Pria Acharya

How to avoid getting sick this winter

 Finding balance, Fitness, Self-Care  Comments Off on How to avoid getting sick this winter
Dec 262011
 

One of the best tips to follow to avoid getting sick this winter is to focus on prevention.  That means building up your immune system as much as possible.  Other than building up your immune system, you must avoid contracting the viruses that can make you sick.  Following are steps to make sure your immune system is in the best condition and to avoid those germs.

1.  Keep your hands clean!

Make sure to wash your hands whenever possible and keep sanitizer handy.  Even when you are getting together with friends and family instead of going to the mall, you still need to make sure you keep your hands washed frequently and before eating.

2.  Stay hydrated!

Keeping your body hydrated with plenty of water keeps your system less susceptible to viruses.  Water is necessary for our body and mind to function at optimum level and most people don’t get enough.  It is an easy fix!  Always have some with you.

3.  Get enough sleep

Getting at least 6-7 hours of sleep will allow your body to repair itself better and fight sickness.  Make sleep a priority and do what you need to make sure you get enough.  This might mean you need to cut down on alcohol, caffeine or sugar to sleep better.  Make certain your environment and bed-time routine enables you to get the best sleep.  Make sure to get enough sunshine daily to help your body have enough melatonin to help sleep.

4.  Eat healthy

Eating a healthy diet will ensure that your body is getting all the supplements it needs to be healthy and have all the supplements it needs.  It never hurts to take supplements such as vitamin c and zinc as insurance, but keep in mind they do not replace eating well.  The holidays can pose a challenge to our efforts to eat well.  This might mean you need to eat healthy prior to an event or make a commitment to eat small portions of foods that do not help your immune system.

5.  Get enough exercise

Exercise reduces stress and maintains a stronger immune system, making you less prone to illness.  Get out there to burn some calories and boost your spirits at the same time.  Try yoga at home or partner up with a friend to take an aerobic class at your local gym.

Affirmations and meditation

 Finding balance  Comments Off on Affirmations and meditation
Dec 182011
 

According to Deepak Chopra, “daily affirmations are steps out of pain toward a higher reality.  We can become living memorials to tragedy by restoring the power of life.  You are that life, you are that power.   The true self contains the light that no darkness can attack.  Daily affirmations are steps out of pain toward a higher reality.  Let us see if we can find the spark that will make the spiritual flame spring up.”  Affirmations and meditation can be the spark to restore our lives.

“Meditation is the practice of going inward to access awareness that is deeper than thought.  Meditation isn’t just a time for peace and quiet, although both are needed.  You are returning to your source.  Make it your habit to find time alone, preferably once in the morning and once in the evening, in which you can close your eyes and go inside.

There are many forms of meditation.  A simple but effective one is meditation on the heart.  Sit quietly for a moment, placing your attention on your heart, at the center of your chest under the breastbone.  When you are settled, repeat the word “peace” silently, and see its influence radiating out from your body in all directions.  Do this three times, and then say the word “happiness” the same way. Repeat three times, then go on to “harmony,” “laughter” and “love.”

For longer meditations, you can use these words for as long as you like.  Start with five minutes a session and work up to half an hour.  Sit quietly for a few minutes after each session with eyes closed and simply appreciate the simplicity of quiet awareness.”

 

Source:  Deepak Chopra

Diagnosing Autism

 Autism, Children, Finding balance, Motherhood, Parenting  Comments Off on Diagnosing Autism
Dec 122011
 

When I think about the path that led to my daughter’s diagnosis of high-functioning autism in July when almost 2 1/2, I am amazed at how random that path was.  My husband happened to speak with a coworker who was getting some assistance for their child through Child Find.  We wondered about Maya and had her evaluated with the organization when Maya was about 1 1/2.

The results were primarily that there was a speech delay.   She then began to see a speech therapist and occupational therapist.  This service will end when she turns 3 in February.  Soon she will have an evaluation to see if she qualifies for services through the district once she is 3.

Earlier in the year, concerns had been brought up by a therapist regarding autism.  The ball to have her evaluated for the disorder started rolling and was blocked repeatedly by her insurance.  After much pushing and coordination between Child Find and myself with Maya’s insurance, she was given a referral to be evaluated.

I filled out a mountain of paperwork and waited for her evaluation on June 24.  We were lucky to not have had to wait too long, as many people wait a while on a long wait list.  As the evaluation approached, we heard increasingly that she did not seem to have the disorder.  I was just glad to be able to rule it out.  This of course made the actual diagnosis of her having high-functioning autism even more mind-boggling.  Every day, we look at her wondering if there was a mistake – at times it seems it was, and at others it achingly does not.

