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.
Prevention Efforts for Arboviral Illnesses

Prevention Efforts for arboviral illnesses

Be prepared by controlling mosquitoes even before these diseases come to your area.

There are no treatments for any of these arboviral illnesses beyond supportive care and no vaccines are currently approved so mosquito prevention is crucial.

  • The chances of being infected with these three illnesses can all be diminished by mosquito control.
  • Aedes mosquitoes live and breed in fresh water near and in homes. Anything that can hold a cup or more of water including birdbaths, tire swings, planters, old bottles, trash cans, even the back of a toilet tank have all been breeding areas.
  • There is no danger in touching mosquito larva and instructing your family in looking in your home and yard for containers with larva (or potential breeding containers) and dumping them out is a great way to involve everyone in mosquito vigilance.
  • Controlling mosquitoes in your yard is most important, Aedes generally don’t fly all that far and most biting occurs from mosquitoes born and raised right in your neighborhood.
  • Use CDC recommended insect repellents containing either 20% DEET, picaridin or IR3535. Use of permethrin spray on and clothing can all diminish the chances of being bitten. Treating lawn furniture, curtains, blinds, clothing and tents with permethrin and sleeping in screened or air conditioned rooms will help diminish bites from mosquitoes.
Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: September 29, 2017
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Kids - How to control body odor?

Kids – How to control body odor?

Kids, how to control your body odor? You don’t need to wear branded clothes to look good and feel good.

To feel good and to improve your self-esteem you should be healthy and clean.

When you go to school your friends and classmates may notice your dress for few minutes or couple of days.

If you are not clean, then the image that you are trying to create through your dressing may not happen.

How to keep yourself clean and healthy?

Clothes:

  • Always try to wear fresh clothes to school. In a closed class room sweat odor can reach one corner to another.
  • Change your undergarments every day. This is hygiene practice required for your health.
  • Make sure your clothes are washed before wearing them. If your school requires you to wear uniform then, after you come back home – hang your uniform in air to remove any sweat odor.
  • Stay away from cigarette smoke and tell your family members not to smoke in the car and inside home -instead ask them to use designated area. If not your cloth and hair will collect smoke odor.

Shoes:

  • Sweat gets into shoes easily and your socks also smells very bad if you don’t give attention to it.
  • Bacteria can thrive in the shoes and socks for longtime as they like moist fabric of shoes and create bad odor.
  • If you have more than one pair of shoe, use them alternate days. This way shoe that you used will dry properly. Don’t wear wet shoes.
  • Once you come back home, take out shoe and socks. Wash socks alternate days. Clean shoes as often as possible. Washing, brushing and polishing is needed for all types of shoes. When you take care of shoes properly, not only your feet odor free, also shoes last longer.
  • If you have washing machine at home, see whether you can wash your fabric shoe using washing machine.

Teeth

  • Brush your teeth twice a day and floss it almost every day. If not, the particles stuck in between will help in growth of odor causing bacteria. When you speak then your mouth smells.
  • After every meal rinse your mouth and brush your teeth using your fingers.
  • Avoid eating heavy onion and garlic before leaving to school.
  • If you are wearing braces, make sure braces are cleaned. If not, it can harbor odor causing bacteria that release bad odor.

 Feet

  • Wash your feet after your school – wash between toes and use cloth/towel to wipe the water between toes.
  • Dry feet properly. Don’t wear socks and shoes with wet feet – this harbors bacterium in the shoe.
  • Avoid walking in cafeteria, class rooms, corridors in bare foot and public places. If not, you might catch fungal infections and can develop warts.
  • Apply talcum powder to your feet and you can also put little talcum powder in your shoe.

 Shirts

  • Before wearing shirts, make sure the shirt is washed and dried.
  • Daily don’t forget to wash your underarm pit. If not, your body sweat odor can reach people who are sitting close to you.
  • If needed use deodorant or anti-perspirant under armpits. Don’t use perfumes as it can cause headache to you and others.
  • Wear clothes that are meant for each season.
  • Don’t wear dirty gym clothes to classroom and once you come home take out gym dress and clean yourself.
  • Take shower everyday using bath soaps.

 Hair

  • Oil and sweat can create odor in your hair. It also makes it dirty and greasy.
  • Use shampoo to wash your hair. Massage your scalp well to remove dead skin, dirt and the oil. If needed use conditioner.
  • Wash hair 3 times in a week.
  • Use a wide toothed comb to comb hair. Avoid combing wet hair.
  • Use Sun light to dry hair.
  • Do apply oil to hair to keep it shiny, healthy and growing. Do not use oil in excess. And never use fragrant oil on your hair.

