Do You Have to Exercise?

by | Apr 15, 2007 | Uncategorized

One of the most popular questions among my readers and clients is “Do I have to exercise?” Let’s shine a new light on exercise, once and for all.

There are three key things the body needs to be doing constantly:

1. Taking in oxygen

2. Pushing out poisons (primarily through the bowel, skin, liver, and lymph)

3. Pumping fresh Life Force Energy (aka Chi or Prana) When any of these three functions slow down, we slow down. When they stop, we stop.

Now, here’s where exercise enters the picture. If our goal is vibrant health and ideal weight and optimal vibrations, we must maximize the above three functions. Some common exercises like jogging, walking, yoga and swimming will help us achieve this, but only in the presence of lots of fresh air—not in an enclosed gym. Further, they will not benefit us significantly if we are not also eating pure, well-combined foods; removing the internal build-up of toxins lodged in our cells; or ensuring that Life Force Energy is flowing throughout our mental and emotional bodies as well.

We should not base exercise on calories or fat burned, which are the completely wrong measuring sticks. We should approach exercise as a way to help us achieve optimum oxygenation, remove waste, and increase the flow of Life Force Energy. (Of course, if you enjoy playing a particular sport or form of exercise, that’s also a good reason.)

In other words, physical exercise is NOT the end-all-be-all of this detox lifestyle. For example, you might enjoy a “gentleman’s workout” of a sauna, some deep breathing/mediation, and a short but oxygenating walk outdoors. Coupled with a cleansing diet of fresh, natural foods, this could keep you looking and feeling much younger, leaner, and stronger than if you were to spend hours a week on gym equipment or in a sculpting class. Exercising in a stale gym environment does very little to contribute to the functions that matter, particularly when paired with a typical gym-goers diet of dense, lifeless, mucus-forming, high-protein foods and shakes. So will you get off the bloody stair-master, already?!

You can count and burn calories till the ice cream truck comes around again, but you will make very little if any progress if your cells and tissues are still burdened with waste matter and if you’re inhabiting poorly ventilated spaces. The good news is that if you have been pounding away on the elliptical trainer with little change to your, um, “bottom line,” it’s not because you’ve failed to push yourself. Rather, your push failed you!

Now, here’s how to make your effort pay off. Instead of a regular exercise routine, what I would recommend is to look at your body on a daily basis and ask yourself the following sets of questions:

1. Is my breathing deep, connected and calm? Am I in my body today or swirling up in my head? What is the quality of the air my blood is receiving? Could I use a nature walk or some deep breathing to oxygenate my blood and bring serenity to my decisions, relationships, and work life?

2. How is my chi flowing today? Is it stagnant? What kind of movement does it require? A real shake-up? A rolling, rhythmic run? Some fluid movement like free dance? Also, why is my energy stagnant? Is it from lack of movement (too much desk work) or constipation? Have I been indoors for too long with poor ventilation? Do I need some fresh air?

3. How have my eliminations been? How does my lymphatic system feel—are the nodules around my armpits or neck tender? Do I feel in need of some extra nurturing? Am I dragging my feet, depleted of energy?

If the answer to any of these latter questions is “yes,” your elimination channels are overloaded, calling out for new concept “exercises” like deep sweating in a sauna, massage therapy, bowel cleansing, rest or meditation, and body brushing. Yes, you can go for a run or do some hardcore exercise if you feel your body is calling out for that, but consider rebalancing and renewing yourself in these other ways.

Going forward, you may find that with a good sauna, meditation routine, and walks around town to run your errands, you won’t need formal exercise for weeks at a time. But then a week or a month will come along when you may need to dance or jog or do yoga stretches every day because, for whatever reason, your body wants to pump even more chi, oxygen and sweat.

On the one hand, this explains why formal exercise is not always effective. On the other hand, it also explains why exercise is so useful—because physical exertion forces deep breathing, movement helps chi circulate, and sweating helps to eliminate waste and stimulates the other eliminative organs as you oxygenate and circulate the blood. Whatever exercise you like—be it yoga, weight training, boxing, or some other sport—take it outside into the fresh air, if possible. Or, at the very least, open all the windows in your apartment or gym so you are not just recycling stale air.

Make no mistake: I’m not saying, “Don’t exercise.” I’m simply offering a new perspective on exercise so that you may invest your time and energy wisely in activities that will make the greatest positive impact on your beauty, vitality and longevity.

Also, take a look around and see what combination of activities best suits your location. Don’t become robotic or too firmly fixed in your routines. Tune into your inner voice, listen to what your body is telling you. As you implement the basic principles of this detox lifestyle, you’ll get more out of, say, dancing around your house for ten minutes (windows open please) than getting up early or skipping an evening with loved ones to hit the gym.

If you’re ever near the water and have access to a sauna, enjoy a short run or a longer walk on the beach, or a swim in the fresh sea, and then hit the sauna followed by a cold shower. This will oxygenate the blood and cells, give you a great Chi boost from the activity of running, walking or swimming; as well as a great purifying sweat to stimulate the lymphatic system and supercharge waste through the extreme temperatures of the sauna and cold shower. In this way, you can experience maximum pleasure in very little time. This, my friends, is the goal. Stop forcing yourself to do exercises you hate, and do what makes you peaceful, clear, and joyful!

With the biggest love energy, Natalia.

