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Exercise Everyday, Keep Diabetes Away!
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Down with Diabetes
 Type II diabetes is a ubiquitous disease in today's modern world, so most people know that it can be prevented, and to a certain extent controlled, by a healthy lifestyle that includes the right food and exercise. But that's easier said than done.
Even though we know something is good for us, that knowledge does'n always help us overcome the inertia to do it. So even though the American Diabetes Association recommends at least 30 minutes per day of activity that increases your heart rate and breaks a light sweat, as well as strength training and flexibility exercises, if you've been a couch potato lately, achieving this level may seem like a daunting goal.
One way to make it easier is by starting with a smaller goal and building upward. Choose an activity that is simple and doable, but highly effective—like yoga. Dahn Yoga, since you can do its active and fun exercises within the limits of your ability and still benefit from them, is especially helpful. Through Dahn Yoga, you naturally want to be more active and eat healthy foods.
John is one of the many people who have been able to lower their blood sugar with regular Dahn Yoga practice:
“I was diagnosed with type II diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. I was taking six different medications daily! While attending the classes three days a week, I lost 46 pounds. My blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol are all in excellent control and I only take half a pill a day.”
The best way of learning and practicing Dahn Yoga regularly is by attending classes at a center. But if that is too big a step at first, or if you don't live near one, the following regimen is a simple yet effective one for you to follow.
Before beginning, create the mindset:
- "I will try to reactivate my natural healing system."
- Don't resist any pain or discomfort your body feels, but rather face it and accept it with compassion.
Do this first phase of exercises for three months:
- For 5-10 minutes, several times a day, wiggle your fingers and toes while in a relaxed position. Remember to exhale through your mouth and feel your breath as you do it. This exercise will help recover the natural ki energy flow in your body and increase blood circulation. It's important for diabetics to recover the blood and energy circulation of the fingers and toes first.
- Next do dahn-jon tapping, starting with 100 times and building up to 1000 times. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and parallel to each other with your knees bent slightly. Keep your back straight and shoulders relaxed. Use the pinky side of both fists, not held tightly, to tap your abdomen two inches below your navel. If you are not able to stand, you can also tap in a sitting position. Exhale with your mouth open slightly.
 If you can't go to class, but still want to follow an instructor at home, there are a couple of Dahn Yoga DVDs available. Dahn Yoga Essentials matches the class you would find at a Dahn Yoga center, and Dahn Yoga for Multiple Sclerosis and Similar Conditions has a class geared toward people with limited mobility. Whatever your situation, there is a way to start on the road to a healthy lifestyle today.
Keeping the Holidays Happy
Happy holidays...tressful holidays. They both seem to go hand in hand at the end of the year. It can be so easy to slip into unhealthy habits as your time shrinks and food, especially deserts, becomes more plentiful.
To offset the forces pulling you toward unhealthy habits, it's helpful to find one small, healthy, stress-relieving action that you can keep up with regularly.
One example is deep abdominal breathing with the added boost of Mago Healing Power stones. Made with highly energetic soil from the red rock vortexes of Sedona, Arizona, and molded into healing shapes and symbols, these four powerful stones can enhance your energy and vitality.
While lying on your back, place your hands at your sides at a 45 degree angle with your body and your palms facing the ceiling. Place the largest stone on your navel, the middle-sized stone halfway between your navel and the bottom of your sternum, and each of the smallest stone in each palm. This placement is especially effective for any stomach issues you may have.
Let your abdomen rise as you breathe in and fall as you breathe out. Feel your breath as it enters and exits your body. Even just five minutes of this breathing meditation a day can off-set holiday madness. These stones will soon be at your local Dahn Yoga Center. Ask the center's staff for availability.
If you find it difficult to be consistent at first, keep doing the exercise as much as you can. It's known to take twenty-one days of consistent practice to make an action a habit. Doing it with a friend or relative can make keeping this one healthy holiday habit easier.
 If you want to deepen the exercise and really see its effect on you, keep a journal of your daily progress and reactions. To help you, the Twenty-One Day Journal has motivational messages from Ilchi Lee and guidance on watching and recording your daily practice to help you along.
Soon you'll see that your holidays become jollier as you breathe your stress away every day.
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Special Offer:
Give the gift of health this holiday season to yourself and your loved ones!
This month you can get 1 month of unlimited classes free with a 3-month membership at a participating Dahn Yoga Center.
Visit www.DahnYoga.com to find a center online and join!
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