You can live in your body, or you can thrive in your body.
That’s a decision we all make, said Dorsey Ney, owner of Healthy Heart-Healthy Pleasures, 2354 S. Union Ave., during a recent visit with members of the Alliance Rotary Club.
With another flu season upon us, Ney gave Rotarians a lesson on how to boost their immune systems.
“We can definitely get through life and just exist in our body and take all the trouble that comes along if you don’t take care of it, or we can decide we’re going to thrive,” said Ney, a yoga instructor and herbalist who has owned and operated Healthy Heart-Healthy Pleasures for 26 years. “It has been my decision to try and thrive.”
Ney has been studying nutrition nearly her entire life, and was influenced by her late mother, a nurse who taught the Conway Diet at the Alliance YMCA.
Of course, Ney stresses that good health and a strong immune system start with a person’s diet.
“Diet is critical at making sure that you live well,” said Ney, referring to a rainbow chart of food. “You really should be eating many colorful foods. If you eat as many colors as possible, you are naturally ingesting what your body needs to survive and survive well.”
While food is the base for good health, getting plenty of sleep and reducing stress are also key factors in thriving and building a strong immune system.
Exercise and yoga are good stress reducers noted Ney, who also offered another very simple way to relax – breathing in and out through the nose.
“If you breathe through the mouth, it signals the Vagus Nerve in fight or flight,” explained Ney. “But breathing in through the nose and out through the nose will help to calm you. It not only reduces stress, but it will burn more calories.”
As far as building up the immune system, Ney suggested taking the following:
Ney also went through a long list of herbs that are beneficial, including echinacea, oregano, garlic and elderberry syrup, which can resist eight strands of flu virus.
She suggested reading two books, including “Prescription for Nutritional Healing,” by Phyllis A. Balch, which she described as loaded with wonderful information as it reviews each chronic issue one after another and gives advice on how to manage those ailments with natural healing; as well as “The Great Gut Extinction” by Brenda Watson, which explores revolutionary new research that offers simple keys to your lasting health.
“In short, take care of yourself,” said Ney.
