The various self-healing methods and techniques have one basic philosophy behind them and that is - if we put our body and mind to good use, we can overcome and cure any medical condition. These methods are based on the concept that our body and mind will function properly and stay healthy, as long as we want, through our own efforts. However, if you look at the actual results of some of them, they have been mixed in the past. As they are still amateur in nature, one cannot expect hundred percent effectiveness and accuracy from them. Nevertheless, if put into practice, they definitely help a person to feel relaxed, stress-free, healthy and even cured of diseases in some cases! Breathing Exercises Deep Breathing Deep breathing i.e., taking slow, deep breaths through the nose, filling the air right up to the abdomen and then expanding the chest, followed by exhaling slowly through the nose, is a very effective and relaxing breathing exercise. This exercise should be performed with full concentration on your breath and both eyes closed. Around ten repetitions of this exercise per day are more than enough to derive many health benefits. Through deep breathing, large amounts of oxygen enters the body, thus relaxing a person immensely, in the process. Anuloma Viloma (Alternate Nostril Breathing) Anuloma Viloma is known to balance both the right and left hemispheres of the brain, thus improving the mental as well as physical health of the practitioner. To perform this exercise, close your right nostril with your thumb and inhale through the left nostril. Next, using your small finger and the one next to it, close your left nostril as well. Hold your breath till the count of sixteen. In the end, exhale through the right nostril, while still keeping the left nostril closed with the help of your fingers. Repeat the same three steps, this time starting to inhale from the right nostril and keep your left nostril closed. Ten to twelve repetitions of this breathing exercise should be performed every day for maximum health benefits. Meditation Daily Meditation Meditating daily aids in self-healing as it gives a person full control over his feelings, emotions and thoughts. By meditating every day, you can reduce stress considerably, which can otherwise lead to many lifestyle diseases like cancer, autoimmune disease and heart disease. Meditation is also known to lower the blood pressure and enhance immunity. Some of the other benefits of meditation are - it provides emotional balance, improves concentration and makes a person spiritually stronger. An easy way to meditate daily is to sit in a relaxed position on the floor, with your eyes closed. Thereafter, stop thinking about what's around you or going on in your life. Instead, focus on your breathing. Focus on how you take in air through the nose, how it fills up your insides and then how you exhale it. Continue with this "no thinking" self-healing technique for about ten minutes. Make it a habit and practice it every day for best results. Creative Visualization This is a fun meditation technique for self-healing, through which a person visually creates and manifests, whatever he desires in his life. One of the ways to practice creative visualization is to meditate and visualize all the things that you want and the goals that you want to achieve in this lifetime. For instance, if your goal in life is to own a farmhouse, you actually meditate and visualize yourself as a farmhouse owner, living in it, working there and enjoying the countryside. Another method of creative visualization is through fear and resistance. In this method, you put all your energies into something that you do not want to happen. For example, if you are stubborn and do not wish to be anymore, you feed all your energies into focusing on becoming flexible and avoiding stubbornness. Likewise, there are many other ways to practice creative visualization, so learn any of these and walk towards self-healing. Simple Self-help Healing Methods Positive Thinking One of the simplest ways to heal yourself is to think about happy, positive thoughts. As our thoughts and mental condition have a direct bearing on our physical health, by thinking positively about our body, mind, soul and having faith that the future will be bright, a person can heal himself tremendously. Healthy Diet The adage, "We are what we eat" is absolutely true. To heal the body, eating the right foods and giving up on those that are unhealthy, is very important. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats fall in the category of "healthy foods" and hence your daily diet should mainly consist of them. On the other hand, fatty foods, junk food, red meat, alcohol, high sugar foods - all these should be avoided. Other Methods for Self-healing Qigong This technique (devised by Len Walker) involves practicing the visualization meditation technique while holding the saliva simultaneously. This is known to help in diseases such as scoliosis, gallstones and even cancer. To practice Qigong, let some saliva build in your mouth (about a tablespoon) and then hold it there. While doing this, visualize yourself without the disease/problem that you have. For instance, if you have pain due to arthritis, you can simply tell it to go away and after that, visualize yourself hale and hearty, sans any kind of pain. According to Qigong practitioners, this technique is very effective since saliva is full of life force energy, known as "Chi". While practicing this self-help healing method, in case you need to talk or drink something, you can simply swallow the saliva and then start all over again. To make this even more effective, practice it around five to six times in a day. La-jin Therapy In the Chinese language, "La" means to stretch and "jin" refers to the various ligaments and tendons. Thus, La-jin therapy involves stretching the ligaments and tendons of the body. According to the Chinese medicine, a strip known as "jin" runs in the entire body, from the neck to the soles of the feet. So, if the tendons and ligaments are not healthy, it can create pain and stiffness in all the body parts through which this strip runs, such as neck, back, waist, legs, thighs and feet. It can also make these body parts inflexible and numb. This is where this self-healing technique comes in. By practicing various postures of La-jin therapy, a person can eliminate pain and improve flexibility in all these body parts. Although, it is important that you practice this technique under a trained practitioner, yet here is one simple posture that you can do on your own at home itself. Start with standing in a door frame. Raise both your arms, stretch them to the maximum and touch the two sides of the frame. Next, bending your legs at the knee, keep one of the legs a little ahead of your body, with your feet flat on the ground. Your upper body should be straight and at the same time, stretch the other leg which is behind, as much as you can. Hold in this position for about three minutes and then perform the same exercise on the other leg. Besides the ones listed above, some of the other benefits of La-jin therapy are - it makes kidneys stronger, enhances sexual ability, cures stomach, liver and gallbladder problems, and is known to make the reproductive system stronger. Self-massage Self-massage, which involves rubbing, stroking or kneading various body parts, with your own hands and fingers, helps in relaxing the body, improving blood circulation and promoting overall well-being. To perform self-massage, simply lie down or sit on a chair. You should be fully relaxed while undertaking self-massage. The simplest way to do it is rubbing a particular body part with your fingers and hands, in a circular motion. Kneading your muscles is also good, especially if you apply warm vegetable oil first. Light slapping and gently stroking the muscles are some of the other self-massage techniques that you can employ to improve blood circulation in your body. Acupressure Acupressure is a Chinese self-healing method, which involves pressing the body at some "special points". This results in the release of endorphins from the body, which has many health benefits, such as relaxation of the muscles, relief from pain and elimination of stress from the mind. Acupressure is a part of the holistic healing philosophy. To perform acupressure, you would need to study the various points, their location, the way pressure is applied on them as well as the duration for which it is applied. Besides these, there are many other methods that you can derive benefits from. Yoga, reiki, meditation - take your pick from any of these. These days, there are many workshops which are conducted to teach people how to cure diseases with their own mind and body, so you can attend these too. However, remember that these techniques are in no way a replacement for medical treatment. Of course, you can give them a try as they would not harm you in any way and would definitely help you heal faster!