Archive for May, 2007

Why Waste Time On Natural Healing Methods?

Friday, May 25th, 2007

I received a great comment on one of my blog entries a few weeks ago. It’s a question we who have  natural health and self-help focus need to answer on a daily basis.

The question, in essence, was; why waste time on natural cures when one pill, or other “solutions” from the traditional medical business, could do the same in less time.

Here is the original version:

“My blood pressure is normal with medication, but I never made a connection to my my sleep apnea. I have to use a breathing apparatus to sleep properly. Does the exercise program for lowering blood pressure also deal with sleep apnea, or is that a whole other program?
Although the sleep apnea apparatus is a nuicance and it forces me to use far more nasal decongestant spray than I like, it doesn’t take much time. Nor does the medication for blood pressure.
Time is an important consideration in a busy professional lifestyle. I understand what you call a “vicious health circle, but I don’t want to get into a lifestyle-robbing “vicious health-treatment circle” either.
If you are proposing or offering an efficient program(read, “low time commitment” program that’s compatible with a busy lifestyle) that handles the whole circle, I’m interested. But i haven’t got that message from you yet.”
Neill

Neill is a psychologist and his self help articles are great reading (here is one for example:http://www.neillneill.com/82/self-growth-and-the-key-to-knowing-what-to-do/trackback/  ). I have the feeling he has received several questions like this one himself and is paying it forward. Very good point Neill.

So here is my answer…

Number 1.

All traditional medications create serious side effects and drain our energy. Every single one. Blood pressure medications may at first look harmless but read the potential side effects. You’re effected by all these side effects to some degree. Not mentioning the side effects the manufacturer doesn’t list.

Dealing with these side effects and your loss of energy, you will, in the end, waste much more time than if you took a few minutes a day to exercise. And you’re spending much more money than if you invested in healthy organic food and supliments.

Number 2.

What’s our focus in life?

Everyone wants to be happy. That’s just our human nature.

Many of us say; health and family is the only thing that really matters. We can’t buy good health. And if we’re sick, we can’t take care of or spend quality time with our family.

Most people waste hours a day in front of the TV or other useless, draining activities. Yet, we’re outraged when someone suggests, we spend 30 minutes a day exercising or focusing on our health.

Is health then really as important to us as we claim?

30 minutes a day is about  2% of our waking hours.

But we’re busy, right?

Most of us are not really busy, we’re busy making.

We’re not using our full potential. And we don’t get things done as we should. That’s really what makes us more busy than we need to be.  A drunk can’t focus on his work. Neither can a person who is stressed out, tired from a lack of sleep or drained because of a lack of nutrition.

If we put our health and wellbeing in the first place, everything else becomes easier. And we find enormous amount of time open up. Especially if we prioritize what’s important to us.

Number 3.

Natural health and training doesn’t really take much time. We tend to exaggerate our tasks in our head.

I spend less than 30 minutes a day on various exercises. Sometimes I focus on my breathing passages, sometimes on stress, sometimes on body training. Most often, I’m testing something new. But never do I have to spend more than 30 minutes a day on these activities.

Here are some basic facts:

Most people cure their snoring and even sleep apnea in less than 3 hours - exercising 3-7 minutes a day for less than a month. The same is true for TMJ and tooth grinding.

Most people drastically lower their blood pressure in less than 3.5 hours – exercising less than 30 minutes a day for one week.

The basic fact is that natural cures take less time than repeated doctor’s and pharmacy visits. Not to mentioning surgery. They may require you to plan a little, focus on one method at the time or  combine several methods. But in the end, it will pay off in more energy, more time and better feelings.

Hope this answered several hundred of you, asking the same question as Neill.

Warm regards,

Christian Goodman

PS: Personal note to Neill: The blood pressure program will probably help you with your sleep apnea, but for the best results, use both The Stop Snoring Exercise Program and The Natural Blood Pressure Program. You can find both programs on the righthand side of this page.

Greeted By A Bear!

Thursday, May 24th, 2007

I’m back in Loveland, Colorado. After over a month on the roade, I’m back at the Rocky Mountains High. What a good feeling.

I told you a few days ago that I’ve been camping in a beautiful forest  in Pennsylvania for the last couple of weeks. But I didn’t tell you about the highpoint of the trip.

I was greeted by a real black bear!

Every once in a while on these camping trips, we see a bear from a distance. But never have I been so close that I could almost touch him.

I was walking alone pretty deep in the woods when he came galloping towards me. He obviously didn’t notice me till he was around 30 feet away from me. When he did, he completely stopped and looked me straight in the eyes.

