77 Ways to Improve Your Wellbeing: How to Use Ancient Chinese Wisdom to Enhance Your Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health

by Hicks, Angela

• ISBN13: 9781905862252
• ISBN10: 1905862253
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-08-15
• Publisher: How to Books Ltd

Summary

In China, people send greetings by wishing a person 'a long and healthy life'. Our natural state is to be healthy and happy. This includes having a calm mind, a healthy body and emotional resourcefulness. This book reveals the profound, yet simple health maintenance secrets that Chinese medicine has developed over many centuries. These secrets enable us to deal with stress and return to our natural balance. In this book, you will discover guidelines about many aspects of our lifestyle including: UNDERSTANDING OUR OWN PARTICULAR CONSTITUTION EATING WELL FOR OUR OWN UNIQUE NEEDS BEING EMOTIONALLY RESILIENT AND USING SETBACKS TO GROW FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN WORK, REST AND EXERCISE RECOGNIZING HOW OUR ENVIRONMENT AFFECTS US By practising these secrets, Angela Hicks shows us how to recover the ability to nourish and protect our energy, overcome illness, And feel an easy joy in simply being alive. REVIEWS: 'The calming cover leads to page upon page of helpful and information points (totalling 77). These are written in a very, very clear, manner, making you absorb and not feel spoken down to, with every idea having a viable explanation.' www.frombumptogrump.co.uk AUTHOR BIOG: Angela Hicks has been a practitioner of Chinese Medicine for over 30 years. She is an acupuncturist and herbalist and practices qigong. She is Joint Principal of the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine in Reading, UK, And is the author of the Acupuncture Handbook; and co-author of Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture and Healing Your Emotions. CONTENTS: Author's note Introduction Chapter 1. You Can Be Really Well Chapter 2. The Secrets of Healthy Eating Chapter 3. Balance Your Emotions Chapter 4. Adjusting Work, Rest and Exercise Chapter 5. Protecting Yourself from the Environment Chapter 6. Respecting Your Constitution Chapter 7. Staying Healthy and Preventing Disease Chapter 8. Sixteen Tips to Improve Your Lifestyle Notes Glossary Reading List Useful Addresses Index.

Author Biography

Angela Hicks has been a practitioner of Chinese Medicine for over 30 years. She is an acupuncturist and herbalist and practices qigong. She is Joint Principal of the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine in Reading, UK, and is the author of The Acupuncture Handbook; and co-author of Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture and Healing Your Emotions.

