Swine Flu -Ayurvedic Perspective

Ayurvedic Perspective on Swine Flu ( Prevention is better than cure)

The swine flu epidemic has continued to spread and cause concern throughout the world. Governments across the world have launched massive media campaigns to create awareness among the general public on this disease. In spite of this, it continues to spread and pose a threat to millions of people.

Swine flu (swine influenza, hog flu or pig flu) is caused by A-H1N1 virus. The symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of regular seasonal flu. These include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. These symptoms may also be accompanied by diarrhoea and vomiting. This flu spreads mainly through personal contacts in the form of droplets created while coughing or sneezing by a person infected with the flu.

Swine flu can be cured with timely diagnosis and administration of oseltamivir phosphate (Tamiflu) pills. Tamiflu, however, as with any other modern medicines, is not without side effects. There are a few serious ones that include adverse effects on pregnant or nursing women and kidney patients. So it is always better to take precautions and prevent the disease from occurring.

Ayurveda, the 5000 year old medical science based on natural systems, has some excellent preventive and curative solutions to diseases such as swine flu. The most significant aspect of these measures is that they are entirely based on natural substances and, therefore, totally safe on the human body.

According to Ayurveda, swine flu is placed under a class of diseases called Sannipataj Jvar. Sannipataj Jvar is basically triggered by an aggravation of the three Doshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha) and a loss of Ojas in the body. Low Ojas is lack of immunity at the physical level and absence of mental strength at the mind level. By strengthening the Ojas you can easily prevent diseases like swine flu from attacking you.

Here are a few preventive tips:
Prevention:
Chyawanprash: Take 1 teaspoonful of this Ayurvedic tonic twice daily.

Kwatha (Decoction): Take 5 Tulasi (basil) leaves, 4 Kali Mirch (whole black pepper) beads, 3 Laung (clove) buds and 1 teaspoonful of fresh grated Adraka (ginger). Mix them in a glass of water and boil the entire mixture until the quantity of water is halved. Filter and add a teaspoonful of honey. Your Ayurvedic decoction is ready. Take this decoction twice daily.

Herbs: Mix ½ to 1 teaspoonful of Sitopaladi Churna with 1 teaspoonful of honey and have it twice daily.

Havan: Agnihotra or Havan is a nice way of purifying the environment. Use Ayurvedic herbs such as Guggul and Havan Samagri (mixture of herbs). Burn natural incense such as Chandan (sandal), lavender and Kesar (saffron) in order to sterilise your surroundings.

Golden Milk: Add ¼ teaspoonful of turmeric powder in a glass of warm milk. Drink it every night.

Avoid: For mental strength, avoid all junk foods and foods that are frozen, deep-fired or extremely sour.

Meditation: For spiritual power, do the Meditation on a daily basis.

Most powerful tools to develop positive attitute

A positive attitude, or outlook on life, can lead to positive behavior and create success. An upbeat, positive person draws other people like a magnet. After all, who would you rather be around--someone who is strong and motivated, with the confidence to keep moving forward; or, someone who stays stuck in one place, thinking of reasons why things don't seem to happen? No contest!

Consider this list of positive habits. Click on each one. Then record one instance in which you applied or would like to apply this habit at home.

· Think of yourself as successful.
· Have positive expectations for everything you do.
· Remind yourself of past successes.
· Don't dwell on failures, just avoid repeating them.
· Surround yourself with positive people and ideas.
· Keep trying until you achieve the results you want.

Now think of an instance in which a negative expectation produced negative results. Record that experience below.
Visualization techniques can promote a positive attitude.

All you have to do is:
Close your eyes, breathe deeply, clear your mind.
Mentally picture yourself succeeding at a task by yourself, or with family or friends.
Add details to that image.
Add words, actions, and sensations. Practice what you want to do or say.
Keep your visualization handy in your mind. You may wish to record its details.
Affirmation is another technique that develops a positive attitude. Record an affirmation, or short positive saying about yourself and a goal you will achieve in the future.

