Lazer Brody's Blog, page 19

The Emuna Fitness Pushup Factory: Who's Afraid of Pushups?

Even in the military combat units, when the DI (drill instructor) says, "Drop down for 10", guys grumble and grunt. What's the big deal? Ten pushups with a full pack on your back? The reason is that people complain when they're having commands barked at them. But, if the DI hears you complaining, you'll have to do 50, even if you feel like your arms are falling off...

I love pushups. I'm always dreaming up new and more challenging ways to do them, like this elevated pushup that I did on the road in an early-morning drive from London to Manchester. Pushups are one of the most important - if not the most important - body-weight exercise there is. By doing a proper pushup, you're not only working your arms but your core, glutes and leg muscles as well.

Don't be afraid of pushups. In this vid, I teach you 5 basic forms, starting from a beginner's pushup that even your grandmother can do, then graduating to immediate and advanced. Once you get the hang of a pushup, I then teach you how to do a perfect pushup, because one pushup in perfect form is better than 10 in lousy form. Now, for more of a challenge, there's the medicine-ball pushup, which gives the body a big clout for a small investment of time.

Let's go another step further: once you've seen the above lessons, you're ready for the rough-guys' lesson. This is the lesson that makes the thugs regret that they ever messed around with emuna-fitness folks. Here are three pushup forms to strengthen your hands, something that's crucial for anyone who participates in combat-arts sports. Enjoy this:

"G-d Loves the Jews"

The Israeli-Arab driver of the above-pictured bus that suffered a direct hit from an anti-tank missile from Gaza was rushed to the trauma center. He said, "God loves the Jews; minutes before before my bus was hit, 50 Israeli soldiers de-boarded, they all would have died, its a miracle". Even during the barrages, we must never forget how much Hashem loves us.

Meanwhile, more than 300 missiles have fallen on the south of Israel today and there have been some serious injuries and property damage. Red-alert sirens are still going off periodically all over the south of Israel.

Below is a police photo we just received from a rocket that exploded down the road in Ashkelon about a half hour ago. May we hear good news from each other, amen!

Beams Bulletin: South of Israel Under Attack from Gaza

Israel, 5:45 PM local time - during the last 60 minutes, more than 100 rockets have been fired at Israel from Hamas in Gaza. There have been damages, such as direct hits on a house, a bus and a gas pipeline. Most of the hits are in Sderot and Gaza-belt settlements, but sirens have hava also sounded down the road from us in Ashkelon, where all the public bomb shelters have been opened, in Ofaqim, Netivot, Kibbutz Saad and elsewhere. We have not heard of fatalities, Heaven forbid, but there have been casualties. From here in Ashdod, we can see jet fighters on their way to Gaza. Pray for Israel and we should all make every effort to rid our mouths of evil speech about anyone.

Last night, Lt. Col. "M", commander of an IDF special ops unit, was killed operating in Gaza. The whole operation has been hushed up and it's quite a mystery. It's rare that the IDF doesn't release the name of a fallen officer or soldier. Something is wierd...

Let's not forget that Hashem runs the world. Emuna, teshuva and prayer are still our best weapons. 

Update, 6:30 PM, Israel local time - we've just heard that three people in Ashkelon have been wounded by shrapnel from the exploding incoming missiles. There are additional casualties as well. Just now, more missile fire at Ashkelon. Beer Sheva is now on alert.

"You Saved My Son!"

Do you remember DG From the Pits of the Texas State Penitentiary? He's the one who received the Garden of Emuna on the day he decided to commit suicide, losing all hope in the doubly depressing predicament of life imprisonment and solitary confinement. DG was angry - at the warden, at the guards, at all the Jew-hating inmates who made his life unbearable and at the whole world. To make a long story short, instead of committing suicide, DG sat up all night reading the Garden of Emuna...

Rabbi Shalom Arush and I now get letters form DG every month. By way of Emuna Outreach, we send him our latest emuna books and pamphlets. DG is now out of solitary confinement and he works night shift in the prison boiler room. He does two hours of personal prayer five nights a week, a six-hour personal prayer session on Shabbat, and one hour on Fridays, when he's getting ready for Shabbat. He thanks Hashem for being imprisoned, because it brought him closer to Hashem.

Hold it - that's not the main story...

Three weeks ago, when Rav Arush and I were in Houston, a women came up to us after our lecture with tears streaming down her face: "I'm DG's mother; I came her to thank you - you saved my son's life!" What a moment that was! The 450-500 people that were there all witnessed that moving moment.

