How to Avoid Visits to Corporate Hospitals

1. How to Avoid Visits to Corporate Hospitals Dr. Shrikant Bhave

2. Grim Reality • Health care is one of the largest industries world over. • People have become very sensitive to health issues, some of them being imaginary and a very large proportion of people suffer from stress induced illnesses. • Medical education is excessively expensive world over and in India. • It calls for excessive investments and return on investments starts only in midthirtees of the doctors. • Health awareness (and consciousness) has increased many fold in last 15 -20 years and thus people do not mind much about medical expenses. • Very large number of medical insurance schemes, annual check-ups in corporate hospitals etc actually promote medical business. • This has given rise to several unethical practices. • Medical profession has thus become a major money spinner.

3. A Few of The Most Common Diseases in Working Level People in Modern Times • Hypertension/Diabetes. • Obesity. • Hyperlipidemia (High Cholesterol). • Hyperacidity. • Constipation & Irritable Bowel Syndrome. • Hypo & Hyperthyroidism. • Cancers. • Ischemic Heart Disease. • Arthritis. • Shoulder & Spine Problems. • Insomnia And Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Etc.

4. Causes of Diseases – Allopathy View • Diseases occur due to infections, allergies, nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, enzyme deficiencies, hereditary factors, carcinogens, stresses etc. • Allopathy believes that above causes can be eliminated using modern drugs and high technology surgical procedures. • Majority of present day health disorders usually require the patient to be on life time drug support and continue to bear their side effects. • The order of the present day medical treatment is regular physical check-up, pathological tests, CT scans, ECG etc and switching over to newly developed drugs, dietary supplements etc. • Allopathy is the only life saving treatment in emergency situations and one should not hesitate trying it once diagnosis is confirmed. • One may however adopt such a lifestyle that will ensure that hospital visits are rarely required. • The aim of this presentation is to describe suitable simple changes in life style without sacrificing the comforts that are now easily available in the modern age.

5. Commonly Observed (and Conveniently Neglected) Phenomenon • There is a close link between long term fast breathing (hyperventilation) and multiple diseases, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, epilepsy. Hyperventilating people breathe large amount of oxygen (over oxygenation). • There are some people who do very shallow breathing (hypoventilation). They do not breathe enough oxygen during their breathing. Non-availability of enough O2 seriously affects cellular processes causing multiple diseases. • The hyperventilation increases the loss of carbon dioxide to atmosphere in the exhalation part of our breathing. We in our blood stream require ~7% CO2 (in the form of bicarbonate/carbonic). • Both hyper and hypoventilation are highly detrimental to health. These have their origin in our state of mind. • The human organism, in good health, requires a carbon dioxide level in blood such that pH value of blood is in the range of 7.35 -7.45. • A very brief description of human respiratory system is given in forthcoming slides. • It is very important to understand this as state of our health depends upon the way we breathe.

6. SKB Pathway of Air in Breathing • Nasal cavities or oral cavity • Pharynx • Trachea • Primary bronchi • Secondary bronchi • Bronchiols • Tertiary bronchi • Alveoli ( site of gas exchange) breath This air is responsible for oxygen metabolism in lung.

7. PATH WAY OF AIR

8. ALVEOLI THERE ARE ABOUT 300 MILLION ALVEOLI IN THE LUNG STRUCTURE. TOTAL SURFACE AREA IS OF THE ORDER OF 75-100 SQUARE METERS. EXCHANGE OF O2 & CO2 WITH BLOOD TAKES PLACE AT ALVEOLI BY DIFFUSION.

