HEALTHY LIVING

Despite the fact that the world is moving forward at a maddening pace, taking along its wake the somewhat mindless, hapless millions who are struggling to stay afloat, trying their best to keep their souls intact, there is a beacon of hope that reaches across thousands of years, promising Man, relief from the debilitating maladies of modern living. According to the World Health Organization, about 121 million people worldwide are affected by depression. It is the leading cause of disability among people from the ages of 15 to 44. Despite our ever-expanding knowledge, as a species we’ve lost our connection with who we are. Yoga, the ancient science of India, with more than 5000 year old history promises us succor and a profound insight into the nature of existence. “An hour of yoga everyday changes your whole personality,” promises Dr Rakesh Singh, yoga guru who has been imparting the knowledge of yoga in Kuwait for the last six years. With a PhD in yoga from Benares University, he staunchly believes that the adoption of Yoga in our daily life will keep away all illnesses both physical and mental. “If you observe your own state of mind after an hour of yoga you shall see the difference. You start thinking positive and are able to combat all negative thoughts. Yoga also gives you stronger will power,” he notes.

Depression
As a science, yoga is able to keep at bay depression, stress and obesity the three killer diseases of modern living. Amy Weintraub, in her book “Depression and Our Forgotten Magnificence,” notes, “Our everyday yoga practice brings us home, allows us to abide in our natural state, that universal place inside ourselves – changeless, eternal, whole – a place that contains and embraces all the emotions.” There are two kinds of depression, informs Dr Singh. “The first type occurs because of hormonal imbalance in our body while the other is due to stress.” Yoga, he says, provides good cure for both kinds of depression. “Depression due to hormonal imbalance takes place when the pituitary gland gets retarded, and fails to produce enough hormones for the nervous system, thus leading to weaker memory power, enthusiasm and lowered zeal.” The art of Yoga includes poses and breathing exercises that activate these glands thus improving the hormonal system. Dr Singh gives the instance of his students who were able to forego their medicines for thyroid and hormonal imbalance after practicing yoga.

Habits
Meditation and asanas help attack the root cause of depression - the feeling that you can’t handle the demands of your life. It tones the nervous system, brings back hormonal balance, stimulates circulation, promotes concentration, and energizes both mind and body. Depression arising out of stress can also be fought with Yoga. “It gives you strength of mind which makes you composed even while living in a stressful situation.” It is through pranayam or breathing exercises and meditation that one achieves tranquility. “Pranayam recharges our whole body battery. It supplies enough oxygen and activates the lobes of our lungs. When we start breathing correctly our whole body system is overhauled,” said Dr Singh while breathing deeply. But in order to keep depression and stress away, we have to change our lifestyle and adopt a way of life prescribed by Yoga. “The moment we leave yoga, our will power weakens, we tend to eat wrong food and get demoralized and that’s when depression begins.” Depression, says Dr Singh, is directly related to our lifestyle that includes our eating habits. “Human intestines are very long, they are about 28 feet. We should eat food that quickly passes through and is easily digested like vegetables and fruits.” He recommends a vegetarian diet, rich in fibre. “ If people stop and analyze their mind after eating meat they will find their concentration going low and a general feeling of lethargy.”

Obesity
The science and art of yoga is something that Dr Rakesh Singh received as legacy from his parents. “From the very beginning I was interested in teaching spiritual science.” He proceeded to study yoga first in an ashram ( retreat) and then at the famed Benares University where they teach Vedas, ayurveda, yoga, astrology and other Indological sciences. Dr Singh has some very interesting facts to share about this ancient discipline. “Yoga,” he says, “can have an effect on the total lifestyle from the first day of a man’s life till the very end.” Even unborn babies can feel the benefits, ensconced in their mother’s wombs. “In my own experience, children whose mothers practice yoga during pregnancy, grow up to very energetic and active. The child also tends to be creative because yoga is not something that is merely physical; there is a spiritual and mental side to it as well.” As a discipline, yoga is still regarded difficult by many. “Those who say yoga is difficult are unaware of the science” says Dr Singh, who teaches yoga to many Kuwaitis in Qurtoba, Sabah Al-Salem and Surra. “In fact the West has concentrated more on the poses, which is a very limited aspect of yoga. The rest ninety percent remains untouched.”

Obesity too finds its cure in yoga. A malady which grows out of wrong living and thinking, it is slowly becoming a growing menace in Kuwait. According to yoga, our present lifestyle is one of the most important factors behind the different mental and physical illnesses. In obesity, lifestyle is the determining factor. The way we live our lives is what really determines our susceptibility to the different causes of disease, whether physical, chemical or infectious agents, immunological reactions, genetic, environmental or nutritional imbalances. “There are two reasons for obesity,” says Dr Singh. “One is poor metabolism. Our metabolic system has become very slow because we have abused our body with the wrong diet.” A direct consequence of this abuse results in more and more calories being deposited in the body. “The internal system of the body gets confused as to how much to hold in the body for survival and how much to discharge.

Poor metabolism is one major reason for people accumulating fat even though they might be on a low calorie diet. Obesity is also due to the lack of exercise. Walking, he says, is no proper substitute because it exercises only the legs and the lower limbs of the body. “Yoga has a number of poses that exercises every tiny muscle in our body thus giving it an overall tone.” One should practice the asanas that activate the digestive organs, the stomach and the liver for a better fight against obesity. In yoga, the real therapy begins with self-awareness. The true motivation for change arises when we reach self realization that our body needs to rebalance itself. In order to fight self inflicted woes like depression and obesity we need to make changes in our behaviour, habits and lifestyle. But this will be possible only when we realize our real needs, strengths and weaknesses. This will help us develop greater self-confidence, and the changes thus implemented will last lifelong.

By Chaitali B. Roy
Special to the Arab Times