Mindfulness : Being Aware, Being Present, Being Content.

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Most of us go through our lives generally thinking about the past or worried or anxious about what is to come in the future. Here are 5 easy ways you can help yourself to be more mindful. This not only makes you more aware of this very moment, but also puts your brain in much relaxed and calmer state.

Make a Start towards Mindfulness:

At the start of your day, spend a minute consciously thinking about the present moment, not thinking about what awaits you. Connect with your body and detect any felt-sense. Repeat this multiple times of day (4-6 times, trying and avoiding any thoughts about past or future.

Spend 5 minutes during your breaks focusing on your breathing with your eyes closed. Don’t try and alter anything, just try to be aware of how your body breathes. It does it on its own; it doesn’t need your mind to do it. So just be an observer.

While eating your meals, try and focus on the taste and your bodily senses that it affects you. Do it whenever you can remember. Appreciate the moment and the nourishment you are receiving.

While seated in your office, often remind yourself about the physical contact that your body makes with the chair underneath. On how the weight is distributed and if there is any discomfort in any part of your body. Again, just observe for couple of minutes, no need to change anything.

When in conversation or discussion with anyone, try and focus on what the other person is saying. Try and keep your mind open to all possibilities and opinions. Too often, we participate in the conversation trying to convert our interlocutor to our opinion instead of simply sharing it if appropriate.

The practice of mindfulness basically teaches us how to be aware of everything that is happening around us. Not only does it provide us balance but research shows that mindfulness works positively in curing various ailments from depression to addiction and even high blood pressure.

5 Natural Ayurvedic Tips For A Pain-Free Period

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It was not until recently that I really believed that a pain-free, normal period was possible.

Having popped various pills to mitigate the excruciating pain we used to endure during each and every cycle, Let us make a make a firm resolution that  we would  no longer take any kind of painkiller during our periods; Let us decide we would simply take the pain.

It was not until encountering the amazing science of Ayurveda three years later that pain-free periods became not only a perceivable possibility, but rather a reality for me.

Ayurveda: The Science of Life

Stemming from the root Sanskrit words “ayush,” which means “life,” and “veda,” which is “knowledge” or “the study of,” Ayurveda is the knowledge or study of life. It is the sister science of Yoga, which allows us to experience feeling as great as we do when we get off of our mats in each and every moment of every day.

What sets Ayurveda apart from the modern medical system of healthcare is that it actually addresses the root causes of why people manifest certain health problems in the first place. That’s right—this is not mere symptom management, which keeps you caught in a continuous cycle of helplessness and hopelessness.

Ayurveda is so empowering because it gives you tools to say goodbye to symptoms—and keep them away, by providing customized solutions that take into consideration a wide range of causative factors for disease.

The Disease-Fighting Potential Of Our Daily Routines

In Ayurveda, the daily routine is called Dinacharya. Stemming from the words “din,” which means “day,” and “charya,” which means “to follow,” Ayurveda’s daily routines allow us to live in greater harmony with nature, and to thereby prevent the onset of a variety of different diseases. These daily routines also actually activate health.

Ayurveda’s Dinacharya recommendations extend to many different situations, including how to optimally manage one’s monthly cycle, so that it does not manage you instead (as often happens when we are not armed with knowledge to empower ourselves).

Following these tips has truly transformed my whole experience of that time of the month, which I no longer anticipate with the same kind of fearful dread I used to feel about having periods.

Avoid Exercise (including yoga asanas, or poses)

This one may come as a surprise for some of you out there who may utilize the endorphins released from exercise to counteract pain during or before periods. Ayurveda recommends avoiding exercise during one’s cycle; however, exercise activates a bio-force called Vata dosha in the body. This means no yoga asanas, too; as much as I used to love practicing asanas during my period, I have noticed how much better I feel now that I have stopped.

One of the fundamental principles of Ayurveda is the theory of the five great elements (ether, air, fire, water and earth) as the building blocks of the entire universe, as well as individual mind/body containers. As one of three doshas, Vata dosha is comprised of the ether and air elements.

When aggravated in the body, as it easily becomes when a woman exercises during her period, Vata dosha has the potential to create 80 different diseases (compared with the possibility of only 40 and 20 diseases associated with the other two doshas, called Pitta and Kapha).

In addition to its great potential to create disease and disturbance throughout the body, as well as the mind, it is an imbalanced Vata dosha that creates pain. Hence, there is a great emphasis on balancing and calming Vata dosha in Ayurveda.