9. O2 diffuses to blood from alveoli and CO2 from blood diffuses to alveoli. • The diffusion is very efficient because alveoli and capillaries have very thin walls. • Diffusion occurs because of pressure difference. Higher the pressure difference, larger will be O2 flow. • O2 is required for generating energy from sugar in blood. • If enough Q2 is not used sugar level in blood increases ALVEOLUS O2 TO BLOOD TO CELL BLOOD VESSEL O2 FLOW FROM ALVEOLI TO CAPILIARY AND TO A LIVING/HEALTHY CELL SKB

10. Figure shows the gas exchange at a healthy/livingcell. During this, certain chemical reactions take place resulting in generation of energy (ATP), carbon dioxide and water. These products play a major role in the metabolic processes in the body. • These chemical reactions are not instantaneous. They do take their own time to complete. • Therefore, the depth & rhythm of breathing is very important. SKB

11. What Happens When We Breathe? – Oxygen Metabolism in Ideal Case • O2 picked up by the blood in small blood vessels, is used by body cells to generate energy. The process also generates H2o and CO2 as per the aerobic reaction known as oxygen metabolism reaction: 6O2 (from breath) + C6H12O6 (glucose in blood) + BMR (basal metabolic rate) = ergs/ATP (energy) +6CO2 +6H2O (pure water). Perfect reaction • The water generated is used for making lymph which is a very important part of immune system of the body. Any problem in correctly achieving the above reaction causes dramatic lowering of the energy generation and most importantly, generation of water required to make lymph. • A part of CO2 dissolves in water making carbonic acid which is returned to blood. This makes the blood relatively acidic (in comparison with tissue) in character. KEY TO DISEASE FREE BODY IS OXYGEN METABOLISM, GENERATION AND PROPULSION OF LYMPH AND PRECISE pH VALUE OF BLOOD (7.3-7.45). SKB

12. Complex Issues Caused by Hyperventilation 6O2 (from breath) + C6H12O6 (glucose in blood) + BMR (basal metabolic rate) = ergs/ATP (energy) +6CO2 +6H2O (pure water). • The correct breathing process results in by-products H20 and CO2 being formed in different amounts at different phases of respiration • When our breathing is of hyperventilation type, following complex issues arise. • Although we may take a deep breath, it is not necessary that oxygen which is bound to hemoglobin in blood will be released. Hemoglobin’s oxygen binding capacity (not releasing it to cell) is inversely proportional CO2 concentration (in the form of bicarbonate) in the blood. • CO2 dissolves in water generated in the breathing process making carbonic acid which is returned to blood making it slightly acidic compared to cell tissue. In case we hurriedly exhale (as in hyperventilation breathing), we are not allowing enough time for CO2 to dissolve in water to make sufficient carbonic acid. The consequence of this is very serious as it is impossible to maintain pH of blood in the range 7.35 -7.45 • The energy released in oxygen metabolism is not thermal (combustion) energy but chemical energy in which glucose is broken down gradually and ATP (ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE) is generated so that almost no energy is wasted as heat energy. This is impossible to achieve in hyperventilation • In the event we carry out deep and rapid breathing, we shall be injuring our own selves since we kill the very process that results in strong immune system continued

13. Energy Generation inHyperventilation • Hyperventilation causes exhalation of large amount of CO2 to atmosphere and uptake of CO2 by blood goes down drastically causing upset in blood pH value. • Hemoglobin does not release sufficient Q2 required for generating enough ATP (chemical energy). In such a case, cells extract energy from sugar in the blood by fermentation process where energy generated is much less and most importantly very dangerous toxin byproducts such as lactic acid, lactose, H2 etc are generated. This makes the cellular environment acidic. If any carcinogen is present in the cellular environment, such a cell is most vulnerable to become cancer cell. • The lactates generated in hyperventilation are very dangerous toxins. • Body to overcome these, generates very large number of fat cells where these toxins are lodged so that vital components of the circulation system of body are not affected by these toxins. This results in uncontrollable weight gain/obesity. • With insufficient oxygen released by hemoglobin in the blood the formation of water decreases and thus enough lymph is not formed. This dramatically reduces the strength of body’s immune system. • people who chronically hyperventilate suffer from variety of infections, diabetes, hypertension and in many cases from cancers. • Major reason for hyperventilation is stresses in mind, improper life style and dietary habits. • Very few medical practitioner pay any attention to the body language of the patient

