Friday, March 19, 2010

Be Happy – We Can Live Longer

For particularly those people, who did not study medical sciences, it has been a great anxiety for long what causes us to age resulting in death of our body cells over the years, develop heart disease leading to plaque in the artery, or suffer from cancer causing cells to mutate and grow erratically. If we reduce the number of oxygen radicals, we improve the antioxidant status in our body to reduce the danger of many diseases and we can live longer since the common denominator in all these conditions is the antioxidant status – the level of chemical process that cholesterol level we can measure our antioxidant status and determine how vulnerable we are to diseases.

There is a rhythm in nature. Seasons come and go. In your own body also, there is a rhythm. Life has a particular rhythm. Similarly, your breath also goes in a pattern. Your emotions move in a particular rhythm, as well as your thoughts. All these rhythms arise from your being, which has its own rhythm. In this direction, Sudarshan kriya works a lot on the antioxidant status of individuals. Sudarshan Kriya is a well known rhythmic breathing technique, preceded by Ujjayi Pranayam or long and deep breaths with constriction at the base of throat and Bhastrika or fast and forceful breaths through the nose along with arm movements.

In Sudarshan Kriya, we get into the rhythm of our being and see how our being is permeating our emotions, our thoughts, our breath and our bodies. Soon, every cell of our body becomes alive and releases all the toxins and negative emotions it has stored from times past. Once again, we are able to smile from our hearts.

Our body is being constantly damaged and destroyed by oxygen radicals, similar to what dirt and rust do to our vehicles. Oxygen radicals are different from oxygen gas in that they are molecules that are highly charged and detrimental byproducts of cell reactions.

Our body has an antioxidant defense system that constantly searches and destroys these oxygen radicals, much like our immune system, which polices our body for foreign agents such as bacteria and viruses to eliminate them. If the antioxidant defense system of our body is weak, the number of oxygen radicals increases, causing our cells to die quickly. This results in inflammation and plaque with our heart vessels or prompts the cells to mutate into cancer cells. If we reduce the number of oxygen radicals, we improve the antioxidant status in our body, and we can live linger and lead a disease-free life.

It is important that we try to reduce the level of oxygen radicals and strengthen our defense system. We can increase our antioxidant levels through our diet. A healthy diet of vegetable and fruit increases our intake of important antioxidants such as Vitamins A, C, E, and beta carotene. Some initial studies have shown the benefit of higher antioxidants in our diet, but larger studies have not detected the benefit – so the jury is still out. Smoking, alcohol and chronic psycho-social problems like work and family pressures, can increase oxidative stress. This stress affects our complex molecules and genes. Yoga and meditation can relieve this stress.

Will Sudarshan Krisya have similar effect? In a research, it has been found that the Kriya practitioners had a better antioxidant status at the enzyme and the gene level. Also they had less DNA damage and cell aging. It is difficult to know if this change will lead to longer life span, decrease rates of cancer, or lessen heart disease, but we should practice some type of breathing technique once a day to reduce stress. We can undertake this kriya twice everyday. Though biochemical science and spirituality may seem miles apart, it is heartening to see ancient practices and modern science converging in man’s endeavour to live a richer and healthier life. It is expected that it can help us to live longer.

Be Happy - We Can Live Longer By Undertaking Sudarshan Kriya Under Some Expert's Supervision.


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