Interview with Alexandru Anita - 1904

SPEAKER A Hello, I'm Kaysie Butler and I want to welcome you to healthy living around the world. I'm on site at herghelia lifestyle centre in Romania and my guest today is Alexandru Anita. Welcome, Alexandru. SPEAKER B Thank you. Hello. SPEAKER A Would you like to share with me today where you are from? SPEAKER B I am from Romania. SPEAKER A Okay. Which part of Romania? SPEAKER B From the east, from Galat. SPEAKER A Okay. How far away is that from here? SPEAKER B At six, seven, 8 hours. SPEAKER A Oh, wow. So it's a little ways drive. Okay. So how did you come to be here at Hagalia? SPEAKER B For me, it is a quick story. I was preparing to do the next thing to go to I wanted Marine Academy. This was my goal, to go to Marine Academy, to become deck officer and eventually captain on a cruise ship. This was my dream and I had many options available. I was accepted in Cyprus, in many places. I was thinking where to go, but complications, complications. Time was running out and the way I came to know about Helgilia, my mom said she got contacted by the husband of an old friend of hers, which happened to be the director. And I ended up doing the interview and was accepted. And here I am. It was all very quick. SPEAKER A That's interesting. So then you hadn't heard about it when they first spoke to you about coming here, what did you think? Were you interested in coming to a place like this? It's very different to studying Marine work and being on a ship. SPEAKER B Yeah. I didn't know what to expect. However, I had heard of throughout my life, I heard of her Galia, but only about the sanitarium. SPEAKER A Okay. SPEAKER B I didn't really know much, neither did my mother. Only about the sanitarium we had heard. And when I heard it was a school, I also didn't know what to expect. I was thinking it's a school with hundreds of students. I didn't know what to expect. I've never heard of mission school. SPEAKER A Yes. SPEAKER B So it was very different than what I expected, but it was a blessing and I did not regret it. SPEAKER A Oh, good. So then when you've come here, how big is the school? SPEAKER B Well, when I came after a few days, because I was the third or fourth student, after a few days, it was a small group of seven only. SPEAKER A Oh, really? SPEAKER B Seven. SPEAKER A That's quite a small group, isn't it? SPEAKER B Yeah, we have students from all over the world. SPEAKER A Amazing. So lots of different cultures and perspectives all coming together. SPEAKER B Yeah. Actually I was thinking that I'm the only one who's going to be flying in because at the time I was in the UK and I was thinking, I'm going to be the only one flying in. But actually there was only one who didn't fly in. So there were students from Ecuador, from Czech Republic, from Mexico, from all over the place. SPEAKER A Wow. So quite a diversity of nationalities here in this intake of students. SPEAKER B Yes. SPEAKER A So tell me then about yourself in terms of your connection with healthy living and healthy lifestyle. Did you have any knowledge or practice of healthy living or healthy lifestyle before you came to hergalia? SPEAKER B Not really in many aspects, not really. I knew certain things, but I didn't really put many of them into practice. Especially in regards to eating not eating late at night. This was one of the biggest changes when I came here. From being used to eating a ten 1112 one wow. To eating a 630. And I can say just this change can completely change your health, is that right? Yes. This is one thing which I would recommend to everybody to do it. Last meal 630. SPEAKER A Wow. So is eating late sort of like a normal thing from in your country, in your background? SPEAKER B Yeah, my grandparents at home eat even later and now I'm trying to explain to them what I've learned here. But also when I was in the UK myself, when I was living Oman, I was also doing this kind of thing and not so healthy food either. It's really not good. SPEAKER A So that's been a really significant change that you've learned while you've been here. And what kind of benefits have you experienced from adopting that lifestyle habit? SPEAKER B First of all, if you're eating extremely late, you're also not going to sleep because you're eating. SPEAKER A Okay. SPEAKER B So first of all, when you eat earlier, you will also end up sleeping earlier. Then while you sleep, the body truly rests. And when you wake up, you can wake up early, not 1112, you can wake up early. And not just to wake up early, but to wake up early, full of energy too. SPEAKER A Oh, okay. So you get all of those benefits. It has a carry on