Author: Saidatt Senapaty

A Writer, Researcher, Teacher, and a Passionate Interest in Spiritualism

Commit to These 7 Choices to Help Kids Form Healthy Habits

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By Anya Willis

Are you preparing for your first child? Maybe you’re a seasoned parent who’s looking for the perfect home and neighborhood to raise your family, or you’re merely trying to help your kids make healthier choices? We all want what’s best for our children, and Saidatt Senapaty is pleased to share habits that help them thrive and grow.

Practice Healthy Eating

“You are what you eat” actually has a lot of truth to it. Health professionals realize the real power our diets have over our health. Children who consume excess amounts of sugar, caffeine, fat, and junk food are more likely to face obesity.  With five of the ten leading causes of death linked to low diet, it’s important to set children on the path to good nutrition.

Cook meals at home, and use wholesome veggies, grains, and proteins when preparing them. Allow your kids to get in on meal preparation, which will make them think about their decisions about the food they’re putting in their bodies. If they’re too young to use the oven or stove, consider getting some kid-friendly kitchen gadgets. For instance, if your kids are pizza fanatics, they can make mini pies in a countertop toaster oven. It is safer to use than a conventional oven (but should still only be used under your supervision!), using kid-friendly chef’s knives to cut up toppings. Please encourage them to choose their favorite veggies over meats, and go easy on the cheese.

Connect with Their Teachers and Peers

Though a sense of independence is essential, it’s also necessary to stay involved in your child’s school life. Create an open communication channel with their teachers to stay aware of any potential stressors or negative influences your child may be experiencing in the classroom. You can also get to know their classmates a little better and help your child form healthy relationships with their peers. Positive social interaction can benefit children by steering them away from bad choices and helping build their self-esteem, both now and as adults.

Tackle Tough Topics

With children seeming to mature earlier these days, it’s essential to discuss these subjects from an early age. Kids face choices regarding drugs, their bodies, and emotions as early as elementary school, so it’s important to begin these conversations with your children when they are young. Be open about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and let them know how you feel about them experimenting with these substances. Open a dialogue about other choices that can negatively impact their bodies and minds, and don’t shy away from these tricky topics. After all, their peers are likely talking to them about it, so you should be too.

Instill Safe Driving Techniques

Since 90% of car crashes happen due to human error, you can’t take a chance with your kids.  Before handing the keys over to your teen, go over ways to be more cautious while driving. For example, your teen shouldn’t drive when feeling fatigued; proper nutrition can help combat this occurrence. If they spot wildlife on the road, they should slow down and not swerve. And of course, never use the phone while driving, and never drink and drive.

Teach Them How to Balance a Budget

Money can be a real source of anxiety. Adults who are weighed down by debt are more likely to feel these negative effects, so help your child figure out how to manage finances. You can instill fiduciary responsibility in your kids in a few different ways. Play games with them using real or fake money, give them an allowance to manage with your guidance, and try using cash when making purchases with them. Also, talk to your kids about the benefits of charity, and have them dedicate a percentage of their funds to giving back.

De-Stress Their Home Life

Academic pressures, social influences, and physiological changes all add up to stress in children’s lives. Help them check stress at the door by encouraging them to open up about their day, either to you or in a journal. Get them into mindful meditation or yoga as an afternoon respite from the pressures of their day. To further this balance, be sure to take simple steps to tidy your home and keep things organized throughout the week.

Playtime is also a de-stressor, so encourage your child to participate in their favorite activities regularly. Even video games can help kids unwind, and they can also spark creativity and help build problem-solving skills. If you have it in your budget, invest in a well-functioning tablet so that your child can have a smoother experience with online gaming.  You can find a discounted device through year-round limited-time offers and seasonal sales.

Set Positive Examples

Talking to your children about healthy choices is important, but setting a good example will make the real difference. Kids are perceptive from an early age and will take on the habits they see in their parents. If you want your child to make good choices, start by forming healthy habits of your own. After all, you are their first, and often most important, a role model in life, so make sure you’re making a positive impression.

The ability to make healthy choices starts in childhood. Give your children a positive start to help them grow into healthy, confident adults.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

About the Author

For most of her childhood Anya struggled with her weight. In school, she was bullied because of it, and it wasn’t until she took a yoga class in college that things started to change. Anya now uses her knowledge and love for yoga to help kids find physical activities to keep them happy and moving.

