering your body as you breathe and enjoy
the simple process of breathing. What you will find is that
within a few moments you have slowed your breathing very
nicely and your mind begins relaxing because it is focusing on
one thing and not multiple processes. It is focusing simply on
the breath. If you have someone independently observe your
other functions, you will find your breathing slows, your heart
rate slows, and you relax.
If thoughts enter your mind, simply acknowledge them
and then return to focusing and thinking about your breathing
and breath and let the thoughts gently slip away, or brush
them away.
Try to stay in this relaxed state for about ten minutes.
Don't keep opening your eyes to check your watch, but rather
just sit and stay in the state for what you think is about ten
minutes and then slowly count up from one to ten, pausing
at five to remind yourself that you are happy, healthy, relaxed,
and feeling great. When you reach ten, tell yourself that you
feel great, wide awake and relaxed. Then check your clock
and see how long you have been in the alpha state. If it's only
been a couple of minutes, close your eyes and go back in for
a while. You will find that you have an internal clock, and
quickly you will be very close to the exact amount of time you
desire to do this, and you won't even need a watch!


Live long, pain free and prosper,

Scott
www.docinthehouse.com
www.nervepain.com
www.myfatherssecret.com
 

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