How to do Surya Namaskar

Sun Salutation – The Perfect Yoga Workout

If you are pressed for time and looking for a single mantra to stay fit, here’s the answer. A set of 12 powerful yoga asanas (postures) that provide a good cardiovascular workout in the form of Surya Namaskar. Literally translated to sun salutation, these postures are a good way to keep the body in shape and the mind calm and healthy.

Surya Namaskar is best done early morning on an empty stomach. Let’s begin with these simple yet effective Sun Salutation steps on our way to good health.

Each Sun Salutation round consists of two sets. These 12 yoga poses complete one set of Surya Namaskar. To complete the second half, you need to repeat the same sequence of postures, only moving the left leg instead of the right (in steps 4 and 9 ). You might find several versions of doing Sun Salutation. However, it is best to stick to one particular sequence and practice it regularly for best results.

Besides good health, Surya Namaskar also provide an opportunity to express gratitude to the sun for sustaining life on this planet, For the next 10 days, start your day with a feeling of grace and gratitude towards the sun energy. Do 12 rounds of Sun Salutation,  followed by other yoga poses and then rest deeply in yoga nidra. You might just find that this could be your mantra to stay fit, happy and peaceful. A mantra whose effects last through the day.

Courtesy:
http://www.artofliving.org/in-en/yoga/yoga-poses/sun-salutation (with video and pictures)

Let’s resolve to stay healthy this year!

This new year, let us all resolve to live healthy. HT spoke to several health experts about certain changes that people can make to their daily routine to help them lead a disease-free life in the long run. One thing that all health experts unanimously agreed upon that everyone, despite age and gender, must begin their day with exercise.

There is no running away from it, no matter how lazy you feel. Having said that, it does not mean you are expected to exhaust yourself completely. Six packs is by choice, not by compulsion. Doctors say a moderate amount of exercise three to five times in a week is sufficient for a regular person wanting to maintain normal body weight and to build stamina.

“If you lead a sedentary life or consume junk food regularly, it is necessary to devote at least an hour daily on the treadmill to sweat it out. Exercising reduces one’s chances of getting heart diseases or other lifestyle disorders such as diabetes, significantly,” said Dr AB Dey, professor, department of medicine and head of geriatrics department, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

“Higher levels of good cholesterol have also been found in those who exercise regularly,” added Dr Dey.

Smoking has to be deleted from your daily routine— not even one cigarette a day, which most smokers use as an excuse. Nicotine is the culprit. Recent studies have substantiated that light smoking is as injurious to health as heavy smoking.

Smoking is a leading cause of developing cardiovascular diseases as it increases blood pressure and pulse rate, along with decreasing level of oxygen in blood, tendency to form blood clots and eroding blood vessels internally.  

“One must know that smokers are twice at risk of getting a heart attack as compared to non-smokers, and passive smokers are no better,” said Dr Anil Bhan, senior cardiac surgeon at Gurgaon’s Medanta-The Medicity.

How about solving a few puzzles daily. Believe neurologists, who heavily recommend optimal use of the brain for it to remain active and healthy for a longer period.

Mental exercises could be of any form—trying to subtract quickly a particular digit from 100, writing your name on a piece of paper backwards, solving puzzles such as Sudoku or making use of brain games loaded in cell phones these days.

“Meditation, yoga and healthy reading habits are important for brain health,” said Dr Manjari Tripathi, additional professor, department of neurology, AIIMS.

 For your liver’s sake, look back and see what you have been eating: has it mostly been junk because you didn’t find time to prepare tiffin? This new year, let us resolve to add fruits and vegetables to our daily diet and cut down on eatables high on salt and sugar, drink alcohol in moderation to make our liver happy.

“Also, get tested for fatty liver when you get your annual blood test done. Fat in liver is an early sign of liver disease and needs to be treated early. Healthy liver prevents BP, diabetes and even heart attacks,” said professor Shiv Kumar Sarin, director, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences.

Talking of preventive vaccines, gynaecologists advice HPV vaccine shot for women under 25 years of age. “Cancer of cervix is fast becoming common, so if can prevent it why not take early measure,” said Dr Debjyoti Karmakar, consultant, department of gynaecology, Medanta.

