1: EARTH

The biological terrain. Creating a clean environment. Maintaining 7.0 pH. Getting enough minerals. Grounding yourself in your physical body.

2: WATER

Hydration and dehydration. Accessing clean H 2 O. Filtration, purification, and revitalization. Lymphatic drainage. The memory of water.

3: WIND

Clean air. PVC off-gassing. Carbon monoxide and greenhouse gasses in LA. Ventilation, air filters and indoor plants. Outdoor exercise. Pranyama (breath techniques).

4: FIRE

Taking in sun energy. Digestive fire: enzymes, amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins. Sunning your skin. Movement & exercise. Sun Salutation (yoga).

5: REST

Sleep and meditation. Brain wave frequencies. The art of rest. Empty space and the absence of congestion. Detoxification. Rejuvenating and cleansing nervous and digestive systems.

Introduction: coming home to balance

"Home" for the bodymind is a natural state of balance. We all share this organic desire for balance. It is hardwired into every cell in our bodies as an instinctual ability to self-correct. All of us already know how to come back to this state. All we need to return to balance are the basic ingredients of life on the planet: earth (minerals), wind (fresh unpolluted oxygen), water (clean toxin-free H 2 O), fire (energy from sunlight) and rest (quiet, emptiness, inactivity). These elements can be translated very simply into an easy 5-part program for balance and health that anyone can understand and implement with little effort.

From the earth we need minerals, a neutral PH around 7.0, and clean environments at work and home free of toxins and toxic energy where we can ground ourselves. From the wind we need fresh, clean, oxygen-rich air, outdoor movement and exercise, free and deep breathing, and the vital flow that frees congestion. From the waters of the planet we need daily hydration with pure H 2 0 (for many of us living in urban areas that may mean filtered, purified and revitalized H 2 O or bottled spring water). From the fire of the sun we need sunlight on our skin and sun energy stored through photosynthesis in plants or in animals or fish that eat plants. Fresh fruits, vegetables, sprouted seeds and soaked nuts are all made of sunlight-as are we. The sun energy we can digest comes in the form of water-soluble vitamins, essential fatty acids, and amino acids (proteins). And we need enzymes to feed the digestive fire to break these nutrients down into molecules that can be absorbed into our cells. Add to these essentials 7.5 hours of sleep a night, the restorative state of restful consciousness accessed through meditation, and the emotional feelings of enthusiasm, safety and unconditional love, and you have the highest state of health and vitality a human being can experience in this body, in this world.

A client of mine, whom I will call here "Angel," motivated me to write this guide. Angel came to me to help her face the fact that she was not taking care of herself, just as her mother had not. Angel feared that she would die of cancer by the age of 42, as her mother had. My intention is to reduce the confusion she and many previous clients felt about basic nutrition and bodymind wellness information when the door of awareness was first opened. As a Certified Rubenfeld Synergist and Prepare for Surgery Counselor, I have experienced clients come to me for mindbody balancing and integration who are in different kinds of healing crises, who want more than anything in the world to take the journey back home to balance-emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally. Repeatedly I have seen clients eagerly start the journey and then become overwhelmed with the nutritional component because they lacked the basic principles. The truth is (as Udo Erasmus, one of the world's leading experts on nutrition, put it) we are made of "a bucket of water and a handful of dust." Food industry advertisers would like us to believe otherwise, but really our biological needs are simple and non-negotiable. My goal in the following pages is to show you how simple and non-negotiable these needs we all share are, and to do so in a way that is easy to understand and implement. Because maintaining our health means honoring the laws of nature within us. In this regard, this guide is supporting the "slow food" movement that is emerging as a reaction to the fast food industry that has propelled obesity and diabesity to epidemic numbers in the US .

My goal in this guide is to get you started. At the end, I give you a list of suggested readings and various links so you can pursue appropriate research for you on your own. My intention is neither to give medical advice nor prescribe any treatment. If you feel you need medical advice and don't have a physician, I would be happy to refer you. Rather, I am encouraging you to listen to your own bodymind, to hear and respond to your own needs in a timely fashion, and thereby take up the first responsibility we all have to play an active role in maintaining our wellness. To this end, I have organized this basic nutritional and health information for your journey back home to balance. This material is for information only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, recommendation or endorsement. I hope you enjoy it.

Camilla Griggers, PhD, CMT

Santa Monica , 2006