Let me tell you something about black bears. They look so real, they almost do not fit into their surroundings. Remember the old 50’s  movies. The background was often pasted in in such an obvious way that the characters didn’t really fit in there.

It was a little bit like that with the bear. He was more real than the trees around him. I know this doesn’t really make any sense but that’s the only way I can describe it. His black shiny fur was darker than anything I’ve ever seen before. Darker than a night.

So what do you do when you’re faced with a 560 pound black bear?

Well, as you may have surmised, I was fascinated, not scared. Black bears are not dangerous at all, unless you threaten them. So what did I do?

The same as I do when greeted by a good friend. I said “Hi, how is it going!”

The bear looked at me for about a minute and then galloped away. Didn’t say a word :-)

End of story… almost end of story!

When flying back to Colorado today, I began to think about this experience. And as I thought about it, a new idea crossed my mind. An idea that could maybe help eliminate worries and depression and also insomnia.

I’ve been studying these conditions a lot throughout the years. They are of course closely related to many of the issues I address in my health guides, such as snoring and sleep apnea, TMJ and bruxing, stress and  hypertension and other conditions.

Those of you that have read some of my posts and used my programs know how much believe I’ve in positive thinking. And how the mind creates either positive or negative health flow in the body.

Your body, for example, takes in and processes many times the amount of oxygen when you  think positively versus negatively. This is one of the key factor in curing Fibromyalgia.

Anyway, the idea I got to day is totally different from any positive thinking exercise or visualization method I’ve ever heard of before. It forces the BODY into a positive flow, which then changes the mindset. Hard to explain, especially since I haven’t really understood it completely myself.

But if it becomes a reality, it could drastically change how people deal with depression, worries and the tension that keeps millions of people up all night, every night.

You’re at the grass roots.

I’ve never shared an idea at such an early stage before. It’s only because of the positive vibrations I’ve felt from everybody reading this blog that I’m mentioning it so early. I would love to hear where YOU would like me to focus this method on. Please comment below.

Plus… have you ever seen a bear?

Warm regards,

Christian Goodman

Update On Migraine And Headaches.

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007

I published a detailed article last Saturday on the cause of migraine and headaches and how to cure these painful conditions. If you didn’t read it yet, you can find it at…

http://christiangoodman.com/?p=27

I got great responds from this article. Many folks said it helped them a lot.

What got me to write today’s update on this previous article was that several people asked the same  question on a common misunderstanding about migraine and headaches.

It was about tension headaches. Or should I say muscle tension headaches.

You see, tension in the muscles around the neck and the head is one of the most common trigger of headaches. Tension headache is however migraine, just like any other typer of headaches. My stop snoring program and TMJ program are very effective in dealing with this type of headaches.

In fact, it was because of the great responds I received from clients who had used these programs that I decided to research the migraine problem. My exercises often gave great headache relief (plus eliminating the conditions they were designed for), but there was something missing.

Little by little, I began to realize, the muscle tension that caused headaches was only a small part of a big problem. I discovered 4 other factors that had just as much impact on migraine, or even more.

That brings us to another question I received several times this weekend, related to the same subject. Does my migraine and headache program include the same techniques as my stop snoring and TMJ program?

The answer is mostly NO!

There are a few exercises in the migraine and headache program that are also found in the other programs but it is 95% different.

The migraine and headache program is mostly focused on small lifestyle changes that cause big changes in your overall well being. These small changes permanently eliminate headaches from your life.

Hope this was helpful,

Christian Goodman

PS: You can find a link to my migraine and headache program on the right side of this page.

What Causes Headaches & Migraine? And How To Cure It!

Saturday, May 19th, 2007

Even if people who never considered them self a migraine patients, are indeed one if they have frequent headaches. Because ALL headaches and migraine are caused by the same underlying triggers!

Even infrequent, mild headaches are caused by the same triggers as the worst migraine attacks and can be avoided using the same methods. And they’re all generated from a small part of the brain called the hypothalamus.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to get to technical here, but it’s good for you to get the general idea of how headaches and migraine happen in order for you to permanently avoid yours.
Actually, it begins with a trigger on the Hypothalamus.

The hypothalamus is like an automatic control center for the body, so you don’t have to think about all the bodily functions like to regulate body temperature, certain metabolic processes, and other autonomic activities. It’s also closely connected to the physical senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell) and your emotions.

Now, the important part for you is that if the hypothalamus experiences some threat (we call them triggers) in the system, it will send out messages to the blood vessels around your head, face and neck to swell up and inflame

…causing you the horrible headaches and migraine symptoms.

