‘Irritable Face’ Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome is something all of us know about. But how about the irritable face syndrome – the ‘castor oil’ face? Some people, on principle, wake up with the sole purpose of spreading gloom and doom. They act as though nothing good will ever come out of this day.

So when you wake up in the morning, wash your face, like it is a piece of unique, precious china. Blot it dry and give yourself a big smile in the mirror. Remember, the most important thing you will be wearing during the day, will be a smile. Appreciate yourself for all the things you have handled on the previous day.

Daniel Gilbert, Harvard professor who wrote ‘Stumbling on Happiness,’ mentions the following things about the science behind the smile. Here is what he says:

·         Healthy people are usually happier.

·          People who participate in religious organizations are happier

·         People who feel financially comfortable are happier.

·         People in good romantic relationships are happier those who aren’t.

But here is the catch, “a new house or a new spouse can make you happier, but not much and not for long,” he says.

Negative events like losing a job or being disgraced do not make us as unhappy as we think they will, because very soon humans find the silver lining and become adept at seeing why everything works out for the best.  There is the case of Moreese Bickham the who served in the United State Army spent 37 years in jail and on his release said, “I don’t have one minute’s regret. It was a glorious experience.” Pete Best, the original drummer of the Beatles who dropped out just before they become big, said, “I am happier than I would have been in the Beatles.” So the point is, focus on minute to minute, small, joyful events. The high points and catastrophes are few and far between. So work out your daily happiness breaks.

Parameters of Physical wellness

Perfect Breathing

Focus on your breathing. Take a deep breath then exhale slowly. Repeat a couple of times a day. You can bring equilibrium to your mental state by breathing correctly. The first exercise in the ancient pranayama tradition—the art of filling every part of your body with life-force or prana. Always take longer to exhale so that the lungs are empty of stale air. Only then can oxygen flow in. The body is the boat human beings are given to sail across the sea of life. It is your duty to take care of it.

Rest, Relaxation and Rejuvenation.

A 20 minute nap improves memory retention and Nike expects workers to ‘just do it’ in their ‘quiet rooms.’ Meditation has the same effect, but delivers even better benefits. Rest enables stress chemicals to subside after competing all day. Non- competitive sports like walking, sailing, reading or socializing can provide a relaxing change of pace.

Healthy Food

Food brings people together, allows human beings to feel satisfied and comfortable, connects us with the earth and provides us with health. Freshly-cooked healthy food, pure fresh air and yogic exercise nurture and enhance prana.

Positive Thinking

Positive emotions like love, courage, humour, compassion wonder and peace create a positive field. To infuse our lives with what poets call “the rapture of being” is to create a positive field. Learning to create a positive field is an important part of the climate of wellbeing. 

Action Plans to Maintain Perfect Health

·         Start the day with a glass of warm water and a dash of lime.

·         Once a week have only fresh fruits until noon; let your lunch be the first meal of the day.

·         Kick the old coffee drinking habit.  Have a glass of fresh fruit juice instead.

·         Include foods with high fibre content – plenty of fruits, vegetables and grains – in planning        your diet.

        Don’t rush through your meals.  Set aside enough time to appreciate, enjoy and digest your food.

·         Shop for groceries yourself.  Notice the look, feel and smell of fresh fruit and vegetables and        enjoy their intrinsic goodness.

·         Make it a point to have dinner with the entire family at the table, and not in front of the TV.

·         Focus on your breathing.  Take a deep breath, then exhale slowly.  Repeat a couple of times a       day.

·         Learn to relax.  Spend twenty minutes consciously relaxing each muscle of your body.

·         Spend twenty minutes a day in silent meditation, prayer or contemplation.

Healthy food for good physical wellness

Food brings people together, allows human beings to feel satisfied and comfortable, connects us with the earth and provides us with health.  Eating should be regarded as a sacred act. In an orthodox Hindu home, food is offered to the family deity first and is then consumed as prasad or offering with the diety’s blessing. In both cases, food is offered as an oblation to the five pranas which are regarded as five fires. Even if one does not follow this ritualistic concept, one should make eating a fully conscious and peaceful act. Hurry, worry, anger, distractions and chattering should be avoided while eating.