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Your worry about hair fall might end here

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Paan Pata (Betel Leaf)

As you grow old, your hair tends to fall naturally. But, witnessing hair thinning or balding in your 20’s and 30’s is not normal. Beyond age and genetic effects, the common reasons for abnormal hair loss can be diet, exercise, illness, disease, etc. Anxiety is one of the significant reasons for hair loss. Hormonal imbalance can also cause depletion of hair. Recent research suggests that digestive disorder is the root cause of hair fall and other causes are apparent indicators. Digestive disorder indicates abnormal or impaired pancreas. The pancreas releases enzymes into the small intestine to help with digestion. Poor digestion causes several diseases to appear. It also means that the pancreas fails to convert the food you take into essential nutrients for your body to function normally. As a result, it deprives the hair to receive vital nutrients for its healthy growth. Then, the hair fall is imminent.

Raw Ginger

Allopathic medicine can address an abnormal pancreatic function to an extent, but it is not a long term solution. Alternatively, the Ayurveda has a great potential to repair the dysfunctional pancreas. Ayurvedic practitioners prescribe various explanations for the treatment of impaired pancreas. We propose a unique Ayurvedic solution that has great potential to correct an abnormal pancreas and digestive disorder. The solution mix consists of raw Paan leaf (betel leaf), raw ginger (Adrak), raw turmeric (Haldi), and Raw Basil leaf (Tulsi pata). You need to chew and swallow one raw Paan leaf, 5 to 10 grams of raw ginger, 3 to 5 grams of raw turmeric, and 7 Raw Basil leaf on an empty stomach every morning. Then, drink one glass of boiled Jeera (cumin seeds) water when it was at an average temperature, after boiling one tablespoon of cumin seeds in water for 10 minutes, on an empty stomach every morning. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this solution will do a miracle to your pancreas in correcting its impairment and consequently in preventing hair loss.

Raw Turmeric

Among these herbs, Paan pata (betel leaf) is the most crucial ingredient. It’s a wonder herb for healthy pancreatic function. People in the Indian subcontinent used to chew paan after having their meals for easy digestion. People in this subcontinent also offer paan (known as Bidia Paan) to their God. Bidia Paan is a simple Paan leaf folded with Cardamom (Elaichi) and Fennel seeds (Panmadhuri). 

Raw Basil Leafs

Home remedy for prevention and cure of Covid-19

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The covid-19 virus infects the human system through the nose, throat, and lungs. It initially infects the nose and throat. The symptoms manifest by nose irritation, sneezing, cough and cold, and throat pain with mild fever. At this stage, taking simple warm steam or combined with Nilgiri oil regularly, especially in the morning and evening, will benefit you a lot. This therapy will cleanse the dirt and kills the germ present in the nostrils.

Additionally, mustard oil pull through the nostrils will cleanse the nostril. You need to take a small amount of mustard oil in your hand, use your finger to put the oil into the nostril, put a few drops of mustard oil in each nostril, and then pull the oil by forceful inhalation. You can clear the throat infection by iodine-based regular warm water gargling, especially in the morning and evening, or by medication such as betadine liquid gargling. It is an antiseptic disinfectant agent that kills the germs in the mouth and throat. Additionally, you should drink warm water or tea regularly.

Further, boil bay leaves (Tejpata), cinnamon (Dalchini), Ginger (Adrak), basil leaves (Tulsi Pata), turmeric in water for 5 to 10 minutes, drink the solution in the morning and evening. It will improve your immunity strength and cure your throat infection. This stage is crucial; if untreated, it may infect the lungs. At this stage, medication is necessary. Along with the drug, one can practice Kapalbhati Pranayama, Anuloma, and Violoma Pranayama, and simple deep inhalation and exhalation can improve the lung’s capacity to fight against Covid-19.    

Helpful Resources for a Safe and Enjoyable Pandemic Yoga Practice

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By Anya Willis

The coronavirus pandemic has encouraged many of us to pick up new hobbies and experiment with different forms of at-home fitness, like yoga! What better way to pass the time in self-isolation and keep your mind and body healthy at the same time? But if you’re new to yoga, you likely have a few questions about how to get started and how to stay safe. Here are 14 resources to help you get the ball rolling on your own practice.

Q: How Can Yoga Keep Me Healthy During the Pandemic?

A: Practicing yoga can play an important role in your overall health and wellness strategy. Here are some ways you can benefit from a regular practice:

Yoga Can Help You Lose Weight

Yoga Strengthens Your Respiratory System

The Benefits of Desk Yoga for Remote Workers

Yoga for Pain Relief

The Stress-Reducing Power of Yoga

Healthy Breathing Can Aid in the Detoxification Process

Q: How Do I Start Learning Yoga on My Own?

