The concept of chronobiology is inherent in Ayurneda. All the rhythms circadian(24 hours), circamensual(30 days) and circannual (1 year)are recognized in dosas, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Infact circannual rhythms are seen as extension of circadian rhythms, as susruta says-that in a day and night also one should observe -in forenoon the features of spring, in mid-day those of summer, in afternoon those of early rains, in early night those of rainy season, in mid night those of autumn and at dawn those of early winter. (S.Su 6/14).
Thousands of genes in every cell turn on and off at specific times of the day. This gene orchestra dictates the optimum times for everything from athletic performance, shaving, taking medicine to cramming for an exam.What the modern science says as gene switching on & off is probably what is described as prana & jivani shakti acting thereof.
What do these rhythms mean to me?
Alterations in the circadian rhythms, such as sleep deprivation, precipitate in the biological mechanism that leads to diseases. Studies show that irregularities in the internal clock system, and sleep, constitute risk factors for disorders including obesity, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, thrombosis and even inflammation. The world health organization (WHO) in 2007, reported that night shift work is a probable cause of cancer!
Together, these data reveal that unusual timing of light exposure and/or meals in healthy individuals are major contributors of circadian misalignment,perturbing clock rhythmicity, and sleep homeostasis, whose alterations increase the likelihood of metabolic risk factors.
Is there a Scientific Explanation for Circadian Rhythms?
There have been several studies conducted to find out the connection between disturbances of circadian rhythm and their connection with diseases like cancer, depression, etc. The Indian systems of medicine viz., Siddha and Ayurveda, prescribe ‘Dinacharya’ practices like, sleep ,hygiene, meditation, exercise, and daily cleansing to maintain the circadian rhythm.
Melatonin and light therapy are followed in the western systems of medicine to tackle rhythm disorders. Still important insights into circadian rhythm sleep disorders and the entrainment process of human circadian rhythm are on the whole lacking.
The existence of human beings have been described having five layers in
Brahmananda and Anand Valli of
Tattiriyopanishad. Prana provides life or vitality to the Annamaya Kosh(the physical body).
Pranmay Kosh (the life force) is the pranic sheath composed of prana, the vital principle or the force that holds together the body and the mind. Its physical manifestation is the breath. As long as this vital principle exists in the organisms, life continues.
If wire was the body, the the electricity running in it is Prana. Just like when electricity stops, the light bulb goes away, body is also left lifeless when Prana leaves the body.In scientific terms, probably all those electrical signals running between neurons to make sense of this world form Vitality layer.
In Brahmanand Valli the following is said -
प्राणं देवा अनु प्राणन्ति । Gods (devas) live by Prana.
मनुष्याः पशवश्च ये । So do humans and animals.
प्राणो हि भूतानामायुः । Prana is the age of living beings.
तस्मात् सर्वायुषमुच्यते । Therefore, it (prana) is known as everyone's lifespan.
सर्वमेव त आयुर्यन्ति । ये प्राणं ब्रह्मोपासते । They all get long lives, who worship prana as Brahman.
One must purify and control Prana to really feel life. In the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali, Asana is there to purify Annamaya Kosh, while Pranayama is thereto purify Pranamaya kosh.
Vital energy (Prāṇa-shakti) is the vital life sustaining energy of both the individual body and the Universe.
There are five types in relation to a person:
Energy for the activity of inhalation (prāṇa).
Energy for the activity of exhalation and speech (udan).
Energy for the activity of the stomach and intestines (saman).
Energy for the voluntary and involuntary movements of the body (vyān).
Energy for urination, excretion, ejaculation, childbirth, etc. (apan).
What here being described is on the basis of
Jivani Shakti or
Prana Shakti , in english which translates to life force.Normally this life force is present everywhere in the body but it cycles at 2 hour intervals in different parts.
If one uses that part of the body when the life force is there then even if the doctor says that it is incurable it will be healed ,that too,without any medicine
Vital energy, Prana which according to its location, movement and purpose has been divided into five major and five minor components. Yogic literature mentions the presence of 72,72,10,201 pathways along which the Prana moves in human body. These pathways cannot anatomically be seen but the existence of some of them seems to have been proved indirectly by using acupuncture needles tipped with radioactive phosphorus. The pathways have been named as Nadis in Yoga. These 72,72,10,201 Nadis interconnect the energetic centers, or chakras in human body. Even though the form of this sheath is subtle, it is very similar to the form of the physical body.
Out of the 24 hours life force goes in 12 main organs and stay there for 2 hours each.
