Revealing symptoms

Breathe your way to a long life

noreply@blogger.com (Ramesh Bashyam) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 02:30:00 +0000

Breathe your way to long health. Surprised !

Have you ever wondered at the longevity secrets of animals and people?
What do all these have in common: Turtles, elephants, camel - They live a long life (as compared to human years)

The secret lies in their breath rate.

People who live high stress lives, lose their temper easily and highly emotional generally do not make it to a long life.

Animals breath less per day and live longer. Whenever we are stressed, angry or are in despair, we breathe faster. On the contrary, we need to regulate and hold our breath. We often hear or use this term - gasping for breath. It means we are struggling to breathe or are feeling suffocated. We open our mouth and breathe and then bring the situation under control.

Generally, when people have lost something or someone and are desolate, we hug them and relieve their misery. However, what we do without noticing is we regulate the other person's heartbeat and breathing and help him recover, albeit slowly.
So breathe slowly and steadily and live longer.

Suicide identification and prevention

noreply@blogger.com (Ramesh Bashyam) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:30:00 +0000

Right from time immemorial, we have had people committing suicide through various means. Based on interaction with psychiatrists and psychologists, I am posting this.

People who tend to commit suicide do not do it on the spur of the moment. They plan it in advance for quite some time before putting it into action.

How do we identify people with such a tendency?

People

- who suddenly withdraw from all interactions with others

- who have a pessimistic outlook towards life

- who lost a near and dear one due to illness or accidents

- who have lost their love (or lover)

- who are in financial mess

- who have failed in exams

- whose families have a tendency to commit suicide.

How do we get through to such people and help them?

As Dale Carnegie rightly pointed out in his masterpiece: "How to Win Friends and influence People", listening to the outpourings from such people is a huge ask. People who indulge in suicide generally a feeling of not being loved, uncared for. All they look for is a sympathetic soul who patiently listens to their problems. It is incumbent on these listeners to work out with these suicide people and talk them out of it.

Working with their families and close friends secretly and behind the scenes we can help them in getting the initial plan to commit suicide. At times, a change of location certainly helps, alternatively taking a break from daily routine and going for a vacation (to a tourist spot or a holy place - pilgrimage) can cause a change of heart. However, we should not think that our victim will end this. He needs to be monitored regularly, without intruding too much into his privacy. Working with counsellors, anonymous social groups (similar to Alcoholic Anonymous) and helping these victims is also important.

Another shocking way to help is taking these victims to families, who have lost their loved ones recently to suicide. Once they understand the gravity of the situation and the impact of suicide on society as well as one's family and loved ones, they will tend to realise the stupidity of the act.

All of these might or not might work in preventing suicide, but there is no harm in trying to help save lives. All lives are precious and no amount of money on earth can bring back a dead one.

Let's take it as a challenge and duty to help alleviate the suffering of our brethern and prevent the unnecessary loss of lives.

Sex up your married life

noreply@blogger.com (Ramesh Bashyam) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:45:00 +0000

Remember the thrill, fun and adventure when you entered into family life as husband and wife. In the initial days of our relationship, we enjoyed lots of sex, rested and came back to enjoy more of the same.

As days pass our interest in our sex lives wane and we return to our daily routine of getting ready for the office, rushing about our job and returning with one hand on the Television remote. This is what has been happening since the advent of the Television (20th century onwards).

If we just went into the early decades of the 20th century, we would have seen our grandparents enjoying a happy life with lots of fun and noise in the house (caused by the children playing).

What has caused this? We are more intent on getting through the day, than getting back to the sack and enjoying our conjugal bliss. While sex alone does not constitute a happy married life, lack of it hampers our relationship to a great extent.

Have regular sex with your partner, twice a week at least. This will rev up your married life. This is also a great exercise, stress buster and relieves you from insomnia. There are lots of ways to look younger and fitter - having sex is certainly one of them.

So sex up your a healthy and happy married life

Increase your weight naturally

noreply@blogger.com (Ramesh Bashyam) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:30:00 +0000

This is for people looking to increase their weight without using medicines:

1. Have a glass of banana milkshake daily in the night before going to bed

2. Take a glass of warm milk with a spoon of honey mixed in it

3. Soak sprouts in water and leave them overnight. Consume them first thing in the morning.

4. Eat lots of raw vegetables, broccoli and green vegetables.

5. Take at least 8-10 glasses of water

6. Eat lots of natural food (not stored ones)

You can certainly expect an increase in weight, without any side effects. Quite a few of us have followed this and the results have been good.

Original hygiene an indicator of your health

noreply@blogger.com (Ramesh Bashyam) — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 02:30:00 +0000

Our parents have guided us in brushing our teeth within a year of our growing our teeth. However, as we grow older we ignore the importance of oral hygiene.

Breath (good or bad) is as much an indicator of our standing. If we have bad breath, people hesitate to come closer to us and in extreme cases, avoid us.

A normal healthy human being needs to have food every 3-4 hours (except after our supper). If we skip or delay taking food during this period, acid activity in our stomach increases, causing foul breath. If the skipping of meals/ food duration increases, we are prone to ulcer and our breath will definitely indicate this. Once we get this indication, it is time we stick to our meals and not skip it.

