5 Ways to Turn Your Mobile Device Into a Mecca for Healing

After being diagnosed with Lyme disease I was told I would probably not be able to walk again. I didn't know where to turn for help. I dutifully took the antibiotics that were prescribed, but I understood from the doctors that if I stopped taking them my condition could worsen.

As a long time body worker and yoga practitioner, I couldn't accept Lyme disease taking control of my body. I explored many holistic approaches for a cure. And finally, with all of the strength I had, I literally pulled myself up a stairway to my life-changing experience. I met with a lovely European woman who taught me breathing methods to restore movement and minimize pain. When I started to see improvement, I was delighted and convinced this was the path to recovery and health -- and it was.

Today, I am of free of the crippling symptoms of Lyme disease. I gained a deeper appreciation for the power of breathing to create or recover true health. And I knew I wanted to share this practice with the world in a user-friendly way. Amazingly, we can find all kinds of mobile and smartphone tools that can help open the door to stress relief and provide an avenue to the benefits of optimized breathing for wellness and fitness.

It is a certainty that our technology gives us many opportunities for great connection. Simultaneously it has the ability to drain us - both subtly and unsublty. While it's ultimately our choice on how connected or disconnected we are, the reality is that our demanding lives move very quickly and downtime is more difficult to find. As someone who has spent the past two decades in search of recovery and healing, I am a believer in the power of technology to help make a good transition to facilitate well-being.

So for a moment, we can put aside the stock market ticker, price checker, picture taking, find-a-parking-space-in-less-than-30-seconds apps and turn our focus to mobile-enabled tools that help tap into our inner reserve of calm.

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• 1. Download Calming Music

  Music is good for improving concentration or studying (or calming crying babies for that matter). Over the years, hundreds of studies have set out to see if there is indeed a link between music and mood. The evidence is <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12135590" target="_hplink">undeniable</a>. Music without lyrics has benefits. In fact, some studies have shown that classical music in particular, <a href="http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/classical-musics-calming-effect-may-help" target="_hplink">promotes calm</a> and slows your <a href="http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/the-power-of-music-to-reduce-stress/all/1/" target="_hplink">breathing and heart rate</a>. But any music that you like that fits your mood works -- download or play some old favorites (remember those songs from childhood?).

• 2. Mobile Health Trackers

  Sometimes just being aware of our bodies can provide a moment to make a change. I like the simplest of apps for this -- I use a heart monitor app (there are many) so I can get a quick check of heart rate (breathing is the easiest way to bring heart rate down -- see the next tip) and a fitness app that helps me keep track of my bike rides. Being able to see my progress inspires and builds more healthful behavior -- and these tracking apps make it easy to keep records of your good efforts.

• 3. Use Apps To Optimize Your Breathing

  Download apps that can help improve your health in a matter of minutes. There are various apps that focus on breathing, such as MyBreath. These apps teach you breathing techniques that quickly defuse stress and improve oxygen circulation throughout your body. When you learn to optimize breathing (or breathe diaphragmatically), you can <a href="http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/04/28/ultrawellness-lesson-2-inflammation-immune-balance/" target="_hplink">reduce inflammation</a> and <a href="http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/Breathing.html" target="_hplink">improve</a> muscle and brain function.

• 4. Create An Audio Journal

  Most smartphones come equipped with voice memo applications. Take this as an opportunity to record thoughts, feelings, and goals in an audio format. No keyboard necessary! Journals are a great way to track your progress and patterns, whether health-related or relationship-related. They're also a wonderful tool for self-discovery, self-improvement, growth and problem solving. You can sync your phone with your computer so you don't lose any entries.

• 5. Watch YouTube

  Sometimes simply watching videos can provide a needed calming or uplifting effect. You can find beautiful images and music on YouTube on your phone or computer like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zql2t8uC4M&feature=youtube_gdata_player" target="_hplink">this relaxing one</a> or this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRNqhi2ka9k" target="_hplink">optimistic, energizing one</a>. Just make sure to turn push notifications off so you don't disrupt your calming video experience!

For more by Nirinjan Yee, click here.

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Comments

[multidoc]

08:52 AM on 08/25/2012

If you've been bitten by a mosquito and have a questionable rash, or a light fever, or ANY REAL REASON to think you may be infected with something serious like Lyme's disease, for heaven's sake don't go all squishy-gooey New Age alternative medicine -- TAKE ANTIBIOTICS! Kill the infection in its early stages and you won't have awful problems down the road.

