Natural Healing and Back Pain Relief — Natural Healing Information, Techniques for Self Healing and Back Care

Healing Back Pain For Free

by Kalidasa on January 17, 2011

Back Anatomy

There is a lot you can learn about healing back pain for free. For example, there are a lot of healing articles on this site with a lot of information that is free.

Here’s someone who found some big help for his particular issue. He found it when he got a massage, but found out the why and a self applied method from information he got free here.

Here’s what he has to say about it:

Dear Kalidasa,

Thanks for your (free) book, I got it in the first email. I also saw the video you’ve sent – unfortunately I haven’t have the opportunity to experience it myself (the assisted back pain relief video that comes in the email series), but just trying it by myself was useful too.

I’ve read through the free book, you’ve sent, and I found it very interesting, especially the part on the adrenals. Unfortunately, getting rid of sugars is extremely hard for me – since I do some intensive sports – and because of that, I’m focusing on the herbal / vitamin treatment you suggested. I can get back to you, if you are interested in the results.

The best-ever thing that worked for me on lower back pain treatment was a psoas-massage. Up until now, I didn’t know what was the maneuver, the masseur performed on me during a Thai-massage session, but I felt immediate relief after one year of constant pain. It was thanks to you – the YouTube video you’ve posted on the topic – that made me realize what was happening to me at that time. Since then (one week ago) I can specifically search the net for stretches, yoga-routines, and by practicing them, I no longer have extreme pains radiating down my right leg, and the un-easyness in my back lessened considerably – though, it is not gone, yet.

This whole experience taught me that self treatment is more useful treating lower back pain on the long run than current medicine (though some of them come handy when dealing with pain reduction and inflammation reduction). This is why I’m strongly considering to buy your book on self adjusting technique.

Thanks again,
Peter from Hungary

Hi Peter,

I’m really glad to hear you found some relief. The psoas makes complete sense for an athlete. Sugar may still be adding to your issue though. I’ve been reading about carb loading lately, seems that the degree that many people take is unnecessary. I’ll see about writing on this if I find some great information. Sugar will have less of a negative effect if you have it shortly before exercising. Seems that exercise mitigates just about everything. Please do keep me informed.

Kalidasa

First, I have a video on how to do a psoas massage in a unique way that can be self applied that helps a lot of back pain sufferers. This is what gave Peter so much relief.

Secondly, there have been recent studies that show that carb loading for performance isn’t the best thing to do. A little in some circumstances, but in general people have been shown to do better with more protein and fat rather than huge plates of pasta.

The point is that it isn’t always necessary to buy information to be free from back pain, even the book I sell isn’t always needed.

Check around on the site here, see what you can find that might help your back pain issue, or other health issue for that mater. I have a different way of looking at things than a lot of people do…but they’re coming around.

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Trigger Point Therapy

by Kalidasa on January 10, 2011

Massage

Trigger point therapy is one of the best methods of reducing or eliminating body aches and pains that I know of. In fact, I can get just about anyone out of pain with a combination of trigger point therapy and my gentle adjusting methods. Let’s explore what trigger points are and how to eliminate them.

What Are Trigger Points?
Trigger points are very small tension areas in a muscle. They are usually between the size of a pin head and a pea though they can get much larger in the bigger muscles.

Cause of Trigger Points
They can be caused by many different factors like strenuous work, stress and emotions. They can also be caused by other trigger points, those caused by other trigger points are called satellite trigger points.

Trigger Points Effect Remote Areas
The area around a trigger point is not where the pain is usually felt. They have a connection with the connective tissue, the fascia, within the muscles. Fascia connections reach far, as a result they can transmit their pain to other muscles through the fascia. This is called myofascial pain syndrome.

How Trigger Points Form
It’s amazing that a small little area can cause so much pain. It’s how they are made that allows them to cause so much pain.

The tension they create is in a very small area, but it is such that segments of individual muscle fibers, which are very short, are pulled to their fullest length and held taught. The tension in just a few hundred individual muscle fibers can cause a lot of pain.

The Pain That Massage Couldn’t Help
Have you ever experienced a pain that just would not go away? Maybe you got a massage, or had friends work on it, or you worked the area yourself, but no mater how much the muscle was worked the pain just wouldn’t go away. The reason is that the pain is referred from a trigger point located far from the area that you had your friends rub so hard.

The good news is that there is consistency in where trigger points send their pain. And, they are easy to release. With a little knowledge a lot of pain can be eliminated with ease.