 Eyes being the most neglected by us, eye specialists say it’s about time we paid attention to the pair.

Most of us forget to blink for hours when glued to the computer screen. “Promise yourself that after every 20 minutes, you will take a gap of 20 seconds to decrease strain on your eyes,” said Dr S Bharti, medical director, Bharti Group of Eye Hospitals. “Apart from that eating green-leafy vegetables does help.”

Healthy Life FAQs

How much does one need to exercise to remain fit?

There was a time doctors advised strenuous exercise thrice a week, but with the kind of lifestyle changes that people observe these days, an hour of strenuous exercise is recommended daily. Usually, an hour of brisk walk is good enough but only if one sweats is it effective.

 

Does one need to avoid junk food completely to remain fit?

No one advises complete abstinence. A pizza slice or a burger once in a month is not that bad if you exercise regularly. The idea is to not put on excess weight that can lead to various non-communicable diseases such as blood pressure, diabetes and thyroid.

 

Apart from obesity, what are the other risk factors for developing lifestyle-related disorders?

Smoking, erratic sleep hours, stress or anxiety and lack of exercise, coupled with family history, put you under the high-risk bracket. Once every year, thorough medical check-up after 30 years of age is recommended by the health experts. 

 

How much fruits and veggies should a person have in a day?

Four to five servings (one small bowl approximately) in a day is sufficient normally, but then it will also depend on a person’s individual requirement.

HT Dec 31, 2012

10 Simple Steps to a Healthier, Happier You

By Jené Luciani, SHAPE magazine

It sounds obvious. Drink more water, get more sleep, stop complaining, and your life will improve. But sometimes we need a little reminder that a few simple steps can make a huge different in our ultimate happiness and overall health.
We reached out to renowned life coach and nutritionist Ana Alexandre to find out 10 simple tips for a happier and healthier you!

1. Eliminate clutter: Ever wonder why those people on Hoarders look so miserable? Climbing out from underneath piles of stuff can also mean emotional freedom from items that could be mentally weighing you down.
"Get rid of all the things you don't need or that are not good for you," Alexandre says. "Ditch clothes you never wear and create more space to see the clothes you do actually wear."
And from your closets to your kitchen, get rid of unhealthy foods too. "Clean out your cupboards, and get rid of all processed foods like those containing white flours, sugar, and unhealthy oils," Alexandre says.

2. Supplement your life: "Take an omega-3 supplement," Alexandre says. These amazing fats found in salmon, flaxseeds, and walnuts purportedly give you glowing skin, fight stress, and reduce inflammation in the body.

3. Just add water: You've heard it before, but it's worth repeating. It's important to drink eight to 10 glasses of water every day to keep our bodies functioning properly.
"Water keeps you hydrated, eliminates toxins, and keeps you regular. Always keep a bottle with you. If you see it, you will drink it!" Alexandre says. 

4. Forget the complaint department: "Stop complaining about never getting what you want, and instead, create what you want," Alexandre says.
She suggests setting at least three clear goals per year. "Set goals that excite you, that are tangible, and something with a finish line. Write your goals in the present tense (I go to the gym every Tuesday and Thursday). This will get you believing that they can be a reality!" 

5. Create a daily ritual: If you set aside just 10 minutes a day for yourself, Alexandre says, it will do wonders in eliminating daily stress and anxiety."Meditate for five minutes in the morning to start your day. Take the additional five minutes to relax before bed. Read a book that inspires you, take a bath, or enjoy a cup of tea. 

6. Just move it! Exercise not only makes you more physically fit, it also boosts your mood, increases your energy, and it can even improve your sex life.
"Find an activity you like and actually want to do. Take a dance or yoga class, go hiking or rollerblading," the life coach says. "It doesn't really matter. Just get your body moving."

7. Improve your penmanship: If you're thinking "I'm too old for a diary," look at it this way. "Writing in a journal daily helps you clarify your thoughts and feelings, reduces stress, and helps you resolve problems more effectively," Alexandre says.
Write down the highlights of your day, something you learned, or just one reason why you're grateful for the things you have.

