|
| |
| A
healthy body is essential to the development of one’s full
potential. If the physical machinery is not optimum condition, it
will not be a fit instrument for daily work, meditation, and service
to others. |
| Proper
exercise, proper breathing, proper relaxation, proper diet, and
positive thinking are the requisite attendants of meditation. When
there are disturbances of a physical or emotional nature, meditation
is not possible. The entire physical system, internal and external,
should be kept in tune. This is the [purpose of Yoga exercises,
or asanas, which involve systematically stretching muscles rather
than contracting. |
Yogic
breathing is called pranayama, which actually means control of the
vital energy. You can live without food, water, sunlight, and sleep
for fairly extended periods of time, but the body cannot survive
without oxygen beyond several minutes. Prana, the vital force, makes
the difference between life and death. Its primary source is the
breath. |
Proper
relaxation is also needed to maintain mental, spiritual, and physical
health. Yogic asana and pranayama include special techniques for
relaxation. Many think that relaxation involves leaving home for
some exotic place where the mind and body are ceaselessly pumped
with stimulants and depressants and a full range of other damaging
delights. |
Perfect
Diet: |
What
is consumed by the human body correlates directly to the efficiency
with which the brain functions. Refined sugar can cause emotional
instability. A person who meditation regularly must be particularly
aware of these substances, for even on a day-by-day basis, diet
affects the quality of meditation. |
The
optimum diet for mediation is a simple one. This is not to say that
meals should not be appetizing, but there should be an absence of
these foods, which negatively affect the mind. Hot and pungent spices,
garlic, onions, salt, coffee, black tea, and meat agitate the mind,
and hence control of the thoughts becomes difficult. Marijuana and
cigarettes, though not taken as foods, also fit into this category. |
Buy
fresh fruits and vegetables. Avoid additives, processed foods, and
canned goods wherever possible. Buy a few good books on nutrition
and vegetarian diet. Several years ago vegetarianism was, in a sense
an underground practice. |
|
Health
food stores and vegetarian restaurants are prevalent. There is a
growing awareness that our health is directly affected by what we
eat. |
Hardening
of the arteries and heart disease are two of the most common maladies
in the West, where the greatest amount of meat is consumed. The
culprit is cholesterol, which cannot be eliminated from the body.
It forms fatty deposits along the walls of the heart and arties,
gradually thickening until they are clogged and inflexible. It is
also noteworthy that our digestive system is not one of a carnivore.
Our teeth are designed for biting and mashing vegetables, not tearing
flesh; we must age, tenderise and cook meat. The human liver is
proportionally smaller then that of a meat-eating animal and is
not built to handle the filtering of animal poisons. |
|
