love
is the source
of life
beauty
the energy
of eternity
Nutrition
Physically, we also begin to give our self the best possible nutrition. With proper breathing, we give the body oxygen and get rid of the carbon dioxide. We also begin to give the body the best possible foods, which are generally located on the perimeters of the grocery store. We take the time to prepare more nutritious vegetable dishes. We don’t have to be a vegetarian to have good nutrition, but we do need to prepare the freshest foods. We also balance our diet with a combination of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. When we eat a proper balanced meal, we will naturally eat less, and feel nutritionally satisfied for hours.
The difference between an
ordinary man and a sage is that
the sage does not allow his
thoughts to dwell on the negative.
Swami Rama 1925-1996
When we are calm and relaxed, the body can utilize more of the nutrients of the food. A good meal should help us feel more peaceful, and more relaxed. The meal is a part of our wholistic nutrition. We also make the preparation of the food as enjoyable as eating the meal. We can listen to music, or sing, or do positive affirmations, or have family conversations. Eating can be a time of coming together with other people. It can be a time of sharing positive ideas and laughter, or a time of personal introspection.
The human body needs food, water, and oxygen. We have many choices of what we eat and drink. Science has discovered that some things are toxic and poisonous to the body, like alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, and purine (found in red meats), to name a few. To change a poor eating habit, we first start by making minor healthier choices and gradually move to re-educate our tastes for healthier foods.
Having a healthy diet is all about finding a balance in what and how much we eat. We can begin with what the medical community tells us, but we also have to pay attention to what our body, mind, and spirit are telling us about the foods we eat. Food, water, and proper breathing all bring energy and life force to the body.
We will notice by providing sufficient water consumption for our body, this will also decrease the appetite. When the body is asking for nutrition, we usually assume it wants food, and we give it food, when in fact it could be calling out for more hydration, or even more oxygen. Ironically, when the body has sufficient oxygen and water, it will automatically decrease our appetite.
Nurturing the Body
Physical nutrition involves eating foods that nurture the physical body. It has been proven that fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains are healthy and beneficial to the body. Presently, the medical community is encouraging people to cut down or limit red meat and animal fat. A diet built around fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains is a diet that will be fairly well balanced in carbohydrates, good fats, and protein. We can also get protein from certain vegetables, nuts, and combining foods such as milk and cereal. The final chapter on what percentage of carbohydrates, fats, and protein we need, has not yet been written by the medical or scientific communities.
When it comes to food, everyone has their own likes and dislikes. However, we can become more aware of how much nutritional value is in the foods we choose to eat. Once we become aware of the nutritional value, we can make adjustments in the foods and their preparation, for a more nutritious meal, without sacrificing our preferences in tastes.
Nurturing the Nature of the Body
We also address the fact that our physical body is created in a manner that drives it towards activity. The body wants to be active. To develop health in the body, we also must find physical activities that are helpful, beneficial, and consistent. We develop a 30–60 minute exercise plan that is healthy for us and also enjoyable so we will be willing to do it 3–5 times a week. Walking is the best form of gentle and easy exercise. A vigorous walk (3–4 mph, 20 minute mile) will properly exercise every muscle in the body, and also energize us. Swimming is a more strenuous but excellent form of exercise that combines a calorie-burning, cardiovascular workout, with muscle toning and resistance training that uses all the muscles in the body.
