Search Results for: yoga

Good mental health is related to mental and psychological well-being. WHO’s work to improve the mental health of individuals and society at large includes the promotion of mental well-being, the prevention of mental disorders, the protection of human rights and the care of people affected by mental disorders. Everyone feels anxious and worried or down from time to time. But relatively few people develop a mental illness. Mental illness is a mental health condition that gets in the way of thinking, relating to others, and day-to-day function. Mental illness is an equal opportunity issue. It affects young and old, male and female, and individuals of every race, ethnic background, education level, and income level. The good news is that it can often be treated. Looking after mental health can preserve a person’s ability to enjoy life. Doing this involves balancing life activities, responsibilities, and efforts to achieve psychological resilience Stress, depression, and anxiety can all affect mental health and disrupt a person’s routine. Although health professionals often use the term mental health, doctors recognize that many psychological disorders have physical roots. Risk factors – Social And Financial Circumstances Adverse Childhood Experiences Biological Factors Underlying Medical Conditions Types of Mental Health Disorders Anxiety Disorders . Mood disorders. Behavioral disorders. Obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD). Eating disorders. Schizophrenia . Common Signs and Symptoms of the Mental Health Disorders Withdrawing from friends, family, and colleagues . Avoiding activities they would normally enjoy. Sleeping too much or too little. Eating too much or too little. Feeling hopeless. Having consistently low energy. Using mood-altering substances, including alcohol and nicotine, more frequently. Displaying negative emotions. Being confused. Being unable to complete daily tasks, such as getting to work or cooking a meal. Having persistent thoughts or memories that reappear regularly. Thinking of causing physical harm to themselves or others Hearing voices Experiencing delusions Diagnosis 1.Person’s medical history . 2.Physical examination. 3.Blood tests. 4.Psychological evaluation . 5.Mental health questionnaires. 6.diagnostic and statistical manual of mental. Treatment There are various methods for managing Psychotherapy Psychological approach to treating mental illness. 1.Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) 2.Exposure therapy 3.Dialectical behaviour therapy Medication-Such as Antidepressants, Antipsychotics and Anxiolytic Drugs. The conventional approaches are limited to conservative management and regular medication can lead to long term drug dependence. Therefore its essential that effective methods in Ayurveda and Yoga are explored for positive solutions Yoga therapy – The basic approach is to relax the mind and improve the lifestyle by asana practice (stability and comfort), Pranayama and kriyas (regulation of breath), meditation, relaxation techniques, bhajans and mantra chanting (surrendering self to god). Yoga says – “If the mind is sleepy , stimulate and awaken it (using yogic techniques of fast breathing ,asana practice ); if its too excited calm it down (using slow breathing, yoganidra relaxation techniques, shavasana )” Ayurveda – Therapies such as Panchakarma can be very helpful as they trigger a better min body balance. As per Ayurveda, mental health problems are due to deranged Vata. Therefore correcting this imbalance and improve thought process with better clarity will be key to recovery. External treatments such as Shirodhara, Abhyanga complemented with Ayurveda formulations such Manasamitra vatakam Brahmi Ghritam etc are seen to be useful Dietary Management 1.Diet that includes reducing alcohol intake, smoking, avoiding drugs. 2.Avoiding spicy, fast foods, high sugary and salty foods, beverages. 3.Include a balanced, nutritious diet, such as plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits (seasonal), 4.dry fruits , green leafy vegetables ,which balances the body at the physical level. By Dr.Ashwini Basawaraj

Introduction: It is also called as adhesive capsulitis, involves stiffness and pain in the shoulder joint in the earlier stages and in later stages with restricted range of movements. Symptoms: Early Symptoms of Frozen Shoulder are – The full range of symptoms may arise over a period of around two years, but early symptoms include: 1. pain in the shoulder, especially unexpected pain, when no known injury is present 2. difficulty lifting one’s arm above the head 3. difficulty extending one’s arm across the body or reaching behind the back Frozen Shoulder typically develops slowly in three stages. 