MOTIVATION: SALUTING NETAJI SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE

                                                                                                         - MILAN K SINHA

“You give me blood, I will give you freedom”- said Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose during our freedom struggle. He was one of the great leaders of that period whose only aim was to achieve freedom from British rule at the earliest.

Born in a well-to-do family in Cuttack on 23^rd January, 1897, Subhas’s childhood was very eventful. His school education took place in Cuttack. He was brilliant in studies. He passed his matriculation examination in 1913 with very high marks. He then took admission in Presidency College, Calcutta where he studied for a brief period. He did his B.A in 1918 with philosophy as his main subject from Scottish Church College, Calcutta. During his college days he used to read passionately the teachings of Sri Ramkrishna Paramhans and his great disciple Swami Vivekananda. This had a definite bearing on this evolving thought process during that very turbulent time in Indian history.

In order to fulfil the desire of his advocate father, young Subhas sailed to England in 1919 for further studies and also to appear in ICS (Indian Civil Service) examination. He got through ICS examination with flying colours by securing fourth position. Notwithstanding his selection in ICS, he was not happy to serve the British Government due to his strong sense of opposition to oppressive British rule in India. Consequently, he resigned from ICS and came back to his motherland in April, 1921. He was the first Indian to leave ICS.

Young Subhas was full of enthusiasm, energy and knowledge. He started participating in activities of freedom movement actively. Mahatma Gandhi was the foremost leader of Indian National Congress and was at the centre of freedom movement. Subhas, however was ideologically closer to the tallest leader of Congress in Bengal, Chittaranjan Das who was well-known for his aggressive nationalism. In 1923, he was elected as the President of All India Youth Congress, the youth wing of Congress party. He was the editor of ‘Forward’- a newspaper started by Chittaranjan Das. In 1924 he served as CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) when Das was its mayor. Interestingly, Subhas also served as mayor of CMC in the year 1930.

For the British Government in India, Subhas was one of the main targets as he was becoming very popular among all sections of society, mainly youth who wanted freedom of the motherland as soon as possible. Consequently, he was arrested by the British administration more than ten times - first in 1925. He was sent to ‘Mandalay jail’ in Burma where he fell sick and was released when his condition became very serious.

The differences of Subhas with Gandhi and his close associates on ways and means to achieve independence were coming to the fore. Interestingly, at that point of time, Gandhi faction was in favour of Dominion status for India within the British rule, whereas Subhas and associates wanted complete self-rule.

Subhas Chandra Bose was elected President of Indian National Congress for two successive terms despite open opposition of Gandhi camp. It is interesting to know that at the time when he was contesting for his second term in 1939, he was not well and hence brought to the convention centre on a stretcher. Ironically, despite his election as President of Congress Party, he was not getting support in CWC (Congress Working Committee) meetings. Finally, Subhas was forced to resign by the Gandhi camp soon after. He then formed “All India Forward Bloc”-a new faction within Congress Party to voice his opinion and continue his struggle for freedom.

He travelled widely both in India and Europe. He used to have very extensive interaction with opinion makers, leaders and intellectuals during these visits. In one such visit to Germany in 1934, he met with Emilie Schenkl, the daughter of an Austrian in Berlin whom Subhas married in 1937.

The international power scene was also changing fast. World War-II erupted in 1939. Indians were sent to fight the war from British side. Thousands of countrymen were dying on the war front. Subhas was feeling agitated.

In 1941 he was put under house arrest in Calcutta, but this time Subhas escaped and travelled in the guise of a Pathan through Peshawar, Afganistan, Soviet Union etc. to finally reach Germany with great difficulty. World War–II was in full operation and countries like Germany and Japan extended their cooperation to Subhas for fighting the main common enemy country, Britain. He started his radio broadcast on issues related to Indian Freedom Struggle from Radio Berlin on a regular basis.

