What I am going to highlight over here are simple health practices with dramatic positive effects and which can be easily incorporated into your lifestyles. In addition, each of these practices have individually been empirically and scientifically proven to have even cured people of serious illnesses such as cancer, depression, heart blockages, anxiety, diabetes and more. Now imagine if all of these come together and become a part of your daily living then what happens – an explosion of good health, living and vitality.

And here’s the deal. What if they together take no more than 30 minutes a day!!

1.  2 Glasses of water in morning

People in Japan drink 2 glasses of water each day. It has also been recommended in ancient Ayurveda that drinking water early in the morning (also known as Ushapan) is a great way to regain health. There are many benefits to it, few of them below

• Cleanses the colon which leads to better absorption of nutrients
• Adequate water helps remove toxins from the body in turn cleans the skin
• Balances the lymph system
• Fires up your metabolism and helps in weight loss
• Gives you a sense of calmness

Remember Japanese have the largest number of centenarians on earth. They are not generally overweight as they have a high metabolism going and this supposedly is one crucial factor contributing to it in addition to their relatively healthy eating pattern and lifestyle.  In fact in Japan water therapy is considered to be in high regards and a one stop cure for many diseases right from headache to cancer. Hardly anything to lose when we all know we are comprised of 70% water, that we haven’t had water for 8-9 hours of sleep and that even ancient Indian traditions highly recommend it. Seems so logical to implement it right way but which has been long ignored. Worth incorporating in your daily routine huh!

2.  3 SRB

The 3 SRB rhythmic breathing is an ancient technique of breathing. It is supposed to be our natural state of breathing, but something that we have alienated as we grew up amidst our faulty lifestyles. This technique was borne from the Yogasutra of Sage Patanjali. These are also mentioned to be a part of Swar Nadi Shastra from the ancient Vedas.

I have met many  people who have been immensely benefited through this breathing technique. Some were cured of diabetes, some of asthma, some achieved mobility, some overcame a heart bypass surgery or other heart ailments and more.  I will be putting in a more detailed article as well as the testimonies of some people I have interacted with shortly. You can check www.3srb.org for more details on this breathing technique.

I have  personally attended few 3SRB sessions and I have practiced it quite a bit. Since I do not have any major health issues, I can’t say much on a deeper personal level except that I felt good, natural and energetic. The difference compared to Pranayama is that while Pranayama is done for a specific duration, 3SRB is a way of breathing and hence is not a temporary solution. You breath and live by it. You breath the way you are actually supposed to but which you have forgotten. The technique if you analyze is pretty sound and the exercises that precede the main breathing (also known as refining exercise,  attentive relaxation and SWISO) seem scientific in their approach. It’s finally about gaining an overall body and internal organ flexibility so that you can tune yourself in  the main 3SRB breathing pattern with ease.

3.  Meditation

Nothing beats meditation. It gives you the strength to face life’s challenges through wisdom and genuine understanding of life, face to face and not through a short term temporary approach. It is the bridge between the spiritual and the material world. In turn it gives you happiness. That’s what eventually matters right! In turn the acquired wisdom has its effect deep down and even positively influences your physical health. You could read more about meditation in my blogs here.

4.  Salt Water Bath

Sometimes problems emanate from dimensions not easily visible. Salt water bath has been traditionally used to ward off any  effects of negative energies on your body. This is in addition to having benefits on your body that are scientifically proven. To know more about salt water bath and its benefits, check out my other article here.

 5. Exposure to sun

Sun is the source of all energy. And it would be really unjustified if we turn our back towards it. Yet we do. Our digital lifestyles  has made us prohibit sun and we unknowingly take avoiding sun rays in good stride assuming dermatologists are God. Go get the sun! Daily soaking yourself in the sun for 10 minutes early in the morning is one of the best ways to get this life energy. Right from vitamin D and its tens of hundreds of biological processes in the body (which I am not elaborating into), you really do not want to miss out on this one assuming that a pill could do for it at a later stage in life. Embrace nature as much, avoid substitutes as they really are only substitutes (work-around way and not exact). Right from depression to other neurological diseases to cancer, studies have shown that the vitamin D obtained from the Sun has substantial positive influence these conditions.  In fact  it would be a great idea to club 3SRB, meditation and the sun exposure. Do 3SRB and meditation soaking in the sun if you have that luxury. Maybe a nearby garden or Joggers park or the veranda with ample sun rays falling upon you.

Simple things done diligently go a long way to bring about significant positive changes. Not only are these simple, but the time they consume are very less. 3SRB and Meditation put together could take just 20 odd minutes. . In fact you would start loving the combination especially that of 3SRB and meditation. Sit in peace and get yourself up to vitality breathing fresh air and enjoy silence. I remember I used to look forward to it a lot after my morning bath. Drinking 2 glasses of water is hardly any time. Salt Water Bath another 10 minutes or so.

I am assuming that the rest of your diet will be at par with good proportions of various fruits and vegetables. There’s a whole lot of things involved when it comes to the area of diet, but that’s a different and detailed topic altogether. But the idea here was to add that extra spice to the routine things that you do, but one which are proven, easy to follow and in turn can go a long way in maintaining your health and vitality.

So that’s it. You have added that extra spice to your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. In the book ‘Can You Play‘,  I also explain scientifically how the various pathways that go into our brains need to be nurtured and how some of the above practices help to achieve the same in detail. The above is completely in accordance with that.