[KimDC]

07:48 PM on 08/25/2012

I am an acupuncturist and I totally agree with you! Lyme disease if nipped in the bud is completely curable, but left alone it can become chronic with devastating effects.

[Nirinjan Yee]

10:56 AM on 08/26/2012

Absolutely! Lyme disease can be arrested if it's caught right away. I was on oral and IV antibiotics for a total of 2 years. From my experience as a patient and practitioner, holistic medicine seems to bring the most success, where we value and combine all approaches intelligently for the best outcome :-)

[Kat Lib]

08:45 PM on 08/24/2012

Most people that I know of are treated with antibiotics and do just fine. Did you delay in getting treatment, because from what I've read not being able to walk again was not generally a result of Lyme disease. But somehow the power of breathing kept you from being crippled? And you really need an app to "help tap into our inner reserve of calm." I don't meditate, but I can sit and think calmly about things, or I certainly can read a good book that helps me to relax.

[Nirinjan Yee]

11:16 AM on 08/26/2012

I wasn't diagnosed until it had really progressed. And I didn't have the typical bite with a ring. I was on oral and IV antibiotics for about 2 years and then released from medical care. I believe everything that I did helped. But, it was when I spent many hours a day practicing breathing and sensory awareness that I began to feel less pain or more mobility. I created the app after I had recovered from Lyme mainly because I was looking for a way to help people more quickly enter into the deep experience of breath that I had. Apps aren't a replacement for yoga, a walk in nature, or a good book. But they are a wonderful addition. And isn't great that we can have something in our phone that can be a gentle reminder to inner reserves of calm and healing.

[karkids]

05:15 PM on 08/24/2012

" Five Ways To Turn Your Mobile Device Into A Mecca For Healing"
Number 1. Stop reading "Politics" on Huffington Post.

[jginthecountry]

07:55 PM on 08/29/2012

LOL! True!

[Bluelynx]

12:47 PM on 08/24/2012

And I believe in the amazing power of technology to make your life miserable. I have an old, obsolete flip phone which I attempted to replace with a smart phone. Setting that thing up was the worse experience, it gave me nothing but a headache. I found there was one thing it can do, and do well: turn itself off! It is so unreliable, I had to ask myself, suppose I get into trouble, suppose I have to call 911, and this thing wants to play guessing games? I had it deactivated and it's going back to where it came from ASAP. I'll never touch one of these things again, they absolutely are not worth the trouble they cause.

[DrCalif]

10:22 AM on 08/24/2012

Is there an app yet for listening to your body without the mediation of a device? For being in touch with your senses and your flesh in an embodied way?

[Dinesh Kaushik]

12:05 AM on 08/25/2012

Yes there is. It is called Om or AOM meaning application of mind. But this application, commonly called meditation, gets you into touch not only with your senses or flesh but trillions of cells that constitute your body.

[JulieMarisa]

09:24 AM on 08/24/2012

I pray to God that people that have Lyme Disease don't feel bad when they try breathing and they don't get better. My cousin has Lyme Disease and bought into this simplistic practice along with diet, etc. and guess what? It didn't work and she got worse. She wasted a year doing breathing, vitamins, changing houses due to environmental issues, and then finally, she got to the point that the Lyme Disease brought on the ALS. Now she is literally fighting for her life. She had to travel to India to due experimental stem cell transplant and she is still not improving rapidly. She is still fighting this thing but it is a tough battle. She cannot be alone. She has caretakers around the clock. She is in speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc. So, please, enough with the yoga and breathing being the cure all.

[MrsHealthy]

12:06 PM on 08/24/2012

I am so sorry to hear of your cousin's situation. I hope she can find some way to reverse or stop the progression. Lyme is such a horrible disease. I was surprised to read the article's author was told she would not be able to walk again. My 11 year old daughter had the bull's eye rash twice which we treated with antibiotics and have not seemed to have anymore problems. I am highly against the routine use of antibiotics for treatment of conditions they are not intended to treat, precisely for the reason that they will then stay effective for the conditions they are needed for. My daughter has never been given antibiotics except for the two bull's eye's.

[JulieMarisa]

11:10 PM on 08/24/2012

My cousin never saw the bullseye marks. She lived on Sacramento River and was bitten all of the time and never thought twice about it until years later when her hands stopped working. Glad your daughter is OK. There are lots of people that have not had early diagnosis and it turns into ALS or MS. It's a terrible condition.