A: If your local yoga studios are still closed, take advantage of online resources to learn the basics from the comfort of home.

Yoga Equipment for Beginners

How to Do Yoga in Your Living Room

Can I Do Yoga If I’m Not Flexible?

12 Yoga Poses to Get You Started

A Clutter-Free Space Can Improve Focus and Help You Relax

Q: Can I Take My Practice Outside?

A: Absolutely! Doing yoga outside is a great way to shake up your routine and leave your comfort zone. Here’s what you need to know:

Picking a Safe Spot for Outdoor Yoga

Ways to Take Your Yoga Practice Outdoors

Protect Your Skin During Outdoor Exercise

Avoid Pain and Injury While Practicing Yoga on the Beach

Practicing yoga is a wonderful way to enrich your days with relaxation and fulfilment when there isn’t much else to do. While you wait for the world to open back up again, use this opportunity to develop a yoga practice and hone your skills. You’ll want to stick with it long after the pandemic is over!

Note: Anya Wills compiled these resources

The myth and reality around meditation

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Many people messed up themselves by following the norm that meditation is only about concentration around some external objects. Meditation requires a different form of attention. The object of focus is internal to the person. In sum, it is a journey of self-discovery and self-awareness.

Contrary to common belief, meditation does not require hard effort; it is something that we do at our ease.  What is the right thing to concentrate as we meditate?  Instead of focusing our attention on some imagined objects, ancient wisdom suggests that we should focus our attention on sound, which requires less effort and exhaustion. We could effortlessly concentrate on internal sounds produced by nature within us.

The ancient Indian scriptures suggest that every element in our being and becoming are necessarily part of the cosmic sound called ‘Aum.’ We cannot experience that sound as long as we keep our attention on the noise produced in the external world. We need to withdraw our notice from the external noise to hear that cosmic sound widespread within us. That is why it is always advisable to meditate in a calm place. Somehow, if we can keep our ears closed, we cannot hear external noise. Then, we can withdraw ourselves from the outside noise, and subsequently, we can keep our attention on the sounds that emanate from within our being.   Our mind always takes our care from the spiritual world within us to the sphere of the material realm existing outside us.

It is a tricky little business that unless we are calm, we cannot meditate. And, unless we meditate, we cannot come to a state of calmness. Both calmness and concentration take place together. It is possible only when we withdraw from the outside world and start focusing on our spiritual being inside us. The starting point in this journey is becoming aware of our breathing–observation of the breath as we inhale and exhale. We become a little calm with this practice, and then we move our attention towards hearing the internal sounds produced within us. We go more in-depth and farther, hearing the minute and subtle sounds produced within us. The more we do, the higher we benefit from the meditation practice.

 

Harinaam ka pyala peekar aur pilakar ban ja tu matavala

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As usual, we had Naam Sankirtana in our ancestral home this year. Uploaded several videos  for your view.

The point of singing God’s name is divine intoxication, divine ecstasy. ‘Harinaam ka pyala peekar aur pilakar ban ja tu matavala’ – Drink the glass of wine filled with God’s name yourself serve it to others and become ecstatic. If you could sing just one line of kirtan for three to four hours, you would go into bhava samadhi.
– Swami Satyananda Saraswati

 

 

 

Spiritual Significance of Krishna Janmashtami

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Courtesey: Pinterest.com

Krishna Janamashtami is the birthday of lord Krishna and celebrated all over India with great enthusiasm and spirit. Lord Krishna was born on this great day which falls on the eighth day (Astami) of Krishna Pakshya (dark fortnight) in the Sravana month. People celebrate Janamashtami by keeping fast, singing bhajans, and chanting Hari Nama in praise of the lord, to seek divine blessings to overcome the experience of suppression, chaos, persecution, and bondage, both externally and internally inflicted upon the individual. Symbolically, Lord Krishna stands for destruction of evil force like Kansa (Kamsa), paritranaya sadhunam  for the protection of virtuous, Vinashayacha Dushkritam for the destruction of the wicked, Sambhavami Yuge Yuge “I incarnate myself” again in the world as saviour. However, Krishna also stands for  annihilation of evil force inside the individual–the anger, lust, jealousy, weakness of the will, anguish, and despair etc.   

