Out with the old?

People always feel an urge to burn the past towards the end of a year, assuming that when you let go of the past you are able to create a future from a clearer perspective.

The truth is, the past shaped you to be who you are now. There is no use of burning it unless you want to say to the universe: thank you but I didn't get it. Everything that comes your way is a lesson. Welcome it: all of it. The good; the bad and the ugly.

When I first started my concept my friends wanted me to call it "flow".. Insinuating that the we can release all the discomfort in life and flow with ease.. But I insisted on calling it "ebb & flow" because the truth of the matter is.. Life will always give u a bit of this and that.. And your job is to find ease amidst the ups and downs, balance yourself and find your center.

So the old.. Wether it was good or bad was still a part of your experience.. Cherish it.. Don't dispose of it.. Having said that.. We aren't meant to hold on to the past either..

We observe it, learn from it, grow from it.. It becomes part of the soil that nourishes our tree of life.

So send a lot of love to 2015.. And thank it for all the learnings it brought your way..

Only then will you be ready for a new year.

May it be a fulfilling one.

Happy new year

xoxo

Mariam Ketait

Balance - the Ramadan Edition

The holy month of Ramadan is a month that helps us learn how to balance and master our physical experience all the while attuning it to the divine. The concept of fasting not only enhances your spiritual connection as your blood supply to your digestive tract gets redirected to other systems, but it also helps flush out toxins if done right.

There are many factors that get disrupted when we fast, first and foremost is water balance. It is very important to stay hydrated in Ramadan, especially this year as we will be having a summer Ramadan. Staying hydrated means having a minimum of 8-12 glasses of water from after Iftar till before Imsak. Also, refraining from dehydrating drinks such as coffee and tea can help maintain the water balance.

Our physique can become sluggish in Ramadan as our systems slow down, but this can easily be avoided by ensuring an 8 hour sleep and refraining from bad habits such as staying up late or feasting till before bed time. It is important to honour our bodies and give them the amount of rest needed to maintain healthy functions.

Also, working out is optimal before Iftar as your body is ready to break down fat at around that time. I do not recommend heavy weight training, but a 30 minute cardio session or a Pilates class before Iftar can go a long way in maintaining your physique. Also, post Iftar you can go for a jog or engage in your favourite workout as long as it is 40 minutes after food. Listen to your body and do not overdo it, your body responds to movement that is joyous and loving. A 30 minutes’ walk can help your circulation and maintain your balance if you dedicate that time of day to honour your body and move it with ease.

An important factor in Ramadan is all the heavy feasting that goes hand in hand with the fasting, having an awareness of what your body actually needs and mindfully eating all the while practicing restraint is one of the virtues that make this month so special. Ensuring you have a balanced amount of proteins, carbs, fats and fiber is as important in Ramadan as it is any other month of the year.

Having a mindset that is nurturing to the body is important, we eat to nurture our physical body, not out of lack or habit. Reminding ourselves of the blessedness and sacredness of food and eating is also something this month brings into perspective.

From a spiritual standpoint, fasting elevates your vibrations automatically as your thought processes slow down and your mental and spiritual body undergoes a cleanse. It is therefore a good idea to aid this by drinking a lot of water, green juices and herbal teas to aid your digestion and cleanse the physical body along with the mental and spiritual body.

The mind is a very strong tool, and you can use it to tap into your inner strength, resilience, tolerance and restrain during this month. One of the ways to master our bodies is by learning how to curb our cravings and control our impulses. Therefore, if you are trying to quit a bad habit such as smoking, you can use the energies of this month to help tap into your inner strength and regain balance over your physical body.

Practicing mindfulness, breathing techniques and meditations accentuate the healing and detoxifying process in Ramadan. It is common practice to pray Qeyam and recite Quran more in Ramadan, all of this helps raise your vibrations whilst engaging your mind and spirit in a healthy and balanced way.

In conclusion, Ramadan is a blessed month that can be used to attain healthy habits and virtues, if you intend to make the most out of it you will be able to enjoy its serenity and abundance of health and spirituality. Happy fasting.