Subhas took over the charge of Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) from Ras Bihari Bose in 1943. He gave a new dimension to its overall functioning by his dynamic and military leadership to make it a real challenge for British rule in India thereafter. He formed a separate ladies wing in INA, the “Rani of Jhansi Regiment” named after the great freedom fighter “Rani Lakshmi Bai” of Jhansi. He was the supreme commander of INA - a committed team of over forty thousand soldiers. Subhas used to inspire and motivate his IMA team by saying, “When we stand, the Azad Hind Fauz has to be like a wall of granite; when we march, the Azad Hind Fauz has to be like a steam roller.”  

He also formed a provisional government named “Azad Hind Government” which was recognised by a number of countries including Germany, Japan and Italy. He coined slogans like “Jai Hind” and “Dilli Chalo” which became very popular among Indian masses.  From that time the countrymen started calling him affectionately and respectfully by the name “Netaji”.

His reported unfortunate death on 18^th August, 1945 in a plane crash in Taiwan is still a mystery due to several reasons.

Undeniably, Netaji will continue to be remembered as an exceptional soldier and leader of Indian Freedom Struggle.

             Will meet again with Open Mind. All The Best. 

HEALTH MOTIVATION : HOW DO OUR CHILDREN KNOW ABOUT BASIC HEALTH CARE?

                                                                                            - MILAN K SINHA

It is all knowing that healthy life is the foundation of a happy life. It is also said that children are the future of any society and the country. Data shows that school children constitute 20% of our population. That is more than 250 million. As such, it is absolutely necessary to educate our children properly and also keep them healthy. Then only they can really face the challenges of life well, shoulder the responsibilities like a responsible citizen of the country and also live happily.

There is no denying the fact that more than 90% of our population including children primarily need health care and not medical care as they suffer from deficiency of protein, minerals, vitamins etc. which can be taken care of with minimum basic knowledge of how to live healthy despite some constraints. Even minor indisposition or ailments due to cough, cold, indigestion etc. can be cured by adopting well established traditional methods of health care.

Interestingly, our country has been very rich in traditional health as well as medical practices which are thousands of years old. But the moot question is why it is not in practice in most of our families, particularly those living in cities.

In fact, besides the negative social impact of market driven economy, the gradual collapse of joint family system together with fast adoption of nuclear family system due to multiple of socio-economic reasons has been the major cause in this regard. Truly speaking, the culture of natural transfer of health inputs from grandfather, grandmother, uncle, aunt and the likes to the younger generation is no more in vogue in growing number of families. The culture of fast and easy life has also been catching up fast. Undeniably, unregulated heavy and recurrent doses of advertisement of manufactured health products and drugs do play a defining adverse impact. Obviously, the children are the worst sufferer in the family. This affects their impressionable mind badly as well.

The resultant effect is seen to be believed if we visit any hospital or nursing home or doctor’s clinic in any part of the country. The crowd there is increasing with every passing day- majority of them for treatment of normal health issues; self-curing minor ailments. 

To say in few words, we are required to initiate reversal of this trend through “Awareness-Motivation Route” and try consistently for re-establishing our age old health knowledge and tradition by affirming our faith and commitment. Naturally, this process might take some time, but would definitely be accepted by the common people as the noble goal is to make the large disadvantaged population of the country fairly self-reliant as far as healthy living as well as treatment of normal indisposition is concerned.  

It hardly needs more emphasis that to set in motion this important task effectively as per the set goal, the role of educational institutions and social organisations is going to be very vital.

To start with, a well-thought of and well-planned awareness and motivation campaign ought to be undertaken for students from class VII to class XII in a slow but steady and systematic manner. The campaign would focus on ways to enhance the existing knowledge about basic health care together with time tested ways of taking care of minor ailments by making them aware of effective methods of traditional health care having sound scientific base. The elders in the family or in neighbourhood may be impressed to encourage the children in their own way to follow and accept the remedial methods.  Involving some teachers from each school for taking this campaign forward can catalyse the whole operation. Similarly, some active members of pensioners’ association in the area can be requested to join hands for further value addition in this regard.

