The classical budo, or "martial ways" are not combat systems like their forerunner, bujutsu,
or "martial arts"; nor are they sports like modern judo, kendo, or karate.
They are first and foremost spiritual disciplines, whose ultimate goal, achieved through
the most rigorous mental and physical training, is self-realization in the tradition of Zen Buddhism.
Donn F. Draeger
Classical Budo
Oxygen
The Building Blocks of Life
The Life-Giver: Oxygen
Of all the elements on earth, none is more essential to life itself than oxygen. It makes up 20% of the earth’s atmosphere, is the third most abundant element found in the sun, and it plays a critical role in the carbon-nitrogen cycle, the process once thought to give the sun and stars their energy. Oxygen is responsible for the bright reds and yellow-greens of the Aurora Borealis.
A gaseous element, oxygen forms 20% of the atmosphere by volume. It makes up almost 50% of the earth’s crust by weight, 42% of all vegetation, 85% of seawater, 46% of igneous rocks and 47% of dry soil. Oxygen comprises 65% of our body.
Oxygen is essential for combustion and acts as a disinfectant, deodorizer, sanitizer and preserver. We can live a few days without water and a few weeks without food, but only a few minutes without oxygen. All functions of our body are regulated by oxygen. It must be replaced on a moment-to-moment basis because 90% of our life energy depends on it. Oxygen energizes cells so they can regenerate. Our body uses oxygen to metabolize food and to eliminate toxins and waste through oxidation. Our brain needs oxygen each second to process information. In fact, all of our organs need a great deal of oxygen to function efficiently. The ability to think, feel, move, eat, sleep and even talk all depends on energy generated from oxygen.
Oxygen is the only element capable of combining with almost every other element to form the essential components necessary to build and maintain our bodies. For instance, oxygen + nitrogen + carbon + hydrogen = proteins. Oxygen + carbon + hydrogen = carbohydrates. Oxygen + hydrogen = water. The combination of oxygen in the air, water, proteins and carbohydrates creates life energy. Without oxygen there would be no life.
Oxygen and Health
Oxygen is one of five elements needed to sustain life and clearly, one of the most important. For over 150 years oxygen has been used to treat the sick and injured; and in the treatment of medical problems like bone infections, wounds, carbon-monoxide poisoning and decompression sickness. (Only recently has the medical and sport professions begun to take a new and serious look at the value of increasing oxygen levels and the benefits that can be attained.)
Oxygen— which is absorbed by hemoglobin in the blood and is transferred to every cell in the body— provides life and energy to every living cell. If poor eating habits, drinking, pollution, toxins, drugs or lack of exercise abuse the body, the cells are deprived of vital oxygen and the immune system may be weakened. Low oxygen levels are undesirable because they affect the body's cell metabolism and may even cause it to manufacture improper chemicals and/or give rise to various health problems. A lack of oxygen results in sickness, poor vitality, poor stamina, fatigue and a general weak disposition. Our normal level of oxygen reserves can be depleted over time by a number of factors including:
• Toxic Stress— toxic chemicals and air pollution, both becoming more prevalent in our cities; increased use of antibiotics
• Emotional Stress— produces adrenaline and adrenal-related hormones, which utilize more oxygen
• Physical Trauma— reduces circulation and oxygen supply to many cells and tissues throughout the body
• Infections— depletes our store of oxygen to fight bacteria, fungi and viruses; frequent use of drugs also uses up our oxygen supplies at the cellular level
Today, noted authorities stress that most diseases, especially yeast or fungal infections like candida albicans, occur more frequently in any oxygen-poor environment in the body. Dr. Stephen Levine, a molecular biologist and respected nutrition researcher, has also stated, “We can look at oxygen deficiency as the single greatest cause of all disease.” In his original hypothesis, he asserts, “oxygen deficiency accompanies, and is an integral aspect in, all disease states.” Thus, the development of a shortage of oxygen in the blood.could very well be the starting point for the compromise of the immune system and the beginning of feared health problems such as cancer, leukemia, AIDS, seizures, nerve deterioration and candida."
