Against Evil Eye

This yantra, shown, should be written on the paper and used around neck by putting it in talisman. The effects of the “evil eye” and “souls” will be removed and one remains protected from such effects. Write the name of person at the bottom.

Note: For record purposes only.

Source: Secrets of Yantra, Mantra and Tantra

When a child weeps too much during the day or night or during sleep.

When a child weeps too much during the day or night or during sleep, or gets frightened in sleep and sees dreadful dreams either of the yantras can be used around the neck for relief.

Note: For record purposes only.

Source: Secrets of Yantra, Mantra and Tantra

For Evil Eye

Shows a yantra which is highly effective in those cases in which a child has been affected by the “evil eye”. The yantra should written on paper with black ink and be engraved or embossed on copper or stainless steel plate and put around the child’s neck.

Another use of this yantra is for the child who weeps too much, remains sick up to the age of 3 or who urinates in the night. The use of this yantra will alleviate the problem.

 

 

Note: For record purposes only.

Source: Secrets of Yantra, Mantra and Tantra

DHYANA VIIRASANA (Hero's Meditation Pose) - Healing Yoga Asanas

Sit with both legs straight in front of the body. Bend the left leg underneath the right leg so that the left heel is touching the right buttock.

Bring the right leg over the top of the bent left leg so that the right heel touches the left buttock.

Adjust the right knee so that it is above the left knee. Place the hands either on the right knee, one on top of the other, or on top of each foot, whichever is comfortable. Hold the head, neck and back straight.

Close the eyes and relax the whole body.

Be aware of the breath at the nose tip.

Benefits: This asana is quite easy and comfortable to sustain for long periods of time as a comparatively large area of the body is in contact with the floor. It is a useful alternative to other meditation asanas. The legs and hips are not rotated outwards as in the other meditation postures, rather the knees are brought to the centre. This affects the pelvic structure and stretches the outer rather than the inner muscles of the thigh. This position also massages and tones the pelvic and reproductive organs.

PADMASANA (Lotus Pose) - Healing Yoga Asanas

Sit with the legs straight in front of the body. Slowly and carefully bend one leg and place the foot on top of the opposite thigh. The sole should face upward and the heel should be close to the pubic bone. When this feels comfortable, bend the other leg and place the foot on top of the opposite thigh.

Both knees should, ideally, touch the ground in the final position.

The head and spine should be held upright and the shoulders relaxed.

Place the hands on the knees in chin or jnana mudra. Relax the arms with the elbows slightly bent and check that the shoulders are not raised or hunched. Close the eyes and relax the whole body.

Observe the total posture of the body. Make the necessary adjustments by moving forward or backward until balance and alignment are experienced. Perfect alignment indicates the correct posture of padmasana.

Contra-indications: Those who suffer from sciatica, sacral infections or weak or injured knees should not perform this asana. This asana should not be attempted until flexibility of the knees has been developed through practice of the pre-meditation asanas.

Benefits: Padmasana allows the body to be held completely steady for long periods of time. It holds the trunk and head like a pillar with the legs as the firm foundation. As the body is steadied the mind becomes calm. This steadiness and calmness is the first step towards real meditation. Padmasana directs the flow of prana from mooladhara chakra in the perineum, to sahasrara chakra in the head, heightening the experience of meditation.

This posture applies pressure to the lower spine which has a relaxing effect on the nervous system. The breath becomes slow, muscular tension is decreased and blood pressure is reduced. The coccygeal and sacral nerves are toned as the normally large blood flow to the legs is redirected to the abdominal region. This activity also stimulates the digestive process.

Matsya Kridasana (flapping fish pose) - Healing Yoga Asanas

Lie on the stomach with the fingers interlocked under the head. Bend the left leg sideways and bring the left knee close to the ribs.

The right leg should remain straight. Swivel the arms to the left and rest the left elbow on the left knee. If this is not comfortable, rest it on the floor. Rest the right side of the head on the crook of the right arm, or a little further down the arm for more comfort. Relax in the final pose and, after some time, change sides. This position resembles a flapping fish.

