Sleep and Dream to remain happy

Where in the world does Michael Jackson still do his moonwalk and thrusts his pelvis with his famous “oow” move? In a young dancer’s dreams. Where does jimmy Hendrix still play his famous “voodoo child”? In a young rockstar’s dream. Who says time machines do not exist? They very well do; in our minds. Haven’t we all at some point of time in our lives experienced going back in time to experience something extraordinary? Haven’t we also experienced seeing something in our dreams months back and reliving it on the present day? Something we call “déjà u”. Well in that case our dreams are keys to unlock the past and access the future.

 

It is rather exasperating to have people around you asking you to sleep and dream to remain fit rather than asking you to remain proactive to keep yourself healthy. Yes!! We know it. We want our readers to understand the true meaning of fitness. At Comfortinstyle magazine we believe that fitness is not just a destination where one can stop after reaching. It is perhaps a process, which is governed by relationships. Relationships with the outside world and the inner world. The outer relationships that we foster during this journey of fitness can be seen when we hit the gym or do yoga with friends. But to have healthy relationships with people around us we have to be calm and composed from within. Even Yoga is first an internal process and then a fitness regimen. (Read our articles from the “understanding yoga” series). This is exactly why we are stressing on the importance of sleeping and dreaming. We do not want you to become lazy but understand that sleeping and dreaming is not as hollow as we have been made to see. Dreams, give us the license to go into the unknown and enjoy the possibilities of the impossible. But talking empirically dreams and sleep have the following effects on our system:

1. Sleeping is a process that helps one to absorb the happenings of the day into our system for a longer period. For example: try and learn a couple of lines by speaking them out loud many times and then sleep. After you get up you will be able to speak them straight out.
2. Dreaming unlocks certain parts of our brain making us smarter and sharper. Dreaming helps us get access to the subconscious minds where many secrets and answers to many problems lie hidden.
3. It is believed that people who have more vivid dreams are the ones who are more outgoing and socially productive.
4. Most importantly dreaming helps you become a more confidant person. It is not only the sweet dream that help us become happier individuals but the nightmares about falling off a building or being kidnapped that help us gain control of our fears thus helping us become more assertive and decisive.
5. Sleeping and dreaming can help you get out of depression as many of must have experienced that we see happy and cheerful dreams when we are in our saddest moods.
6. Sleeping is not a state of intoxication. It is as responsive as our active state. But it is just that we are unable to see that response. Sleeping is the time when the body channelizes its energies to the mind and our immune system helping us grow mentally and physically too. Shockingly, kids can grow a few millimeters during their sleep.

Understanding Yoga: Part 2

Imagine you get up one morning; go to the kitchen and find no water; step outside for your morning walk and do not feel the cool breeze easing you of the burning sun; and when you finally come back home to cook something you find that there is no fire. Scary isn’t it?

Now most of you must be thinking that why did we talk about water fire and wind. Well that is because Yoga is not just an isolated entity which can come of great use without deep understanding the other pieces of the vast jigsaw puzzle.

 

After glancing through the basic historical context of Yoga in our previous article “Understanding yoga: Part 1” where we gave our readers a gist of the ancient texts -Sanskrit. Now it is the time to shift our attention to the second set of pointers to focus on. Imagine this set of articles as a tree, the first one being the understanding of the roots. We are gradually moving up towards the trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits. Keeping this analogy in mind Yoga assumes the role of the fruit which ripens if the tree is healthy.

