Holistic Yoga Therapy by Dr. Hans, LLC

06/02/2022

SATTVIC NUTRITION (Excerpts from the Lecture by Dr. Madhur Bhashini, at Osher Institute, William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA)

Sattvic Nutrition is a pure and balanced diet that offers feeling of health, happiness, peace, and mental clarity! And also…
• Keeps digestive system functioning well
• Prevents toxin buildup in the body
• Supports the immune system/boosts immunity
• Prevents illnesses and chronic diseases
• Helps maintain optimum body weight
• Helps you stay light, energetic, relaxed, and happy!

Ayurveda (the ancient Indian science of long and healthy living) takes a holistic approach to healthy eating to prescribe…What to eat, how to eat, how much and when to eat. The focus is on keeping the digestive system healthy as this is the system that nourishes the whole body by making available the fuel and the raw materials for building and repairing the tissues.

Digestive system health depends on:
• Regular cleansing of the system
• Providing meals that are easily digested and assimilated for proper nourishment
• Maintaining a healthy microbiome (the delicate balance of bacteria, fungi, and viruses in the gut)

Digestive system health maintains overall strength and vitality keeping the entire body system free from illnesses and diseases.
This is achieved by – maintaining a balance of the 5 elements that constitute our body system!

These 5 elements are Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and space!
• Earth- all the food that we eat comes from Mother Earth and serves as the building material for all living body systems
• Water - provides a medium for transportation of materials, for filtering out of wastes, and for movement of energy throughout the body system
• Air - provides oxygen that helps release energy from food
• Fire - is the heat released from food, that keeps the body warm and functioning
• Space: nothing exists without space!

Maintaining a balance of these 5 elements is essential for Holistic Health! And Sattvic diet provides all these in balanced amounts using Natural foods.

Are you providing your body all that it needs? See if you can answer the following statements in Yes or No.
• I feel high on energy most of the time.
• I have normal body weight
• I rarely get any infection like flu, colds, stomach bugs, etc.
• I do not suffer from any chronic illnesses.
• I do not suffer from headaches or other body pains.
• I have normal healthy skin, hair, and nails.
• I have strong bones, flexible joints, and no body- aches.
• My brain function is normal.
• I have a calm and clear mind and suffer no emotional stress.

If you answered NO to any of these questions, you need to consider making improvements in your diet regimen.

Instead of feeding yourself dead foods, use Sattvic foods.
Sattvic foods digest easily and provide the vitality of Natural Elements that…
• Help in the formation and rebuilding of high-quality body tissues, improving overall health and longevity
• Maintain body defense mechanism to work actively to tackle toxins, wastes, cancer cells, invading microorganisms
• Improve mental health and energy, thereby improving the awareness, clarity, memory, and focus
• Naturally restore the harmony and balance (homeostasis) of our body and mind
• Enhance the experience of life (no suffering, no pain, no wastage of financial resources, no stress!)

For personal therapy sessions (in person or zoom) on balancing the elements to maintain or restore physical/mental/emotional health, and for sattvic recipes,
Email us at: holisticyogatherapy9@gmail.com

12/01/2021

The shorter our food chains the better! Let's try growing our own and supporting local where we can ✨

🌿 Image from Waste-Ed

08/26/2021

Kapaal Bhaati: The Yogic breathing exercise for holistic health benefits!

Kapaal Bhaati is a very impactful yoga breathing process (kriya).
The word Kapaal in Sanskrit language, means skull (including all the organs under the skull), and bhaati means shining, or illuminating. This cleansing breathing process, practiced correctly and regularly, purifies and rejuvenates the body and mind. It positively affects the organs under the skull mainly the brain and associated glands. It also improves the health of the sinuses, respiratory tract, lungs, diaphragm, and stomach.
The breathing is quick and sharp, with a focus on exhalation that makes conscious use of abdominal muscles. The duration of the inhale and the exhale is almost the same. There is no holding the breath in. There are different types of Kapaal Bhati Kriya, and here only the basic one for beginners is explained.
Points to remember:
Do it on empty stomach, NEVER after meals. (Also see contraindications below).
During this practice, the focus remains on the naval as the abdominal muscles are pulled in (a forceful contraction) and relaxed alternately. Shoulders and chest do not move much. Inhale and exhale through nostrils.
Beginners should do slower speed (one second inhale and one second exhale). Once you get a hang of it increase the speed to half a second inhale and half-second exhale.
You may start with 3 cycles initially. One cycle would mean 3-4 normal breaths, 5-10 kapaal-bhaati exhale/inhales, followed by 2-3 normal breaths. See how you feel. You may increase the cycles if you feel okay. Discontinue if you feel uncomfortable.

