Dehumidify yourself with cucumbers this monsoon By Urvashi Gandhi

So, the humidity and dampness, sweat and sogginess are here as we reach the peak of August. Whatever your skin expert or hairdresser tries to sell you by way of this soggy season, we almost get convinced that hair spas or skin facials, are not always a very helpful idea, particularly to your pocket. So considering the need of rejuvenation of the skin during rains, I am dedicating this post to a home remedy to de-stress and beautify your skin. And the one word answer to this is “cucumbers”.

Cucumber is 90% water and this makes it one of the most hydrating veggies of the planet. As the humid season strikes, we need to constantly hydrate ourselves as we lose much of the body water as sweat. Cucumber solves this problem and can not only be eaten raw but can be had in wraps, sandwiches, summer coolers, soups and subs or can be pickled or tossed in salads.

Benefits of this green summer miracle are many. Cucumbers cool and hydrate the skin and make it glow and look fresher. Slices of cucumber can be put on eyes as this helps in lightening the dark circles and making your puffy and tired eyes look fresh. Owing to these rejuvenating benefits, cucumbers often find their way into many beauty and face packs.

Cucumbers significantly aid in weight loss. With high water content, cucumbers hydrate and cleanse the body. They also have Vitamin C content which helps in oxidation of fat. Cucumbers have very low fat content, cholesterol, sodium and carbs and very few calories. This fibrous summer veggie can satiate you without contributing much to the amount of calorie intake.

It is recommended that cucumbers be had in form of salads and continental dishes , be cooked in the form of vegetables, or can be taken as a juice or soup. Eating it alone, though helps in weight loss, may not be sufficient to lose weight.

Interview on Press Room

I have recently been honored to be interviewed by the team of Press Room. We had a discussion on my health aspirations, what’s next in my career and how I define and achieve health. Thanks for having me Press Room!

Q. Tell us about your journey into Alternative Medicines.

I belong to a family where Ayurveda has always had a special significance. My grandfather, great Ayurvedacharya and author, Dr. Harkishandas Gandhi, wrote several books on the subject in his lifetime. He has been my reason and greatest inspiration to undertake the path of naturopathy. I am working as a Naturopath at Naturopathy Hospital in Mumbai. I also write blogs and articles for my website, twitter and facebook pages. Through these portals, I can spread the message of health awareness and people often consult me through mails and messages.

Q. How would Dr.Urvashi Gandhi define ‘health’?

Health is not only about being free of any illnesses but is also about an emotional state of mind. Health pervades both the physical and emotional state. So it is about being confident, optimistic and above all happy. Personally speaking, there’s nothing more healthy than a happy state of mind.

Q. How do you define your fitness mantra?

As I am an ardent believer of balance in life, I do whatever makes me happy in a healthy. I usually try to eat as healthy as I can, mostly going for organic foods, experimenting with vegetarian and raw foods but I also indulge in treats every sometime. I am never very restricted about my approach and I live everything to the fullest. Daily exercise and Yoga is also a way of keeping my fitness on track.

Q. If I had to take a much needed health break to regenerate and start afresh, which place would you recommend?

Any place that makes you feel at peace with yourself, which has less population and where you can have plenty of time to yourself. Amidst the beauty of Mother Nature is the place to be. My personal favorites are beaches so I would recommend Goa or Bali, for meditating and doing yoga by the seas.

Q. Three tips to obtain better health?

Yoga, healthy diet and a positive attitude

Q. Who is your greatest health inspiration?

My grandfather, Ayurvedacharya and author, Dr. Harkishandas Gandhi

Q. Do you have any weaknesses in the food department?

Yes, of course. Who does not! Cakes, cakes and cup cakes!

Q. Where do you see yourself five years down the lane?

I want to continue doing what I am doing right now. Meeting and inspiring people to the path of naturopathy. Who knows, just like my grandfather, I may have compiled my knowledge into a book which I would like to author (laughs).

Color therapy: Balancing the wheels of our life - Part-II

Healing through colors (chromotherapy) is all about the right balance. Administering the colors which someone has in excess or which someone lacks is the key. This follows an application of the appropriate color on the body to stimulate the corresponding chakra. In this blog, I aim to throw some light on the significance and effect of the seven colors of the VIBGYOR.

Red: Red is the color of warmth and energy. It heals fatigue, cold and heightens a low blood pressure. It is the color of stimulation which prompts the root chakra which is at the base of the spine.

 It boosts adrenalin production, multiplies hemoglobin, opens up clogs and releases stiffness. It energizes all the organs and stimulates menstruation. Not recommended for cancer patients as it will stimulate cell growth.

Orange: A color which symbolizes warmth and independence. Orange relieves repression and has a freeing impact on the body. 

It encourages creative thinking and leads to newer possibilities. Connected with sacral chakra, it stimulates respiration, digestion and boosts the activity of thyroid. It also reduces muscle cramps and spasms.

Yellow: Yellow is the color of sun, hence represents life-force. It strengthens the nerves and awakens mental inspiration. It soothes the shooting pain in nerves and energizes the muscles.

 It helps with digestion, liver, intestines, cleansing of skin pores and aids scarred tissues. It also aids with psychic-related conditions and cheers up depression.

Green: The color of nature, green can heal almost everything. It stimulates psychological and emotional harmony. Linked with the heart chakra, it affects conditions of the heart. 