The material and books to read and learn about autism are immense and daunting.  How does a parent even find the time when we are overwhelmed and exhausted from the extra effort involved in raising a child with autism?  What little I have managed to read so far stands out with the message to look at my daughter specifically as the wonderful human being I know her to be and to learn directly from her about her and not get worried or weighed down by a label.

 

Have a greener holiday season

 Environment, Green Living, Recycling, Spirituality  Comments Off on Have a greener holiday season
Dec 092011
 

A  trend is for the holidays to be greener.  That can include starting to use fabric instead of paper.  I offer a variety of fabric gift bags to choose from through my boutique (contact me for specific styles), including some made from imported fabric.  These are beautiful and gifts on their own that can be reused forever.

More shopping is done on-line, saving fuel, and there is consideration of electronic holiday greetings/cards rather than hard-copy using snail mail.  Some are opting to make cards using recycled materials.

Some green (and inexpensive) gift ideas include offering services such as massage or your own special talent.  This could be a painting you’ve created, special edible treats, babysitting or house cleaning.  How about a baking mix with instructions or a spice mixture you have created?  I have created my own chai mix with loose tea and spices.  Another creative and treasured idea is to videotape elderly parents or grandparents about their childhood memories along with their photos and heirlooms while they discuss them.

You could designate a dollar limit on gifts, prompting everyone to get creative and maybe end up with the added result of humor.  The lower the limit, such as a dollar or two from a thrift shop, could end up with even more humor.  And of course, less ends up in the land fill.

Resources for a greener holiday:

www.simpleliving.org

www.altgifts.org

www.consciousconsumer.org

www.giveforchange.com

www.coopamerica.org

www.tenthousandvillages.org

www.newdream.org/holiday

www.treehugger.com

www.ucsusa.org/publications/greentips/1203-tips-for-a-merry.html

http://frugalplanet.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/frugality-not-just-for-the-poor/

More reason to exercise

 Fitness  Comments Off on More reason to exercise
Dec 022011
 

We’re in the midst of the holiday season and peak time for the most fattening cooking.  I’m certainly guilty with my home-made chocolate fudge and chocolate chip bars made within the past week.  I’m also aware of possibly the greater need for exercise at this time.  A recent article from the New York Times provides even more reason to go to the gym or find other ways to burn those excess calories.

November 30, 2011, 12:01 am

How Exercise Benefits the Brain

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS
Does exercise strengthen your brain while it builds muscle?Adam Weiss/Getty ImagesDoes exercise strengthen your brain while it builds muscle?
Phys Ed

To learn more about how exercise affects the brain, scientists in Ireland recently asked a group of sedentary male college students to take part in a memory test followed by strenuous exercise.

First, the young men watched a rapid-fire lineup of photos with the faces and names of strangers. After a break, they tried to recall the names they had just seen as the photos again zipped across a computer screen.

Afterward, half of the students rode a stationary bicycle, at an increasingly strenuous pace, until they were exhausted. The others sat quietly for 30 minutes. Then both groups took the brain-teaser test again.

Notably, the exercised volunteers performed significantly better on the memory test than they had on their first try, while the volunteers who had rested did not improve.

Meanwhile, blood samples taken throughout the experiment offered a biological explanation for the boost in memory among the exercisers. Immediately after the strenuous activity, the cyclists had significantly higher levels of a protein known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, which is known to promote the health of nerve cells. The men who had sat quietly showed no comparable change in BDNF levels.

For some time, scientists have believed that BDNF helps explain why mental functioning appears to improve with exercise. However, they haven’t fully understood which parts of the brain are affected or how those effects influence thinking. The Irish study suggests that the increases in BDNF prompted by exercise may play a particular role in improving memory and recall.

Other new studies have reached similar conclusions, among both people and animals, young and old. In one interesting experiment published last month, Brazilian scientists found that after sedentary elderly rats ran for a mere five minutes or so several days a week for five weeks, a cascade of biochemical processes ignited in the memory center of their brains, culminating in increased production of BDNF molecules there. The old, exercised animals then performed almost as well as much younger rats on rodent memory tests.

Another animal study, this one performed by researchers in the Brain Injury Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, and published in September in the journal Neuroscience, showed that if adult rats were allowed to run at will for a week, the memory center of their brains afterward contained more BDNF molecules than in sedentary rats, and teemed with a new population of precursor molecules that presumably would soon develop into fully functioning BDNF molecules.

Perhaps the most inspiring of the recent experiments is one involving aging human pilots. For the experiment, published last month in the journal Translational Psychiatry, scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine asked 144 experienced pilots ages 40 to 65 to operate a cockpit simulator three separate times over the course of two years.

