I love this quote from Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar as it perfectly applies to all of us who struggle with a weakened or diseased body. In the past 9 years, I have added many tools and techniques such as breathwork, meditation, yoga, and nutritional therapy to strengthen my mind and body. Based on my own experience and the research that I have done, we can slow down the progression of many Neuro Muscular Diseases (NMD) including muscular dystrophy by incorporating these tools. In fact, a number of additional complications such as weight gain, diabetes, chronic inflammation, and many other health challenges can also be greatly improved. More importantly, we can get rid of the stress, anxiety, fear and other negative emotions that some of us have to deal with as a consequence of Neuro Muscular Diseases.
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I am sharing some of the tools and techniques that I use daily to "Feel Alive".
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For the past 9 years, I have been practicing SKY breathing exercise​ daily. The daily practice of SKY provides me with much needed energy and uplifts my mood. Because of rhythmic nature of SKY breathing technique my lung's capacity to inhale oxygen has increased remarkably. I used to be a mouth breather but now I breathe comfortably through my nose. It has also significantly improved my sleep and I no longer need sleep meds. Thanks to SKY, I am able to let go of many of my habits and negative thought patterns that were causing me great harm physically and mentally. The fact the I am happy, lead a productive life with be of service to others in need is simply due to SKY. In a nut shell, it has worked wonders for me so far.
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​I practice Sahaj Samadhi meditation twice (morning and evening). This powerful meditation practice removes the stress and anxiety that comes at me daily leaving me calm, peaceful, positive and full of gratitude.
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I find it very important to move my body daily. It's important because our lymphatic system is like a sewerage system. It carries lots of toxins and cellular waste and the key to its optimum performance is moving the body regularly. I do some yoga and also walk for few minutes every day. But even if you are on a wheel chair, you can still move many parts of the body. The important thing here is to synchronize your breathe with movement.
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I also eat a super nutrient rich diet daily. I include lots of dark pigmented fruits & vegetables, leafy greens and omega 3's as part of my daily diet. The easiest and best way I have found is by blending them in a smoothie. Sometimes, I'll alternate with a lot of fresh green juices. Typically with MD, the digestive process is not optimum so adding a smoothie or a fresh juice daily ensures I am getting my daily nutrients. Occasionally, I'll add some super foods supplements to my smoothies as well. You can check my blogs for recipes.
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With the many daily challenges that comes with neuro muscular diseases it is very easy to fall in despair and negative mind set. Also spending too much time listening to media and news channels brings down our energy. For this reason, I keep myself part of many health group that focus on uplifting mind and body.
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Most importantly, I have come to realize that true happiness and joy resides within me. We start feeling it when the stresses that we carry begin to leave our body and mind and for that doing daily breathing exercises and meditation is the key.