Compromised breathing is a major problem in modern society. Pollution, smoking, infectious disease and simply aging slowly erodes the effectiveness of our breathing capacity. Teaching breathing skills is not a common practice in the United States. Medical practitioners are doing a better job now than in the past. Competitive practices from alternative medical traditions have increased the use of breath techniques in allopathic medicine. The names of the exercises are different, but the tecniques are similar.

The examples in the following videos are really important to learn before you actually have need to use them to keep breathing. I have put together a selection with different teachers and body types hopefully one resonates with you - to your improved health.

Seasons come, seasons go and the cycle continues. Most of Americans life revolves around seasons defined by the market place and man-made events. What wrapping paper message in on the boxes of chocolate in the stores. Is it Easter, Christmas, Valentine or Happy Halloween? Which sports season? I became confused as they began to overlap. Is it flu or allergy season? What should I be celebrating or complaining about?

It all stopped. A virus came along. Our carefully constructed illusion of mankind controlling the enviornment is under attack. Mother nature just gave us a time out.

My county is has 15 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Testing is still very limited in Oregon and we are in a partial lock down. Some optimization if we follow the guidelines may not overrun our capacity of hospital beds. This will go on for several weeks and every few days there area a few more restrictive orders.

The world as you know it ends today. Usually we experience this in small unrelated episodes unnoticed by the rest of the world. The car accident, job loss, debilitating injury, cancer diagnosis, fatal infectious diseases, now living with a chronic physical or mental disease and loss of a loved one are endured in silence.

Coronavirus is different. It is a collective worldwide event. We are experiencing the COVID-19 event even if not infected with the virus. The fear, the closing down of communities, the actual infection and the recovery is being played out in each nation. The resilience of each country's government and their population is open for the whole world to observe.

Welcome and good day. It has been a fast few weeks. I hope you and yours are well and have had time to make some preparations for staying in place if necessary. The necessary part has become more real as we have seen how fast this virus can move in our communities. This is not an abstract event in other countries seen on TV or our web devices.

Dr. Amy Acton, Director of Ohio Department of Health, discussing community spread in Ohio. Do the math for your local area.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiUyGfDJ76g&feature=youtu.be]

Our conversations are not simply abstract words, they result in changes in other peoples lives. When writing a gardening subject a couple years ago a few C99 members in warmer climatic zones kept mentioning their fig harvest. I bought a plant for the greenhouse last April. If all goes well I will taste my first fresh picked fig this season.

Finding a basic diet plan for the average person is actually quite complicated. Lots of advice is available and much of it contradictory.

This program originally developed in Brazil about 10 years ago is a good foundation. It is not complicated. Simple adjustments can be made to accommodate food sensitivities, medical conditions and many of the dietary suggestions that have been offered in multiple C99 diaries.

The opioid addiction is not a problem originating in the poor. One needs funds to develop a habit. It is a path to poverty that many individuals and their families have traveled.

The opioid overdose and addiction problem is not because people are in despair and communities hopeless. The safety net government and healthcare professionals built up over decades was destroyed for profit. Individuals were unaware of the dangers of the drugs they were prescribed. Healthcare professionals were reeducated, prompted and enforced to provide opioids for pain relief. Then after public outcry became loud enough they were reeducated, prompted and enforced to provide alternatives to opioids for pain relief. Many individuals who now have lifelong physical dependency and new health problems were abruptly denied prescription drugs or at minimum insurance coverage of the medications. Illicit use of opioid products increased with all the associated societal problems.

watch 3:21 to 9:34
[video:https://youtu.be/kQvdfqhULYk?t=201]

Nearly everyone starts at sometime working on their health. Some wait until an accident or health event creates a sudden interest and action. At this point anger or fear often generate the energy to address ones own health. Best not to sustain for a lifetime it can create bitter lonely persons. At some point one can accept where they are at as a baseline without emotional baggage. The power to make self directed changes comes from a deeper spiritual place.

When we are young, healthy and full of energy the concept of limiting or budgeting our activities is silly concept. Get hit with an chronic illness, acute illness with long recovery or time passes and the aging body is not as spry as it once was the spoon theory starts to make sense.