sensible eating , even recommended by US goverment

Eating veggies and fruits, 5-10 helpings a day, keeps a man healthy, wealthy and wise
http://www.mypyramid.gov/index.html

Caloric Restriction Delays Disease Onset and Mortality in Rhesus Monkeys

Caloric Restriction Delays Disease Onset and Mortality in Rhesus Monkeys

Caloric restriction (CR), without malnutrition, delays aging and extends life span in diverse species; however, its effect on resistance to illness and mortality in primates has not been clearly established. We report findings of a 20-year longitudinal adult-onset CR study in rhesus monkeys aimed at filling this critical gap in aging research. In a population of rhesus macaques maintained at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, moderate CR lowered the incidence of aging-related deaths. At the time point reported, 50% of control fed animals survived as compared with 80% of the CR animals. Furthermore, CR delayed the onset of age-associated pathologies. Specifically, CR reduced the incidence of diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and brain atrophy. These data demonstrate that CR slows aging in a primate species.

http://science-mag.aaas.org/cgi/content/abstract/325/5937/201

Ayurveda has been a proponent of Mita-Ahara (Mitahara) which means eating in moderation.

No binge diets or overeating according to Ayurvedic principle....that will surely get you in trouble. Healthy lifelong moderate eating habits are a norm to be followed. watch out for a healthy food chart in the next couple of posts.

In fact Ayurveda recommends moderation in everything, sleep, diet, exercises, emotions, even lifestyle, for e.g. moderate/less talking is recommended, which is greatly needed to conserve the spiritual enegy and not let it get wasted in saying the non-truth, even unintentionally.....

Moderation is the key for physical , mental and spiritual health and progress in life.....

if you have time, try contemplating on this for sometime, and send me you feedback if it strikes an inner chord :)

Back after a year's Sabbatical :)

The Sabbatical was not totally intentional, but lot of changes happened in the internal/external world....new home, new job, new location, new friends, new relatives, new contemplations, new lessons.....

In the end everything is for a higher purpose......so I surrendered completely and hope to maintain that equanimity....though it is not easy ;)
will be more active now since I am back in action.....
with love to all.....

Happy Deepavali

Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous Deepavali.

May the light of love, compassion, truth and knowledge dispel the darkness, misery and ignorance from our lives.

सभी को दिवाली की हार्दिक शुभकामनायें

Produce label tricks to know their origins

You can buy a fruit or a veggie from any market, but always pay attention to the produce codes on the labels.

FOUR DIGIT NUMBERS (they all begin with 3 or 4) denote conventionally grown, non-GMO produce (that is, grown with chemical pesticides and fertilizers but not genetically modified)
FIVE DIGITS BEGINNING WITH AN 8 means the produce is GMO, genetically modified
FIVE DIGITS BEGINNING WITH A 9 means it is ORGANIC

so definitely stay away from the number 8's :)
http://www.plucodes.com/docs/IFPS-plu_codes_users_guide.pdf

Guru Purnima

wishing everyone a beautiful and blissful Guru-Purnima :)
Let us bow in devotion to the supreme remover of darkness from our life.....

61 Point Relaxation, taught by Swami Rama of the Himalayan tradition

A wonderful pre-meditative/relaxation technique adapted from http://www.swamij.com; as taught by Swami Rama from the Himalayan Masters traditions.

61-Points Exercise

The 61-Points exercise is subtler than the Tension/Release or Complete Relaxation practices (61-points is online). You will find that this leads you to a deeper state of calm and quiet.

As you go through the points, you may experience the points as gross body, such as skin, muscles, or bone, or you may experience the points as a feeling awareness. However you experience the points is okay--you cannot do it wrong. If you "see" with your inner eye, that's okay. If you do not "see" with your inner eye, that's okay too. You may experience darkness, or you may experience light, such as a point of light like a blue star. Any way that you experience it is okay. Just gradually, systematically learn where the points are and move from one to the next.
To move from one point to the next every couple seconds, or one or two breaths should be a comfortable speed. If you move too slow, you may find your attention drifts away, so it is better to go just a bit faster through the points. If you go too fast, you will have the benefit of easily moving through the points, but may lack depth in the practice. It is best to experiment with the timing.

Forehead, throat
Right shoulder, right elbow, right wrist, tip of right thumb, tip of right index finger, tip of right middle finger, tip of right ring finger, tip of right little finger, right wrist, right elbow, right shoulder, throat
Left shoulder, left elbow, left wrist, tip of left thumb, tip of left index finger, tip of left middle finger, tip of left ring finger, tip of left little finger, left wrist, left elbow, left shoulder
Throat, space between the breasts, right breast, space between the breasts, left breast, space between the breasts, navel, lower abdomen
Right hip, right knee, right ankle, tip of the right big toe, tip of the right second toe, tip of the right middle toe, tip of the right fourth toe, tip of the right little toe, right ankle, right knee, right hip, lower abdomen
Left hip, left knee, left ankle, tip of the left big toe, tip of the left second toe, tip of the left middle toe, tip of the left fourth toe, tip of the left little toe, left ankle, left knee, left hip
Lower abdomen, navel, space between the breasts, throat, forehead
The 61-Points exercise is an excellent practice for entering Yoga Nidra (yogic sleep), which is a state where you are in deep sleep, yet are awake. Yoga Nidra is deeply relaxing, and is used by the yogis to deal with samskaras (the deep impressions that drive karma) in their latent form.