Lifestyle Choices

Every living thing seems to have some enemy. Wherever we look, we see the evidences of conflict in one form or another. Human life is no exception. Some of our enemies come out into the open where we can see and watch their movements, but others are far too small for the eye to see. What is worse, they are many times more numerous and far more dangerous. Most of them have the power to multiply within the human body in enormous numbers. These are the enemies we call germs. Some of them may cause serious diseases that could have been prevented with a little care. (more…)

Marriage is a merger of two different individuals. These differences are perfectly natural, some of them arising from powerful substances produced in the human body. The presence of these chemicals brings on profound changes in form and behavior, especially in the female, while in the male there may be little change from day to day. The woman is never quite the same from one day to the next. Every month she passes through what is known as her menstrual cycle. This is brought about by the ebb and flow of the chemical hormones in her blood stream. This results in a wide variation of feelings toward herself, her husband, and those around her. (more…)

Living in a large city is not always safe. Wherever large numbers of people are gathered together, there is always some risk of infection. During an epidemic it is easy for disease to spread quickly from one person to another. The more dense the population, the greater the danger.

Out in the country the risk of infection may be somewhat less. The protective forces of nature often help to prevent disease. Many germs are destroyed by the heat of the sun and by the drying effects of the wind. The cold days of winter may also help to eliminate some harmful bacteria. But a few germs may still be there after the snow has melted. This is more apt to be true where the winters are short and relatively mild. (more…)

If you have trouble falling asleep, or if you wake up a number of times at night, or if you wake up earlier than you would like, or if you always feel as though you need a nap during the day, or if you fall asleep while watching TV or while waiting for a traffic light to change, you might very well have insomnia. If so, you’re not alone. Fifty per cent of the population have experienced insomnia, the most common sleep disorder.’

Those with insomnia experience an insufficient amount of sleep, or do not feel rested after having slept. This often impairs social and occupational functioning, and can be accompanied by feelings of restlessness, irritability, anxiety, daytime fatigue and tiredness.’ Transient or short-term insomnia lasts no more than a few nights to two or three weeks. It can be caused by any of the following: (more…)

Every woman has two kinds of energy, male and female. Male energy is like the sun—invigorating, stimulating, creative, and powerful. The male postures in yoga call forth this dynamic energy and release it.

Female energy is recuperative, calming, nurturing, and gentle. The female postures are restoring to body, mind, and spirit. Yoga attempts to release male and female energies and ultimately to fuse them in union—to integrate the person.

The first four postures are male. They are done standing and they revitalize you. The last four are female and calming. In order to achieve the best balance and effect, it is best to do them in the order in which Geoffrey recommends them. (more…)

The Decanter

This exercise stimulates the nervous system and at the same time stills a restless or anxious mind. I like doing it after I have been working in an immobile position for a long time—for instance, when I have been at my desk writing for several hours. I do it just before I get up to move about.

Sitting comfortably in a chair with a straight back or cross-legged on the floor, imagine that your body is like a decanter, the bottom of the decanter being your pelvis and hips and the top of it your head. Pretend that you are going to fill it with energy in the form of air. (more…)

One of the best things you can do for your feet is to walk barefoot. Wearing exercise sandals is the next best thing. When your feet are free of shoes and hose they relax and stretch; exercise sandals are designed to let the feet do this. They follow the natural contour of the foot, imitating and slightly exaggerating the effect of walking barefoot. This is great for toes as they grip and then relax from the gripper bar with every step. But exercise sandals are just that—meant for exercise, not all-day wearing. You can tire yourself and develop bulky muscles in the calves if you wear them too much. (more…)

These are not very good for your skin. Soaps are made of fatty acids taken from animals and treated with caustic soda. Many of them are also full of antiseptics that can cause irritations to the skin and be very drying. If you bathe every day, you don’t need soap to get clean. If you do use it, choose a neutral soap (one that is not alkaline) or one of the pH balanced detergent bars that are mild on the skin and don’t remove the natural acid mantle from it. Even then you probably only need it under the arms, around the genitals, and on the feet unless you have been out in the mud and genuinely need to wash away grime. Bath foams and other detergent-based products can contribute to vaginal infections such as trichomoniasis and candidiasis. (more…)

Worry over breasts causes a great deal of anguish to many women. Occasionally it is about their being too large, or about cancer; more often it is about their being too small, or about how to restore a beautiful shape to a neglected bosom. For breasts are funny things—and most women’s judgments and perceptions about their own breasts are far from accurate. For a woman, the worry that her breasts are too small or that they are beginning to age can be a manifestation of some other underlying fear or insecurity that is masked behind concern over what is supposed to be the archetypal female sex symbol.