Finding Trigger Points
Finding them on yourself is incredibly easy. They are usually in the middle of the muscle though this is not always the case. What is always true is that they are incredibly sensitive to pressure. Once you know the general area to look all you need to do is press around until you find it by how sensitive and painful the area is. Also, it may cause a worsening of the pain, or a twitch in the referred area. It will feel like a tight little pea in the muscle when you rub over it.

How To Release Trigger Points
Once you find the right point work you press into it until it hurts a fair amount. About a 7 out of 10 on a pain scale where 10 is unbearable. All you need to do is rub across it 12 to 15 times with that level of pain. Doing this several times throughout the day will eventually eliminate the pressure point. Be careful though, it can quickly come back if you haven’t eliminated the root cause.

Take a little time and feel around on your body to see if you can find any trigger points. I can pretty much guarantee you have a few. You may be surprised to notice the remote area that reacts when you press into a particularly tender point.

Is This Of Interest To You?
Let me know if you’d like more information about trigger point therapy and I’ll see what I can do to bring you more information.

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10 Things You Can Do For Adrenal Fatigue

by Kalidasa on December 27, 2010

Tired Person in Penguin Suit

A few years ago I gave up my practice in Berkeley to do something completely different after my kids grew up. But, I remember those times well. Right now I would be receiving a large order of adrenal supplements and herbs. It’s that time of year again! Here are some suggestions to help you get through.

The adrenal glands really take a big hit when processed foods are added to the equation. And of course, this is the time of year when we do the most indulging, so there are many people who will be needing adrenal support. Perhaps you.

Adrenal Fatigue Herbs And Supplements
The first thing you might consider is taking some herbs and supplements to restore your adrenal glands to a pre-holiday condition. Right now would be a good time to order them so you can have them for after the first. Alcohol really does a number on the adrenal glands. You can read about my favorite adrenal supplements and herbs to find which ones.

Rest
Another thing you can do is what comes naturally. When the adrenals become exhausted they will often cause lethargy, lack of energy, loss of motivation, loss of sex drive, etc. There is a reason why you feel so tired: You need the rest! So, take some time off, let yourself recuperate.

Eat Well
Perhaps just about as obvious as getting rest is to stop eating junk! I guarantee that is the primary cause of seasonal adrenal fatigue. Eat plenty of animal protein and vegetables. Avoid processed foods completely, at least for a few days until you feel better.

Avoid Stress
This may be hard to do as adrenal fatigue will often put people on edge. Couples tend to have more conflicts, work relationships become strained and even friendships can be difficult when there isn’t enough of the feel good hormones that the adrenals produce and cause to be produced.

Exercise
You may not feel like it, but a walk will do wonders for your adrenal glands. Exercise is essential to life as well as recovery. Avoid working out really hard bgecause over exercise can cause adrenal fatigue. A daily walk may be all that you need. Try to go for at least 30 minutes, more if you can, less if you need. One hour five or six times a week is ideal.

Change Your Thinking
Adrenal fatigue can be caused just by negative thoughts. It isn’t very commonly the only cause, but your thinking can definitely affect your health. The easiest thing to do when you notice negative thinking is to think of something very positive. You might even have a few things that you can think of to distract your negative thoughts. Take some time to figure out how you might be able to change your thinking, what you can change it to, but also how you might recognize more quickly that you have fallen into negative thinking.

Breathe
The fight or flight response can be very intense. You probably don’t even realize how intense it is since most people have so much of it it just seems normal. But, you can really help your body just by taking time to breathe. Try to breath in your belly. Lie down and place a hand on your belly and one on your chest and practice belly breathing. This is diaphragmatic breathing which will cause your body to relax. Take slow breaths with a short hold at the top. Allow yourself the time to pay attention to your breathing for at least five minutes.

Meditate
Meditation is not spiritual, but rather a form of self study and introspection. Take time to watch your thinking, to sit with yourself and watch your processes, mental and physical. Notice what your body feels, if you need to move or can you sit still? No judgements, just noticing how you really are. There is nothing to do about how you are, but noticing can help bring the desire to change. Forcing is not allowed, at least not while you’re taking time to be with yourself.

Relax
Many of these suggestions could be called relaxation. What I’m suggesting here though is a conscious effort to set time aside on a regular basis to just relax. It could be a long hot soak, or a trip to the stores, an action flick or anything that is relaxing to you. Even a few minutes at work just closing your eyes for a couple of minutes and focusing on relaxing your body can do a world of good. .

Take A Vacation
It takes a long vacation for most people to have complete relief from stress. I highly recommend that you take a relaxing vacation. Vacation length needs to be one week per ten years of age. So, if you’re 43 you would want to take a little more than four weeks of vacation to fully relax.