Breathing: Normal and relaxed in the static pose.

Duration: Practise this asana for as long as possible on both sides. It may also be used for sleeping and resting.

Awareness: Physical - on the breath and relaxing the whole body.

Spiritual - on manipura chakra.

Benefits: This asana stimulates digestive peristalsis by stretching the intestines and helps remove constipation. It relieves sciatic pain by relaxing the nerves in the legs. People with backache, for whom the practice of forward bending asanas is not recommended, may practise matsya kridasana as a counterpose after backward bending asanas. In the later months of pregnancy, lying on the back may cause pressure over major veins and block the circulation. In such circumstances, this posture is ideal for relaxing, sleeping or practising yoga nidra. The bent knee and the head may be supported on a pillow for further comfort. This asana also redistributes excess weight around the waistline.

TREATMENT OF UPPER DIGISTIVE DYSFUNCTION

Acupuncture

There are many ways of treating the ‘liver’ by acupuncture:

1. Dorsalls pedis/dorsal interosseous area. Liv3 (LV3)
2. Lower ribs anteriorly; a large area extending say 7 cm vertically and 15 cm horizontally. Liv14 S19 G24 (LV14 ST19 GB24)
3. Spinous processes or interspinous ligaments of T8 to T12 or the sacrospinalis at this level. Gv9 to Gv6 and B17 to B20 (GV9 to GV6 and BL17 to BL20)
4. Sometimes a needle anywhere in the leg is sufficient; sometimes a needle anywhere in the upper abdomen, lower chest or back at the same level.

Diet:

Raw fruit and vegetables is the way to heaven, but hell on earth.

Rich food
Many illnesses and general ill-health in Western countries are caused, at least partially, by our Western diet, which is too ‘rich’. In poor, Third World countries, with their frugal diet, some of the illnesses which we have in the West are a rarity.

Chinese medical books, written 2000 years ago, give a list of many illnesses which have a greater tendency to occur in wealthy Chinese who eat a rich diet, something a poor peasant could not do. By ‘rich’ was meant too much fat, oil or sweetness.

The following ‘rich’ items should be reduced, though not given up completely.

Fats
The fat should be cut off meat and the skin (which is fatty) should be removed from chicken. Meat consumption should be reduced a little, as there is still fat between the meat fibres. Pâté and sausages usually contain a high proportion of fat. Game, which runs or flies around in the wild, usually has less fat than farmed animals. 

Milk contains a lot of fat, as may be seen from looking at a normal bottle of milk. One should therefore have skimmed milk, not semi-skimmed. Also reduce the consumption of butter, cream, cheese, yogurt made from unskimmed milk, etc.

Oils
All vegetable oils should be reduced, particularly olive oil, which is the hardest to digest. Other oils should also be reduced: corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, soya oil, etc.This means a reduction of fried food, mayonnaise, French salad dressing (containing oil), margarine. Nuts and avocados also contain much oil. 

Sugar
Sugar of all types (glucose, dextrose, fructose, sucrose, whether made from cane or beet, white or brown, as well as honey) should be reduced.This means no sugar in tea and coffee; also a reduction in jam, cake, biscuits, ice cream and many soft drinks, squashes and fizzy lemonades. Remember that dried fruit contains more sugar than fresh fruit, which is why it is sweet.

Other items
All forms of alcohol, coffee and chocolate should be reduced drastically. Eggs, smoked salmon and caviar should be eaten only in moderation.

Someone who has eaten too much rich food for many years may no longer notice the effect it has on him,much as an alcoholic may drink several whiskies with little effect, whilst a teetotaller may feel the effect of a single whisky. After one has stopped or considerably reduced the consumption of rich food for several months, one may become sensitive (like a teetotaller) to rich food, so that if one suddenly consumes more than a limited amount one may feel heavy, overfull, slightly headachy, have a thick head, nausea, a dry, bitter or bad taste in the mouth, a feeling like a very mild hangover. The French would call it being ‘livery’. It may occur within seconds or 24 hours of excessive consumption. This ‘feeling livery’ is the best guide one can have as to how much rich food one can eat or drink with relative impunity. Some people feel livery with items other than those on this list – these items should be avoided. Others never experience being livery and they cannot use this test. 

