Life is our ride

I like writing articles on health because it is such an important part of living. Top of the line this time is Bowen therapy.

My son had been suffering from a dull persistent headache for three months. The timing this, just as he was about to start school, was not good at all so frantically I went everywhere. I even went to a conventional doctor just to find out if maybe it was his sinuses. I even agreed to a drug test even though I was totally sure he was not taking any drugs.
Finally the therapy that made the difference was Bowen therapy. This is a very non-invasive technique of touching key body parts in a certain way in the belief that given a little prodding the body can heal itself.

Whatever the theory, if it works, it works. For my son Roberto, this treatment worked. The initial treatment was given by Rita Hart, a visiting expert from Australia. She comes once a year to give training. When she left Vita Clave, a Filipina who she trained took over. She came for three Sundays and said that my son needed to rest for two to three weeks. Let the body heal. I am just relieved that his complaints have stopped and he is feeling so much better. She charges P1,500 a home visit but you need to give her money for transportation. Since she lives in Quezon City, what I do is have my car pick her up and bring her home. Vita has also done work with the children of Bantay Bata with visible success. For children with the most severe cases of physical abuse, Bowen therapy has helped relax muscles that have “frozen” from trauma; thus the net effect is the children become more erect and more aligned.
Even my staff from Bantay Bata has tried Bowen. The first effect is it makes you sleepy.

A painful lump was removed from the nape of Girlie Aragon, deputy director of Bantay Bata, through this therapy. It had been bothering her for a long time and no massage had been able to address the discomfort. (You may call Vita at 0919-244880, if you are interested to try this therapy.)

Here are some health principles I abide by:

• I am really careful about what I put in my body. I am not going to live forever and I do not want to be sick by the time I go. I want to live a productive life even until D-Day. The body is a mechanism — it is key that we are discerning about what we put inside it. As a rule I keep away from white sugar (gives a “kick” then makes me sleepy), white flour (pasty consistency really bad for the digestive system) and gluten (it gives me mucous). I make it a point to eat only organic or natural. The idea of putting pesticides and other chemicals inside of me doesn’t make sense. I take mostly fruits and vegetables — and even then, I make sure my cook has soaked them in a solution to take out the chemicals, if there are any. When I eat out with my kids the rules have to adjust a little since I have no control over the kind of veggies a restaurant serves. Even the method of cooking is important to me. I do not like overcooked food. Lightly cooked is always better. Once my cook boiled the broccoli in water and she threw the water away! I told her, “Ming! Tinatapon mo lahat ng lakas — ang nutrients!” (You are throwing away all the nutrients!) I prefer grilled foods. In spite of all these “rules” I actually eat well. I like tasty foods. I also eat yoghurt twice daily for my calcium needs.

• In terms of medication, I shy away from pharmaceuticals. I just recently had a procedure where the doctor insisted on antibiotics. I told him not to worry. I will take natural antibiotics. What I have been doing for over a decade is taking mega doses of vitamin C (6,000 mg or more). One urinates it out anyway so it can never be harmful. I take garlinys (fresh garlic will also do). I take echinacea and olive stone extract. Whatever is in the bottle (which is for maintenance) I double or triple it since it is for therapeutic purposes. If it works, it works. In the past 15 years, I can only remember getting a fever once, about seven years ago, and it only lasted a day. It must be two decades now since I’ve had any major illness (right now, I can’t even remember being sick). Mind you, I go to the estero regularly. I just don’t get sick. I did the same regimen with my kids ‘ and they don’t get sick like other kids do. So I know that I am doing the right thing.

• I am currently doing hormonal treatment at Rapha Medical. It is plant-based which is why I agreed to the treatment. It’s normal that our hormones will get depleted over time, so why not reactivate the hormonal system with plant-based hormones? That makes sense to me. I also do regular chelation, which is a procedure of taking away the toxins from the system. It’s the toxins that age us and cause disease. We live in a toxic environment so flushing out toxins from the system regularly makes a lot of sense.

• For detoxification, I do a lemonade fast twice a year. This is a procedure of just taking lemon, organic Grade B maple syrup, and only cayenne pepper. It’s two tablespoons of maple syrup, two tablespoons of maple syrup, a dash of cayenne pepper in eight ounces of water. The prescription is 10 days. It’s the best! Invariably I feel a lot of energy during the fast. It feels so good to be “clean”! I usually do this after the Christmas break (after heavy-duty eating) and in the middle of the year.

• Exercise. This should be a critical component of one’s regular schedule. Otherwise the body gets lethargic, and slowly degenerates. It’s also good for will power, and if it is done in nature, so much the better.

• Excursions into nature are vital for health. Since I have a busy schedule what I have done is surround myself with as much nature as I can. I told my landscaper I want to live in a forest. So I have a garden on every floor. My bedroom is surrounded by plants. I have no walls. My meditation room is like I am in the middle of a forest. Even my boundary wall is a vertical garden. Greenery is so very healing. Plants produce oxygen, which is good for our health. It feels good.

• Lastly, and to me the most important, is my meditation. I do not leave the house without starting the day right. The more access and communication we have with Divine Energies, the better. What is also helping me now is that I have crystals everywhere in the house. It has created an energetic field I can rest upon. Meditation is so important, otherwise we get stuck in our mind. In fact, more often than not, the onset of meditation is unwinding from thoughts that generally habituate the mind. Settling this and getting glimpses of what is beyond is very good exercise. Just like we exercise our physical bodies, this is exercise for our subtle bodies. The effort to go beyond — get infusions of light and love from above — is my regular, non-negotiable staple. 

We have this life. And it isn’t easy. In fact, it can be complicated, especially if we are complicated. The challenge is to be able to navigate it — with your higher forces intact and winning major “battles” every step of the way. It can be done. We just need to have a game plan for life. A vision of where we want to go, who we want to be, and an indefatigable optimism that things will get better — even if it doesn’t seem that way sometimes. It’s how we take life that determines our reality. So don’t beat yourself on the head. Everyone makes mistakes. We look ahead. We move forward. We learn — and learn and learn — every step of the way. Not just in our mind, but we let our spirit learn how to move forward.

Remember this. You are not alone. There are higher forces guiding us every step of the way. If you are still, and then open your heart and soul during your silent moments — just open up and, in your vulnerability, receive — you might be pleasantly surprised at the healing and strengthening energy that comes in.

Life is good. We ride it.

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I can be reached at regina_lopez@abs-cbn.com.