Sports and Education in Indian Schools

I don't think there is anything what Sachin Tendulkar has not achieved as a sportsman. But he has now taken a step in deciding the future of sports in the India. He has proposed integration of sports with education. He has sent a letter to the Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal for the same.

To be honest I really appreciate this effort from Sachin. Its not less than a six of the first ball faced. If the idea gets implemented I am sure that within a decade or so India will become a major sporting hub. And we will be able to see India positioned very high in Olympics.

As Sports are not part of education, many students dont take this as career. Specially there are so many sports about which so many people might not even know. So sports education must be made integral part of studies in schools. And I would request various state governments to please make sports education compulsory in schools.

India being even such a vast country is ranking very low in sports. Its high time to work in this painpoint. Not only sports should be made part of education system but good coaches should be provided at the school level itself so that talent can be groomed from very early age.

Not only sports will help India to come up as a sporting nation but sports will improve various qualities in students like Leadership, Tolerance, Team Spirit etc. Sufficient time should be dedicated to sports in all sorts of educations. In current age, so many students are brilliant in studies but lack these qualities because studies and sports are complementary to each other.

I would also hope that other named celebrities, whether in sports, bollywood, politics or education, should come forward and support this thought and work to implement this.

Jai Hind Jai Bharat !!!

Pranayam: The way of Yoga Breathing

What is Pranayam?

Pranayam I believe are the easy but highly effective breathing exercises to keep us healthy and active.  Pranayam should be performed daily subjected to health conditions or  as advised by the doctors. Pranayam or in general any yoga should be performed under the guidance of skilled yoga teacher and after consultation with doctor.

When to perform Pranayam?

Pranayam can be performed in morning as well as in the evening. One should not eat anything at least for the last 4-5 hours. But I personally feel morning is the best time to practice yoga. Evening time should be adopted only when you don’t get enough time in morning.

In what postures Pranayam should be performed?

There are several postures in which you can practice yoga. You should maintain back, neck and head as much straight as possible. The ideal postures are Sukhasana and Padmasana. As suggested by Yoga Guru Ramdev if somebody is not able to sit in these aasanas, chairs can be used to sit straight. It’s not mandatory to perform all the seven Pranayam. Another important thing about Pranayam is that it shouldn't be performed if you feel dizzy or tired while performing. You should stop immediately as soon as you start feeling uncomfortable.

"OM" is the most powerful word in hinduism. Enchanting this word keeps flowing for divine energy into the mind and body and it makes the soul pure.

The method of practicing

I have added videos from YouTube to help you with how to practice Pranayam. These were the best videos I could search over the internet. They are in Hindi so I have tried to explain the steps below. I will still suggest performing these under the guidance of yoga teacher. There are few common breathing basics which should be kept in mind unless specified otherwise:

1.       Breathing in/out should be done through nose.  Mouth shouldn’t be used for inhale/exhale.

2.       The air should be hold in lungs only. Stomach shouldn’t be used for holding the air.

3.       Posture is very important. Without correct posture the Pranayam may be ineffective.

Bhastrika Pranayam

Place yourself in appropriate aasana.  Then take deep breaths and fill your lungs with air. Do remember the air should be filled in lungs only. It should not be filled in stomach. As there is nothing in stomach to process breathing air. Once done with breathing in exhale completely. There should not be any pause in the process. Keep relaxed throughout the process. Stop the practice when you feel tired, dizzy or uncomfortable. Start again after some time. This practice should be done for minimum of 2 minutes and maximum of 5 minutes.  The main purpose of this Pranayam is to clean your body from toxins. 

Kapalbhati Pranayam

This Pranayam is considered to be most effective body cleansing technique.  You should sit in the correct posture. And start exhaling with medium force. You shouldn’t concentrate on inhale that should be automatic. Just concentrate on exhale. Take a break when you feel  any uncomfortable. Repeat this for 15-30times. Then relax for a minute or so and start again. Initially it should be practiced for 1-2 minutes gradually increasing it to 5 minutes with maximum 10 minutes. This technique makes body impure of various toxins. It helps to keep stomach, lungs, mind and heart healthy. 