If one uses the body organ in which the life force resides then, one gets longevity- stays happy -become smarter and his nature is joyful .
Like morning
3 a.m. to 5 a.m. the life force resides in our
lungs.
If you cannot get up at 3 a.m. and get up at 4 am at the latest 4:30 AM and do breathing exercises.
Take deep breath, do it in a closed room by burning dried cow Dung or by burning gau Chandan dhoop.Put a few drops of clarified butter or oil on it. Take that smoke if you do Pranayama in that environment then it would lead to tremendous increase in the power of the lungs.
Take in hold for 75 seconds then exhale. Taken from the right nostril exhale from the left nostril.
Then take from the left nostril and exhale from the right nostril. Do this rapidly.
Then take in from both the nostril and hold for about 90 seconds and exhale slowly. Then hold it outside for about 1 minute .Holding in and holding out this makes 1 pranayam;do this 4 times tomorrow morning and see its magical effect in evening .
From tomorrow itself health will start improving.
Aditya said answering a question of Trishikhi Brahmin, ‘By retaining the air inside body, which is like a pitcher (kumbha) i.e. doing Kumbhak pranayama, all the nerves are filled with air. As a result ten winds start blowing. The lotus of the heart blooms. Behold the sinless Vasudeva (God) in the heart. Doing eighty Kumbhak pranayamas each in the morning, noon, evening and midnight gives unparalleled benefits. The aspirant, who does it just for one day, is delivered from all sins. Engaged in such regimen of pranayama, a yogi becomes accomplished in three years. He conquers the air, attains control over his senses, takes minimal food, sleeps less, and becomes strong and lustrous. He is blessed with a long life, transcending the fear of untimely death.
Pranayama is of three types, best, medium and ordinary. The pranayama, which produces perspiration, is ordinary. Trembling body signifies medium pranayama, the pranayama through which the body levitates is the body.
Ordinary pranayama destroys diseases and sins, diseases and even terrible diseases. Best pranayama reduces the flow of urine and stool, the body becomes light, food intake is reduced, and senses and the intellect become sharper. One becomes omniscient, capable of knowing past, present and future.
If the yogi, who regularly practices pranayama, does concentrate his life force on the navel, tip of the nose and on the big toe at all times, or at least at dawn, noon and dusk times, becomes free of all diseases and lives a calm and contented life.
If the life force is concentrated in the navel, abdominal diseases are destroyed. If it is concentrated in the tip of the nose, one gets a long life; the body becomes lighter. If one sucks the air through the tongue and swallows it in the brahma-muhurta, he gets the boon of Vaksiddhi. This practice, when continued for six months, destroys most serious diseases. By concentrating the breath in the afflicted part of the body any disease can be cured.’
(Trishikhi Brahman Upanishad)
By perfecting pranayama, the treasure of unbounded powers becomes accessible because the prana is the abode of all potencies. If an aspirant acquires knowledge of prana, and establishes control over it, there is no power in the world, which he cannot control. He can, at his will, lift the Sun or the Moon like a ball, and even change its course. He can influence everything in the universe from an atom to the Sun. If he perfects sadhana of the yoga, he can establish his supremacy over the entire universe. He can bring the dead into life by the power of his will. The living beings are forced to obey him. The gods and the manes humbly stand before him in obedience. All supernatural powers are at his disposal. He masters all the powers of the nature, as he has attained control over the Universal Prana by perfecting pranayama.
The talented epoch makers, who with their miraculous powers, take the society to great heights, are able to do so because they are capable of creating lofty and subtle vibrations in their prana, that influence other people’s mind intensely. Thousands of hearts are attracted towards them. Millions imbibe and follow their percepts. Those, who have attained greatness in this world, have controlled the power of their prana and acquired divine powers thereby. Anybody’s special influence in any field owes itself to control of prana.Even if one has committed sins as enormous as mountains, they are destroyed by the yoga of meditation. They are not destroyed by any other means.
(Dhyanbindu Upanishad)
5 a.m. to 7 a.m.
Do walking, drinking water doing asanas doing exercises.
Finish your ablutions before 7 am .
Because at that time the life force is near the stomach so empty the stomach at that time.
What medicines costing thousands rupees could not do. It can be done by just following these rules. Clean the intestines.
activity increases in the large intestine.
7a.m to 9 a.m
life force resides in the stomach. where juices required to digest the food are secreted .
Digestion happens easily during this time .
If you want to avoid gastrointestinal problems then one should take some kind of food like milk .
9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
life force resides in spleen at that time digestive juices are produced more thus finish your lunch by that time .
Do not eat after 11. Miracle will happen.You’ll become youthful again.
