December 3, 2014

How to naturally clean your respiratory system in 3 days

As many of you may know, I'm absolutely prone to getting sinus infections, bronchitis, pneumonia... any type of respiratory infection. My current sinus infection is my fourth one this year and I refuse to go to the doctor for another blast of antibiotics.

On a natural remedy search, I recently found an article in wesupportorganic.com about a 3-day lung cleanse. Since sinuses are a part of the respiratory system, I assumed it would work the same.


- Two days prior to the cleanse, abstain from eating any type of dairy. Casein, the natural protein in dairy products can promote the formation of mucus. Many health professionals, such as Dr. Weil, advise abstaining for more than two months!

- The night before the cleanse, drink a cup of herbal tea before going to bed. This will release toxins in the intestines.

- Drink 2 squeezed lemons in 300ml of water before breakfast. Lemons are packed with vitamin C, an immune-boosting antioxidant. I like to eat something right away to diffuse the acidity in my empty stomach.

- Drink 300ml of grapefruit juice or pineapple juice. These have more vitamin C and other natural antioxidants that help clear your lungs.

- Drink 300ml of carrot juice. This will alkalize your blood during the cleanse.

- Drink 400ml of juice rich in potassium during lunch. Potassium acts as a tonic for cleaning.

- Drink 400ml of cranberry juice before bed. The phenols in it helps break down infections. I chose to buy a large bottle of organic cranberry juice (NOT FROM CONCENTRATE) to use as my potassium-rich juice and before-bedtime juice.

- Go on a run, take a walk, practice some vinyasa flow to get some cardiovascular exercise in there. Nothing too crazy, especially if you are trying to heal your body.

- Take a hot shower and breathe in the steam.

-Before bed every night, drop 5-10 drops of eucalyptus essential oil into a pot of hot water and breathe it in until it cools. I like to use my humidifier for 10 minutes.

- (optional) I drink a cup of ayurvedic tea every day: lemon, ginger, turmeric, and honey.

You'll notice that this cleanse includes A LOT of liquid. No worries, take your time drinking. I chose to do this on my days off work so I wouldn't have to worry about a schedule.

I'm currently on Day 3 and it really works! Last night I was able to breath through both nostrils, which I haven't experienced in a month. Unfortunately, this means I'll probably have to taking dairy out of my diet forever.

Another helpful resource I found to heal chronic sinus infections naturally is on howstuffworks.com.

Did the cleanse work for you? Post a comment and let me know!

December 2, 2014

An Exploration into the Possibilities of the Human Wanderer

I recently stumbled upon a piece posted by Jordan of Spirit Science (http://thespiritscience.net/author/patchman/). It is a beautiful rendition of Carl Sagan's book Pale Blue Dot, a philosophical vision into humanity's future. I highly advise to watch in HD.




For all its material advantages, the sedentary life has left us edgy, unfulfilled. Even after 400 generations in villages and cities, we haven't forgotten. The open road still softly calls, like a nearly forgotten song of childhood. We invest far-off places with a certain romance. This appeal, I suspect, has been meticulously crafted by natural selection as an essential element in our survival. Long summers, mild winters, rich harvests, plentiful game--none of them lasts forever. It is beyond our powers to predict the future. Catastrophic events have a way of sneaking up on us, of catching us unaware. Your own life, or your band's, or even your species' might be owed to a restless few--drawn by a craving they can hardly articulate or understand, to undiscovered lands and new worlds.

Herman Melville, in Moby Dick, spoke for wanderers in all epochs and meridians: "I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas..."

Maybe it's a little early. Maybe the time is not quite yet. But those other worlds--promising untold opportunities--beckon.

Silently, they orbit the Sun, waiting...