Nine Secrets Of A Long Life: Anti-Stress
Living Habits
By Dada Dharmavedananda
Everyone wants to live a long and happy life, but not everyone is successful
in this pursuit. In case you have been wondering what you have to do in
order to be both healthy and happy, I would like to share with you some tips
for living a long, healthy and meaningful life.
1. Dont eat unless you are hungry
If you eat when you are not hungry you risk getting constipation and
indigestion. Fermented and undigested food poisons the blood, weakening the
organs and makes you susceptible to any of thousands of various acute and
chronic diseases. To properly eliminate wastes, your digestive system should
be rested by sufficient gaps between meals.
Try to find your natural rhythm and listen to what your body tells you.
Overeating is also the cause of many illnesses. The yogis advise you to
think of your stomach as having four parts, of which one part is still empty
when you finish eating.
2. Sleep when you are tired
This means that you should go to bed when your body tells you, and not
continue to lie around after you've woken up. As far as possible, conform to
your natural rhythms. Sleeping during the day and staying awake at night
when you are tired is said to be one of the causes of cancer.
3. Get out of bed before sunrise
Each day has a rhythm - like a wave. If you get up too late, you miss the
wave and spend the rest of the day struggling to keep up. If you get up
early, the wave is behind you, and carries you through the day. Some hours
of sleep before midnight are said to be twice as valuable as sleep after
midnight. Once you are habituated, the dawn hours are the best for
meditation and personal development.
4. Take a half-bath or shower before meditation, food and sleep
Water has tremendous therapeutic value. By doing a half-bath (splashing cool
water on all the limbs plus the face and neck) before meditation, eating and
sleeping your body and mind become refreshed and relaxed. Yours activities
will be performed at their optimum level, deriving maximum benefit. As far
as possible, take a refreshing complete bath at least twice a day, certainly
at least once a day. Water temperature should not exceed body temperature.
5. Practice meditation and yoga regularly
Regular meditation and yoga tune the body and mind so that they waste much
less energy. This means your body and mind will last longer because the
allotted amount of energy will carry you further. It is said by some that
each person has a fixed number of breaths to their life. When you slow down
the breathing during yogic practices, you extends the duration your life.
6. Eat raw food and yoghurt
Life depends upon on "Prana" or "Vital Energy". Raw fresh food is full of
life-giving, vital energy (zing!!) and this is more important than the
nutrients in food. Enzymes enabling perfect digestion are present in raw
fruits and veggies, but are lost during cooking. And raw food contains all
of its fiber undiminished by cooking , which is so important for maintaining
regularity in bowel movements, which should be as many as the number of
meals you eat. Yoghurt is an easily digestible complete protein which
contains bacteria that aids digestion. Milk products are also good for
mental development.
7. Fast at regular intervals
During fasting, the body is not burdened with absorbing and metabolizing
nutrition. As your digestive system rests, it shifts into healing and
cleansing mode. Thus, during fasting, toxic dead and diseased cells are
swept out - a sort of house-cleaning process, which is fundamental for
achieving and maintaining good health. Fasting is the best and quickest
means to cure most diseases.
Fasting also purifies the mind. When you are not distracted by food, your
mind naturally turns inward, creating a good environment for contemplation
and spiritual thoughts. At the same time, it overcomes guilty thinking,
clearing your conscience and giving you a fresh start.
If you fast once a week or at least once every two weeks you will be able to
get many benefits without weakening your body or disrupting your daily life.
Care should be paid to eating, light, easily digestible and juicy food
before and after fasting.
8. Engage yourself in physical labor or exercise
Regular exercise strengthens bones, muscles, organs and joints. Your
lymphatic system is operated by motion. Inter-cellular fluid also depends on
motion to enable it to channel nutrition and waste materials to-and-from
cells. Without adequate exercise the body degenerates. As long as we have a
body, it needs to be regularly worked and exercised, even bodies of the
elderly. A certain amount of physical work is good for the mind also,
releasing built up tensions, maintaining a harmonious link with body and
environment, and giving a break to the overworked mind.
9. Drink enough water
Natural-therapy does not speak of needing merely eight glasses daily. Rather
it specifies that everyone needs at least three to four liters (12 to 16
glasses) daily. Sick people need four to five liters. Those with skin
trouble need even more. But you should not drink too much at a time, except
in the very early morning on an empty stomach. And you should drink water
between meals, not while you eat.
There you have it, nine steps that will help you to live a long, healthy and
happy life.
About the author
Dada Dharmavedananda has been teaching yoga and natural therapy for nearly
40 years in over 50 countries. He is the founder of the Ananda Marga
Wellness Center, which offers comprehensive in-patient naturopathic
treatment. Located in Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines it is the only
affordable such facility in Southeast Asia. Telephone: +63(32)3469664.
Mobile: +63(927)3155112. Website www.AMwellness.org or write
info@AMwellness.org
