Season’s Greetings!
Welcome to this issue of the YogaSetu Newsletter (YSN), as we celebrate our holidays with gratitude, traditionally gathering with family and friends around an abundant feast!
These festive winter gatherings often extend to what seems like an entire season of celebratory eating, all the way through the leftovers of New Year’s Day. To manage the food temptations during this time, your new mantra (in Japanese) is “hara hachi bunme,” translating roughly as “stomach eight parts full.” This Confucian tenet refers to the practice of only eating until you are up to 80% full. We include this article on Ten Secrets to Happy and Healthy Longevity to highlight a balanced eating habit and underscore the healthy goal of longevity through focusing on dietary portion control.
On a similar theme, Harvard Health Blog has noted that a lesser known nervous system in our gut (our “second brain”) communicates with the brain in our head. Together, these two brains play in tandem to keep the body healthy. Stress, anxiety, anger, and other negative emotions affect the GI system, making it overly sensitive to bloating, increased inflammation and changes in gut microbiota. See our write-up in the section on Yoga, Health & Wellness for more!
As you’re watching your gastronomical intake to ensure a healthy gut, also take a look at ways you might reduce the number of medications you take. Read Dr. Andrew Weil’s views on the overuse of medications in his new book, Mind Over Meds, previewed in the New York Times, and introduced here, on our website.
In our section on From Our Readers, dedicated local yogi Patti Vannucchi has graciously shared her experience of juggling work and her role as a caregiver of loved ones in challenging situations without dropping the self-care ball through yoga practice. Read her courageous and inspiring words in the “From Our Readers” section.
Last but not least, this issue includes an insightful essay by Editor-in-Chief Abha Gupta, pointing out that Yoga is not a ‘band-aid’ approach for a disease; it is more than a checklist of asanas. Read her thoughts on “Yoga is Much More than a Checklist,” in the Editor’s Corner.
We hope you enjoy the array of these and other topics in this YSN issue!
The YogaSetu team wishes you a happy holiday season!
~ Abha Gupta, YSN Editor
~ ANNOUNCING YTR9: February 16, 2020 ~
February 16, 2020 – ODU Norfolk
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Registration is also accessible online at: HERE