Public Smoking Ban in Illinois - January 2008 You can really quit! Help from Chicago Healers Practitioners

 With the public smoking ban taking effect in all of Illinois on January 2008 – there are even more reasons to really quit this time!  Below are a myriad of reasons to quit, tips to help you quit from a holistic perspective (how to integrate being a non-smoker into your systems, and replace the smoking habit!), and where to find support during this process.   

Quit Smoking Today- 10 Strong Tools

By Liat (Scheffer) Ben Yakov, MBA, CST

 Smoking is not just about some stick filled with tobacco. It has physical and emotional aspects as well as daily habits connected to it. Therefore, in order to quit smoking we must address all its aspects. If we neglect one of the aspects we will be in danger to get back to smoking or adopt new addiction.

Reasons: The first step is to understand why you want to quit smoking. If you don’t do it for yourself and your health, you won't do it at all. Quit smoking is usually not easy, if you don't find good enough reasons to stop this habit you will give up in the way. Women who know that smoking during pregnancy endanger their embryo, can stop smoking in a day. Make yourself a list of all the reasons you need to stop smoking for. The more good reasons you have, you will be more committed to the process.

Change the habit; One of the biggest problems with smoking is that you are already conditioned to smoke when waking up, drinking coffee, having beer, after eating and so on. Break these habits. If it is something you can avoid for a while, like drinking alcohol, do so. When you can not avoid the conditioned habit, like eating, try to go for lunch to places where it is forbidden to smoke so you'll be forced to break the habit. Try to use cigarette stick substitutes; they will help you with the habit.   

Awareness, consciousness; Usually you are not even aware when you take another cigarette. You must be conscious about your smoking; otherwise you will never be able to stop smoking. Move the package away from you, so you'll have to make an effort to get a cigarette. When you have an urge for another cigarette, stop for a moment, notice your feelings, think why you want this cigarette, try to do something else, take a gum, drink water, eat vegetables or fruits, count to 30 and check again, do you really need this cigarette? Can you skip it this time? When you do smoke, stop all other activities. When you have to make time for smoking and don't smoke while doing other things, you smoke less and change patterns.

Physical activity; Many smoking people are afraid to gain weight when stop smoking. Engaging in any kind of physical activity and sport can decrease the chance you'll gain weigh when not smoking. Another great impact sport has, it makes you feel better, healthier and reduce your passion for smoking.

Emotional comfort; Cigarette can function as emotional comfort. Try to realize when you need to be comfort and find healthier comforts – bubble bath, music, dancing, good movie, talk to your best friend, cuddle with your love one or buy your self a little something (you basically save lots of money when not smoking).

Stickers and gums; Use nicotine stickers and gums to help you deal with the physical addiction. They are less dangerous than smoking, and help to deal with the addiction while changing the habits.

Healing visualization; Can you see yourself not smoking? Try to picture yourself as non-smoker. Try to smell the good scent you have, feel the healthy breathing, hear and see your family and friends being proud of you, imagine yourself getting old gracefully, having fun with your grand children. Use the visualization 3-4 times a day, when ever you remember, it will help you create the reality you want.

Baby steps; Don't think you have to stop smoking for the rest of your life. Think of today think of the next cigarette. It is a lot easier when you don't think about the next 100 years but only about your next step.

Support; Look for moral support whether it is friends, colleagues, support groups. Whatever you feel most comfortable with. Declare your will to quit smoking and ask your surrounding to help with your decision. Maybe engage a friend to quit smoking with you, ask the smoking friend and family not to smoke near you, ask someone you trust to remind you why you're doing that and prevent you from smoking when you feel weak.

