Along with Reiki practitioner Ssanyu Birigwa, our co-founders, Millana Snow and Erin Ralph, wrapped up 2014 drinking a gallon of water each day — and the results of the cleanse were incredible! If you’re not quite ready to increase your H20 intake that much, we highly recommend drinking water immediately upon waking. We can take this a step further by incorporating Japanese water therapy into our morning routines, as we learn below. By the way, a refresher on how to drink water, according to Ayurveda may be helpful!

By Josh Paniagua -

Many call it Japanese Water Therapy. Not only is it insanely simple, but scientific studies have provided information strongly suggesting that it can indeed work.

17 years ago, Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj was serving a jail sentence as a political prisoner in Iran. Being a doctor, the thing he knew best was how to treat, ease, and cure illnesses. However, Dr. Batmanghelidj did not have access to professional workstations, tools, and medicines, except for one. Water.

During his sentence, it was reported that Dr. Batmanghelidj had successfully treated 3,000 inmates suffering from peptic ulcers. Since then, the doc has gotten out of jail and has dedicated his career to studying the harmful effects of dehydration. The discoveries that followed helped thousands of people restore their health.

So what kind of health benefits can water provide? Water has been proven to help prevent arthritis, back pain, angina, migraines, colitis, asthma, high blood pressure, and lowers cholesterol.

The water treatment method is as follows:

1. Right after waking up in the morning, drink 640ml (about 4 glasses) of fluoride-free water. If you’re drinking water from a faucet, chances are it’s inevitable. However, scientists have recently discovered a natural de-fluoridation method using holy basil herbs. Other options are distilled water (make sure to add minerals back into the water, including some baking soda for alkalinity) and reverse osmosis. Caution should be taken, as drinking too much water can indeed kill you. If you feel you can’t drink a whole 4 glasses in the morning, starting lower and tapering up to 4 never put anybody to shame. This is the most crucial step, since it’s most likely you didn’t eat anything for more than 8 – 12 hours. This is what many would call an ‘empty stomach’.

2. Brush and clean your teeth and mouth without eating or drinking for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes has gone by, you’re free to eat and drink as you please.

3. Drink a cup of water half an hour before the meal. Do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours after each meal.

4. Feel your health start to improve.

According to the Japanese Medical Society, this treatment would take 10 days to treat constipation, 10 days to treat some gastric issues, and 30 days to treat high blood pressure.

The truth is here is water is not a miracle cure. It is however a very vital part to a person’s physical health and wellbeing. Simply put, taking care of your body, keeping it hydrated and active, can work wonders for your health. Dehydration isn’t as uncommon as some people might think and it comes in many forms. Dehydration doesn’t necessarily mean you’re feeling lightheaded and thirsty. Dehydration simply means the body isn’t getting the water it needs to run to its fullest.

Take care of yourselves, friends. Be safe and have a glass or 4 of water.

Originally posted on MassReport.com.

-Art by Aneta Ivanova