Body hygiene is very important. Just clean odor from the body itself tells others that you are clean and attracts people around you positively.

Image credit: https://www.needpix.com/photo/661759/team-basketball-team-girls-basketball-team-sport-basketball-teamwork-competition-athletes-basketball-court (Free for commercial use)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: September 25, 2017
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Yoga for Heart

Yoga for Heart

To prevent heart conditions practice yoga, take yoga’s help. It lowers blood pressure, increases lungs function, maintenance of heart rate and blood circulation.

With this it also tones the muscle. To improve overall well being of body and heart use yoga.

Yoga helps those who already faced heart attack or cardiac arrest. It brings backs the balance and helps to find ways to calm the mind. It manages stress in a positive way and helps in recovery process.

One will see the benefit right away. Yoga is anti-depressant and helps in relaxation of mind.

It also decreases cholesterol level and blood pressure level thus helps in stress management.

Four yoga asanas that helps in improving heart health.

Padangusthasana: Big Toe Pose

  1. Stand tall with feet hip-width apart place hands on the hips.
  2. Exhale and fold forward. Grab your big toes while folding forward or grab your opposite elbows.
  3. Draw belly inside and lift sit bonds toward sky.
  4. Let your head relax. Bend knees a slightly and tighten the hamstring. Hold for 5 breaths.

Benefits: This pose calms the brain, relieves stress, and reduces anxiety and depression. It is a therapy for high blood pressure.

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana: Bridge Pose

  1. Lie on your back on the floor.
  2. Bend your knees and set your feet on the floor, heels as close to the sitting bones as possible.
  3. Exhale and, pressing your inner feet and arms actively into the floor, push your tailbone upward toward the pubis, firming the buttocks, and lift the buttocks off the floor.
  4. Clasp the hands below your pelvis and extend through the arms to help you stay on the tops of your shoulders.
  5. Lift your buttocks until the thighs are about parallel to the floor. Keep your knees directly over the heels. Lift the pubis toward the navel.
  6. Lift your chin slightly away from the sternum. Firm the outer arms, broaden the shoulder blades, and try to lift the space between them at the base of the neck up into the torso. Hold for five breath cycles, exhale down, and repeat 2 to 3 more times.

Benefits:  Reduces anxiety, blood pressure, fatigue, backache, headache and insomnia.

Janu Sirsasana A: Head-to-Knee Forward Bend

  1. From a seated position with legs extended forward,
  2. Bend the right knee outward to a 90-degree angle
  3. Now press the right foot into the inner left thigh.
  4. Grab left foot or ankle, inhale, square the hips, and lengthen the torso over the straight leg.
  5. Exhale, fold forward slowly. Extend the spine and lengthen through the chest. Keep your back long and flat. Pull left toes back and extend through the left heel. Stay for 5 breath and shift sides.

Benefits: This reduces blood pressure, calms the brain, reduces anxiety and fatigue, and alleviates headaches and insomnia.

Supta Padangusthasana: Reclining Big Toe Pose

  1. Lie on your back with arms along sides and extended legs.
  2. While inhaling bend the right knee and clasp the right big toe with right fingers.
  3. Place the left hand on top of the upper left thigh.
  4. Exhale and straighten the right leg.
  5. Inhale; lift the head up toward the right leg and keep the left leg down.
  6. Hold for five breath cycles, inhale head back down to the floor, and exhale right leg down. Switch sides.

Benefits: Relieves backache and sciatica. Therapeutic for high blood pressure.

Trikonasana : Triangle pose

  1. Begin in Mountain Pose. Turn your right leg out by 90 degrees. Turn out your knee, ankle and foot in the same direction. Turn left leg by 15 degrees.
  2. Look to your right and stretch out your arms at shoulder level. Let the palms face the floor.
  3. Slowly bend down forward comfortably and place your right hand on your right shin. You’re your spine straight. Do not collapse in the pose.
  4. Now, lift and extend your body from the left hip.
  5. Raise your left arm towards ceiling. Alternatively you can fold your left arm at back and you’re your chest while doing so twist the spine little and look up to the extended arm or at ceiling.
  6. Hold the pose for 5 breath.

Benefits: This is yoga posture helps to promote cardiovascular health. It also increases stamina.

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Reference:

All images used here are published with prior permission from https://beyogi.com/learn-yoga/poses/reclining-big-toe-pose/ You can visit beyogi.com for more poses and also mind and body category of www.healthylife.werindia.com

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: September 22, 2017
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RPM teaches communication in Autistic Children

Rapid Prompting Method RPM

An Indian mother Soma Mukhopadhyay who lives in Texas, developed a technique to teach communication skills to her autistic son Tito. Soma called this technique Rapid Prompting Method or RPM. This method allowed Tito to communicate his feeling, thoughts and ideas.

