IN THIS ARTICLE: Dr Andrew WI is a health guru for millions through his Internet site, Ask Dr Weil. But his central message revolves around a simple physical fact, and one of the most important is that we must breathe the best possible way we can.

    本文简介：安德鲁·韦尔博士通过其互联网站----“询问韦尔博士”----成为上百万人尊敬的健康权威。但是他的核心思想围绕着一个简单的物理事实，而最重要的问题之一是，我们必须以尽可能好的方式呼吸。

    [1] In 1999, Time magazine selected l)r Andrew Weil as one of the 25 most influential people in America. His hooks have spent 22 weeks, to date, on the New York Times bestseller list. His Internet web site, from which he dispenses even more advice, attracts 3, 000 questions a week. Among recent questions were: What is the best breast cancer treatment? How can we combat killer mosquitoes? Are apples really good for you? Can popcorn be health food? Should I drink more water?

    [2] But the message health gum Andrew Weil has is simple.

    * "Breathe," he says. Long, slow, full breaths with exhales at least as long as the inhales.

    * "Walk," he says. Briskly, that is, for 10 minutes a day, five days a week--for a start.

    * "Eat healthily," he says, "taking in more fresh vegetables and fruit and less red meat."

    [3] Weil has been travelling the world to promote his books Health and Healing and Spontaneous Healing. A new volume will be available here in September. In Health and Healing he expands on the importance of breathing, that "most" vital and mysterious function".

    [4] "Breathing is unique as the only function that can be fully voluntary or involuntary. As such it is a bridge between the conscious and unconscious minds as well as between mind and body.

    [5] "Proper breathing nourishes the central nervous system, establishes a harmonious pattern for other bodily rhythms, and regulates moods and emotions."

    1999年，《时代》杂志选择安德鲁·韦尔博士作为美国最有影响的25人中的一员。他的书到目前为止已有22个星期被列入《纽约时报》畅销书单中。他的互联网站提供更多忠告，每周会收到3000个问题。最近的问题有：什么是乳腺癌的最佳治疗方法？我们怎样去跟蚊虫杀手战斗？苹果对你具有好处吗？爆米花能算健康食品吗？我应该喝更多水吗？

    然而，健康权威安德鲁·韦尔博士说的很简单。

    “呼吸，”他说。深长、缓慢、充分的呼吸，呼气至少要同吸气一样长。

    “走路，”他说。就是轻快地走，开始时每天10分钟、每周五天。

    “吃得有益健康，”他说，“多吃新鲜蔬菜和水果，少吃红肉。”

    [6] "Learning how to breathe and working consciously with breath is a simple, safe, effective and inexpensive way to promote good health of mind and body."

    [7] The man with a medical degree from Harvard, a magnificent trademark beard and the sort of eyes that twinkle into crescent slivers when he smiles, (which is often) does not hesitate to suggest that you bead for the nearest hospital if you have been in an accident, need a hip replacement or have a severe infection.

    [8] But he has long championed alternative views on health. He emphasises the need for "integrative" medicine, which takes the best from any number of healing methods--if they have been shown to work.

    [9] Weil began his travels around the world at 17, examining the medicines of other cultures. The experience enforced his passionate interest in botanical drugs and fostered in him a great respect for the inherent power of the mind-body connection and its potential importance in medicine.

    [10] He entered Harvard with no intention of practising in the traditional allopathic way, but with "a strong intuition that a medical degree would be useful".

    [11] For 26 years he has spoken about his basic philosophy--that the body has its own elaborate healing system that repairs wounds, renews bones and corrects mistakes in the blueprint that could otherwise result in cancer or other diseases.

    [12] And he has criticised the doctors who ignore it and focus entirely on "the disease model" instead. "But ideological argument means nothing," he says.

