OVERCOME ASTHMA and Much More

How To Change Your State of Mind

I think depression, or feeling 'blah' or down, is
underrated.

Not that I enjoy feeling down. I'm usually an 'up',
positive person.

But I did go through a sort of funk or depression
when dealing with my asthma. As I mentioned yesterday,
I think most of us do whenever we face a health
challenge.

There's a reason for the depression you may feel
due to health challenges or life events. So, before
you take any of the latest and greatest drugs
designed to lift you out of your funk, listen to
how you are feeling.

Follow your depression, acknowledge the pain. Accept
and validate that something is not right in your
life.

It takes a lot of courage to do this. And many of
us are not prone to the type of introspection
required. So you have to give yourself the gift of
time...sufficient time and space to process what is
really going on inside you.

Once you have acknowledged or accepted or validated...then
you need to turn the corner and get back into living
life. For most of us, this begins with feeling
in control again.

Remember, the one thing you can control in life is
your state of mind. Your state of mind is something
you can create.

Positive and negative emotions can not occupy the
mind at the same time. One or the other dominates.
So, as part of your mental, emotional, and psychic
recovery, it is important that you cultivate the
habit of applying and using positive emotions, so
they eventually become the dominating influence.

The most practical way to cultivate a positive state
of mind is to have a definite goal or purpose.

Your initial goal may be to improve, reduce or even
eliminate the symptoms or limitations of your current
condition or challenge.

Later, as you achieve initial success, you may expand
or extend your goals to include more general health
and lifestyle changes - the types of changes that get
you excited about the possibilities of life.

Along with this 'mind work' - actually it's also
'spirit work' - you must take action. No matter how
small the step, begin today. 

It's a proven fact that the most consistent and
successful strategy for alleviating depression - no
matter what the cause - is vigorous exercise.

You've got to get moving!

Literally, move that body, get winded and out of
breath. Do regular deep breathing. Let your exhalations
cleanse you, and your inspirations inspire you.

This is one reason why I place such importance on
enhancing your ability to breathe and energize yourself
through the exercises I teach in my programs.

It's at the heart of the benefits you experience when
you do the exercises in the Secret Power of Dynamic
Energy Exercise Course, Volume II -
http://www.overcomeasthma.com/dynamic_energy2.html.

Nourish yourself with deep breathing and with quality
food. Build yourself up and feel strong again with
exercise. And feed your mind and spirit with
predominantly positive thoughts and emotions.

Do a little bit of these things each day, and you will
be amazed at how much better you feel.

You Can Do It!

Karen Van Ness
http://www.OvercomeAsthma.com

P.S. Motivation to change and improve is thought to
come from without. And it usually doesn't last. On the
other hand, inspiration is more abiding. It gets
you moving, AND it keeps you going. One of the best things
you can do for yourself, anytime you face a challenge,
is to make sure your body and brain are getting plenty
of oxygen. This helps fuel your body in its fight against
the challenge...and infuses you with the energy you need
to keep on keepin' on.

For a wonderfully simple but powerful and energizing
routine you can do in just minutes, check out the Secret
Power of Dynamic Energy Exercise Course, Volume I -
http://www.overcomeasthma.com/dynamic_energy1.html -
or Volume II -
http://www.overcomeasthma.com/dynamic_energy2.html.

You can also order both courses together at one very
special price. Visit
http://www.overcomeasthma.com/DESpecial_orderpage.html
for details.

Copyright, KVN Enterprises, Inc. 2008

**The contents of this daily email are not to be considered
as medical advice. Always consult a physician before
beginning or changing any health or fitness regimen.**

A Message From The Gods

Yesterday I introduced the concept of depression
being a part of our journey and story anytime we
face a health challenge.

Whether you have a serious, chronic disease, such
as high blood pressure, diabetes, or asthma....or
you face a challenging, unhealthy condition, such
as arthritis, panic or anxiety, or being
overweight.....I truly believe that everyone,
or nearly everyone - as in 99.99 percent - goes
through a period of depression.

It may be mild, you may not even notice it or
realize what it is. But we all go through it.

It usually is very subtle too. And you don't expect
it. It's not like losing a loved one, where there
is a specific event you can tie your feelings to.

In my case, my challenge is asthma. If you are
like me, you probably had a hard time believing
that you had a chronic disease, or a chronic health
challenge - one that you might have to battle the
rest of your life.

So, you may have first been angry about having to
deal with it, about having to take on an often
complicated medical regimen, and about suddenly
becoming dependent on medications. 

It's the combination of something gone wrong with
your body....and losing a sense of control.

Even the most optimistic among us is bound to
have some low moments.

And most of us don't want to feel down or
depressed. We think it is wrong to be this way.
We don't like the feeling. It's something we want
to 'snap out of'.

But how do we snap out of it?

Well, let me share with you one way of looking at
any type of disease or illness, along with the
accompanying depression.

The ancient Greeks, who were pretty advanced in
their understanding of medicine and the body, viewed
any illness or disease as a message from the gods.

To them, the disease is the manifestation of
this message. It is also the cure, because it
forces you to stop what you are doing and pay
attention to your body.

