Thoughts in pills

Thoughts in pills - 2
The therapies of elementals

Introduction

In this ebook I decided to collect what I call "elemental therapies". First of all: which elementals? (initially I used the word 'elements' which was already good in itself, but then I chose 'elementals' because it seems more specific and more precise... even if it has some references to fantasy literature...)

At the moment, the ones I list: fire, earth, water, wind, sand, metal and space.

Why they're important?

Mainly because they concern concepts that are quite important for us, i.e. the elements described above, and also because to a large extent (but not all!) the therapies they propose are low cost and low in technology. But not always. Sometimes you need tools that are easily understandable by everyone, on a psychological level. A question will arise spontaneously for many: but is there something "spiritual" in all this?

Absolutely no. No magic, but since I'll try to talk about it intelligently, that in itself will matter...

In some cases what I write is nothing new, on the contrary, it is something known. But I will still try, when possible, to enrich it with suggestions or ideas that I consider valid.

Fire therapies

The sauna, the sun lamps, the sun on the beach...

So far nothing new. Everyone knows what they are and why there are benefits. The question is: could it be improved in some way?

I think so. For example, what would happen if during these experiences one could also use an ice bag that could be applied to some part of the body?

In my opinion it would be very very interesting and important for people to experience, because they could experience both extreme heat and extreme cold even at the same time. Could anything else be added?

Yes, for example you could smell electronic cigarettes, to also experience particular scents...

Other?

Use strong mint candies, for example.

For the moment I think that's enough.

Earth therapies

Trekking

Walking in the mountains is good for you, it trains the muscles, relaxes the mind used to thinking about everyday problems, and distances us from the noise of the city. Can it be improved?

Yes, I wrote it elsewhere too. Bringing jewels or necklaces with minerals with you. Eating spicy in the meal before departure. Bringing herbal teas and fruit juices with you to drink. And obviously bringing animals with you is certainly not a negligible idea.

Also if you have an MP3 player you can also listen to music...

Swimming in the mud

It seems stupid but it isn't: with a tight swimsuit, swimming in a tank of fairly liquid mud at a height of, say, 1.5 meters can be useful, and more so than we think. Even hippos do it. This therapy of rubbing a little mud on yourself has already existed for a long time, but this is a bit different. Here we're talking about soaking in a mud tub.

It is interesting because it can help us understand how we might feel in such a situation (the famous 'quicksand'), but also because in that circumstance, any immersed muscle we move involves an incredible effort. Whatever muscle and in whatever direction we decide to move it, it is trained very very well. So if we commit ourselves in that circumstance, even if it could be very tiring, it could certainly be very, very good for the muscles.

Water therapies

Swimming

Swimming is a very well-known sport. There are numerous structures already equipped that allow you to practice it, with teachers who know various swimming styles and who teach anyone who wants to how to swim and in what way.

Here too a question: can we add something?

Yes, for example underwater games. In pools that are not too deep, you can play tic-tac-toe by placing the 'X's' or 'O's' in an underwater grid, or even use a metal tangram and compose some figure underwater, or even, in fairly deep pools, stack of metal elements in the shape of a parallelepiped of proportions e.g. 4x1x1, starting from the bottom of the pool with the aim of reaching the surface. It seems trivial but it isn't, as swimming creates currents and the tower constantly risks collapsing...

Playing in water parks

Playing in water parks is also certainly therapeutic. Here too the question: can it be improved?

Conceptually yes, using electronic cigarettes to breathe in perfumes, but also possibly singing in a group. There are often speakers that are used to play music... more or less depending on the DJ's preferences. But if, hypothetically, song lyrics were distributed on a sheet of paper at the entrance to the park, and we could all sing a song together even with the lyrics at hand, in my opinion we could have some truly regenerative experiences... conceptually, a laminated A4 sheet of paper that can also be folded and returned at the exit is sufficient...

Wind therapies

Feeling the wind

I have already written this elsewhere, but I will write it again: staying in a deckchair, in a place with sufficient vegetation around during a windy day, to 'feel the wind' on your skin, brings great refreshment and great psychological benefits. If you also have some pleasant drinks available, there will really be nothing missing from those moments of relaxation.

Challenge the wind

There are companies that produce cars that use a structure called a 'wind tunnel'. It is a huge tunnel that has a huge fan at one end and which can generate very strong winds with which to test the aerodynamics of vehicles. However, if desired, they could also be used for sports. For example, if on the ground, in the central part (where the wheels of the tested vehicles do not pass), there were metal supports well fixed for the feet, then at that point, if the tunnel were to be lit up by a wind, for example , of 80 km/h, with a nice pair of glasses to protect your eyes you could walk 'against the wind' experiencing the wind at different intensities, training your leg muscles, but also experiencing very strong winds first-hand. In my opinion it would be very interesting to try... as well as safe and without particular risks...

Blow at potted plants

Potted plants that are indoors don't feel the wind, so we can blow on them if we want, even for fun.