Anulom Viloma Pranayam

Anulom Vilom is extremely useful for high BP patients. It has so many other benefits as well. For this Pranayam technique you should sit in right posture. Close your right nostril with the right thumb. Put your first finger on the forehead and breathe in deeply through left nostril.  Then close the left nostril with the second and third finger and exhale through the right nostril. Now inhale through the right nostril and repeat the step. Take a break when you feel uncomfortable. Start again. Practice this for 5-10 minutes. The maximum time is 15 minutes. 

Bhramari Pranayam

Brahmari Pranayam is done for cleansing of mind. This is done to take all the thoughts out of mind and make the mind relax.  To do this, sit in the right posture.  Close both your ears with your thumbs. Put your first fingers on forehead. Place three fingers on around your eyes in such a way that second finger is covering the eye.  Apply gentle push on eye using the second finger.  Breathe deeply through your nostrils. Now exhale through your nostrils making sound like “Om”.  It should sound like honeybee. Practice this for 5-15 times. You will feel relaxed.

Udgeet Pranayam

Udgeet should be done in a very relaxing manner. Both inhale and exhale should be very smooth. Sit in proper aasana. Breathe in and say “OM”. It should be a prolonged one and should be continuing for time period of one exhale. Repeat this for 10-15 times. You will feel the divine energy flowing in. This is awesome.

Once all the pranayams are done. Sit and relax for some time.  Do Gentle breathing. And you are done.

There are enormous benefits when you practice Pranayam. These practices can never do any harm unless performed incorrectly.

P.S. Please perform Pranayam under the guidance of a skilled yoga teacher at least for first few days. A consultation with your doctor is advisable.

===== OM =====

Keep Fit and Healthy with Water Therapy

Water Therapy (‘Jal Chikitsa’ in Hindi)  is one of the best solution to most of the major illnesses known. To say the least it not helps in just prevention of diseases but provides cure to major diseases even like Cancer, Diabetes, Asthma, etc.  And the best thing about this therapy is that its free of cost. The only thing we need is access to fresh and clean water. The results of this therapy are mind boggling.  And it’s definitely one of those things for which you can say “You never realize unless you try”.

Historical Importance:

Water Therapy has been used in India and Japan for long times. In India it has been performed by Rishis(Monks) and General public since ages.  In fact it’s considered to be performed before starting Yoga.  In Japan also this therapy is in use for very long time. It is recognized as one of best prevention and cure of diseases in both the countries and is performed by many of their citizens even now. However now-a-days it is being consumed by huge number of people across the world. It’s been proved by science as well that this therapy can do miracle to your health.

What is Water Therapy? When to do Water Therapy? How to do Water Therapy?

Water therapy is no rocket science. It’s nothing but drinking water early in the morning. This should be done as the first thing in the morning as soon as you wake up. Literally you should not do anything. The amount of water that should be drunk is 1.25-1.50litres (1250-1500cc). I would recommend to try this in step-by-step manner. As in you can start with 750cc at first. Continue with that for 2-3 days and then increase it gradually to make it 1250-1500cc. It should be alright if you take this amount in breaks. But try to drink the total amount within 5 minutes.

Once you have drunk water, you should wash your face, eyes, brush your teeth. But remember don’t drink or eat anything for next 45-60 minutes. The water will come out in the form of urine in some time. You may need to visit the toilet several times but its normal. You will get used to this in few days time. If you have consumed any form of alcohol the previous night, it’s better to avoid it next day.

Once you have completed that 60 minutes after water therapy, you can eat breakfast and carry on with your daily routine.

What Diseases that will be cured or can be prevented

Well to be honest this list will be endless. I think most of the known diseases can be cured by this therapy. But to list down a few

o   Headache, Body ache

o   Cardiovascular diseases

o   Eye diseases and disorders

o   Diabetes

o   Ear nose mouth diseases

o   Weight loss/gain

o   Asthma

I don’t want to make this list use much space here.  But I tell you it can cure many more.  In few days to months time I believe everybody should see some positive changes in his/her health.