With these suggestions you can surely find your way to adrenal health. You can find even more information in my latest book, Adrenal Fatigue, Get Your Life Back.

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Adrenal Fatigue Herbs And Supplements

by Kalidasa on December 26, 2010

Adrenal Glands

A lot of questions come in all the time about what to do for adrenal fatigue. There is one article on adrenal fatigue supplements and herbs the site already with a good protocol that I used with a lot of success. It works better for some people, but most do as well or better with this protocol.

The Phases Of Adrenal Fatigue
There are three phases of compensation that the adrenal glands go through when dealing with stress. The first stage is normal, increased production and release of cortisol, the primary stress hormone, and DHEA, the primary sex hormone precursor. What each of these hormones do and how they are effected by internal and external issues is a very interesting study that would easily fill several books. For now though, just accept that they help the body deal with stress on several levels.

In phase I the adrenal glands produce more cortisol and DHEA to compensate for the stress. The levels go up then down when the stress is over.

When the adrenals start to weaken they compensate by producing less DHEA because sex is far less important than dealing with an immediate threat. This is phase II adrenal compensation.

In phase three compensation the adrenals are too weak to produce both hormones.

These things all happen at irregular intervals with hormone levels showing normal at times, but there is a general loss of these hormones and a degeneration of the individual as the levels continue to drop.

Fight Or Flight
A big part of the protocol for helping the adrenal glands is to get the body out of the fight or flight response. Phase three compensation is basically being stuck in fight flight, phase two compensation is also a degree of fight flight, just not as intense. And, phase I is the normal, deal with the issue, then relax, in and out of flight or flight right away.

Which phase compensation you are in can be determined with a saliva test done at a reputable lab. I give other ways to tell in my book, Adrenal Fatigue, Get Your Life Back. But, most people don’t realize that there is an issue until they are in phase three.

Contraindications
There are contraindications for taking these herbs. Nursing or pregnant women should always consult a professional before taking such a strong protocol. Drenamine in particular should be avoided.

Licorice can raise blood pressure, so that may not be a good idea for some even though the dose suggested here is not high enough to effect most people’s BP. It would still be a good idea to check with a professional first.

Adrenal Fatigue Protocol
Herbs are best taken on an empty stomach, but that doesn’t mater as much as taking them. All herbs are from MediHerb because the quality is far superior to almost every other brand. I have never used them, but Kroeger herbs has a good reputation.

Nevaton Tablets: two or three a day. This is to calm the hypothalamus, to get you out of the fight or flight cycle, so notice the stress levels, see that they reduce. As many as four a day can be taken though you will probably be able to reduce the dosage once things start to feel better.

You can mix the liquid herbs and take them in two doses, morning and around noon. Add water, they’re very strong.

MediHerb Eleuthero Liquid 8 ml
MediHerb Licorice High Grade Liquid 4 ml
Ecchinecia Purpuria Liquid 6 ml (This one is less essential if you need to save some money, but it is just the thing for a lot of people.)

Standard Process supplement dosages are per day, take in two doses morning and night with food
Drenamine 6 Get a big bottle or three, they are great for maintenance @ 4 per day.
Cataplex B 4 Another great supplement as most are short on B6

If you can’t find the supplement and herbs on Amazon or elsewhere you can contact me for them.

Either this protocol or this adrenal fatigue protocol will work for most people. Very serious conditions may need something more. Also, adrenal fatigue naturally leads to other very serious conditions that should be directly dealt with first. At the very least, you can stop consuming processed foods, they are the real culprit in most serious medical conditions anyway.

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How To Find What Ails You

by Kalidasa on December 23, 2010

Quite a few questions come in from people who have some intense issue with varying symptoms. There is one thing that I can recommend to almost everyone as a way of finding their way back to health: find out what food you are sensitive to. Here’s how you figure that out.

Find The Problem
The technique is for anyone with symptoms that are causing them a loss of ability to function in life. It is particularly useful for any gastrointestinal issues. Other issues can be very diverse because allergies can cause many different symptoms.

How It Works
This is the elimination diet. The idea is that some specific food is causing the problem. In many cases it is something that the person consumes often. It is even often something they consider would never be the problem.

The Method
The elimination diet is eliminating all major allergens for three weeks. After which, they are added back gradually to see which causes a reaction.

What To Avoid
The primary foods that cause intense reactions are grains, dairy, sugar, alcohol, caffeine and trans fats. Within the three weeks your symptoms will likely disappear. Keep going for the whole three weeks though, it takes that long to find out what is causing the problem.

