Three Square Meals a Day
If Ayurvedic doc John Douillard could give you a basic prescription for health, if might look something like this:
Take three meals a day (no snacking)
And call me in the morning.
Oh, and don't stress.
Everyone knows that stress is not a favorable feeling in the body, but Douillard describes why :
Stress --> toxic hormones --> free radicals --> disease.
And why three meals?
When Douillard was diagnosed with high blood pressure at the age of 27, his Ayurvedic doc prescribed him a hot lunch, every day. It worked. It seems that all Douillard needed what a constant stream of energy reserve -- something he wasn't getting by skipping lunch or eating on the run.
Douillard described how most of us are caught in a rollercoaster pattern with the energy levels and eating patterns in our life. If we tend to snack constantly, rather than eating conscious meals, the body will produce cravings -- whether it be for coffee, sugar, or something else. By stretching the time between meals, you give your body time to digest, rest and use existing energy.
After getting the body to go through the entire day without cravings, we'll leave at the end of the day with the same energy we had at the beginning of the day, Douillard says. Therefore, we no longer live life in an emergency state all the time. Being more relaxed will help the lymphatic system cleanse the body of toxins.
Yoga also helps to move the waste out with subtle energy.
Focusing on depression, Douillard attributed the affliction in part to the cultural isolation in American society. In addition, we allow our state of being to be determined by what happened that day. Drop the drama, says Douillard.
"Live life in the eye of the hurricane, where you're not affected by the storm," he said. When this happens, "you're no longer glued to the rollercoaster ride."
photo by Susan Slattery