Abstain From Sexual Activity

Sex is a form of exercise, and it is for the same reasons listed above that Ayurveda recommends abstaining during that time of the month. There are five subtypes of Vata dosha. Sexual activity disturbs the flow of the downward flowing Vata dosha, in particular. When downward flowing air and ether get disturbed in their natural course for too long, a woman can increase her chances of menstrual disturbance, painful periods, and even future miscarriages.

Cut Down On Unnecessary Travel

Vata dosha represents the dynamic dimension of the three doshas in Ayurveda. Because the nature of air is to constantly flow, Vata is accordingly connected with the principle of movement. Hence, too much motion aggravates Vata dosha, which is why Ayurveda recommends that menstruating women just say no to unnecessary travel during their cycles.

Eat Light

The health of the digestive fire (called Agni) is considered a reflection of one’s overall health in Ayurveda. Ayurveda teaches how important it is to eat foods that are light, warm and cooked, as heavy, cold and raw foods are considered aggravating to Vata dosha, which is cold by nature. The digestive fire is naturally lowered when a woman menstruates, so it is especially important for women to follow this tip during periods.

Drink Warm Water With Ajwain Seeds

Ajwain seeds (Bishop’s weed) is an amazing Ayurvedic spice that you can boil in a small pot of water. You can then drink this Ajwain water hot, warm or at room temperature, depending on your particular constitution (which an Ayurvedic practitioner can help you determine) whenever you are having active period-related pain. It was so amazing to me to discover that a solution to all those years of painful periods was right in my traditional Indian mother’s spice cabinet all along!

One caveat: Those who are suffering from excess heat or heat-related conditions, or suspect they are, may not wish to follow this advice, as Ajwain seeds are heating in potency. If you are in doubt about whether this advice suits you, do consult an Ayurveda practitioner.

The best part of following the above advice is that it also paves the way for an ease-filled future menopause experience.

Fear Hangovers? Natural Remedies To Tackle Them.

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The Night before the Storm:

So the dizzy party lights, the loud music, and the fun group made it an enthralling party last night? Makes you wonder why your body makes you pay with a nightmare the next morning for some unadulterated fun? Jump aboard the super roller coaster, we all know too well as a “hangover”.

A pounding headache, the queasiness, the dizziness, the sensitivity to light and sound, utter confusion, thirst like a camel in a  parched desert…….symptoms that literally bring you down to earth (oh, you wish the earth could just suck you in), elevating levels of anxiety, regret, shame, embarrassment, as well as depression.

What actually leads to a Hangover?

Why does it make the body react so strongly? Though we don’t want to look at it that way but Alcohol is a drug, a depressant that will naturally trigger the body to treat it as an intruder and try expelling it.

Alcohol is absorbed quickly in the bloodstream and blocks the pituitary gland from producing vasopressin, the hormone that maintains your body’s water absorption and hydration levels. In the absence of vasopressin, liquids travel quickly to your bladder resulting in excessive peeing experienced during a boozy evening. If you think that the liquid in the alcohol will fill in the void, it sadly doesn’t work that way…in fact you lose about 4x more liquid than you gain leading to dehydration.

Makes you think.. what does dehydration and headaches have in common?  Dehydration leaves the battlefield open for organs to start the war for limited water sources and your poor brain loses the battle, leading to brain shrinkage (try solving the crossword during a hangover ;)). The membranes that connect the brain to the skull get pulled in the process leading to literally “tearing” pain.

Weakness is a bygone symptom considering salt, potassium, and magnesium depletion through all those restroom visits and since alcohol also breaks down glycogen (a natural energy source in your liver) and expels it through your pee, it’s a double whammy!

Alcohol metabolism in the liver creates an extremely toxic substance called acetaldehyde, which only a couple of enzymes (acetaldehyde dehydrogenase and glutathione) can break down. But these enzymes are quickly overpowered when inundated with excessive alcohol, leading to toxin build up, further increasing the severity of headaches and nausea.

Tips to Prevent a Hangover:

The best way to prevent a hangover is to avoid alcohol but in case you can’t to drink in moderation. There is no direct cure for a hangover and you can only suppress the various symptoms individually and bide the “time” needed for the body to recover naturally.

Drink responsibly: Don’t have more than 2 drinks in 1-2 hrs and no more than 5 drinks in one night.

Drink water: Before heading to a party, drink plenty of water to hydrate and help diluting alcohol.

Eat “fat” rich food: Fat is known to slow down your body’s absorption of alcohol by lining your digestive tract.