14. Shallow Breathing • Shallow breathing, in majority of cases occurs due to anxiety, stress, apprehensions etc. • In this case also, the oxygen metabolism is seriously affected as enough oxygen is not available. • With less O2 supply to cellular structure, the energy production in cells is by fermentation in which toxins such as lactic acid, lactate are generated. • These toxins affect body’s hormone signaling system that regulate body metabolism. • There are some deformities in the chest wall which do not allow full respiration. This does occur but very seldom. They need to be seen by chest specialists. • One of the outcomes of shallow breathing is obesity which does not get corrected by dieting • The first step to remove obesity is adopt correct breathing process after conforming that there are no chest wall deformities/issues. • The correct breathing process requires diaphragmatic breathing at a rate about 10 – 12 breaths per minute in resting condition. We now discuss effects lactate toxins on our body

15. Dangerous Effects of Lactates Generated in Defective Breathing – Summary of Recent Research Report • For more than a century, the metabolic role of lactate has puzzled medical fraternity. • During first half of the last century lactate was considered as a waste product, but was not assigned any significance besides its possible role in muscle fatigue. • Subsequently it was found that lactate plays important role not only in muscle fatigue but it does much more harm because of its some modulatory properties. These seriously affect some important hormones and enzymes of the body. • Some recent publications have shown that lactates play important role in cellular function. It has been shown to be responsible for diabetes and cancer. • Body does not allow Lactates to get entry in vital organs and circulation system. For that purpose it produces very large number of fat cells in which the lactate toxins are dumped. • The above is the primary cause of obesity. • No amount of dieting or exercises prevent production toxin rich fat cells. • We shall now briefly discuss about obesity.

16. Problem of Obesity

17. Obesity • Fat accumulation over entire body - prominent in waist, stomach, thigh region, upper arms etc. The body looks like swollen figure. • Obese people usually put up very significant efforts to eliminate/reduce obesity but, most times, they miserably fail to achieve the goals. • The efforts include diet control (mostly switch over to vegetables, fruits and avoid cereals etc.), exercises (very difficult for them) and even taking slimming medicines. • The obese develop high level of inferiority complex and remain in mentally stressed condition • Externally they appear to be very jolly but internally their hearts bleed. • Strangely obesity is very severe in highly developed countries and it is reaching alarming levels in developing countries like India. • Mostly obesity affected people belong to higher income class and rarely it is seen in lower income class. • Adverse effects of obesity are not limited to only physical looks .It is well known that obese have a higher chance of getting diabetes, hypertension, heart attacks, cancer etc. • It is important to understand the reasons for becoming obese so that with your own efforts you can get rid of it. • This presentation is aimed at bringing out facts about obesity which are not known to common man including a few medical professionals. • Note that there is no pill/medicine which will eliminate obesity.

18. Well known Causes of Obesity • Overeating: Compulsive over eating because of lack of other meaningful activities, munching while watching TV programs, movies or during drinking sessions. One has to train his/her mind to understand that without starters programs can be enjoyed. • Lack of physical exercises due to comforts offered by powered vehicles, lifts and various home appliances like vacuum cleaners, automatic washing machines, food processors etc. • Overconsumption of dietary supplements advertized in TV programs. • Increased number of times eating is done since nothing else is there at hand to do.

19. Important but Not So Well Known Reasons of Obesity • Defective life style caused by over abundance of means of physical comforts. • Unrestful mind. • Stresses in mind resulting in breathing disorders. • Defective breathing such as hyper ventilation or hypo ventilation. • Genetic factors (as claimed by modern medical science). • Most important consequence of defective breathing is abnormal growth of fat cells. This is one of most little known reasons of obesity which we discussed in earlier slides. • The healthy breathing rate in inactive/resting state of body is about 10 -15 breaths per minute. This breathing is rhythmic in nature and involves smooth movement of abdominal muscles. You can see it in breathing of infants.

