FM SEPTEMBER 2018 ISSUE - digital edition

modern medicine, which are a concoction of
synthetic chemicals and not a friend of the
body. In fact, we have the unique advantage
of a rich tradition of home remedies,
naturopathy and AYUSH, which should
be our first recourse. Please view Padma
Bhushan Dr. B.M.Hegde’s videos on YouTube
to get a perspective on modern drugs. C.
Periodic internal cleansing of the body, per
season or at least once a year. There are
different methods prescribed in naturopathy
and yogic traditions, and the same can
be understood and adopted as per
individual comfort after expert consultation.
An alternative that I have personally found
very useful is 2-3 day (consecutive) fruit fast
during every season change.
Mental Hygiene: It is mental hygiene
that results in a healthy mind, which in turn
is an essential prerequisite, nay, the very
bedrock, of a healthy body. It is of particular
significance if we have to prevent the menace
of non-communicable disease. Without
mental hygiene, attempts to achieve physical
hygiene is futile. Inversely, physical hygiene
habits grow organically as your mental
hygiene evolves. Unfortunately, this is much
less understood and often neglected. Mental
hygiene essentially stems from a Steady Mind,
something everyone craves for but only a few
achieve in today’s world. It is indeed a great
tragedy that India is one of the rare countries
that has a very rich Yogic tradition, wisdom,
knowledge and practices pertaining to this
esoteric area, but has neglected this priceless
treasure. I suggest only one practice to start
PHYSICAL HYGIENE
HABITS GROW
ORGANICALLY AS
YOUR MENTAL HYGIENE
EVOLVES. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS
IS MUCH LESS UNDERSTOOD
AND OFTEN NEGLECTED.
this journey of achieving a Steady Mind:
Pranayama, specifically Anulom-Vilom. Learn
the technique from a qualified expert and
practice it for half an hour a day and witness
the change for yourself.
Physical Activity: There is no dearth of
information available to all on this subject,
but personally, I feel a simple and cheap, but
very effective, way is to target 10,000 steps a
day doing whatever one is comfortable with.
Technology in the form of wearables are a
great ally in this pursuit. A still better way is to
target 30 mins of Surya Namaskar every day.
Before I conclude, I must clarify that I am
neither a medical doctor nor an expert in Yoga
or naturopathy, but have been a keen seeker
of knowledge for good health. What I have
shared in this column is what I have personally
experienced and found beneficial.
The author has long-standing association with
EY India but the views are strictly personal.
SEPTEMBER 2018 / FUTURE MEDICINE / 67