ABC of Healthy Eyes: by Dr Damiana Corca

The most complex organ besides the brain, the eyes diligently serve us as the most sophisticated camera that ever existed. For example, our eyes can see more than 10 million color hues and record over 24 million images over a lifetime.

As we age, our whole visual system undergoes changes and usually around the age of 45 many people become aware of some pathological changes. Menopausal women experience a quite bothersome dryness while elderly adults even have difficulty in raising their eyes up. Continue reading

Acupuncture 101: by Dr Damiana Corca, DOM, AP

Seen through the eyes of today’s society, Acupuncture still is a rather vague notion. Quite paradoxical, I dare say, since it is one of the oldest recorded healing modalities. Anyway, the simple awareness of its effectiveness and well-established and well-deserved reputation as one of the main healing modalities in China and other countries won’t help you understand more about it. How about some facts to give you a glimpse of what acupuncture means? Continue reading

Spring Renewal: Ready For Detox? by Rita Minassian

 

Cleansing our body inside out has become essential nowadays. The high level of pollution and the increased electro-magnetic activity in the atmosphere, hectic professional agendas and endless lists of preservatives in our food, contribute to increase the level of stress in our system. By stress, I don’t only mean high nervosity or anxiety but an imbalanced state that creates blocks and ultimately disease. Additional to a healthy lifestyle routine, anyone who has ever experienced a detox program agrees that helps to clear not only the body, getting rid of any excess weight, to restore and optimize our energy level, but clears the mind as well, bringing more focus and an overall sense of ultimate sense of well-being. Then our outlook on life changes drastically, a more positive approach of life is possible which is rule number 1 to prevent depression and an optimum healthy life.

But is this just a modern, trendy “must do” during intermediate seasons?… Certainly not. From ancient traditions spring detox has always been a universal concept.

Years ago, when I first experienced Ayurveda at Soukya Holistic Center in Karnataka-India, I ‘ve been told by my physician, world-renowned Ayurvedic Doctor Isaac Mathai, that the monsoon season usually starting  in May, is actually the best period for a Panchakarma: a complete 5 step mind-body detox program which ideally lasts for 7, 14, 21 or 28 days (the duration of a Moon cycle and a cell renewal cycle by the ways…). He explained that the rainfalls actually support the cleansing/detox provided to a patient according to their Dosha type (biological “moods”). I also believe that people feel more positive and refreshed inside out because of the negative ions generated by rainfalls.

Ghulum (bath attendant) providing a customer with 2 Ayurvedic procedures.

In Panchakarma, a combination of different techniques are used to remove stored toxins in the body which contribute to sap our immune system. Purgation is usually processed with clarified butter (ghee) to remove impurities from the colon or water for a nasya (instillation through nostrils). Blood letting is also used to renew the red blood cells in the body.

Specific massages, like daily Abhayangas (4 hand massage) bring back balance and harmony to the body and to the Chakra system. The Shirhodara (3rd eye cleansing and my favorite…) do wonder on quieting the mind, increases awareness and heal migraine and Parkinson. Goodbye anger, sadness, grudges or lingering guilt, they will all be swept out… It’s important to remember that while a imbalanced diet can obviously affect the body directly, negative thoughts are actually number 1 enemies to harmony and good health.

Meditation and yoga programs can be added to these medical techniques: a combination of postures (Asanas) with Mudras, breathing techniques (Pranayama) and Mantras, are powerful tools to unburden the body and mind.

It is interesting to mention that this period of spring cleaning corresponds as well to some religious and non religious practices found in different traditions. For example, according to the bible, spring is time for the Jewish community to get rid of all the “hametz” during the pre-Passover time: every single dust or crumb has to disappear from the house before the celebration of “Pessah”, liberation.

In Feng shui, spring is also an important time for a making up; what to keep, what to give, what to get rid of… In this ancient Chinese concept, old, useless items represent blockages for a fluent energy flow in the house, but also for the inner world (body system), and for the mind: any type of clutter, within the body and/ or in the environment has to be cleared to avoid disease.

Mother Earth, in her infinite abundance and generosity offers us everything to achieve this detox: plants, vegetables, essential oils, specific spices like curcuma and cinnamon among many others are on the top list of the “natural cleaning team” in Ayurvedic medicine. Aditionnal to the digestive system, a Panchakarma detox program will also support several other channels of elimination in our body: lungs, kidneys, skin, and lymphatic system, all your body will be thankful for this renewal. It goes without saying that a Panchakarma  has to be done by a physician specialized in Ayurveda.

Wether using ancient wisdom tools, planning a retreat in a traditional medicine clinic, or indulge yourself in a modern SPA resort, it’s time to find your ultimate place for detox and enjoy your rebirth!