Intersperse with water: Have a glass of water between each drink to dilute the alcohol in your body. A glass of water with every beer is a good metric.

Avoid dark drinks: Choose beer and clear liquors (vodka or gin) and avoid malt/dark liquors (whiskey or rum) and red wine that contains tannins which increase the hangover severity.

Stick with non-carbonated mixers: Carbonated drink mixers accelerate alcohol absorption. So stay away from them.

Go slow: Sip and never gulp your drinks, to slow down alcohol absorption.

Myths and Legends to cure a Hangover:

Some of the widely used, traditional hangover “cures” (calling them myths or legends would be better) really do little to relieve symptoms and some of them can actually make the situation worse.

Replenishing lost salts through Sports Drinks: Yes you do lose water and salts (electrolytes) with the excessive urination but it isn’t so much to binge on sports drinks. Drink water instead.

The Morning Drink: Hangover is the worst when blood alcohol levels come back to normal levels, ideally in the early morning. Pouring yourself another drink is just postponing the ticking bomb and actually making it more lethal as your liver has more alcohol to work with now. It’s only going to make the impending headache worse and make you an addict.

Black Coffee: The caffeine will provide short term relief from symptoms of fatigue and headache (by constricting blood vessels) but its diuretic effect causes more dehydration. Drink water to fill the gaping hydration hole or try tea with/without lemon.

Pain Medication: Taking acetaminophen (Tylenol) at bedtime normally fades its effect in the morning, when the hangover is the worst. Also its impact on an overworked liver can be devastating and can cause permanent liver damage.

Eating Burnt Toast:  Mistaking burnt toast as a form of “activated” carbon is plain foolish. So if you expect that the carbon will filter the toxins from the alcohol, it ain’t gonna work.

Natural Cures to beat a hangover:

The only real cure for a hangover is time. If no more alcohol is consumed, hangover symptoms should subside between eight and 24 hours. There are some things that can be done to relieve some of the most severe symptoms.

Water – Dehydration causes irritating headache, dizziness, and light headedness. So drink water with alcohol and in the morning.

Eggs – Eggs contain cysteine that breaks down acetaldehyde in the body, and provides relief from hangover-causing symptoms.

Bananas – Eating bananas, or other fruits high in potassium, restores depleted potassium levels. [

Fruit or Fruit Juice – Helps replenish vitamins and nutrients and helps detox the body of toxins.

Eat a protein rich sandwich: Bread will spike up your blood sugar levels and the protein breaks down to amino acids to help replenish brain neurotransmitters that were depleted by the alcohol.

Chew ginger: Boil 10-12 pieces of fresh ginger root in about four cups of water and add the juice of one orange, half lemon and half cup of honey. Ancient but works even today.

Sleep: Restorative sleep is known to provide the body with best support from a hangover.

Avoid the Addiction and Seek Advice:

If you can’t remember what happened while you were drinking, or if you get hangovers on a regular basis, you may have a drinking problem. Talk to someone about getting help.

Even without treatment, a hangover should last no more than 24 hours. If you’re still feeling bad after that, call a doctor.

WISHING ALL A VERY HAPPY VISHU

WISHING ALL A VERY HAPPY VISHU

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How to activate your FAT burning hormones in just 3 steps!!

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If you remove all foods high in sugar, starchy veggies, sweet fruits especially the juice, snacking, and half of your carbs especially grains and rice, and then workout with light weights for 30 minutes every other day, the body will build new muscle from the protein and burn fat for energy for the next 12-48 hours after the workout. 

Here is my challenging but very effective 3-step fat burning approach:

Step 1:

STOP consuming ALL sugar!

• No starchy veggies.
• No fruit juice at all and only fruit low in sugar like apples.
• No sweets of any kind or any product with any type of sugar or sweetener (OK, some stevia and a little honey is fine).
• No alcohol, cookies, candy, cereals, processed foods with added sugar, etc. Nothing with sugar.

Why? Because if your body has simple carbohydrates then it will just use the calories or energy from this source and not bother burning any existing fat reserves.

Don’t bother with further steps until you have completed step #1!

Step 2:

Eat A LOT of vegetables with beans.

• Have greens for breakfast, (fried or steamed is fine, even juiced is ok).
• Have large salads for lunch and dinner (follow individual body-type recommendations).

Half your plate for each meal should be vegetables!

Prefer raw vegetables and steamed cruciferous vegetables.  Why?  Because it takes more calories or energy to digest raw vegetables and with their high fiber makes them very cleansing, thus perfect for weight-loss. Easy, eat LOTS of greens!