We all know that after we take foods which have garlic, onion or fish, our breath will still have traces of it. So we need to gargle a few times to overcome or reduce the effect of such foods.

When I feel that the duration between my food / meals will be uneven, I generally chew gum which have less sugar content in it. Chewing gum reduces the acid activity and the food delay can be extended for at least 30 minutes. Also the effect of pungent foods namely, onion, garlic and fish will not be reflective in my breath.

Make it a practice to floss at least once a day. Also do not ignore to gargle after eating food, drinking coffee or tea or any sweets / chocolates to reduce the strain on teeth. Also brush the teeth twice a day, early in the morning and definitely before going to bed in the night.

Use a soft or medium toothbrush and change it once in 2-3 months. Follow a calendar month schedule to change the brush. In such a scenario, you will be able to keep track of when you changed the brush last time.

Good oral care gives you the confidence in social life, helps in making friends. So do not ignore your teeth.

Insomnia

noreply@blogger.com (Ramesh Bashyam) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 05:00:00 +0000

We all want to start the new day energized and rested. However, if we have not slept properly, we feel tired upon awakening and tired throughout the day. It's difficult to focus and we commit mistakes in our work. Also the lack of sleep makes us irritable and feeling down.

If you have been a victim of insomnia, you will know how bad it is. Insomnia is the inability to sleep through the night (for shift workers, this is the inability to sleep through your sleep time).

Insomnia creates an energy imbalance. When we rectify the energy imbalance, then sleep naturally ensues.

There are a number of natural and holistic energy healing options for insomnia. It all boils down to the role we plan to take in healing it - active or passive.

Also the expertise of the practitioner helps - we can have a combination of active, semi-active, and passive roles. One advantage of these systems is that they can isolate the causes of our insomnia and release their energy at source.

Certain illnesses, necessary medicine that you may be reacting to, pain, discomfort, or anxiety, foods, something in your environment, or a variety of negative emotions can cause insomnia.

A good practitioner can advise you as to what treatment or combination is best for you.

If we choose a passive role, then attending Reiki, Shiatsu, or Acupuncture sessions on a regular basis are good.

So make a choice, start early to correct insomnia and have a pleasant day ahead.

Control your mind

noreply@blogger.com (Ramesh Bashyam) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 05:30:00 +0000

Mind is not only daily made, but hourly made. In every minute it changes its color and shape like a chameleon. It is very wavering and unsteady. The temperament of a man can be greatly modified by environments, education and experience.

Mind is ever changing and wandering. This wandering habit of the mind manifests itself in various ways. You will have to be on the alert always to check this wandering habit of the mind. “One thing at a time and that done well is a very good rule as many can tell.”

If all the thoughts are eliminated, then there remains nothing which can be called the mind. So thoughts are the mind. Again there is no such thing as the world independent of and apart from thoughts.

Thoughts gain strength by repetition. If you entertain an evil thought or a good thought once, this evil thought or good thought has a tendency to recur again. Thoughts crowd together. Just as the birds of the same feather flock together, so also if you entertain one evil thought all sorts of evil thoughts join together and attack you. If you entertain any good thought, all good thoughts join together.

If you entertain evil thought that thought attracts all sorts of evil thoughts from others. Thought is a living dynamic force. You pass on good thoughts to others. You pollute the world with your bad thoughts. You help the world with your good thoughts.

Drive off negative thoughts. Become positive always. Positive overpowers negative. You can do nice meditation when you are positive.

The mind can be controlled by continuous practice. You must keep it always occupied in good thoughts. If you slacken your efforts, idle thoughts will at once enter. Continuous practice can bring the mind under control, quite easily.

Sit at ease. Close your eyes. Look within. Withdraw the rays of the mind. Silence the thoughts. The mind will move now to its centre or source slowly.

Live in the solid present. Do a thing which the mind does not want to do. Do not do a thing which the mind wants to do.

Walk your way to good health

noreply@blogger.com (Ramesh Bashyam) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 11:20:00 +0000

Walking is the easiest way to good health. Our parents and family have rejoiced as we took the first step towards being differentiated from animals - standing upright and walking.

Our first step would have been wobbly and we would have fallen more times during the initial steps than the rest of our life. We all are enthusiastic initially and enjoyed walking and jumping around till we complete our school years.

Once we start driving our first vehicle, we stop enjoying our walk and even start taking the vehicle for short distances.

Heart diseases afflicts most workers today. High calorie diet foods, stress, lifestyle, smoking, alcohol are some of the main causes of the heart diseases - which is the No.1 killer of the workers.

High cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity/overweight lead to angina, heart attack, cardiac arrest and heart failure. The heart attack occurs due to blockage/ clot/constriction of coronary arteries.

Start today with a 30 minute brisk walking and make it a habit everyday.