20. Important Thing to Remember for Healthy Life • Taking highly nutritious food does not guarantee that we can have healthy and happy life • Sitting on computer desk all through the day can make you seriously ill. Taking a few minutes off the desk and a leisure stroll will prove to be highly beneficial. • Whenever you are not doing physical movement watch your breathing pattern. • A significant effort is required to regulate the resting breathing rate of 10 – 12 breaths per minute. • Shout out your frustrations, anger and fear etc in isolated places. This is very beneficial.

21. Causes of Diseases – Yogic Science View Yogic science strongly believes that the health of the human being, both in body as well as in mind is controlled by three very important factors in our daily life, namely • Vichara (emotions & thoughts) that controls cellular metabolism • Vihar (life style). • Ahar (diet). • The above factors control the internal environment of the body (digestive, cardio-pulmonary, respiratory and other circulation systems). If this environment is ok, we can have disease free body & mind and would seldom require any medication. • Under normal circumstances, the human life span depends upon the number of designated heart beats and not on the time as defined by human beings in terms of days, months and years. • Yogic science believes that the mind also is an organ of the body but is not perceptible to sensory organs of the majority of the people. • There is a constant interaction between the physical body and the mind of adult human beings. They affect each other.

22. Yoga – what is it? • The yoga science deals with direct ways to consciously disconnect the mind from life functions and sensory perceptions that tie man to body consciousness. • By disconnecting mind from life functions and sensory perceptions, it is possible to totally remove bad effects of mental stresses on body. • It is well known that majority of complex health issues such as HT, Diabetes, IBS, Cardiac diseases, Cancer are stress induced/triggered. • Yoga treats Ahar as one of the important pillars of good health since it greatly controls environment of digestive system. • Yoga, in fact makes it possible to keep the entire internal environment of the body ultraclean • Yoga greatly improves function of our immune system. Thus we may rarely experience infectious diseases, allergies , cancers etc.

23. Consciousness • looks outward, through the intellect, through the mind, and then through the senses and body. • It sees a reflection, like a mirror. It sees reality, a world, a self-identity, which it falsely thinks to be "me" or "mine." Through the forgetting power of avidya or ignorance pure consciousness says, "I am this or that!" .

24. Human Mind Conscious mind Subconscious mind Subjective mind which takes cognizance of its environment. Seat of emotion and storehouse of memory. Without any conscious choice on our part our heart is kept functioning mind, breathing, digestion, circulation ensured by subconscious mind. Physical health is controlled by this mind. Accepts what is impressed upon it or what we consciously believe. Six dimensions of conscious mind has tremendous effect on this • Reasoning mind • Takes cognizance of the objective world through five sensory perceptions (see, hear, touch, taste and smell) • It is controllable through efforts. • Has six dimensions. They are: (1) love, (2) fear, (3) joy, (4) hatred, (5) sexuality • Each of these dimensions has profound effect on subconscious mind and thus physical health.

25. Six dimensions of conscious mind • All human minds operate under 6 dimensions – Love, Fear, Joy, Hatred, Boredom and Sexuality. • Present in all human minds, and its natural make-up also determines the “intensity” of some of these dimensions. • It’s not possible to ever “erase” one of these dimensions totally from the mind, • People who are trying to do so are usually just suppressing their mind and • This form of suppression only leads to inner resistance, which manifests as suffering of some form or the other. • Out of the six dimensions mentioned above, dimension of love and dimension of joy are most creative and beneficial to physical health provided these are of pure nature. Lust based love or sadistic pleasure through troubles to others are very harmful.

