All posts by Sumana Rao

Don't worry about the people in your past; There's a reason they didn't make it to your future.
Advanced yoga pose

Flying Crow Pose

Flying Crow Pose is an advanced yoga pose that must be learnt and practiced in front of an experienced yoga instructor. This pose known as Eka pada Galvasana in Sanskrit, named after Saint Galvav. In this pose one leg will be on the back of one of the biceps and another leg in the air and entire body rests on the two arms. This pose helps in strengthening the forearm, tones bicpes, tightens abdomen, opens up hips. In addition it helps to be focused and gives sense of achievement while building up confidence – Healthylife

LEVEL : Advanced

Anatomy :Abs, Arms, Hips, Shoulders

Pose Type :Arm Balance, Hip Opener

Sanskrit :Eka Pada Galavasana (eh-kah pah-dah gah-lah-VAHS-anna)

eka = one pada = foot Galava = the sage Galav

BENEFITS:

  • Strengthens the arms, wrists, neck, and shoulders
  • Opens the hips
  • Strengthens the core
  • Improves balance

CONTRAINDICATIONS

  • Pregnancy
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)
  • Wrist, shoulder, or lower back injuries

HOW TO

  1. Begin standing in Mountain pose. Cross your right ankle just above your left knee. Flex your right foot.
  2. Bend forward to place your palms on the ground in front of you, shoulder-distance wide. Press the backs of your upper arms against your right shin. Hook your right toes around your upper left arm.
  3. Lift your hips and bend your elbows. Shift your bodyweight far enough forward that your left foot lifts off the floor. Straighten your left leg so it’s parallel to the ground.
  4. Balance in the pose for several breaths. Exhale and lower your back leg to the ground. Carefully unwind and then change sides.

MODIFY OR REPLACE

Alternatives:

Modifications:

  • Place a pillow or blanket beneath your head to alleviate the fear of falling forward.

SEQUENCING TIPS

Before:

  • Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II)
  • Eagle pose (Garudasana)
  • One-Legged King Pigeon pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)

After:

  • Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)
  • Gorilla pose (Padahastasana)

TEACHING CUES

  • Shift your bodyweight far forward to balance.
  • Spread your fingers wide.
  • Pull your chest forward to lengthen your front body.
  • Push the floor away from you to activate your core.

VARIATIONS

  • Reach your back leg up and toward the sky.

WATCH OUT FOR

  • Toes not hooked around the upper arm
    Credit: This article and image published with prior permission from https://beyogi.com
Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: April 3, 2019
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Feel like crap syndrome

Do you have FLC syndrome

FLC syndrome or “Feel like Crap” syndrome affects many. After eating certain food, one feels sluggish, gain weight and resistance to weight loss with other chronic conditions. It is a complex syndrome and people find hard to fix it. We try hard – working out every day, following diet programs, eating less, portion control – what not – still we find it hard to reduce weight and lose interest in everything.

Fact is, FLC syndrome is experienced by most of us and still don’t know how to address it.  To understand more about FLC syndrome one need to understand the symptoms associated with it.

  1. Excess weight gain
  2. Crave for refined carbohydrates and sugar
  3. Feeling tired and sluggish
  4. Bloating, gas, constipation or diarrhea
  5. Sinus problem, congestion, breathing problem
  6. Allergies
  7. Skin rashes – acne, eczema, psoriasis
  8. Headache and memory problem
  9. Low sex activity or function
  10. Brain fog and less clarity
  11. Muscle and joint pain
  12. Mood variation – anxiety, depression and sleepless nights/insomnia

These symptoms appear often and in between one might feel better and again the symptoms appear.

Eating wrong food make us sick and eating right food corrects our health – it is a simple principle. Food plays a major role in life of every being. In fact, food should be our medicine and not the other way around. FLC syndrome is associated with the food that we intake. Processed foods, the chemicals, all those unknown ingredients that we are not aware of are responsible for FLC syndrome. After eating certain food several symptoms might develop and remain for many days. These symptoms that one develops is not healthy and to reduce any conditions that might develop we seek help of medicine. Instead if we change the food habit it helps to reduce the above-mentioned symptoms while losing weight.

Detoxifying body and keeping ourselves away from the foods that make us develop harmful symptoms is one best solution for FLC syndrome. According to Mark Hyman MD, “there are bad foods, there are toxic and addictive foods we should not be eating, and 100 calories of almonds is VERY different from 100 calories of soda. Any fifth grader knows that. But most nutrition experts, doctors, and our policy makers still haven’t figured out that a calorie is not a calorie! Some calories make us sick and fat, and some make us thin and healthy”.  In his book The blood sugar solution 10-Day Detox Diet  Mark Hyman explains how deleting sugar and other carbohydrates helps to reform our health for better.

To overcome FLC syndrome we need to change our diet by eliminating what is not healthy for us.  When we say healthy – it includes good amount of protein, fruit, nuts or seeds, non-starchy vegetables, healthy fats and oils, drinking water – 8 ounces minimum.

