BREAST FEEDING

 What makes mammals unique is the ability to breastfeed the young ones, whether it a little mouse, man, or whales and dolphins. Due to commercialization and false propagandas many a woman abstained from feeding their children during the recent past.

But due to recent propaganda by WHO and other NGOs world is rediscovering the benefits of breast feeding 

* Mother should eat all variety of food she was used to before.There's no food taboos.A new food item is not advised.

*Mother's milk is sufficient for every baby.Production of milk is by demand.Mother's hormones are produced in response to seeing touching hearing her baby.

Breast is not a store house.Milk is produced and flows when baby sucks.

*No other milk should be given for various reasons.One important reason is giving other milk will reduce mother's milk.This is because baby will be less hungry,sucks less and hormones come down.

There is no need to top up extra after mother's milk.

*Baby can be kept on chest or lap of mother even after feeding.Babies like to be close to the mother.Warmth,touch and smell of mother is a pacifier.(At any age)

Our brain is used to these stimuli first in our lives

Baby is not spoilt or you need  not discipline by keeping baby on bed after feeding.

*Baby passes stools while feeding or immediately after feeding.This is natural physiology.It is not due to indigestion as many think.

Mother's milk is human species specific and also baby specific.

A breast fed baby may pass stools 15times a day to no stools upto 15 days!!

*Baby's crying is not always due to hunger.That's the language to express everything.Cries while passing stool,urine,wet,hot,cold,itching,hurting,too many people around,no one picking...

*Mother's milk alone is sufficient for good growth and development for baby.if any doubt dicuss with your doctor or nurse

*Not enough milk complaint is common.Various reasons are

*Not sure how we know...if baby's weight increasing surest sign.

Indirectly we know if baby passes urine 5or 6times.Sleeps well after feed.

*Crying...

Do not wait till a baby cries with hunger.Observe cues like vigorous activities,turning face side to side sucking hand etc.pick baby during this time to feed.Baby starts sucking well.Crying is last step and it may take a while to settle the baby and mother too .

After feed may  be baby wants to stay close to mother.Keep baby on mother.

Other reasons for crying wet nappy

*Not fed for enough time...there is no strict rule every baby should feed in stipulated time.Everyone is unique

*Mother's anxiety and not enough support. Encourage every mother she will be able to give sufficient milk. Especially husband,mother, mother in law's need to do this.

Breast feeding needs to be learnt by mother and baby.It comes by practice.It's a new knowledge for mother too.

*Drinks too often.You don't need to set the clock and see.Take it easy.Every baby is unique.

*No privacy.too many visitors..

Good skin contact,time, peaceful atmosphere is required.

Stroke and speak to the baby while feeding.

Only you need to have a baby and mother to have enough milk..

Mother's milk is the best gift for a baby...for a lifetime

KUNDALINI YOGA

Kundalini yoga is gaining popularity world over; more and more people want to practice Kundalini Yoga. 

What is Kundalini and how is it different from conventional Hatha Yoga?

Hatha yoga works at the body level, or starts with body later on to mind and soul. 

On the other hand, Kundalini yoga works at astral body. Apart from our physical body we have an astral body and it is made up of nadis. Nadis are mainly tubes through which prana (life force) flows. There are some junctions of nadis where high concentration of energy converge these are called chakras. 

Chakras in turn are many but mainly there are seven chakras.

They lie in one line aligned one over the other starting from the base chakra or muladhara. Many texts are of the opinion that chakras lie on our sushumna or spinal cord, but thinking on a physiological perspective it will be wiser to conclude that Chakras actually lie along Vagus nerve, which innervate the parasympathetic nervous system.

Parasympathetic system helps us in digestion, relaxation, sleep and going further even helping us meditate.

But how can we stimulate or influence these charkas? We have to make use of our senses to navigate to a place where it can help us create a sixth sense.

Visual imageries like colors, geometric structures called yantras, auditory impulses like mantas, tactile sensations like massages, olfactory impulses like fumigation etc. can help us raise our kundalini which normally reside in the base chakra or Kundalini.

Constant practice is required to achieve this

 

GHEE

 Ghee is a diary product from India, 'desi' ghee is synonymous with good nutrition in India. In spirituality ghee was considered as a medium to communicate with Gods with the help of 'agni' Deva (fire God) in some rituals like homa.

Let's take a physiological perspective of this; as we are a miniature model of this cosmos we draw a comparison.

Ghee is one of the few materials which can penetrate into our inner tissues, tissues communicate better thorough fatty-acid medium than water or any other liquid. It is even thought that ghee can even breach the most selective area of our body the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB).

So analogy is that with the help of agni (digestive fire) ghee reaches inner tissues (devas) and brain and nourishes them. Ayurveda panchakarma therapies are incomplete without  ghee.

But Ghee being purely fat many an eyebrow is raised when physicians advise patients to consume it, fearing a spike in cholesterol level. 

This is where the manufacturing process and selection of ghee is important. 

