Superhealing: Engaging Your Mind, Body, and Spirit to Create Optimal Health and Well-Being (ARC) (18 page)

a walk through a park is more mental y and emotional y restorative than a walk through a city, reading a magazine or a book, or listening to music. The restorative effects of walking in nature trigger renewed attention and positive moods.28

In addition, nature improves our social relationships and our per-

ceptions of other people. University of Rochester researchers found that after viewing scenes of nature, people were kinder and more

compassionate and giving, as demonstrated by their willingness to

donate money to a charity. The exposure also caused them to feel

heightened concern about social outcomes and closer to members of

their community. The researchers concluded that exposure to nature helps us get in touch with our basic values.29

Dwelling in nature can lead to more opportunities for physical

activity, which keeps us fit and offers us relief from the demands of our daily lives.30 More than 100 studies show that stress is decreased by participation in outdoor recreation.31

To activate your innate superhealing capabilities, it is imperative for you to design your lifestyle in such a way that you may take full advantage of the benefits of nature. Exposure to the natural environment is one of the most underutilized but powerful pathways to

optimal health. Even if you live in an urban setting, it is important to be in contact with nature as much as possible. Add natural elements to your home, such as indoor plants, and allow fresh air and natural sunlight to come in through the windows. Make a point of visiting

parks and recreational areas.

If you are fortunate to live in close proximity to nature, as my hus-

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band and I do, take advantage of the landscape around your home.

Go outside and walk, bike, swim, climb, garden, and even sit where you can allow yourself the gift of nature’s presence.

GARDENING AND HORTICULTURAL THERAPY

Before I went to medical school at Duke University, I didn’t ful y appreciate nature. That changed during my first winter in North Carolina, when I saw some of the most magnificent sunsets I’ve ever laid eyes on. These spectacles were so breathtaking that drivers would

often pull off the road to watch them. I later learned that sand from the Sahara Desert is sometimes carried by the wind across the Atlan-tic Ocean to the North Carolina coastline, where it provides a canvas for the sun. Dramatic hues of red, pink, orange, and lavender looked like interlacing ribbons wrapping around the sun as it sank below

the horizon.

Medical school and the exposure my training in medicine gave me

to il , injured, and dying patients was stressful. One day, after seeing a terminal y ill patient, I didn’t know what to do with my turbulent thoughts and feelings. I rushed out of the hospital and sat in the Sar-ah P. Duke Gardens, conveniently located behind the hospital, until I was able to recover my internal balance. My distress seemed to melt away. Created by the Duke family, this garden contains flowers and trees gathered from around the world. From that day forward, I had a favorite spot near a pond across from a terraced section filled with flowers. There I’d sit, inhaling the beauty—sometimes for hours, especial y during the many weekends I was on call in the hospital.

My parents gardened. As a child, I spent a lot of time looking at

my mother’s flowers. But it wasn’t until I planted my own garden

outside the house where I now live that I came to appreciate how truly wondrous it is to watch a seed grow. It is amazing. Every summer, 114

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I grow herbs, peppers, and tomatoes on my deck and flowers in the

garden. I find putting my hands in the soil and tending my plants to be therapeutic.

According to the American Horticultural Therapy Association
,

the healing benefits of gardens has been recognized and incorpo-

rated into medical treatment since the time of the Egyptians. In Europe, 600 years ago, patients gardened with monks as part of their treatment. Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the U.S. Declaration of

Independence, astutely recognized the clinical improvement that

people with mental illness experienced after participating in gar-

dening. Gardening was widely used to help World War II veterans

overcome the trauma of their experiences in battle. Some prisons

have developed gardening programs for rehabilitative purposes, and placing healing gardens and spaces in hospitals and public settings is gaining momentum.32

EARTH ENERGY

As a child, I loved playing in mud. Did you? And oh, those mud

pies! They were quite delicious to my adventurous palate, not that I now recommend them as an appetizer. What I never guessed is

that having contact with soil for energetic reasons is a simple way to prevent illness and enhance healing. I enjoyed playing outside in the dirt, and in my adult years, walking along beaches during vacations is one of my most favorite activities. Now I understand why.

According to groundbreaking research, walking barefoot on soil

or on grass connects us to Earth’s natural electrical currents. Earthing, or grounding, as this technique is known, enables our feet to receive electrons, which enhances health by reducing inflammation

(and the stress response) that is the biochemical foundation of numerous chronic disorders. Earthing also thins the blood, regulates

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our organs’ natural rhythms, improves sleep, and reduces chronic

pain.33

One of my favorite things to do is to walk barefoot on a beach.

If you’ve ever enjoyed that experience or the sensations of walking barefoot in a grassy field, it is partly because you were in contact with the vitality of the planet itself. The transfer of energy from earthing causes an immediate sense of well-being and relaxation.

SUPERHEALING WORK SHEET:

YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE

1. What is your relationship with nature?

2. How often do you find yourself in nature’s midst?

3. Are you taking advantage of the benefits of nature?

4. How often do you take a walk in a park or escape the city?

5. How often do you enjoy engaging with nature?

6. When was the last time you felt a moment of awe

in the midst of nature?

7. Describe how that experience made you feel.

8. How would you like to enhance your experience with

nature?

9. Can you add a little bit of nature to your home or

office (plants, flowers, pictures)?

10. How have electronic devices, such as your computer

and cell phone, affected your life?