In 2005, Mukhopadhyay established the Halo-Soma Institute in Austin, Texas. In 2008 CNN channel ran a program on RPM that involved constant fast paced questioning, stimulating, engaging combined with the use of low tech alphabet board for spelled communication.

Soon, the word reached out. In the life of many Parents RPM technique became part of their life (who have autistic child).  Portia Iversen, a mother of an autistic child learnt Soma’s work and Soma helped Iversen’s son Dov.

Iversen’s book called ‘Strange Son‘ describes Soma’s technique and how the spelling board – RPM helped her son Dov to communicate using complex sentences.

What is RPM?

It is a low-tech approach that has a student, an instructor, paper and a pencil. It teaches child who is in autism spectrum to communicate effectively. RPM was designed based on the psychological, developmental and behavioral theories put forth by Jean Piaget and Anna Jean Ayres. It’s  goal is to “establish functional independent pointing-based communication in people who are otherwise nonverbal due to severe autism or other developmental disabilities” (Wikipedia).

As per http://www.halo-soma.org “RPM is distinct from other methods as it is based upon how the brain works. The aim is to bring the student to maximum learning through the open learning channel and to elicit the best (not simply to test) out of the child to enable maximum output in that given time. As a student’s cognitive and motor proficiency increases, the sophistication of a student’s response also improves RPM prompts – a student’s independent response, without physical support. In addition to teaching letter-chart pointing, RPM also utilizes stencils and other drawing exercises to lead to independent handwriting”.

It helps children to increase interest, confidence and self-esteem. It is designed to help students to initiate responses like picking up answers, to point, to type and to write. It reveals  students comprehension, academic abilities and conversational skills.

RPM is not recognized as a clinical profession and there is not much research support. However, people who want to practice, appear to be self-taught and has to participate in the workshops offered by Halo-Soma, Heather Clare of informative pointing fame or Vanderblilt Kennedy Center Angelman Program for Alphabet Therapy. If professionals want to apply for workshops they are required to submit a 10 mins video samples of the use of RPM, a resume and the reason for wanting to attend the course.

The technique may be used effectively for children who fall into autism spectrum and  Fragile X syndrome, blindness, deafness, Angelman syndrome, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, and Prader-Willi syndrome.

The other technique that helps autistic child to communicate effectively that are similar to RPM is informative pointing or alphabet therapy.

How RPM helps a child? Visit below website for more information:

http://www.halo-soma.org/learning_faqs.php#USING_RAPID_PROMPTING_METHOD

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: September 15, 2017
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Sleepy baby

14 Tips to help babies sleep

14 Tips to help babies sleep

For young mothers, it is a challenge to put babies sleep. Quietly you put baby to sleep and turn around, there you go… next second, you will hear baby crying. Sometimes it is frustrating and you don’t know what to do. Grandma has few tips that can help you to make your baby sleep fast and better. Listen to grandma’s advice for young mothers…

  1.  Hair drier noise or run a fan to create a gentle hum that masks other sounds.
  2. Gentle bottom pat helps- Pat baby at the bottom for few seconds in a rhythmic manner
  3. Staring contest with the baby – With lot of affection and love stare at baby and she will sleep. Sometimes this may also excite baby. If so, close your eyes in front of baby and she will follow you.
  4. Give a soft towel to cuddle – Give a soft baby towel to cuddle. Snuggling soft towel gives the baby comfort and she sleeps well.
  5. Show them a very short video of lullaby – Hold your smart phone at a distance and play the lullaby. Best is mother singing to her baby- it always works miracle.
  6. Stroke between the eyes – using your fingers gently stroke between to eyes/eye brows. It puts the baby to sleep fast.
  7. A warm water bath with gentle stroke helps. It relaxes baby’s body and she will sleep before you know.
  8. Instead of keeping fragrant oil in baby’s room, use baby detergent to clean the crib that you use for washing baby’s clothes. This familiar odor helps baby to sleep better and fast.
  9. When you put your baby to sleep in the crib, keep your hand gently on her stomach, arms and head – it gives loving comfort
  10. Bed time is important – Establish a bed time for baby. For babies under 1 year 6:30 pm to 7 pm is the ideal bed time as per the pediatricians.
  11. Let there be a very soft light in your baby’s room while baby is sleeping.
  12. Give a gentle massage for baby – use baby safe oil and rub gently on the body. Massage helps in relaxation of baby’s muscles.
  13. Tell a bed time story in a soft voice to put baby sleep fast. Soft voice helps in soothing baby and don’t forget- she is familiar with your voice while she was in your womb itself
  14. Gentle cuddling – lie down next to your baby and cuddle her till she goes to sleep.

