Archive for July, 2006
A typical traditional Indian subcontinental marriage would have a Haldi Rasma, turmeric ceremony. Depending upon the cultural tradition in a given region or community it takes place from a day to several days before a marriage.
On this day of the ceremony mainly it is the groom whose body is anointed with thick paste of turmeric. The anointment is first done by the real or cousin sisters of the groom followed by other close relations who take their turns smearing the mild odoured condiment on the naked body of the boy. The ritual lasts from a few minutes in some societies to several hours or even the whole day in others.
An urban version of the ceremony would have just the face of the groom annointed with the paste. In all the cases an elaborate bath with water loaded with flower petals follows. In the traditional tribal societies the Haldi Rasam is an elaborate affair. Not just the groom but all the men folks are painted yellow with turmeric water. It is a time for jubilation. Throwing turmeric water on each other adds festive spirit to the marriage ceremony.
In the traditional societies roots of turmeric and even powdered condiment are offered to the deities of the respective communities.
New born children are given their first bath with turmeric water for its antiseptic and auspicious qualities.
Brides going for herbal make up apply turmeric paste made in combination with sandalwood paste. The concoction is not only a great cleanser and antiseptic in nature but is also used by the brides as makeup – painting different shapes on their foreheads with turmeric.
It is amazing to see how traditional societies discovered that medicinal herbs have innumerable qualities and made them part of their religion and rituals. This is in contrast with the modern society which looks for solutions to health problems in a pill.
July 13th, 2006
Written By: lalitgambhir
Sometime back I jumped on to the vegetarian bandwagon. I have been a non-vegetarian for a pretty long time, and had kind of got used to the taste of meat, the feel of meat, rather.
I am a great lover of animals, and was therefore always at conflict - if I loved animals, how on earth did I manage to eat them with a clear conscience? When I say I am an animal-lover, I don’t mean just a dog or cat lover. I love animals - wild, domesticated, reptilian, whatever. There is an absolute innocence about animals that is missing in us humans. We are robbed of this innocence because of our ability to think, because the basal dichotomy that the ability to think creates is what makes our world, our lives, such an entangled web of contrasts and complications.
It is not like I haven’t tried to stay vegetarian. However, each of these attempts has been a failure; the longest period I managed to stay vegetarian was 2 weeks. Because food just didn’t taste the same without meat being a part of it. It was then I realized that much as I wanted to get off meat, I just couldn’t. Imagine my surprise when I discovered I had kind of got addicted to it!
Addicted to meat! The word ‘addiction’ has some very degrading connotation to me. Enslavement, and me? No way! But it was true. Fact - I was addicted to meat. Fact - I craved for it when I didn’t get it. That discovery made me angry and frustrated, because I always liked to believe that I was in control of my life. To discover that my will was subjugated by something as basic as greed, was numbing and annoying. When I was young I used to read spiritual texts where they talked about our body being enslaved by the 5 senses (indriyas). I could now perfectly understand what it meant; all this while it had seemed some mystical, almost alien concept.
I have always loved challenging myself, and this seemed one of the best challenges I could have thrown at myself. So I quit eating non-vegetarian stuff, and that was that. I figured it would do me a world of good, from the point of both physical and mental health. Mental health because ayurveda says that non-vegetarian food can make people aggressive and aggressive is certainly one of the requirements for finding mental peace.
There are other more important benefits as well. From a health point of view, by combining my turning vegetarian with a proper exercise routine of walking and yoga, I have managed to make myself fitter, lose a few pounds, something I had been wanting to do desperately, and also live with a clear conscience now. There is a level of purity associated with vegetarianism that is missing in non-vegetarian diets. Maybe it is all in my head, but I like to think that being vegetarian makes me more caring about the world around me, the world that the animals share.
It was not easy initially, though. I had to do a lot to shore up my defenses. Especially when I made my way to the cafeteria on hungry afternoons and the whiff of non-vegetarian food hit me like a sledgehammer. However, now it’s been 2 months, and I am confident enough to be able to write about remaining off meat, finally.
July 12th, 2006
Written By: daisy
Lalit, the author of the Yoga and Ayurveda articles on FurtherHealth, and a teacher of these disciplines, has been encouraging me to try some of the techniques that he has been writing about.
This was particularly in response to my blog about the meditating monks in Burma, and my confessed lack of patience to develop these skills.
Lalit had suggested that I try Pranayama, specifically five minutes each of Aalom Vilom (AV) and Kapalbharti (KB), as explained in our article about Yoga and diabetes.