11. Do you multitask?

12. Are you easily distracted?

13. Do you want to change being distracted?

CHAPTER 5

Superhealing with Movement

“The real dance is a spontaneous body movement

that in harmony with the beats of the music in your heart.”

—Toba Beta

My parents taught me a lot about health. Two of the health-

iest people I’ve ever known, they were very active throughout their lives and had a love of life that was inspiring. Besides gardening, they exercised regularly—in fact, they did so many physical activities that I can’t remember half of them. They were great role models. As a family, we spent a lot of time in our backyard, playing games, barbecuing, and working on the house.

One critical episode with my parents changed my life. For a gift, I had brought them to one of my favorite places in the world: Montego Bay, Jamaica. They were already in their early seventies and I was in my midthirties. It was a beautiful tropical day. The rays of the hot sun beat down on us as we strolled up a steep hill after spending a day at the beach. We were heading back toward the guesthouse where we

were staying. Before the trip, I had worried that they would find it a challenge to walk up this hil , so for the first couple of days I sprang for a cab back from the beach. Then, to my surprise, they told me to save my money. They wanted to walk up the hil .

On this first trip by foot, we stopped halfway to rest on a shaded bench beneath a beautiful palm tree. After a few moments of chatting and catching our breath, my mother asked me, “Are you ready

to go up?”

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“No,” I replied, still panting.

“Then see you at the top,” she said. With that, she and my dad continued toward the house. After they’d gone, I remained on the bench for a few more minutes and watched them glide up the rest of the steep incline, seemingly effortlessly and with energy to spare. I realized how out of shape I was.
What’s wrong with this picture?
I asked myself.

I am the first to admit that because of my busy schedule, I haven’t always made exercise a priority or taken care of myself as well as I should. I’d known that I was out of condition and needed to exercise, but I’d been avoiding taking action. My parents’ example lit a fire under me. As soon as I got home, I joined a local health club, and for the next ten years, I exercised there at least three days a week. I was much better for it.

But then I fell back into my old habits, and my exercise regimen

slacked off. Part of my problem—or, I should say, my challenge—has been not only finding the time in my schedule for working out but also committing myself emotional y to doing it. Like many people, I have a love-hate relationship with exercise. I know it’s good for me, and I enjoy it once I get going, but even so, I don’t always do it. On some level, I equate exercising with flossing my teeth: it’s got proven benefits and real y should be done daily. Despite all my good intentions, however, I’ve often found it easy to put off exercising until “tomorrow.”

Of course, I’m not alone. Recent surveys indicate that 75 percent

of Americans don’t get much exercise. This high degree of inactivity has a detrimental effect on the muscles, the internal organs, and the brain. In a multitude of ways it makes people more susceptible to a variety of chronic disorders, putting them at risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and dementia when they get older. The adage “Use it or lose it” is very apt.

Older and wiser, I turned over a new leaf a few years ago. I began

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to pay more attention to my health and resumed my former gym reg-

imen. As a result, I honestly feel better now than I have felt for years.

This time around, I have made it a point to choose activities that I find fun. Thus I participate in a couple of dance-based fitness classes each week, and I’m having a bal . I can also actual y feel my body thanking me for exercising. My mood is better. I’m losing weight

(just in time for another high school class reunion), sleeping better, and feeling younger. These results are typical of what can be expected by anyone who engages in superhealing through physical activity.

In this chapter, we’re going to discuss the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle and compare them to the positive effects of moderate and vigorous activity, which relieves stress, improves cardiovascular

health, and retards the aging process, among other powerful out-

comes. We’ll also consider the benefits of movement in terms of the mind and the spirit and look at how we can involve the mind and

our body awareness in activities that are otherwise primarily aimed at improving physical fitness. Vigorous, conscious movement is one of the most powerful components of the superhealing lifestyle.

Of course, other lifestyle factors are significant besides exercise: proper diet and hydration, moderate alcohol consumption, rest, and maintaining a positive attitude are also keys to superhealing. This does not mean you must change all of your unhealthy behavior patterns overnight, but it does mean you need to make a firm decision to begin changing them and then take steps that move you in the

right direction.

THE DANGERS OF BEING SEDENTARY

Are you a couch potato, lying around watching TV for hours on

end in the evenings and on the weekends? Do you spend many hours

seated at a desk during the day? Thanks in part to the technology

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revolution, it’s very likely that you do. If so, you should know that there is a relationship between long stretches of sitting and dying from heart disease. This risk to your health is heightened even if you do physical activity at other times.1

We are in the midst of an epidemic of chronic disease related to

the modern lifestyle. The sedentary behavior now ingrained in our

culture is literal y killing us. Long periods sitting in front of a computer or driving a vehicle, such as a bus or a taxicab, have a significant negative effect on our physiology.2 For example, extended TV

viewing—the kind that’s done while seated in your living room or

lying down on a couch or in bed rather than while running on a

treadmill at the gym—leads to an increased incidence of metabolic

syndrome, a precursor of diabetes, in adults over sixty.3

The solutions can be simple. In my workplace, for example, I in-

tentional y asked not to have a printer installed in my office so that I would have to get out of my chair routinely and walk ten feet or so over to the shared printer. I also make a point to stand up and stretch periodical y, because I sit at my desk or in meetings for at least four or five hours every day. It is critical to interrupt your prolonged periods of sitting by standing up and walking around.4 Other options would be to take phone cal s standing up or to do your paperwork

while standing at a high counter.

Researchers now believe that sedentary behavior should be con-