Willpower

Someone asked me what was the most important thing that they should practice for good health. I said."Willpower". Everything else is just available in Google. Health and Life are the same thing. They are experiences and not information. There is nothing to seek. There are only things that needs to be experienced. Irrespective of information it will work the way it is supposed to work.

For those with Willpower, Life and Health are under their command. For others, they are the at the mercy of their temptations/circumstances. They have no say in what happens to them. Health requires your participation and not your intelligent excuses.

Best Time to Exercise

Morning and evening are good times to exercise. Working with the biological clock increases the benefits of exercise. Exercising at night or in the afternoon is not advisable. After sundown, body's functions slow down and energy is spent in other activites like resting and repair. Exercising then will strain the body and will reduce the benefits of exercise. It will also harm the body as energy will now be required to cope with the increased activity. In the noon, energy is required to digest food. Exercise after 3-4 hours of a meal. Again, choose sustainable exercises and not a crash regimen at the gym.

Rains - Care during season change

The effect of the Moon on moods has been well known for centuries (The word lunatic has its origin in the variation of hysterical and depressed patients around moon cycles). But what is often missed is the effect of the Sun on digestion. It will soon be rainy season, and all over India, marriages or any other functions where a feast is usually the norm will be avoided. This is for a reason. Your digestive system is less active (it rests and rejuvenates) during the rainy months because it will be cloudy. So to keep good health for yourself and your family during the next 3 months, eat an early meal (you can replace your Breakfast with lunch); eat a light lunch and even lighter supper (a simple rice gruel around sunset is enough). Avoid eating anything after sunset. A glass of milk with turmeric is recommended at night. Avoid rich foods (Oily foods and Flour based with excess sugars) during the next 3 months.

The rainy months are also ideal for rejuvenation of the body – People who are considering detox programs and Ayurvedic massages can consider doing so in June-July for this as the body is very responsive to these treatments during these months. The above regimen also is helpful to lose weight without strict diets as you are now working alongside the body’s biological clock.

Following the above regimen will also protect you in case there are breakouts of epidemics like Chikungunya and Dengue. Pass this on to friends and family who have children and older people as they are more susceptible.

We need not follow America to the grave

Sunday Suryanamaskar

This is  a group of Bangaloreans who assemble to practice suryanamaskar in terraces of apartments or in parks on Sunday morning to practice surya namaskar or sun salutations - a set of 12 yogic postures.

Depending on the practice, there are groups that practice 6, 9, 12, 18, 27, 36, 54, 72, 96, 108 cycles of this amazing exercise.

The groups meet around 6 AM and the practice session with deep relaxation lasts from 30 minutes to 90 minutes.

Write to me to know more about this movement that is changing health around Bangalore. You don't need any special equipment - just a yoga mat and a few committed friends to alter health.

Pranayama

Learn/Practice alternate nostril breathing (Anoloma/Viloma Pranayama) for about 5-10 minutes daily or when you need to be free from stress.

We do not breathe equally through both nostrils. At any time, one nostril is more active than the other. This depends on which side of the brain is active and the logical/emotional state we are in.
Nasal cycles change with day/night/moon-cycles/solstice and seasons.

Being out of alignment with this cycle depletes natural flow of energy in the body and is presumed to be the cause of most chronic diseases.

Pranayama restores the natural cycle. Alternatively meditation clears disturbing thoughts/emotions, which in turn restores natural breathing cycles. Pranayama and meditation work as a package.

Steam Cooking with Sarai

Cosmetics

What is the best range of cosmetics to use? The answer is nothing. All forms of talcs, creams, scrubs are just a waste of money. Once the health of the skin/hair improves, all blemishes naturally disappear. This of course if the longer route than ready-made cosmetics. Healthy habits plus regular detoxification leads to great looking skin in just under a year.

If at all you need to use cosmetics, go for natural products. All edible oils are good for the skin. They work better than creams. Dal powders are excellent scrubs and exfoliate the skin just like nano brushes.

