LIFE ESSENTIALS

To support life air, water, food and sleep act as our living essentials. Without them we cannot sustain life. They are the building blocks and founding pillars of life. We can stay alive without food for 6 weeks, without water for 1 week and without air/ breathe for few minutes. It means breathing is most essential i.e. no breathe, no oxygen, hence no life. Following this order or chain breathing of air is our first priority, and comes hydration i.e. water and lastly the food followed by sleep. This is how we identify them and realize their life support function.

According to expert opinion, most people breathe at 10-20 percent of their full capacity. Restricted breathing greatly decreases respiratory function, which in turn decreases energy levels in the body. Since oxygen is our main source of life, and exhalation is the main way to expel toxins from our body. Therefore, poor breathing can lead to many health problems, from high blood pressure to insomnia. Poor breathing may even contribute to some forms of cancer as well.

While many people focus on inhaling to improve their breathing, most people only exhale 70 percent of the carbon dioxide in their lungs. In fact we should push all of the air out of lungs as though we are blowing bubbles. It will give instant energy to the body.

Life study reports that breathing has other functions apart from maintaining carbon dioxide and oxygen, and air ventilation. Further it is explained that breathing has an effect on body’s motor control, and plays a role in a variety of regulations concerning both psychological and physiological functions of the human body. Other than these functions, breathing also has an effect on the autonomic nervous system, the metabolism, chemical regulation and the circulatory system. The secret of the tortoise winning the race against the hare has more to say to us that slow and steady breathing/respiration rate gives a longer healthful life. The hare lives for 5 years and the tortoise has life span of about 400 years.

Among all natural self-healing techniques, breath work is unique because breathing is the only conscious means of improving, maintaining, and repairing the other unconsciously ru systems of the body. Heart rate, blood pressure, circulation, digestion, hormone secretion, and even our mental and emotional states all can be controlled, regulated, and healed through proper breathing practices.

Continuing the chain of priority, let us focus on hydration as outlined in this book. The composition of an adult human consists of approximately 60% water. Staying hydrated is essential to a properly functioning body and supports everything from cognition, to body temperature regulation; digestion and assimilation of nutrients of food, to oxygen delivery throughout the body. It is safe to say that hydration is a foundational essential of self care.

Health care has a lot to do with the body weight. There are a few hidden things that can help succeed with the weight loss goals. Balancing the body's pH is one of high importance. The ideal pH range for our body is 7.35 -7.5. When the pH rises higher than 7.8 or drops lower than 6.8 body tissues and cells stop functioning properly and die; toxins build up in the body, thereby weakening the cells and invite the incidence of chronic disease.

Nutritionists and scientists agree that our diets should ideally be made up of 80% alkaline foods and 20% acid foods. So, how do we get our body to the proper pH balance? The answer of course is to eliminate some of the acid producing foods from our diets while increasing alkaline forming foods. After food sleep is the most critical function to recover or heal the body to normal energy level.

Sleep is essential. In every living species around the planet, sleep is unavoidable. If you work you must sleep to restore the lost energy for working again, because sleep is critical for healthy immune system. Sleep is one of the great mysteries that modern science has not completely figured out. We should know that along with diet and exercise, sleep is the best tool for slowing down the aging process.

Sleeping is actually a complex chain of biological reactions and chemical conversions that stimulate a complex interaction of hormones and neurotransmitters that work together to induce sleep.

Melatonin is made by the pineal gland located just above mid-brain. It is interesting to note that many things calcify the pineal gland, which is not protected by the blood-brain barrier. Fluoride, commonly found in our municipal water supplies and pesticides, accumulates in the pineal gland more than any other part of the body is let out when the pineal gland is to decalcify.

Beyond healthy immune system function, there are many benefits to sleep: it removes toxins to prevent neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, improves memory and cognition reduces hunger cravings and helps in weight loss. Sleep progresses through a series of stages in which different brain patterns are displayed. Experts divided sleep into five different stages. However this has recently changed to four: three non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stages and one rapid eye movement (REM) stage.

The current title elaborates on the aforesaid topics and highlights the value based aspects of breathing, hydration and sleep. It unfolds some of the untold secrets of these life essentials.