The Friends of Indian Senior Citizens Organization (FISCO) of Burlington MA held its seminar “Magic of Healthy Living – An Ayurvedic perspective” on June 14th 2022 at the Burlington Council of Aging. This presentation was designed to make seniors better understand the importance of Ayurvedic Medicine, Diet and combinations of foods. More than 55 seniors attended in person and few joined on ZOOM platform.

Our multi-talented speaker was Ms. Anjana Bhargava, an Electronic Engineer, a Madhubani Art Coach and an Ayurvedic Practitioner, who runs Aryavedic Inc. (www.Aryavedic.com) She opened the presentation stating that the word Ayurveda breaks into “Ayur” means Life and “Veda” means Science or Knowledge. Therefore, purpose of Ayurveda is “Healing and Prevention”, an Art of daily living that has evolved from practical, philosophical and spiritual illumination as it incorporates body, mind and soul.

Anjana explained that according to ancient Sanskrit literature our body functions are regulated by three primary forces, Vata, Pitta and Kapha also called Dosas.

Vata is the subtle energy associated with movement â€” composed of Space and Air. It governs breathing, blinking, muscle and tissue movement, pulsation of the heart, and all movements in the cytoplasm and cell membranes.

Pitta expresses as the body’s metabolic system â€” made up of Fire and Water. It governs digestion, absorption, assimilation, nutrition, metabolism and body temperature.

Kapha is the energy that forms the body’s structure â€” bones, muscles, tendons — and provides the “glue” that holds the cells together, formed from Earth and Water. Kapha supplies water for all bodily parts and systems. It lubricates joints, moisturizes the skin, and maintains immunity.

Ms. Anjana also talked about importance of not combining certain foods, for example do not eat sour fruits and milk together and so on. She presented a list of food that should not be eaten together. For digestion, ginger, ghee, bitter foods and chewing thoroughly is important. Ideally, one should fill stomach with ½ with food + ¼  with liquid + ¼ empty.

She recommends spending at least five minutes massaging your body with oil. If you can only choose one part to massage, make it your belly. This is where we often hold a lot of tension, it’s also the area of intuition in the body. Follow the direction of your digestive organs using a circular motion: starting at the right side of your belly, circle up towards your ribs, then to your left side and down towards your lower belly and then back to your right side.

Meditation and Yoga should be a part of daily routine. Pranayama is a collection of breathing exercises developed by the ancient yogis for purification, mental focus rejuvenation, and healing. Prana translates into “life force energy,” and Yama translates into “control or mastery of.” Thus, pranayama is a breathing technique used to control, cultivate, and modify the amount, quality, flow, and direction of vital energy in the body.

Ms. Anjana concluded her talk with a word of advice, “Choose healthy food that support your body constitution (Dosa) and what you enjoy. Practice healthy body and mind with positive thoughts. Accept the reality and appreciate whatever you have in your life and reach out to needy people or organization to help…it is rewarding!”

After the seminar, hot vegetarian meal sponsored by Minuteman Senior Services and supplied by Zaika Restaurant of Woburn was served.

A grant from Community Health Network Area (CHNA) 15 (Mini) supported this event.

Friends of Indian Senior Citizens is actively engaged in improving the mental health, nutrition, and good physical health of Asian Indian seniors. We invite you to visit “thefisco.org” for information about our programs. The next seminar, “Madhubani Art Workshop” is scheduled for Tuesday August 9th from 10:30 – 11:30 AM at the Burlington Senior Center and on Zoom. A free hot Indian vegetarian lunch will be served.

Please come, join us for the hot vegetarian lunch on every Wednesday at Burlington Council on Aging and make new friends. Write to Raman Gandhi, President of FISCO for more information and to join FISCO: ram2005gandhi@yahoo.com or thefisco@gmail.com.

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