26. Love • This is obviously one of the “light natures” of the mind. All minds are capable of unconditional love. • The various forms in which a mind expresses love are – Care, Empathy, Service, Charity, Tenderness, Compassion and devotion. They make subconscious mind very healthy. • Passion, Infatuation, Obsession (love-based) are of dark nature. They can harm the subconscious mind • Every mind has the capacity for all these expressions, and in a lifetime, most of us, usually express all these forms of love in some way or the other. • The mind has more capacity for love only when it feels secure, • It can (and usually will) render love to low priority when it has to worry about its survival.

27. Fear • This is a “dark nature” in the mind. • All minds have a tendency towards fear, • A fearful mind is a huge source of disturbance to subconscious mind because it constantly creates resistance to our movement, • It’s not possible to suppress this dimension of the mind. But as we become conscious and our awareness becomes stable, we can stop identifying with the mind’s fears and just let them be • in one sense, we therefore stop fearing the mind’s fears • A mind that has strong tendency towards fear will keep producing fear-based thoughts which strongly affect subconscious mind and physical health. • But when we become conscious we can stop fueling this nature of the mind. It then starts losing its intensity and power to influence our subconscious mind in any way

28. JOY • This is a “light nature” in the mind. Joy is basically the natural vibration of the being (or life energy) that we essentially are, and hence whenever the mind is joyful it is most aligned with its life-stream. • In a joyful state there is no resistance in their body and thus it feels good. • The various expressions of joy in a human mind are – excitement, exhilaration, sensual pleasure (enjoying sight, smell, sound, touch and taste), peace/calm, enthusiasm and relaxation. • Some minds are more inclined to “peaceful” expressions of joy like relaxation and serenity, while some minds prefer more boisterous expressions of joy like excitement, exhilaration and enthusiasm – there is usually a balance were we like some peace and we also like some excitement. • There are some people who suppress their joy out of fear and usually decline from joy-orientation because of feelings of guilt or suffering-oriented thinking. Since joy is the vibration that comes closest to the natural vibration of life energy, • It’s important to allow our mind as much opportunity for joy as possible while also allowing the wisdom of our awareness to be present so that we don’t end up going over-board into over-indulgence or some unwise actions.

29. Hatred • This is a “dark nature” present in the mind. • All minds have this dimension and it plays an important role in deciding our preferences – our likes and dislikes. • Hatred is a dimension ingrained in the mind and there is no getting away from it, and people who try to suppress the mind when it produces hate based thoughts usually end up creating a lot of “pent up” negative energy inside their body which becomes highly toxic and dysfunctional. • The various ways in which hatred is expressed in the mind are – resentment, criticism, jealousy, possessiveness, dislike, vanity, stress, frustration, anger, irritation, impatience, dissatisfaction, suspicion, inferiority, apathy and aggressiveness • When we understand that hatred is a dimension of the mind, we let go of the futile effort to change this part of it and work towards simply not making it “personal” • When we are stable in our space of awareness, we can simply allow the mind the freedom to have its hate-based thoughts and not give energy to them. When we try to suppress the hate based thoughts in the mind, we indirectly give them a lot of “fuel” because of our fear. If we don’t make the hate based thoughts of our mind “personal”, we will not be judging our self for the thoughts of the mind. and would simply let it be, with time the mind will slowly lose intensity and its hate based thoughts will not have an influence on our vibration. This does not mean that the mind will stop hate-based thoughts fully, but they will not have an intensity to influence our vibration or state of being.

30. Boredom • Boredom is a “dark nature” in the mind- a state when the mind feels a sense of disinterest with the “Now” moment. • Boredom is mostly a harmless state but prolonged boredom can lead to states of depression. • This dimension in the mind should motivate it to pursue creative endeavors and entertainment, which allow for new desires and expansion in physical life. • When boredom arises, just allow it fully instead of trying to suppress it – get a real sense of the “feeling” of boredom, so that we are not running away from it or in fear of it. • When we truly allow the energy of boredom, it usually transmutes to a sense of calm or peace, and in this place of non-resistance inspired actions can come forth that brings joy to the mind. The state of boredom also helps balance the “spiked” states of excitement or exhilaration, and is necessary to maintain a harmony in the body’s energy.