Exercise will help promote good long-term health regardless of how much one weighs. A brisk half-hour walk a day is enough to achieve healthy benefits. Combined with a healthy diet, it will also help to reduce obesity, heart disease, and other medical conditions. Here are a few examples of how physical exercise can work for us:
| Activity | Calories Burned |
|---|---|
| Sitting | 80 calories/hour |
| Weight-lifting (non-vigorous) | 215 calories/hour |
| Volleyball – recreational | 215 calories/hour |
| Golf – played with a cart | 250 calories/hour |
| Lawn mowing | 325 calories/hour |
| Walking at 4mph | 325 calories/hour |
| Kayaking | 360 calories/hour |
| Dancing – nightclub | 395 calories/hour |
| Water Skiing | 430 calories/hour |
| Hiking | 430 calories/hour |
| Aerobics – high impact | 505 calories/hour |
| Racquetball – recreational | 505 calories/hour |
| Tennis | 505 calories/hour |
| In-line Skating | 505 calories/hour |
| Skiing – cross country | 575 calories/hour |
| Hockey – Ice or Field | 575 calories/hour |
| Martial Arts | 720 calories/hour |
| Bicycling – 15mph | 720 calories/hour |
| Running – 10mph | 720 calories/hour |
| Swimming – crawl stroke | 790 calories/hour |
Some form of resistance training or weight training is important, and we need to include it in our exercise program. Weight training rebuilds bone, builds strength, and improves agility. People who work out regularly regain mobility and an enthusiasm for life because it also releases endorphins, including serotonin (the “happy” endorphin). It is beneficial to add some kind of resistance training 2–3 times a week. We don’t need to join a gym or buy expensive weight sets, but we will need some basic weight training equipment, and a book showing us beginning or basic weight training exercises. It is important to get a physical exam and talk to a doctor before beginning any exercise program.
Physically, mentally, and emotionally, we look to find a balance in our life. In developing a relationship with our self, we will notice that life is not a solo journey. Human beings are social beings. We love to love, and we love to interact. Communion with life is a social activity. The balance and enjoyment of life is in finding time for our self and the things we enjoy doing, and finding time to do activities with people we enjoy associating with. We look to spend time with people who have similar interests, goals, and ideas; this is what brings about a peer group or family. Social interaction is about live social interactions and activities. Tweeting, blogging, and being “friends” on Facebook are not the same as face-to-face interactions, and do not cause the same stimulation and social growth as face-to-face interactions.
Our inhalation and exhalation of a diaphragmatic breath is the foundation of developing a balance in a healthy body and mind. Our body is the vehicle we use while on earth. A healthy vehicle will bring more joy than an unhealthy vehicle. We maintain the physical body with proper nutrition, hygiene, breathing, and exercise.
Maintaining proper weight for our body type is part of maintaining our health, through a balance of good nutrition and exercise we will have a healthy body. This gives us a healthier vehicle to use in fulfilling our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual goals in our life.
Cut and Burn Weight Loss Program
Losing, gaining or maintaining weight is as simple as calories consumed and calories burned up.
It takes the burning of 3500 calories to lose one pound of fat. Through a combination of reducing our caloric intake and increasing our daily activity, we can “cut and burn” 500 calories a day. By doing this, we will be able to lose one pound a week with just minor adjustments to our life or we can adjust this formula to our desired goal or timetable.
This weight loss program helps us develop discipline and better health by simply cutting our portions a little and burning more calories with 20–60 minutes of exercise each day. Example: by eating ½ portion of dessert and swimming for 20 minutes, we can reduce the dessert calories by approximately 200 calories, and burn approximately 300 calories by swimming. This would give us a total (reduction + burning) of 500 calories for the daily goal. In seven days we could cut and burn 3500 calories for a one pound weight loss.
Accepting Responsibility for our Whole Life Nutrition
Water or proper hydration: The body is 70% water; so we need water for health, well being, and survival. Soft drinks, coffee, tea, and wine are all liquids, but they are water mixed with other ingredients, some of which may have a toxic affect on the body. These drinks should be used in moderation and should not be used as substitutes for the water that the body needs for health. We should be drinking 6–8 glasses of water a day to maintain a healthy body.
Proper breathing doesn’t seem important until it is viewed from a nutritional standpoint. It is important to view proper breathing as part of our physical nutrition for the body. Then we will reassign priority to the physical nutrients. Oxygen becomes the first priority, because we can only live minutes without it. Water is the second priority, because we can only live a day or two without it. Food is the third priority, because we can live a number of days or weeks without it. This simple rearranging of priorities can have a profound psychological effect on the ease of changing our eating habits to a healthier diet.
Nutritional foods: There’s a common saying that to eat healthier, shop the perimeters of the store. Generally, all the fresh foods, the fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy products, are around the perimeters of the stores. The inner aisles tend to have the processed foods, most of which have been enhanced and preserved with chemicals.