Sutra 45 - Block time for exercise

Block an hour for exercise in your office calendar. Treat it the same way you would treat an official appointment. Often we compromise on our health but never miss an official appointment. Feel free to shuffle the calendar to make space for other priorities but never miss the appointment even on a single day.

Just like value investors taking charge and making time to manage their wealth, as a value investor in health, we need to take charge of our health. And the returns will come in terms of enhanced energy and liveliness for several years to come.

Tip: To make this effective, include one or two of your beat friends into the regimen.

Related : Yoga, Surya Namaskar

What is Vivafive?

Vivafive is for VALUE investors in Health. It is a structured plan of over 40 simple lifestyle changes for busy professionals based on Ayurvedic principles of BALANCE between the 5 elements of life.

Nothing that I am going to say is something that I have invented. But all of them are from my direct experience and practice.

The site has come from a deep desire for sharing my experience in a structured manner for other's benefit.

Related: INSTRUCTIONS on following the Vivafive Plan.
Related: GRATITUDE, without whose support this site would not have happened.

Value Investing in Health

Many of my friends are fascinated by the wealth made by legends like Warren Buffet. They know that his style is called 'value investing', where he invests for the long term in a limited number of stocks.

Why not invest in health by making the right choices about health and fitness, just like smart investors. Many ignore health, giving in to the temptations of the tongue and the mind. They choose to be a little indisciplined. They ignore the warning signs. They don't give the things that body requires.


Value investors don't do that. They are willing to make sacrifices in the short term for a sustained long term return. Good lifestyle is like that. The patience and rigour certainly pays good dividends.

Sutra 37 - Don't manage your time, manage your energy!

A constant excuse for not caring enough for our health, our family and things that are important to us is - 'lack of time'. Philosophies of the East including Zen insist that one should maximise the amount of energy we give to a piece of work to get the maximum result. This is also what the Gita says. If you consciously participate in every waking activity, from brushing your teeth to writing an Email to answer a question to chewing food, you will soon see that you are doing more in less time.

On the contrary, if you are less attentive, our energies decrease, and it takes longer to meet the demands at the office or at home. The result is chronic fatigue and poor results. Like a famous person said, "A busy person is someone who has time for everything."

If you have some interesting insights about managing time better, please share it for others' benefit. Sharing is growing.

Sutra 33 - Give your body a chance

"When you are sick of sickness, you are no longer sick" - Chinese Proverb.

In spite of all the drugs you take, it is your body that heals itself. The drugs relieve the discomfort caused by the symptoms. If you are in habit of reaching out for drugs at the first sight of a health disturbance, it is likely that you will have more frequent illnesses or chronic diseases. The reason is that the body's natural ability to deal with diseases is compromised.

The body being a machine is prone for an occasional breakdown. Even the best doctors and health freaks will experience an occasional health disturbance. Next time you get a small health breakdown, give the body a chance to recover on its own. Drink more fluids, skip heavy meals and rest your digestive system.Announce a shutdown and take rest. You may experience physical discomfort or a fever. Allow it to be. Overtime, you will realise that the body can deal with diseases as long as we don't confuse its natural intelligence (also called immunity).

Like me, if you spent more than 20 years consuming all kinds of drugs, it may take a few years before the body can find its balance. But you should start somewhere.

Related: Antibiotic Resistance Could Bring ‘End of Modern Medicine’
Related: Fevers in Children
Related: Fast

Pancha Bootha or the Five Elements of Life

The secret of wellness is in

• Proper Breathing
• Proper Hydration
• Proper Food
• Proper Exercise
• Proper Rest.

Ayurveda calls it the balance of the 5 elements or Pancha Bootha. The five elements of life mentioned in the Ayurvedic texts are Air, Water, Earth, Fire and Space. Ayurveda suggests that these elements need to be in balance for the proper expression of life.

Vivafive has been designed to get the balance back into your life. The critical aspect of this plan is that you need to work on all five aspects of your health. You cannot ignore one in favour of another. Even if you are good at 4 and leave away one, it can cause an imbalance. All diseases are an expression of this imbalance. Get the balance back and the disease disappears.