31. Sexuality • This dimension is “dark nature” in the mind, mostly because of the heaviness of this energy. • All minds have this dimension and when not understood/channeled properly can become a source of hang-up, depravity, guilt and frustration. • It can also become a vista through which we express love and joy. The energy of sexuality can be quite intense and hence its suppression creates a lot of toxicity and disharmony in the body. • People who try to suppress this dimension in their mind (out of fear – guilt) usually end up developing patterns of hatred (usually in the form of anger) inside them. • The dimension of sexuality is directly affected by other dimensions of the mind, for example, a mind that’s lost in fear usually loses its interest in sex, a mind that’s lost in hatred can bring a violent expression to its sexuality, boredom can also lead to a decline in sexuality, whereas a prominently joyful state of being allows for a healthy sex drive. The core pointer to understand is that these dimensions are “ingrained” in the mind, or hard-wired, and hence cannot ever be erased out of it. As long as the mind is alive, and healthy, it will exhibit all these dimensions, possibly on a daily basis.

32. States of Mind Five states of mind: There are five major states of mind, of which the one-pointed (Ekagra) state of mind is the most desired state of mind for best health benefits. These five states of mind range from the severely troubled mind to the completely mastered mind. • Kshipta/disturbed • Mudha/dull • Vikshipta/distracted • Ekagra/one-pointed • Nirodhah/mastered To position the five states of mind on the fingers is a good way of learning to remember them.

33. Kshipta –Disturbed Mind • The Kshipta mind is a disturbed, restless, troubled, wandering mind. High profile people dealing with business development/fast track projects in blue chip companies/corporations, super-speciality hospitals etc, career oriented, ambitious and superfast people, ambitious & possessive/nagging parents/spouses etc tend to acquire this state of mind. • This is the most destructive state of mind. • It is not merely the distracted mind (Vikshipta), but has the additional feature of a more intense, negative, emotional involvement. • More than often such people stay in this state continuously. Majority of HT/Diabetes patients are in this state of mind.

34. Mudha (Dull) Mind • The Mudha mind is stupefied, dull, heavy, and forgetful. • The body metabolism of people with this kind of mind is generally slowed down. • In advanced stage, moodha mind people are vulnerable to Alzheimer/ Parkinson’s disease. • It is associated with very slow thinking process- a dull or sleepy state, somewhat like in depression. People with this frame of mind want to do nothing. • Many times it is possible to motivate people having this kind of mind. This however requires a leader who does not see his fellow workers as competitors. • Seldom a person is seen to be a born moodha but the onus is on the leader (only) to improve him/her.

35. Vikshipta (Distracted) • The Vikshipta mind is distracted but occasionally can be steady or focused. Possessors of this mind do often start in new ideas but soon loose enthusiasm to continue. • This is the state of mind often reported in initial stage of yoga. in this state of mind, one's attention is easily drawn here and there. • The mind can concentrate for short periods of time. But with practice, the period of concentration can be increased. This however requires strong will power and perseverance. • Even in shorter periods of concentration, yoga practice yields great health benefits. • It will do great benefit to them if they are encouraged to concentrate on forgetting episodes of negativity.

36. Ekagra (Concentrated) Mind • The Ekagra mind is one-pointed, focused or concentrated. • When the mind has attained the ability to be one-pointed, the real practice of Yoga meditation begins. • It means that one can focus with ease on all tasks at hand in daily life. • The person with a one-pointed mind just carries on with the matters at hand, undisturbed, unaffected, and uninvolved with other stimuli. It is important to note that this is meant in a positive way, not the negative way of not attending to other people or other internal priorities. The one-pointed mind is fully present in the moment and able to attend to people, thoughts, and emotions at will. • This is a first step towards self realization/ spirituality.