These simple initiatives, to begin with, would not only enrich the knowledge base of the children regarding various vital aspects of leading a healthy life but also provide them a golden opportunity to know about the country’s glorious past, its rich culture and above all nature’s great positive role in everyone’s life.  In addition, this would give them an opportunity to interact and associate with the elders in the family, which is bound to help them in many ways. Stronger emotional and cultural bondage in the family and neighbourhood would be a big bonus. The elders would, in turn have the opportunity to revisit their health related knowledge, update the same and get benefitted immensely in the process. On the whole, this exercise would result in a healthy and happy family and social situation - a win-win position for all.

Finally, before signing off, let us just give a thought to what John Wesley says in these lines : “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

              Will meet again with Open Mind. All The Best. 

WELLNESS POINT: INVESTMENT IN HEALTH By MINDFUL EATING

                                                                              - MILAN K SINHA

There is no denying the fact that every living being including the human being needs food to eat and survive. We also know that except human beings all other living creatures on this earth are in need of limited variety of eatables. We, in fact, can’t live without a large variety of food items, more for satisfying our tongue than for survival and for maintaining a better health. Now the question arises: do we live to eat or eat to live? Undoubtedly, the simple and most logical answer is, we must eat to live. If it is so, the next question must be asked and that is, what should be our diet in order to live well and healthy.

Taking healthy food does mean eating a variety of foods that contain nutrients we need to maintain our health and keep us going. These nutrients include protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, minerals and water. In other words, the crucial part of healthy eating is nothing but having a balanced diet. And a balanced diet - or a good diet - means consuming eatables from different food groups in the right quantities, because one single food group cannot provide everything average healthy human needs. Nutritionists opine that there are five main food groups - whole grains, fruits, vegetables, milk and dairy products, fat and sugar. Eating seasonal fruits and vegetables in reasonable quantity regularly has added advantage.

That’s why Bettenny Frankel says, “Your diet is a bank account. Good food choices are good investments.” To put it differently, it can be said that we don’t have to eat less, we have to eat right instead.

Truly speaking, healthy eating is a way of life, which everyone should follow and practice in order to remain fit and fine. Enjoy what Brooke Griffin has to say in this regard, “The healthier you are, the better you will perform. Value your health and fitness. There is always time to make time.”

Ok, fine. But is that all? No, besides the quality and quantity of what we eat throughout the day, it is equally important to keep in mind when to eat our food and how much. And more importantly, what is the sequence of taking various food items. Putting it briefly, our day should start with highly nutritious items in good quantity. There is an age old saying which goes like this: take the breakfast like a king or a queen, take the lunch like a prince or a princess and take the dinner like a pauper or a beggar. The message is quite loud and clear and needs no elaboration.

It has been discovered that even factors such as how you eat your food can influence how many calories get into your system. The longer you chew your food, the more calories the body retains.

World Health Organisation (WHO) has these recommendations:

• We should aim for an energy balance and a healthy bodyweight.
• We should limit our energy consumption from total fats. We should also aim for more unsaturated fats and less saturated fats.
• We should up our consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts.
• We should consume as little simple sugars are possible. 
• As well as making sure our salt is iodized, we should also limit our consumption of salt/sodium.

The number of calories we need from the food we eat daily can depend on several factors like our age, size, height, sex etc. For example, a physically active 6feet man of 25 years will require more calories than a 5feet man aged 50 years. To say, an active older man will require fewer calories than an active young man.

One more thing is to be kept in mind. We should avoid junk and processed food as it contains less nutrition, yet more quantity of fat, sugar and salt. In today’s fast life, however, a large section of city dwellers fall prey to eating highly spicy, oily and sugary items often and that too in a hurried manner and in a state of stress which is bound to make them indisposed frequently. Actually, “one pill for every ill” – as is becoming the habit, we notice among many of our friends and relatives these days, is an undesirable condition. On the contrary, it’s far better, if our daily food compensates the requirement of medicine, if at all we’re about to fall sick.

