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One of the most interesting researchers of yoga, meditation, pranayama is cell biologist Dr. Sundar Balasubramanian who reaches and does research at the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Balasubramanian grew up in rural India where his uncle was a local ayurvedic healer and who introduced Dr. Balasubramian who a variety of Vedic healing practices. Dr. Balasubramian was recently interviewed by Sara Novak for Discover Magazine on the subject of breath (pranayama). Here are some fascinating excerpts from the interview:
Q: What made you examine this technique through a cellular biology lens?
A: In 2005, I noticed while I was practicing pranayama, I was producing so much saliva that I was almost drooling. I wondered why and what the overall impact of that was. This led me and my team to study whether increased saliva production was a common response to the practice, and we found that it was. Saliva has numerous antibodies and proteins that do everything from suppressing tumors to regenerating the liver. For example, it contains immunoglobulin, which are antibodies that bind to germs, as well as DMBT1, a tumor suppressor that blocks the conversion of normal cells to cancer cells.
Q: Your 2015 study in International Psychogeriatrics showed that pranayama does more than just increase salivation. Can you elaborate?
A: Yes, it changes the makeup of saliva by increasing the amount of nerve growth factor (NGF). When NGF is produced, it’s transported to the brain, where it signals nerve cells to grow or survive longer. Increased NGF could have a major impact on aging, and specifically on some of the degenerative diseases of the day like Alzheimer’s and cancer.
(source: http://discovermagazine.com/2019/apr/take-a-deep-breath )
Q: What made you examine this technique through a cellular biology lens?
A: In 2005, I noticed while I was practicing pranayama, I was producing so much saliva that I was almost drooling. I wondered why and what the overall impact of that was. This led me and my team to study whether increased saliva production was a common response to the practice, and we found that it was. Saliva has numerous antibodies and proteins that do everything from suppressing tumors to regenerating the liver. For example, it contains immunoglobulin, which are antibodies that bind to germs, as well as DMBT1, a tumor suppressor that blocks the conversion of normal cells to cancer cells.
Q: Your 2015 study in International Psychogeriatrics showed that pranayama does more than just increase salivation. Can you elaborate?
A: Yes, it changes the makeup of saliva by increasing the amount of nerve growth factor (NGF). When NGF is produced, it’s transported to the brain, where it signals nerve cells to grow or survive longer. Increased NGF could have a major impact on aging, and specifically on some of the degenerative diseases of the day like Alzheimer’s and cancer.
(source: http://discovermagazine.com/2019/apr/take-a-deep-breath )
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The Buddha is the doctor; the Dharma is the prescription; the Sangha is a nurse; and sentient beings the patients. - Buddhist Proverb
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Buddhism teaches benefiting other as the first step on your path to liberation. - Sheng Yen
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It is important to help people who are ill because when we become ill our bodies are weakened and this leads to a decline of willpower or inner resolve. People who are ill are more prone than others to depression, anxiety and other forms of emotional tribulation. These are the times when people are most in need of our encouragement, our warmth and our kindness. - Hsing Yun
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When Thich Nhat Hanh was establishing his Buddhist center in the French countryside now known as Plum Village, an American family – Wendy Johnson, her farmer husband Peter and ten year old son – spent five weeks there helping clear the land and restore some of the older buildings. One area which presented an issue was a functioning vineyard located on the property owned by Plum Village. Asked what to do with it, Thich Nhat Hand said “tear it down”. Here is Wendy Johnson’s recollection of the conversation:
“From years of living in the West, Thay was aware of the dangers of alcoholism and unwilling to support the local wine “industry of suffering” so dominant in his region of France. He asked Peter to organize a team of practitioners to remove a fully bearing small vineyard within the Plum Village property. We worked for days in sweltering heat, an international team wielding heavy French mattocks and grubbing out gnarled vines.”
“From years of living in the West, Thay was aware of the dangers of alcoholism and unwilling to support the local wine “industry of suffering” so dominant in his region of France. He asked Peter to organize a team of practitioners to remove a fully bearing small vineyard within the Plum Village property. We worked for days in sweltering heat, an international team wielding heavy French mattocks and grubbing out gnarled vines.”
