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At Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat Center - for Fasting, Detoxification & Meditation we combine the best of detoxification methods with psychotherapy, meditation and spiritual ideas. In order to achieve maximal healing in minimal time. Read about our purpose and mission, and our philosophy and medical approach. Why did I continue? The insecurity of being an adolescent wanting to identify to adults? Modeling a cool image? Wanting to rebel against society's rules? Certainly I did not trust and validate my first hand experience of disgust with smoking! Today, I wish I did. When I look around me and see the damage created by this suicidal habit; friends dying from esophageal cancer, others struggling with lung, bladder cancer or emphysema ....I wonder: will I be spared? Will these 18 years of regular exercise and pure food clean my lungs and repair my body to spare me the gloomy consequences of smoking? At the age of 28, I quit with my will power and my sister's help. She was in control of the cigarettes keeping the cigarettes hidden perhops in her pocket and allowing me to have what we had agreed on. I was weaning myself down. First, one cigarette per hour, then every 2 hours. Then three a day, then one, then nothing. As I was becoming a non smoker I also made some radical changes to my life. I quit being an employee and working in an office and started my own business. I matched my work closer to my ideals. I stopped a non-satisfying relationship. I did not touch cigarettes for the next 10 years. Then, while I was in India, being a fervent meditator and working in an ashram, I played with the fire again. In one of his discourses, my teacher mentioned smoking addiction and described two ways to quit. Through will power and through meditation. Quitting with your will power he said, was the wrong way because awareness was not being used. Alas! I started smoking again. First, biddies, then of course pretty soon tobacco. This time, I smoked the lighter blond cigarettes from England or the US. For the10 following years I tried quitting many times but I would start over again fooling myself that I could just have one cigarette or not being able to deal with the empty feeling left when the addiction was not fed. I would stay quit for a week or two then start again. It was a constant struggle with myself. I felt like a victim. I was depressed by the futility of my life revolving around whether to smoke or not to smoke. However, after each smoking episode I would decrease the tobacco strength. I would smoke consciously. Being very present to the act of smoking. Breathing in the smoke and feeling what it was doing to my lungs. Soon I was afraid to take too much of a deep breath. I would inhale the smoke shallower, only smoking half a cigarette. I was not buying cigarettes to avoid temptation. When i could not separate myself from the desire I was begging for cigarettes, smoking old buts from the ash tray. Choosing to continue with this dependency was choosing to be a slave, belittled, depressed. One day I dreamt that I was eating the content of an ash tray. I still remember the taste of cold ashes in my mouth. Every morning I was coughing yellow sputum. Deep inside, I was ashamed of my dependency. Finally I decided to get done with the issue. I rallied a close friend of mine to the idea of quitting on New Years Eve. We made a good fire and threw our pack of cigarettes in it. The next days, I remained focused on my breath and watch the desire to smoke without acting on it. The first day was a moment to moment work. The second day was not as intense and it was getting easier and easier as the days were going by. By now I had learnt that I could not be a casual smoker and have a cigarette after a meal every once and a while. I know I was not to take another cigarette again for the rest of my life. This long love and hate story with tobacco has taught me the evils of substance abuse and dependency. Like a phenix rising from his ashes you too can break through the humiliating feeling of beeing a slave to a compulsive desire and soar free and light. Today I can barely remember the smoker in me. I know I once was a smoker but nothing of the smoker has remain. I certainly got trapped into coffee and alchohol for a while but I was able to apply what I learnt from my tobacco dependency and quit in the same way, choosing to own all my brain power to fulfill my higher ideals, rather than vegetate. All addictions stem from the same illusory belief that desire can be fulfilled and this is the very nature of desire to be unfullfilled. Moving from illusion to truth could be the higher spiritual lesson one may learn from getting rid of this grim life style habit. Steps to quit smoking Push cigarettes as far as possible away from you 1) If you smoke inside your house start smoking outside. Clean your house from all the ash trays, butts and smoking energy. Wash your house thoroughly. Burn some cedar or sage to clean the walls and purify your house. Create a smoking temple outside of your house and only smoke there 2) Or If you do not smoke inside the house but only outside in a special place clean that place in the same way described above. Smoke further away, taking a walk around the block or in nature if you can Pick a quitting date There may be a special date soon when you would like to honor your true self. Christmas, New year, your birthday, an anniversary or the 1st of the month. Any day will do. You have 2 or 3 weeks to get ready. You need to bury this old self and celebrate the coming of a new self. You are birthing yourself. To make the transition easier it would be good to decrease the amount of tobacco you smoke, have a healthy diet, add supplements, meditate and exercise. You already are a non smoker Remember who you really are: a non smoker. This is an acquired habit. At night you do not smoke. When you wake up you break this natural habit of breathing air and only air. So it is only a matter of extending this natural state a bit longer into the morning. Wake up and keep feeding your soul. If you usually take your 1st cigarette at 9 o'clock. add an extra hour to your non smoking time and do the following meditation instead of smoking. Smoke consciously Every cigarette you smoke only do one thing: Smoke. Watch any feelings any body sensation or thought when you think about having a cigarette, when you look for the cigarette, when you touch it, when you light it and when you inhale the smoke. Look at yourself in the mirror and look at the person you see. Be full of compassion for this person. What other cigarettes could you eliminate? Now what are the cigarettes you can eliminate easily and