Professional help; Sometimes dealing with smoking alone is not enough. Maybe you already tried hundred of times to quit smoking and failed, maybe you feel you can not live without smoking. Whatever the reason is, you can look for professional help. There are many different practitioners and techniques you can try, one of them will sure fit you. When looking for a practitioner be sure he or she deal with all different aspects of smoking – physical addiction, emotional attachment and constraint patterns. Kinesiology is one of the techniques which well address all different aspect and deals with each and every one of them.

http://www.chicagohealers.com/interviews/lyakov.html   773-456-9204 

Smoking and the Mouth – More Important Information

by Dr. Ray Hatland, DDS 

Many smokers overlook the damage smoking causes to the teeth and mouth. “A lot of people don’t understand what they are doing to themselves in terms of dentistry,” ChicagoHealers.com Practitioner Ray Hatland, DDS explains. “The most holistic thing to do to a body is to quit smoking,” he states. Tobacco stains, risks of periodontal disease and loss of teeth are just some of the many adverse effects of smoking on the mouth. Here, Dr. Hatland gives some good reasons to quit smoking immediately: 

• Periodontal Disease - A collective term for the inflammation of gums, loss of bone structure and tissue in the mouth, periodontal disease can lead to the early and painful loss of teeth.
• Oral Cancer - Gingivostomatitis and Leukoplakia are both cancers caused by bacteria in the mouth from smoking. Gingivostomatitis causes painful mouth ulcers and sores that make it nearly impossible to eat, talk and eventually breathe.  Leukoplakia is a tumor-like growth inside the mouth caused by a barrier the body puts up when bacteria from smoking enters the mouth. Both illnesses can be very debilitating and uncomfortable, and eventually, lead to death.
• Cosmetic and Apparent Effects - Even with mouth whitening toothpastes and home kits, diminishing stains from smoking is virtually impossible. Bad breath and the constant odor of smoke a smoker leaves behind are also unpleasant to the smoker and those around them. http://www.chicagohealers.com/interviews/rhatland.htm 773-338-4440

95% Success Rate for Quitting Smoking

By Karen Erickson, CH, Energy Healer

Enlightened Healing Center has had great success in helping people quit smoking.  To help people quit and not gain weight by using a combination of hypnosis and the Ondamed biofeedback system which breaks the addiction.  The Ondamed has a 95% effective rate and is very state of the art, better than laser (many different frequencies are applied and you get charged water which helps reinforce it).  The Ondamed helps the smoker not have the side effects of the constant coughing, as well, because it the helps the body detox easily.  When combined with hypnosis, it is a very powerful way to quite smoking and not gain weight.  708-364-8887 

Holistic Smoking Cessation

By Gina Orlando, Certified Hypnotherapist and Wellness Consultant 

Her four-session smoking cessation program has tracked a 91 percent success rate for those who completed the program using a combination of self-hypnosis, Emotional Freedom Techniques™, healthy eating and lifestyle changes.  According to Orlando, “The trick in quitting smoking successfully is to reduce and eliminate all of the fears, beliefs, triggers and cravings associated with the smoking habit. Research shows that smokers have a higher rate of success when they use individual, one-on-one hypnosis to quit smoking.” Here are some of Orlando’s holistic methods to successfully quit smoking:

Hypnosis - All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. During hypnosis the person relaxes the brain waves where the habit lives and makes the subconscious mind available. The power of the mind allows the smoker to move toward their goal of being a successful nonsmoker through positive suggestions, healthful images and seeing themselves as a non-smoker. Using the power of the mind through self-hypnosis teaches the smoker several short and effective ways to calm themselves form cravings.

Emotional Freedom Techniques™ - This amazingly effective mind-body technique efficiently reduces and collapses the cravings, fears, beliefs, associations, triggers and stresses that are the major part of the smoking habit. Being clear of these, the smoker feels more calm and confident in becoming a nonsmoker forever.

Healthy Eating, Especially Breakfast - Most smokers have coffee and cigarettes for breakfast which give no nutrients to the body or brain. By having a protein fruit smoothie or some other healthy breakfast which is balanced in protein and healthy carbohydrates, the smoker can begin to support brain chemistry and blood sugar, and create a ‘non-craving’ brain. http://www.chicagohealers.com/interviews/gorlando.html 708-524-9103