Yoga for Children to improve their health & immunity

Well, no need to start the post highlighting the importance of exercising our bodies to remain fit for a longer perios, so I will not spend time on this. The point I am making in this post is that not only adults but children also need to exercise their bodies right from beginning so that they beome more fit and obviously for longer time. In today's world of video games, television and excessive internet surfing, the normal exercises that children used to do while playing field games went missing from their schedule and it is more pertinent for them to formally start doing these yogic exercises so that the balance in body remains positive. In addition, this will also develop natural inclination of children towards Yoga and hence will increase health conciousness in them.

As other field games, the fun factor is not missing from these yogic games though I agree that these can not be compared to the field games as those are multi player and maulti faceted games as compared to Yogic exercises but still there is enough fun factor in these to keep the children glued to them as their daily routine. Yoga also boosts the metabolism of the body and provides a natural calmness in mind. This is particularly beneficial for the children, most of whom possess a hyperactive or hypoactive nature these days.

I will recommend following exercises for the children to start with:

• Vir-asana - this yogasana helps the kid to build the confidence
• Pranayam - this hugely popular and useful breathing exercise(s) helps a lot in mental relaxation and the child will feel much more refreshened up(and this is without the dose of a fizzy cold drink that makes the brain dizzy)
• Simh-asana - this instlls fearlessness and confidence in child
• Swastik-asana - to provide them a feeling of security from all worldly emotional pains like exams, sadness due to a fight with a friend etc.
• Trataka Karma - this enhances the concentration levels of children and also helps boost their memory

A child can be re-energized with yogic exercises like Surya Namaskar like I mentioned in my earlier posts on this. Also helpful are Bhramari, Hal-asana and Karnapid-asana to boost their overall growth.

Dejection and lack of confidence are common among children today, due to the intense competition which they have to face. Some of the yoga poses that help them regain their confidence and become competitive include Marichi-asana, Pash-asana, Bharadvaj-asana, Rangachikitsa etc. 

Yoga: Surya Namaskar - Benefits and Positions...Part 2

Let us talk today about the rest of the 6 positions of Surya Namaskar. Remember that it is important to do all 10 positions of Surya Namaskar ot attain maximum benefits.

Let me start with Position 4: Hold the breath and raise the knee of left leg. Take the right leg backwards and keep it close to the left leg. Straighten both the legs and both hands. Keep the neck straight and site fixed. Keep both the toes erect. Take care that the neck, spine, thighs and the feet are in a straight line.

Important points to remember for this position:

• Take the right leg back and place it beside the left leg, keeping the toes erect
• Keep the body in one straight line – plank position
• Keep the arms straight
• Gaze forward

Avoid below points for this position:

• Bending the arms
• Looking towards the floor
• Dropping the hips/waist towards the floor
• Sticking the buttocks into the air
• Bending the knees

Position 5: Exhaling bend both the hands in elbows and touch forehead on the ground, touch the knees on the ground, keep both the elbows close to chest. The forehead, chest, both the palms, both the toes, knees should touch the ground and rest of the body not touching the floor. Since only eight parts rest on the ground , it is called ' Ashtanga' position.

Important points to remember for this position:

• Bring the body towards the floor placing the 8 parts on the floor: Toes, knees, chest, palms, and forehead
• Keep the hands close to the body, next to the shoulders
• Keep the elbows pointed to the sky and close in to the body

Avoid below points for this position:

• Touching the thighs, hips, waist or abdomen to the floor
• Touching the chin to the floor
• Letting the elbows fall away from the body

Position6: Inhale and straighten the elbows, stretch the shoulders upwards, press the waist downwards but dont bend the arms. Keep the knees and toes on the floor. Push the neck backwards and site upwards.

Important points to remember for this position:

• Push the upper body upwards so that the arms are straight
• Keep the fingers pointed forwards, palms on the ground, thumbs at 90 degree angle
• Open the chest, pull the shoulders downwards
• Drop the head and neck backwards and gaze upwards towards the sky
• Keep the heels, legs and knees together
• Keep the toes erect

Avoid below points for this position:

• Letting the legs or heels be apart
• Bending the elbows
• Hunching the shoulders towards the ears

Position 7: Hold the breath, bend the neck downwards and press the chin in the throat, push the body backwards and touch the heels on the ground, raise the waist upwards, do not move the palms on the floor.

Important points to remember for this position:

• Push the body upward so the buttocks and waist are raised into the air, leaving the body in an Inverted ‘V’ position
• Take the head and chin towards the chest
• Try to touch the heels to the floor

Avoid below points for this position:

• Bending the legs in the knees
• Bending the arms

Position8: Hold the breath as in position 7, bring the right leg in the front and place it in between the hands like in position 3 but instead of left leg in the front here take right leg and place left leg in the back with left knee and toes on the ground.