For all of the pilots, performance declined somewhat as the years passed. A similar decline with age is common in all of us.

Many people find it more difficult to perform skilled tasks — driving an automobile, for instance –  as they grow older, says Dr. Ahmad Salehi, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford and lead author of the study.

But in this case, the decline was especially striking among one particular group of men. These aging pilots carried a common genetic variation that is believed to reduce BDNF activity in their brains. The men with a genetic tendency toward lower BDNF levels seemed to lose their ability to perform complicated tasks at almost double the rate of the men without the variation.

While the pilot experiment wasn’t an exercise study, it does raise the question of whether strenuous exercise could slow such declines by raising BDNF levels, thereby salvaging our ability to perform skilled manual tasks well past middle age.

“So many studies have shown that exercise increases levels of BDNF,” says Dr. Salehi. While he notes that other growth factors and body chemicals are “upregulated” by exercise, he believes BDNF holds the most promise.

“The one factor that shows the fastest, most consistent and greatest response is BDNF,” he says. “It seems to be key to maintaining not just memory but skilled task performance.”

Dr. Salehi plans next to examine the exercise histories of the pilots, to see whether those with the gene variant, which is common among people of European or Asian backgrounds, respond differently to workouts.

In people who have the variant and less BDNF activity, “exercise is probably even more important,” he says. “But for everyone, the evidence is very, very strong that physical activity will increase BDNF levels and improve cognitive health.”

Sep 252011
 

Mouth-watering spanakopita

Nothing spells comfort on a cool fall evening like a spinach pie – the delicious Mediterranean spanakopita.  It can be served well with salad or soup.  I have tried different recipes including the following:

 

Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 1 bunch green onions, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 pounds spinach, rinsed and chopped
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
* 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
* 8 sheets phyllo dough
* 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9×9 inch square baking pan.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, green onions and garlic, until soft and lightly browned. Stir in spinach and parsley, and continue to saute until spinach is limp, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, and feta. Stir in spinach mixture. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough in prepared baking pan, and brush lightly with olive oil. Lay another sheet of phyllo dough on top, brush with olive oil, and repeat process with two more sheets of phyllo. The sheets will overlap the pan. Spread spinach and cheese mixture into pan and fold overhanging dough over filling. Brush with oil, then layer remaining 4 sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with oil. Tuck overhanging dough into pan to seal filling.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. Cut into squares and serve while hot.

 

Source:  All Recipes

Learning About Autism

 Autism, Children, Finding balance, Motherhood, Parenting  Comments Off on Learning About Autism
Aug 282011
 

Maya 7.18.11

I started to learn about the neurological disorder autism when told my daughter may be on the spectrum.  The disorder is not black and white and has a huge grey range or spectrum where one may fall.  My daughter is fortunately on the high-functioning end.  I hesitate to use the word “fortunate.”  Over-all, I am fortunate to have this human being in my care, no matter where Maya is on the spectrum.  As any parent can appreciate, she is my precious child, no matter what issues she and I need to overcome or manage.

While I was waiting to have Maya evaluated, I was amazed at all the coverage the disorder receives these days.  It’s possible that I was more attuned to the topic and noticed it more due to my situation.  There was mention of the disorder being possibly caused by vaccines and as a result, some parents have refused vaccinations.  This has largely been proven to be a myth and is potentially dangerous to children.  There was mention of potential contaminants in the environment as a possible cause along with genetics.  It’s possible certain environmental situations “activate” the gene.  It is still unknown what definitively causes autism, though it’s generally understood that genes play a role.  It’s possible some relatives in a family have some level or mutation.

A parent can invest considerable energy trying to understand “how” and “why?”  I realized I could surf the web forever trying to get answers.  Meanwhile, Maya needs care and attention.  It became apparent I needed to balance my desire to understand with trying to be the best parent I can be to her now.  Whatever I do understand of her specific needs can be utilized immediately.  In that sense, there was some relief in getting the diagnosis because it helps me to understand some issues that did not make much sense to me.  I have a place to turn to now for answers rather than guessing or doubting myself as a parent.

A resource:

Lack of Eye Contact May Predict Level of Disability in Children with Autism

Aug 102011
 

The topic of overcoming obstacles has been fascinating to me. How are some people able to come out of challenging situations negatively impacted while others thrive in their lives?

There have been various accounts of people getting caught in a similar difficult situation, but who came out of the experience feeling different – with some less negatively affected than others.  This could have been based on how they perceived their situation and whether they acted to overcome their circumstances and potential negative effect versus becoming passive.

What situations have you felt you’ve overcome well?  Are there tools that you developed that you rely on as a result to continue to overcome difficulties?

