Beat Insomnia, Vertigo and Migraine with a smile!

Shivoham!

There have been hundreds of questions around the topics of how to deal with and cure Insomnia, Anxiety, Vertigo, Cervical Spondylitis, Panic Attacks and Migraine and we have been replying to those in personal mails and messages. Here I am trying to pick up representative questions on this subject before answering them all.

 

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Dear AD
I have chronic insomnia for more than three years because of extreme stress. So many thoughts going on my mind while sleeping and also i find some swirling movements on the left side of nose when doing nadi shodana. Please advise.

Sivdurga
sivadurgae23@gmail.com*

Hello!
I have vertigo since 4 years. It comes on and off. I was vertigo free for last 8 months. Episode started 2 months ago and continuing. It make me depressed. Pls help.

Amruta
amrutaawins@gmail.com*

Acharya!
Can I cure migraine by practising anulom vilom ? If yes, kindly guide me with the right procedure to do it.
Also, is there any remedy to cure severe migraine?

Riti Sharma
ritie.prashar@gmail.com*

Acharya ji,
I am a 35 year old software professional and have to spend long hours on computer in typical office settings. Recently I have been diagnosed with cervical spondylitis and X-ray shows reduced gaps between C5-C6 and C6-C7. I am feeling panicked as to how I will be able to continue with my profession if such a thing has developed while I am only 35.
Please please suggest something that can make me free from this problem.
Can Pranayama and yogasanas help? If yes, which ones should I do?

Ankit Bisaria
anket.b3232@rediffmail.com*

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These problems not always but more often than not are linked to each other. One leading to other.. and it all begins with three basic reasons. The reasons are simply about how you are living your life. Let me discuss each of those briefly and offer some tips to bring about some positive changes in your living –

ARE YOU TAKING LIFE WITH A SMILE?

Not minisculing the other factors but this is THE MOST IMPORTANT factor for any dis-ease to set in and develop over the period of time. Life is a not a project with some deadline.. it is a Gift given to us. Life is to be lived.. and living means experiencing it!

With this limited lifetime we are given with this humongously vast (almost infinite) universe with trillions of things around.. beautiful, majestic, having different hues, aromas and flavours. The Sun, the Moon, the Stars, Fountains, Rivers, Oceans, Mountains, Forests, millions of lifeforms, billions of interesting and different people.. all surrounding us. Are you not amazed being in such a wonderful place? Does this not bring a smile on your face? Does this magical cosmos not able to create a sense of awe in you? Are you so occupied in your limited, cramped personal space and sets of issues that you are just oblivious and ignorant of the WHOLE? Are you not feeling relaxed, free and eased in this infiniteness? If so, then you are bound to be diseased and deceased in lesser time than expected.

Are you keeping a smile while reading this article? If not then rearrange your facial muscles properly to create a pleasant upward curve of your lips, bouncy balls on your cheeks and stars in your eyes. CHECK and CORRECT IMMEDIATELY. Yes! Like this |:>)

When you smile you send a message to your body that everything is as it should be.. rather it is great! Smile has capacity to change your hormonal secretions for good.. making you more youthful. Smile has a mystical capacity to heal any and every disease. Kids smile 400 times a day and an adult like you just 20.. so..If you want to stay young.. keep your body’s capacities like an 18 year old then Smile.. Smile.. and Smile Again!

People often argue what will change if I smile.. Life situations won’t change, people won’t change… etc. etc. but then you are missing the point. Because things may not change but you will. A Changed, Positive, Youthful, Full of Energy in YOU will give you all the strength needed to fight back the disease, uncomfortable situations and difficult people!

I have personally seen hundreds of people getting healed miraculously just by keeping a smile on your face and with a inner chant of ‘Life is so wonderful and this world is full of so much goodness’.. If you want to join the youth club again here are few practices that can further help you to experience the power of smile in your life.

PRACTICES –

1. Check the presence of right Curve on your face 30 times a day and force correct it. Assure yourself it will work magic.. Just Do it!
2. Use ‘Smiling into Organs’ to heal your existing ailments. Using this technique while going to sleep will work wonders. You can use it with your medication as well. It will boost the capacity to heal and accelerate the process of healing only to show you miraculous recovery from any bodily discomfort.
3. Getting rid of accumulated mental discomfort, negativity of thoughts is important. To this effect use ‘Yogic Breathing’ and Nadi Shodhan (or Anulom Vilom).
4. Read good, positive and uplifting literature.
5. Make fair use of affirmations to boost your spirits and mood.
6. Use positive language and do learn to ignore few things.
7. Personally reward yourself whenever you succeed.

ARE YOU TREATING YOUR BODY WELL?