Important points to remember for this position:

• Take the right leg forward and place it between the hands
• The knee of the right leg will be bent
• The knee of the left leg should touch the ground
• Drop the waist/ hips towards the floor
• Gaze is upwards, both arms are straight

Avoid below points for this position:

• Bending the neck forward
• Bending the elbows

Position9:Exhale and bring the left leg forwards as in the position 2 and place it in between both the arms.

Important points to remember for this position:

• Take the left leg forward and place it beside the right
• Palms touching the ground, fingers pointing forward, thumbs at 90 degree angle
• Legs straight
• Try to touch the forehead to the knees
• Relax the neck

Avoid below points for this position:

• Bending the knees
• Keeping the neck tense

Position 10: Inhaling start getting up and attain the position as in position 1.

With this, the series of posts on Surya Namaskar comes to an end. I hope, people from all walks of life will find this helpful for the health and wellness.

Yoga: Surya Namaskar - Benefits and Positions

Though, I have not covered yoga in much details in my blog till date as I am not a yoga expert but it is not possible for me to stop the urge for talking about one of the best yogasana which has shown miraculous impact on body systems for various health conditions. Infact, it is considered as the best exercise for human body. Surya Namaskar consists of not only important Yogasanas and but also Pranayama. The Pranayama and its advantages are skillfully incorporated in Surya Namaskar. In all this Surya Namaskar is an appreciated exercise among people of all ages from kids to old age people.

 

Ideally, these exercises should be performed early in the morning, exposing your body to the sun's rays. But if, for some reason, it cannot be performed in the morning you may do so in the evening on an empty stomach, in a well ventilated room. Initially, you may start with three rounds and gradually build up the stamina for 10 to 12 rounds. Practice the exercises at the pace you feel comfortable with. If you feel tired after a few rounds, rest by lying down with eyes closed for a few minutes.

Before I start on explaining the exercise in details, let me highlight the Health Benefits of Surya Namaskar:

• Surya Namaskar series of  exercises activates the endocrine glands and the chakras (vortexes through which the vital life energy or prana is channeled into us) energizing the entire body in a balanced way
• Surya Namaskar accords overall strength and flexibility to the body, which is why it is generally performed before other asanas
• These simple exercises fight aging and rejuvenate the entire body
• Surya Namaskar or Sun Salutation is the best way to burn the calories and reduce weight
• It is often recommended for obesity reduction
• Prevents Heart complaints and controls Blood sugar levels
• They have beneficial effects on chronic skin problems
• Relieves Stress and Tension
• Improves attention and concentration

Now let us move to the different positions in Surya Namaskar:
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Position1: Inhale and maintain it in standing position with hands joined together near chest, feet together and toes touching each other

Position2: Exhale and bend forward in the waist till palms touch the ground in line with the toes. Don't bend knees while performing. At first you may find it difficult to attain the ideal position but try to bend as much as possible without bending in knees.

Do’s

• While exhaling bend forward in the waist
• Palms touching the ground, fingers pointing forward, thumbs at 90 degree angle
• Legs straight
• Try to touch the forehead to the knees
• Relax the neck

Don’ts

• Do not bend the knees
• Do not keep the neck tense

 

Position3: Inhale and take the left leg back with left toes on the floor, press the waist downwards and raise the neck, stretch the chest forward and push shoulders backwards. Keep the right leg and both the hands in the same position. Keep the right leg folded.

Dos

• Take the left leg backwards and touch the knee to the floor, keeping the toes erect
• The knee of the right leg will need to be bent
• The knee of the left leg should touch the ground
• Drop the waist/ hips towards the floor
• Gaze is upwards, and both arms are straight

Don’ts

• Do not bend the neck forward
• Do not bend the elbows

 

We will talk about the rest of the positions of Surya Namaskar in my next post.

Ayurvedic Cure for Diabetes or Madhumeha or Prameha...Part 2

We discussed about role of Bitter Gourd, Gooseberry and Blackberry in treating Diabetes, in the last post, there is another remedy for diabetes that is worth mentioning here, which is the mixture of all three. Let me start this post with a popular home remedy for diabetes that is quite effective too.

Mix an equal amount of amla (gooseberry) powder, jamun (blackberry) powder, and karela (bitter gourd) powder and give a teaspoon of this mixture once or twice a day to the diabetic patient. It would be highly efficient in checking the progress of the disease.