1. Freezing Stage – Any movement of the shoulder causes pain, and the shoulder’s ability to move becomes limited. This stage lasts from 2 to 9 months 2. Frozen Stage – Pain might lessen during this stage. However, the shoulder becomes stiffer. Using it becomes more difficult. This stage lasts from 4 to 12 months 3. Thawing Stage – The shoulder’s ability to move begins to improve. This stage lasts from 5 to 24 months. For some people, the pain worsens at night, sometimes disrupting sleep. Causes and Risk Factors : 1. Frozen shoulder results from inflammation and tightening of the capsule around the shoulder joint. The Risk Factors include: 2. Medical conditions such as diabetes, overactive or underactive thyroid 3. Immobility or reduced mobility due to arm fracture, stroke, or surgeries such as mastectomy 4. Age: More common among elderly persons 5. Gender: Women are at higher risk of developing frozen shoulder 6. Previous injury Diagnosis : Physical examination to check intensity of pain and range of movement Tests – X–RAY MRI Treatment: 1. Yoga Therapy -Yoga practice helps in relieving pain and stiffness of frozen shoulder, warms up the shoulder joint and frees up the spaces in the shoulder. Yoga opens the shoulder and chest area. This relieves stiffness and permits full and pain-less shoulder movements. 2. Ayurveda Therapies: Oral medicines are advised to reduce pain and inflammation along with external oil based treatments such Patra potalasweda or Elakizhi ( fomentation with medicated leaves bolus) , Pichu (oil padding therapy) and Nasya ( nasal errhines) 3. Stretch the Shoulder: Before beginning shoulder exercises for a frozen shoulder, try to warm up your shoulder by doing a few warm up exercises. This will improve the blood supply in the affected area and avoid future injuries by making your body more comfortable with the motion. The best approach is to extend and warm up the shoulder by applying heat for 10 to 15 minutes, scrubbing down or showering with Epsom salt. 4. Non-Intrusive Treatment: While these activities mentioned above can be easily performed at home, if pain continues and makes it difficult to move around or work ordinarily, see a physiotherapist who can appoint particular activities and can enhance your scope of movement, flexibility and strength. 5. Acupuncture: Acupuncture is considered one of the best treatment choices for any joint and nerve related problem. The treatment is based on focusing on the trigger points of the pain and putting pressure on them via needles. The treatment is not painful and is known to produce good results in the long run. 6. Dietary Supplements: Various supplements can be taken with the recommendation of a doctor, in order to improve recovery. :Anti inflammatory diet like turmeric, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium and CoQ10 most regularly recommended elements that relieve swelling and repair the tissue in the shoulder

Cardiovascular diseases are now the number one cause of worldwide mortality. It is also a well known fact that the deteriorating heart health is mostly common in the urban population of developed and developing countries. It raises the question about our food and lifestyle changes in recent times. A healthy active body with a stress free mind hosts a healthy heart. Diet of natural, freshly prepared unprocessed food along with optimal physical exercise will keep the blood cholesterol, blood glucose and blood pressure in a normal range. This can be easily achieved by including heart healthy herbs in our day to day diet along with practice of yoga , pranayama and meditation . Ayurveda and Heart health: According to Ayurveda, Heart is the seat of Prana Vayu, the vital force of life. It is considered one among the three “Marma” or structures in the body which needs to be protected at all times both from physical as well as physiological disturbances. Ayurveda describes Hrid roga to be caused by the disbalances in any one of the doshas viz., vata, pitta or kapha or tridoshaja ( all three doshas together). Last category of hrid roga is caused by krimi (micro organisms) called krimija. All of them are dealt with appropriate drugs which can bring balance of the vitiated doshas. In Yogic science, the heart corresponds to Anahata chakra, fourth primary chakra and centre for love for oneself and others, compassion, empathy and forgiveness. When the heart chakra is in healthy alignment you will be connected to the world around and open to experiences and challenges of life. The blocked energies can manifest as physical ailments involving heart, lungs, chest, arms and hands. Issues such as poor circulation, high or low blood pressure and recurrent infections of lungs can occur. Ayurveda believes in bringing in health by treating the diseased by taking into account the changes happening in the entire body. Hence heart healthy herbs have been mentioned in various contexts in Samhitas. Some of the common drugs which are beneficial to the heart can be included in our daily lives depending on the needs of the individual. Arjuna (Terminalia Arjuna) Astringent qualities of Arjuna bark provides it great medicinal properties. The usefulness of its bark is well known among the tribal population and rural masses. You can often see the tree bark being taken out when you find it near you. Bark powder or decoction is