Expert: Daljit Kaur - 12/26/2008

Question
QUESTION: (1) I go for a morning walk. I want to know whether pranayam should be done before or after morning walk.

(2)In few cases I have seen that "Kapal Bhati" pranayam caused increase in blood pressure, specially for patients suffering from hypertension. Is is true?

(3) Which Asana is beneficial for getting rid of Gas, Acidity and Constipation?

ANSWER: 1.   There is no hard and fast rule, you can for  a walk after prananayama practice. But I feel it will be better that first clear your bowels, if required take a glass of water, go for your walk and do pranayama after your walk. This way your body will become warm, pranayama will be more enjoyable and more effective.

2.  Kapalabhati pranayama is recommended for people who already have a healthy body. For people with hypertension, first tune up your body with shava asana, alom vilom and chandrabhedi pranayama before attempting other pranayama. For people who have a sedentary lifestyle, 15 to 30 minutes of alom vilom followed by 10 minutes of shavasana will itself be an excellent exercise to start with. Golden rule in yoga is to start with simplest asana and then proceed gradually.

3.  You can practice pawan mukta asana, kamarchakra asana, bhujang asana, vajra asana and agnisaar for getting rid of gas, acidity and constipation. Also follow the yogic diet and all these problems will vanish.  Avoid junk foods, frequent snacks, fried stuff, aerated drinks and see the difference.  Take lots of fruits, vegetables and fresh juices. Reduce your carbohydrate intake.

Hope it helps. You can contact me if you have any further queries.
Daljit

References
http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/rhythmic-breathing.html
http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/alom-vilom.html
http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/chandra-bhedi.html


http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/yoga-poses.html
http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/shava-asana.html
http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/vajra-asana.html
http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/pawanmukta-asana.html
http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/cobra-pose.html
http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/kamarchakrasana.html

http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/yoga-diet.html
http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/types-of-yoga-diet.html

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: My usual diet chart is like this:

Morning Breakfast
-------------------
Poha
Two slice bread
One cup Tea

Lunch
-----------
3 Roti (Wheat)
Cereal (Rahar Dal) mostly
Rice, one bowl
One dry vegetable curry


Dinner
-------------
Three Roti
Little Rice (Occassionaly)
One vegetable with gravy

Please recommend what to take in morning and evening breakfasts. Which vegetables are not recommended in the night? Which vegetables to create Gas and Acidity?

Answer
Hello Rohit


Yoga diet philosophy stresses on simplicity of food. What you eat is not a major issue with yoga if you follow the principles of yoga diet. Remember, you require lot of self discipline to follow  simple healthy eating guidelines. Only you can control what you eat.

Healthy eating guidelines
>>Eat moderately
>>Avoid foods which overloads the digestive system
>>Eat only when hungry
>>Fixed meal timings aid digestion
>>The way food is prepared and our emotions at the time of eating are also plays a role in our assimilation of food.
>>Avoid lot of spices, butter, ghee in your food.
>>Drink enough water.
>>Avoid aerated drinks.


Acidity problem

As per yogic diet, eat a balanced diet which should include lot of salad, green vegetables and fresh fruits along with other dishes. Eating a bowl of salads (you can add sprouts also) half an hour before  each meal will solve most of your problems.

Avoid fried, roasted and spicy food. Also avoid red pepper, pickles, hot spices, chutnies and arhar dal from your menu. Do not take more than two cups of tea or coffee in a day.

For best effects, eat boiled vegetables instead of vegetable curry etc.


Morning Breakfast
-------------------
Poha
Two slice bread
One cup Tea

Before your walk

(On getting up, you can take one glass of lime juice in lukewarm water, add one spoon honey). After some time take 50 ml of aloe vera juice.

After your walk do yoga.

30 minutes after yoga practice take a glass of warm milk.

In breakfast, avoid carbohydrates, it is recommended to take only fruits, sprouts,salads or nuts.


For lunch and dinner have food of your liking. Food should be fresh and cooked with  less of fats, spices.



Lunch
-----------
3 Roti (Wheat)
Cereal (Rahar Dal) mostly
Rice, one bowl
One dry vegetable curry

(Add lot of salads, sprouts. Avoid Arhar Dal)



Dinner (Take dinner as early as possible. preferably around sunset time)
-------------
Three Roti
Little Rice (Occassionaly)
One vegetable with gravy

(add lot of salads, sprouts)


Enjoy a good night sleep, to get up early in the morning for Yoga!!
Hope this helps. Happy New Year 2009.


Regards
Daljit

You can sign up my free yoga course if you wish
http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/free-yoga-lessons.html