Meditation for Wellness

In order to treat or prevent disease, it is essential to look into our emotional, mental and psychological environment, as our thoughts and emotions directly contribute to our wellbeing or otherwise. Some doctors believe that it is more important to know the patient who has the disease than to know the disease the patient has. Wise gurus, and now modern research, both believe that meditation can contribute enormously to an individual’s psychological and physiological wellbeing. It reduces stress, hypertension, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression, improves cardiovascular health, memory and concentration, work efficiency, and immunological resistance to diseases. As a result, some form of meditation has become an essential part of wellness programs. 

Physical Wellness

Physical fitness is of utmost importance as it is the starting point for wellness of the mind and spirit. We would have perfect health as a state where all body parts function at their optimal level and wherein the body, mind and spirit are in perfect balance and in a state of bliss. Positive health implies perfect functioning of body and mind in a given society. To be healthy is to have the ability, despite an occasional bout of illness, to live with full use of your faculties, to be vigorous, alert and with a sense of joie de vivre, even in old age. In order to treat or prevent disease, it is essential to look into our emotional, mental and psychological environment, as our thoughts and emotions directly contribute to our well-being or otherwise. Your Happiness Quotient is directly affected by your physical condition. Hence it is said, health is the foundation for a feeling of well-being and joy.

Joyful Living

In order to experience the spontaneous happiness that bubbles out of your heart like a mountain stream. We need to concentrate on the following seven actions

1.      Physical Wellness

2.      Emotional Wellness

3.      Personal Wellness

4.      Family Bonding

5.      Nurturing Workplace

6.      Social Bonding

7.      Dharmic Living

Great mountain and beyond, a green sunlit valley is a beautiful and enjoyable sight. Only when you climb the mountain can you see the beauty of the journey ahead. Hence in the same way only when you learn the seven actions of happiness, you can realize and enjoy real happiness.

Emotional Wellness

Around every person there is a field of emotional energy. We have a positive energy field and negative energy field around each person. A positive field is created by positive emotions and a negative field draws sustenance from negative emotions. Positive emotions help the person to be radiant, and everything in his life flourishes and grows. On the other hand, negative emotions always have a morose or tense air about them, and everything in their life seems to fade and die.

When the field around is positive, all words spoken in that field would be sweet and loving. Your mind will always focus on gentle and kind thoughts. When the field around is negative with hurt, anger, possessiveness, greed, jealousy, fear and abhorrence, we are less able to act with speed and efficiency. These emotions suck the energy and life-force out of us. That is why it is difficult to be completely happy while hurting others. It is necessary at all times to make sure that the negative field is not created.

Life’s Greatest Gift

Happiness is a life’s greatest gift. There is joy to be found in the small things. Go peacefully amidst the noise and the haste. Enjoy the sweetness of everyday things. Events or people around us are not under our control. But our reactions, our responses to them are. Respond with love and peace. Focus on happiness and on cultivating happy people. Build protective walls against toxic events that threaten your tranquillity. Let the cells of your body be gently bathed in happiness, positive thoughts and healing energies. The Vedas speak of the self as a beautiful lotus growing in the muddy waters of life. With its roots in the muck the lotus rises above it, in perfect beauty and bliss.

Nurturing Life-Force

Prana is the life-force that flows in all living things. When prana leaves the body, the body dies. When prana is in full flow, the person is full of vitality, energy and enthusiasm. Prana creates a field of possibilities where the seed of any idea develops rapidly, where our activities proceed smoothly and bear rich dividends. To develop prana, meditation, pranayama and a calm attitude are key. Freshly-cooked healthy food, pure fresh air and yogic exercise nurture and enhance prana. Eating too much, consuming stale food, exercising till you are ready to drop dead, constant arguments, overworking, getting emotionally upset, breathing polluted air, all interfere with the smooth flow of prana.