Before signing off tonight, it is interesting to find what Thomas Alva Edison said in this regard long back, “The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest the patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”

As always, I'm keen to know what do you think on this subject. Hence, request you to post comments to share your views and experiences.

                Will meet again with Open Mind. All The Best.

WHY WE NEED TO BE AFRAID OF OBESITY?

                                                              - MILAN K SINHA, Motivational Speaker...

Obesity is becoming a big health issue for countries like India despite the fact that millions of people are sleeping hungry at night; millions of infants are grossly under-nourished and under-weight. According to a recent health report, third highest number of obese and overweight people lives in India. 11% adolescent and 20% adults are suffering from obesity. Women are double in number than men in our country on this count.

Obesity among children has equally been a serious cause of concern. Kirsten Gillibrand puts it in these words, “Obesity puts our children at risk of developing serious diseases - such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and depression. It keeps our children from performing their best at school.”

The probability of obese children becoming an obese adult is undoubtedly high as the childhood eating and living habits do continue in later years in most of the cases. More than one medical study vindicates this fact.

Interestingly, it is all knowing that obesity is directly related to presence of excess fat in the body and it often results from consumption of carbohydrate and fat in excess of what is required for keeping the body healthy and going. In other words, taking more calories than normally required and also failing to burn excess calories by exercise and other daily physical activities gradually make us over-weight.

Before moving forward to discuss this issue which is spreading like an epidemic in Indian society, it is pertinent to know at the outset what the obesity is all about.

Simply speaking, if a person’s BMI (Body Mass Index) is 25% or more, the person is termed as obese. To explain it further, people are generally considered obese when their Body Mass Index (BMI), a measurement obtained by dividing a person's weight in kilogram by the square of the person's height in meter, is more than 25 kg/ m2. In other words, if a person is 1.83 meter (6 feet) in height and less than 84 kg in weight, he is not over-weight or the person is within the standard BMI range.

Needless to emphasise that an overweight person is more prone to falling prey to many health problems such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, joint pain, respiratory ailments, sleep and stress related problems - to name a few. Besides these avoidable diseases, the obese persons are generally found to have low self-esteem, feeling of social isolation, emotional weakness etc. It is also found that obese persons are finding it difficult to enjoy their sex life as well as conjugal life well for more than one reason. It affects their domestic harmony significantly. Finally, this leads to separation and divorce in a number of cases.

Conversely, remaining physically active, slim and strong has several health benefits - the blood circulates more efficiently, the fluid level in the body is easily managed, chances of developing any major health problem including the ones enumerated here-in-above is comparatively lesser. The person is able to enjoy life more and is also better placed to enhance his productivity at work place.

Interestingly, the problem of obesity is growing at a rapid pace mainly among the people who are not poor but are inadequately health conscious.

Some of the major causes of being obese or overweight are as under:

• Sedentary lifestyle
• Physical inactivity
• Bad dietary habit. Regularly eating fast food/junk food
• Regular consumption of more oily/salty/sugary items even at home
• Regular unregulated consumption of alcohol and soft drink
• Stressful life in home and/or at workplace
• Hormone imbalance, particularly in case of women
• Genetic reasons in some cases

The question now is how to address this growing health problem on a sustainable basis (without formal medical intervention including surgery) in countries like India?

Yes, we can take care of this issue by adopting two separate prescriptions – first for those who are already obese and second for those who are very likely to be obese. Undeniably, for both the group of people, “Awareness is half the solution” principle must be followed in all possible manners.

To say, awareness campaigns to be undertaken in a focused manner in schools, colleges, corporate entities, training institutes, coaching centres etc. The deliberation and discussion should be centred on advantages of healthy eating, regular exercise, stress management, natural ways for maintaining/controlling weight.