Other herbal remedies that are helpful in treating Diabetes are:

Cumin Seeds: Take Wild jeera (cumin seeds) black colored 60 gm and mix in 1 litre of water everyday. Boil and reduce it to 1/4th litre and take half part. Divide it into two equal parts and drink one part in the morning and one in the evening 2 times daily.
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Bengal Gram: Water extract or soup of kala chana (Bengal Gram) enhances the use of glucose and the insulin requirement goes down in the body considerably. Diabetes patients who are on a set diet which does not severely limit the intake of carbohydrates, but includes liberal amounts of Bengal gram extract, have shown significant improvement in their fasting blood sugar levels, glucose tolerance, urinary excretion of sugar, and general condition. Pulses from the same family like black gram are also quite useful in Diabetes treatment. In fact, two tablespoons of germinated black gram, taken with half a cup of fresh bitter gourd juice and a teaspoon of honey, is quite effective if taken everyday once for at least 100 days. Only thing that needs to be taken care of, in this case is that the intake of carbohydrates should be controlled.
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Mango Leaves: The tender leaves of the mango tree are measured useful in diabetes. An infusion is prepared by soaking 15 gm of fresh leaves in 250 ml of water overnight, and squeezing them fine in the water in the morning. This filtrate should be taken every morning to manage early diabetes. As an option, the leaves should be dried in the shade, powdered and preserved for use when necessary. Half a teaspoon of this powder should be taken two times in a day everyday.

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As Ayurveda healing principles are based on three main methods of treatment that are Ahaar (Food), Vihar (Exercise) and Aushadh (Medicine), there are other prescribed treatments of this disease in Ayurveda. We will discuss these treatments now:
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In Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus {Vathaja prameha} Patients are advised to have Bhrimhana medication & diet which increases dhathus in the body.

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In Type 2 Diabetes, obese diabetic patient with optimal body strength having intense increase of doshas, Purification of the body is advocated whcich is dependent on dosha predominance (Kaphaja are advised to have emetics, Pittaja are advised to have purgation.)

• Snehanam (prescription of oils internally & externally)
• Sodhana (Purification therapy under category three) – The treatment activities that are part of Sodhna are a) Vamanam (Induced Vomiting), b) Virechanam (Induced lose motions) and c) Vasthi (This process is the application of medicine through the anal route. This is indicated only in specific condition
• Shamanam (Suppression of symptoms)
• Pathya – Apathyas (Prescribed Diet)
• Vyayamam (exercises)

In strong prameha patients, but with increased doshas, sodhana chikitsa (treatment) is prescribed. The Purification Therapies are most important treatment in this condition. Snehana karma should be done before giving sodhana chikilsa. Generally swedana is contra indicated in prameha as swethathi pravruthy (profuced sweating) and is one of the main symptom of prameha. Moreover swedana induces kleda which is a causative factor for this disease. Different snehanas (oliations) are advised in different stages of prameha

The most common problem in diabetic patient is a general body weakness & a fast deterioration of the major organs affecting all physiological systems including the mind.

Mild forms of snehana, shodhana & Shamana treatments accompanied with drugs formulated for this protocol has been very effective in controlling Kaphapitta type of prameha. The rugs or herbs that can be taken as treatment for diabetes are

• Arogyavardhini
• Vasanta Kusumakar Ras
• Chandraprabhavati
• Triphala with Amalaki juice
• Gudmar
• Shilajit

Last but not the least, the role of yogasana in controlling diabetes is enormous and one of the asana that is seen to be giving best results, paschimottana–asana. If this asana is practiced daily without fail, it generates related energy that reduces the insulin requirement in the body and hence helpful in reducing the need of insulin injections. Other helpful asanas are halasana, pranayam and meditation.

I have not mentioned some of the herbal and other treatments that I discussed earlier in one of my previous posts so will request the readers to go through all posts on diabetes to take most benefit from my research on this topic.

Ayurvedic Cure for Diabetes or Madhumeha or Prameha

I wrote about this disease, its prevention and cure some days back also and I got reponse from some readers that the details are not that much and they need more details to actually benefit from it. So I took it up this topic in much more details this time.
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Diabetes Mellitus or Prameha or Madhumeha or Asrava has become the most dangerous killer disease across the globe. Though thousands of people are dying with Diabetes around the world every year, yet there is no discovery of the cure of this disease. The more unfortunate part is that there is very less awareness among people on the capabilities of Ayurveda, to not only prevent these disease (even for them who have history in family) but it can also be cured to a certain extent in more than one ways like frequency of taking insulin injections is reduced drastically or improving functioning of pancreas that generates insulin or reducing the requirement of insulin by body etc.

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We all know that Diabetes Mellitus is the medical condition in which there is an accumulation of glucose in the blood and urine of the person. So, it is a metabolic disorder, which is caused due to malfunctioning of pancreas – which is responsible for production of an important hormone called insulin.