Success formula ! Avoid 10 most important time stealers

The idea of time management has been in existence for more than 100 years. Unfortunately the term "Time management" creates a false impression of what a person is able to do. Time can't be managed, time is uncontrollable we can only manage ourselves and our use of time

Time management is actually self management. Its interesting that the skills we need to manage others are the same skills we need to manage ourselves: the ability to plan, delegate, organise, direct and control

Below, we examine time management issues in more detail

1. Shifting priorities and crisis management. Management guru Peter Drucker says that "crisis management is actually the form of management preferred by most managers" The irony is that actions taken prior to the crisis could have prevented the fire in the first place.
2. The telephone. Have you ever had one of those days when you thought your true calling was in Telemarketing. The telephone-our greatest communication tool can be our biggest enemy to effectiveness if you don't know how to control its hold over you.
3.Lack of priorities/objectives. This probably the biggest/ most important time waster. It affects all we do both professionally and personally. Those who accomplish the most in a day know exactly what they want to accomplish. Unfortunately too many of us think that goals and objectives are yearly things and not daily considerations. This results in too much time spent on the minor things and not on the things which are important to our work/lives
4. Attempting too much. Many people today feel that they have to accomplish everything yesterday and don't give themselves enough time to do things properly. This leads only to half finished projects and no feeling of achievement.
5.Drop in visitors. The five deadliest words that rob your time are "Have you got a minute". Everyone's the culprit-colleagues., the boss, your peers. Knowing how to deal with interruptions is one of the best skills you can learn .
6.Ineffective delegation. Good delegation is considered a key skill in both managers and leaders. The best managers have an ability to delegate work to staff and ensure it is done correctly. This is probably the best way of building a teams moral and reducing your workload at the same time. The general rule is -this; if one of your staff can do it 80% as well as you can, then delegate it.
7. The cluttered desk. When you have finished reading this article look at your desk. If you can see less than 80% of it then you are probably suffering from 'desk stress'. The most effective people work from clear desks.
8.Procrastination. The biggest thief of time; not decision making but decision avoidance. By reducing the amount of procrastinating you do you can substantially increase the amount of active time available to you.
9. The inability to say "no!". The general rule is; if people can dump their work or problems on to your shoulders they will do it . Some of the most stressed people around lack the skill to 'just say no' for fear of upsetting people.
10. Meetings. Studies have shown that the average manager spends about 17 hours a week in meetings and about 6 hours in the planning time and untold hours in the follow up. I recently spoke to an executive who has had in the last 3 months 250 meetings It is widely acknowledged that about as much of a third of the time spent in meetings is wasted due to poor meeting management and lack of planning .

Manage yourself, and not your time

Manage yourself, and not your time

Many of us claim our days are never wasted. "I'm very organized" we say "I know where I am going and what I'm going to do". If you truly feel that way then you are in the minority. Most people become frustrated with a day that is unproductive . We would all like to get more done in a day.

The idea of time management has been in existence for more than 100 years. Unfortunately the term "Time management" creates a false impression of what a person is able to do. Time can't be managed, time is uncontrollable we can only manage ourselves and our use of time.

Time management is actually self management. Its interesting that the skills we need to manage others are the same skills we need to manage ourselves: the ability to plan, delegate, organise, direct and control.
There are common time wasters which need to be identified. In order for a time management process to work it is important to know what aspects of our personal management need to be improved. Below you will find some of the most frequent reasons for reducing effectiveness in the workplace. Tick the ones which are causing to be the major obstacles to your own time management. These we refer to as your "Time Stealers".

Identifying your time stealers
· Interruptions - telephone
· Interruptions - personal visitors
· Meetings
· Tasks you should have delegated
· Procrastination and indecision
· Acting with incomplete information
· Dealing with team members
· Crisis management (fire fighting)
· Unclear communication
· Inadequate technical knowledge
· Unclear objectives and priorities
· Lack of planning
· Stress and fatigue
· Inability to say "No"
· Desk management and personal disorganisation

Identifying the time wasters is the first step to effectively designing your strategies to manage your time and reduce stress and see how you may be both the cause and the solution to your time challenges.