In ancient India, Indian sages always taught that for a person to live a happy life, they must focus on two things — a healthy body and a healthy mind. To this effect, they developed various systems like yoga, Ayurveda, pranayama, and so on. Even though centuries have passed since such knowledge was discovered, it can still help you live a healthy and happy life.
Get flexible and calm with yoga
Most modern human beings are very inactive. In fact, we could argue that we are the most inactive generation ever because of the plethora of desk jobs. The body should be properly exercised every day so that it remains flexible. One of the easiest ways to do so is through yoga. Unlike typical workouts that involve stressing the body and building muscles, yoga focuses on relaxing the body so that it attains maximum flexibility and loses rigidity.
Out of all practices, hatha yoga remains the most popular. Pranayama also needs special mention. Pranayama, in Sanskrit, means, “extension of breath or life force” and is an exercise in which the person sits still for a few minutes and focuses on their breathing pattern. The idea is to calm down the mind and eventually gain mastery over it. Several studies have discovered that pranayama can help in dealing with stress-related disorders.
Eating a sattvic diet comes from sages in ancient India
In Hindu philosophy, sattva is a guna (quality) that is characterized by goodness and purity. “The things you read, the music you choose to listen to, the images and videos you watch — everything influences your gunas. If you watch and listen to sattvic information, your sattva guna will increase. Similarly, if you are surrounded by tamasic (darkness and negativity) things all day, your tamasic guna will increase. How you behave with people around you should also be sattvic,” Dr. Keshav said to Hindustan Times.
When it comes to food, a sattvic diet is one that helps to build up good qualities in a human being. This includes things like vegetables, nuts, legumes, whole grains, spices, and herbs. Items like meat, fish, garlic, onion, etc. are considered tamasic or foods that harm the body and lead a human being to a lower form of consciousness. But even though eating tamasic food is forbidden in this system of eating, you are allowed to eat them in times of great distress like war or famine.
When it comes to food, a sattvic diet is one that helps to build up good qualities in a human being. (Image: via Pixabay)
Build up immunity
According to Ayurveda, the food you eat can either be transformed into ojas (vigor) or ama (an underlying cause of various health problems). While ojas gives you strength and builds up your immunity, ama makes your immune system weak. It is recommended to add spices to meals as they are known to boost immunity. For instance, turmeric aids in the detoxification of the body while cumin is said to burn Ama. Black pepper has been described as a spice that allows Ojas to reach deep into the tissues.
Clean your sense organs
Ayurveda recommends cleaning the sense organs constantly. In fact, you should make it a habit to follow this at least once a day. So wash your eyes every morning, using rose water if possible. Clean your nostrils and scrape the tongue. Take some lukewarm water, gargle, and spit it out. Cleaning out sense organs also helps to keep your body alert and fresh.
As part of cleansing your sense organs, wash your eyes every morning, using rose water if possible. (Image: via Pixabay)
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