Having healthy body means having a good life!

Having healthy lifestyle means maintaining a great body!

।।शरीरमाद्यं खलु धर्मसाधनम् ।। A great body is means to all the goals in life. The body is composed of food and also needs food as fuel for efficiently delivering its functions. So the body is food and the fuel for it is also food. The wholesome food should be consumed with the prime objective of building and preserving a healthy body and also for its functional energy requirements.

REGULATE YOUR DIET

Food is essential to life and you must take wholesome diet but it is observed that people do not evaluate nor regulate their food intake and keep on stuffing whatever is tasty. You must understand that nourishing and healthy food is not always tasty food. Also if you allow the tongue to rule your diet you are going to be deceived by it.

This is  what Shastras say..

॥ तावत् जितेन्द्रियो न स्याद् विजितान्येन्द्रियः पुमान् । न जयेद् रसनं यावत् जितं सर्वं जिते रसे ॥

“Even if a person has conquered every sense other than the tongue, he cannot be
said to have subjugated his senses until he has conquered the tongue and the
sense of taste. The sense of taste is the strongest sense; it is the most difficult to
control, especially when it becomes more acute as a result of hunger.”

Remember – Not being too choosy in taste, eating variety of grains, pulses, spices, fresh seasonal veggies and fruits is key to good health and robust immune system.

IN THE PRAISE OF EXERCISE

You must be active enough to be able to utilize the energy produced by the food intake otherwise the body will start accumulating the leftover excess portion of food in the form of extra fat under the skin, internal organs (visceral fat) and even blood may be saturated with this fat (excess cholesterol).

व्यायामं कुर्वतो नित्यं विरुद्धमपि भोजनम् । विदग्धमविदग्धं वा निर्दोषं परिपच्यते ॥

A person who exercises well is able to digest everything whether raw, burnt, half-cooked or even against his ‘prakriti‘.

न चैनं सहसाक्रम्य जरा समधिरोहति । स्थिरीभवति मांसं च व्यायामाभिरतस्य च ॥

Old age does not attack suddenly on a person who exercises daily for his bones, flesh etc. are perfectly stabilized it.

Many of these complaints such as vertigo, insomnia and spondylitis are old age symptoms so if you are exercising daily in moderation you will ward off these diseases and symptoms so very easily.

PRACTICES-

1. Exercise daily. If I were to suggest one regime it would be 10 minutes of Micro-exercises like jogging, twists, rotations etc. followed by 10-20 rounds of Surya-Namaskar.
2. If you wish to re-energize and rejuvenate your body completely then you can prove your eligibility to receive Sanjeevani Vidya.
3. Eat seasonal vegetables. Your food must have considerable portion of raw salads, sprouts and seasonal fruits. Eat whole fruits rather than juices.
4. Consuming some nuts (it does not mean expensive rare nuts only.. anything will do) each day. Even peanuts will help.
5. Eat freshly cooked food. Ideally the food should be consumed within 4 hours of its cooking beyond which not just its nutritional value goes down but also the food starts lacking in ‘prana’.
6. Avoid canned food and food with preservatives. In place of sauces use freshly ground chutneys.
7. Choose right kind of spices and herbs to boost your immunity, energy levels and restore hormonal balance.

ARE YOU STRIVING FOR BALANCE?

Samayama is the term for the endeavour of attaining perfect balance…

या निशा सर्वभूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संयमी। यस्यां जाग्रति भूतानि सा निशा पश्यतो मुनेः।।

A person who has achieved perfect balance in life keeps awake at the times when world sleeps considering it to be night and sees the darkness of night while others celebrate it like a sunny day.

Striving for the balance but of what? There are hundreds of fields of life where balance needs to be achieved by a perfectly healthy person. The real balance comes when you strike inner balance in your energies. It means now you are able to create the balance between your Cold and Hot energies. In Yogic terminology these are referred to as Surya (Pingla) and Chandra (Ida)..

WHY BALANCE IS NEEDED?

In fact it would take me longer to explain so better I put some shoulds and they will be self-explanatory I believe. So here they are –

In your interactions with others you should create balance between Ambition and Letting Go. You should create a balance between doubt and trust. You should create balance between Anger & Compassion. You should learn to create balance between aggression and surrender. You should create balance your intensities in expressing love and in love making. You should create a balance between earning for self and giving to others. You should create balance in socializing and spending time alone. You should have a balance in work and leisure. You should try to achieve balance in life in every sense… I am sure now you are getting the sense of why balance is needed. And You are convinced that it helps in creating ease in life. If you are in ease means you lack dis-ease, Right?

