Meditation has a different meaning for everyone. For some it serves the purpose of inner self-development. Many consider it to be the tool to get to enlightenment. And for others, it is perceived to be difficult and is only meant for those who are recluses. There are also those individuals out there who would love to meditate but find the concentration and focus aspect of it to be too difficult. 

I enjoy meditating and I do it primarily for the inner self-development and relaxation I get out of it. I have tried a few different types of meditation, but the one that works for me is Transcendental Meditation (TM). Transcendental Meditation (www.tm.org) is easy, effortless, and anyone can do it. There is no other technique like that out there. I have done guided meditations, and meditations that involve focusing, but I found that those meditations don’t provide the inner peace that I love and enjoy.

Meditation, especially Transcendental Meditation, has been scientifically shown to provide deeper relaxation, increased brain coherence, improved memory, increased creativity and clearer thinking, and it allows one to deal with stress in a more relaxed manner. Meditation is also found to decrease depression, anxiety, and blood pressure, as well as improve insomnia. 

I have been practicing TM for 4 years and I have noticed many benefits. Personally, I have found that since I began to meditate, I have had increased creativity, better ability to focus, more coherent thoughts, and I found that I am more efficient in all my activity. I also consider TM to be my way to ‘reset’ my physiology. 

Furthermore, when I put meditation, yoga, and Ayurveda together, I feel that I have the perfect tool to have perfect health. The knowledge of Ayurveda and yoga fit perfectly together and then having meditation adds the extra nudge that is needed for me to accomplish all that I desire. During my practice of TM, I find the inner silence with a completely calm and settled mind. With this silence and time with my self, I find that I am more in tune with the need’s of my body and therefore, I am better able to care for myself. 

One of the top recommendations in Ayurveda for a healthy life is to avoid the causative factors that cause the illness. For example, if pet dander makes you sick, then stay away from pets. If you can’t digest pizza, then don’t eat pizza. What everything breaks down to is using common sense to take care of yourself. All physiological processes should occur easily with no effort or pain involved.

Many physiological disorders occur due to the suppression of natural urges. Charak Samhita, the main text of Ayurveda, states, “One should not suppress the natural urges relating to urine, feces, semen, flatus, vomiting, sneezing, eructation, yawning, hunger, thirst, tears, sleep, and enhanced breathing due to exertion. Various types of disease occur by the suppression of these urges…” Some of these diseases include constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia, congestions, urinary tract infections, and so much more. 

Majority of the population suppresses the urge for a bowel movement because they simply do not have enough time. Suppression of a bowel movement can really damage and affect the entire digestive system. If you think about it, if you suppress to eliminate your bowels, you will “clog” up your entire system from the colon to the intestines. Often times, bad breath is due to either constipation or the suppression of the urge to eliminate your bowels. Just like the way a clogged sink doesn’t smell or look good, a blocked colon also does not look or smell good.

The suppression of the urge to urinate can lead to urinary tract infections, overactive bladders, and even kidney disorders. Suppression of the urge to sleep can lead to many sleep disorders such as insomnia and restlessness during sleep. Suppression of the urge to sneeze can cause respiratory allergies, congestion, and sinus problems because all the irritants that need to come out will remain in the passageways creating the irritation that will cause the symptoms. And the list continues. For every natural urge that you suppress, you will create more problems for yourself in the long run.

Our bodies are set up to eliminate toxins and regulate themselves to maintain balance. They are systematically set up to give us internal signals on when its time to drink water, when its time to urinate, when its time to eliminate bowels, when its time to sleep, when its time to sleep and eat, and so on. When these internal signals go off, we should listen to them and not ignore them. Prevent diseases from arising by not suppressing natural urges.

My experience with my clients is that most want to get better, but all they are willing to do is take a pill. Nobody wants to do anything more than take some drugs to get better. One of my health consults in India has headaches just about everyday. To help with her headaches, all she does is take painkillers. Her father is a doctor and they have run all sorts of tests to figure out why she has headaches so often. They could not figure out why and when we sat down for her consultation, I realized that the reason for her headaches was dehydration. She simply was not drinking enough water. When dehydration is the cause of her headaches, then how will a MRI report show that? How will a painkiller “fix” her problem? Yes, in order to take the pill, she must drink water, but at the same time, that is only one glass of water. For someone who is dehydrated, more than one glass will be necessary to hydrate the body and “quench that thirst.”