Notwithstanding the fact that for some years now the concept of imposing “Fat Tax” on junk food has been a reality in countries like Hungary and Denmark, it is quite interesting to know that Japan was the first country to levy “Fat Tax” to highlight the campaign against obesity. In India, the state of Kerala recently introduced 14.5% “Fat Tax” on Pizza, Burger and other junk food to be served in restaurants. It is not without reason as Kerala comes second in having the highest percentage of obese people after Punjab.

For over-weight persons, it is absolutely necessary to review their current lifestyle to know exactly well, where to effect correction and how to do it in a sustainable basis so that weight loss takes place gradually without any major setback in their energy level and professional productivity. For this to happen reasonably well, it is better to follow these recommendations:

• Start eating fewer calories by increasing green vegetables and fruits intake. Avoid non-vegetarian spicy food items, particularly at night.
• Stop taking junk, processed and preserved food. Eating home-made food is always better.
• Drastically cut down on sugary drinks and beverages.
• Increase level of burn out significantly by physical exercises/activities.
• Take your breakfast well. Lunch should be lighter and dinner the lightest.
• Sleep early in the night and get up early in the morning.
• Drink water adequately and properly. Drinking lukewarm water is better.
• Minimise, if you can’t stop, consumption of alcohol.
• Practice yoga and meditation sincerely on regular basis.

For those, who are very likely to be obese or those who want to remain slim and strong for longer time, it is necessary to adopt a lifestyle where you can eat healthy, sleep well and also engage yourself in certain physical exercise/activities for minimum 30-40 minutes at least five days a week. Avoiding junk food, sugary drinks and consumption of alcohol can’t be overstressed. Remaining calm, cool and happy by managing your stress can make you avoid being obese. Yes, shunning excessive dependence on modern gadgets like smart phone, laptop etc. helps in many ways.

Before signing off, here is one point of caution for over-enthusiasts, particularly students and young professionals. Never ever jump to any conclusion and switch over to a new routine without giving a serious thought to the whole issue, more so if you are undergoing some medical treatment. Have thorough consultation with your doctor on the subject.

To say the least, if we become genuinely health conscious and start living our life accordingly, we need not be afraid of obesity.

I'm keen to know what you think on this important subject. Hence, I request you to share your views/feedback on the matter.          

# Click here to enjoy my Blog in Hindi, "Chalte, Chalte" (चलते, चलते)

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA – A GREAT SPIRITUAL LEADER AND SOCIAL REFORMER

                                                      - MILAN K SINHA, Motivational Speaker...

“All power is within you. You can do anything and everything. Believe in that” – said Swami Vivekananda, the great spiritual leader and social reformer. It is interesting to know what Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose wrote about Swami ji, “He harmonized the East and the West, Religion and Science, Past and Present. And that is why he is great. Our countrymen have gained unprecedented Self-respect, Self-reliance and Self-assertion from his teachings.” 

Narendra Nath Datta or Naren, as Swami Vivekananda was known before finally resolving to live like a true monk in the year 1886, was born in erstwhile Calcutta on 12th January, 1863 in a well-to-do family. His life was very eventful. He was intelligent, meritorious, strong, sensitive and curious. Besides studies, Naren was very good in sports and music.  He graduated from Calcutta University and was successful in acquiring good understanding of various subjects including History and Philosophy. He lost his father at the age of 21.

From his early childhood, he had spiritual inclination. As such, he started practising yoga and meditation since his school days. Later on, he associated himself with Brahmo Samaj Movement for a brief period. In November, 1881 he came in contact with his spiritual Guru, Sri Ramkrishna in Dakshineswar near Calcutta. Naren became his true disciple and finally become a monk. Sri Ramkrishna passed away in August, 1886.

Swami Vivekananda started his journey to see and know the real Bharat as a wandering monk in 1988 and travelled extensively for almost five years in different parts of the country thereby having first-hand experience of the ground realities prevailing in British ruled India. He reached Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) and sat in deep meditation on Rock Island at Kanyakumari from 25th to 27th December, 1892. This place is now well-known as Vivekananda Rock Memorial.  