As it is a nice sunny day today, I decided to put a blanket on the lawn and do five minutes of AV followed by five minutes of KB. At the very least it would be ten minutes sitting quietly in the sunshine!
Reading our article I could easily understand how to perform Aalom Vilom so I sat crossed legged on the blanket, closed my eyes and started to concentrate on inhaling and exhaling through each nostril seperately - long slow inhalations followed by long slow exhalations.
Concentrating on each breath I suddenly remembered to look at my watch to see how long I had been doing the exercise. Expecting it to be two minutes, I was surprised to see that I had been doing AV for seven minutes!
I noticed that by the end of the exercise that I was taking much deeper inhalations than when I started. As a Physiologist, at least by training, I know that this is a very good thing as air can linger and stagnate in the depths of your lungs if you don’t inhale and exhale deeply.
I felt good after this brief AV exercise - there is no doubt about it.
The KB exercise was more difficult to fathom so I need to ask Lalit to explain this better so that we can update our articles to better inform, but I can see (and feel) that controlled deep and slow inhalations and exhalations are highly beneficial.
I’ll learn more about KB and keep the blog updated with my progress.
Samadhi, here I come!
July 11th, 2006
Written By: chris
Is the United Kingdom the only place where there’s been major controversy over the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination?
I doubt it, but even though this controversy raged a few years ago, the effects are only now starting to be felt.
In short, Dr Andrew Wakefield, published research whicht indicated that chidren who received the MMR vaccine were more likely to suffer from Autism and a bowel disorder. A so called “triple dose” of the individual vaccines was recommended instead.
The furore was immense. I vividly remember huge queues of anxious parents and frightened children waiting to pay almost any price for single vaccines from anywhere willing to sell them on a private basis.
Friends had children at the vaccination age then, and went to great lengths to get individual doses. Our children were younger so we had longer to come to terms with out terrible dilemma - should we give them the MMR vaccine and risk the dire consequences of autism - or should we give them the individual doses and risk them not being properly protected against measles and the other diseases?
Well, as the link above showed, Dr Wakefield’s research has been discredited - apparently it was only undertaken on 12 children anyway!
We decided to give our children the MMR vaccine and they have been fine. We made the correct decision.
However, in the UK, measles, which had previously been virtually eradicated, is now on the increase again - all because the concerns about the safety of the MMR vaccine.
This is a crazy situation, though I can understand the concerns of parents faced with the decision. All I can add to the debate is that our two children were fine and we can now be assured that as they reach school age that they will be safe from the potentially lethal measles.
July 10th, 2006
Written By: chris
In the western world we don’t get much exposure to the powers of Yoga or meditation, other than watching, or even participating in, Yoga classes in sports clubs and gyms.
I get the impression, though, that Western Yoga, by and large, only scratches the surface of what actually can be achieved, though as our Yoga article on FurtherHealth points out, attaining high levels of expertise and benefit from Yoga requires it to play a central role in your lifestyle.
I am fortunate to have travelled reasonably extensively throughout Asia and have often seen how religion and everyday living are intertwined in these societies. For example, I vividly recall a group of Buddhist monks walking down one of the main streets in a city, a novice leading the way with a brush, sweeping the path to ensure that no insects were trodden on by the monks.
A particular encounter with the power of meditation stands out in my memory though.
There is an amazing temple in Burma (now called Myanmar) called the Shwedagon Pagoda. Covered in gold this huge pagoda is stunning and hugely interesting. It takes at least three hours of wandering around to come to terms with its majesty and serenity.
When I went through the gate to visit the pagoda I noticed three elderly monks dressed in black, each standing motionless on one leg holding a begging bowl.
I thought nothing of it until more than three hours later when I wandered out through the gate again, to my amazement the three monks were still there in exactly the same spot, in exactly the same one legged pose. They hadn’t moved an inch in three hours.
I went over to look at them and they were like statues. Eyes closed, completely still, physically there, but mentally far away in deep meditation. It was awesome to see and in fact, to me, even overshadowed the splendour of the Shwedagon.
Meditation, when performed to a high level is amazing. I probably haven’t got the patience to scratch the surface of it, which is a real shame.
July 7th, 2006
Written By: chris
Though we talk of exercise and fitness and going to the gym and all that, we need to realize that there is a mental side to the whole aspect of fitness as well. Go to the gym, work out for a couple of hours, have a shower, and you’ll see what I mean. Along with burning the calories, exercising has this amazing ability to relax you, calm you down.
When I first started visiting the gym, I used to be wonder how on earth I’d manage to stay awake at work after a strenuous 2-hour workout (strenuous because I was in a hurry to get rid of the flab). But I was surprised when I found myself zipping to the office, singing along to Led Zep and other assorted inspirations, after a 2-hour session at the gym every morning.