Image credit: Photo by Barbara Alçada on Unsplash

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: September 12, 2017
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Healthy Lunch For Kids

Healthy Lunch For Kids

All parents want their kids to eat nutritious and healthy food at home as well as in schools.  Packing healthy lunch needs some thinking because most kids think their lunch is not good and need something that is more like a snack item. It is important to include healthy and interesting items as kids will look forward eat good and tasty food during lunch time.   Here are some suggestions that can help to pack kids lunch. Also, give your kids some options to select the lunch.

1. Whole-Grain Breads: When you select the whole-grain bread look for the ingredients and make sure whole grains are listed first. If your kid is fussy about eating the whole grain bread make it interesting. You can also send pita bread once a while if your kids like to eat pita bread. Creative combinations makes it tasty and interesting for lunch and kids look forward for lunch time.

  • Prepare a sandwich – with fruits and spread. Take 2 slices of whole grain bread, apply spread of your kids choice, put banana slices and strawberry slices.
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter or sunflower butter topped with one sliced medium-size banana on whole wheat bread.
  • Take whole wheat pita – fill with 2 tablespoons hummus, 2 tablespoons tabbouleh, 2 tablespoons cucumber and 1 tablespoon feta.

2. Fruit juice : Research suggests that drinking moderate amounts of 100 percent fruit juice doesn’t affect a child’s weight. Choose 100% fruit juices over the fruit-flavored kinds, which have fewer nutrients. Stick with one cup a day: 100-percent juice. If your kid wants more juice – make sure that they have not exceeded recommended sugar intake. If so, mix some filtered water to the juice to dilute sugar quantity.

Remember: Although a reasonable amount of fruit juice each day is fine for most children, remember that whole fruit is an even better option. Ask your child whether she prefers fruit juice or fruit or both.

3. Vegetables: If kid refuses to eat vegetables then make it a fun vegetable dip. For example – Cut organic carrots, then put peanut butter (if it is not allergic to your kid or else, chose some other spread like neutella hazelnut spread) and Goldfish crackers in separate bowls. The kids dip the carrots in the nut butter and then fish for the crackers.

4. Pasteurized Cheese: Cheese is source of calcium for growing bones and supplies good amount of protein. Give kids option and ask them what type of cheese they want.

Here is a tip: On whole-grain crackers spread cheese and pack it with lunch. Both are good source of calcium. If your kid prefer, place slice of cucumber or carrot on top of the cheese.

5. Fruit Cups or fruits: Whole fruit is good for kids. Wash and cut fruits – apple, mango, papaya, guava fruits and keep with lunch box. Kids can dip this in cheese or a vegetable dip and eat. Do not send fruits that can mess up their dress. Kids will start disliking the fruits that causes embarrassment by spoiling their dress. Whole fresh fruit is great, but prepackaged cups provide the same nutrients. Choose ones packed in juice to limit added sugars.

It is parents duty to introduce kids to healthy foods. Young minds will absorb and learn better and will implement healthy habits at proper age.

Image credit: https://www.needpix.com/photo/1200434/indian-food-thali-vegetarian-food-food-indian-curry-rice-plate-dal (Free for commercial use)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: September 11, 2017
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Fruits and Vegetables

How to calculate fruits and vegetables servings?

Courtesy:  TheKitchn.com

Calculating Fruit & Vegetable Servings

How do servings work?

For the most part, a cup means a cup — just measure out a cup of grapes or a cup of chopped carrots, and you have your measurement.

There are a few exceptions though.

  • When it comes to salad, a cup is not a cup. It takes 2 cups of leafy greens to equal 1 cup of vegetables.
  • Juice does count as a fruit. A cup of fruit juice does count as a serving of fruit, but nutritionists caution that you’re not getting the fiber and other good benefits of eating whole fruit.
  • When it comes to dried fruit, cut the amount in half. A half cup of dried fruit equals one cup of fresh fruit.
  • One big piece of fruit is roughly a cup. An apple, an orange, a large banana, a nectarine, a grapefruit — one piece of fruit gives you one cup.

Below is combinations of fruits and vegetables that one can consume everyday

1)  Fruit: 1 large banana. 8 ounces apple juice.

Vegetables: 5 cups salad greens (which equals 2 1/2 cups vegetables), plus onion.