useful to reduce the risk of heart diseases. It can strengthen and tone the heart muscles which helps in proper functioning of the heart. Studies suggest that the decoction of bark of arjuna helps in significant reduction of chest pain by lowering the level of cortisol in the body. It also increases exercise tolerance and improves HDL levels in the body. It can reduce blood pressure in people with stable angina. Arjuna kwath: Decoction prepared with stem bark can be taken 10-20 ml everyday Arjuna ksheerapak: 1 part of bark powder with 4 parts of milk and 16 parts of water is mixed together. This mixture is to be boiled till all the water is evaporated and milk remains. Ksheerpak can be consumed once it is cooled down to normal temperature. Rasona( Allium sativum ) Garlic is a hot pungent cleansing spice which is an excellent cardiac tonic, a good digestive and also beneficial for skin ailments. It is a rare herb which has all the six tastes sweet, salty, astringent, pungent and bitter except sour. The pungency of garlic is due to the sulphur compounds contained in Garlic. This also is the reason garlic is used in skin ailments. It is good for heart health as it maintains a balance between good cholesterol levels due to its lipid lowering capacity. It prevents the formation of plaques in blood vessels and helps maintain an optimum blood pressure due to its antioxidant property. Garlic possesses hot potency and digestive-carminative property (deepan-paachan) according to ayurveda. This avoids the build up of toxins(or the Ama) in the body. There are innumerable preparations and formulations of Garlic available in the market. One of the most popular classical ayurvedic preparations is Lasuna ksheerapak which can be made easily at home and consumed. Lasuna ksheerapak : 1 part of crushed garlic in 4 parts of milk and 16 parts of water and boiled and reduced till the water is evaporated and milk remains. 10-15 ml of this preparation can be taken twice daily. Pushkarmula( Inula racemosa ) Pushkarmula is part of the daisy family and used for its health benefits as well as ornamentally for its distinct yellow flowers and broad green leaves. It is a versatile herb that can be used in multiple medicinal benefits. It has a bitter pungent taste and a hot potency. These properties make it ideal for treating both heart diseases and respiratory ailments. It reduces the fat from the body hence it is found to be an ingredient in many herbal weight loss preparations. It is also known to be a good herb for reducing cholesterol and used in conditions of ischemic heart diseases. It works similar to beta-blocker and can help in lowering the blood pressure. It is one of the important herbs for treatment of COPD and asthma in Ayurveda. Vrikshamla ( Garcinia Indica ) Commonly known as kokum. The fruits of this tree are sweet, sour in taste and possess hot potency. They have great digestive properties and are well known as a coolant when used as juice or paanak. It is used well in various recipes in South Indian cuisine and popular for its pitta-nashak quality often used in summer drinks. Ayurvedic texts categorise it under Hridya or cardiac tonic. It is used in various preparations and formulations in ayurveda for the benefit of heart diseases. Dadima ( Punica granatum ) Pomegranate might be a well known heart healthy fruit of modern day, but ayurveda has classified it as Hridya ( heart healthy ) in its materia medica ages before.

Cardiac health is understood as good health condition of heart. Make sure that you take care of your heart since it’s a vital organ which is responsible for circulation of the blood to various body parts through blood vessels. Blood is the essential component to transfer all vital supplements to the body. Therefore a hiccup will arise if you are not seeing the signals or indications which your body shows when it needs help. It is important to notice the small symptoms of getting heart problems so that you can take quick action towards maintaining good health of your heart. Symptoms: • Rapid breath & heart rate • Irregular heart beat • Pain in the chest • Difficulty in breathing • Tightness of chest • Sweating • Imbalance/giddiness • Numbness Causes For Heart Problem: • Stress & anxiety • Smoking & drinking alcohol • Irregular food habits • Lots of junk food • Sleeplessness • Increased blood pressure • Stress is the main cause for many diseases. So it is very important that we learn to manage stress in day to day life. Yoga therapy, Acupucture, Ayurveda therapies such as shirodhara, abhyanga are useful stress management techniques