    韦尔一直在周游世界促销他写的书《健康与痊愈》以及《自然痊愈》。新的一册9月即可在此买到。在《健康与痊愈》中，他详述呼吸的重要性说，那是“最性命攸关和不可思议的机能”。

    “呼吸作为仅有的能完全自主或不自主的机能是独特的。因而它是一座桥，处于自觉和不自觉之间，如同处于脑子和身体之间。 “正常的呼吸滋养中枢神经系统，为其他的躯体节律建立一种和谐的模式，并调节心境和情绪。

    “学习如何呼吸并自觉地与呼吸配合动作，是可以促进身心健康的简单、安全、有效而且廉价的方法。”

    这是一位从哈佛取得医学学位的人，堂皇的胡子是其特征，微笑时常眼神闪烁，眼睛眯得状如月牙。如果你遭遇了事故、需要置换髋部或得了严重的感染病，他会毫不迟疑地建议你快去最近的医院。

    但是，他在健康问题上长期以来都坚持选择的观点。他强调需要“整合”医药，即从各种各样的治疗方法中择取其优点——只要它们已显示可发挥作用。 韦尔17岁就开始环球旅行，考察其他文化的医药。他的游历加强了他对植物性药物的强烈兴趣，并使他越来越注意身心关联的固有力量及其在医学上潜在的重要意义。

    他进入哈佛并不是想从事传统的对抗疗法，而只是带有“一种强烈的直觉——一医学学位将会有用。”

    26年来他已经讲过的基本思想是：人体自身有精巧的痊愈系统，可以修补创伤、更新骨骼和改正可导致癌症或其他疾病的型极错误。

    他批评那些忽视人体自身痊愈系统而代之以完全着眼于“疾病模型”的医生们。他说：“思想方法上的争辩毫无意义。” 他说，目前美国的医疗系统正处于严重困难之中。“技术实在是过于昂贵，医疗经济体系无法运作。医院正走向破产。医学院正不得不合并。”同时，代用医药的消费市场正日趋繁荣，并演变成一个重要的经济力量。韦尔已经注意到越来越多的医生正倾听他的意见。他说：“我在这个领域有很长的一段时间了，因而我有些可信度。”

    [13] Now the medical system in America is in desperate straits, he says. "The technology is simply too expensive and the medical economy is not working. Hospitals are going bankrupt. Medical colleges are having to merge." Meanwhile the consumer market for alternative medicines is booming and becoming a significant economic force. And Weil has noticed more and more physicians lending him an enthusiastic ear. "I have a long history in this field so I have some credibility," he says.

    [14] Among the millions who now attend carefully to what he has to say is the faculty of the University of Arizona College of Medicine where a radical and innovative programme of his design, to "train a new type of physician for the next century" begins next month.

    [15] That is when the first trainees, already qualified doctors with some years' experience in family practice and internal medicine, embark upon a two-year post-graduate course to prepare them to be leaders.

    [16] The curriculum includes, for example, modules on Zen Meditation, medicine and culture, legal issues, "energy medicine" (everything from X-rays to the highest technical aspects of the field) and ancient "energy" treatments like homeopathy, therapeutic touch and chi gong.

    [17] Students will study in detail medical acupuncture, homeopathy. osteopathic manipulation and guided imagery. The centre will run a clinic and conduct research. And in line with Weil's principle that doctors should model healthy a candidate's healthy lifestyle is a criterion for admission--a Chicago doctor who is also a professional chef has been employed to provide "decent food" to the students.

    [18] Interest in alternative medicine is a major phenomenon says Weil, far more than a trend. It is, he says, part of a world wide reaction against technology and an urge to find a better balance with nature.

    现在正谨慎关注韦尔一定会说的话的上百万人中，包括亚利桑那大学医学院的全体成员。该学院下月开始实施他所设计的一个激进且创新的项目，以“为下一世纪训练新型医生。”

    首批受训者是有多年家庭服务和内科实践经验已被确认有资格的医生。他们将接受两年的研究生培训，以期成为带头人。

    举例来说，课程包括禅宗入静、医药与文化、法律问题。“能量医学”（从X射线到该领域最高技术方面）以及古老的“能量”治疗法（像顺势疗法、按摩和气功）等单元。

    学生们将详细学习针灸、顺势疗法、骨疗手法以及暗示疗法。训练中心将开办一个诊所，并进行研究工作。而且，为与韦尔主张的“医生要做健康表率”之原则相一致，投考者健康的生活方式是决定录取与否的一项标准。一位芝加哥医生已被雇用，同时他还是专业厨师，来给学生们提供“像样的食品”。 韦尔说，对于代用医药的兴趣是个重大的现象，远远超过一种趋向。他说，这是在世界范围内逆反技术并力求跟自然更好地保待一种平衡。