Wheat Allergy?

Add Them Back Over Time
After three weeks the body will have adjusted to not having to deal with the problem food, and it goes back to a nice homeostatic state — your symptoms are gone or greatly reduced. Adding the substance back will usually cause a major reaction that will be undeniable. Usually very quickly, but it can come back slowly.

To take care of that you add each item back for three days before adding another. Give it plenty of time to cause a reaction.

For Example
You might start by having some rice every day for three days. If there is no reaction then it is very likely that rice isn’t the problem. On the fourth day you might add in dairy products — you also might want to add dairy back one item at a time; milk, butter, yogurt, etc. You could also have rice since that will have already been eliminated. After three days of dairy add the next food. Keep going until you find the truth.

Speed Up The Process
You can speed things up by adding back the things you really like first. It’s usually something you are drawn to all the time, you might even think that you can’t get along without it, or would not want to get along without it.

The Usual Suspects
The main culprit is usually a grain, often dairy and sugar is almost always involved. Alcohol is often the problem if there is high usage. Trans fats should be avoided at all costs anyway, and they can cause a big reaction.

The most common grain allergens are: wheat, corn and oats. Any other grain can show up as well, but those three are the main ones I have seen. Wheat is by far the most common.

Detox While Your At It
Here’s a suggestion, Standard Process has a very good intestinal cleans program that takes three weeks. This would be the perfect opportunity to do something really good to promote your health. The kit contains all the supplements you will need and the protein shake mix that will replace a good portion of your food. It actually works out to a savings because so much of your food is supplied in the shakes. The only other thing you need are vegetables and a little fruit.

Use the contact tab to let me know if you want to save 20 percent off that kit.

I Know It’s Hard
Doing the elimination diet was one of the hardest things I have ever done. But, it was also one of the best things I ever did for myself. I did it with the cleanse, so I was doubly motivated. The really weird thing is that I pretty much eat this diet all the time now except for dairy. It just felt that good to eat that way. It took time, but the potential for serious disease conditions are almost completely eliminated with a diet free from grains and sugars. Add in a little exercise and you are probably going to live a very long time.

Also, there are things you can do to help out if you really feel too hungry. One thing about Standard Process, they’re practical.

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Sugar Causes Heart Disease

by Kalidasa on November 19, 2010

Coronary Artery Lesion

There is a lot of misinformation out about what causes heart disease. Fat and cholesterol are still supposed to be the big bad guys while studies prove that is not the case. While certain other dietary factors do contribute, sugar and processed foods are the initiators of coronary heart disease. Here’s what junk food does to your arteries.

Blood Sugar Balance
The body keeps a very close tabs on millions of different processes that take place all the time. It maintains balance so everything can happen the way it is supposed to. One of the top priorities is to keep blood sugar levels within certain limits. Very powerful hormones are used to keep that balance. Consuming sugar and processed foods is simply something the body did not evolve to handle, and it has a hard time keeping a good blood sugar balance when they are eaten. The modern addition of processed foods has resulted in a population with blood sugar levels that are chronically too high and too low.

High Blood Sugar Causes Disease
High blood sugar is the beginning of all major illness. The destructive path is different in each case, but the common cause is undeniable. Long known biochemistry as well as recent studies prove this.

What Is Junk Food?
Any sugar or ground up grain in any form.

These processed foods will cause the blood sugar to spike with a corresponding spike in insulin to bring the levels down. And, that excess insulin causes a lot of the same kinds of damage that high sugar does.

Sugar Nicks Artery Walls
High levels of blood sugar causes the nicks in the artery walls that cholesterol patches. Cholesterol is only doing its job, the clog in the artery is caused by the constantly needed repair.

The Obvious Solution
Of course we all know that we should avoid junk food. But, we don’t always think of a sandwich as something that might actually be bad for us, but two slices of bread is like eating 4 teaspoons of table sugar! This is based on the glycemic load, how food affects blood sugar.

Avoiding processed food all the time is not always necessary. After all, what is life without a little enjoyment? But, limits are necessary to insure a long and healthy life. Eating a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables and having a little treat after is the best way to mitigate the problems that processed foods cause.

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What Is Stress?

by Kalidasa on November 15, 2010

Stress Face

What is stress? is the top question that has been coming in lately. Technically stress is a chemical reaction in the body. There are different causes of stress, but what is important is how the body responds. Let’s look at some causes of stress as well as the reaction that happens in the body.

Stress Is A Response
Stress is the body’s response to one or more extremes. The extreme can be almost anything; temperature, junk food, intense emotions, toxic exposure, injury, over-exercising, too little sleep, etc. The body’s response is the same no mater what the cause.