In addition to these there are also others: parachuting, paragliding... etc...

Sand therapies

Feel a small waterfall of sand on the back of your hand or foot

To do this, all you need is a jug to fill with sand and a container to collect it under the hand or foot on which you pour it.

It would be ideal if the jug somehow had an outlet for the sand such that the flow is not variable based on the inclination of the jug, but fixed... if you can...

Walking in the desert

Walking in the desert is probably a very special experience. To do this, in many cases, it is necessary to travel. It is not certain that crossings of many days are needed, but in any case I believe that psychologically it is a very valid and very important experience.

Looking at an hourglass

It seems trivial but it isn't. Looking at an hourglass. An ancient instrument created in ancient times to measure time. The interesting thing is that this therapy also has particular characteristics that can be added and removed to experiment with it in various ways. For example, the choice of place (the stands of a stadium or a swimming pool, one's bedroom, a cave, a snowy place, a noisy city, a long slide...), the choice of any smells (through a fragrance or an electronic cigarette to smell), the use of a sweet (!!) or some musical track or an audiobook listened to with a music player with earphones ...

Metal therapies

Handle a metal stick

There are people who have trained to use a stick (often wooden, at least as far as certain monks are concerned) and know how to handle it with great dexterity, rotating it with their hands, passing it from one hand to the other, even behind their back and so on. But the truth is that, although it is still useful for the muscles, it is not as useful when the stick is metal.

The fact that the stick is metallic is more useful and important than it seems. The reason is simple: we are immersed in electromagnetic waves, and our brain also works using electrical impulses. While the wooden stick does not interact with the magnetic field, the metal one does. And this difference, when we train, in terms of results, can certainly be felt.

The truth, however, is that this concept applies to any training tool you use. Rackets, small balls, bigger balls... if in some way they contain a percentage of metal, our perception of that object inevitably changes... and that doesn't mean that this concept can't also be taken to an extreme, using for example magnetite: in that case the interaction with the magnetic field (but also with our nervous system) is even stronger.

Handling Chinese metal balls

They invented them. The Chinese. They are metal spheres that often also include a little bell inside them, and when they move or hit a surface, they ring. These balls can be used both with the hands, rotating them clockwise or anti-clockwise (you can train with both hands), but also pulled upwards in the middle of a meadow, training yourself to catch them as they fall. If you throw them upwards, a fun game could be to keep 4-5 electronic cigarettes with different smells in your pocket, throw the ball in the air, take a cigarette at random, smell it, put it back in the pocket and take the falling ball. Note: conceptually I think it's almost like taking drugs, so be careful anyway...

If, however, you want to hold them in your hands and rotate them, an interesting variant could be to use earphones with a track and rotate them following the rhythm of the music and the drums... (you probably need ad hoc tracks...).

Sculpt the rocks

Bringing with you a hammer and chisel, and possibly also a ready-made printed drawing, it is possible to go to the mountains, look for a rock and sculpt the design you have chosen. Having a trace it is not too difficult to make a valid drawing even for those who are not familiar with drawing, and furthermore using a hammer and chisel in an isolated place is an interesting experience... in itself...

If what you represent is an object (e.g. let's suppose the hourglass that I have already mentioned) then remember to also write the word that represents it, even possibly in foreign languages (English, Arabic, Chinese)... I recommend it... for as regards the signature, if you want to put it, I recommend using a permanent marker... which will probably fade over the years...

Space therapies

Do meditation

There are many types of meditation. There are meditations that are intended to heal you, others to relax you, meditations that are intended to strengthen you, and others still. Some are pleasant, while others are very tiring and demanding. I personally have described one: it consists of rotating each finger of the hand clockwise and anti-clockwise.

Train yourself to stay balanced

By asking a carpenter it is possible to have an instrument made that consists of a wooden round with a hemisphere underneath. You need to put non-stick adhesive tape on top of the round (or buy it in a shop if you can find it ready-made and made of plastic). Using this tool it is possible to train certain leg muscles as well as our perception of equilibrium. This of course can also be done in an equipped gym.

Play hide and seek in an equipped field

It is technically possible for five-a-side football pitches to make available inflatable elements that can be placed on the five-a-side football pitch to create a hide-and-seek pitch. If there is not enough space to keep the inflatable elements, remember that with a few pulleys, a rope and a crank you can also use the upper space of the field as a "storage". Given this, participants can also be allowed to use some tennis balls to throw as a diversion, and in addition to this it is possible to create suction cup elements to attach to the inflatable blocks, with bells or metal tubes attached which ring when they are struck, each emitting a different note. In this way and possibly also by creating adequate regulations, interesting and fun games can be played from a strategic point of view. These are just some ideas, but thinking about it, the playing field can be enriched with further elements: balls that make sounds when squeezed, blocks that allow you to hide (with a curtain or a large zip that acts as a closure for the entrance) and which cannot be violated by those who seek, blocks with an eye hole that allow one to look but not to those who try to understand who is looking...