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TO BEGIN MEDITATION
It is now a common knowledge that, stress is the main reason behind most diseases including cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and the likes. To keep oneself free from them all, it is essential to release the stress from the system, and meditation is one of the best means to achieve that. But before taking up this practice, one must know a few facts about meditation to avoid any unpleasant consequences.
First of all, it is important to choose the right meditation from among the innumerable meditative practices available in the world. Unless the form suits one’s inner personality, one may not be able to meditate at all. It will be just a waste of time and energy. For example, if a restless rajasic type attempts to do the classic meditation where one needs to sit still with closed eyes and focus on an object, the person is bound to feel more restless. If he or she fidgets, the effect of meditation will be lost, and if forced to remain still, there will be more tension in the system than before. Instead, such a person can do mantra meditation successfully, as body movements are allowed in this form. One can also keep the eyes open.
Secondly, the duration of meditation should be right, as both less or more can yield negative results . Too short a meditation will give no benefits of the practice, while too much of it can be harmful. During meditation, the inner temperature falls , whereas one needs proper body heat for good digestion. Overtime, low body temperature can lead to various digestive issues such as indigestion, constipation, gas, acidity, and piles . To be on the safer side, meditation should be done for around twenty to thirty minutes in one session. The yogis who meditate for hours have to modify their diet to suit the lower heat.
Lastly, meditation must never be attempted by a clinically depressed person. Because this practice brings about a depression in the nervous system, while the nerves are already depressed in such a patient. Therefore, naturally his or her condition will worsen if he or she meditates. There are many other yogic practices with which the person can get out of his/her affliction and then can take up this practice.
To get the best results from meditation, it should be practiced at the same time everyday as the body automatically prepares itself for this practice when that time approaches.
ARE SUPPLEMENTS GOOD FOR HEALTH
If you are the type to take a lot of nutritional supplements, it is worth knowing a few facts before you pop the pills.
First, our body has its own pace of processing food and absorbing the nutrients in the necessary amount from it. Supplements provide the nutrients in a concentrated form which goes against this natural law. That in turn can confuse the body leading to malabsorption. Also, as nutrients interact with one another in a balanced way, more or less can upset it and cause various health problems. Less may not be very effective, but more can actually harm. Here are a few examples-
Too much folic acid can mask the signs of vitamin B12 deficiency which could lead to permanent nerve damage. Vitamin B6 too, when taken in excess can cause irreversible nerve damage. Too much Vitamin A can damage the liver and even cause birth defect in pregnant women. Similarly excessive iron can damage not just the liver but other organs as well. Vitamin E more than necessary can prevent blot clotting leading to excessive bleeding in injuries; and too much vitamin C can lead to the same problems as its deficiency does.
Synthetic supplements are the worst, because our body generally considers anything unnatural as its enemy and tries to eliminate it from the system.
Dr Kedar Prasad, one of the leading experts in cancer and nutrition found that not only there was no beta carotine activity in synthetic beta carotine, it blocks the absorption of natural beta carotine.
Therefore if you have to take supplements in case of a condition caused by a deficiency, opt for natural extracts only, and avoid excesses. But obviously, the best is to take it from real food.
BEST WAY TO START YOGA
Stress that affects the young and old alike is the root cause of most of our problems- physical, mental and psychological. Hence to be healthy it is essential to de- stress the mind and meditation is one of the most effective methods. The proof is can be seen from the fact that, lactic acid, a stress hormone gets eliminated from the body three times faster during meditation than during deep sleep.
Furthermore, in today’s world, our brain is constantly busy planning, calculating, worrying, fretting and ruing. In the process, this organ spends a considerable amount of energy and gets into a deficiency as the body cannot produces energy at that rate, and that can lead to various health problems. Meditation can prevents that as it conserves body energy.
Meditation also connects us with our core self which is divine leading to a sense of calm, peace, and tranquility. Therefore everybody should meditate everyday. But meditation has to be chosen according to one’s temperament, age and physical condition, otherwise it may not benefit you. For example, children cannot sit still and focus on an object like adults. They need a colour meditation or music meditation to be able to meditate. Secondly in some conditions, meditation must not be done like in depression, as it can worsen the symptoms. It is because meditation brings about a depression in the nervous system which is already depressed in such people.
Mantra chanting is a form of meditation that suits everybody. And it is equally effective Therefore if you do not have a competent guru to select it for you, you can go for this form. Choose any universal mantra like Gayatri, or Maha Mryunjay or a religious one like Om Namah Shivaya, and repeat it for minimum 15 minutes. Gita is a book of positive mantras so are the Vedas.
TRUE WELLNESS WITH THE RIGHT YOGA
The whole world practicing yoga on the International Yoga Day is a heartening sight. But what is worrisome is -yoga’s popularity can have certain negative fall outs which should be watched out for.
Yoga is not as simple as it seems. People regarding it as yet another form of physical exercise is far from the truth. The effects of yoga and ordinary exercises run opposite to each other. For example during asanas, the oxygen consumption is minimal while during physical exercises it is maximum. Secondly, the rate of respiration falls in yoga, whereas it increases in the latter. Then, yoga arrests catabolism while exercises create it. And lastly, in yoga, organs receive more nutrition than the muscles, while in physical exercises, the muscles get more of that than the organs.
The opposite nature of yoga and physical exercises is evident from a study that showed the muscular tension as 15% in a subject who was lying down on a bed; but when he was made to do Bhujangasana, it became zero at his back, although one would expect it to increase owing to its extreme backward bending posture.
Ancient yogis with their inner vision had a thorough knowledge of all the dimensions of the human body and mind, on the basis of which they had devised yoga to manipulate the body in its subtle energy level . They also laid down various rules and regulations so as not to disturb the original energy pattern. Disregarding them can not only negate yoga’s effects, it can affect the energies adversely leading to various problems. I have seen many such victims during my long career as a Yoga Therapist. To quote a few- Edith Pfiester, a Swiss lady had a slipped disc while doing an inverted asana in Nepal; a friend Mr Krishnan landed up in the ICU with a heart problem after imitating a vigorous pranayama from the TV; and a gentleman from the South had developed varicose vein in his neck- a most unusual problem- due to practicing Sarvangasana without observing its rules.
For all the above reasons, do not take yoga lightly. To be on the safer side, stay away from New Age yogas, unless they are devised by enlightened souls; because any deviation in the name of innovation is a distortion of this powerful ancient system and hence can be ineffective. Practice the traditional yoga observing all its rules and look out for symptoms. If your health problems start disappearing, and your energy level, mental alertness, as well as your mood start improving, then know that you are doing the right yoga in the right way.