Courtesy:Photobucket.com

Krishna means presence (Krish) of bliss (Na) (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.8.15). Krishna is the source of joy and love and stands opposite to misery, despair, anguish, terror, bondage, and ill will. Ideally, the source of all negativities  inside the self is ego. Krishna consciousness in our mind implies the destructions of all negativities and spiritual awakening of the mind to the incessant joy and love. It is the original and natural state of the human being and is the highest point that we might experience in meditation and yoga. We might experience the joy and love inherent in Krishna consciousness in our daily life through regular practice of meditation and yoga.

Courtesy: Theholidayspot.com

What it means for fasting?

In India, people keep fast for both material and spiritual reason. Usually, people keep fast on Krishna Janmashtami to please the Almighty and to find their wishes fulfilled by the Lord.  In that sense, fasting has material connotation. However, Fasting has both material and spiritual implications. Fasting in Sanskrit called Upavasa, derived from two syllables ‘Upa’ means near and ‘Vaasa’ means to stay; so, fasting implies staying close to the divine. Beyond the spiritual and religious reasons, Fasting also has many health benefits. Medical science finds the benefits of fasting beyond the spiritual and religious reasons. Certain medical intervention presupposes that the patient to stay in fasting. The theory that supports linking spirituality to science is physical and mental well-being. Fast helps releasing the toxins from the body and found to be an easiest way to detoxify the body. Fasting becomes very effective if the person survives with water alone for the entire duration. The detoxification keeps the mind active that aids meditation experience of  Joy or spiritual pleasure and higher consciousness . Therefore, fasting assists good meditation experience.

Why do we like our photos so much more than our being?

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Suppose the picture seems to be a good one, then we do not miss any opportunity to display it to the world that we are live-in. So the photo finds a good place in our album. Else, its fate goes down to the dirt.  For sure, we all like our outward appearance. Why not? The world we live-in believe in external reality and mirror image as opposed to the internal reality and real image. We like our photos because it is sensible; we can see and visualize what we are in our externality. We also take the opinions, likes, and dislikes of others into the sensibility of our image that we formed.  Moreover, we have a ready-made technology available that present to us a review of our outside look. The technology is quite popular amongst us. Whereas, we are less aware of the technology or it is not of much interest to us— that might capture the essence of our inner- being. So the photo quickly surrogates the ‘being’ that appears to us.

What is the use? We fail to see the real connection between our inner world and the outer one. We never bother to check what we are deep inside. The external world is an illusion because if we take several hundred snaps at one point as the time and technology permit; all pictures might not appear as same. However, if we take a similar number of shots of our inner world, it is more likely that they might appear as same. Although the inner world changes, it is so slow and steady that it might evade any transformation that took place from the capture.

How is the inner-being sensible? Through the technology called yoga and meditation which is less expensive, easy to use, and now widely available. It’s of the self, by the self, and for the self. How does the inner-being look? It’s calmness, peace, joy, harmony, beauty, truth, consciousness, and bliss. It stands for all positives of the universe and the real force behind every being and becoming. It stands for Satva Guna, and its color is pristine white.

Mental rest, breathing awareness and positive life experience

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The nature of mind is such that it always wanders. It cannot stand still for a moment; it either relays the memories of the past or concern of the future. Always, the mind preoccupies with something. The mental preoccupation has become the greatest challenge to our wellness. Have you ever paused for a moment to find out what it does? So, all wellness programs and spiritual development practices focus on resting the mind from work. Can we give rest to our mind which is always at work? Yes!

It is quite natural that, at times, that the mind does not listen to us as we wish to calm our mind; instead, what it does is that, it releases the imprints of the movie which it has boldly saved in the memory drive. Even when you are in sleep, your subconscious mind starts releasing those movies which we call dreams. However, in waking states, we call it the preoccupation of the mind.

 

If you can recollect, at least someone would have pointed out about your absent-mindedness at some point. It is something as either you are in your past or in your future. Here, the work of meditation becomes handy. One of the goals of the meditation is freeing your mind from any preoccupation with thoughts that has reference to your past or future.  For beginners, meditation works well with mindfulness of the present to give rest to your mind.

Why do we emphasize on relaxing our mind? Mental rest linked to the healthy condition of our heart and other biological systems. There is a direct linkage between our breathing experiences and mental rest. It is enlightening to experience how our breath connected to our psychic experiences of feeling, emotion, and cognition. Why should we focus on our breath? It is the only way we can deflect from the distractions of the past and the future. Observing the breath as it comes in and goes out helps calm our mind putting to rest.