Surya Namaskar

Another article i came across, very informative and useful if followed.




Suryanamaskar is more than weight loss

Suryanamaskar can do to your body what months of dieting cannot. And it can do to your mind what no spiritual discourse can.

Not surprising, the world is going crackers over this ancient yogic tradition of worshipping the rising sun. What with the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Victoria Beckham and Kareena Kapoor endorsing it over gym workouts and bizarre diets.

From improving your posture, strengthening muscles to whittling extra inches around the waist, the benefits of Suryanamaskar are many, provided you adapt it the right way. A set of 12 fixed, cyclic postures define Suryanamaskar which when performed repeatedly at an easy pace can bring a sense of well being, almost immediately. However, those with a heart condition, arthritis or slip-disk, need their doctor's consent before starting the routine. Suryanamaskar's surging popularity notwithstanding, jumpstarting a schedule is most definitely not the best thing to do for a fitness novice. If you have been gravely out of form in a way that you haven't stretched your muscles in ages, first give your body some time to open up, which you can do with some flexibility and stamina-building exercises before embarking on the more arduous 'Suryanamaskar'.

And once your body has registered a certain fitness level, you can begin with a set of three Suryanamaskars in the first instance and increase it to five then ten and more depending on your stamina. Anymore than clocking up numbers, it is important to get each posture right, for the very essence of this yogic ritual lies in perfecting every move. To say the least, it can be an uphill task for beginners. But our expert-backed warm-up exercises are sure to make Suryanamaskar less strenuous and ever so graceful.

1. Neck: Breathe in while you turn your neck to the right and breathe out as you come back to the starting position. Again, breathe in while turning your neck to the left and breathe out in the centre. Repeat this movement thrice. Rotate your neck first clockwise and then anti-clockwise.

2. Arm and shoulder: Stretch your arms out in front of your chest and move your palms up and down, then sideways. Further on, rotate your fist clockwise and anti-clockwise. To relax your arms, place your palm on your shoulder and move your shoulders first clockwise then anti-clockwise.

3. Knee: Bend forwards with your palms resting on your knees, join your knees and move forwards and backwards. End the routine by rotating your knees clockwise and anti-clockwise.

4. Stomach and back: Interlock your fingers over your chest and slowly raise your hands upwards while you breathe in and stand on your toes. Return to Position 1 as you breathe out. Repeat this cycle three times.

5. Legs and waist: Stretch your legs wide in standing position, touch you left toe with the right hand, then the right toe with the left. Keep your knees straight while you do so. Repeat a few times.

By now your body is suitably warmed up to begin the Suryanamaskar routine. Here is a step-by-step account of the 12 postures. Don't try this routine on a mat, you are better off on the bare floor or on the grass.

Posture 1# Stand erect, ideally facing the morning sun. Fold your hands in prayer close to your chest and chant 'Om Suryadevaya Namah' thrice.

Posture 2# With your hands together raise your arms up in the air while you breathe in. Bend over backwards forming an arch from the hands to your feet. The flexibility of the spine is ensured in this posture.

Posture 3# Bring your hands down while you breathe out to touch the floor on either side of your feet. In this posture, it is imperative to keep your knees straight as you bend forward from the waist, and your head as close as possible to the knee. This posture helps melt the excess fat around the stomach by aiding digestion.

Posture 4# While breathing in, put your hands flush with the floor and lower your hips and stretch your left leg back, allowing it to balance on your toes, and your right leg bent in a crouching stance. With your hands firmly on the ground and your arms straight as a die, raise your head upwards to face the sky. This one is for the flexibility of spine and leg muscles, and boosts immunity from diseases.

Posture 5# As you breathe out, let your hands stay firmly on the ground and push your right leg back parallel to the left. Make sure your feet firmly touch the ground and your hip raised high. With your arms and knees straight lower your head to face your navel.

Posture 6# Hold your breath as you bring your hips down while keeping your hands and feet in the same position, and stretch your whole body near the floor. With your face downward, bring your chest and knees to lightly brush the floor, and hold your hips slightly high. At this juncture, 8 points of your body are touching the floor - your palms, forehead, chest, knees and toes.

Posture 7# This posture is a mere extension of Posture 6, in that you breathe in and straighten your arms and lift your chest upward in an arching stance, and your head thrown back facing the sky. Your arms, at this point, carry the weight of your body, with you knees and toes resting on the floor.

Posture 8# Bring your body back to Posture 5 by raising your hips and lowering your chest and head. Keep your arms and knees straight while you do so, and place your feet flush with the floor. Then lower you head to face your navel.

Posture 9# As you breathe in, return to a similar position as Posture 4, only this time you will be crouching on the left knee and stretching back your right leg. Place your hands firmly on the ground, and with the weight of your body on your arms move your chest forward and arch your head up to face the sky.

Posture 10# From here, flow back to Posture 3 while keeping your hands flush with the floor and bringing your right foot side by side with your left one. As you straighten your knee, raise your back to arch in a standing position with your head as close as possible to the knee and your hands on either side of your feet.

Posture 11# Take a deep breathe and raise your arms up in the air as you straighten your back and gradually bend over backwards, akin to Posture 2. Your knees stay straight all the while.

Posture 12# Bring yourself to Posture 1 from here with your hands folded before your chest in prayer, and your spine erect, your knees straight and your eyes shut in meditation.