Gross overeating of any type of food may have the same effect as eating moderately too much rich food.

Some people are hypersensitive to certain foodstuffs (nothing to do with rich food), chemical additives, etc.This may cause a large variety of illnesses or symptoms, and a cure depends on excluding the offending item or items.This is not the same as the intolerance of ‘rich food’ mentioned above, though both conditions may coexist.

I feel I am ideally qualified to write about the ‘liver’ as I am livery myself, and hence have repeatedly experienced many of the symptoms mentioned in this chapter. There is no need for me to read a book about the subject, for I can practically experience the symptoms within myself when patients relate their history to me.

I do not know why I am livery. I presume it might be because I grew up in an era when most people thought that rich food was good for you. Thereafter I became addicted to rich food andtended to eat more and more. If I eat a healthy meal I feel I am eating rabbit food, and if I have half a day free I feel it has not been consummated without a visit to a patisserie.

If I eat too much rich food, the following almost invariably happens, alas! I feel heavy, my brain works less well, I partially lose my mental and physical drive; I have a pain on the right/posterior side of the neck; I also have a pain on the left side of my head stretching along a line from the middle of the forehead above the eye, over the scalp to halfway along the lambdoid suture some 5 cm from the midline (corresponding roughly to part of the course of the supraorbital and greater occipital nerves or the gall bladder meridian from G14 to G19 – GB14 to GB19). If this continues for a long time I have discomfort in the area of the left tonsil, as if I had mild tonsillitis; my bowel motions become slightly soft, a little pale and occasionally actually loose. I may develop acne.

This concept of the liver I find extraordinarily important in my practice of acupuncture and I am always astounded that it is hardly known in the Anglo-Saxon world. Possibly a third of my patients are ‘livery’ whatever else they may have in addition. It is a great pity that they remain mostly untreated due to the paucity of objective, scientific data – most doctors only believing in patients’ symptoms if they can find something objective.

FELIX MANN
MB, BChir (Cambridge), LMCC
Founder of The Medical Acupuncture Society
President: 1959‒1980
First President of The British Medical Acupuncture Society (1980)
Deutscher Schmerzpreis 1995

MERIDIAN EXERCISES; THE MAKKO-HO

Shiatsu Theory and Practice

This series of exercises will be familiar to most Shiatsu students, since they almost always accompany introductory classes. However, for the student who does not know them they are included here as helpful recommendations. When recommending a Makko-Ho exercise, the giver can suggest one for the meridian that is Kyo; not only will this tonify the meridian through emphasizing the fascial connections but it will also focus the receiver on an aspect of the cycle of Ki which he is neglecting in his life. It is, in addition, likely to be easier to do than the exercise for the Jitsu meridian. When teaching the exercise, the giver should stress that it is to be done slowly, without effort and always moving on the outbreath, as these concepts are usually unfamiliar to Western receivers.

Lung and Large Intestine
Stand with your feet a shoulders' width apart, knees "soft" (not locked) and link your thumbs behind your back. Breathe deeply into your Hara. Stretch your fingers out and imagine your body filling with Ki to the fingertips. Now breathe out and, as you do so, bend forward into the position shown in illustration, keeping your fingers stretched out and relaxing as much as you can.

Lung and Large Intestine Makko-Ho

Still in the position shown, breathe deeply again into the Hara and, as you breathe out, concentrate on letting go all tension and all thought. Feel your body relax. Breathe in once more, imagining yourself taking in new Ki, and breathe out again, relaxing and letting go still more. Breathe in deeply once more and, as you breathe out, come slowly to an upright position. The exercise can be repeated with the thumbs linked the other way around.

Stomach and Spleen
This exercise is usually taught in three stages, but in my experience only the most limber can accomplish the third stage, and even the second stage may be a strain. The giver should teach only the stages which are possible for the receiver, and emphasize that he should not go beyond what is comfortable.