Oxygen Deficiency Symptoms
Oxygen deficiency plays an important part in cellular contamnation. That’s because oxygen is a powerful detoxifier and when it is deficient, toxins begin to devastate bodily functions and deplete the body of life giving energy.
Initial symptoms of oxygen deficiency may include: overall weakness, fatigue, circulation problems, poor digestion, muscle aches, dizziness, mood issues, memory loss, irrational behavior, irritability, acid stomach, and bronchial complications. When the immune system is compromised by a lack of oxygen, the body is more susceptible to bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections, colds, and flu. In the extreme, oxygen deprivation can trigger life-threatening diseases.
Dr. Otto Warburg, renowned biochemist and 1931 Nobel Prize winner, hypothesized that cancer cells cannot grow in a high oxygen environment. His lectures revealed that when oxidation fails and fermentation is substituted for a cell's energy, the pathway to cancer is opened. Dr. Warburg has said that “The prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the normal oxygen respiration of body cells by an anaerobic (without oxygen) cell respiration.” Dr. Warburg’s discovery is just one of many that point to the vital importance of oxygen.
Knowledgeable scientists and doctors agree that the most common cause of metabolic disorders is oxygen-deficient blood. It is most recognizable by the creation of uric acid. This widely dispersed bodily poison is the basic cause of many chronic illnesses. The layman thinks of uric acid as a liquid. It may appear to be in solution, but as a rule it is in fact a fine crystal powder. Because of its insolubility, it is very dangerous. In order for the body to regain health, the body must be supported in its efforts to ingest sufficient oxygen to revitalize energy and cleanse itself of toxic substances.
Oxygen plays another very important role in the body acting as a guardian and protector against unfriendly bacteria and disease organisms. One of oxygen's major functions is disintegration. Garbage, toxins, debris, and any useless substances are destroyed by oxygen and carried out of the system.
Oxygen Therapy
Oxygen therapy is any supplemental process that increases the available oxygen content in the body. Therapies may also include processes that enhance the body's ability to use oxygen or promote oxygen absorption. Many of these oxygen therapies are expensive, and should be administered by a licensed medical professional:
• Bottled Oxygen— often prescribed as an inhalation therapy for serious bronchial and other respiratory problems
• Ozone (O3) Therapy— generally is infused rectally or intravenously, primarily used to increase blood oxygenation, circulation, immunity, and to kill bacteria, viruses and fungi; ozone oxygen is extremely unstable and can be toxic if not administered properly
• Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) Therapy— hydrogen peroxide is manufactured in the bloodstream to help fight bacteria, viruses, yeast, fungi, and other invading pathogens. The ingestion of H2O2 is controversial because it can cause an adverse reaction in the digestive tract: excess hydrogen causes an unbalanced pH, and may create dangerous free radicals; this therapy should be utilized only under the supervision of a licensed health care professional
• Breathing Exercises— thought to increase lung capacity, which transfers more oxygen to the bloodstream. Many people are shallow breathers and therefore disciplines such as yoga and other classes on diaphragmatic breathing can be very helpful
• Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy— involves breathing oxygen in a pressurized chamber; this therapy saturates tissues and cells with oxygen, and was originally designed to treat divers and aviators for decompression sickness and air embolisms
Many therapies and products tend to flood the body with oxygen, often creating harmful oxygen free radicals, and can result in oxidative injury to biologic systems, according to Professors Ghatak and Chandra (Complementary Medicine, P.13, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1998).
• Cellfood Dietary Supplement— in my view, daily ingestion of Cellfood is the easiest and most cost effective form of oxygen therapy; it’s the one form that does not create free radicals; in fact, it actually uses them to create more stable oxygen. More about this in the pages to follow.
Dr David S. Dyer
Oxygen Supplementation— A Key to Vibrant Health
Did you know that 90 per- cent of our nutritional energy comes from oxygen— and only 10 percent is derived from the food we ingest? Oxygen is fundamental. Colorless, tasteless and odorless, oxygen is the supreme element— a primary nutrient without which life couldn’t exist. We can live without food for weeks and without water for between three to seven days.
But how long can we live without oxygen?
Five minutes.
That’s how important it is.