EAT, EXERCISE
AND ENJOY!
Last year on the eve of International Yoga Day, I shared the stage
with a remarkable woman. She held the audience spellbound with fascinating
tales on dietary habits, and their impact on human body.
At 47 she was sprightly without
a strand of grey hair and blessed with a haemoglobin count of 17. The lady had
once been afflicted with a grievous asthmatic condition, till she turned a
vegan. Now endowed with enormous energy, she begins her day with several
glasses of warm water with lemon. This according to her is a quintessential
technique to ward off morning blues and alkaline conditions prevailing in our
bodies.
‘Eat only when hungry ‘is her second mantra. And like Milind Soman
(actor, model and a barefoot runner) she relishes eating fruits. Fruits need to
be partaken as a complete and wholesome meal and rather than as a supplement to
the main course.
Foodies and epicureans, do we know what our stomach is and what is its
size? This internal organ, in which major part of the digestion takes place, is
a pear shaped enlargement of the alimentary canal linking the oesophagus to the
small intestine.
Now let us examine the size. If we joined our palms and gaze at it
intently, that is the proportion of this organ. As per Ayurveda, there are
containments for air, liquids and solid in the stomach, each measuring one-third.
Yet we stuff this delicate organ,
resulting in baleful consequences for our body and minds.
How many of us can become vegans? Especially with a large spread of delicacies,
eating joints, packaged and junk food quite easily available and salivating our
taste buds. Food should nourish our bodies and not engineer problems in our
system and so that we fall prey to various ailments. Improper
diet takes a heavy toll on the system of an individual.
The architect of Delhi Metro and Konkan Railway, Shri E Sreedharan
advocates light vegetarian food, long walks, yoga and a dash of spirituality
for healthy and peaceful living. This provides him with immense energy to
execute tasks on hand.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says there are four sources of energy (prana or
chi); namely food, breath, rest and a calm and meditative mind.
Breathing techniques and
meditation can be learnt only under the supervision of expert guidance or a
qualified teacher. But the reality is that attrition rate among participants tends
to be pretty high; humans can at least monitor the food they consume. That is
in our hands. Do we recall the iconic movie ‘PIKU’? The movements of Bhaskor
were severely crippled by an irritable bowel syndrome and bloated feeling.
Gandhi ji (who maintained a strict diet regimen and walked to remain
fit) advised his eldest son Harilal Gandhi (an alcoholic) to walk 15 miles a
day to overcome the problem of dyspepsia.
Excessive consumption of alcohol had a
debilitating effect on my internal organs. I developed high blood pressure and
suffered from fistula for which I was
under the knife of a surgeon. Having regained sobriety through various Art of
Living programmes and the grace of the Guru, my dietary pattern has radically
altered. Once cramming down junk food, I do not even eat eggs! Mystified?
Consumption of alcohol and improper diet
resulted in malfunctioning of my abdominal system. I realised that elimination
is paramount to good health. Toxins from human bodies are expelled through
sweat, faeces, urine and breath. The human body gets diseased when discharge of
these functions does not occur seamlessly. And then begin our expeditions to
doctors and experimentation of various techniques to regain physical and mental
health. Impaired elimination process,
particularly the bowel movements may result in arthritis and heart conditions.
Thus taking care of the gut is of paramount importance. Gut is also
called the second brain. This hosts the solar plexus. With a healthy diet, regular
practice of yoga (in particular the Surya Namaskar), breathing practices and
meditation, an individual can develop intuitive abilities and sport a smile and
not a scowl like Bhaskor of ‘PIKU’.
How many of us really relish
what we eat? We eat at a frenetic pace, barely chewing the morsel consumed. It
is recommended to eat in a cool and calm place and without the distraction of
mobile phones, television, CD players or logging on to laptops or other gizmos
which the wired world has provided us with.
It is essential the previous meal is digested in its entirety before
consuming the next meal. Ayurveda strongly advocates not consuming water before
and after the meal as it dilutes the digestive fire present in the stomach.
Taittiriya Upanishad says, ’From food (anna) verily, creatures are
produced, whatsoever (creatures) dwell on the earth ……For truly, food is the
chief of beings.’
Before we eat food, we need to bless what has been served and
contemplate on the positive elements inherent in the food. By reciting ‘Annadata
Sukhibhava’ we become grateful to the producer of the food- that is the farmer.
In this process positive energy gets imparted to the food making it easily
digestible.
Sitting in Vajrasana on completion of a meal facilitates digestion. This
is the only asana one can perform after eating. It may be mentioned that several
South East Asian cultures favoured sitting in a similar posture during mealtime.
Different religions proscribe fasting before, after or during religious
festivities as it detoxifies the system and provides the abdominal chambers
with adequate rest. So eating limited and healthy food and exercising in a
moderate manner provides a human with the required energy to fulfil his responsibilities.
Various foods that we consume provide us with calories, vitamins, and
proteins for our sustenance. But only the right type of food, cooked and
consumed the right way provides us provides us with good health, nourishment
and vital prana.
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