Balance Diet
Appetite Loss and Non-stop Eating: Many of us have no fixed time for eating. Some of us eat all the day. But the worst of all. We eat when we are not hungry, and thus harm our digestive organs. In the opinion of medical as well as yoga expert eating when not hungry is a heinous crime against oneself. If We are committing this crime. We must be ready for the punishment also. No amount of drugs can save us from the resultant damage to our system. We may not feel the intensity of the damage done to our organs in our young age, because our organs have a wonderful capacity to bear excess on them. But the corroding process is set and the system is strained and weakened by overwork. Moreover, when we eat without hunger the digestive juice do not mix with our food in full quantity. This results in indigestion and several other disorders.
So the golden rule is to eat when one is hungry. This will not only make us receptive to food but our mind and all our organs will concentrate on eating and digesting food. This will ensure good digestion and full utilization of the food eaten.
Sugar vs Jaggery(gur): White, mill-mad sugar has now become our daily diet. We take it in the milk, tea, coffee, sherbet and other sweet preparations. We should however know that taking excess of sugar means inducting excessive quantity of uric acid in our body system. This generally. results in such dangerous disease as diabetes, rheumatism, acidity and pyorrhea. In children, it causes worms.
In any case, we should reduce the quantity of sugar in our diet, if it cannot be criminated altogether. Those who can do it should replaces it by honey, dates and other natural sweeteners, Honey, Is a food as well as a tonic. As a food , it is full of nutrients like dextrose, formic acid , iron and many enzymes. Moreover it is most easily digestible. As a tonic. It is a heart stimulant and brain tonic. On the other hand, unwashed dates are unhygienic. So it is essential to wash them before eating or before using them in sweet dishes
Tea and Coffee: As gur has been replaced by sugar in our diet. So have milk curd and lassi been replaced by tea and coffee most of us drink 4 to 8 cups of tea or coffee daily. But tea and coffee are not among the essential nutrients. In fact, They have no food value, i.e.. they do not provide any substance essentially needed by our body. If we take them out of our diet, no harm would be done. Many people have however become tea or coffee addicts. Moreover, it has now become tea or coffee to guests. But we should also be aware of the evil effects of excessive consumption of tea or coffee. Medical experts issue use of these drinks. It would be better to restrict the number of cups to the minimum if we are unable to stop tea and coffee altogether. Tea is more harmful when tea leaves are boiled. So at least stop boiling tea leaves if you cannot stop it altogether.
Yogic Diet
Yoga is an ancient science. It has all along insisted on a nourishing but non-stimulant, vegetarian diet. Yogic diet satisfies three main conditions: (i) it is nourishing, i.e ., It provides all the essential nutrients to the body. (ii) it is vegetarian. (iii) it is pure and non-stimulant. According to medical science, if a food satisfies the condition No.(1), then it is fit for consumption. But yoga, being a subtle science, makes subtle distinctions. Proper food is the first requisite of a Sadhaka.
So, one who wants to advance on the path of yoga should first pay attention to his diet. There is no conflict between yoga and modern science as far as the principle of balanced diet is concerned. But yoga diet would exclude all those food items which are non-vegetarian and intoxicating, because according to yoga, food is not for physical fitness alone; it also affects mental and spiritual state of being. So, yogic diet apart from giving physical fitness, is conductive to mental and spiritual upliftment. It is simple, natural and Sattvic, besides being nourishing. In fact, yoga lays emphasis on Sattvic food.
Ideal yogic Food-stuffs
After discussing all aspects and all types of food. It can easily be concluded that the following types of food items can be included in the yogic diet. Which not only help the body to remain strong and active but lead one to high mental and spiritual attainments:
(1) All nuts and fruits. (2) all kinds of vegetables and edible green leaves. (3) all kinds of pulses. (4) milk, curd, butter-milk. (5) dates: honey and jiggery. (6) wheat, rice etc.. (7) sprouted pulses and cereals
The Technique and Principles of Fasting
There are no very hard-and-fast rules as to when to fast. Some people observe fast for a day once a month: others do not observe any particular system and undertake a fast when their system needs cleansing. The following points may be useful for observing a fast:
1. Do not eat any food during the day of fasting. Drink as much as clean water as you can when you feel away the impurities which might have accumulated in the system from time to time.
2. If in the beginning you find it difficult to observe complete fast for one full day. You can begin with a partial fast. Di not take anything during the day except water. In the evening, take fruit juice or fruits, or fruit and milk. That is to say, take no solid food expect fruits.
3. Those who cannot observe even a partial fast may drink orange or some other juice thrice a day. Vegetable juice can also be taken in the absence of fruit juice.
4. It is essential to cleanse your bowels in the morning. It is better to take an enema of sample of water. after the normal motion to cleanse the bowels thoroughly. Your fast will do you good when you start it with clean bowels.
5. Fast should always be broken with a glass of fruit juice. In the absence of fruit juice, you can take fruits which are pulpy and easily digestible. e. g., Orange, papaya, grapes, apple, etc.
6. One should take as much rest as one can during the fast. Hard physical labour should be avoided during the time of the fast. Those whose nature of work is such that they have to do hard physical labour, they should observe only partial fast. Those who can observe silence during the fast should do so to save energy.
7. Long fasts of more than two days should be undertaken under the guidance and advice of an expert naturopath. It is however not essential to consult a doctor when one resorts to fasting to cure indigestion caused due to careless eating. In sting because fast small aliments like headaches, stomach aches bad cold, one may safely go in for fast.
8. Fasting increase our will power, we should exert our will power fully on the day of the fast and should control our mind’s wanderings. The purification of the body and the mind achieved during fasting enables us to bring our mind to one-pointedness and fix it in meditation. It is easy to meditate on the day of fasting because fasting makes the mind quiet, placed and thus easy to control.
Some Other Useful Yoga Aasans
google ads