Rita Minassian

www.ritaminassian.com

Crisis, Fear, And Transformation: By Rita Minassian

Rita Minassian post crisis-fear-and-tranformation

Traders in panic in Wall Street – Photo credit Bloomberg

No doubt that in the current economical context, many people are in panic around the world because of huge losses on the stock exchanges of the planet. Except a pinch of conscious business leaders, how many of them are considering this crisis with a spiritual approach, realising how predictable was the transformation we’re going through and, beyond economical issues, how global it is? Yet, for centuries, esoteric systems referred to some huge opening of consciousness after the millenium, lets’ see how incontrovertible is this profound change and how to participate to it individually and consciously.

 According to the belief of the Mayan civilization, the world is organized upon a cyclic system: many centuries BC, the Maya calendar predicted the end of a cycle of 26 000 years in 2012 and the starting over a new one.

 The book of the Apocalypse, refers to a chaos that St John calls “The Judgement day “ that will occur during “the End of the times”. This doesn’t mean the end of our planet because of our “sins” like Church wanted people to believe for centuries but, the original meaning of the word, a time for  “Revelation”: time for people to transform the way they think, they behave and reveal their inner truth to live in a conscious way.

It’s been 5000 years that Sciences like Chinese medicine and Ayurveda are promoting a hollistic  approach of human beings: we’re not just flesh and blood that can be opened, cut and sewed like rag dolls…but energetic systems to be considered globally: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual beings. Recently, the research in Quantic physics and the string theory are tending to proof the global nature of our “system”,  including an energetic approach of what we call reality.

In  the 19th century,  Carl Gustav Jung and his concept of collective unconscious was a revolution in our approach as individual beings, showing how bounded we all are.

Compassionate thoughts are prayers toward the others and would, by a “boomerang effect” come back to us the way we threw them. Such as embezzlements… isn’t it M. Madoff ?…

Like is like, the law of attraction was already known through the famous “Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you”, our economy is paying the price of feckless decisions based only on a compulsive need for profit margin…

To bring back balance in our life, it’s becoming urgent to live in harmony: within ourselves, with the others and with the Universe, by adding some more common sense and ethic in our economics, politics, environmental issues …Integrity and respect have to be applied in our everyday life, both personal and professional and not just be abstract, political correct concepts.

 According to esoteric systems, we’ve now almost entered the Era of the Aquarius that is not, like some people may think, the confabulation of a group of hippies of the 70’s, but a challenging period of time for humanity that gives us the opportunity to live this famous New Age predicted since centuries in many civilizations, beyond one religion or belief, through inner transformation…

 Transformation within ourselves, to go to a higher level of consciousness, transforming old patterns, lead unto gold,  sounds like an alchemical process to reach a certain Holly quest isn’t it?…

There are many tools to help us to operate this transformation. Some traditional ones like yoga, meditation and mantras help us to connect our higher self giving us a conscious awareness of what we’re living “here and now”. Other ones more contemporary, like psychology, give us the opportunity to face the shadow within us. Our ego builds a balance, a public character that plays a role in society, but in the back of this pseudo identity, it’s important to find out how much our reactions are conditioned by our fears and old patterns in order to operate changes and stop to live the same experiences over again, very often in pain and suffering…

 As we’re all bounded, we attract what we are through the law of attraction. We can represent this unity by similarity with a diamond, a unique gem with many different facets: each one of them representing one person…If we apply that metaphor to our interpersonal experiences, in a very honest way, we can see how each person around us represents a part of our personality with both positives points and flaws. Very often, the characteristic of the person is shown to us in a exaggerate way in other to wake us up and oblige us to see what’s wrong within us!

This perspective really give us an interesting stand back that helps to “in-vestigate”: “what part of my personality is attracting that person/attribute/lack/experience…?”

Mirror, mirror on the wall… the other then becomes the reflection of our real “me”, free from the mask of the ego…

When we start to be aware of the transformation we have to proceed within ourselves, it becomes an everyday challenge, but Oh so rewarding!

“A lot of chaos is needed to create a butterfly”, thus spoke Zarathustra, we’re in the middle of the chaos, creating the butterfly depends on all of us…

This period of profound change, pushes us to reorganize our entire system in the doldrums, to clean it deeply, previous to a positive period of time unprecedented: no GDP can measure what’s really worth living in life. Today, I heard the speech of a politician asking for some more “moral capitalism”, It is definitely time for a more heart-based leadership…

“Be the change that you want to see around you” said the Mahatma Gandhi, let’s face the mirror and go for this challenging Armageddon.

Rita Minassian Empathic-civilization-jeremy-rifkin-crisis fear transformation

NOTA: Two years after writing this article, an excellent book called “The Empathic Civilization” was published by economist Jeremy Rifkin, a real visionary. I highly recommend this book if you wish to go further with the topic of this post.

Rita Minassian – www.ritaminasian.com

Editor’s Note: Rita Minassian resides in France and her native tongue is French.  She is the founder and spiritual trainer at the Akasha Institute. Please visit her website for more information.