Approach toward the Treatment and Cure for Diabesity
This life’s five windows of the soul
Distort the Heavens from pole to pole
And leads you to believe a lie
When we see with, not through, the eye.
— WILLIAM BLAKE
We are spiritual beings living in human physical form. Although most of us identify with our physical body, our capacity to thrive depends on so much more. The physical body is an amazing arrangement of natural elements, but it is virtually worthless without the vital life force that makes the body’s roughly fifty trillion cells work together to form dynamic, creative, energetic beings, capable of doing so much good.
Vedanta philosophy (veda means “knowledge”) describes this vital life force as prana, which stays constant even as we progress through different phases of life.1 The Rig Veda is believed by historians to be the oldest available document in human history, dated from 10,000 to 4000 BCE. Prana, the vital life force, connects the physical body to the mind — to our discerning intellect, knowledge, and wisdom, which help us distinguish the right path from the often-easier wrong one. Prana helps us to consciously make the right choices every moment of every day so that we can reach or remain in a state of balance and bliss with the universe, when we live life in perfect harmony and congruence with our own values and with nature.
Our foolish misidentification with the physical body is the root cause of overindulgence in sense gratification, through excessive consumption of food, drink, smoking, and drugs. This foolishness also leads to overattachment, which translates to destructive emotions, such as lust, anger, greed, arrogance, and possessiveness.
When we look beyond the physical body and realize that there is so much more to us than our five physical senses, we can connect with the ever-powerful, all-knowing forces of nature that are continually helping us heal and find balance and bliss. We can then realize that there is actually no “space” between us and the vital forces of nature. We, and everything around us, are made up of the five elements of fire, water, earth, air, and ether (or space).
If diabesity is a state of energy imbalance due to overconsumption, Turbo Metabolism is a state of harmony between the mind, body, and universe. This state of harmony can only be achieved by understanding and optimizing the free flow of energy throughout all three.
In ancient Indian philosophical texts, prana or life force is described as energy that should flow freely throughout the body through psychic centers of energy, documented as chakras as early as 800 BCE.
The Sanskrit word chakra literally translates as “wheel” or “disk.” In yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda, this term refers to wheels of energy (or life force) throughout the body. There are seven main chakras, which are roughly lined up along the spine, starting from the base of the spine through to the crown of the head.2 They are roughly aligned with the spine but can be visualized in the front of the body as well. To visualize a chakra in the body, imagine a swirling wheel of energy where matter and consciousness meet. This invisible energy, called prana, is the vital life force that keeps us vibrant, healthy, and alive.
According to WebMD, Ayurvedic medicine — also known as Ayurveda — is one of the world’s oldest holistic (whole-body) healing systems. It was developed thousands of years ago in India.
Based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit, the primary focus of Ayurvedic medicine is to promote good health, rather than fight disease. But treatments may be recommended for specific health problems and are unique to each individual based on their mind-body constitution.
Yoga and Ayurveda are essentially inseparable sisters. Although yoga makes most people think of poses where people twist themselves like pretzels, its fundamental tenets are an eightfold system of universal morality, personal observances, postures, breath control, mastery over the senses, concentration, devotion, and ultimately, union with the divine. Hence, yoga is much more of a way of living than merely a practice of poses.
The Chakras: Energy Flow in the Body
The chakras, these swirling wheels of energy, correspond to massive nerve centers in the body. Each of the seven main chakras contains bundles of nerves and major organs as well as our psychological, emotional, and spiritual states of being. This life energy is always moving: We are living in a dynamic system that is constantly in motion, rebalancing itself, repairing, and healing all the time. Thus, it is essential that our seven main chakras stay open, aligned, and fluid. If there is a blockage, energy cannot flow. Another way to think about this is in terms of our personal growth and evolution. As we mature from infancy to adolescence to young adulthood, and from adulthood onward to middle age and beyond, we become wiser and priorities change. Our worldview changes, as do our needs. Growth and healing happens wherever energy flows. Energy flow requires awareness.
Awareness neutralizes some of the rigidity of fixed ways of thinking and keeps energy flowing smoothly. It allows us to understand when to hold on to things and when to let go. It creates the ability to choose consciously rather than acting in automatic, predictable ways. Because mind, body, soul, and spirit are intimately connected, awareness of an imbalance in one area will help bring the others back into balance. This shift in our mental paradigm is what is required for us to adopt a new way of living.
The Three Chakras of Matter
The first three chakras, starting at the base of the spine, are chakras of matter. They are more physical in nature. These chakras can also be thought of as symbolic of our most basic needs for survival — food, water, and shelter — and body organ functions, such as the capacity to excrete waste and to reproduce. These are dominant in our infancy and childhood, as the top priority at that time is to survive.
First chakra: The chakra of survival, stability, security, and our basic needs, the first chakra encompasses the base of the spine, the bladder, and the colon. When this chakra is open, we feel safe and fearless. It is the energy of feeling connected to the Earth in a way that is safe and nurturing. Having issues with safety and security can lead to problems with addiction to foods or money, or hoarding behavior that attempts to compensate for lack of safety and security at some prior point in life.
Second chakra: The second chakra is our sensuality, creativity, and sexual center. It is located above the pubic bone, below the navel, and is responsible for our creative expression. Issues related to sensuality and creative expression at any stage in life can lead to imbalances in our sexuality, such as insecurities, dysfunctions, or sex addictions later in life.
Third chakra: The third chakra is located in the area from the navel to the breast bone: the pit of the stomach. The third chakra is our source of personal power, our self-worth and determination. This is the seat of the “fire in the belly” that drives us to move forward. Imbalances at this level can lead to overidentification with the ego, manifesting as arrogance. This energy may be most powerful during our adolescent and teenage years.
The Four Chakras of Spirit
These chakras speak to our higher needs of truth, freedom, enlightenment, and bliss.
Fourth chakra: Located at the heart center, at the middle of the seven chakras, the fourth chakra unites the lower chakras of matter with the upper chakras of spirit. The fourth is spiritual in nature but serves as a bridge between our body, mind, emotions, and spirit. The heart chakra is our source of love and connection. It is at the level of the heart that we can expand the body horizontally. Think of it as opening
