Finally Getting Fit

*NOTE: Anyone who comments on any of Dawson’s posts (spotlight today, guest post tomorrow, interview on Friday) is automatically entered to win a copy of Dawson’s book - The Genie in Your Genes!

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Hello and welcome to Finally Getting Fit, Dr. Church.

1. Could you give the readers here an easy to understand definition of epigenetic work and what you talk about in your book, Genie in Your Genes?

Epigenetics is the science of the signals that activate genes. Our 24,000 genes contain blueprints for building various proteins. Which genes are active, and which proteins get built, depends partly on the signals we send to our cells. In The Genie in Your Genes (www.GenieBestSeller.com), I show how our consciousness is one of the primary purveyors of epigenetic signals.

2. Is epigenetics all energy work? If not, what other things does it incorporate?

Epigenetic signals are sent to the genes in a variety of ways. Some ways are: messenger molecules like neutrotransmitters, neural synaptic signaling, electromagnetic fields, and possibly using light in the form of biophotons. These can be generated by external environmental cues (food, temperature, predators) or internal ones, like the shifts in consciousness produced by meditation, belief, and EFT.

3. What is EFT?

EFT is short for Emotional Freedom Techniques. It’s the fastest consistent method I’ve ever found for reducing the emotional charge of traumatic memories. It involves pairing the memory with a self-acceptance statement, and then tapping on 12 stress-reduction sites on the body, which send an epigenetic piezolelectric signal through the connective tissue. It often works on physical pain, and cravings, too.

4. Could you share a story of healing?

We use EFT to work with veterans suffering from PTSD (posttraumatic stress syndrome). In a clinical trial I published in a peer-reviewed journal, I tell the story of a particular Vietnam veteran with a particularly troubling memory. He usually went on patrol with his best friend, who would walk on his left. This particular time, his friend was on his right, and was killed by a sniper’s bullet in his right side. This veteran had blamed himself for decades for not “taking the bullet” and saving his friend’s life.

After EFT, his cognitions about the event shifted to include the recognition that his friend would willingly have died for him. Another time I worked with a doctor who had recently fractured her wrist. On a 0 through 10 scale, her pain was a 7. For about 10 minutes we did EFT on a traumatic childhood memory, after which the pain dropped to 1.

5. Can energy medicine and conventional medicine coexist? Is one better than the other?

Integrative medicine combines the best of both. You use conventional medicine for conditions it’s good at treating, such as fractures and infections. You use energy medicine for conditions for which it’s suited, like autoimmune diseases, anxiety and depression.

6. Can epigenetics help couples to achieve a healthier pregnancy?

Without a doubt. Much fetal development is governed epigenetically. The emotional state of both the man and the woman affects fetal development, and when one or both parents are committed to cleaning up their past emotional wounding, they help create a healthy womb environment.

7. Does energy work and other practices mentioned in your book offer hope to anyone suffering with a health problem?

Even if you have a serious disease like cancer or heart disease, energy medicine can help. If you achieve inner peace and emotional balance, studies have shown that the stress reducing effects of peace of mind correlate positively with the need for pain medication and doctor’s visits. The book is full of examples of energy psychology and conventional medicine working harmoniously together, whether it’s for a minor problem like a cold or cut, or a major disease.

8. Where do you think/hope epigenetic study will be in ten years?

In the last 20 years, medical science has developed advanced tools like gene chips that can measure the expression of every single gene in the human body simultaneously. We are now turning this technology to the study of consciousness, and investigating how shifts in consciousness like beliefs, meditation and energy work affect genes. I predict we will find very large and important effects on the genome resulting from changes in consciousness, and we will start to use these findings to bring energy psychology into primary care settings. Expect it in hospitals and clinics within a couple of years.

9. What are you hoping readers take from reading Genie in Your Genes?

The understanding that you have enormous leverage over your health. Also that there are a dozen things you can do in ten minutes or less that can have widespread positive epigenetic effects throughout your body.

10. Where can readers go for more information?

To buy the book, go to www.GenieBestseller.com. If you know a veteran who needs help, send them to www.StressProject.com. And if you have a sports team or business that needs a quantum performance increase, send them to www.EFTPowerTraining.com.