In 1893, he went to America and addressed the delegates in the “Word’s Parliament of Religions” in Chicago. His address was historic and was widely acclaimed.

Swami Vivekananda founded “Ramkrishna Mission” in May, 1897 and also got a big plot afterwards in Belur on the banks of Ganga near Calcutta, now famous as “Belur Math”.

His thoughts were based primarily on his first hand experiences of life and hence extremely inspiring for all strata of people across the world. Let us take this opportunity to enjoy his views on certain important subjects:

Motherland:

Our sacred motherland is a land of religion and philosophy- the birthplace of spiritual giants- the land of renunciation, where and where alone, from the most ancient to the most modern times, there has been the highest ideal of life open to man. This is the motherland of philosophy, of spirituality, and of ethics, of sweetness, gentleness, and love. These still exist, and my experience of the world leads me to stand on firm ground, and make the bold statement that India is still the first and foremost of all the nations of the world in these respects. …. …. Study the history of the whole world, and you will see that every high ideal you meet with anywhere had its origin in India. … …

Education:

Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain and runs riot there, undigested all your life. We must have life-building, man-making, character-making, assimilation of ideas. ... … The real education is that which enables one to stand on his legs. …. …. The education which does not help the common mass of people to equip themselves for the struggle for life, which does not bring out strength of character, a spirit of philanthropy, and the courage of a lion - is it worth the name?... …

Youth:

My faith is in the younger generation, the modern generation, out of them will come my workers. They will work out the whole problem, like lions. ….  …. The great thing is to have faith in oneself, even before faith in God. The whole world has been made by the energy of man, by the power of enthusiasm, by the power of faith. … … Arise, awake and stop not till the desired end is reached. …. … Our duty is to encourage everyone in his struggle to live up to his own highest ideal, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the truth.…

Swami Vivekananda left this world on 4th July, 1902 at the age of just 39 years. Notwithstanding, he left the most indelible mark on the hearts and minds of millions of people both in India and abroad both by his thoughts and deeds. 

(hellomilansinha@gmail.com)

                Will meet again with Open Mind. All The Best. 

# Published in PatnaDaily.com on the occasion of Swamiji's Birth Anniversary

MOTIVATION : IMPACT OF REGULAR EXERCISE ON OUR HEALTH

                                                         - Milan K Sinha

Various studies have shown conclusively that physical inactivity leads to many health problems. The sedentary lifestyle of growing number of people of all strata of society including large number of white collar employees across industries and businesses is a serious cause of concern. The so-called modern lifestyle actually makes the life of several million Indians devoid of even minimum amount of physical activity absolutely necessary to keep this unique machine called human body going. The growing dependence on technology in some way or the other has also been contributing its share to make a crippling effect on the lives of large population of our youth.

A recent medical study has revealed that sitting for longer hours in office or home before the Computer or TV or with laptop or engaged with your smart phone or such electronic gadgets can definitely raise the chances of all types of major diseases and then even 30 minutes of exercise every day may not be sufficient. As such, longer duration of daily exercise would be necessary to keep you fit. 

To be more precise, physical inactivity or lack of physical exercise is known to affect badly our muscles, heart, lungs, kidney, bones, joints, brain and digestive system which lead finally to indisposition of some kind or the other in quicker intervals. Besides weakening the immune system of our body significantly, it impacts our monthly budget to a reasonable extent as we are forced to incur avoidable expenses towards doctor’s fee, medicine and at times hospitalisation as well.

It is interesting to know that moderate to intense exercise including simple brisk walking for some time also acts as a mood booster and also a de-stressing tool.

So, what should one do to keep the body healthy and going?