By this your essential extracts of your intake is completely assimilated as juices.
Disorders such as Obesity, body & knee pain occur due to disarrayed eating habits.
Instead of being productive, food does not get digested and sprouts various mess thereof.
Cooking curd directly on heat or adding lentils in semi-cooked rice isn’t recommended.
They would promote troubles inside once partaken. Have your luncheon by 11.
Energy metabolism, food intake, and circadian clocks are tightly interconnected.
By providing energy substrates to the organism, feeding is essential for maintaining energy homeostasis. Most often, this does not occur randomly at any time of the astronomical day, but takes place periodically during a certain temporal niche (e.g., daytime or nighttime), depending
on whether the species is diurnal or nocturnal, respectively. The daily period of feeding and food foraging also coincides with the period of wakefulness, exercise, high metabolic activity, and anabolism. Conversely, the daily period of fasting corresponds to sleep, low metabolic activity, and catabolism.
At a cellular level, glucose availability is maintained with a quite narrow margin of variations throughout 24 h, despite the daily rhythm of food ingestion reported above.
In humans, timed carbohydrate-rich meals can act as a synchronizer of peripheral oscillator.Apart from meal timing, dietary energy density during daytime may modulate overall energy intake. This observation led,for instance, to the recommendation that eating low-density foods in the morning and avoiding high-density foods at night might aid in reducing daily energy intake.
Considering this, it is important to remember that energy intake is a rhythmic activity for most organisms, and thus, it drives the circadian changes in overall cellular energy levels.
Recent studies showing that abnormal temporal energy intake can dramatically influence metabolic homeostasis ultimately underscore the importance of cellular metabolism and metabolites in driving rhythmic gene transcription for metabolic health.
11 a.m to 1 p.m.
Vital force seats itself at heart from 11 to 1.
Eating now in this bracket, deviates heart to channelize on eating.
The inherent qualities of heart - compassion, affection and purity remain undeveloped.
Heart is unable to make full use of all vitality for itself - a portion of it being consumed for eating.
The happiness and stability of heart thus dries up - they remain obtused.
People then tend to compensate for this by searching joy from furniture, currency, materialisms. Ladies too indulge in fashion and make up.
This is the best time to do
Sandhya
Mantra from Yama Smriti(some sources say Atri too)
संध्यामुपासते ये तु सततं संशितव्रताः ।
meaning - one who does Sandhya regularly , & with perseverance , all their sins are destroyed & they eternally reside in Brahmaloka
Watch daily sandhya on Magalmay Channel from Ahmedabad Ashram
Morning 6 AM
Noon 11:50 AM
Evening 5:45 PM
TRIKALA SANDHYA
The period between 10 minutes before and after sunrise, noon and sunset is called Sandhi Kala (Transition period). The Sushumna nadi which is located between the Ida nadi the Pingala nadies is also called the nadi of spirituality. The flow of its current remains directed upwards during a Sandhi Kala, therefore the practice of pranayama, japa and mediation during this period gives greater benefits.
One should perform Sandhya during the three transition periods of the day, i.e. dawn, noon and dusk. One who performs Trikala (three times) Sandhya, earns a tremendous amount of religious merits, Trikala Sandhya is performed through the practice of pranayama, japa and meditation. You can also listen to cassettes of satsanga delivered by saints during this period. A regular routine of performing Trikala Sandhya is very useful for spiritual advancement. One who does Trikala Sandhya never has to worry about his livelihood The practice of Trikala Sandhya cures even the most incurable of diseases. It develops strength, luster, intelligence and life force. Even our rishis as also Lord Sri Rama, Lord Sri Krishna, etc. used to perform Trikala Sandhya. Therefore we should also make it a point to perform Trikala Sandhya regularly.
v In the evening at sandhya time, one should practice pranayama, japa and meditation, along with the study of the scriptures and other elevating literature.
v A regular practice of 10 pranayama during each of the three sandhyas for forty days increases cheerfulness, improves the health and also sharpens the memory.
v In sandhya, we chant Hari Om and engage in pranayam, japa, meditation, etc. Even Lord Rama and Krishna used to perform sandhya. Children should perform sandhya everyday.
So eating must be avoided both from 11 to 1 and also from 1 to 3.
Because from 1 to 3, small intestine is busy digesting and subsume it in blood stream.
If you have eaten till 11, now is the time food would be vitalized and essence incorporated.
The non vital remains is pushed onto large intestine. Now you don’t take food on time and body is devoid of actual stamina.
Thus the lure of all raw-uncooked fast foods and obesity disorders. So don’t eat after 11 even by mistake.
