A Magazine of People and
Possibilities
Now Celebrating 17 Years In Print and 11 Years Online!
Your Health
by Dr. Raj Rakhra
The World Health Organization defines health
as a state of complete physical, mental and social well being,
not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. This definition
surpasses health as well beyond the absence of disease or sickness.
The question of health and disease comes down to individual responsibility.
It means choosing a life style that is healthy over a less healthy
way of living. If you want to be healthy you have to simply make
healthy choices. The unhealthy choices made under the influences
of marketing hype and spending money under emotional duress to
satisfy your unhealthy desires have consequences. Mass media plays
a large part by constantly pushing messages that can adversely
affect our health, diet and life style. The first goal to regain
good health is reached by taking personal responsibility. The
second step is to take appropriate action in order to receive
the benefits. Achieving and maintaining health is quite simple,
if an individual follows the basic fundamentals of health:
Positive Mental Attitude, Healthy
Diet and Exercise.
Positive Mental Attitude
The important factor to maintaining or attaining health is a consistent
positive mental attitude. Long before this new age movement began,
Ayurvedic Science observed the interconnections between the mind,
body and the spirit.
Evidence has been accumulating to support the idea that what we
think, feel and internally represent has a tremendous effect on
the way our body functions. Western medicine has attained great
success in science but still lacks the framework for understanding
how our bodies are directly influenced by our thoughts, feelings
and the choice of lifestyle. The mind is so powerful, yet we only
utilize a fraction of its capabilities. Ayurvedic Medicine, an
ancient Indian medical science, recognizes that each person has
an individual body type and a unique personality, instead of assuming
that all of us are identical machines. Ayurvedic science respects
the uniqueness of each person. It does not limit the physical
or psychological dimensions. It considers all the levels of a
person, which include the spiritual, emotional, intellectual,
behavioral, physical, familial, social, environmental and universal
aspects of life. It recognizes and emphasizes the importance of
creating and maintaining positive health. The focus is on preventing
the imbalances that lead to disease. For prevention as well as
for treatment, an individualized, multidimensional approach is
taken.
Abraham Maslow, founding father of Modern Psychology discovered
and strongly believed that healthy people are motivated toward
self-actualization. He developed the five steps for human needs
in which personality development progresses from one step to the
next. The need for the lower level must be satisfied before the
next level can be achieved. When needs are met, the individual
moves toward health and well-bing.
The primary needs are Basic survival:
The satisfaction of hunger, thirst, sexuality and shelter are
the essential biological needs.
The next step consists of the need
for safety-security, order and stability.
These basic feelings are essential in dealing with society.
Once these needs are satisfied, individuals can progress to the next step - love. This
level refers to the ability to love and be loved.
Additional steps are - self-esteem
and self-respect.
The final step is self-actualization -
the utilization of one's creative potential for self-fulfillment.
Self-actualized people - perceive reality more effectively than
others as they have a heightened ability to detect false and dishonest
personalities. Their judgement of situations, people and things
are correct and efficient. This allows them to be objective about
their own strengths, possibilities and limitations creating a
self awareness that enable them to clearly define values, goals,
desires and feelings. Such individuals are not frightened by uncertainty
but embrace life, having an acceptance of self, others and nature.
They do not have an absolute lack of guilt, shame, sadness, anxiety
or defensiveness yet they do not experience these feelings in
an unnecessary or unrealistic way. Geared towards problem solving
in life instead of being centered on self. Having a mission in
life enhances the capacity to appreciate the basic pleasures of
life such as nature, children, family, people, music and sexuality.
At certain times mystic or peak experiences or periods of intense
emotion in which they transcend self are revealed. Self-actualization
does not happen all at once. It happens by degrees, subtle changes
accumulated one by one. The first step is to take personal responsibility
for your own positive mental sate, your life, your current situation
and your health. The next step is to take action and make the
necessary changes. These steps could be; reading a book, taking
a seminar, seeking the aid of a professional counselor or it may
be simply doing the things that you have been telling yourself
to do for months or even years. Take action, make the healthy
choice in all aspects of your life, and you will be rewarded.
The Healthy Diet
After changing to a positive attitude the next step is to enjoy
a healthy diet that will provide the optimum level of nutrients.
We must avoid the foods that are low in nutrients and are detrimental
to health such as sugar, saturated fats, cholesterol, salt and
preservatives etc.
Dietary intake and energy expenditure must be adjusted to maintain
appropriate weight for height. A healthy diet is rich in whole,
natural and unprocessed foods. It is especially high in plant
foods such as vegetables, fruits, grains, seeds and nuts. These
foods contain valuable nutrients and fiber which have remarkable
healthy properties. A healthy diet must contain adequate, but
not excessive quantities of protein. A healthy diet also includes
at least eight glasses of pure clean water every day.
Exercise
The entire body benefits from regular exercise. This will result
in improved cardiovascular and respiratory function. It enhances
the transport of oxygen and nutrients to the cells. At the same
time it also enhances the transport of carbon dioxide and waste
products from the tissues of the body to the blood stream and
finally to the organs that remove waste from the body. Exercise
also reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. It lowers cholesterol
levels, improves the blood and oxygen supply to the heart thus
improving the functional capacity of the heart to help reduce
blood pressure and obesity and releasing beneficial effects to
the sticky cells. Regular exercise not only makes people look
better, but also makes them feel better. Tension, depression,
feelings of inadequacy and worries diminish greatly with regular
exercise.
Create healthy habits to ensure a healthy
life!
Dr. Rakhra's clinic is
located at 121 - 14 Street North West in Calgary, Alberta.
He may be reached at: 403-270-7033.
See display ad in this issue for more information.
Visit his webiste at: www.aynh.com
A Magazine of People and Possibilities
Now Celebrating 17 Years In Print and 11 Years Online!