Otitis Externa (swimmer's ear)

Summer is almost here and alot of ear problems surface around this time of year. From itchy to full blown oozing ear canals, the swimming pool is the enemy.

Body:

Otitis externa is usually caused when the skin is not fully intact, for example in the case of allergic dermatitis. This makes the skin more susceptible to fungal or bacterial infections which in turn leads to itching and pustule formation.

Mind:

As with allergies, thought patterns associated with this condition are those which fall under "irritability" and inability to hear ones thoughts or others opinions without judgment. 

Spirit:

Our ears are an important vessel of communtication, when we fail to hear what pleases us, or continuously hear aggravating words this can manifest in the form of ear ache. 

Also, children who are bullied or teased have a tendency to develop this condition.

Rx:

1. Avoid moisture.

2. If you have an infection, do not ignore it and make sure you get a culture and appropriate treatment.

3. Try to incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine if you are surrounded by "aggressive" conversations. Having a peaceful state of mind can make it easier to disconnect from the impulse to get irritated on the long run.

4. Speak kindly to yourself and to those around you, our words have vibrations and one kind word can go a long way.

5. If all else fails: get to the root of it. Therapy helps in resolving communication issues or irritability.

More to come! Stay tuned!

- here's to a fabulous summer ❤

Diabetes

One of the greatest challenges in healthcare today, with numbers on the rise and the age of onset getting younger by the day, Diabetes is one of my most passionate causes of perusing alternative modalities having seen enough diabetic feet amputated when they could have been saved simply by being aware and empowered.

Body:

Diabetes is a matabolic disorder where your body is unable to store or use glucose properly.

I will not be getting into the different causes of diabetes, but there are two types: type 1 where the pancreas fails to secrete insulin and type 2 where the body fails to absorb insulin. Insulin regulates our blood glucose levels. When there is alot of glucose in your blood, diabetes happens.

Diabetes leads to various systems failing such as the kidney function, cardiovascular disease and nerve damage. 

Like any disease there is a genetic load which is expressed when the lifestyle of the patient (eating habits, exercise and stress levels) are not balanced.

Mind:

Wether anxiety and depression are a precursor to diabetes or a result of it hasn't been identified by research, however, anxiety has been shown to lower the blood glucose control and lead to fluctuations in diabetic readings.

Spirit:

The pancreas from a spiritual aspect is responsible for the sweetness in life, and when it fails then it is said that the person is unable to absorb the sweetness of life. Those people tend to have a certain bitterness and self righteousness where they are unwilling to be directed.

Rx.

1. Having a healthy lifestyle is important either in prevention or treating diabetes. Regular exercise and watching food habits in terms of sugar and calories can have significant benefits.

2. Having a positive mind frame and stepping out of the "chronic disease" fear is vital in achieving optimal results.

3. Tackle emotional issues that result in bitterness, start accepting things for what they are and live in gratitude day by day to be able to find the lost sweetness in life.

4. Take your meds! Having an active approach to the condition can take you miles ahead. 

5. Finally, any condition is treatable, if you believe that it is.

So what will it take to get there?

The one on weight loss

I often get asked what determines the rate or response of following a weight loss regime, why some diets work and others don't, and what type of workout will give the fastest results.

The good news is: whatever diet or exercise regime that feels right to you will probably give you the best results. Now lets dig into the details.

Body:

There are many physical reasons as to why your body might not be metabolising at the rate it is supposed to. Eating habits and caloric intake is one of the main reasons. Also, your thyroid plays a role in the metabolism and any thyroid dysfunctions can result in weight loss or gain. Women with polycystic ovaries often present with weight gain or inability to loose weight too. Other factors include liver disorders, glucose, insulin and cortisol levels.

So make sure all of that is checked out.

Mind:

Eating habits are often learned from home: how often you eat, how big or small the portions are, social eating ( when food becomes associated with socialising), when to stop.

Noting down your eating habits can be a good start. 

Weight loss starts from having a will to make change and eat healthier to feel stronger and look better. 

Thoughts like: "I can and I will" make the biggest difference.

