Tag: health

Practical Ayurveda by Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center

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Practical Ayurveda: Find Out Who You are and What You Need to Bring Balance to Your Life. 4.5 stars, Health, 224 pages, 2018

My early morning reading is always nonfiction. Most often spiritual or related to health, I find it a great way to start the day focusing on important things. And, if it’s spiritual, health related and it’s something new to me, all the better.

How familiar are you with Ayurveda?
Practical Ayurveda follows the vision of renowned Indian yoga master and medical doctor who wrote over 200 books.

Covering a wide range of topics in its 224 pages this is a beautifully laid out and edited book that made it easy for a beginner like me. I loved the inspiring quotes included. There was a quiz and a set of questions to answer to help you fine tune what you’re looking for in life.

This covered the health of the body and the mind and there are many things I’ve already started (or restarted) while reading this book and so many things to consider for the future. The yoga poses and what each does for the mind and body is something I will be working on. I’ve also started my morning tai chi again. I’m not sure how I ever let that go. Life gets in the way and I forget, and that’s why I need to be consistently reading books that remind me of what I know works for me.

A fabulous resource that I’m sure I’ll be referencing in the future.

A few of the highlighted thoughts to be found…

“Ayurveda is the knowledge of happy and unhappy, a good and bad life, and that which contributes to those four aspects.”

“Have faith in yourself; do the right thing; help others. This is the key to success. health, and happiness.”

“The secret of being healthy and happy at all times is to be a little hungry all the time.”

“Let your diet be anything, but it should pass this test: it should protect health and prevent disease.”

“Thought is a dynamic force; it shapes your destiny. Entertain pure and noble thoughts always.”

“Life is meant for service and not for self-seeking. Hold your life for the service of others. The more energy you expend in elevating others, the more universal energy will flow into you.”

Ultra-Longevity:The Seven-Step Program for a Younger, Healthier You, by Mark Liponis, MD

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Cover ImageFinished 3-1-09, rating 3.5/5, health, pub. 2007

Aging is an autoimmune disease.  It is caused by your own immune system attacking you.Yes, that’s correct.  Aging is not a natural result of living too many years…

page 23

This book starts with a quiz.  Twenty-one questions determine how fast you are aging.  There are the expected questions about weight, smoking, and exercise, but then there are the unexpected questions about siblings, sex, jokes, and even about the time of year you were born.  Once I saw my score I immediately started reading the book. 

Just as our country’s defense system would be sorely tested if several invaders attacked simultaneously, so, too, when your body has to deal with many potential terrorists, the opportunities for breakdowns multiply.  This confusion leads to malfunction of the immune system, and that malfunction leads to bodily damage.

pages 55-56

The first section deals with your immune system and the many organs and cells involved in making it work.  This section is somewhat interesting and very detailed.  I don’t need that much information, but it is nice to have it explained in a relatively simple way.  This is also where he explains the CRP Test.  Essentially, this tests how active your immune system is and the less active the better.

The second section of the book discusses the seven steps you need to take to maintain a healthy immune system.  They are: breathing, eating, sleeping, dancing, loving, soothing, and enhancing.  I think it is interesting that he puts all of these areas side by side, with eating being equal to the others, not more important .  I thought this section was fun to read and easy to understand.  Who doesn’t like reading that a good sex life, singing every day, and massages can prolong your life? 

Many of these things aren’t new, but the immune system activation is a new way of looking at it.  I learned a lot and because some of these seven areas are easier than others you can start working right away on preserving your health.  It is a very holistic approach.

My main complaint is that is sometimes there is too much information.  I don’t need two pages about B-cells.  After a few paragraphs my attention starts to drift.  And while it’s nice to include studies to prove a point, they, too, can become  easy to skip over when there are too many.

Overall, I thought this was worthwhile and I took away lots of good information.  As for the quiz, I went back and decided what I needed to do to age at a slower pace, but because I live in Cleveland, am an only child, and was born in the fall, there are a  small number of things I can change.  But I’ll do what I can 🙂

Author Mark Liponis, MD, is the medical director of the Canyon Ranch Spa