Juicing vegetables every day helps too but without the fiber it is not as cleansing as fresh veggies.  If you have blood sugar issues, focus on dark greens.  Celery, kale, parsley, spinach are the best.  For a heavier juice with more protein add asparagus, string beans and cauliflower. To sweeten it up use limes not carrots, beets or apples. To replace a meal just add about 6 tablespoons of hemp seeds and a couple teaspoons of freshly ground flax seeds.

Use only vegetable protein, reduce carbohydrates and add healthy oil/fat

• Stop all animal protein and replace with legumes: Beans (kapha-type and Pitta-type) and lentils (Vata -type).
• Use coconut oil instead of butter, and sunflower oil instead of olive oil
• Gradually reduce carbohydrates such as rice and other whole grains to half servings (1/2 of a fist size)

Prefer meals of beans or lentils with lots of veggies and a small portion of whole-grains with a little oil.  Why? Your body needs protein to build new muscle and tissue as a result of the light weight training.  Both protein and oil (fat) are very satisfying for the body and takes away cravings.   Remember, there must be some oil and a good portion protein with each meal.  Otherwise, you will become nutritionally deficient and will start craving more carbs, and we know that leads to fast weight gain!

Step 3:

EAT LESS! :Stick to a tight eating schedule

• Never eat after 7pm even fruit. Try to eat earlier like 5 or 4.
• Drink only water with lemon or herbal teas between meals; no fruit juices etc.
• Eat 3 small meals a day or just 2 meals, or just have a salad for dinner. In other words: EAT LESS!

Why? The body burns fat between meal so the longer you can make the space between meals the more fat you will burn. But don’t skip meals even breakfast.  Do a late breakfast and early dinner or skip dinner sometimes.  No matter what,  don’t start snacking on “healthy” snacks. You need to be cooking and preparing two or three complete meals each day.  Also don’t start juicing every meal and not using a plate!  Cook, prepare, sit down, eat slowly and when you are starting to feel full, stop. Simple.

You may have to work at this for a few weeks or even a month.

Step 4 – Bonus Step

Add some light weight training and/or juice fasting

Do 30 minutes every other day

• Do 10 minutes of solid cardio first, like running in place or biking to break a sweat and get your heart rate up
• Do at least two sets each and rest 1- 2 minutes in between sets
• Each set should be until you have some muscle strain (work up to it).
• Do some cardio to warm up and cool down but focus on the weight training to build muscle.

You don’t need a gym to to do this, just run in place, use a step or go up stairs etc. and then lift some weights or some big cans of beans! Just works those muscles!

If you cannot work out everyday, then the next option is to do juice fasts and eat only two meals a day.  Make your choice, workout or eat a lot less.

• A juice fast will further “force” the body to lose more weight if this type of therapy is suitable or even necessary.

How To Use Ghee For Skin Care? A Simple Ayurveda Method

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It is a common notion that ghee is used only orally. But in Ayurveda, it is extensively used for skin care. A special but very simple ghee preparation is used in many skin conditions like burns, wound scars, skin marks, burning sensation etc.

How To Use Ghee For Skin? 

This ghee remedy is called as Shata dhauta ghrita in Ayurveda.

• Shata = 100
• Dhauta = washed with water
• Ghrita = ghee or clarified butter.

What you need? 

• Ghee – 10 ounce
• water – sufficient quantity.

In this home remedy for skin care, we are taking ghee, adding with equal quantity of water, mixing it thoroughly with hand or a machine for 3 – 5 minutes, letting out the water. Then again we are adding fresh water and continuing mixing. Like this, we are repeating it for as many times as possible. In Ayurveda, it is advised to repeat the procedure for 100 times. But in practice, it is usually done for 20 – 30 times.

Changes - 

The ghee turns to white colour. It will be smoother to touch and will have butter like consistency.   When you touch it, you can appreciate that it is lot cooler.

Benefits of ghee for skin - 

• This Shata dhauta ghrita is used to relieve burning sensation, to relieve burn wounds, wound scar, herpes wounds, chicken pox scars, etc.
• It acts as natural skin moisturizer, if used daily. It can be applied over face, left for 10 minutes, washed with warm water.
• In pregnant woman, with unexplained bleeding or spotting, traditionally, it is advised to apply this Shata dhauta ghrita around umbelicus.
• In Ayurvedic leech therapy, after the treatment, to reduce the burning sensation and to check further bleeding, this ghee is applied of the affected area.