Nowadays I find I don’t have the inclination or the energy for the 2-hour sessions. Living the fast life has taken its toll, I guess. But I have found another alternative - walking half an hour every morning, and an hour of gym in the evening. The effect is the same, and the morning walk is invigorating too. It’s good for the circulation and the heart, and keeps the body fit and able. What else could you ask for?
July 5th, 2006
Written By: daisy
In the gym that I go to, the cardio-vascular suite is on a floor above the swimming pool. You can see down into the pool while you puff and pant on some machine of torture such as a treadmill or exercise bike.
I can’t but help watch some of those swimming below and sometimes its hard not to laugh.
Some of the elderly swimmers, in particular, have a style that borders on the comical. I watched one lady today, who must be in her 70’s, swimming almost vertically in the water, taking tiny strokes that inched her along the pool.
It was a very funny sight - but do you know what? I admire her tremendously.
That lady was taking responsibility for her health and well being. Not for her was it a sedentary afternoon watching daytime TV. She had made the effort to go out and swim to the best of her ability, which is highly admirable.
I just hope that when I’m her age I have the physical and mental strength that she has.
July 4th, 2006
Written By: chris
I’ll be the first to admit that I have often bought a bottle of mineral water - particularly if it is sparkling.
Well it must be good for you surely.
It costs at least £1 (almost $2) per bottle, looks healthy in well designed packaging and tempts you with enticing descriptions about how it is naturally filtered by age old rocks in far flung places.
Water from a tap, on the other hand, should really only be used for washing things like vegetables. You don’t drink it do you?
Well actually if you live in the UK, you should as its been found to be as healthy, and far cheaper, than bottled water. Test carried out on drinking water straight from a tap, around various parts of the UK showed that 99.96 percent of the samples met the stringent UK and European water quality standards.
Not only is the water quality as good, but when you look at the cost differences, it is staggering. It would cost about £1 per YEAR for a person to drink eight glasses of tap water per day, whereas it would cost over £500 (about $800) to drink the same quantities of bottled water.
So in future I will fill up a bottle of water from the tap and take it to the gym, rather than paying exorbitant amounts for bottled water.
I know tap water quality various tremendously from country to country, but maybe you should at least consider tap water if your supplies are meeting good health standards. And you could save a whole year of gym membership fees at the same time!
July 3rd, 2006
Written By: chris
The road traffic administration in India has introduced two new features at major intersections – the motorists stopping at the red signal read “Relax” glowing with the light and there is a digital timer indicating the countdown to the green signal. Hence one knows the time available to relax at the traffic intersections.
The need for the system grew from a study on the behavioural pattern of the motorists. It was found that those behind the wheels were a harried lot given the pace of life and the increasing traffic congestion on the roads. This resulted in a marked rise in the impatience of the motorists. So jumping the red signal or speeding away as the green light turned red resulted in many accidents at the intersections, which were increasing by the year.
Hence, now the red signal says Relax and the digital timer tells how long. This saves precious fuel as well as a motorist can turn the ignition off for the time period.
The new system is a reminder that life can go on without stress only if we know how. Yoga trains a person to make best use of those free moments when one can come back to himself from his involvement in the affairs of his world.
Yoga is not just a regimen of exercises and the way one can go about his diet. It is about how one can go about his life in totality.
A yogi and an ayurveda (a traditional Indian system of medicine and treatment) practitioner can tell you the root cause of all the humanity is suffering from – stress. Stress is a major killer.
The effect of stress is first visible on your digestive system. If you have not had a good night sleep, you will find your bowels not evacuating with ease the following morning. So constipation is the first problem to strike you if your system has not relaxed enough. Eating too late in the night or having a low fibre diet are other reasons, but stress is number one as observations of the ayurveda doctors reveal. Stressed out and frayed nerves leading eventually to cardiovascular problems, is a well known medical fact.
The first thing that a beginner at yoga learns is how to manage the flow of his stress hormones – adrenaline and noradrenaline, which trigger a destructive response to an unpleasant situation or a crisis. Yoga’s regulatory effect on the cellular followed by organ level follows hence.
The most chronic of physical conditions, known to medical science as incurable, have been successfully treated and cured through the system and practices of yoga. This is being confirmed in a major new research study that is being undertaken in India.
You may watch these pages for free advice on how to go about your invaluable life. You may even post your queries via our contact form to this author, who is a practitioner and teacher of yoga and can help you with advice on ayurveda.
July 2nd, 2006
Written By: lalitgambhir
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