Ph Factor

Check this out. When you complain, nag, envy, get fearful, revengeful or overworked, you are not just aggravating your nervous system but al...

Check this out. When you complain, nag, envy, get fearful, revengeful or overworked, you are not just aggravating your nervous system but also inducing your body to produce more acid. These ‘‘acid-forming habits’’ further escalate your stress levels.

I like to call it the acid test. The more stressed out you get, the more acidic your system gets and the more relaxed you are, the more alkaline your system. How about some ‘‘alkaline-forming habits’’ like breathing deeply, being happy, laughing, doing yoga, sleeping, loving and being loved? ‘‘Paani peejiye aur shaant ho jayiye,’’ say naturopath and yoga experts Ashwini and Poonam Sharma, before they start sharing their relaxation secrets with me.

Food Rx
The moment you feel your stress levels rising, try drinking doodhi or lauki juice, advise the naturopath couple. It can be made in the mixer-grinder (add some nimbu juice to make it delicious). Eating whole foods such as veggies, fruits, grains and nuts is highly recommended because they balance blood sugar and take the demand off your adrenal glands, which get overworked during stress. Oats porridge, wheat daliya and veggies such as tinda, tori and dudhi go a long way in making your system alkaline. So does drinking plenty of water, eating gulkand, soaked badam and anjeer. Foods that keep your body in an acidic state (sugary products, canned foods, refined flour, coffee, tea, alcohol) should be avoided.

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Yoga Rx
‘‘In particular, we recommend the Shavasana or the corpse pose, the Balasana or lying down like a baby on your side with one leg bent and the Makarsana or lying on your stomach with arms crossed in front of you,’’ says Ashwini Sharma. Do remember to sit in Vajrasana after a meal, fold your legs below you and take deep breaths and watch the difference it makes to your digestion and state of relaxation.

Breathing Rx
When you are tense your breathing is shallow, and it gets deeper when you are relaxed. So if you slow down your breathing you will be able to affect your mind-state too. Moreover, shallow breathing creates an acid environment in the body. Other than simple deep breathing, there are specific pranayams that are relaxing and cooling. Like the shitali, shitkari, brahmari and others. These should be learnt from an expert and practised regularly.

Meditation Rx
Dr Herbert Benson, professor at Harvard Medical School, pioneered meditation in the West when he began studying yogis and meditators. He found that meditation clears your mind; decreases muscle tension; lowers blood pressure, temperature and metabolic rates and puts your system in an alkaline state. This reinforces your relaxation and so breaks the vicious acidic cycle.

Ashwini and Poonam Sharma, 15/283 Lodhi Colony, New Delhi. Phone 09810209557

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