8. All you need is love: It may sound cliché, but love truly does make the world go 'round.
"Find ways to get more love in your life," Alexandre says. "Make time in your schedule to see the people you love. Play with a child, hug your friends, tell someone you love them, and smile at someone you don't know. These small gestures can make a big difference."

9. Eat your veggies: Vegetables are an abundance of necessary vitamins and minerals that help keep us healthy and energized. So stop making excuses and eat some everyday. Doctors recommend at least five servings a day.

10. Sleep it off: Most of us need at least eight hours of sleep a night. That's need, not want. There's a reason why we need a sufficient amount of rest.
"Sleep improves stress, reduces inflammation, and allows cells to re-charge and repair damage," Alexandre says. It also keeps us functioning at our optimum levels both mentally and physically.
To make sure you get enough sleep , Alexandre suggests shutting off computers, cell phones, TVs, and anything else creeping in from the outside world at least one hour before bedtime. 

Courtesy: Yahoo Lifestyle

5 Steps to Healthier Living by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Health is not merely absence of disease. Health is being established in the *Self. It is the dynamic expression of life. One can be said to be in a perfect state of health when one is physically fit, mentally calm and emotionally steady. So how does one achieve this state of all-round health in today's fast-paced life? As we get ready to ring in 2012, here are a few steps we can take to help improve our health and the quality of our lives.

Know About Your "Self"

We need to know a little bit about the different layers of our existence -- body, breath, mind, intellect, memory, ego and the self. When we understand that the body and mind are connected through the breath, we are in a better position to manage our thoughts and emotions. The awareness that everything changes -- the body undergoes changes and so does the mind -- brings a sense of equanimity within us. The mind is the sense of perception in your consciousness and the thoughts that change all the time. Likewise, the intellect, memory, and ego also change with time. But there is something within us that does not change -- it is the point of reference through which we are able to recognize that everything else changes. This subtlest, unchanging aspect of our existence is the self. The ancient science of Ayurveda deems that a person cannot be called truly healthy, until one is in touch with this subtlest aspect, and there is harmony among the different layers of existence. This knowledge of the self helps one live in the present moment and be in a state of perfect health.

Spend some time to learn about yourself. Take a week off one to two times a year and align yourself with nature. Wake up with sunrise, practice yoga, eat light food, and spend some time creatively.

Make Meditation a Part of Your Life

Meditation is a vital ingredient for personal development. It provides deep rest. The deeper one is able to rest, the more dynamic one will be in activity. For sustainable good health, meditation is key.

What is meditation? It can mean different things to different people. It is anything we can do to achieve a mind without agitation, hesitation, or anticipation. It can be a hundred times more refreshing than sleep because it helps us live in the present moment and frees us from anger about the past and worry about the future. It gives us depth and stability.

Spend 20 minutes in the morning and evening in meditation, and make it a part of everyday life.

Learn About the Breath

Our first act in this world is to take a deep breath in, and our last act will be taking a deep breath out. Breathing is life. Yet, we are typically not taught -- at home or at school -- about the importance of the breath and its impact on the mind and body.

Observe how you breathe. There are different patterns that relate to different emotions. Just as your mind influences the breath, you can influence the state of your mind through the breath as well. Breathing techniques like **Pranayamas and Sudarshan Kriya can help us calm our minds and emotions. We can control negative emotions like anger and fear, and manage stress levels using the breath.

Eat Right

The type and amount of food that we consume has a direct impact on the state of our physical body, and consequently our mind. Observe what you eat. Fresh fruits and vegetables have more prana (life force), while frozen and canned foods have very little prana.

Eating the right types and amounts of food promotes all-around wellbeing and can increase energy levels that can help us manage stress more effectively.

Make Time for Yourself

In this modern age, we all seem to be constantly engaged in gathering information, or performing some mental activity all the time. We seldom take time for ourselves to think and reflect. As a result, there is information overload, and we can feel dull and tired.

The moments of stillness in our mind are the moments of creativity and innovation. Silence heals and rejuvenates our minds. Sometime during the day, sit silently for a few minutes with your eyes closed and reflect upon the meaning and purpose of your life.

www.artofliving.org