The produce department at a store is like nature’s pharmacy. There are foods that will help lower blood pressure and cholesterol, that will ease indigestion, that will burn calories, reduce allergy symptoms and on and on. Bookstores and health food stores have many books, which explain the healing properties of foods. A proper diet promotes a healthier body. It is difficult to be happy and cheerful when the body is ill or in discomfort. When we are healthy and energized, there is more happiness and enthusiasm for life.
There is more to life than increasing its speed
Mahatma Gandhi 1869-1948
Preparing fresh food doesn’t take that much longer than preparing processed foods. Not only is fresh food healthier for us, but it also tastes better. We can utilize the extra time it takes to prepare fresh food in beneficial ways. This time can be used to relax the body, nourish the mind and spirit, and connect with the people we care about. Our life should be a celebration, and our food preparation can easily be part of that celebration. It only takes some minor adjustments in how we view this time.
By accepting responsibility for our life, we can make our individual life more peaceful, calm, and joy-filled. We need to understand and learn to nurture the mind and spirit, along with our body. This will bring more love, freedom, and friendship into our life. The relationship we develop with our self is the beginning of our relationship with the whole of life as we begin to connect with the rest of life.
Providing better nutrition to our whole self is as simple as having the willingness and the discipline to begin making changes in our life. The easiest changes we can make are with our breathing, water, and food choices. After our survival needs are met, we address learning and growing.
Four natural inclinations: The human being has four natural inclinations. 1) The first inclination is the desire to experience peace, love, or ecstasy. This is the Om Satyam nature and correlates to the eternal nature of the soul. 2) The second inclination is the desire to know and attain knowledge and power. This correlates with the Om Shivam and the causal body or the mind. 3) The third inclination is to enjoy, appreciate, and experience beauty, which correlates to the Om Sundaram and the astral body or senses. 4) The fourth inclination is action. We want to do, explore, and wholistically experience the Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram nature of all life, which is possible in the physical body.
We are shaped and fashioned by
what we love.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goeth
1749-1832
If we will have enthusiasm for learning, we will gain our self, our life, and the celebration of living.
As examples of study, I recommend four areas of study, one for each of the bodies. Each of these studies can be done wholistically.
1) The first area of study is photography, which is for the causal body or mind. This study will help us to look for and see the beauty and the symmetry in life.
2) The second area of study is the appreciation of music, which is for the astral body or senses. Music that a person finds enjoyable stimulates the entire brain.
3) The third area of study is dance, which is for the physical body. Dance helps us to become sensitive to vibration and rhythm, and helps us to harmonize with the vibration or rhythm of life.
4) The fourth area of study is meditation, which helps us be aware of our wholistic Self, and bring us to the state of the soul, Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram (peace, love, and harmony).
We are all on the planet together. When we work towards peace, happiness, learning and growing, we will naturally want to try to help others to do the same. There is an interwovenness in life. To attain and maintain happiness, we must take others into consideration, which is why the Golden Rule is found in all cultures around the world.
Raising the bar for our self and expanding our vision
We need to raise the level of our aspirations. When we get up in the morning, we must simply say we want to see beauty, we want more laughter, we want to feel a little more joy, we want to become a better human being. Then we make the effort to look for it. To start our day, we may do a little uplifting reading, or focus on a positive affirmation. We look for a smile and then pass it on. We look for something beautiful that will inspire us to express that beauty. We try to be kinder in thought, word and deed during our day. The things we aspire to at the beginning of the day will set the tone of our day.
Remembering that we are a body, mind, and spirit, when we take a wholistic approach to nurturing our self we will find life much more enjoyable. Proper nutrition takes our willful effort and will help us to attain a happier and healthier life. It is not about finding the perfect balance in our life. It is more about seeking to balance our days, which helps us attain the enjoyment of everyday living. We strive to seek a balancing of body, mind and spirit, for both the inner life and the outer life.
We must embrace being open to life. This gives us the freedom to share who and what we are with our family and friends.