Fight Flight Response To Stress
The body responds primarily by releasing powerful hormones that prepare the body for fight or flight. The heart beats faster, breathing increases, blood vesicles open filling the muscles with fuel, the mind and vision sharpen and focus on the threat. Every fiber screams to get the hell out of there or attack whatever is needed. The body is thrown into overdrive by hormones that affect the body deeply.

A few thousand years ago this worked great. Most stress factors we have today were nonexistent then. The air, water and food were pure — OK, there were microbes, that was one of our biggest threats, not really talking about that one here. But, there was no junk food, traffic, or getting into conflict with no release for those intense chemical changes. Basically our ancestors experienced as much stress in 40 years the typical westerner does in less than a year.

Release Is Needed
The fight or flight chemical changes that allow the body to survive intense situations are toxic or at least harmful to the system. So, they need to be cleared from the system. Using up the chemicals while running away or fighting for dear life is natures way of dealing dissipating them. We don’t get to do that very often in the modern world.

Chronic Fight Flight
Stuffing down the reaction to daily stress leads to the body being in a constant state of fight or flight. The body becomes “hyper-vigilant” where there is a constant tension, a preparation, for running or fighting. This not normal or healthy though it is quite common.

Body Systems Are Shut Off
There are systems that are not needed when the body readies itself for battle, so they are shut off. Digestion, reproduction, sex, cellular repair, the immune system, detoxification, even the absorption of nutrients are all turned off or seriously impaired. This is discussed in this article on how the hypothalamus gets locked “on.”

How To Reduce Stress
There is a cycle of having more stress as a reaction to stress, a self perpetuating situation. Relaxing herbs for stress and a long vacation will end this cycle, in most cases. Applied Kinesiology has techniques for changing this quickly.

A fairly new and very easy technique that I have been using lately can be found in The Emotion Code
by Bradley Nelson. There is a problem with finding the emotions though. And, there are several levels of the fight or flight mechanism. I’ll see about presenting this information if there is enough interest. Let me know in the comments below.

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Relaxing Herbs To Calm The HPA Axis

by Kalidasa on November 4, 2010

Corpse Pose-Relaxation

Recently I wrote on stress and depression. Since then I’ve gotten a few emails asking what kind of herbs are good for calming the hypothalamus.

HPA Axis
The hypothalamus is what tells the pituitary that there is a stressful situation. The pituitary tells the adrenal glands that help for dealing with stress is needed. The adrenal glands produce stress hormones that, among other things, tells the hypothalamus there is a stressful situation. The loop can continue even if the stressor is removed.

Herbs Are Individual
The best herbs for one person may not be the best for another. Fortunately, there are formulas that take a broad approach. This offers a synergistic affect that is often needed with herbs, and there is more variety so broad spectrum formulas are more likely to have something for most people.

Herb Quality
One of the biggest problems with herbs is quality. That is why I use MediHerb when I can because their standards are the highest. That’s not practical for most people though for several reasons. You can buy national brands as a good second choice, but be sure to get a formula that is made from powdered herbs, lose or in capsules. Look for formulas that are designed for helping cope with stress.

Nevaton is probably the best relaxing herb that MediHerb has. I have seen it work well for almost everyone who uses it. One tablet two or three times a day works for most people. Increase to four a day if needed.

Calming Herbs
Here is a list of some common nervine herbs, a western classification for herbs that help to calm.
immature oat seeds
passion flower
lemon balm
hops
kava kava
lavender
lenden
motherwort
skullcap
verbena

A lot of people include St, Johns wort. That is fine if it has a good effect on you, but it is more for depression than anxiety or stress and may not help ease the issue the way other herbs do. Also, it’s best avoided if you are on most medications.

Valerian is also recommended by some herbalists. It is more of a tranquilizer, more for acute stress. Also, its effects tend to diminish if used too frequently.

Calming Herbal Formula Examples
Here are the ingredients of a formula that has helped a few people I know: chamomile, passion flower, fennel seeds, hops, freverfew and marshmallow

Another formula that has been helpful for a couple of people I know: passion flower, kava kava, Siberian ginseng, gotu kola, kola nut, schizandra, wood betony and lavender flower

Herbs are best taken on an empty stomach. However, many people find it more convenient to take supplements at meals.

If your dealing with adrenal fatigue, These herbs will help most people that are dealing with adrenal fatigue. Take them two or three times a day, more if you feel. Most are pretty benign, but be sure to head any warning labels, or find what the best dose for you. You are sure to notice the effect fairly soon.

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