World Yoga Day: Yoga and holistic wellness are sides of the same coin

It is a lifestyle approach where one consumes anything only after consciously considering every possible aspect, and eating is done only to fulfill health requirements.

By Dr. Ameen Noorul,

While uncertainties of the times we are living through can never be discussed and despised enough, the world is preparing to celebrate yet another International Yoga Day on 21st June, with the theme “Yoga for well-being”. Now considering how gravely endangered the entire human race is at the moment, fighting a pandemic, there could not possibly be a better theme for the global event. Because, apart from being a constant pain to our lives, if the past one and a half year have taught us anything, it has to be to acknowledge the importance of holistic well-being.

When we talk about holistic wellness, we refer to the overall health aspects of a person, including their physical, mental, and spiritual health. In that case, embracing the goodness of yoga as part of your lifestyle is similar to subscribing to a 360 degree view of your health, which encompasses all the interrelated aspects of it, including body, mind, psyche, and spirit. In that case, embracing the goodness of yoga as part of your lifestyle is similar to subscribing to a 360 degree view of your health, which encompasses all the interrelated aspects of it, including body, mind, psyche, and spirit. Having the right balance of body, mind and spirit, by practicing asanas, pranayamas, mudras, bandhs, shat-karmas and meditation is proven to have miraculous impact in achieving true holistic wellness.

However, when it comes to holistic well-being, we know just practicing the most effective yoga postures may not be enough. We need to get holistic nutrition to retain energy, while boosting our immunity, and be at our absolute best of health. But, what exactly is holistic nutrition?

Holistic nutrition is something made of healthy food that are as close to its natural condition as possible for optimal health and well-being. Holistic nutrition is identified as unrefined, unprocessed, organic, and locally grown whole foods. It is a lifestyle approach where one consumes anything only after consciously considering every possible aspect, and eating is done only to fulfill health requirements.

Major Principles of Holistic Nutrition of Holistic Wellness

Eating natural foods, including unprocessed, whole, organic foods, builds the foundation for a holistically nutritious diet. Anyone living a holistic lifestyle would be aware of the major principles to consider before adopting holistic nutrition diet plans. But, if you are new in this journey of a lifetime, check the list of principles below, to make sustainable changes to your diet plan, and make sure to stick to it:

Raw and Whole food to Eat: This can’t be any simpler. The nutrition found in its rawest of form in this types of food. From apple, to banana, orange, or any fruit or vegetable you like, all you need to do is grab one, and take a bite. That’s exactly how the nature intended for us to eat our meals.

Go organic: The clear ideology of this rule is to avoid chemical in your food that may range from pesticides, fertilizer, herbicides, antibiotics, and hormones anywhere near you, by choosing organic options as much as possible. The best thing about going organic is, the food is far tastier and more nutritious than conventionally produced ones.

Drink water: Staying hydrated should be always on your list of top priorities in a day. There is nothing revolutionary about the idea of drinking at least 8 glasses of water every day, in order to promote good digestion and health. With that said, you should absolutely avoid indulging in consuming soda, alcohol, and all type of caffeinated beverages.

Say Bye to the sweet tooth: Stay as far away from sweets as possible, because refined and artificial sweeteners used for making these sweet delicacies may taste heavenly, but their negative impacts are not worth the suffer. You may find it difficult at first, but try replacing them with naturally sweet alternatives like stevia, organic honey, fruits, and see the difference.

Go for healthy fats: As much as they are loathed, healthy fats are an important part of an adequately nutritious diet. Use a moderate amount of organic cold-pressed oils like extra-virgin olive oil or flax seed oil to prepare your meal. You can also use organic canola or coconut oil in case of cooking in high flames.

That brings us to the end, and we can conclude that, living in 2021, we can almost unilaterally agree to the fact that the world, today, is overburdened with chronically high levels of stress and fatigue, owing to our unrestrained consumption of nutrient-deficient food, exposure to harmful chemicals through air, water, and even personal care products on a daily basis. To survive in this wilderness, the best bet we have right now is to adopt a holistic lifestyle, made up of healthy practices including yoga, meditation, and organic food, which will not only keep you physically and mentally strong, but will also bring holistic wellness to the environment around you.

(The author is Naturopath, Organic India. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of the Financial Express Online.)