Ionic water is such an important ingredient in the mix of urban modern living. For us city dwellers we need to pay attention to our immersion in stress, toxins, outdoor wastes, indoor pollution, and the negative thought patterns around us. All of those things we associate with feeling lousy and robbing our energy need to be balanced and most of us never do anything about it.

We all love the big waves at the beach, torrential downpours, and epic waterfalls, right? This is because we love the feeling of the negative ions being generated as water molecules cleave apart. Water tends to group in clusters of 10,000 molecules. When it is forced to split into smaller groups, like one or two molecules, massive amounts of negative ions (hydroxide, OH¯) are released into the atmosphere. Even the falling water of a shower can generate negative ions. Just more good reasons to spend more time in nature.

What do negative ions got to do with anything?
We are negatively charged! Since our bodies are negatively charged, we need negative ions to bond to positive ions and neutralize them. Positive ions, often referred to as “free radicals” in the news to confuse us, are found in toxins and metabolic wastes and this positive arrangement causes them to “stick” and attach to our negatively charged body. Positively charged toxins actually find their way into the connective tissue surrounding organs and cells and cause the collagen protein fibers to thicken around them. Yikes, this is not a good thing. Remember it this way: We get thicker and then sicker.

So how do we get more negative ions in our life?
The expensive way is to purchase a negative-ion generating water filter from Enagic, Jupiter or Tyent. These filters all are great at filtering the water and negatively charging them (in this case making the water alkaline). The price range can be as low as $500 all the way up to $4000. Please check out this site before making a decision.

A cheaper option is to use a negative ionizing foot bath machine that when used, creates negative ions and free electrons to donate to positively charged ions – thus increasing the detox process. I’m not sure how beneficial these products are but I do own and use the Aqua-Chi. I take it in the bath with me when I feel toxic (usually from drinking too much) and sick and I definitely feel better from it.

The cheapest option by far is simply boiling water. Upon boiling water for 10-20 minutes you also generate loads of negative ions by making the water “thinner.” Slimming the water down by reducing its molecule clusters will help to reduce overall toxicity, improve circulation and balance the bile in your digestive tract. One should sip this water all day long and keep it hot like tea in a thermos. Once it cools down it is no longer ion charged. Alongside this water drink cool water, ionic water is for the cleansing part, not the hydrating part of your fluid intake. This can be done anytime you feel you need a detox day. It is by far the cheapest option of anything out there.

It will be a good day indeed for getting local veggies once the proposed food coop opens on Hester Street. It appears to be forming in the likes of the fantastic Park Slope Food Coop and the smaller 4th Street Coop in the East Village.

Generally speaking, a food co-op is an organization owned by its members, focused on making naturally-grown/locally grown foods more affordable. Cooperators are usually called on to help manage and run the co-op. And it usually boils down to working one shift every month for a 20-40% savings off retail prices. Some coops allow non-members to shop but that’s not usually the case. It’s a fantastic use of socialist ideals to an area that could use access to better food. Not that the Green Market and Grand Street CSA aren’t serving the community well.

If you are one of the professional Structural Integrators in the world and you haven’t gotten your national certification yet – now is the time. By taking this exam (and passing it of course) we tell the world that we a here and we are to be taken seriously as a separate field from other manual therapies. The exam is not easy as it was designed that only someone in our field could pass it. A massage therapist, reiki healer, or Feldenkrais practitioner should not be able to take it and pass. Structural Integration is a fantastic modality for getting the human body to change for the better and we should be able to stand aligned and balanced on our own ground. Bring your pencils – next exam is 4/24/2010 in Boulder, Colorado.

Hu-Man mechanized. Very cool.

Der Mensch als Industriepalast [Man as Industrial Palace] from Henning Lederer on Vimeo.