I’ve blogged about similar topics along with writing articles for magazines.  I’ve gotten to the point where I wanted to challenge myself with a bigger piece of work.  I’m now polishing up my first (hopefully) ebook entitled:  “In Search of Ganesha, the God of Overcoming Obstacles.”

Look for it within a week!  In it, I share my own experiences on this topic, my reflections, lessons I’ve learned (and still learning), along with tools I’ve found useful that I try to utilize.

Update 8/11/11:  Here is the link to purchase the ebook:  http://uploadnsell.com/buy/k3bEbI

An Unexpected Diagnosis

 Causes, Children, Personal Growth  Comments Off on An Unexpected Diagnosis
Jul 232011
 

Maya enjoying a Caribbean beach 2 weeks ago

We returned late the night of July 11 from Cancun, Mexico where we had vacationed for a week at the Riviera Maya. It had been an exhausting full day journey from the resort to our city of Denver, CO.  The following day, we had an appointment to get feedback from our daughter Maya’s evaluation for autism, which we had just before leaving.

Maya had been seeing a speech and OT therapist the past year for some delays, but we had been getting very encouraging signs about her progress.  We were being regularly told by friends that she did not appear to have the disorder.  Her OT therapist was also doubtful, particularly as we got close to the evaluation on June 24.  She was concerned about our time and energy being wasted with the lengthy evaluation.

As a result, we were also assuming that we would get a clean bill of health regarding our daughter, particularly me.  We discussed how we would handle it if we received the diagnosis of autism and we decided that there was no way to fully prepare.  We would just have to take the blow and begin the process of dealing with it; if that is where we would be.  And that is how it went.  The two psychologists met with us for two hours on the afternoon of the 12th in a small room and gave us the news upfront.  Then they patiently waited as we absorbed the hit and placed some tissue between us, which I soon required.  Then I tried to ask every question I could think of and to understand what I could, while being in the mental haze of  jet lag.

On the way home, after leaving a message with the OT therapist on the result, I bawled all the way home.  She called back and we chatted while I was parked in my garage.

Exploring a flower at the Mexican resort

 

 

The Riviera Maya with Maya

 Children, Raising Vegetarian Children, Travel, vacation  Comments Off on The Riviera Maya with Maya
Jul 162011
 

Maya discovering the Caribbean

Late on July 11, we returned from our trip to Mexico and now trying to get back in the rhythm of our life at home.  On July 3rd, we left for a week-long daring adventure to the Riviera Maya with our toddler and teen.  We left the country just in time for the 4th of July holiday the next day.  It was somewhat odd to celebrate the occasion in a different country, seeing the red, white and blue balloons while listening to some classic American music.

My 2 year-old daughter Maya had a challenging time on the 5-hour plane ride.  It was surreal to see a sense of Mexico from the plane, which reminded me of my village in India, with its flat, rustic roofs.  Once in Cancun, we were hit by the humidity and then transferred to our resort at the Riviera Maya about an hour away.  Once there, the resort matched what we saw and read on-line and even what we saw via satellite on Google.  It was interesting to be in the ocean that I saw clearly on-line, right to the rocky, patchy areas.

It is difficult to complain about a vacation and resort over-all.  Because, you know, it’s a resort and vacation.  When all else fails, there is always the ocean, which can not disappoint.  We saw some negative reviews of the resort on Trip Advisor, and that was echoed upon arrival.  We had been placed in the wrong room and then on the wrong side.  After finally getting to our correct room, we had some issues with our room not getting cleaned and then the toilet not flushing.  We also had some issues with my son’s age – he was 12 when we booked, which was at a lower rate, but then he turned 13 upon arrival, a higher rate.

Things got resolved and we were able to appreciate the beach above all, and then the pools and having food/drinks included.  It was challenging feeding Maya – we actually had a hard time finding beans at the buffets!  There were no tacos, burritos, enchiladas or other traditional vegetarian Mexican food we are accustomed to in the states.  The first thing we did after landing late Monday was to stop at a cheap fast food Mexican drive-thru on the way home.  My son and I were so desperate for Mexican food after our trip to Mexico!  At the fancy Mexican restaurant, we were offered roasted vegetables.  This followed the fancy French food the previous night where we had the same vegetables.  I do regret not insisting on some whole beans and accepting what was offered.

I would probably not book an all-inclusive in the future.  I gained 5 lbs, and unless you are used to eating and drinking a lot, it may not be the best value or provide you with the choice you want.  Since you have already paid for your package, the restaurants don’t need to impress you, particularly vegetarians.  There isn’t competition for your business.  We had considered a vacation rental, which is something I would try next time.  We could have our own room and only pay for what little food/drink we may want.