37. States of Mind • Know where you are: It is very useful to be aware of these stages, both in the moment, and as a general day-to-day level at which one is functioning. It reveals the depth of practice that one might be able to currently practice. • Two of the states are desirable: Of the five states of mind one pointed and mastered are most desirable. • For most people, our minds are usually in one of the first three states (disturbed, dull, or distracted). To deal with the troubled mind and the lethargic mind try to achieve distracted mind from where one can more easily work on training the mind in one-pointedness. • Stabilize the mind in one-pointedness: By knowing this, we can deal with our minds so as to gradually stabilize the mind in the fourth state, the state of one-pointedness. This is the state of mind which prepares us for the fifth state, in which there is mastery of mind. • The first two states might also be dominant or intense enough that they manifest in as what psychologists call mental illness.

38. Why Is Mind Given So Much Importance in Yogic Sciences? • State of mind greatly influences the food intake/diet (Ahar). Over eating or not following suitable time intervals is usually associated with anxiety/mental stress disorder. In the extreme case, people starve. • State of mind greatly influences life style (Vihar). People under disturbed mind/dull mind set develop sedentary habits. They seldom undertake physical activities. • People with disturbed mind and also dull mind, tend to become chronic smokers or alcoholics. Disharmony in mind is mother of majority ailments.

39. Possible to Change of Mindset? - Yes • Humans have both mind and intellect. Most often they listen to mind and not intellect. • Counselling for using intellect instead of mind for resolving existing health issue, at times proves very successful. • Breathing has profound effect on mind. • Slow and deep exhalation of breath brings deep level of relaxation. • Slow and rhythmic breathing process (pranayama breathing) calms the mind and enables it to focus. • Any body, at any age can learn and master pranayama. • Stable and peaceful mind is a pre-requisite for clean internal environment of our body.

40. OUR ENVIRONMENT

41. Our Environment • The external environment comprises of surroundings, working cultures, civic amenities etc. This, really, is not fully in our hand. • As per yogic science, the internal environment of our body is in our conscious control. • It tells us to take non-offending diet, to follow a simple & disciplined life style without compromising comforts and practice yoga comprising of yogic body postures (Asanas) and breath control (pranayama) to control the mind. • Of course, the diet as well as the life style do significantly influence the mind and its health. Also in the present scenario all of us are subjected to variety of stresses of modern life. We shall therefore take a holistic view that deals with diet, lifestyle and stresses together. • We shall first deal with diet from the point of view of modern science.

42. WE AND OUR HEALTH ARE GREATLY INFLUENCED BY THE ENVIRONMENT EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT HUMAN BODY INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT

43. Internal Environment • Refers primarily to abdominal cavity but does not exclude cardio-respiratory system. • The major factors which influence the internal environment are: • Genetic factors (imprinted on DNA molecule, normally not modifiable but esoteric experts as well a few in modern medical science claim that it can be changed) • Food that we eat (diet) and the way we do so. • Life style (sedentary, irregular diet/sleep habits etc). • Stresses in conscious/subconscious mind, emotional disturbances, despair &depressions, anger etc. We first discuss about what body is composed of and then role of diet in our internal environment.

44. Human Body • More than 100 trillion cells form the body’s basic building block . • All cells are made of atoms. All of the cellular processes involve flow and transport of electrons/protons that results in biochemical reactions & processes over the entire cellular structure of the body. • Each of the atoms/molecules are in the state of vibrations at their natural frequencies and the entire tissue system carries bioelectric micro currents. • The flow of micro current enables cellular intercommunication and functions. We, for this, require certain electrolytes in our body. • These electrolytes are calcium, sodium, potassium, phosphates, chlorides and magnesium etc. In absence or shortage of these electrolytes, the diet and the supplements such as iron, vitamins have no meaning or role to play in the growth/sustenance of the body.