Rav Shalom says, "We don't deserve the credit. Imagine the Gan Eden (paradise) that awaits the person who donated the $20 to Emuna Outreach that enabled us to send the Garden of Emuna to DG.

You can save a life for $20!

We have hundreds of requests for Emuna books and CDs from the state penitentiaries of Florida, Texas and New York State. We need you to partner with us - Rav Shalom says that there is no tzedakah (charity) on earth that can compare to spreading emuna, especially when it's so instrumental in rehabilitating prison inmates and preventing suicides.

What would you think if DG and those like him were your own brother? Guess what, he is. For every $20 Donation to  Emuna Outreach, you can save a life. Because of the money we save in shipping 10 books, for $180, you can save ten lives. Donate to Emuna Outreach - you'll reap blessings from Above and below, in this world and in the next. Thanks and G-d bless. 

You Changed My Life

Rabbi Lazer Brody translating a joke for Rabbi Shalom Arush in Miami, during the recent "Emuna is our Future" speaking tour - he doesn't need to translate, "You changed my life" anymore��� photo by Rachel Israel, Miami

The one phrase I don't need to translate for my esteemed and beloved teacher Rabbi Shalom Arush shlit'a is, "You changed my life." During our recent North American "Emuna is Our Future" speaking tour, Rav Shalom heard it from almost everyone who spoke to him, as I witnessed during our 16 days together morning and night. And now, after the tour has been completed, he is receiving loads of letters, where people are saying the same thing over and over, like the one Dov from South Florida sent us. This is phenomenal...

Continue reading "You Changed My Life," Rabbi Shalom Arush's feature article in this week's exciting new issue of Breslev Israel web magazine.

Would you believe that a boy who never went to school because he spent his young years in concentration camps and escaping from the Nazis would grow up to be Commander of US Army Special Forces? This is much more than a hero story: don't miss The Tiger from Kovno, about Maj. General Sidnet Shachnow ob"m, by Rabbi Lazer Brody.

Also featured this week:

Dr. Zev Ballen - Sincerely Sorry

Racheli Reckles - The Garden of Nagging Wives

Yehudit Channen - Going Home

David Ben Horin - You're Fired!

Menachem Zakai - A Hidden Tzaddik's Advice

Hinda Sheva Liberman - Caught by the Silver Badge

Enjoy, and have a splendid new week!

Time-Out From Troubles

Shavua Tov! Our esteemed and beloved rabbi and teacher Rav Shalom Arush shlit'a asks, "Is it a sin to forget about your troubles for a half hour every day?" How do we do that and what do we gain? Enjoy this encouraging shiur and have a lovely new week!

Beams Weekend: Rav Shalom Arush and Rav Lazer Brody

For your weekend pleasure, here are two enlightening vids: Rav Shalom Arush on marital peace, and Rav Lazer Brody on this week's Torah portion, Toldot. Enjoy them both and have a lovely Shabbat!

*Scroll down to the bottom of this post for some super-exciting news:

Exciting News! Mark Tuesday, November 27, 2018 down on your calendar, and whatever you do, don't miss this event in Modiin, Israel:

Garden of Wisdom, Lesson #74: Avoiding the Life-Spoiler

In this week's lesson, we see how the clever one's arrogance is spoiling the unique and marvelous opportunity to meet the king in person; do we make the same mistake? Let's see:

Are You Blood Deficient?

B

I couldn't find a picture of myself getting all angry and crazy, bur I did find this picture of a stunning male Macaque and I must say the similarities are striking. 

To be honest, he doesn't look half as terrifying as I do. See his eyes? He don't got those wild Iraqi eyes. What can I say. When you got it, you got it. 

I wish I knew how to put a caption bubble next to his face. "GO TO SLEEP ALREADYYYY!!!" I would write. "STOP TALKINGGGGG!!!"

As much as I like to believe I'm high energy, when the clock strikes 9 in da p.m., I turn into the Wicked Witch of South Beach. But I don't just get nasty. I get over-tired, super-irritable, ravenous, and sometimes anxious. Did I mention super-irritable? 

Of course, if my kids aren't asleep yet, that just multiplies my irritability by a factor of 10. Obviously. 

Okay, so let's talk about irritability. And anxiety. 

Turns out much of it is in our brains. 

Not necessarily our minds. Our monkey brains. 

To be more accurate, it's in our blood, which leads to our brains.