With Posture 12 you complete one full circle of Suryanamaskar. From here you can flow back to Posture 2 to continue the routine. However, always follow up your Suryanamaskar regime with Savasana, better known as Corpse Pose. In this posture, you lay down on the floor with your legs and arms apart, your palms facing the sky, and eyes deep shut. Breathe in and out heavily and try to focus your thoughts on something happy. Stay on this way for a few minutes and you will feel a sense of calm run down your body like a drug.

Weight loss is just one consequence; you can so much as put your life together with this ancient yogic tradition

Diabetes / Outpatient experience

When I sit as an observer in the outpatient clinic, i watch through as patients stall through with various faces of diabetes and it's complications. Some people get a new status of a diabetic while some come in to know its progression. I noticed that there are very small nuances involved in the successful management of the disease which help in the long run to live a virtual diabetes-free life.

"Diabetes is a nasty disease",often the doctor remarks, "provided we allow it to be so"!
A small wound in the foot, which doesn't get alright by regular medicine or heals at a very slow rate. If this patient is above 40, he is always under suspicion and sent for a blood sugar test to rule out the encroachment of diabetes in the body. This is how most people get to know about their new status. A very majority present as itching and burning sensation in the genitourinary tract, frequent urination, some come with numbing of foot, shoulder pain. We notice that no patient turns up for a less severe complaint such as general body ache or fatigue.Some unusual presentations include turning up for a sugar test before a planned surgery, episode of unconsciousness, excess hunger. What we need to understand is that the presentation is not a consistent, standard one. So a wise option to diagnose would be to do a once-a-year sugar test after the age of 40, can do the test earlier if symptoms appear, family history present.

An interesting case, a guy, 23, 7'1" tall visited the clinic, with his fasting and postprandial glucose levels above normal clearly suggesting the acquirement of the disease. He had joined as a staff in a restaurant and consumed good amount of pepsi a day. With strong family history, he ended up in what the doctor remarked as "the pepsi disease!" So majority turn out to be adults who are diagnosed type 2 D.M. only above 40, with such exceptions once in a while.

A very common complaint i came across was vertigo, a feeling that the world is spinning when they suddenly get up from sitting or sleeping. Often people mouth the exact picture depicted, autonomic neuropathy it is, the nerves responsible for position sense and balance have been affected by diabetes here.


THE PLAN OF APPROACH
It starts with the blood report, which is the real decider of the treatment plan, so what we need to keep in mind is to get the reading right, most important of all. Select a good diagnostic centre and do it right, one fasting blood sugar test at 7 in the morning, another test 2 hrs after food. For the first timers, it is the same but for the diabetics who check it as a part of follow up, a thing to note is to have the tablet or insulin with food for the post-prandial test. The results err if insulin/medicine is omitted, this is a mistake often people make.

The Diet Plan
If medicine is the engine to work the body, then diet is the fuel, meaning drugs don't work without proper meal plan. A very wrong impression people have about diet is that it is not possible to follow such strict plans in practical life, a more bitter truth is that if you don't follow it, you may suffer like in hell which is not even remotely practical! But it is not as strict a plan as people think, it is all about will power. To put it roughly in another form, it suggests eating everything you like but in limited amount.On the other hand, health conscious ones will start to starve, but that is where it starts getting dangerous. Fasting means there is not going to be any glucose, overeating would mean a lot of glucose which cannot be utilized fully resulting in bad effects. To make it a quote: Fasting and feasting are enemies to Mr D.M. I guess people will be more receptive, if we make them aware of the pathology happening in the body and why the diet plan is the core to the treatment. Lets talk more about it in a while.

The Exercise Plan
The majority of adult population suffer from type 2, which means there is release of insulin which is the hormone responsible for utilization of glucose by cells for energy production, but the function mentioned above is defective. Also as type 2 in the long run involves exhaustion of the very production of insulin due to strain on pancreas because of various reasons like dietary sugar overload, sedentary lifestyle, stress. On the contrary, in type 1, there is destruction of pancreas resulting in less or no production of insulin with the function intact.

There is a common fact around which the exercise plan revolves. Exercise causes burning of glucose stores and also increases efficiency of insulin through complex mechanisms. Hence all patients are advised to do the basic one, walking for at least 30 mins.

Walking is the best exercise for all aged especially elderly group, most economical and causes a whole body workout. Most important issue during walking is to wear a comfortable footwear like Adidas/Reebok shoes.


Essential history
The most essential history to be asked is about smoking, alcohol and intake of pain killers usually bought over the counters.
Smoking and alcohol would interfere with the diabetic medication, independently affect heart, lungs and blood vessels and reduce appetite.
Pain killers themselves when abused can cause kidney damage adding insult to injury done by diabetes.
Family history would give us an idea of the course and progression and chances in the offspring and alert us to prevent it prenatally.
If pregnant, then previous obstetric history becomes very essential.

The medication
Remember, although medicines sound similar, friends and relatives using them may be well and healthy, but do not go by these and self medicate. It is almost a crime as is being ignorant and avoiding medication.
Starting with, all depends on the sugar level when you show up to doctor. Depending on the severity and persistence as known by HbA1c, physician would advice to take a single/combination/power dose/insulin accordingly.

That is not all, each individual is unique in his genetic make up, so the response to the drug alters from person to person. So a second visit is often necessary if there are symptoms of hypoglycemia like excess sweating, trembling, faster heart beats. Or there may be minimal effect on the blood glucose level, so these would necessitate a lowering or increasing the dose, regulating it over a period of a month and this is when the patient is said to have settled with the right pattern of dose.