Dr. Mark Hyman recommends certain foods in his 10 day detox diet.

For example, if you are a vegetarian be selective about the food that your intake to detoxify your body.

  • Proteins in cashew, sunflower, almond, tofu, sesame, chia, flax etc.
  • Oil – For cooking with high heat use coconut oil, grapeseed and avocado, for moderate heat – olive, grapeseed, unrefined sesame oil, without heat – extra virgin olive oil. Fats from coconut, olives, avocado is good to reduce FLC.
  • Non-starchy vegetables like artichokes, celery, kale, lettuce, turnips, zucchini, onions, green leaves etc
  • Fruits – Blackberry, cranberry, lime, lemon, raspberry
  • Sweeteners – NONE
  • Grains – No grains or beans for 10 days
  • Beverages – Water, herbal tea – no other beverages

Consuming organic food, raw nuts and seeds, fresh foods, unrefined oils, soy foods are recommended as part of healthy diet. When we consume such food and make it a habit of consuming healthy food beyond 10 days it helps us to overcome FLC syndrome also d removes stubborn belly fat. It also restores the nutrient deficiencies if any in our body and brings back not only the strength also good sleep, healthy weight, energy, beautiful skin and beautiful smile!.

Bad food only can cause damage to body. Cutting one or two such bad foods from our daily diet will bring noticeable change in health. What happens when we remove unhealthy food from our diet? Understanding and eliminating such harmful junk foods by replacing with healthy ones is a better way to avoid FLC syndrome because Food is our medicine!

References:

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: March 25, 2019
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Onion slicer and cutter

Must have veggie fruit cutters

When you visit restaurant or while attending parties you might observed how neatly veggies and fruits are sliced. Well, with modern kitchen tools everything can be done easily. There are many such kitchen tools are available that makes cooking and eating interesting. These included DIY fruit and vegetable cutters. Some of them really helpful – for example onion cutter and slicers, pineapple cutters and veggie noodle makers. See yourself! Yes, these are must have veggie fruit cutters for beginners, those who want to exceed their skills in cooking and pursuing to be top chefs!

1. Onion slicer -The featured image-  All you need to do is peel external skin.

2. Tomato, potato slicer – No more mess here!

Tomato & potato slicer

3. Pineapple cutter – We sometimes don’t buy pineapple which is a wonderful fruit. Use pineapple cutter – it is easy to remove skin and cut pineapple

Pineapple cutter

4. Fruit cutters- Are handy for display of fruits in an attractive way

Fruit cutter

5. Veggie noodle maker – Both kids and adults are fond of veggie noodles. There are both complex and simple veggie noodle makers available.

Veggie noodle maker

6. Green leaf chopper – It looks like scissor and acts as scissor! Easy to chop cilantro, mint, oregano or any herbs

Green leaf chopper

7. Veggie and fruit art cutters – Use these cutters to cut fruits like apple and root veggies like carrot, radish artistically and display in parties!

DIY Veggie and fruit cutters

Image credit & products detail: https://www.webstaurantstore.com/, VGlow products, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AppleCorer%26Slicer.JPG, Amazon.com, walmart.com

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on:
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Carrot coconut salad

Gut friendly carrot coconut salad

Do you want to increase your gut health? Vegetable salads are best for gut health. Carrots are alkaline in nature and helps to maintain pH of gut system and helps in easy digestion. It reduces constipation. Carrot can be consumed raw. To increase the taste one can prepare carroty curry or carrot coconut salad and have as a side dish with rice and chapati or eat salad as it is.

Carrot coconut salad : Preparation time 20 mins

Ingredients:

  1. Carrots – 5 (organic is preferred)
  2. Cucumber – 1
  3. Grated fresh coconut -1 cup
  4. Lemon- 1
  5. Black pepper – 1 tsp
  6. Salt – as per your taste

For seasoning

  1. Vegetable oil – 2 tsp
  2. Cumin – 1/2 tsp
  3. Mustard – 1/4 tsp
  4. Green chilli – 2 finely chopped
  5. Asafoetida – a pinch
  6. Curry leaves – few
  7. Cilantro – chopped ½ cup

 Preparation:

  1. Wash and peel carrots and grate
  2. Wash and peel cucumber and cut into small pieces
  3. Mix carrot, green chilli and cut cucumber in a large bowl
  4. Add lemon juice, black pepper and salt and mix carrot and cucumber well
  5. Place a pan on medium heat, add oil and rest of the tampering ingredients. Get ready with seasoning.
  6. Allow seasoning to cool and add to carrot cucumber salad
  7. Add grated coconut, chopped cilantro, mix well and serve with bread, chapati or rice as a side dish.
Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: March 20, 2019
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Concussion in children

Concussion in children

Children while playing or during in the midst of activities might bump, blow or jolt to their head that causes both head and brain to move back and forth rapidly. This type of sudden movement can cause the brain to bound around or twist in the skull. Such accidents changes chemical reaction in brain and can damage brain cells. This reaction is called concussion which is type of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Concussions may appear as small injury but the effects of concussion can be serious.