45. Body’s Ecosystem • Body requires different concentration of electrolytes in (a) blood plasma, (b) in tissues and (c) in cellular fluid to ensure the proper flow of bio-electricity. • A deficiency or absence of required electrolyte causes disruption/stoppage of cellular signaling. This leads to serious health disorders. • The intercellular communication occurs throughout the extracellular tissue matrix which contains electrolytes and other substances. • This forms body’s internal environment (the physical ecosystem). • Blood and lymphatic streams are the most important components of the body ecosystem.

46. Balance of Body Ecosystem • For this, we require a precise/perfect acid/alkali balance. This is expressed by a number pH. • Optimal pH for blood is slightly alkaline in a very narrow range of 7.35 to 7.45 only if proper levels of electrolytes exist in the blood stream. • The tissue environment must be more alkaline compared to blood. Acidic environment in tissue is very dangerous. • The way we breathe also strongly influences tissue environment.

47. Internal Organs • Stomach acid (HCL) is our first line defense against invading bacteria and parasites. It also helps in digestion of proteins. • When we eat more acid forming foods (meat etc.) than alkaline forming foods (vegetables etc.), We deplete our source of alkalizing electrolyte minerals. To counter this, the body slows down the production of HCL resulting in greatly reducing our ability to digest food (especially proteins) as well as body’s capability to kill pathogens. • The process of complete digestion cannot take place without assistance from other organs in the abdomen. They are gall bladder and pancreas. They control pH level of half digested food entering small intestines for complete digestion. • Unless the entire system works in a well co-ordinated way, the internal ecosystem becomes highly imbalanced. Yoga greatly tones up all abdominal organs in the body and improves digestion as well as functions of cardio-respiratory systems.

48. Anatomy of the Stomach DUODENUM STOMACH PYROLIC SPHINCTER BILE FROM GB JUICE FROM PANCREAS • Patially digested food (acidic)in stomach passed on to duodenum. • Gall bladder releases bile (highly alkaline) and pancreas releases its alkaline juice. both of these increase pH of partly digested food from stomach. • Inability to neutralize the acidity by bile and pancreatic juice causes constipation, gas etc. This is, practically mother of majority of diseases. • Intestines are highly sensitive to pH. They cannot accept acidic food. • Sphincter valve senses pH down stream. If it is acidic, the valve does not operate. The result is heartburn.

49. Typical Healthy Dietary Habit • Never miss breakfast. Bf should be reasonably heavy and consist of well cooked cereals, dry fruits such as almonds, apricots (in moderation), walnuts, sunflower seeds, juice of potato (with peels) or bottle gourd, yoghurt. If possible, avoid bread butter omelets. • A cup of tea with moderate sugar is ok. Avoid using sugar free agents as they are quite harmful. • The lunch must be light and must consist of salad. Avoid burgers or pizza. Baked potato with peel is extremely healthy. Veg diet is preferable. • Avoid taking potato chips etc during official meetings. The interval between two meals should not be less than 4 hours. A cup of low sugar tea after lunch is ok. • Very light evening snacks. • Moderate & early dinner. As far as possible, avoid fried dishes.

50. The Worst Possible Scenario • Scenario 1: Depletion of alkaline reserves in gall bladder and pancreas forces the body to attempt to pull alkaline electrolyte calcium in blood stream, bones and teeth. • Scenario 2: Blood pH > 7.45 (highly alkaline blood) results in interruption of bioelectricity to heart. Body, in response, draws alkaline minerals (calcium, sodium, potassium etc.) from gall bladder reserves. This causes liquid cholesterol in bile to solidify resulting gall stones. This causes obstructive jaundice. • The above also increases toxin load in the body affecting joints and connective tissue. This is one of the principal reasons for swollen joints and severe joint pains. Taking pain killers is not a solution - in fact, they may cause serious damage to liver. • The damaged or congested liver is responsible for very complex health issues because of pollution in internal ecosystem. • The causative factors are wrong dietary habits, sedentary life style and most importantly stresses in conscious and subconscious mind. Correct dietary habits, life style and regular yoga practice solves all these problems without requiring any drug support.