11. Is there anything else you would like to share?

Love yourself. De-stress yourself. Experiment with different stress reduction techniques, and find a toolkit of them you can make your own. A calm emotional environment is the incubator of creativity as well as health. This gift is within your reach, and you deserve it. Don’t put it off; do this today!

It’s no secret that we live in a world filled with sugar and chemicals. If you’re not eating them, you’re rubbing them on your body, putting them in your hair, putting them on your face and whatever else. Even though a lot of us know this, we just don’t seem to care.

Well, I care.

Probably about half a year ago or so, I had allergy testing done by a naturopath. I reacted to a few things, I reacted highly to sulphur. Go figure, right? As it turns out, sulphur isn’t just in beans – it’s in nearly every bathroom thing you use. Shampoo, conditioner, lotion, makeup, face wash and more.

After finding out that I was reacting to it, I had to get rid of every single toiletry I had except two: a super sensitive facial wash and a bottle of lotion. Both made by St. Ives. I even had to get rid of my soap.

It can be kind of intimidating to start looking into all this stuff, so I found this video that touches on sulphur – sodium laurel sulphate – as well as other things to get you started.

If you’re at all interested – and you should be for the sake of your health and your family’s health – start doing some research.

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Be sure to stop back tomorrow. For the rest of the week I have special guest Dr. Dawson Church stopping in to talk about his most recently published book The Genie in Your Genes, the science of epigenetics and what it all means for people like you and me in regards to getting our health on the right track.

I’m actually getting things done on time today! Well, catching up and now getting the current things done on time anyway.

This week’s question:

“If weight loss was easy, then no one would be fat.” – One of my friends said that, but that person will have to forgive me because I can’t quite remember who it was at this moment.

Getting fit certainly is certainly not the easiest thing you are going to do in your life. We all take on the challenge in different ways and sometimes have to fight different battles. Personally, I usually have to battle my own mind and sometimes lack of confidence when it comes to making my goals. I keep winning that battle, though, and I keep losing weight.

What battles have you fought and won on your journey to get fit?

I have quite a few battles in the realm of getting fit, many of which repeat. Which sucks, but such as life.

The biggest battle I have fought and won recently is the belief that I just couldn’t lose weight. I had tried everything, it seemed. Even exercise and healthy eating just didn’t seem to be doing anything for me. It didn’t help that the psychological factors weren’t exactly up to par.

It turns out it is just a matter of finding what works for you – even if it takes years to do so. Diets, non-diets, changing habits one at a time, detoxing first… You may have to go through a lot of them to find out what works, but it’s worth it.

Thankfully I was able to find something to smack me on the behind and say, “Hey! You can lose weight!”

I have recently fallen in love with a new video site: VideoJug.com They have hundreds of videos on many subjects, including health, sport and fitness. I’d like to highlight some of the videos on the site that I think are interesting.

1. How to Detox Your Mind and Body – I like this one because you hear a lot about how to detox the inside of your body, but this video concentrates on detoxing the outside of your body.
2. How to Prepare Yourself for a Detox Program – Another detox video, I know, but it has a lot of good advice if you’re after a detox.
3. Best Tips for Dieting – A lot of advice I’ve already heard, but it’s a good way to receive the advice and a good reminder.
4. Fit Exercise Into a Busy Schedule – Goodness knows most of us have a hard enough figuring out the regular day-to-day things without trying to figure out how to incorporate exercise in. This video gives a few tips.
5. Introduction to Nutrition – This is a multi-segment video that touches on nutritionists, nutrition, the food pyramid, etc.
6. Nine Quick Food Facts – Some of the questions on here may seem a bit ‘simple’, but there is a lot of good advice and facts here that you may not know. There are also a lot of very important simple changes you should make for your health.
7. Why You Should Eat Fruit – A bit of a funny hokey video, but it has good information.
8. How to Add Vegetables to Your Diet – Pretty self-explanatory.

I hope you like these videos and take the time to nose around VideoJug.