Let's practice:
Start by sitting in Lotus pose or on the knees, whichever holds your spine comfortably straight and shoulders relaxed. Palms rest on your knees.
Bring your focus on the breath. Inhale and exhale normally 3-4 times.
Now start kapaal bhaati cycle as follows:
1. Inhale, inflating the abdomen (it is a quick inhale, NOT long and slow)
2. Exhale, pulling the abdominals in, with a sharp movement
3. Repeat this 5-10 times. Remember it is a quick inhale- exhale cycle NOT holding the breath in. Your gentle attention is on pulling the abdominal muscles in fully (half a second) and then relaxing abdominals (half a second). Relaxing spontaneously fills the lungs, and thus the inhalation is passive.
4. Relax, breathing normally, 3-4 times. You may focus on inhales during this time.
5. Repeat kapaal bhaati again, with full focus on Exhales (pulling the abdominals in with a force)

Benefits:
This process exercises, tones and strengthens the abdominal and diaphragmatic muscles.
Other major health benefits are that it:
1. Stimulates the respiratory centers in the frontal brain
2. Clears sinuses, and strengthens lung muscles
3. Clears gas from upper abdominal areas, improves digestive system health
4. Cleanses lower parts of lungs (of the stale air) and enhances lung capacity
5. Clears the mind, focuses attention

Contraindications:
Be extra careful and consult a yoga therapy expert if you have high blood pressure, vertigo, asthma, headaches, or any other serious medical condition. If any breathing exercise makes you feel uncomfortable, it means you may not be doing it correctly. Consult an expert for guidance.

08/25/2021

Holistic health needs to be nurtured, maintained, and sustained carefully so that we do not fall sick often, both physically and mentally. Whenever the Natural principles of health are ignored and the body system is ill-treated, it starts sending warning signals in terms of pain or little ailments. If its warning signals are also ignored or snubbed (by taking pills every time), it almost equals to disrespecting the inherent intelligence of the body system to repair and heal itself.
When we do not pause to read and evaluate the signals, and do not do what is required to take care of the root cause and assist the self-recovery we end up paying big prices in terms of physical pain, mental suffering, and financial loss.
Allopathic Medical science has made tremendous progress but its basis still lies in treating the illnesses AFTER they develop, many times leaving some side effects. Yoga and Ayurveda medical science however, is based on PREVENTION of ill health/disease by prescribing how to maintain the balance of elemental energies (of Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Ether or Space). It is also based on working to CURE illnesses, by identifying and taking care of the root cause of an illness without leaving any side effects.
That is why many people world over are trying alternative or integrative medical practices to compliment the benefits of each.

Our Fall sessions starting form September 1st will incorporate various aspects of Yoga and Ayurveda for Holistic Health!
Here is a warm welcome to all those who have signed up for Zoom sessions! Please check your emails regularly for further details.

06/26/2021

Emotions are actually “electricity in motion!” Just like unregulated electricity flow (lightning) can strike anywhere to cause a disaster, the same way dysregulated emotional energy flow can wreak havoc and bring suffering in life!
The regulated flow of electricity through a wire can light up lamps, can cool down the temperatures, or can warm up the cold air in a room. Similarly, regulated emotions can brighten up your daily life, can have a calming effect on people around you, and can warm up your own heart to make your life happy and meaningful, irrespective of the situations of your life!
For the one who has the right perspective and an ability to regulate emotions (feelings), they are a wonderful gift, given to enjoy the vast variety of experiences of life! But for the one who is emotionally immature, imbalanced, or weak, life feels like a struggle, suffering, and a heavy burden!
To live a successful, happy, and meaningful life one needs to understand what emotions are, what is their purpose, and how to regulate them. From the day we are born to the day we die, we think, speak, act, and behave as our emotions dictate us to. Throughout life, we transact with other humans (and with everything else in this universe) through emotions. To understand ourselves and others, we need to understand our emotions and how they interact with our brain and hormonal system to stimulate various physiological reactions.
But nowhere in any education system, there is a mandatory “Emotions 101” course that gives us a thorough understanding of and importance of emotions and their regulation. Failed relationships with ourselves, with our parents, children, siblings, spouses, colleagues, neighbors, are simply because of our failure to regulate our emotions!
Most of the behavioral, physiological, and neurological ailments have their roots in emotional imbalance and dysregulation. From anxiety, depression, panic attacks, substance abuse to dementia, Alzheimer’s, and even suicidal and psychopathological tendencies, all are results of emotional dysregulation.

While we are young, if we do not step up to our responsibility of teaching ourselves and our kids, the basics of emotional regulation, there will be a heavy price to pay in terms of unhappy, unsuccessful life ending up in mental health hospitals, where repressed/suppressed, ignored/buried or pent-up emotions burst out as unmanageable volcanos!

Not many people know that Yoga gives us an understanding of our emotions (feelings), their origin, and teaches us how to regulate our thoughts, speech, actions, behaviors and how to train our minds to respond appropriately so that our emotions do not make us suffer through life and its situations. Instead, they empower us to live life happily and meaningfully despite all challenges!

Be on the lookout to find an experienced teacher to learn from, before it is too late!
As suggested by our regular participants, we are beginning a new class "Meditations for Emotional Regulation" from July onwards. Send a message for more info or to join.

05/31/2021

Another feedback from the participants of a session on , "Meditation as Preventive and Alternative Medication: Theory and Practice"

05/30/2021

Another feedback from the participants of a session on , "Meditation as Preventive and Alternative Medication: Theory and Practice"

04/12/2021

A few email messages from my Yoga student, Lena C. It speaks more highly of the student rather than the teacher, reflecting how well the teachings were received!

04/03/2021

02/18/2021

An 8 year old joined his mom’s 6AM yoga class, stayed still through 20 minutes meditation (impressive!) and on his own wrote an ‘after class’ note on his experience of meditation. I love what he thinks his God is…an uncontrolled puppet!! 😃
But Kudos to his mom for instilling good habits that are sure to go a long way!