 

So to begin, it becomes very critical to understand the 4 basic elements that yoga and the entire process of union is loosely arrayed around. According to Hindu mythology and its texts, the dynamics of the earth, humans and in fact the entire universe are controlled by 4 basic elements of nature namely:

*before you begin reading the list of elements we request you to try and remember the terms in their original language for better understanding. (p.s.: it is always fun to show off a couple of words from an ancient language)

1.  1. Vaayu (air): this element is generally associated with motion and dynamics. The gusts of wind help us cool down but more importantly we live because air gives us the most important aspect of our existence i.e. oxygen. The masters believed that air and wind controlled and influenced the movements of our body. From the movement of the diaphragm to the twitching of the muscles everything is said to be controlled by “ Vaayu”
2.  2. Agni (fire): now, as an element we associate fire with destruction but forget to understand that fire is the source of all life. The sun keeps us warm, our body functions at a specific temperature. Even in destruction, there is a hidden aspect of construction or rather creation. The best example is the forest fire which burns the forest only to pave way for new life that hibernates below the surface. Heat is essential for all bodily functions from digestion to excretion
3. Jal (water): needless to say one can survive without food for 3 weeks but without water one cannot last for more than three days. If you wish to know more about the magic of water you can read our article on the same titled “Simply water”. For the record our body is 70% water.
4. Prithvi (earth): all the matter in this world is constituted from this element called earth. Modern science believes that everything in this world is made up of carbon. Ancient gurus just had a different name. We arise from this earth and end up in it too. Our hair, skin and nails are all composed of this element.

These were the 4 basic elements that the entire world is centered around but there is another element which is generally not mentioned while discussing the aforementioned components as it is not as tangible as the others. Space is the supreme part as all the above mentioned elements come together to find union in space.

Keep in mind, that yoga cannot be fully understood with a petty and typical “weight loss” or “I want to remain fit” motive. The process of exploration includes many stages, one of which is the comprehension of all important parts. The ancient masters believed that the elements discussed in the article are not just around but inside of us and understanding our relationship with the outer world was not as important as understanding our relationship with ourselves. In the coming articles we will give you secret one line mantras to explore the sweetest part of Yoga.  Come back for more!

Yoga mantra: TO BEGIN KNOW YOURSELF FROM WITHIN!!!

Read “Understanding Yoga: Part 1”

This article is brought to you by YogacaraShop.com – your source for special Yoga Apparel, yoga inspired clothing, comfort clothing clothing designed according to the Colors of the Chakras and the best trendy, high quality and comfortable  Fitness Apparel do visit YogacaraShop.com

Photo  credits: PaddyMurphy ( www.flickr.com)

 

Simply Water

A man trapped in the Amazon basin for close to a month when interviewed after his magical escape from the unforgiving forest was asked to disclose his secret skills that made him hold on to dear life answered “I just followed Water”. Now this statement mite just sound plain and simple on the surface but carries a deep deep meaning when stripped to its bare bones. If there one element that has remained man’s best friend it is water. Just close your eyes for a second and imagine a day without water and its derivatives. From being the most widely present element inside us to the most helpful outside water is present in our heart, brain, skin, air and food. Without water life would JUST STOP!!

If one picks up a map of the ancient world, it would not be hard to decipher that all the greatest civilizations were arrayed around large rivers or oceans. From Cleopatra’s Egypt stationed near the Tiber to the great Indus valley civilization moored near theIndusRiver. Rivers and River Goddesses have played and still continue to play key roles in mythological stories of many countries. The practice of projecting the ashes of the dead in the river Ganges by the Hindus is a befitting example of the importance that water assumes in our lives. Hindus consider the Ganges or Ganga Maa (motherGanges) to be a route to heaven. The most beautiful aspect to absorb here is that we as humans have evolved but what has remained constant throughout this journey is water. Our foods have changed their tastes and flavours to suit our palates but water still continues to be the same to a western or eastern palate; it still continues to give the same amount of pleasure when coming out of a hose pipe to an American kid as to a Chinese. Countries likeAfricatoday value water more than any other resource because it takes a dry throat to realize the importance of water.