Shelf life: 4 – 6 months.

Because this ghee eventually contains some remnant moisture inside, it is not ideal to store it for more than six months.    It should be stored in a clean, dry air tight container.  Over exposure to air will cause foul smell.

6 Foods That Speed Up Aging & Make You Look Older

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Write us to doctorpanickers@gmail.com for free ayurvedic consultation online. Visit us at www.doctorpanickers.com.

Some unhealthy eating habits do worse than make you fat and tired – they age you from the inside out.

Do you know that certain foods you eat wreak havoc not just with your health but with how youthful you look and how well you age in every category? The old adage ‘You are what you eat” is true.  It is nutrition, not our chronological age that determines how youthful you look and feel.
6 foods that have a profound influence on how you age:

1. Sugar.

Sugar not only creates weight gain easily, but it also creates wrinkles, sagging skin and poor health. An interesting process takes place called ‘glycation’ that literally renders your bodily tissues inflexible or simply damages them. The sugar circulating in your bloodstream attaches to protein in your body that create new molecules appropriately and precisely named ‘AGES’ or advanced glycation end products. Glycation is the caramelization of bodily tissue <-yes .="" p="">Think of those crispy browned potatoes on the stove – the crispy part is an example of glycation. That same process is happening in your body. Most vulnerable? Collagen and elastin which keep our skin firm and youthful; once damaged this leads to wrinkles and sagging skin.

2. Trans Fats.

Trans fats exert an inflammatory effect within the body such as creating a stiffening of the arteries or constricted blood vessels that lead to less blood flow to the skin and much more, leaving skin older, stiffer, more wrinkled. Be careful to read the nutrition label for ‘hydrogenated fats’ as this is code for trans fats.
Trans fats can be found in highly processed foods such as fast food, junk food, pie crust, deep fried foods, margarine, canned frosting, Bisquick type products, non-dairy creamers and much more. Even if the label says zero trans fats, the food manufacturers’ are allowed to state zero even if they have a half gram of trans fats. One half gram of trans fats still has a mighty unhealthful impact upon our health.



3. Alcohol.

Alcohol in moderation exerts a healthy effect that results in a you that ages well. However, excess alcohol can really speed up aging in the form of premature wrinkles, loss of collagen, elasticity, redness, dehydration and puffiness. Nutrient depletion, liver inflammation and dehydration are the culprits when too much alcohol is ingested. *By the way, if you are steering clear of red wine due to the staining factor it exerts, white wine actually causes dental damage by making teeth more prone to longer-lasting stains.

4. Excess Carbohydrates.

Just like sugar that creates a caramelization effect inside and outside your body, refined carbs (healthy carbs stripped of all the good stuff) and excess healthy carbs do too. You can look at refined carbs as simply sugars in disguise. Once these carbs hit the blood stream – they behave just like sugar. Also, refined/excess carbs trigger insulin in excess and too much insulin prevents fat loss, slows or prevents lean muscle growth.
In addition, excess insulin also leaves you hungry 30 min. after eating and this becomes a vicious cycle. The main stimulus for insulin secretion is dietary carbohydrates. Stick to complex carbs such as legumes and veggies as the fiber slows down the release of sugar and this equates to less glycation and less weight.

5. Low-Fat Foods.

Everywhere you look you see the result of decades worth of bad advice that has left the majority of people fat and unknowingly aging their bodies. Fat does not make you fat. In fact, fat promotes weight loss and youthfulness. The low-fat era is, unfortunately, still with us. Most people when they look at the nutrition label are more concerned with the fat grams. Low-fat eating simply deprives one of all the nutritious fats that keeps us healthy and youthful. A diet rich in essential and healthy fats plays a crucial role in how skin ages by reducing inflammation in skin, encouraging hair growth and and build strong cell membranes that reduce water loss in skin cells and much more.
Sources of healthy fats include: walnuts, salmon, flaxseed, chia seeds, avocados, almonds, cold water fish, hemp seeds, wheat germ, all nuts and seeds, dark green leafy veggies, Omega 3-fortified eggs, coconut oil

6. Salt.

Excess salt in the diet from foods such as chips, crackers, pretzels, bagels, cereals, bagels, cereals, canned foods, cheeses and even cottage cheese can retain fluid in the body creating a puffy look and paradoxically can cause the cells to shrink thus creating dehydration. This results not just in the sensation of thirst, but older, dehydrated, wrinkled skin.

Reducing or avoiding these foods is your key to a more energetic, vibrant and youthful you – inside and out.

To your good health,