effect. It would be right till the next day. Like you would wake up feeling bright and good, wouldn't you? SPEAKER B Yeah, the difference is huge. SPEAKER A That's amazing. I guess when it's something that's breaking a cultural trend that has been so persistent in your own background, that's probably been quite a breakthrough for you, I would imagine. Yeah. Now, are there any other lifestyle things that you've heard here and learned here? SPEAKER B Another one would be a more specific one related to hydrotherapy. SPEAKER A Okay. SPEAKER B So hydrotherapy of course is practiced at the sanitarium, but also you can do it in your home and in the simple way of having shower. So if before I was having just hot showers, at one point I started to do alternating shower what do you. SPEAKER A Mean by alternating shower? SPEAKER B By hot and then cold and then hot and cold or just once. That's also one alternation. And since I did this, it's incredible how such a simple thing can bring so many benefits. First of all, you don't get a cold after ending with cold showers. Second of all, you don't feel so cold in the winter. This is in the winter. SPEAKER A You mean you have these showers in. SPEAKER B The winter and now, but in the winter is when you would feel cold by coming up from the warm shower only, but ending with cold. And the contrast is so good. And third of all, the most interesting point is how it helps you to heal. I would get cut, I would get into accidents, and alternating shower would probably help you heal ten times faster. SPEAKER A That's amazing. SPEAKER B Yeah. SPEAKER A Wow. Because a lot of people it's almost like a myth for people. They think, oh, if I have a lot of cold, I'll get cold or catch a cold, like you're saying. But you're saying, no, that's not the case. You're being stronger. So what is your understanding of the reason why it works? SPEAKER B So what happens is, vasodilation, when you use hot water, the blood vessels dilate, they become bigger, they relax and let more blood flow through. But then as soon as you do the high contrast, and then you put cold water, really cold water, the higher the contrast, the better the vasoconstriction occurs. They constrict and then the blood rushes through. SPEAKER A Oh, yeah, right. SPEAKER B So you can tell that this has many benefits. SPEAKER A Okay. So its benefits are connected with improving blood flow. SPEAKER B Blood flow. Therefore, oxygen is being sent to the different parts of the body. And a ton of benefits happen from this. SPEAKER A Yeah. Wow. SPEAKER B Including mood. Mood. So mentally and physically. SPEAKER A Okay. Multiple things. That's very good. So it's very powerful. And what I like about that is it's something simple that anyone can do at home. SPEAKER B Yeah. Anyone can do it at home. SPEAKER A Yeah. So what would you say is the best way to do it? Like how much hot, how much cold? SPEAKER B The best way to do it is this is in normal situations when you don't have any burns or things like that, is to go as hot as you can, have your shower clean, and then do this at the end. So the ideal is three minutes hot and 30 seconds cold. SPEAKER A Okay. SPEAKER B And seven times between. Four to seven times. SPEAKER A Wow. SPEAKER B But just how in the Bible, we hear about the number seven and how good it is. So I think this would also be good to do seven times. So 30 seconds cold and then three minutes hot again and finishing on cold. But if you only do it once, it's still good. So you have your hot shower, and then even if it lasts for 15 minutes and then end with cold, even this is hydrotherapy. Anyone can do it. Anyone can do it. And if you do it every day, just short shower, this is really good. And if you do it in the morning, it will pump you up for the day. SPEAKER A That's good. That's so nice. A lot of people need something to pick them up at the start of the day. So there you go. You've given a nice, helpful recommendation for that. I like that. That's so encouraging. And I like what you said about how it helped mentally as well, help you have a sharper mind and sort of along those lines. What I'm wondering is whether how your experience here with a healthy lifestyle has helped you spiritually. What's been your experience with that? SPEAKER B So when we have a clear mind, we can also hear the voice of God clearer. And this is what God wants us to have, a clear mind. So all these things, eating early will help us to have a clear mind. Eating not too much is also going to help us to have a clear mind, although I'm still working on that one. But in the last meal of the night, it should be smaller. SPEAKER A Okay. SPEAKER