Medicine today has given the impression that only pills can help relieve your symptoms and that only pills can help you get better. The reality is that pills only make things worse. I had a health consult with a middle-aged man who had been taking sleeping pills for a couple decades now. He is dependent upon those pills to be able to sleep. The cause of his sleeplessness was never addressed…only his symptoms. His doctors did not consider his stress levels, his work and family situation, his bed, his diet, and what time he goes to bed. Instead of taking all those factors into consideration, they gave him a pill. The sleeping pills interfere with the natural functioning of the nervous system and therefore, damage the nervous system, including the brain.

Pills are not the solution to health problems. Pharmaceutical drugs only mask the symptoms giving you the impression that you are better, but the reality is that your body is still suffering. Yes, the non-pill approach may appear to be a longer process involving you to be much more alert about your health, but in the long run, the Ayurvedic approach will not only cure the symptoms, but it will heal your body. In Ayurveda, all illnesses are treated from the root cause. If you really want to get better and live a life free from suffering, then taking medications is not the solution. Be willing to try new, alternative approaches towards a better health. Believe it or not, but the Ayurvedic approach does work. You just have to be more active in regards to your health.

Yoga has become the popular way of exercise. Through the many diverse styles of yoga, you can get a full workout that includes cardio, flexibility, and strength training. There are many different styles of yoga, but the only authentic, true style of yoga is classical Hatha yoga. Although based upon classical Hatha yoga, other people have created all other yoga styles. For example, Bikram Yoga, is the style of yoga done in a heated room. Although they claim to have benefits, from the Ayurveda standpoint, Bikram Yoga can be very damaging to the health. Yes, sweating is a good way of releasing toxins from the body, but the excess heat is not good for the brain. Think about it, when you have a very high fever, what do doctors worry about the most…the brain frying. It is very important to keep the head cool at all times. With a heated room and doing Asanas at the same time, damage can occur to the brain and lead to other problems such as stroke, anger, and inability to think clearly.

Another style of yoga that is very popular is Iyenagar Yoga. Iyenagar yoga is most commonly known for using props. Again, in the original form of yoga, props are not used because props are not needed. Yoga means unifying and therefore the practice of Yoga is meant to unify the mind and the body. I once took an Iyenagar class and did not really like it. I felt as if more emphasis was used upon the usage of props rather than using my body. The only way to help the body is to fix it from inside out slowly and gradually, not through force or creating unnatural barriers.

The asanas, meditations, and breathing exercises that most yoga centers teach are often taught incorrectly and the fundamental principles are never shared or taught. Let’s take Pranayama for example. It doesn’t matter which side you start with. To do Pranayama, close off the right nostril with your fingers and take a deep inhalation through the left nostril. Then close the left side along with the right side and hold your breath. Then, open the right side and continue to hold for a few more seconds. Lastly, exhale all the air through the right side of the nostril and then inhale through the right side and so on. The most important part of Pranayama is the exhalation part. The reason is that exhalation allows for the removal of toxins. When you inhale, you bring fresh oxygen to the brain. Then when you exhale, you remove the carbon dioxide from the body and therefore, you clean out both the mind and lungs. Majority of those who practice yoga do not know that you are supposed to exhale more than you inhale when you do Pranayama.

Most Yoga classes are missing the fundamentals and explanations of why you do what kind of asana. The practice of Yoga is not meant to be difficult…it is meant to work the body and fix it. In order to avoid any kind of injury in the practice of yoga, it is important not to over do and push yourself to the extreme. For example, if you have never sat in lotus before and the muscles in the groin area are tight, then do not attempt to sit in lotus only because everybody else is doing it. Ask your yoga instructor on how to loosen the body first and prepare it to do the advanced asanas. Do not be afraid to ask questions and slow down if you need to. If you practice yoga correctly and have a qualified yoga instructor, then you are not likely to hurt yourself and will have maximum benefits. If you would like to find a qualified yoga instructor near you who teaches a specific kind of yoga, you can visit Yoga Alliance’s website at: http://yogaalliance.org/ . Here, you will find a list of qualified instructors.