It helps with hormonal imbalances, harmonizes digestion, stomach, liver, kidney function, betters immunity, builds up muscles, bones and strengthens nervous system. It counteracts greed and jealousy.

Blue: Blue is the color of cooling and is electric. It cools down anger, aggression and hysteria. It betters inflammations, fever, blood pressure, headaches and is anti-itching and anti irritation. 

The color blue is linked with the throat chakra and so helps with speech related problems and helps with communication, laryngitis and inflammation of larynx.

Indigo: It helps in dealing with problems associated with the eyes and ears. It purifies the blood stream. It is linked to the brow chakra and controls the pineal gland.

Violet: Violet is the color of transformation. It helps in healing melancholy and alcohol addiction. It stimulates the spleen, detoxifies the body, brings spiritual renewal, boosts immunity, brings better sleep, destresses and reduces pain. It is believed to boost the power of meditation ten-fold.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Holistic Education: Why is it important for your kids? - Urvashi Gandhi

As Ron Miller has rightly said, “Holistic education is a philosophy of education based on the premise that each person finds identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the natural world, and to spiritual values such as compassion and peace”. Holistic education focuses on enriching the knowledge base of a kid but not exclusively through the books. It touches upon a deeper recess of conscience and entails introspection. The idea of holistic education is to teach a kid to understand his emotions, his responses and unearth the latent potential. It might sound too complicated to be implemented with kids, but like they say, looks are deceptive.

Holistic education is no rocket science that it would burden your child. On the contrary, it would make your kid relate to the inner self. The child would be more aware of the sensitivities and capacities. The best way to learn in Holistic education is to analyze the experiences. This learning instills a bent which tells a kid that everything happens for a reason. All these effects make your kid understand his surroundings. It leads to enlightenment.

Holistic education unlocks a child’s creative aptitude and frees the mind of constraints. Holistic education in no way condemns academic education, but stresses upon combining it with intellectual knowledge. This is a perfect combination. And that’s why a large number of schools are inculcating holistic education as an integral part of the curriculum to ensure an overall growth of the students. By imparting holistic education to your kids, you can easily prepare them to take on the world. 

When your pet becomes your healer - Animal Assisted Therapy

Before I begin talking about animal therapy and its fantastic benefits, I’d like to mention a small acknowledgement. I would love to dedicate this blog to my darling dog Ninja. He isn’t just a loving pet, but my best friend and nothing short of a little brother. Ninja has been with me through the troughs and crests of my life. It is amazing how an animal understands you without ever communicating through a common verbal language.  

The connection between animal and human is evolving since the evolution of the latter. They are not only your partner in every phase of life, but also play a very essential and comprehensive role in your regular life. You forget all your stress and tension seeing that innocent face and wagging tail of such pleasant distraction which never judges you but quietly eases your tensions. Animal aided therapy is in existence since 1940’s and working miraculously from that time. It recently started trending in India after results been appreciated overseas in huge numbers. Therefore, we will be discussing its importance in this blog.

Dog, cat, horse and dolphins are being used in these animal aided therapies as none of them fail to give you the sense of companionship and avoid that part of your life, when you feel isolated from rest of the world. It is scientifically proven that your pet helps in enriching your emotional, physical and social well being, in order to boost your self-esteem and trim down your anxieties. These therapies concentrate on the physical sustenance and psychological support via involving the person in various activities with the animal being used in the therapy. Many worldwide surveys have acknowledged the dog owners with low cholesterol problems and normal blood pressures as compared to non-dog owners. Different animals can be used in different environments for all different kinds of clients. Like over caring dogs are being used for the treatment of mentally and physically tortured people and that same dog will not be used in that same environment to help motivating the children.

Few things need to be kept in mind while going through the animal aided therapy, which are:

• ·         Allergies of some people regarding that animal
• ·         Abreast vaccination of the animal
• ·         Good health of that animal
• ·         Animal should be well trained

You should keep a record of all above said points in order to avoid few undesirable consequences, though not so harmful, but still an obstacle in doing the therapy properly. Otherwise it’s all goo do go for it, because who wants to miss the chance of meeting such an adorable doctor.

Hunting in 2015 – a blot on humanity by Urvashi Gandhi

It is really sick and disheartening to hear about the recent wanton killing of the lion Cecil. One of the most beautiful lions of Zimbabwe has been killed by a doctor (somebody as literate as that). I happen to, and I think we all should, take this incident as a little serious happening in the year 2015. Our country had banned the animal hunting way back in 1972 but our society still has some 

psychologically sick people who would wantonly hunt down animals for pleasure or perhaps, pride.

Hunting has been an age old tradition of our heritage, belonging to the times of kings and monarchs. The dead animals were displayed and wooed the king’s sense of his own valor, chivalry and his sense of ‘manliness’. But even then, our country had emperors like Asoka who condemned and did away with such a thoughtless pastime. Centuries later, here we are with another case of such a pursuit of satisfaction of one’s pride! It is even hard to imagine how can a civilized-someone impress his own sense of self by killing animals, who cannot speak, do not have any archers or bows or cemented houses to protect themselves.

Walter Palmer, the dentist who has done this honorable killing, hired a professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst to do this noble act (I don’t have words for these men and their actions and all that can justify my anger most closely is irony, just the way hunting in 2015 is oxymoronic).

I am nothing but sick hearing of this incident and I don’t really feel anger but disgust and hurt at such a show of sadism by someone belonging to the profession which people refer to as godliness in this sinful world, a doctor.