Ghee from cows that are fed in natural environment, where cows are allowed to roam-free are the best. Since their diet includes variety of materials including different kinds of grasses which contains medicinal properties. On the other hand farm-fed cows are nourished only with fodder which contain less nutrients.

Best ghee is obtained by conventional method of centrifuge using hands. Modern day diary farms use high velocity machine run centrifuges which will separate all the solid  and liquid part separately which include all types of fat, including low density lipoproteins which are considered as 'bad cholesterol'

Ghee obtained by conventional centrifugal methods are found to have higher percentage of high density lipoproteins which are actually good cholesterol.

It has been found in clinical studies that a person undergoing Ayurvedic 'sneha pana" (metered intake of pure or medicated ghee) actually lowers total cholesterol. 

"To kill fat eat fat is the new tagline."

 

NATURAL SOURCES OF CALCIUM

 Major source of calcium is from animals, in the form of meat, diary products, seafood and eggs. But due to religious compulsions and the unethical practices of over exploitation of cattle and poultry more and more people are looking for alternate sources of calcium.

Some people who have lactose intolerance also needs alternate calcium sources.

Figs

Chia seeds

Almonds 

Broccoli

Plant-based milks like soya milk

Tomatoes 

Dates

Beans 

These are some of the plant based sources of calcium; but if one wishes to shift from animal based calcium to vegetarian calcium, one needs to move with caution as enzymes and gastric juices for the absorption and assimilation of these sources varies from animal sources and sometimes people may end up calcium deficient trying a sudden shift of diet.

Best way is to inroduce vegetarian calicium with gradual tapering of animal based calcium.

As a general rule whatever the source of calcium one needs to take green leafy vegetables in our regular diet for complete absorption of calcium.

 

GOMUTRA -COW'S URINE AS MEDICINE

Cows Urine (Gomutra) has been used in India from time immammorial both as medicine and manure. Gomutra is used as such or in prepared medications like pancha-gavya . It is used in panchakarma therapy like vasti, which is an important ayurvedic treatment in diseases like arthritis. It has been found effective in many diseases like skin diseases, liver-kidney disorders, anemia, gout and cancer (claimed by some fold vaidyas)

But a care should be taken in the selection of urine as farm-fed cattle is being fed with fodder with poor quality nutrition and there are chances 

Cow's that fed natural grass by free roaming is the best one, some conditions pregnant cow's urine is selected as it contains additonal hormones that has more medicinal value. Urine must be collected early in the morning, preferably the first urine and must be preserved before it turns stale.

Cow's urine is also used for mixing many ayurvedic herbs in the preparation of pills. 

However the cow's urine is more used as fertilizer along with cowdung and also for making organic pesticides

 

SIMPLE MORNING EXERCISES

 Good mornings begin after a good night's sleep! 

Try to get up from bed by turning towards your right side, fold your legs at knees and hip, also your arms folded and make your arms like a pillow for a minute, mimicking a baby in mother's womb, and slowly rise signifying a rebirth as per Oriental philosophies.

As we become older, we are also prone to diseases, one of the commonest diseases is arthritis. Even though there are many varieties of arthritis, most common one is rhematic type. It is a metabolic disorder but it gets manifested in our joints, starting with smaller joints of our fingers, later on to bigger joints like the weight bearing joints; knees and ankles.

We can do some simple exercise for our smaller joints; in yoga we call it 'pavanamukthasana' series; it means exercises that clears the passages of vata through our nadis or astral tube. On the physical body such exercises help us to eliminate the metabolic toxins which gets deposited in our joints overnight inactivity due to our sleep. 

This is simple flexion and extension of all our body joints including the small joints of hands and feet.

Another exercise we can practice is 'kapalabhathi,' kapalabhathi is active and forceful expiration followed by passive inhalation. This also helps to eliminate any build-up of toxic wastes in the form of gasses in our system, especially excess carbon dioxide. 

Kapalabhathi also help to reduce any viral or bacterial infection.

 

FUMIGATION AT HOME

Fumigation has its origin in some religious rituals with fire, in cultures which worshiped FIRE.  They considered fire and fumes as a means to communicate with the demi-gods and to destroy demons. Thinking rationally, we can understand that all the ingredients we use in fumigation has some ani-microbial, anti-bacterial or anti-fungal properties which repel harmful flies, mosquitos and even microbes.

Frankincense, gulgulu, myrrh, neem, sandal and turmeric can be used to fumigate our household both indoors and outdoors.

In Kerala fumigation using 'aparajitha choornam' an Ayurveda product is widely used in fumigating local community sponsored by the government, especially during the pre-monsoon cleaning drive which has been proved successful in reducing vectors borne and other diseases which appear during rainy season.

Fumigation can be done any place but more suitable in independent houses as sometimes fumes can trigger a false fire alam.

Best medium to fumigate is embers of coal or charcol from coconut shell and putting "aparajitha choornam" in it.