Now, this is a necessary survival function. Your body actually thinks that it’s protecting you from harm by giving you a headache.

Let me give you an example:

You know how strong perfume can trigger a headache or a heavy head. What happens is that the perfume triggers the hypothalamus and it actually senses the perfume as a dangerous poison.

Now think if it was actually a dangerous poison you were inhaling, your headache would then warn you that something dangerous was actually going on and tell you that you needed to get away.

This could very well save your life!

And your headaches may very well save your life if you use it well. Because your daily habits, which trigger the hypothalamus to cause you headaches, are actually harming you and you need to change them. Not just to avoid your headache, but for your overall health.

Your headache is just a warning sign!

In the same way, you must learn to listen to your headache. You must look out for what you did before you got a headache. If you notice a pattern, something special you always do before you get a headache, then that’s one of your triggers.

The problem is when your hypothalamus is too sensitive if it can’t functionally process regular, harmless things and always sends you straight over the limit when triggered with a smallest trigger.

This is the case for most migraine patients.

But being hypersensitive to headache triggers is not the only reason you’re suffering on a daily basis. There may be several triggers in your life, triggers you are not aware of. Daily habits you’re so used to that you never thought of them as headache triggers.

Those triggers use up all your tolerance for headaches and make you more sensitive than you otherwise would have to be.

Let me explain this a little bit better…

The hypothalamus acts on hundreds or even thousands of triggers every day. It’s usually not only one or two triggers that put you over the limit (causing your headache), it’s the combination of many small and big triggers.

Lets say for example that coffee, chocolate, stress and strong sunlight could all work as a trigger to your migraine. This is only an example and these may not be YOUR triggers.

Now, if you drink five cups of coffee and  eat three chocolate bars, while working out in a strong sunlight, on a project you should have finished two weeks ago, with your boss calling you every two minutes. Then I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll lay in bed suffering a migraine attack the next day or week.

You simply overdid it!

On the other hand, if you enjoyed a couple of hours on the beach while on a relaxed vacation without any coffee or chocolate and with your phone turned off, you most likely won’t feel anything except happiness.

Because the triggers ad up to a breaking point!

Somewhere in your hypothalamus, there is an imaginary line you simply can’t cross. If you do, you’ll suffer.

I call this line the breaking point.

Below, there is another imaginary line called the base line. This is the point from where triggers begin building up in your brain.

If the triggers building up from your base line do NOT cross the breaking point, you’re fine.

You won’t feel any pain!

But as soon as they do cross the line (the breaking point), your hypothalamus will send out a message to the veins in your head to swell up and you’ll suffer a horrible migraine or headache attack.

For some migraine and headache patients, the breaking point is very low. For others, there are simply too many triggers in their life. For most, it’s the combination of both.

It’s very tough to lift the breaking point (although the approaches in my migraine and headache  program will actually do that to some degree), so your main goal is to get rid of as many migraine triggers as you can.

This will keep your trigger level below the breaking point and you won’t have to suffer again.

The good news is you don’t have to get rid of everything in your life. There are five major universal migraine triggers I’ve found in almost every migraine patient I’ve helped.

Getting rid of or decreasing some of these five major triggers is usually enough to get the migraine under control.

In my migraine and headache program, I give detailed step by step guidance on how to lower or get rid of each of these major triggers.

I also teach about 24 minor triggers you may want to look out for in addition to these five major triggers.

Warm regards,

Christian Goodman

PS: You can find a link to my migraine and headache program on the right side of this page.

Natural Health From Nature!

Tuesday, May 15th, 2007

I’ve been camping in a hardwood forest in Pennsylvania for almost a week now. I camp here twice a year. In the spring, when the forest is coming back to life after the winter, and in the fall, when the colors of the leaves are out of this world.

Every day has its same routine.  I, and couple of friends spend around 2 hours cutting and dragging down dead firewood from the  hills around the camp site. After that, I go for around three-hours walk in the woods by myself.

You can imagine what kind of physical shape I’m in after these trips!

It’s much more effective working out in nature than exercising in a gym. Not only does the whole body get a workout when you have to run over rocks and jump over ditches, carrying 100 pound logs. The mind also quiets down and takes a breake here in the wilderness.

Working out in nature (even in the yard) has been proven to lower blood pressure, eliminate depression, reduce stress and boost the immune system. To put it simply, it improves your overall health.

I believe these two camping trips are the key to my wellbeing for the rest of the year.

I’ve brought so much knowledge back from this place. In fact, it was after one of these trips that I got the idea for my high blood pressure program.