Pre diabetes is a condition where there is a higher blood sugar levels than the normal. It’s a very common condition now a day’s at the clinics. One of the main reason is sedentary lifestyle with inadequate physical activity and lack of awareness on food quality Before people develop type 2 diabetes, they almost always have “prediabetes”—blood sugar levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Risk Factors: • Stress • Junk food / high carb food • Improper sleep • Lack of physical activity • Obesity • Irregular menstruation in women • Pregnancy • Increased blood pressure • Increased cholesterol How does Pre Diabetes Occur? Glucose levels are balanced/controlled with the insulin. Insulin is a hormone which is released by pancreas. After digestion of food, the glucose which is produced from the food enters in to blood stream. Insulin allow the blood sugar to enter the cells and there by the blood glucose reduces. If there is a derangement here then a problem like Pre Diabetes may occur. Symptoms: • Increased thirst • Fatigue • Increased hunger • Frequent urination • Blurred vision Diagnosis: Blood tests FBS – 100 to 125 mg/dl HbA1c – 5.7 to 6.4% Prevention To follow a healthy lifestyle with moderate exercise including Yoga. To be conscious on what to eat and when to eat. Avoid binge eating Avoid sugars, maida/white flour and refined food Yogurt/ curd especially purchased from the market Management Through Yoga Yoga helps in prevention and management of prediabetes by lifestyle change (diet, exercise, habits and stress reduction). Through mind management, yoga helps in several ways: 1. Maintains normal blood glucose (fasting and post meal). 2. Normalizes weight and BMI levels. 3. Reduces HbA1C, bad cholesterol and need for diabetes medication 4. Increases good cholesterol, nerve conduction velocity. 5. Reduces high blood pressure and improves cardiac pumping efficiency even after bypass surgery. 6. This works by reducing stress levels as indicated by reduced blood levels of cortisol (stress hormone) and inflammatory markers. Yoga Therapy: Yoga should become a part of our daily life. Asanas, Pranayama’s, cleansing practices, meditation techniques are important part of yoga. In daily practice it effects holistically where body and mind both are aligned. Asanas can be beneficial for the prediabetic patients. The important facet of Asanas is stability and they relax the body for long time. Pranayama practices such as Bhastrika, Bhramari and Nadishodhana helps to calm down our nervous system and thus helps in diabetes treatment. Bhastrika helps increasing oxygen level and thus it may increase metabolism of glucose in peripheral tissues and liver. Usefulness of meditation in stress management is well proven by modern research. Mindfulness techniques can be helpful in treatment of diabetes. Diet Advise: Bring your awareness to the movements of the abdominal muscles moving up and down as you breathe in and out. Recognize the haphazardness and jerky movement of the abdominal muscles. Do not manipulate the breathing, let it be natural, simply observe the abdominal movement. Count five rounds mentally, one inhalation and one exhalation forming one round. Continue up to five rounds. Phase 2: Associate With Breathing Any 2-3 home remedies with monitoring of blood sugar is very much essential to prevent hypoglycemia and to control high blood sugar. Some Simple Home Remedies: 1. Fenugreek/methi – fenugreek seeds and leaves are act as hypoglycemic and improves glucose tolerance. Soak 1-2 tsp of fenugreek seeds in water overnight. Drink water and eat the seeds on empty stomach next morning. Fenugreek leaves can be used as a curry or sambar. 2. Curry leaves – curry leaves increase the carbohydrate metabolism and reduces the oxidative stress. Good to take few leaves by chewing them on the empty stomach. Curry leaf chutney or curry leaf powder can be consumed daily. 3. Cinnamon – Cinnamon powder can be consumed in the form of tea or can use in sambar or soup. Bioactive compounds of cinnamon will help to reduce the blood sugar. 4. Karela/bitter gourd – bitter gourd is having anti-diabetic compounds like charantinn vicine and polypeptide-p. Poly peptide-p act as insulin, all these together brings reduction of glucose in the blood. This can consume in the form of juice, curry or sambar. 5. Garlic, ginger & turmeric – These are rich in antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory compounds. Act as hypoglycaemic and controls blood sugar. 6. Barley water – barley is a high-protein and high-fiber diet grain which is very good to control high blood sugar. Need to boil barley with water in open vessel. Drink barley water and have barley rice with vegetable curry. 7. High-fiber Food – increase the intake of high fiber vegetables like carrot, beetroot, broccoli, spinach, beans, ladies finger, onion, capsicum, tomato cabbage, etcetera. 8. Fruits intake – citrus fruits, apple, pear, jamun, berries, guava, avocados, water melon and musk melon can be taken. 3 Things You Must Follow To Avoid or Manage Pre- Diabetes Physical activity is must to burn the calories and to improve the function of pancreas. Good sleep to prevent the metabolic imbalance. When the brain is given good rest it heals the body well and therefore balances the hormones Stress management is essential to maintain the calmness of the nervous system and avoid a trigger of increased blood sugars Try the tips, stay healthy and if you need help do talk to your Doctor, a holistic practitioner.

