Revisiting age-old wellness intelligence

We bet you will begin missing your mother and probably grandmother across the length of this article. 

Well, age-old wellness intelligence is difficult to ignore if you have a loving mother and grandmother at home. We are not here to argue on the authenticity of these tips and tricks, but let’s be honest, a lot of simple tales by the elders have helped all of us on different occasions in our lives. Be it the ‘Ayurvedic Kadha or Haldi Doodh (Turmeric Milk)’ during cold, or Masala tea for sore throat or application of onion juice for hair growth, we have all used one or the other trick, and interestingly a lot of these age old wellness tips have also made their way into the modern products made for commercial use.

The age-old wellness intelligence of ancient India was deep rooted in body science. They had it all figured out and passed it onto generations to come. Ayurveda being one such example. Derived from the words of Kalidasa, ‘body is the instrument for doing good deeds’, it all boils down to keeping the body healthy, be it running the rat race for success or traveling around the world or participating in adventure sports, whichever makes us happier.

So let’s revisit some of this intelligence and assess the extent to which we can adopt them!

SUNBATHING

The researchers today have extolled the goodness of Vitamin D. We were always asked to wake up early in the morning, weren’t we? It is because the early sun rays are the best source of Vitamin D, even for 15 minutes but before 8 AM. More so, practicing Surya Namaskar during the wee hours of the day can result in numerous health benefits.

CHEW YOUR FOOD WELL

Slow and good chewing breaks down the food into small pieces, getting them ready for better digestion and absorption for energy generation. In the process, the secretion of saliva also increases leading to the release of digestive enzymes. This also helps in avoiding bloating and constipation.

OILING THE NAVEL

The foetus in the womb receives all its nutrients from the mother though the umbilical cord connected to its navel. The significance of this life channel remains with us even as we grow up. With a few drops of oil put in regularly, a lot of dryness issues in the body can be driven away. For women, this oiling can ease out menstrual pain also.

THE POPULAR ‘NAMASTE’

The Indian way of greeting one another by ‘namaste’ has both spiritual and hygienic essence linked to it. Spiritually one bows to the divine power that resides within each one of us. On the health front, it impedes the exchange and transfer of germs. With the pandemic upon us and the consequent social distancing norms, the namaste way of salutation will gain even more importance.

These may be a very few testaments of ancient India’s treasure of knowledge and there is much more. During some instances in this new normal of staying at home, let’s take a step back, let’s take a deeper breath and look at what the previous generations had to say.