Starting the day with a few minutes of warm up session is widely recommended by health experts. It is necessary for loosening your muscles as they become stiff while resting for couple of hours in the night. This is needed to be rightly ready for intense exercise or work-out. If for any reason, you are not going out for a walk, you may very well do spot running and other free hand exercises for a few minutes, may be ten to fifteen  minutes. This should be done on an empty stomach preferably during morning hours.

It is needless to emphasise that even this kind of simple routine exercise confers many benefits like better exercise tolerance, lower body weight, lower blood pressure, better control of blood sugar, lowered cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. It also contributes significantly towards reduced stroke risk, reduced risk of cancer of all types, lesser incidence of viral infections and lowered risk of depression. Not only this, regular dose of physical work out and exercise in many ways keeps our physique in right shape and also ensures a better sleep in the night.

Hence, the standard medical advice has been to recommend exercise duration ranging from 20-40 minutes a day, if not possible for all the days of the week, for at least four to five days in a week. Undoubtedly, if done daily, it is still better. Studies have shown that benefits of lowered blood pressure due to exercise disappears if one stops the activity for more than two weeks. It is because exercise helps decrease the level of LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein, commonly known as bad cholesterol) and enhance the level of HDL (High Density Lipoprotein, also known as good cholesterol) in our blood.
                Will meet again with Open Mind. All The Best. 

# Published in Patna Daily.com

WELLNESS POINT: YOUNG PROFESSIONALS, STRESS AND YOGA

                                                              - MILAN K. SINHA

Generally speaking, the young professionals, whether they are in jobs or managing their own business or industry, are experiencing lots of stress day in and day out in varying degrees across the globe. Undoubtedly, the competition is huge and cut–throat.  Consequently, they often get tired and indisposed too rather more frequently, which badly affect their self–confidence, general health/well-being and productivity at their work place. It also impacts their family life adversely.

In fact, medical experts have been noticing an abnormal increase in the number of young professionals falling prey to psychosomatic ailments which involve both our body and mind. In majority of cases, it is the fall out of perpetual stress and tension. Ultimately, the person starts suffering from medical disorders such as headache, migraine, ulcer, hypertension, diabetes etc. This is not a happy situation for any individual and his or her family. The question is how to cope up with this situation on an on-going basis without visiting a doctor and without taking medicine on every such occasion?

The simple and very effective solution is practicing ‘Yoga’ sincerely and regularly.

In an address given at Gandhi memorial College, Bhopal on 28th February, 1979 Swami Satyananda Saraswati, the founder of world famous “Bihar School of Yoga” said, ‘…Today, the thinking people, who have eyes to see and who are able to understand the secrets of yoga with an open mind, have come to the conclusion that the science of yoga has a definite, clear and indisputable solution for the difficulties of man. The science of yoga covers a great range of human problems. It not only solves the problems of spiritual life, but it can also help to ease the problems of our day to day illnesses. The science of Yogasanas, Pranayama, Mudras and Bandhas, including Hatha Yoga - the science of physiological balance and physical purification- has brought to us the knowledge that diseases can be relieved by the practice of yoga.’

  

To say in plain words, through regular practice of yoga, preferably in the early morning hours in a relatively open space, we gradually learn to look inside, explore our latent potential, achieve higher level of mindfulness in our every action and thereby gain control over our body and mind. In reality, besides achieving a better physical fitness level, we do improve our power of concentration and the capacity to remain calm and quiet even in moments of distress and indisposition. As a result, we become far more capable to handle and manage any hardship we normally confront in the journey of our life and become more productive and satisfied most of the time.

So, the simple prescription is to spare minimum 30 minutes out of 1440 minutes in a day to practice yoga every morning to manage your stress significantly and hence keep yourself healthier and happier now and always.

Finally before signing off, let us enjoy the motivating lines of Swami Vivekananda, ‘All power is within you. You can do anything and everything. Believe in that.’  

                                           

                                                                            

            Will meet again with Open Mind. All The Best.

# Published in Patna Daily.com dated 22.06.2016