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According to Ayurveda, Diabetes is divided in 4 major types (and total 21 types)

• Kapha type (again divided into 10 types)
• Pitta type (again divided into 6 types)
• Vata type (divided into 4 types)
• Juvenile diabetes for children

 It is categorized by Ayurveda as “Maharoga” (major disease) because it affects most part of the body and every cell of the human physiology. The ancient Indian physicians described not only the sweetness of urine as one of the major symptoms but also the relationship of the disease with disturbance of the 5 sheaths of the body – Annamaya kosha (Food sheath), Pranamaya kosha (Energy sheath), Manomaya kosha (Mind Sheath), Vijnanamaya kosha (Intellectual Sheath) and Anandamaya kosha (Bliss Sheath).

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Though Prameha (Diabetes) is a tridoshaja vyadhi, the relative predominance of any one dosha and dooshya enables its classification in to Vathaja, Pithaja and Kaphaja pramehas. These have further been classified in to twenty sub categories (as highlighted above) in all the three classics of Ayurveda. Kaphaja and Pittaja prameha have been sub classified in to ten types and six types respectively. These sixteen types have the physical characteristics of urine that is colour, density and volume depending up on the different gunas of Kapha and Pitta. Vataja prameha has been sub classified in to four types depending up on dhatu being excreted through urine.

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The prodromal symptoms of this disease are:

• Profuse sweating
• Foul smell of the body
• Looseness the body
• Feeling of lethargy
• Heavy heart feeling
• Feel like something coated on eyes
• Excessive growth of nails and hair
• Affinity toward cold
• Dryness of throat and palate
• Sweet taste in mouth
• Burning sensation in palms and foot soles
• Sweetness in urine

After catching Diabetes, the main symptoms are:

• Increased thirst, increased urination, increased appetite are the initial signs
• Blurred vision, skin irritation or infection, weakness or loss of strength, and decreased healing capability
• Sugar in urine

If diabetes is not identified at the right time advanced symptoms like fluid and electrolyte imbalance, acidosis, coma are also seen.

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Role of Ojus in Prameha: Ojus is the essence of life, an extract of the seven dhathus (Elements) represented as bala (strength) of the body. The ojus in a healthy person determines the physical, psychic, sensory motor functions of the body. This is a biochemical component of the body which is reddish-white in color and residing in heart & other vital organs of the body. If ojus is disturbed, degeneration will be fast and will result in decreased life span. In prameha, ojus is expunged from the body through all navadwaras (Nine Exits of human body) especially through urine & sweat.

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Ojus gets imbalanced in prameha in two ways:

• Through obstruction in blood vessels (srothorodha)
• Degeneration of the body components is dhatu kshaya which can cause both cardiac & nervous system disorders - all this is ojakshaya meaning an imbalance in Ojus

 

Let us now talk about the various treatments suggested by Ayurveda that have the potential to reduce and sometimes remove Prameha or Diabetes.

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Bitter Gourd: This can be utilized quite effectively in treatment of Diabetes as it contains a hypoglycemic or insulin-like principle, designated as plant-insulin, which has been found precious in lowering the blood and urine sugar levels. The best method is to take the juice of about four or five Karelas (bitter gourd) each morning on an empty stomach. Alternatively (or additionally), the seeds can be added to food in a powdered state. Diabetics can also use bitter gourd in the state of a decoction by boiling the pieces in water or in the form of dry powder.

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Indian Gooseberry: Since it is high in vitamin C content, it is helpful in reducing blood sugar levels. Researches have shown that the anti-oxidants such as Vitamin C taken with other supplements has a great effect on diabetics, helping them lowering high sugar blood levels. It also helps reducing the risk of atherosclerosis too, that often occurs in diabetics. In this way the onset of heart stroke is easily delayed, and you may be well protected.

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Blackberry: Jamun or black berry is quite useful in Diabetes treatment. Since pancreas malfunctioning is one of the characteristics of Diabetes and Jamun positively impact pancreas, it is an effective treatment of Diabetes. Its seeds contain a glucoside 'jamboline' which is supposed to have the power to check the pathological conversion of starch into sugar in cases of increased production of glucose. In addition of blackberry fruit, the tree bark is also useful for diabetic patients. The method of taking Jamun is to dry and powder its fruit seeds. One teaspoon of this powder should be mixed in one cup of milk or water or half a cup of curd, and taken two times daily. The internal bark of Jamun tree can also be dried and burnt after which it will be converted to white color ash. This ash must be pestled in mortar, strained and bottled. And then the diabetic patient should be given ten grams of this ash on an empty stomach with water in the morning, and twenty grams in the afternoon, and in the evening an hour after taking meals.

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We will talk about some more herbal treatments for diabetes in my next post. Also, we will talk about the other effective treatments that Ayurveda suggests for this disease.

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