But the fact is that there are so many shoulds that if you were to chase these goals individually one by one it might require few lifetimes despite your 100% sincere and earnest efforts. So what is the solution? Let us come to the practices directly. Needless to say that; You need not doubt beyond a point that these given practices will help or not. Have a balanced attitude here (smiles).

THE PRACTICES –

1. Watch rising Sun in the morning and Moon every night. For 10 minutes.
2. Watch out for balance in breathing from Left and Right nostrils. (These correspond to your Surya and Chandra Energies.. and any imbalance here indicates disease in the body). To create perfect balance in your inner energies learn Swara Vigyaan.
3. Spend 7 minutes in Nadi-Shodhan daily and pray for spreading goodness around. Say No to fast breathing Pranayamas and Kriyas as these may throw you off your balance completely.
4. Fasting once every fortnight and Laugh 20 times a day to create balance of enzymes and hormones.
5. Balance the Tattvic composition through the most effective process of Tattva balancing as taught in Panch-Mahabhuta Shakti Kriya.
6. Choose a suitable meditation to spend 20 minutes each day with it.
7. Connect with nature as much as you can keeping Tattva Shakti Vigyaan principles in view.

Having adopted the above regime I can assure you that in all probabilities you won’t get any diseases impromptu or at early age. But if you are noticing certain symptoms now I would like to give certain targeted response to each one of these.

VERTIGO

This problem, while treating through postural and breathing methods may intensify for some time being before reducing hence the medication should continue to avoid extra long spells of feeling of nausea and spinning of head.

Following you can try – Bhramri Pranayama while tilting head in one direction – Left and right 1-2 Mins on each side. Uajjai breathing for 1 minute in normal upright posture. Forced sneezing (only if you feel comfortable with it) and swallowing may also help.

As far as herbs are concerned – A common spice in the Maharashtra region known as Kokam should be consumed on regular basis. It helps.

MIGRAINE

Apart from pathological reasons (which are quite rare) this disease has its roots in excessive stress, unresolved emotional issues and consistent irritation towards some people or situation. It has also been observed to attack those who lack sexual gratification in their life especially women.

The first thing you should identify is ‘the trigger’. The trigger may be a food, a sentence or a spoken word, a smell, a person’s sight, mental imagery, time of day… virtually anything but it matters the most. To be able to zero down to the trigger itself requires a great deal of awareness and sanity but once it is done more than half of the job is done. Rest is to train/ treat/programme your mind to not go into panic/highly agitated mode despite the trigger being present. You don’t need to presume that you will not be able to do anything until this. Following will reduce these episodes –

Wake up on time. (Rising with or before the Sun is the best!)
Give yourself a lot of fresh air and sunshine. For this you may choose to go for walk in greens/parks etc. Do Nadishodhan each day. You must meditate every day and practice body awareness.

Do not consume canned/tinned foods. Have food rich in magnesium. In herbs use of black pepper, Ginger and having betel leaves with some peppermint after major meals should help. Drink lots of water.. Laugh a lot.

INSOMNIA

Any person who claims to have insomnia must ask three question to oneself without getting into the analysis of quality of sleep and all –

“Am I tired enough to fall asleep?” (If not then you need to exert more physically.)
“Am I satisfied (at least to fair degree) with my life?” (If not then you need to work on those things where dissatisfaction lies rather than hour of sleep.)
“How many hours per week I sleep?” If you are sleeping 35-42 hours per week and this is not affecting your physical fitness except that mental anxiety “Oh! I haven’t slept long enough” it is OK.

Most of the people will get resolution in these first 3 questions however if not still few more things one should watch for. The health of gut, hypertension, chronic or acute depression, any trauma etc. Treat accordingly.

You should exercise regularly. Eat well before (minimum 2 hours) going to bed. Soaking your feet in warm water before sleeping. Oiling (do not use mineral oils) your scalp also helps. Herbs like Ashwagandha and Sarpgandha might help but do not take Sarpagandha without consulting an ayurvedic practitioner. One pinch (collectively) of Vacha-Brahmi-Jatamasi powder mixed in equal proportion to be made paste with one spoon of honey and taken empty stomach in the morning works magic. You should practice Yoga-Nidra to give your body its desires portion of relaxation and healing.

If you would have been practising Tattva Shakti Vigyaan, I would suggest some other practices of energized water and other beeja mantras, nevertheless chanting Aum for 3-5 minutes two times each day will help everyone in any ailment.

I have given the most comprehensive answer however do not think it deals with only the diseases mentioned in the title of post – Following the suggestions can help you in speedy recovery of even so called incurable diseases.

सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः सर्वे सन्तु निरामया।

– Ach. Agyaatdarshan Anand Nath

*The email ids have been changed to conceal the identities of the questioners.