B But the fact that it's early allows the food to digest. And then the last moments of the day, you can spend it reading, praying, and not just feeling like you just need to lie down and go straight to bed after your meal. So you have a clear mind and God can speak to you and you can hear it. SPEAKER A That's very important, isn't it? SPEAKER B Yeah. SPEAKER A Because we know Jesus says about eternal life being knowing God. And I mean, if you're going to know someone, you've got to be able to talk to them and hear them back. So this sounds like it's very important part of our spiritual experience to be able to have what you're sharing. That's really powerful. Yeah. So now a lot of people come here to Hagilia to perhaps change their lifestyle, maybe look for a fresh start. If you were to meet someone like this who is wanting to adopt some lifestyle changes for the better, what would you say to them? What would you recommend? Are there any things that you have learned in your experience that have helped you maybe be motivated or stay on track? What would you say? SPEAKER B So what I would recommend to someone who wants to change their lifestyle is the program of a day which they should use to slowly change their current routine into a more healthy routine, starting with water in the morning, drinking water in the morning, first of all. And then time with God. Time with God is so important. Followed by exercise. SPEAKER A Okay. SPEAKER B And then that's when the hydrotherapy could come in, could have some nice shower ending cold just after the exercise. And then big breakfast, big, healthy, healthy breakfast. And this is early in the morning, not late. So no brunch, no breakfast, lunch, only breakfast early in the morning. Then lunch will have its place too. So by starting like this in the morning, it prepares the way for a good day. And therefore, if there's depression, any mental problems like this, after a good few days of this one weeks, two weeks, yes. You can no longer feel depressed like this because you have a routine which puts you into action. And when you put yourself into action, when you have something to do, and I'll go into that in a minute. Your mind is always occupied and not on negative things, but positive things. So exercise word of God, eating healthy, and then you go about your day. But one other thing is helping others. The biggest, the best thing is mission. So a life without mission surely will lead to depression at some point or another, or unsatisfaction. You can never be fully satisfied unless you give. SPEAKER A Wow, that's powerful. That is so powerful. Yeah. Okay, so what I'm hearing you say is that people need to have a plan of what they're going to do throughout the day. If they're wanting to make changes and then run with the plan and then have an outward focus. That's so good. I think that's very helpful advice for people and very relevant, as you say, about depression. Sometimes it's because people may be a bit aimless in their life, and so they don't have something to live for, and then they can go down in a dark spiral. Yeah. I like what you've shared there. That's very yeah. SPEAKER B And for young people, for young people, especially now, with all the technology and everything, the last thing that almost all young people do before bed is go on their phones and spend time on their phones. And this is a big mistake because in so many ways. So what I would recommend to them is 1 hour before they fall asleep, you completely let go of any phone screens or anything like this, and the last hour, at least, should be spent with family and then God. Okay, the last hour of the day, or else this also contributes to mental illness and eventually depression, too. But time will go, time spent, your family. This is the way to end the day, not with the phone technology. SPEAKER A Yes, I like that. I think it would help a lot of people if they had that plan. Thank you so much for sharing your perspectives. I think it sounds like you're speaking from experience. These things are things that you've experienced the benefits of, and you're wanting other people to have that, too. So that's really wonderful. It's so good to meet young people who have a passion for this kind of thing, because it's always good to start at the beginning of the life and have that flow through the rest of the years. So that's a real blessing. Well, thank you so much for sharing today. We've been recording here live in Romania at Herghelia Lifestyle Center. Our guest has been Alexandru Anita, and I am your host, Kaysie Butler. And thank you so much for tuning to Healthy Living Around the World. God bless.