When your child hits or bumps head at home or at school keep an eye and watch closely on any symptoms mentioned below that might appear within next few hours.

  • Loss of consciousness
  • Cannot recall events before or after incident
  • Appears confused or dazed
  • Unusual behavior
  • Clumsy movement
  • Headache, pressure in the head and nausea
  • Balance problem and dizziness
  • Foggy and slowed down activity
  • Sensitivity to noise and light
  • Blurred vision

Danger symptoms – it can be physical, behavioral or cognitive impairment. If a child has pre-existing condition such as migraine, ADD, ADHD, visual disorders, mental health conditions concussion symptoms may be more severe or prolonged.

  • Decreasing consciousness
  • Increase in confusion
  • Irritability and pain
  • Numbness or tingling in extremities
  • Unequal pupils
  • Vomiting several times
  • Inability to recognize familiar places and faces
  • Seizures and low energy
  • Inability to speak or slurred speech
  • Worsening of headache
  • Trouble controlling emotions – infants and toddlers won’t stop crying

If your child is suffering from one or more of these above-mentioned symptoms following blow to head or body, take child for evaluation.  Contact pediatrician and get proper testing done for the child. A complete checkup of head and brain suggested to make sure no internal injury and to understand the impact of accident. The diagnosis needs certain specific answers for specific questions – Cause of injury, was there any loss of consciousness, where was hit, how hard, what symptoms and how long, any memory loss or any seizures?

Brain requires time to heal as the chemical changes gives more stress to brain. Concussion cannot be seen in CT scan or MRI. Concussion affects function of brain and not its structure. Doctors use information they gathered for diagnosis and to manage child’s concussion.

Inform school about child’s medical condition so that school is aware not to give strenuous activities to child. Many children in school experience concussion while they participate in sports. Sport concussions were commonly called bell ringer or ding and many players return to field on same day. However, it is suggested for children to take rest and watch the growing symptoms in case any.

In case you find child is having concussion then -,

  • Don’t allow child to participate in vigorous activities as it increases the symptoms. If you child is athlete do not allow him/her to return to play on same day.
  • Do not allow child to go on bicycle ride or play football or saucer
  • Have child take complete rest. Close the curtains, blinds and turn off the lights.
  • Let there be no loud noise or loud music playing.
  • Limit child’s physical and cognitive activity to stop an increase in above mentioned symptoms
  • Give good food and keep child hydrated. Allow small normal activities but nothing vigorous.

After recovery from concussion, make sure child does not get into fight, does not fall. Child must wear helmet while riding bicycle or when taking part in certain sports. For next several days or months no tough activities should be allowed. Go for follow up visits as your child’s doctor might recommend other cognitive testing to see improvement in symptoms. If you are not sure how to handle a child with concussion, or suspected concussion follow the instruction: “When in doubt, sit them out!”

For more information:

Image credit: Photo by Patrick Case from Pexels (Free for commercial use)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: March 15, 2019
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Turmeric mouthwash

DYI Turmeric mouthwash

Turmeric health benefits are many and for this reason it is called powerhouse of natural medicine. Turmeric has antimicrobial property and helps in controlling growth of bacteria. Adding turmeric to food reduces body inflammation and cures wounds.

Turmeric mouthwash is a traditional medicine helps to get healthy gums, fresh breath in addition soothes toothache. It is easy to prepare turmeric mouthwash drops at home. One can use coconut oil as base to combine all the ingredients. Using coconut oil has same effect as oil pulling therapy. This recipe also calls for clove which is known to reduce toothache, tooth decay and keeps mouth fresh.

How to prepare turmeric mouthwash?

Ingredients:

  1. Baking soda – 2 tsp
  2. Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
  3. Coconut oil – 1.5 cups
  4. Clove – few
  5. Peppermint essential oil – 4-5 drops

Method:

  1. Dissolve coconut oil on low heat and remove from heat
  2. Add baking soda, turmeric powder, peppermint oil and mix well.
  3. Grind clove (or cut into small pieces) and add to the mix evenly
  4. One can store above mix in a jar as it is and use it as mouth wash.

OR

  1. Transfer the turmeric coconut oil mix into a tray and freeze it for few hours.
  2. Take out frozen mix and cut into small cubes.
  3. When you want to wash mouth, put one or two cubes in mouth and perform oil pulling.
  4. After 3 to 5 minutes, split the content and wash mouth.
  5. Mouth will feel fresh and bad breath goes away with this treatment.

Try this home remedy for few days to feel better about your breath!

Image credit: Photo by Timothy Dykes on Unsplash (free for commercial use) (Inset photo of lady lips)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: March 14, 2019
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