Stage 1 - Kneel on a padded surface such as a thick carpet or futon; sit between your heels if possible, sit on your heels if you cannot sit between them, and sit on a cushion placed between your ankles if you can do neither. Breathe deeply into your Hara. As you breathe out, rest your hands facing backward on the floor behind you, and lean your torso backwards. Relax your neck and let your head fall back. Look behind you, rolling your eyes upward.  Repeat for two cycles of breath. This stage of the exercise stretches the upper part of the Stomach and Spleen meridians, in the chest, throat and face, and the lower part in the knees, shins and feet.

Spleen and Stomach Makko-Ho - stage 1

If this stage is as much as the receiver can manage he can come back to upright on the fourth out breath. If he could use slightly more of a stretch, he should be encouraged to lift his pelvis up and forwards if he comfortably can, to stretch some of the rest of the meridian while breathing out.

Stage 2 - On the next outbreath, lean back further on to your elbows. Continue to keep your head relaxed backwards. Stay in this position for two cycles of breath. This position stretches the meridians down to the groin.

Spleen and Stomach Makko-Ho - stage 2

Stage 3 - On the next outbreath, if you can, lay your body back on to the floor, with your arms stretched above your head. Relax for two cycles of breath. This final stage stretches the front of the hips and thighs and increases the stretch to the rest of the body. The stretch is increased the more the knees are drawn together.

Spleen and Stomach Makko-Ho - stage 3

Heart and Small Intestine
Sit on the floor, with the soles of your feet touching, your legs relaxed outwards and your back upright. Breathe in deeply and clasp your toes. As you breathe out, relax your head, neck and torso forward between your knees, allowing your elbows to relax towards the floor. Stay in the position for two cycles of breath, allowing yourself to relax into it more on each outbreath, and come up on the fourth outbreath.

Heart and Small Intestine Makko-Ho

Although this exercise is hard on the hips and thighs at first, with practice your legs will relax outwards, allowing your torso to curl downwards more and focusing your Ki in the centre of your chest. As this happens, your elbows will reach further towards the floor, stretching the Small Intestine meridian in the shoulders and arms.

Kidneys and Bladder
This exercise is a slightly modified version of the Yoga forward bend; the modifications are important, however, since they add forward impetus to the stretch.

Sit with your legs straight out in front of you, but relaxed outwards. Breathe in and, as you do so, stretch your whole spine upwards and stretch your arms above your head, palms facing out. Breathe out and, as you do, lean forwards, flexing at the hips but with a straight back and straight legs. Breathe in again into your Kara and, as you breathe out, reach as far forward between your feet as you can. Imagine the motive force propelling you forward from your sacrum.

Bladder and Kidney Makko-Ho

 Breathe in again and, on the outbreath, allow your body to relax down towards your legs and rest. Breathe in again and, on the outbreath, uncurl your body, vertebra by vertebra, bringing your head up last.

Heart Protector and Triple Heater
Sit cross-legged, with your back straight. Cross your arms and place your hands on your knees, with the outside arm on the same side as the outside or uppermost leg. Breathe in deeply and, on the outbreath, relax your body downwards towards the floor. Allow your hips to spread and  settle if you do not feel enough of a stretch, or "walk" your hands further apart on your knees.

Heart Protector and Triple Heater Makko-Ho

Hold the position for two cycles of breath and, on the fourth outbreath, come back to the upright position. Repeat, crossing your legs and arms the other way around.

Liver and Gall Bladder
Sit on the floor, with your legs as far apart as you can while keeping your spine upright. Link your fingers and stretch your arms above your head, palms up. Breathe in deeply and turn to look at your right foot. Breathe out and lean your body sideways towards your left, stretching your arms out towards your left foot. You should be facing your right foot still, and not your left knee! Hold the position and relax into it for two cycles of breath, then come up on the fourth outbreath and repeat the sequence to the other side.