Eat for Simplicity

by | Apr 3, 2007 | Uncategorized

If you are interested in diet, health, raw foods, or any offshoot of the detox lifestyle, you must understand the beauty of simplicity. No matter what level of health you are coming from—be it decades of raw or right off the hot dog cart—the quickest, most painless route to health and weight loss is extreme simplicity in your diet.

To practice extreme simplicity, you must ignore all the labels like “raw” or “vegan” or “vegetarian” and focus on foods that move through the body easily, or what I call Quick Exit foods. This boils down to the following foods and food combinations:

• Fresh vegetable juices (ideally on an empty stomach either for breakfast or in the late afternoon)

• Fresh vegetables (as a raw salad, whole, or steamed with a little organic butter and sea salt if desired)

• Avocados (with a raw salad for lunch)

• Baked (and raw) root vegetables like parsnip, butternut squash, and sweet potato (try these wholesome comfort veggies for dinner with your raw salad with a little organic butter, sea salt, and agave)

• Raw goat’s milk cheeses (use it liberally with raw and cooked vegetables)

• Fresh fish (ideally wild/organic, enjoyed along with a raw salad and steamed low-starch vegetables like broccoli, mushrooms, nightshades, leafy greens, etc.)

These foods, while not all “raw” or “vegan” by definition, are the easiest to digest when properly combined per the instructions in my books, enabling the body to release the built-up waste matter that’s causing your ailments and excess weight. I deliberately omitted fresh and dried fruits, nuts, and grains because nuts and grains are very dense and difficult to digest, and both fresh and dried fruits can create a lot of carbonic gas in a body that’s awakening old waste matter. The discomforts and symptoms that come with transitioning to a raw diet are usually caused by abundant intake of those foods.

If you’re sailing along smoothly while indulging in raw nuts, grains, and fruits, by all means keep doing it. But if you are have trouble boosting your energy, losing weight, or reaping other benefits that the raw world promises, it is time to practice the beauty of simplicity. It solves the problem every time!

Remember, whether you are a beginner or a lifelong raw devotee, simple food from its source, in the simplest combinations possible, is the secret to cleaning your cells and lightening up! Labels do not matter. What matters is that the food you eat moves rapidly through your body. Accept this simplicity and you will overcome every dietary puzzle and will experience the true bliss of a clean, harmonious, energized body!

Don’t get caught up in complicated raw/vegan concoctions like nut-patés, tempeh, soy foods, grain mixtures, and dense desserts—all of which lead to gas, gas and more gas, along with reduced energy and a heavy burden on the intestines. This is not to prohibit you from enjoying these raw/vegan gourmet items in small amounts if you really love them. Just don’t kid yourself into thinking they are healthy and energizing or support your weight loss efforts.

Remember, simplicity trumps all. You don’t need unusual, hard-to-find items that mimic mainstream fare in raw or vegan form to succeed. In fact, you can easily find the simple foods listed above at restaurants or prepare them at home.

The goal of working toward a raw diet is to eventually feel completely content and satisfied with some fresh raw fruits and vegetables—not to require huge volumes of raw nuts and grains. Don’t fall for the marketing of so-called health foods by building your diet around the denser, more complicated raw products.

Until you are truly ready—emotionally, socially, and physiologically—to embrace a diet of 95% (or more) of simple fruits and vegetables, you are much better off bending to include steamed or baked vegetables, raw goat cheese, and even the occasional piece of fish. Do not place unrealistic pressure on yourself. Raw is not a race. Nor is it a goal unto itself. The goal is joyful, clean, vibrantly oscillating cells, which comes from eating simply, eliminating fully, and treating yourself and others with loving devotion.

Do you see the difference, my friends? Forget all the raw, vegan, and vegetarian dogma. Simple foods, whether cooked or raw, in simple combinations, is the fastest, most effective way to cleanse and rejuvenate.

Guided Meditation: Another Way to Raise Your Vibrations

If you are looking for non-dietary ways to raise your vibrations and become more peaceful, I highly recommend guided meditation. It always leaves me deeply relaxed yet surprisingly revived afterward. Those of you who are not excited by the idea of sitting in a lotus position and following your breath will love this approach.

I actually recommend lying down for optimal results. Lying down allows you to go into the deepest meditative states because no thought or effort is required to hold your body up. This approach can also be a doorway to traditional meditation, which is also useful at certain stages. Expect an intensely enjoyable experience as you start to connect with your true nature. These meditations leave you feeling unburdened, refreshed, and enlightened, and improve sleep as they awaken your mind and heart for what is to come.

Moreover, doing a simple meditation before eating helps remove so much of the pressure that causes us to over-consume. Overeating is often the result of feeding the body from the intense, spinning energy of the brain. Our eating habits reflect our thinking. If you practice meditation during the times of day when you typically binge or eat a large meal, you will find yourself eating much more slowly and recognizing when you have had enough.

The following CDs (all available through amazon.com) were created for the utmost spiritual, emotional, and physical advancement, and have been the most instrumental in both my personal and professional work. They will help bring you into an ideal frequency as well as help you heal your subconscious and unconscious imbalances. Lie back, close your eyes, and prepare for transformation!

Lee Harris Gift Collection (Volume 1) (Audio CD)

The Power of Silence

I Remember I Am: Honoring the Journey of You Becoming You (Phoenix Factor Series, 2) by Peggy Phoenix Dubro