Spirit:

Emotional eating is one of the most common causes of weight gain; this includes a range of emotional conditions from a stressed out day at work to full blown depression. 

This happens when food represents something else: love, security or nurture.

People who have been hurt and are holding on to those emotions have a difficult time letting go of the weight as it represents some form of comfort.

Rx.

So if you are "trying" to loose weight the first thing to change is your mindset. You start loosing weight when you know you can.

Make sure your hormones are in check.

Eat 3 meals and 2 snacks (5 times a day) to keep your juices flowing.

Find a workout that makes you happy: walking for 30 mins a day can make a big difference if it becomes a habit. Any other form of exercise must be enjoyable and shouldn't feel like a punishment: so tennis, swimming, zumba, pilates.. Or yoga. As long as you are happy doing it. Your body responds to love, so fill it with love before hitting the gym and watch what happens.

Lastly, any unresolved traumas or hurts can stay in our bodies if we don't release them. So look into that too.

What would it take to have a healthy metabolism and beautiful bodies?  

Here's to that!

Gastritis

Another common medical condition in family practice is Gastritis: a condition where your gastric mucosa (the lining of your stomach) is inflamed and irritated resulting in various symptoms ranging from indigestion, heart burn, or stomach aches.

If untreated gastritis can lead to serious complications such as peptic ulcers and stomach cancer.

As I talk about the different aspects to health and wellbeing I will be structuring my blog posts to tackle the 3 main attributing factors to any medical condition: the body, the mind, and the spirit.

Body:

From a physical perspective gastritis can be caused by medications such as aspirin, a bacterial infection (H.pilori) which is a bacteria that normally resides in the stomach but starts to create symptoms when your resistances are low. Predisposing factors such as pernicious anaemia, smoking, alcohol consumption and stress have all been identified to play a role in this.

Mind:

Thought patterns identified with people with recurrent gastritis include angry worry some thoughts. Angry thoughts can be directed to self or others but often  get aggravated to reach an "eating yourself up" with resentment or guilt or anger, which can lead to ulcers flaring up.  

Spirit:

Our stomach is where we digest food and absorb nutrients, hence when one can't "digest" circumstances or "absorb" love an energetic imbalance is created.

Rx.

So if you have a stomach upset, look at the food your eating, your lifestyle habits, and make sure it's not an H.pylori infection.

And then still your mind as often as you can and try to identify the cause of anger, rage, or resentment. This can be done on your own or in conjunction with a therapist.

Once you are in communion with your body and acknowledge your emotions, it's only a matter of time before you start choosing thoughts that would bring you at ease and release the emotional blocks.

So what would it feel like to be able to digest every circumstance thrown at you with ease , and absorb the love that resides in everything around you ?

Happy digestion!

On headaches

Every thought you think has a vibration.

Every thought you think brings out an emotion, whether good or bad. 

Our bodies are continuously trying to communicate our emotional status to us if we would only be in communion with it and pay attention to the signs.

Today I will discuss headaches, one of the most common symptoms in family practice.

From a medical stand point, headaches can be caused by an array of reasons ranging from dehydration, low iron levels, eye sight problems to more serious conditions such as meningitis and brain tumors. 

Migraines on the one hand have been linked to sleep pattern changes, food intake and stress levels.

Our brains, as magnificent as they are, have a lot of deciphering to do when it comes to our thoughts. 

A lot of decision making, memory storage, good, bad, ugly. The works. Continuously at work.

But when you don't take the time to actually look at those thoughts that are going on in your head, what happens is that they tend to accumulate in a way that would ultimately lead to a block. An energetic block that would then lead to a headache.

So when you start feeling a heading coming over, take a few steps back, a few breaths in and out. And just observe what's going on inside your head.

Is it judgments? Or is it kindness?

Is it nagging? or is it tender?

Is it a lot of noise?

Or is it serene?

What thoughts are you choosing at that moment?

What else could you be choosing?

And remember, that every thought we think has a vibration.

And every thought brings out and emotion. One that your body responds to automatically, and communicates back to you.

So what would it take for you to think thoughts that resonate with the lightness within?