Gall Bladder and Liver Makko-Ho

If you are quite "stretchy", you can complete the sequence by stretching your palms forward in front of you on the next outbreath, leaning forward from the hip joints with a straight back, relaxing into the position for two cycles of breath and coming up on the fourth outbreath.

MODERN RESEARCH ON PAIN CONTROL BY ACUPUNCTURE

Over the past thirty years, both patients and professionals have been asking questions about how acupuncture works in a modern, scientific sense? What are the mechanisms? Is there any scientific evidence that supports the effectiveness of acupuncture?

In order to reply to these questions, since the 1970s scientists and practitioners both in China and in other countries have been conducting a number of scientific studies and clinical trials, which are described in this section. This research has tended to substantiate the ancient theories of traditional Chinese medicine. Other recent research has revealed that human beings are complex bioelectric systems (Becker 1985),and on this basis the mechanics of acupuncture can now be better understood.

To date, a few theories have been suggested concerning these questions.

PAIN CONTROL BY TCM

In Western medicine it is quite common to find or be told that doctors are unable to find the real cause of pain in patients even after extensive examination. Patients are often told: 'There is nothing wrong with you', or 'Sorry, we can do nothing about it, and you'll have to learn to live with it' or even 'It is all in your head'. It is poor practice, however, for a doctor to make such comments to patients; they don't have to live in pain. Fortunately, since acupuncture has acquired a very good reputation as a treatment for relieving pain, many physicians are now referring their patients for an acupuncture or herbal evaluation, or patients are starting to investigate the potential of acupuncture and herbal treatment for themselves. 

In terms of pain control, the effects of Chinese herbal and acupuncture treatment include:

•  to relieve pain completely, or give as much relief as possible
•  to reduce pain levels
•  to improve the ability to deal with pain
•  to regulate the emotions
•  to increase the energy
•  to increase the ability to perform everyday functions
•  to enhance the quality of life
•  to reduce reliance on inappropriate medications. 

Points from different channels are, according to TCM theory, energetically connected to specific organs and body structures. The purpose of acupuncture treatment for pain is to use selected points on these channels to activate Qi and Blood circulation, and balance Yin and Yang. During the treatment, moxibustion and point massage are also often applied simultaneously. 

Acupuncture treatment for pain is varied and based largely on what is causing the patient's suffering; the treatments for acute and chronic pain are often quite different. In chronic pain  patients, treatment that had  roved useful for acute pain management may lose its effectiveness, be inappropriate or even be counterproductive. 

The Chinese do not limit the use of Chinese herbs and acupuncture to alleviating pain; they use combinations of herbs and acupuncture to treat the whole range of diseases that are encountered in association with the pain. These include TCM therapies for hypertension, hypotension, allergy, asthma, diabetes, stomach ulcers, depression, infections, etc. It is clear that many diseases respond better to modem medicine, whereas some may respond better to Chinese herbal medicines and acupuncture. However, in the majority of cases Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture may either be a reasonable alternative for, or be used in conjunction with modem medicine. For this reason all TCM schools and universities in China continue to offer courses and training in both TCM and modem medicine at present. During Chinese herbal and acupuncture treatment, it should be kept in mind that essential contact and  ommunication with other specialists must be maintained, for instance with neurologists,  neurosurgeons, orthopaedists, internists, radiologists, and physical and occupational therapists, so that patients receive the necessary support at their time of greatest need.

In China, increasingly acupuncturists are applying acupuncture to diminish pain directly or decrease the amount of drugs needed for the control of pain, even during surgery. This well-known practice indicates that acupuncture potentially has anaesthetic effects. After conducting thousands of experiments on both animals and people, researchers become firmly convinced that acupuncture was indeed effective in its own right for anaesthesia. In consequence, acupuncture has been used quite successfully in place of chemical anaesthesia for many types of surgery in the last 30 years in China. It has been shown to be effective in gastric (YeQiang et aI1984), dental (Lin Guochu et al 1984)and thyroid surgery (Zhuang Xinliang 1984). It is also potentially indicated for those patients unable to tolerate regular anaesthesia. Because of its efficiency in acupuncture anaesthesia, doctors in many hospitals, especially the affiliated hospitals of TCM universities, use acupuncture routinely in cases of thyroidectomy.