What does regular walking do to you?
- increases the levels of good cholesterol. Walking is a good habit to replace smoking.
- makes the heart work efficiently, improves blood circulation. Oxygen supply increases, blood vessels become more elastic and oxygen delivered to the tissues increases
- easiest way to deal with tension, anxiety, stress. It recharges our batteries after they have been drained of power and energy by stress and tension
- improves muscle tone, makes heart stronger
- massages the legs
- gives an overwhelming feeling of health and energy.

So what are you waiting for now. Save this and start your walk for a good health.

Eyes are the windows to the world

noreply@blogger.com (Ramesh Bashyam) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:47:00 +0000

Health is a state of both the body and mind. A calm and clear mind helps us to control anger (one word short of danger). The less anger we feel, the less harm happens to the body - reduction in blood pressure, heartbeat and more than anything, less visits to the doctor (medical practitioners my apologies if I hurt your business).

Right at the start of the day - on waking up, relax your body and don't jump out of bed. Before opening your eyes, rub both your hands warmly and vigorously, pass on the heat generated in your hands to your eyes and slowly open them. This will help in getting acclimatised to the bright lights and give brightness to the eyes. This will be useful to all, more so to the people who work in bright conditions and in front of the computers.

Early in my career, when computers started to come to India (early 1990s), due to the radiation generated by the monitor I faced dry eyes and was forced to using the spectacles. This made me look almost 5 years older than I was. I wasn't married then and my friends were ridiculing me that I could get only older ladies as my life partner. I switched over to eye exercises, closing and opening my eyes frequently to reduce the strain in my eyes. Also I was advised to undertake lamp/candle light treatment.

The candle / lamp treatment involved lighting a candle or lamp in a dark room (or switching off the lights) and staring at the light for a short duration, until I could not stare longer. Initially, I started for a few seconds and gradually was able to do it for a minute or so. Believe me, I have stopped using spectacles altogether, though I am using computers longer.

After almost a decade, I went to an optician for eye check up and he gave my eyes a clean chit, saying I did not need the use of spectacles for reading. The only suggestion that I use cooling glasses when driving to avoid the glare of vehicles.

Alternatively, I cut and used cucumber over my eyes. My eyes felt like they were on ice and for a 5 minute use of cucumber (placing them on my eyes), I enjoyed the pleasure of a 10-15 minute power nap, which helped me recharge my batteries for the day

Analyze your food habits

noreply@blogger.com (Ramesh Bashyam) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 09:06:00 +0000

"Well begun is half done".

The cure to any disease starts with the human mind - believing that the disease can be treated and cured helps in fighting and winning half the battle.

The next process is understanding and analyzing the symptoms - what food(s) have caused these symptoms. It is advisable to maintain a regular note of the foods we consume so that we can have zero in on the foods which might have led to these symptoms.

As a vegan and teetotaller, I enjoy the benefits of healthy and natural foods. A majority of the people suffering from stomach upsets, constipation and ulcers do so because of eating unhealthy foods.

Unlike carnivores, whose stomach linings are in a straight line and help in digestion of their animal food, our stomach linings are different and take time to digest and excrete food. Some of the undisgested food (like meat) lie inside our stomach for years. Also the herbivores, which run for their lives fearing the carnivores, live longer than their hunters. For example, the average life of a lion is 25 years while a cow or elephant lives longer. (there will be exceptions so I am prepared to accept your dissensions and disagreements on this). The choice is yours - consume natural foods and live longer or eat the flesh and bones of animals and curtail your life span.

Our ancestors have lived a long, healthy life - walking without the support of canes or sticks and seeing clearly without the assistance of any visual aids. Our present genre of kids start wearing spectacles, and in some cases lenses, by the time they are into their primary school. One of the main culprits is the absence of foods rich in vitamins in their diet. Instead parents switch over to vitamin supplements (as tablets, capsule or juices). All these do have preservatives or other additives, which will not give the desired benefits.

In our vernacular language, we have a saying "Food as medicine". Sadly, it has turned to medicine as food. We are seeing people in their middle ages taking more medicine and less food in their diet. It appears as though they are whiling away their lives and waiting for the end.

You may be 50 years young or 35 years old. It all boils down to how we want to live - healthy and to the fullest or living as sick (mentally and physically) people. I will be touching the mental aspect later, as there is a lot to be written, based on experiences I have had with people around me.

Let's start with thoughts from a couple of books I have read - Robin Sharma's "The Monk who Sold His Ferrari" and Deepak Chopra's "Ageless Body, Timeless Mind".

Robin Sharma's protagonist, a leading lawyer, living a fast lifestyle breaks down, goes in search of liberation (mentally and physically) and comes back after a few years, younger, charged up and enthusiastic. The changes in the lawyer take place as he goes on a natural diet - lots of fruits and vegetables, plenty of fresh air. If this doesn't bring us energy, nothing can. The viagras and other medicines give us a boost for a short period of time. The ones that give us unlimited energy are our foods and thoughts.

We have heard this often "Healthy mind in a healthy body". Our mental state helps a lot in relieving stress in our lives.

One of the basic components of a healthy person is fluids (water and blood) that constitute a major portion of our body. We tend to overlook the fluid content in our body. We go thirsty for long periods ignoring the demand and cries from our systems for more water content. The result is dehydration, nausea,

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