There are a lot of things that can be done to improve the less than perfect bust but it is important before you embark on any of them that you ask yourself if it is really the size, shape, or condition of your breasts that is bothering you, or if it is something else. Otherwise, you can work hard to improve things, find that you succeed in developing an almost perfect bust, and wonder. why it hasn’t made any difference at all as to how you feel about it. For although many glossy magazines would have us believe otherwise, some of the world’s most miserable women are blessed with exquisite breasts. (more…)

Provided it is done skillfully, massage is a wonderful treatment for the face. But it must be done gently and carefully, for the muscles of the face and neck are made up of fine fibers which, unlike muscles in the rest of the body, are attached not only to bone but also to the skin itself. They are, therefore, delicate and must never be pulled hard, or massage can have a detrimental effect, rather than a helpful one. Always following the direction of the muscle fibers themselves, massage will stimulate blood circulation, which improves the tone of muscles and skin and promotes the use of nutrients in the cells and the elimination of wastes. Massage will also help the skin to absorb active ingredients in creams and essential oils. (more…)

EYES

This exercise is excellent for the eye area, which usually goes slack faster than any other part of the face. It is particularly designed to prevent or eliminate crow’s-feet. It is in two parts.

Part one Looking into a mirror, lower your chin to your chest and open your eyes looking straight ahead. Then, slowly and in eight definite steps, close your eyes by bringing the lower lids up to the upper, all the while looking into the mirror until the very last moment. Hold this position with your eyes tightly shut for four counts, then release in the same eight definite steps. Repeat four times. Once you can control these movements in definite steps, you are ready to go on to the toughy that really does the work. (more…)

Probably the finest toner you will ever find is simple ice-cold water. This is an excellent shock treatment not only for everyday use but also as part of postoperative care after plastic surgery. It stimulates cells, improves circulation, and brings back life to a neglected face.

Here’s how to give yourself a water treatment: Add two dozen ice cubes to a basin of cold water. Tie back your hair and cover your face with a layer of rich cream (oily and thick) or Vaseline or vegetable oil. Put on cotton-lined rubber gloves (I prefer to wear cotton, rather than rubber, gloves). Splash water on your cheeks ten times, under your chin ten times, on your neck ten times, and on your closed eyes five times. By now your face should be tingling and feeling frozen, so you are ready to go to work on the parts that most need firming, such as lines around the eyes, and double chin. Splash each section six to ten times. (more…)

Stress during labour

Childbirth can be a time of intimacy, excitement, wonder and openness. It can also be a time of fear and pain, sometimes in a place that is forbidding and lacking in warmth. There may be all kinds of left-over feelings, which are usually repressed. First of all, the birth hurts you — it is quite natural for some women to be angry about this. Secondly, you may resent the way your delivery was handled. Unfortunately, the case history above is not an isolated example. I have heard of so many similar and worse cases that it sometimes makes me feel ashamed of my profession as a doctor. The resentment is usually related to lack of consultation on decisions. Medical interventions are sometimes carried out (for instance, routine episiotomies, injections to speed up the birth of the placenta) without any explanation of side-effects. If the side-effects occur, the natural reaction is anger, but this is often repressed, with the explanation that the doctor knows what is best. It is this attitude of the patient handing over authority to the doctor and the doctor taking assumed authority over another’s life that may lead to later feelings of resentment. Some women have told me they felt like a nonentity, going through a process that was designed by the hospital to maximize speed and efficiency. Others have told me that it felt like being taken over by machines and fingers. The residue of resentment may go very deep and is usually repressed, with a resultant depression of spirits in general. (more…)