Cyclic Meditation – Steps Got questions? Our team is here to assist Contact us at 919591336226 Introduction Cyclic Meditation is a special technique of Yoga derived from Mandukya Upanishad. Cyclic meditation is a set of stimulation and relaxation based practices and involves cycles of body postures and relaxation techniques Let us understand how you can practice the technique Step 1 – Starting prayer Lie on your back. Relax and collapse the whole body on the ground ; legs apart; hands apart; palms facing the roof ; smiling face ; let go of all parts of the body . As you repeat the prayer feel the resonance throughout the body. Laye sambodhayet cittam vikñiptam çamayet punaù Sakaçäyam vijänéyät samapräptam na cälayet || Meaning – In the state of oblivion awaken the mind: when agitated pacify it; in between the mind. If the mind has reached the state of perfect equilibrium, then do not disturb it again. Step 2 (a) – Instant Relaxation Technique (IRT) Bring your legs together, join your heels , toes together , and palms by the side of the thighs. Keep your face smiling till the end. Gently bring your awareness to the tip of your toes. Stretch your toes, tighten the ankle joints, and tighten the calf muscles. Pull up the kneecaps. Tighten the thigh muscles. Compress and squeeze the buttocks. Exhale and suck in the abdomen. Make the fists of the palms and tighten the arms. Inhale and expand the chest. Tighten the shoulder, neck muscles and compress the face. Tighten the whole body from the toes to the head. ‘Tighten tighten tighten’. Release and relax. Legs go apart, arms go apart, palms facing the roof. Assume the most comfortable position, let the whole body sink down. Let all the group of muscles beautifully relax. Collapse the whole body. Enjoy the relaxation. Step 2(b): Linear Awareness Now slowly raise the left hand above the head along the ground. Slowly turn over to the left side. Place the head on the left biceps, the right leg on the left leg, right palm on the right thigh. Let the whole body relax. Feel the entire weight of the body coming down to the ground along the left side of the trunk. Feel the ‘linear awareness’. Slowly start coming up to Tadasana. Let all the movements slow down. Let the breathing be deep, slow, and continuous. Eyes are kept closed. Carefully feel the changes in your body as you stand up and reach the vertical position. Feel the flow of blood down the heart. Feel the heartbeat and the pulse. Chant Bhramari to generate 3D awareness. NNN feels the whole-body resonating. Feel the fine massaging effect . Step 2(c): Centering Now slowly lean forward. Feel the weight of the entire body on the toes. “Pointed awareness”. Slowly lean backward. Feel the weight on the heels. “Surface awareness”. Come to the center. Lean to the left. Come to the center. “Fine surface awareness” Now the whole body is centered, the weight of the body is equally distributed throughout the soles of the feet. Collapse the shoulder, arms hanging freely down. Smiling face. Feel all the changes taking place throughout the body. Step 3: Standing Asanas Now we pass on to the first set of stimulation and relaxation. Ardha Kati Chakrasana- the half-wheel posture. Slowly start raising the right arm sideways up, to raise the arm slowly and continuously to the horizontal position, enjoy the movement. As the right arm reaches a 90-degree position twist the palms at the wrist and glide the right arm up to a 135-degree position. Beautifully Pointed awareness on the deltoid muscles of the right arm. As the right arm reaches up the vertical position feel the nice stimulation in the shoulder muscles. The right biceps touching the right ear, feel the beautiful surface awareness. Feel the blood gushing down the arm. Smiling face. Stretch the right arm from the tip of the fingers of the right palm. The entire right portion of the body gets stretched, but not the face. Keep the face always smiling and relaxed. Slowly start bending down to the left. Left palm sliding down along the left thigh. Fine movement of surface awareness. Enjoy the fine stretch of the waist muscles on the right side and compression on the left side. Observe all the changes taking place in your body. Slowly start coming back to a vertical position. Feel the blood flowing down and spread nerve impulses throughout the body. Again, stretch and pull up the right arm. Feel the entire right portion of the body stretched from the toes to the tip of the fingers. Slowly start bringing the right arm down to 135 degrees gliding down smoothly. Feel the pointed awareness at the shoulder as you reach the horizontal position and at the waist as you slowly turn the palm downwards. Further, bring down the right arm to 45 degrees. Feel the tingling sensation at the tips of the fingers. Continuously glide down the hand by the side of the thigh and hang it freely. Have a glance at the whole body again from toes to the head. The entire right portion of the body is beautifully charged with nerve impulses and energized. Further, bring down the right arm to 45 degrees. Feel the tingling sensation at the tips of the fingers. Continuously glide down the hand by the side of the thigh and hang it freely. Have a glance at the whole body again from toes to the head. The entire right portion of the body is beautifully charged with nerve impulses and energized. Now let us perform AKC from the left side. Slowly start raising the left arm sideways upwards to 45 degrees. Glide smoothly upwards to a horizontal position, palm twisted upwards. Beautifully pointed awareness at the wrist. Left-arm beautifully moving up to 135 degrees. Then to a vertical position. Left biceps touching the left ear. Now stretch up the left arm from the tip