Article in Yoga and Total Health Feb 2011

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Note: Yoga and Total Health is a magazine published by The Yoga Institute, Santacruz, Mumbai, India.

I Learnt Karma Yoga from a 4 Year Old

"Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each."   - Plato

Teaching yoga to very young children is generally not advised, but I have a four year old student to whom yoga was recommended by her doctor; and teaching her has been the most harrowing and most enlightening experience of my life. 

This child is sometimes so enthusiastic, that I have to keep up with her changing ideas. She gets tired of one thing very fast and moves on to another. This keeps me very alert, constantly on the lookout for changing moods.

She is also moody and sometimes just sticks her thumb in her mouth, lies down and refuses to move. No amount of coaxing or scolding can shake her. In fact, that only instigates her more. What I slowly learnt was that being her friend, rather than a teacher worked better for the both of us. A lot of flexibility and patience is required on the teacher's part. 

No kid likes to be ordered around all the time. They need someone to listen to them and humour them. We need to give them a bit of free hand, let their creativity blossom, ask them to invent fun Asanas of their own. If they get carried away, enthusiastically bring the attention back to some aspect of yoga like it's a game. 

My student's mother once told me, "She looks forward to your class because it is one class she feels is for herself." This really helped build my self-esteem. This girl was my first student. I had never dreamed of teaching children and wasn't sure I knew how. In the beginning, it was pretty rough. I didn't know how to keep things lively, to catch her attention. Scolding her, being strict would impact her very strongly as she is extremely sensitive to negativity. I did not want to hurt her, but how to continue like this? Many times, I didn't feel like going to class. I almost picked up the phone and cancelled it many times. 

However, something in my heart told me to keep trying. Be creative, I told myself. "But I'm not creative, I'm very practical!" my mind argued. But I realized that was just an excuse. I thought of different ways to teach, did some research online, found interesting stories with morals, learnt new games. I started getting small gifts like channa, or almonds as a surprise and explained how and when to eat them, why they were good for health. These tiny surprises also excited her so much. 

Today, I am confident that no matter what mood she would be in, whether crying, sleepy, angry, happy or distracted, I can spend some positive time with her and teach her something worthwhile. 

I remind myself to always be interested and encouraging in whatever small thing she does and praise every small achievement. Positivity and enthusiasm always work better than scolding and putting them down for not behaving. 

Because of my first student, I can now easily make friends with any kid I come across; and to tell you the truth, they are the best company to have- full of innocence, non-judgmental, enthusiastic, joyful and they have perfect concentration an observation.

Karma Yoga is all about concentration, constant improvement, creativity and joy in work. And so, I learnt Karma Yoga from a 4 year old and even today, I play, jump, crawl, chat, draw, stick, water plants and learn from my little teacher.

Joint Pain

In the monsoons, I find many people complaining about joint pain and body ache. As mentioned in my earlier blog on body ache, it is possible for one of the causes to be vitamin deficiency. However, this would be a long term pain, generally accompanied with spasms in muscles. Another reason could be cold and wet.

Cold


Sleeping in strong A/C can make the joints stiff and body cramped. Sleeping directly under the fan can be very harmful for the body. Both these factors can even create blockages in the sinuses.

In any case it is quite cold in the rainy season, so if you keep your windows open for ventilation, it should suffice when you sleep at night. But, if that's still not enough, you can switch on the A/C for a while, let the room cool and then switch it off before you sleep. Fan is a complete No No, especially when you are directly under it.

Also, avoid walking bare footed on cold marble. The cold will radiate through the feet to the body and cause the joints and muscles to pain.

Wet


No matter what the cause of joint pain, never leave them wet. Wet means cold and that will make the body cramp in an effort to keep you warm. Dry your feet, knees, hands etc if they get wet in the rain.

Even when sleeping, make sure that the joints are kept nice and warm. Applying a bit of Vicks on the soles of the feet can be helpful, but avoid being dependent on it.

Avoid getting into a swimming pool or bath tub when already wet. Especially before entering a swimming pool, we take a shower. By all means do not miss this shower as it ensures hygiene, but dry yourself first and then enter the swimming pool. This will prevent knee problems. (This I was told by a successful Homeopathic doctor).

So these are a few tips for Joint Pain...hope they are useful.

Let me know if there is any particular topic you'd like info on. (Write in the comments box)

Stay Well !

Prevent Flu

Almost everyone I know is coming down with the flu. If one person in the family catches it, the others soon follow. We have so many natural ways to prevent and combat this flu. If we are aware of them, we can forget our fears and be confident that we will be able to handle whatever comes our way.