Table of Contents

Author's note	p. x
Introduction	p. xi
You Can Be Really Well	p. 1
You really can live longer!	p. 1
What's in this for you?	p. 2
An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure	p. 4
Living a qi enhancing lifestyle	p. 5
The true 'pill' - lifestyle change	p. 5
Listen to your body	p. 6
What will be the benefits?	p. 6
How to read this book	p. 7
The Secrets of Healthy Eating	p. 9
Eat food as medicine Wellbeing tips 1-21	p. 9
Balance the proportions of your food	p. 10
Rely on 'economical' foods in your daily diet	p. 13
Choose vegetables - full of rich, life-enhancing qi	p. 15
Avoid too much raw and cold food	p. 17
Don't overdose on 'rich' foods	p. 18
Know your phlegm and damp forming food	p. 19
Lose weight effortlessly!	p. 21
Be an 'almost' vegetarian	p. 22
If you are vegetarian - be a well-balanced one	p. 25
Take good-quality food	p. 27
Avoid 'spoiled' foods	p. 29
An enjoyable diet is the most nourishing	p. 29
Know the temperature of your food	p. 33
Not too hot or cold - keep it balanced	p. 35
Blend the tastes of your food	p. 36
Find tasty substitutes	p. 40
Eat regularly and in the right conditions	p. 42
Try sprouting - nutritious food from tiny seedlings	p. 46
Know how and when to drink fluids	p. 48
Drink green tea or other healthy drinks	p. 49
Be alert for food sensitivities	p. 50
Balance Your Emotions	p. 55
Our emotions and our health Wellbeing tips 22-36	p. 55
Emotions are a key to good health	p. 57
Anger makes qi rise	p. 60
Fear makes qi descend and worry knots the qi	p. 62
Grief and sadness dissolve qi	p. 64
Joy slows qi down	p. 66
Take pleasure from the world	p. 67
The importance of humour	p. 69
Gain perspective on your emotions	p. 71
Become present to your bodily 'felt sense'	p. 72
Learn from your difficulties	p. 77
Use talking therapy	p. 78
Use writing therapy	p. 79
The importance of positive goals	p. 80
Release your blocked feelings	p. 84
Get help when you need it	p. 86
Adjusting Work, Rest and Exercise	p. 88
The balance of work, rest and exercise Wellbeing tips 37-55	p. 88
Balance yin and yang in your work and rest	p. 89
Convalescence - the forgotten secret	p. 92
The positive effects of fulfilling work	p. 94
Keep your life regular	p. 95
Points to relieve smoker's cravings	p. 96
Exercise while you work	p. 98
Walk your way to health	p. 99
Sleep - the best natural cure	p. 101
Sleep in a healthy posture	p. 103
Take a 'power' nap	p. 104
Make time for rest and relaxation	p. 106
Scan your body to relax	p. 107
Exercise can be 'internal' or 'external'	p. 109
Exercise according to your age, activity, build and constitution	p. 113
Know the 70% principle for all activity	p. 114
Find an exercise routine	p. 115
Find a regular practice space	p. 116
Exercise in the 'spirit' of qigong	p. 118
A simple self-exercise more effective than massage	p. 120
Protecting Yourself from the Environment	p. 123
How the weather effects our health Wellbeing tips 56-65	p. 123
Take extra care when there's a cold snap	p. 124
Your pain might be caused by cold!	p. 126
Cold can cause infertility and other lower body symptoms	p. 128
A well-kept secret - the effects of 'wind'	p. 130
How to prevent colds, flu and other acute problems	p. 133
Tired all the time? 'Damp' could be the cause	p. 135
Protect yourself from the effects of damp	p. 137
Dryness - of course it dries you up!	p. 139
Know how to beat the heat	p. 140
Flow with the seasons to stay healthy	p. 143
Respecting Your Constitution	p. 145
Our constitutional essence and long-term health Wellbeing tips 66-77	p. 145
Conserve your constitutional essence	p. 146
How to check your constitutional strength	p. 149
Accept your limits and live within their confines	p. 150
Your sexual activity affects your constitutional essence	p. 152
'Do the month' after pregnancy	p. 155
Important transformation times that can change your life	p. 157
The male menopause is not what you think!	p. 160
After a miscarriage take time to rest	p. 160
Strengthen your constitutional essence at the dantien	p. 161
What you learn from a good teacher becomes yours for life	p. 164
Use Chinese metal balls as a simple longevity tool	p. 165
'Scrape' on the back to strengthen constitution	p. 166
Staying Healthy and Preventing Disease	p. 168
Asthma	p. 169
Anxiety and panic attacks	p. 172
Back pain	p. 175
Chronic fatigue syndrome	p. 178
Colds and flu	p. 181
Constipation	p. 184
Depression	p. 187
Diabetes	p. 189
Diarrhoea	p. 193
Headaches	p. 195
Hypertension	p. 198
Indigestion and heartburn	p. 201
Insomnia	p. 203
Joint problems	p. 206
Menopausal hot flushes	p. 209
Period pains	p. 211
Premenstrual tension	p. 213
Skin conditions	p. 215
Sixteen Tips To Improve Your Lifestyle	p. 218
Four important stages of integrating lifestyle changes	p. 218
Refine your intention	p. 218
Know what's stopping you	p. 219
Prepare to change your lifestyle	p. 219
Put your lifestyle plan into action	p. 220
Completion and integration - make a new adjustment into a regular habit	p. 221
Find ways to become motivated	p. 221
Make your goals specific and achievable	p. 222
Allow yourself some imperfections	p. 223
Take teeny tiny steps	p. 224
Do what you find enjoyable	p. 225
Find healthy substitutes	p. 226
Change at your own speed	p. 226
It takes a month to change a habit	p. 227
See yourself changing your lifestyle	p. 227
Don't just read about it - use it!	p. 228
Notes	p. 230
Glossary	p. 237
Reading list	p. 240
Useful addresses	p. 241
Index	p. 242
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