What if there was an immensely intelligent, all knowing, compassionate healer that you could ask for guidance about your health? This wondrous person could tell you how to completely take care of yourself in great detail: what exercise was best for you, what diet, where you should live, what spiritual path you should follow. No question would be too small to ask. Would you want to know the answers?

If the answer is yes then I can tell you where to find this healer, it is in each and every one of us. The new age movement has made this secret public knowledge, but tapping into this healer within us is the tricky part. Not because you need to have some special gift from birth but because it relates to our ability to stay in the present moment. Within the present moment we are in a state of ?feeling? as opposed to a state of ?thinking?. As soon as we start to create a story around what we are feeling we slide into the ?thinking? state. Ruminating on the past and planning our future is the quickest way to get stuck in the ?thinking? state. Although thinking has really helped move civilization along, it hasn?t always done such a great job on healing the body and spirit.

This ?feeling? state is just another name for being in the present moment. Try this simple technique for becoming present. Tune in to your breath. Sit still and take your time, notice your inhale, notice your exhale. Now notice any sensations in your right hand; maybe you feel warmth or coolness, tingling, a breeze. Then slowly shift your attention to your right arm, then your left hand, left arm, right leg, left leg, etc. tuning in to any physical sensations you might have. Tune in to only what you feel. Being in the present moment, in and of itself, is very relaxing. If you can get to this place while you are doing an exercise program, you will immediately be able to feel if the particular exercise is right for you. If it is right for you, you will simply feel good.

Let me give you an example. My twin sister is a high school physics teacher and she brought my Qi Gong video in to show her class an alternative way of looking at energy. She was showing the video when one of her students, Jim, arrived late to class and paused in front of the TV screen to watch what I was doing. At this particular moment I was demonstrating how to massage the Lung Meridian that runs from a point near the shoulder and down the inside of the arm to the thumb. It is a very simple technique where you just rub using the palm of the hand from the shoulder down to the hand as if you were brushing something off your arm. Jim was not feeling particularly open to this exercise and decided to have a little fun with it while he was standing in front of the class. He said, ?That?s stupid,? and mockingly started to brush his palm down his arm. After repeating this several times, his face suddenly changed and in surprise he said wonderingly, ?Hey wait, that feels good??

Mindfulness is the key to feeling what is right or wrong for your body. The basic code to follow is that if something feels good, it?s good for you. When it stops feeling good, it?s time to stop that exercise.

You can use this same mindset when determining what diet would be best for you. Food is fuel for you. When you eat a meal that is good for you, you should feel energized and refreshed. If you feel tired after you eat, then it wasn?t the right food for you. If you belch a lot later or have excess gas or if you get a headache then you?ll know you need to change your diet. This seems like a fairly easy way to determine your diet, and it is. The only difficult part is that in order to notice how you feel while you are eating you need to avoid doing anything else during this time. When you are eating avoid watching TV, reading, working, or heavy discussions. Not only do these activities disturb our digestion, they distract us from noticing how we feel.

This is the crux of deciding what is right for you to do. When you try out an exercise program, special diet, or any other endeavor, stay in the present moment and notice how you feel. Remember that a very powerful healer lives inside you. When you are in the ?feeling? mode, you will be able to see for yourself what is right for you.