Anxiety and other mentally-related issues such as low mood, anxiety, (oops, already said that one!) and fear actually start in the blood, according to Chinese medicine.

The blood, aside from bringing oxygen and nutrients to every organ and body system, nourishes the mind. It's considered the physical basis for mental health. If you have "strong blood" according to Chinese medicine, you sleep well, wake up feeling rested, have a good memory, are grounded and calm. 

Strong blood gives people the feeling of being alive and ready to take on the day. Their minds are clear, their reactions are calm, and their focus is sharp.

I hate "strong blood" people. 

Blood is made up from the food we eat, and how we eat it. If we eat too quickly, not enough food, not enough blood-building foods, too much at once, too late at night, on the run, etc., our blood constitution will be weak. And as a result, we will be weak, both physically and mentally. 

What Chinese medicine calls blood deficiency might correspond in Western medicine to any one (or more) of these health issues: chronic fatigue, infertility, arthritis, anemia, restless leg syndrome, eating disorders, migraines, gynecological problems, trouble focusing, being scatterbrained or in the clouds, muscle pain and/or weakness, anxiety, trouble sleeping, even depression.

Interestingly, people who tend to be blood deficient are people that give too much of themselves and don't take care of themselves enough. 

They literally deplete themselves because they are imbalanced.

Ummm.... like, "ALL MOMS EVERYWHERE??"

Hey, I just thought of a tagline for a great TV channel! "All Moms... All The Time." Then you'd have 24-hour-long shows of moms doing everything they do, not sleeping included. 

So! What's my point?

A few points:

-If you suffer from any type of imbalance, mentally and/or physically, start taking better care of yourself! Eat healthier, exercise for 20 minutes every day, get enough sleep, and pamper yourself, for G-d's sake! 

-If you want to figure out what's causing your imbalance, you can get a blood test, which is great. BUT! I think it's a fatal flaw in western medicine to look at the parts and not at the whole.

For example, anxiety can actually be a symptom of low iron! I know, because I have it. Low iron, I mean. The unease I would feel usually happens after my witching hour, which makes sense because by the evening, I feel totally drained. Like I just can't go on. 

Incidentally, I started taking an Iron with B complex under the direction of my Chinese doctor who happens to be a rabbi, and it's done wonders for me! I'm even sleeping better at night, and have no problem falling asleep any more! I used to toss and turn all night. 

If I had gone to a regular MD, he would likely have given me some magic pill to help me fall asleep. But he wouldn't have connected the low iron to sleeplessness. That's why I always say western medicine is great for emergencies and acute issues.

But it doesn't aim to get to the root of the problem.

That's what I like about natural approaches. They look at the entire mind-body connection through their own wisdom and knowledge. 

So many people are tired, overworked, undernourished, walking zombies who are just surviving. They're not living. I can see by the way they drag themselves around with no energy. So blah. 

It's so common, maybe people think it's normal. But it's not. 

Hashem gave us life, and we have to do our best with what He gave us. We are responsible for our health. Not our doctors.

We are responsible for our knowledge. Not our doctors, who incidentally have little or no formal training in nutrition. 

Let's take control of our health and stop relying on doctors and overpriced magic pills with thousands of side effects to "fix" things for us. 

If you're not feeling great, do something about it! Today!

Wishing you a day full of vitality and strong blood!

~Racheli

Don't miss Rav Brody's weekly Emuna class tonight! Scroll down for details. 

 

 

https://sixdegreeshealth.ca/resources...

Timeout from Troubles

Today's live broadcast and shiur from Jerusalem is a vital shiur that Rabbi Shalom Arush gave in one of Miami events during our recent "Emuna is Our Future" Tour to North America.

It's a game-changer and a lifesaver - no exaggeration - so don't miss it.

Join us for today's emuna lesson and live broadcast from Jerusalem entitled "Timeout From Troubles", which will take place, G-d willing, on the ground-floor main sanctuary of the Chut Shel Chessed Yeshiva on 13 Shmuel Hanavi Street in Jerusalem at 7 PM Israel time; the shiur is open to the public - both men and women are invited. You can see today's lesson here - the broadcast, as well as our lessons posted from now on - are Mac and iPod compatible. If you tune in too early to the live broadcast link, you'll be sent to the main page of the Breslev Israel website, so try to tune in on time.  If you are not able to view today's broadcast live, then G-d willing, you'll be able to see the video tape of it later this coming week on Lazer Beams.