It becomes rather important now to shift to the more immediate uses and benefits of water. Detailed studies suggest that a human can survive without food for three weeks but without water life cannot sustain itself for more than three days. Coming straight to the point rather spiraling around the main objective following are the benefits of water, and trust us once u read them, water will taste tastier, feel better and become a living entity; here they go:

1. Skin: water is the best toner for your skin. Drinking 8 glasses of water a day can help reduce pigmentation and give your skin a glow that even the most expensive treatments cant. Also taking in some steam can really help unclog pores and rid your skin of all impurities.
2. Metabolism: Water works its magic on your digestive system. By increasing our metabolism rate it helps us get rid of constipations and other digestive problems
3. Hangover buster: one can avoid an early morning hangover by drinking lots of water. It also prevents headaches due to dehydration that can be ascribed to alcohol consumption.
4. Muscle friendly: water is the best solution for avoiding cramps due to dehydration. Drinking small amount of water at regular intervals during a workout increases stamina and boosts performance.
5. Negative calorie food: water which does not contain any calories actually uses some calories from the body to get absorbed thus causing a net calorie reduction from the body resulting in weight loss
6. Just like air: the chemical composition of water is H 2 0, which means that it contains 2 atoms of hydrogen and a single one of oxygen. Therefore, water provides us with oxygen making it very similar to the air.

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR “HOSPITAL”-ITY

Guest Article by: ROHINI CHAUHAN

 

Do we ever stop and smell the flowers? In the hum-drum of our daily lives, do we ever stop and wonder? Do we slow down to think about people who might have helped us in some small way during the day? Do we ever stop to say ‘Thank You’? Or have our lives become so mechanical that all the above mentioned thoughts do not have a place in our life…..life is a race and all we want to do is run!!

A medical check-up of my father landed the family in the hospital for some heart investigations. At such times, we stop running, our life pauses and all of a sudden our priorities change…..I’m sure most of us have experienced this at one time or the other, so it’ll be easy to relate to what I’m trying to convey here…..and that is that in the middle of all this anxiety and tension, there are people who are there who help us through this, with a smile on their face and a reassurance on their lips…..and they never even cross our minds even once!!

I am referring to the hundreds of people that are involved at every stage in any hospital, starting right from the person who greets you at the door of the hospital to the last person who sees you out and all those in-between…..each and every one of them are worth saluting to, not only for saving peoples’ lives and “doing their job”, but for doing so with dedication and sometimes even going that extra step forward.

When I reflect back on this experience now and so many more that me and my family have gone through, I want to thank each and every one of such people for “doing their jobs”…..the doctors who have a God-like status in your life at such moments; the guard who calls out your name to visit your kin in the recovery room after the procedure is over with such kindness in his eyes, as if he can sense the stress and anxiety you are undergoing at that point; the nursing staff who are ready to help you with such compassion and a big smile on their face that it makes you wonder where they get their strength and dedication to serve patients from; the food and beverage department staff who are willing to wait to reheat the patients’ food for the umpteenth time even after the allocated meal time is over in case the patient is not hungry; the admissions office staff, the counselors, the guards…..the list just doesn’t end!!

They are all ‘life-savers’ in their own way. They assist you at each and every step happily and add to your entire experience at such troubled times. How many of us have actually reflected on all what these people have done for us after we come back home, have appreciated their efforts, thanked them…..how many? Most of us are just grateful to the doctor who is the “real” life-saver for us, but today, when we are back home with my father all confident and ready to embrace life, I am remembering each and every person who I interacted with, all those who for me are the unseen heroes, and I thank them with all my heart for leaving an impression in my mind and heart…..that of their sense of duty that is blanketed under their actions of kindness, compassion and understanding.

Till now, I could never thank the doctors who have saved me and my family from some tough times enough. Nobody can even estimate the deep sense of admiration and respect that I have and will always have for them in my life…..But today, I also salute all the people of the “hospital”-ity industry who work towards saving lives, each day in their each little small way…..

Pause, Think and Express is all I would like to convey to you…..

It’ll just be a small act of humanity on our part.

A BIG SALUTE AND A SPECIAL THANK YOU FOR  ALL THESE UNSEEN HEROES!!

This article is brought to you by YogacaraShop.com – your source for special Yoga Apparel, yoga inspired clothing,comfort clothing clothing designed according to the Colors of the Chakras and the best trendy, high quality and comfortable  Fitness Apparel do visit YogacaraShop.com