those you have to absolutely have. You are not smoking until 10 o'clock . I am sure you can extend this period to 11, then 12 and have your first cigarette after lunch. When you have this first cigarette make sure to be consciously smoking. Enjoy creating your new life! Accept whatever feelings are created by the separation from your best friend - the cigarette. You are already missing her, missing the burning sensation in your chest, missing the heaviness, the oral stimulation. Keep breathing, crying, laughing, coughing. Shake your chest and your lungs. Say good bye and grieve the loss of your old habit. Substitute new healthy habits Let's say you like to smoke and have a coffee while you read the paper in the morning and this habit feels comfortable safe and nurturing. Something you have done for a long time. Or you like to have a break from your job and go out and have a cigarette. OK. Let's substitute a new habit. You pick your new habit something fun that you always wanted to do or that you used to do. Have a piece of fruit or a glass of water or take a short walk around the block or go to the gym or go for a swim. Breathing meditation At the moment when you want to smoke stop! do not move! Keep your hands where they are, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths stretch and watch your breath for a few minutes. Watch your belly rise and fall. Then stay active. You will see the desire is now gone. This is the nature of desire it comes and goes. If you get obsessed with the idea of wanting a cigarette stop again and breathe deeply let the emotions come. Take as many walk as you need to and get yourself out of breath. If you can be in nature visualize the gas exchange between the tree and yourself. You give out carbon dioxide to the plant and the plant give out oxygen to you. Activity It is rare to see someone smoking while exercising. Smoking is done sitting most of the time. So this habit needs to be broken. You need to move around more, do things with your hands, walk or bike instead of driving for short distance. You can learn dancing, yoga, karate, kung fu, tai chi, jogging there are so many possibilities and classes. Do not worry about being out of shape. Being part of such a class will reinforce your non smoking habit Diet It is important that your diet would be a vegetable based diet. Take many green juices, carrot juices, and eat plenty of salads and raw foods. Make sure to have cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, radish, garlic and onion. Use the time when you were smoking to prepare your food. Communicate with the vegetal kingdom as a part of nature, with respect and love. Get a recipe book, renew your kitchen, have food preparation parties with friends. make it fun and enjoyable. Eliminate progressively salt, sugar, coffee, bread, pasta, grains, meat, soft drinks, package food, processed oils. You may have some fish during this period. Supplements Smoking has made your body deficient in many nutrients and toxic with heavy metals. it would be appropriate to do a hair or urine analysis to determine your mineral level and assess toxicity and deficiencies . Some other testing may be appropriate depending on your condition. Nutritional supplements will support this weaning process by decreasing cravings and helping to eliminate nicotine out of your body. Quitting time has come Get set up for your ritual. You may have a fire or a candle and burn your last cigarettes, you may have a circle with your friends or a party or you may meditate by yourself. Make this day special. Go to the mountain or to the sea. Make sure you continue your watching meditations throughout the day. When the desire for a cigarette comes freeze. Keep your hands where they are take a few deep breaths. Watch your breathing, follow the air from your nostrils to your lungs, watch your belly rise and fall. Just watch how you feel do not act on it. learn how to be the watcher. Then move around. Just stay very center and focused. You are a non smoker. You are the watcher. The next 10 days are critical. You need to be focused on the process and stay awake. Everyday that goes by will be easier. You will think less often about tobacco, the thoughts will disappear faster. You will start feeling different, your energy will increase, so you need to continue to practice your walking, intensify your exercise regimen and stay active. Make sure that all cigarettes, smoking objects such as pipes and their memory are gone Choose non smoking friends and non smoking environment If you were smoking at the pub or in a cafe avoid these places. Avoid your smoking friends. tell them you quit smoking and it would be too difficult for you to be with them now. Be prepared to say no, if someone offers a cigarette. Remember you are a non smoker. Continue with your new habits, your breathing exercises. Continue detoxing with your nutritional program. See a counselor if you need help with feeling that are coming up. Transition at our retreat. Choose to stay at a residential healing center for this difficult transition. At Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat Center, you will do a residential deep detoxification program to cleanse your lungs, your kidneys and your whole body: A water fast or a green juice fast followed by raw foods and exercise. Use this time to treat yourself to a massage, learn how to prepare food, have fun in the kitchen, learn what you like to accomplish with your life, learn how to deal with stress, address issues from home, relationships, work. This stage will consolidate your will to be free, and guarantee that you will be a happy non smoker for the rest of your life. It will also help you to avoid falling into the trap of cross addiction. From cigarettes - to sugar, fat, food, sex or work. Residential stop-smoking programs. We offer residential programs that combine
- If you elect to quit smoking at home, we will coach you during that period prior to your visit. - If you elect to quit later, we invite you to spend some time with us, and have your last cigarette at the airport. We will provide a conducive environment to make your transition pain free. Dr. Maya Nicole Baylac BACK to articles Mind Your Body - Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat Center - for Fasting, Detoxification & Meditation For more articles - click here. For contact information - click here. For more about the retreat - click here. |
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HAWAI'I RAW DETOXIFICATION RETREAT HAWAII NATUROPATHIC RETREAT CENTER INC. A center for health, longevity and happiness www.mindyourbody.info Contact information (808) 982-8202 
at http://gersonhawaii.us |
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