Awareness
The first and foremost thing to do is to be aware. Make sure that people around you are not infected. If they are, and you have no choice but to be close to them, make sure that you do not touch anything that could be infected by them. eg. do not use the same napkin to wipe your face, do not use the same glass/bottle to drink water from, do not share the food from the same plate.

Watch your own body. Does anything seem out of the ordinary? Does your throat pain or irritate even a little? Do you feel heavy in the head as though the sinuses are clogging up? BE AWARE so that if you find anything amiss, you can take immediate action.

Observe Hygiene
Wash your hands before every meal, use a handkerchief if you cough or sneeze. If anyone around you is not using a handkerchief for the same, feel free to tell them. Better safe than sorry.

Sore Throat
If you find that the throat is slowly being affected, take action immediately. Drink warm water, do Kapalarandhradhouti. Make the following mixture:

Neem powder- 25 gms
Tusli powder - 25 gms
Adusol powder - 25 gms
Amla powder - 25 gms

Buy these powders separately (do not buy a ready mixture). They will be available in any ayurvedic shop.
Mix these powders, take a teaspoonful, mix with required amount of honey (1tsp) and have the mixture thrice a day. This will help prevent/cure sore throat.

In case of lots of cough in chest, keep a hot water bag on chest for some time. It will loosen up the cough. Then lie the left hand side so that the cough can come out easily. (Left side so that the Pingala/right nostril is open- helps heat the body).

In case of Cold
Take regular steam
Kapalarandhradhouti
Mix ginger (sooth) powder with hot water and apply paste on the face. It burns on the face but generally does not affect the skin. It melts cough in the sinuses.
(Note: People with very sensitive skin avoid this mixture)

Do try these few tips. If you feel you need medicine/antibiotics, you can follow the above in any case. It will complement the medical treatment.

Any questions, you are welcome to ask.

Stay Well!

Body Ache? Check your Vitamins levels!

Do you feel tired when you wake up in the morning? Are your energy levels reducing by the end of the day? Do you feel pain in your limbs, as though the pain is in the bones themselves?

Many youngsters these days are suffering from inexplicable body aches and pains. They are seemingly healthy individuals who are not suffering from disease, are pronounced fine by doctors and yet they get body stiffness and pain in their body.

It has been found that a maximum number of youngsters between the age of 16 and 26 suffer from Vitamin D deficiency due to wrong lifestyle and food habits. Vitamin deficiency is so silent that is goes unnoticed most of the times and when it shows itself in symptoms like body pain, we mistake it for fatigue or other diseases. If it goes undetected, the symptoms increase in intensity.

Prolonged Vitamin D deficiency can lead to:

·       Osteomalacia in adults, where the bones become thin and brittle.

·       Muscular weakness.

·       Osteoporosis, where there is thinning of bone tissues and age related degeneration.

·    Studies show that it may even cause diabetes, cancer, cardiac problems, neuromuscular and brain disorders.

·       In children, it can lead to rickets, where the bones are weakened.

So How Do We Regain All the Lost Vitamin D?

Sun

Sunlight is the best source of Vitamin D.

Sunbathing in the morning and evening time is recommended in Yoga and Naturopathy. This is a time when the sun’s rays are soft and have healing powers. Avoid sunbathing in the afternoons when sun rays are harsh as that is when the harmful UV rays are most intense.

However, in most urban areas like Mumbai, it is almost impossible to actually sunbathe. There is so much pollution 24x7 that it forms a layer blocking the healing rays of the sun.

So which other sources can provide us with Vitamin D?

Milk

Bathing with raw milk is advised as it not only provides vitamins but also is an excellent exfoliant.

Consuming milk and its products like cottage cheese, ghee, buttermilk etc. is an excellent way to stock up of Vit D.

Injections/ Supplements

For those of you who are vagan, you have the option of getting regular Vit D shots from the doctor or have supplements.

Vitamin supplements as such have no side effects. However, ask your doctor when is the best time to take the supplements. Generally vitamins are best taken with breakfast but if you are also taking supplements for iron etc, you have to avoid certain vitamin combinations with it. So know your supplements well before taking them, or they will have an adverse effect on you.

Exercise and Pranayama

Apart from the above mentioned sources, many regular vegetables have minute quantities of Vit D which can be absorbed by the body.

Absorption capacity of the body improves if there is a regular exercise and pranayama regime. It does not mean you have to spend 1 to 2 hours a day doing rigorous exercise. Even a regular 15 minutes of basic asanas and pranayamas daily is enough to keep you healthy.

So any of you suffering from Vit D deficiency symptoms, go get a blood test, check all your vitamin levels, and start on this regime right away. While those of you who don’t have these symptoms, might as well incorporate these few healthy changes for prevention.

Stay Healthy!