Wisdom from a Yogi : 3 Fundamentals for Good Health
#1 Eating Right
Sadhguru: When it comes to food, one of the most important aspects that you must be conscious of is how quickly a certain type of food digests and becomes a part of yourself. If you eat something and it does not digest within three hours, it means you have eaten food that should either be avoided or reduced in quantity. If the food moves out of your stomach within three hours, it means that even if it is not the best food, it is still something your system is able to handle.
If you go to bed with a full stomach, it puts pressure on other organs in the abdomen. This will also lead to various kinds of health issues.
If you maintain a clear gap of five to six hours between one meal and the other without having anything in between, cleansing will happen on the cellular level. This cleansing on the cellular level is most important for a healthful life. If you are over 30 years of age, two good meals a day will suffice—one in the morning and one in the evening.
There must be three hours after the evening meal, before you go to bed. If this includes at least 20 to 30 minutes of light physical activity—such as simple walking—your system will largely be healthy. If you go to bed with food still inside the stomach, it generates a certain level of inertia in the system. Physiologically, this inertia is like an acceleration towards death. Death is ultimate inertia.
Another dimension is that if you go to bed with a full stomach, it puts pressure on other organs in the abdomen. This will also lead to various kinds of health issues. For that reason too, it is very important that before you go to bed, the food you have eaten has moved out of the stomach. As you sleep in different postures, the stomach should not put pressure on other organs at any point.
#2 Use Your Body
When it comes to activity, one simple thing that we need to consider is that our body is capable of bending forward, bending backward and twisting to both sides. This much activity must happen in some kind of form. Classical hatha yoga is the best way to do it, and a scientific one. If classical hatha yoga is not yet part of your life, you must somehow make sure that every day you bend forward, backward, twist to both sides and squat so that the spinal column is stretched. This is a must for everybody on a daily basis if you want to keep the entire system healthy—particularly the neurological system which will otherwise be an issue as one ages.
#3 Get enough rest…but not too much!
The volume of rest that an individual person needs is determined by various factors. One important factor is the type and the volume of food that you consume. You must experiment with different types of foods and see which ones make you feel heavy and which ones leave you light and agile. If you make sure that at least 40 percent of your diet consists of fresh vegetables and fruits, there will be lightness in the body.
What the body needs is restfulness, not necessarily sleep. It is a misunderstanding to think that sleep is the only way to rest. Even as you sit or stand, you can either be in a state of restfulness, in a state of agitation or in a state of inertia. If you are in a lively state of restfulness, every moment of your life, the volume of sleep you require will decrease.
Sadhguru is a yogi and mystic whose work has touched the lives of millions worldwide through his transformational programs. His approach does not ascribe to any belief system, but offers methods for self-transformation that are both proven and powerful.
Named one of India’s 50 most influential people, Sadhguru has been regularly invited to speak at leading international forums, including the UN, MIT and the World Economic Forum, addressing issues as diverse as socioeconomic development, leadership and spirituality.
Sadhguru established Isha Foundation, a nonprofit, volunteer-run organization operating in more than 300 centers, supported by over three million volunteers worldwide, and spearheading several social outreach projects.
Sadhguru will personally be conducting the Inner Engineering Program at the Tampa Convention Center, April 29 to 30. This is the first time the program is offered in Tampa and a unique opportunity in that Sadhguru rarely conducts these programs in person.
For more information and registration, call 813-413-1661 and/or visit InnerEngineering.com. See ad right.