Inculcate this as routine and see the change in few days.
Eating between 1 to 3 in afternoon too is not recommended.
For next 2 hours :
3 p.m. to 5 p.m. : Seat of action is urethra. Drink water liberally, this would help body clean and flush out kidney etc.
You wont suffer from stones.
From 3 to 5 drink water and fluids.
Never drink water just after urinating & never urinate just after drinking water ,here should be a
gap of 5-7 minutes between the 2 activities.
5 p.m. to 7 p.m. the life force is in the Kidneys.
So if you want to treat the diseases of kidney and ears you should have dinner between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Kidneys and ears start working fine.
If you want to take milk then you can take it from 9 to 9:15 in little amount. That's keeping gap of 2 hours .
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. the life force resides in the Brain.
During this time children should study they should learn their lessons and
while memorizing they should touch the tip of the tongue to their palate .
The lessons would become fit in their brains and they would get good marks.
Children should chant Saraswati mantra and Ganesh Mantra
Om Gum Gum Gum ganapataye Namaha between studies.
The children would become very influential . From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. .
9 p.m. to 11 p.m. the life force reside in the spinal cord .
If you lie down straight on your back or on your side during this time .the power to fight diseases increases
11 p.m. to 1 a.m. the life force resides in the spleen.
Staying awake during this time causes eye problems increases the risk of heart attack and other bile related problems.
1 a.m. to 3 a.m. it resides in the liver .
Liver is one of the main organs of the body , those suffering from jaundice or other liver problems
should ingest pinch of rice and should take good rest during 1 a.m. to 3 a.m.
Donot stay awake for any reason whatsoever .even for procreation!
Eyes sight is reduced , reflexes & responses are slowed.Ageing becomes faster.
Proof - Road accidents are at max from 1am to 3am .In wars too , bombing , charging etc all happens at around 3am.Ask any Kargil veteran , bofors bombing happened at 3 in the morning.
call centres have screwed the youth of India.City folk are under tremendous stress & problems , all because of not follwing this cycle.
Om kham kham kham kham this heals the liver . Mantra heals the liver.
50 times on a rosary containing 108 beads.
~~~~~~~~~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~~~~~~~~~~~
APPENDIX (for the techie in you )
Circadian rhythms are self-sustaining endogenous oscillations occurring in a period of 24 hours. The circadian rhythms are related to the normal sleep-wake cycle. These rhythms are controlled by Suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) that are situated in the hypothalamus and the pineal gland. This master clock network regulates the circadian clocks located in cells, tissues and organ-systems. The “master clock” that controls circadian rhythms consists of a group of nerve cells in the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN. The SCN contains about 20,000 nerve cells and is located in the hypothalamus.
Destruction of the SCN results in the complete absence of a regular sleep–wake cycle.
Even in the absence of external time cues, humans maintain a sleep-wake rhythm very close to 24 hours. The SCN produces a signal that can keep the rest of the body on an approximately 24-hour schedule.
However, because the internal clock's period is not exactly 24 hours, environmental cues—most importantly, light—are required to reset the clock each morning and keep the organism in sync with the external world.
The SCN is a small, paired, wing-shaped structure in the hypothalamus, located at the base of the brain. Within each side of the SCN is a network of up to several thousand neurons. Experiments with individual isolated SCN neurons suggest that each SCN cell is a functional clock, normally synchronized with the activity of its neighbors.
Inside a single SCN neuron, the protein product of a biological clock gene turns off production of more protein, forming a negative feedback loop.
These biological clocks have been found in organisms as diverse as fungi, fruit flies, hamsters, and humans. The biological clock of humans is found deep within the brain.. They are found in most living things, including animals, plants and many tiny microbes.
The study of circadian rhythms is called chronobiology. Our biological clocks drive our circadian rhythms.
Circadian rhythms can influence sleep-wake cycles, hormone release, body temperature and other important bodily functions. They have been linked to various sleep disorders, such as insomnia.
Abnormal circadian rhythms have also been associated with obesity, diabetes, depression, bipolar disorder and seasonal affective disorder.
Signals from the SCN travel to several brain regions, including the pineal gland, which responds to light-induced signals by switching off production of the hormone melatonin. The body's level of melatonin normally increases after darkness falls, making people feel drowsy.
The SCN also governs functions that are synchronized with the sleep/wake cycle, including body temperature, hormone secretion, urine production, and changes in blood pressure.
families.
Very few outside the sadhak circles know about it. No wonder sadhaks are some of the most happy succesful & respected people among their social circles.