Now, I'm not saying you should be happy that you
have a health problem.

But I do think it's useful to take this alternative
point of view.

Instead of thinking that your body has rebelled
on you, poor me, what did I do to deserve this, and
so forth....look for the message instead.

What is your body trying to tell you through the
onset of the disease and its symptoms? What in your
life, your lifestyle, your emotional and mental
approach to life, do you need to take stock of
and perhaps change?

When you change your approach, you begin to ask
better questions. You move from the 'poor me',
anger and frustration mode to a focus on what you
need to do to begin solving the problem.

This change alone can have a dramatic impact on
how you feel, and can help dissipate depression or
other negative emotions that have been casting a
shadow on your life.

In the next tip, I'll discuss another, absolutely
vital, approach to beating these negative emotions...so
you can move with purpose towards improved health.

You Can Do It!

Karen Van Ness
www.OvercomeAsthma.com

P.S. One of the best things you can do for yourself,
anytime you face a health challenge, is to make sure
your body and brain are getting plenty of oxygen.
This helps fuel your body in its fight against the
challenge...and infuses you with the energy you need
to keep on keepin' on. For a wonderfully simple but
powerful and energizing routine you can do in just
minutes, check out the Secret Power of Dynamic Energy
Exercise Course, Volume I -
http://www.overcomeasthma.com/dynamic_energy1.html -
or Volume II -
http://www.overcomeasthma.com/dynamic_energy2.html.

You can also order both courses together at one very
special price. Visit
http://www.overcomeasthma.com/DESpecial_orderpage.html
for details.

Copyright, KVN Enterprises, Inc. 2008

**The contents of this daily email are not to be
considered as medical advice. Always consult a physician
before beginning or changing any health or fitness regimen.**

The Cycle We Each Go Through

There's a well-known paradigm for grieving and
serious illness which teaches us that we go through
stages in our path, from first encounter to
finally moving beyond the event.

The stages are simplified into denial, anger,
resignation and acceptance.

Of course, most people who have lost a loved one,
or are facing their own serious illness, don't
proceed neatly through these stages. They tend
to move back and forth between them.

And no one knows for sure whether anyone truly
gets to the resignation phase and stays there.
I think you probably get to a point at which
you are resigned to what happened and have moved on.

But then something like a holiday or special life
event, or hearing a certain song, makes you feel
angry or depressed again.

I learned a lot about this theory of grieving back
in the 1980s, when I interned one summer in college
at a spinal cord injury unit in Boston.

The (mostly) young men - there were a few women -
who were injured and had become paraplegics or
quadraplegics definitely went through a profound
grieving process.

The nurses and doctors told me that each person
goes through at their own unique pace, and in
their own unique way.

But one of the most important components of their
treatment - equally, if not more important, than
the medical care they were getting - was providing
the mental and emotional support to get through
their dark days and begin to see that there was
still the chance for a full, happy life.

If they couldn't make this leap from mourning and
despair to hopefulness and expectancy, they were
literally doomed.

Over the years, I've been able to use my exposure
to this truth to help get  through the inevitable
bumps and bruises of life.

Losing a loved one, having your heart broken,
suffering humiliation or defeat....not much fun at
the time. But ultimately you have to soldier on and
find your way past the heartbreak.

When you make it through, you then have the chance
to craft a new life for yourself.

Think about that. Out of the ashes of despair can
come a sparkling new life, perhaps better than
any you ever dreamed of for yourself.

You just have to be open to it. While at the same
time, remembering the lessons you have learned
from what you just went through.

Now, you may be thinking, 'What does this have to
do with breathing or my health, Karen?'

Well, in my own experience, as well as working with
other people who faced chronic conditions, such as
asthma, arthritis, anxiety, being overweight, and
so forth - I've seen a pretty clear pattern that
is similar to the stages of grieving.

First, when you begin having problems, or are
diagnosed with a disease or condition, or wake
up one morning and finally admit your are fat...you
may be in denial.

I know I was when I was first diagnosed with asthma.

You can't accept the fact that you have a chronic
disease, condition or health problem that you will
have to deal with for the rest of your life.

Then you may get angry.

Your body became an adversary, an unknown. You may
feel mentally and psychologically separated from it.

And when you are out of harmony like this, you tend
to do less healthy, even self-destructive things.
You stop honoring your body because you don't trust
it anymore.

In this type of situation, the most universal emotion
we all go through, or have been through, is depression.

What can you do to help yourself get through this
successfully?

I'll talk more about that in your next tip.

You Can Do It!

Karen Van Ness
http://www.OvercomeAsthma.com

P.S. Getting back into harmony with your body can be
as simple as learning to breathe and relax. The Secret
Power of Dynamic Energy Exercise Course, Volume I,
shows you how. Just a few minutes a day can help you
regain control. For more information, or to order
your copy of the program, visit
http://www.overcomeasthma.com/dynamic_energy1.html.

Copyright, KVN Enterprises, Inc. 2008

**The contents of this daily email are not to be considered
as medical advice. Always consult a physician before
beginning or changing any health or fitness regimen.**