Hydration & Drinking Water- Cautions

As I said earlier, warm water is very good for health.

We should drink enough water throughout the day to keep ourselves hydrated. However there some facts to consider and some cautions when it comes to drinking water:


1. Avoid drinking water immediately before and after meals: It is better to drink water around half hour before a meal & drink half a glass of warm water after meals. This aids in digestion.


2. Too much drinking water can be harmful: Many people tend to believe that bottles and bottles of water are good for health. But if you drink too much plain water, the essential electrolytes of the body get washed out and this can cause trouble with your nerves. Have a glass or two of lemon juice (with salt and sugar etc) or other hydrating drinks like herbal tea in between.


3. Have juicy fruits and veggies: Drinking water is not the only way to keep yourself hydrated. Veggies like cucumber, tomato, green leafy veggies etc and fruits have enough water content and also useful fibre. Make it a habit of having them once or twice during the day.

4. After workouts and massage treatments: It is necessary to hydrate yourself before and after physical exercise and treatments. Herbal drinks are the best for this as they have essential salts and herbs.


Remember, too much of anything can be harmful, even something as innocent as drinking water.


Stay Healthy!

Water- the miraculous cure for most digestion problems

“When does one feel happiness?” asked the Naturopath. “When we are satisfied?” I asked rather than answered. Shaking his head, he smiled and replied, “When our digestion is proper and our bowels cleared.”

This may sound absurd to you as it had to me when I met the nice doctor, but that line has stuck in my head ever since, and over the five years after that I have realized the truth of that statement.

If our bowels do not clear, toxins remain and spread in our body, increasing negativity which leads to diseases and unhappiness. And so, we must ensure that our digestion is good and elimination even better. This can be done by not overstuffing our stomachs and by eating fresh, natural and healthy food and regular intervals. This also means not to starve the body.

One very simple thing you can inculcate in your daily routine is:

Drink 2 glasses of warm (not hot) water first thing every morning.

·       Warm water helps clear the digestive tract

·       It thus helps cure constipation, acidity and other digestive problems.

·       It hydrates the body after the long fast over the night.

·       And it also detoxifies the body.

·       It also keeps your kidneys healthy.

I have been doing this since the last two and a half years and my digestion has improved tremendously. In fact, now when I eat something wrong, I can immediately and clearly make out what effect it has on my stomach. Even if I like that particular food item very much, the feeling I get after eating it is so horrible that I automatically get over it.

I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think it is a boon. Imagine a pristine white sheet and then imagine a small speck of dust on it. Obviously that speck of dust will stand out more clearly on that sheet than an already dirty off-white sheet.

It is the same with a healthy diet and clear digestive tract. The stomach doesn’t get more sensitive, you just notice more than you could before.

So I sincerely hope that you try this simple exercise every day and see the difference for yourself.

Please note: Most of you may not be used to drinking warm water and so you may find it difficult to drink even 1 glass in the morning. But I suggest you drink how much you can and then slowly, as your body gets used to it (which it will- trust me), you can increase the quantity slowly to 2 glasses. You don’t need to drink more than 2 glasses.

Laziness- the biggest obstacle to spirituality

As you can see, I haven't written a blog post for some time now. It was not for the lack of a subject to write.

In fact, every waking, sleeping, walking and talking moment I find another interesting thing to write about and I file that topic away into the list in my head. But that is the main problem. We have a habit of filing things away for later use and then sometimes we never end up using it.

I suffer from this habit a lot. Just last week, I decided that I will be very regular in my Asana practices. My body has become unusually stiff and it needs oiling. But I ended up actually practicing asanas only on two of those days.

Since childhood, my problem has been laziness. I was lazy when doing my homework, lazy when it came to walking (till I was 5 years old, I forced my parents to carry me everywhere we went). I even used to be lazy when it came to brushing my teeth.

Thankfully, I'm not that lazy anymore. I can assure you I am clean and so are my teeth. Still, when it came to writing this blog, I became a victim of the old habit again.

Patanjali's Yoga Sutra 1.30 also talks about laziness as being one of the obstacles on the path of Yoga.

Sutra 1.30 says that disease, languor, doubt, indecision, carelessness, laziness, sensuality (i.e. hankering after objects), erroneous perception and instability are the obstacles on the path of Yoga.

Over the past two years I have been struggling in my fight against laziness and doubt, which have prevented me from regular disciplined practice of Yoga and prevented me from believing completely in the Yoga principles, my gurus and myself.

During this struggle I found three solutions to overcome my laziness.

1. Laziness is due to an excess of Tamasic (dull) state. There are 3 gunas- Rajas, Tamas and Sattva (which I will explain in a later post). To overcome the tamasic state and get into the positive Sattvic state, I made some diet changes, like having freshly cooked, natural food and positive thinking.

2. I forced myself to practice asanas. I made a vow that I would not eat my next meal untill I did me asanas. I had to force myself for a few days, but then the body started craving asanas on its own and I did not have to force myself. Asanas became natural.

3. I stopped planning and started doing. I used to think "I'll do asanas in the afternoon". In the afternoon I'd think "I'll do them in the evening." I kept planning but did nothing. Now, in the morning, I do not give my mind time to think. I just slide out of my bed and onto the mat on the floor and start with my asanas.

So if you are feeling lazy today, don't give in to the monkey mind. Zip its mouth shut and do your thing.