Fall into slumber and health.

As we head into Fall changes in the weather, schedule, and daylight hours can wreck havoc on your body. Things like lack of sleep and allergies can put your body under the weather rather quickly. Here are a few tips to avoid the downfall of Fall.

"The man who uses intelligence with respect to his diet, his sleeping habits, and who exercises properly, is beyond any question of doubt taking the very best preventative medicine provided so freely and abundantly by nature."- Joseph H. Pilates (Return to Life through Contrology)

He goes on to outline several tips on sleep habits.

1. Restful sleep is impossible without the fullest and complete relaxation of all our muscles.
2. A quiet, cool, well-ventilated room is best.
3. Do not use a soft mattress. Firm but not soft is a good rule to follow.
4. Use the lightest possible bed coverings consistent with warmth.
5. Do not use large bulky pillows (or as some do, two stacked pillows). Better still, use none at all.
6. Nervousness is usually aggravated by a lack of proper exercise, especially in the case of one with a trouble mind. The best way to alleviate this condition is exercise. So if your sleep is disturbed, rise immediately and perform your exercises. Particularly beneficial in this regard are the spinal rolling and unrolling massage exercises which relax the nerves and induce sound, restful sleep. *Roll up, Rolling like a ball, Spine stretch, Roll over and Bridge would be acceptable "Spinal rolling" exercises that should not awaken the nervous system to much to return to sleep.

Joseph also had some early ideas on nasal/throat washing to avoid disease.

"...cup some water in the hollow of one hand and while holding one nostril closed, with the other hand snuff this water up in the other free nostril, then expel it through the mouth by pressing both nostrils slightly, and repeat for the other nostril. In this way, the water is permitted to enter the throat and ejected through the mouth, the throat and mouth are cleansed and kept in a healthy condition and gradually immunized against disease.  These simple suggestions. if properly followed, would prevent the great majority of all of our nose, mouth and ear ailments"

Personally I would suggest doing this a little different. 

• For nasal allergies I highly recommend the Neti Pot. A little warm salt water goes a long way. In the midst of a cold, the Neti Pot can relieve the sinus pressure and clear out the bacterial junk. On a daily basis, with allergies, the Neti Pot can prevent allergy flare ups from happening as regularly.
• For a throat filled with mucus or just to clear out bacteria, try gargeling with warm salt water. Allow it to hit the back of the throat for a few rounds, expel, and repeat. For a dry scratchy throat try warm water with a litte honey added to coat your throat.

Another great daily tip to add in to avoid the cold is Emergen-C. Add it to a glass of water in the morning and up your resistance to the bacteria that is lurking around. Lots of different flavors to chose from. It will give you an added boost of energy and up your immunity to those nasty viruses.

Hope these tips help you and your family Fall into slumber and health with ease.