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A lot of people think a lot about negative things – negative things about their life, about their situation, about themselves, about the weather, about the government, about the whole world. To dwell constantly on negative things is not useful. - Sayadaw U Jotika
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Mix a small amount (half teaspoon) of Turmeric with sesame oil to make a paste. Apply the mixture to yoru nose to stop the sniffles, sneezing caused by the common cold.
There's an additional benefit for doing this: it's also good for brain health as the turmeric applied to the nose moves along nerves which go directly to the brain. In ayurvedic medicine, herbs and spices for treating the brain are administered via the nose.
There's an additional benefit for doing this: it's also good for brain health as the turmeric applied to the nose moves along nerves which go directly to the brain. In ayurvedic medicine, herbs and spices for treating the brain are administered via the nose.
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Though there is no single "quick fix" for depression, yoga does ease feelings of depression and sadness. But, yoga only works for those who - a) believe in it's restorative powers; b) do the poses regularly versus sporadically. Here are six poses which improve mood and ease anxiety in those who practice:
- Down Dog,
- Supported Fish.
- Headstand.
- Camel.
- Wheel.
- Savasana.
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Let the flame in your heart grow
bigger and brighter all the time,
dispelling the darkness, loneliness
fear, hatred, anger, envy, jealously,
greed....giving you health,
strength, courage, becoming the
source of love, compassion and
happiness. - Indra Devi
bigger and brighter all the time,
dispelling the darkness, loneliness
fear, hatred, anger, envy, jealously,
greed....giving you health,
strength, courage, becoming the
source of love, compassion and
happiness. - Indra Devi
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At 92 years of age and having suffering a stroke five years ago, Thich Nhat Hanh asked and was given permission by the Government of Vientam to return to his home village and his home temple in Vietnam. It's the place where Thich Nhat Hanh became a monk at the age of 16 in 1942. Brother Phap Dung, one of Nhat Hanh's leading disciples was interviewed about Nhat Hanh and, specifically, why he wanted to return to Vietnam. Here's Phap Dung's answer:
He’s definitely coming back to his roots. He has come back to the place where he grew up as a monk. The message is to remember we don’t come from nowhere. We have roots. We have ancestors. We are part of a lineage or stream. It’s a beautiful message, to see ourselves as a stream, as a lineage, and it is the deepest teaching in Buddhism: non-self. We are empty of a separate self, and yet at the same time, we are full of our ancestors. He has emphasized this Vietnamese tradition of ancestral worship as a practice in our community. Worship here means to remember. For him to return to Vietnam is to point out that we are a stream that runs way back to the time of the Buddha in India, beyond even Vietnam and China.
It’s like the circle that he often draws with the calligraphy brush. He’s returned to Vietnam after 50 years of being in the West. When he first left to call for peace during the Vietnam War was the start of the circle; slowly, he traveled to other countries to do the teaching, making the rounds. And then slowly he returned to Asia, to Indonesia, Hong Kong, China. Eventually, Vietnam opened up to allow him to return three other times. This return now is kind of like a closing of the circle.
It’s also like the light of the candle being transferred, to the next candle, to many other candles, for us to continue to live and practice and to continue his work. For me, it feels like that, like the light is lit in each one of us.
(source: www.vox.com)
He’s definitely coming back to his roots. He has come back to the place where he grew up as a monk. The message is to remember we don’t come from nowhere. We have roots. We have ancestors. We are part of a lineage or stream. It’s a beautiful message, to see ourselves as a stream, as a lineage, and it is the deepest teaching in Buddhism: non-self. We are empty of a separate self, and yet at the same time, we are full of our ancestors. He has emphasized this Vietnamese tradition of ancestral worship as a practice in our community. Worship here means to remember. For him to return to Vietnam is to point out that we are a stream that runs way back to the time of the Buddha in India, beyond even Vietnam and China.
It’s like the circle that he often draws with the calligraphy brush. He’s returned to Vietnam after 50 years of being in the West. When he first left to call for peace during the Vietnam War was the start of the circle; slowly, he traveled to other countries to do the teaching, making the rounds. And then slowly he returned to Asia, to Indonesia, Hong Kong, China. Eventually, Vietnam opened up to allow him to return three other times. This return now is kind of like a closing of the circle.
It’s also like the light of the candle being transferred, to the next candle, to many other candles, for us to continue to live and practice and to continue his work. For me, it feels like that, like the light is lit in each one of us.
(source: www.vox.com)