2)  Fruit: 1 cup blueberries, 1 cup strawberries (about 8 large)

Vegetables: 1 cup coleslaw, 6 baby carrots with dip, 1 cup sautéed kale

3) Fruit: 1 cup cantaloupe, 1 cup champagne grapes

Vegetables: 1 cup sugar snap peas, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 stalk celery

4) Fruit: 1/2 cup dried cherries, 1 apple

Vegetables: Large salad with about 5 cups salad greens

5) Fruit: 1 cup cantaloupe, 1 cup blueberries

Vegetables: 2 cups salad greens, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1 stalk celery

6) Fruit: 1 cup cantaloupe, 1 cup champagne grapes

Vegetables: 1 cup asparagus salad, 1 cup sautéed kale, 1/2 bell pepper

7) Fruit: 1 cup applesauce, 1 large banana

Vegetables: 1 red bell pepper, 1/2 cup cucumber slices, 2 cups salad greens

8) Fruit: 1 cup strawberries (about 8 large), 1 orange

Vegetables: 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1 stalk celery, 1 cup sautéed kale

9) Fruit: 1 nectarine, 1/2 cup dried cherries

Vegetables: 1 cup sliced cucumber, 1/2 cup baby carrots, 1 cup sautéed kale

10) Fruit: 1 cup cantaloupe, 1 apple

Vegetables: 1 cup coleslaw, 1 bell pepper, 1 stalk celery

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: September 7, 2017
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Inspiration Quotes of Swami Dayananda Saraswathi

Inspiring Quotes of Swami Dayananda Saraswathi

Swami (Saint) Dayananda Saraswati is a distinguished, traditional teacher of Vedanta.

His depth of understanding and nuanced appreciation of Western culture makes him that rare teacher who can communicate the vision of non-duality to modern listeners.

He is able to make one see, with immediacy, the truth of oneself as the whole.

Swami Dayananda has been teaching Vedanta in India for more than four decades, and around the world since 1976.

In his public talks abroad, Swamiji has spoken at many of the most prestigious American universities, and has addressed international conventions, UNESCO and the United Nations, where he participated in the Millennium Peace Summit. Pujya Swamiji (as his followers address him with respect and love) is founder of AIM for Seva, a charity that helps rural children to complete their education.

Some of Swamiji’s quotes are below. These quotes are from various topics including Vedanta discussions and public speeches.

  • Always first, see the bad in yourself than in others, you will find many who are always busy in saying others are bad without looking at themselves.
  • You want to change others so that you can be free. But, it never works that way. Accept others and you are free.
  • There is only one source for food on this planet, which is from plants, and there are no other sources. “Anna” (Sanskrit =food) has to be prepared by outside world. That outside world is as Vedas says” From the vegetation comes food and from food is the human. Food is vegetarian and there is no “non”. When you put the negative- “non” then food brings negativity in the form of illness.
  • The earth should not be taken for granted. You have no right to abuse it and you cannot disuse it. Make sure that your are a contributor not just a merely a consumer.
  • If you live your life intelligently, you appreciate that you do not own a thing in this world. You are only a managing trustee of this body and everything is else. If you know that you are not the owner then you will manage it well.
  • People say that they understand what I say and I am simple. I am not simple, I am clear.
  • Give the world the best you have and best will come back to you.
  • Validation of culture of a child is itself validation of a child itself.
  • Enlighten- It cannot be an event. All that is here is non-duality. How will it happen? It is clarity.
  • Marriage cannot be an end in itself. If it is, there will be problems and the marriage will end. Marriage means, not an end, it means husband and wife each seek freedom from insecurity. Freedom from insecurity is common end for both and they help each other (to reach end). Together, as companions, they make the life journey.
  • Whenever concern or anxiety arises in life, we resolve it by bringing back the proper attitude. Just remind yourself that it is nice being you. Say to yourself, “It is nice being myself.” In whichever area you have to change, make efforts to change. If necessary, take help, even the help of prayer. I do not have to prove myself to anybody. If another person thinks ill of me, it is his problem. I just accept myself as I am. “It is nice being I.” Have a sentence like this and repeat it now and then like a mantra. You will find you are together as a person.
  • A person who consumes the least and contributes most is a mature person, for in giving lies the self-growth.
  • We need to know luck is also earned and not imposed! There is no un-earned grace.
  • The highest form of service is to help a person who is incapable of thanking in return.
  • You cannot stand tall emotionally when you are always at the receiving end.
  • It is not wrong to be an ignorant; it is an error to continue to be an ignorant.

Source & Image: Arsha Vidya Gurukulam

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: September 5, 2017
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