I noticed that my blood pressure had dropped drastically after the trip. Then I began to wonder what it was that really made the difference (and it wasn’t really the hard work) and how I could create that atmosphere to lower blood pressure in any situation.

So it was here that this amazing program became an idea.

I’ll keep you updated on what comes out of this trip :-)

Warm regards,

Christian Goodman

PS: A link to the blood pressure program and links to my other health programs area on the right upper side of this page.

The Use Of Depression Medications

Monday, May 14th, 2007

Dr Dee has a very interesting article about the use of depression medications and a possible alternative method to deal with it. Simple walking in the nature. You can find this article at…

http://www.natural-holistic-health.com/mind-and-spirit/anxiety-and-depression/antidepressant-prescribing-soars/

It’s sad to see the amount of depression drugs prescribed. Especially to young people. Most people taking these drugs are not “physically” depressed. Walk in the garden wouldn’t change serious, physical depression.

I believe it’s lack of purpose and connection that’s causing depression in young people. That’s why connecting to nature is so helpful and shopping mall is so harmful.

In my work, I’ve often seen how horses for example can bring a depressed, “trouble teenager” back to life. The connection makes all the difference.

Warm regards,

 Christian Goodman

The Underlying Cause For Snoring

Wednesday, May 9th, 2007

It’s been awhile since I  last post on my blog. I’ve been traveling a lot. Among other things, running a very successful stop snoring workshop in England.

That was a lot of fun and an extremely effective healing process. People seem to be more motivated and focused when they’re coached personally than by just following a book.

Some of the questions that came up on this workshop motivated me to write today’s post.

You see, snoring usually occurs either very early night or in so called REM sleep (dreaming sleep). Why this happens is an interesting subject and leads us to the solution to stop snoring. That’s the subject of this article.

But first, we must look at what happens when we’re awake. During the day, we gather tension in our body. Not only do we become physically tired and tense, an emotional tension is also stored in our muscles.

Think about it. When you get angry, isn’t your tendency to make a fist with your hands. Even if you don’t intend to hit anybody. It’s part of our unconscious body language and our bodies do it automatically.

It’s estimated, the tone of our voice and our facial expression counts for at least 80% of our total communication. The words we use count for less than 20%.

Sometimes, we don’t want to show how we really feel. We try to consciously control our voice and facial expression. This is the poker face, the stone face or the superficial nice face, we sometimes have to put on. A customer service representative can’t scream at their clients, even if he/she is raging inside.

Every time we freeze our feelings like that, they’re stored in our muscles, throughout our body. This affects the muscles around the breathing passages more than any other muscle group.

When we fall asleep, this muscle tension blocks the breathing passages. That’s what causes early night snoring. As our sleep deepens, these muscles relax a little and the snoring often stops for awhile.

Now, here comes the interesting part. After sleeping for a few hours, we go back to a very light sleep called REM sleep. That’s when we dream. In a REM sleep, we also integrate all the informations and experiences from the previous day. Our subconscious takes all the emotions stored in our muscles and  processes them. Imagine what’s going on in your muscles while this is taking place.

Sadly, the tension doesn’t get released from our muscles during REM sleep. The conclusion our subconscious makes, may even be that these muscles need to be kept tense to freeze any emotion the following day. This can make the snoring trouble even worse.

The important thing for you to know is that this emotional process in the REM sleep activates your muscles. They then block the breathing passages and cause snoring. We go into REM sleep 2-3 times a night. For longer period each time. That’s why early morning and late night snoring is so common.

So what’s the solution? There are two ways to eliminate the underlying cause for snoring…

1) The more sober and non reactive you’re, the less emotional stress is stored in your muscles. A happy, joyful attitude, in every situation, is the key to your well being. Indulging in a resentment is like eating a poison and thinking it will kill your enemy. Expressing your feelings and reality moderately, releases and integrates the experience immediately, so your subconscious doesn’t have to do it during the night.

2) Using special tongue, throat and jaw exercises to release the tension in your muscles. Most of us have been creating muscle tension for years, so it’s essential to dig down and loosen up these muscles. These exercises stop the early night snoring as well as the REM sleep snoring.

I recommend using both tactics!

It’s a shame, the most common methods used to deal with snoring only address the most obvious symptoms. Usually even if the symptoms disappear for a while, the real underlying cause gradually gets worse. This unavoidable makes the snoring reappear, louder than ever. The only way to permanently cure snoring is to deal with the true underlying cause.

If you want to read more about my stop snoring exercise program and try one of the exercises out for yourself, you can find it at http://TheStopSnoringExerciseProgram.net

Warm regards,

Christian Goodman


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