The advantages of acupuncture anaesthesia include: 

• fewer side-effects than with chemical anaesthesia
• more cooperation from the patient during the operation
• a lack of disturbance of the brain and memory following anaesthesia
• the patient remaining alert during the procedure
• rapid recovery of functional activities after the operation, etc..

The disadvantages of acupuncture anaesthesia include:

• a feeling of pulling and tugging during the operation
• inadequacy with children and some senile patients
• inability to replace all kinds of chemical anaesthesia
• sometimes a need for local chemical anaesthesia, etc. 

DISCUSSION ON PAIN (TCM)

The Treatment of Pain with Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is probably one of the oldest complementary therapies and continuously practised systems of medicine in the world. Developed through empirical observation by the Chinese over thousands of years, this unique medical system is used to treat a wide range of diseases, and is of especial use in treating various kinds of pain.

Everyone will, at some time or another, suffer from pain or disability. Pain is an unpleasant experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage. It may arise from accident or injury, cancer, arthritis, a multitude of physical ailments or even emotional distress. It may affect the head, neck, torso or any of the extremities as well as internal organs, causing different kinds of pain, such as headache, neck pain, throat pain, shoulder pain, joint pain, abdominal pain and lower back pain.

No matter what the cause, pain, especially chronic pain, transcends simply physical hurt. It limits the activities of everyday living and can erode the sufferer's ability to function. However, pain is, in reality, nature's way of protecting the body from potential tissue damage, because it serves as a warning signal, alerting the person that something is wrong. In this sense we can say that to avoid pain is to avoid severe injury.

How do modern medicine and TCM explain the occurrence of pain? Modern medical research has discovered that pain signals are transmitted by specialised nervous system cells (receptors), which are found throughout the skin and other body tissues. These cells respond to injury, inflammation or tissue damage. Immediately after receiving these messages, the signals travel by electrical and chemical means, from receptors through sensory neurons to the spinal cord and then through interneurons in the spinal cord to the brain, where they are finally interpreted as pain. TCM takes a different view: that the body maintains a balance between the principles of Yin and Yang,and between Qi and Blood.Qi and Blood travel through the body along well-defined pathways called channels. When there is not enough Qi and Blood (Emptiness or Deficiency), or when they are stuck in one area (Fullness or Excess), there is an imbalance between Yin and Yang, the Internal organs are not functioning optimally, and illness and pain develop.

Pain, whether acute or chronic, could have a variety of causes. Acute pain is usually characterised by acute onset, a short duration, normal functioning of both the peripheral and central nervous systems, a predictable course and, in most cases, a good outcome. In terms of modern medicine, acute pain usually is the result of an injury, surgery, inflammation or medical illness. Acute pain often goes away with the healing process.

Chronic pain, however, is different; it is the kind of pain that most people worry about as it lasts beyond the expected time for healing; that is, it does not go away when it is supposed to.

Chronic pain is often difficult to relieve or cure completely, and may occur even if there is no tissue damage or physical cause. The exact causes of chronic pain are not fully understood, or, in other words, one could say that there is no adequate medical explanation for many chronic pain cases. 

Pain can be extremely debilitating and frequently requires unique treatment approaches. In some cases it can be seen that the damaged tissues have been repaired, but nevertheless the pain continues. Besides tissue damage, there are some other clinical symptoms associated with pain, such as muscle tension, spasm, stiffness, or weakness. There could also be some degree of immobilisation of an injured part by the patient in order to avoid pain from movement. It has also been observed that, whatever the cause of chronic pain, feelings of frustration, anger and fear make the pain more intense and more difficult to treat.

In short, pain, especially chronic pain, interferes with normal life and physical activities. We could even say that such pain can often diminish the quality of people's life in terms of their psychology, sociology and physiology. It is, finally, one of the most frequent causes of suffering and disability in the world today.

The Ayurveda Encyclopedia