Sahasranama
17 August 2012, 11:10 AM
http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/4535/p00wzn5j.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/713/p00wzn5j.jpg/)
Duration: 1 hour
Michael Mosley has set himself a truly ambitious goal: he wants to live longer, stay younger and lose weight in the bargain. And he wants to make as few changes to his life as possible along the way. He discovers the powerful new science behind the ancient idea of fasting, and he thinks he's found a way of doing it that still allows him to enjoy his food. Michael tests out the science of fasting on himself - with life-changing results.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfna7nV7WaM&feature=related
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lxyzc
Fasting is now becoming mainstream in the health and fitness world. There is more and more scientific evidence showing that fasting has a positive effect on health markers like blood lipids, blood sugar, hormone levels and inflammation. Fasting also has a positive effect on mental health and has shown to cause the growth of new brain cells. In addition to that, many people have lost a lot of weight through Intermittent fasting. A popular method is to fast twice a week for a 24 hour period on any random day. This method is great for secular people, but for Hindus there are auspicious days in the calender to fast regularly.
To get the full health benefits of intermittent fasting, it is best to fast at least three days* in one paksha (15 day period). Every Hindu should first consider fasting on ekadashi days. This is the most auspicious day for fasting in the paksha. Another great day for fasting is chaturdashi. This day is dedicated to Shiva, every chaturdashi in krishna paksha is considered a Shiva Ratri and the chaturdashi in shukla paksha is also dedicated to Shiva. The ananta padmanabha vrata and nrisimha jayanti also fall on chaturdashi days. South Indian shaivas will more likely want to fast on trayodashi days (pradosha). Other days to consider fasting are shashti (dedicated to Skanda) or chaturthi (dedicated to Ganesha).
There are also many yearly holidays one can consider fasting on. I don't have any exhaustive list, but this one gives a nice overview: http://www.mypanchang.com/hindufestivals2012.php
(http://www.mypanchang.com/hindufestivals2012.php)
Besides Ekadashi, other important days to fast on according to the Puranas are Rama Navami, Krishna Janmashtami and Maha Shivaratri.
*fasting for a full day is around 8 hours longer than 24 hours of fasting, because you don't eat in the night before the fast, not during the day of the fast and not during the night after the fast. The fast is broken the next morning. This will be around 32 hours of fasting.
Duration: 1 hour
Michael Mosley has set himself a truly ambitious goal: he wants to live longer, stay younger and lose weight in the bargain. And he wants to make as few changes to his life as possible along the way. He discovers the powerful new science behind the ancient idea of fasting, and he thinks he's found a way of doing it that still allows him to enjoy his food. Michael tests out the science of fasting on himself - with life-changing results.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfna7nV7WaM&feature=related
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lxyzc
Fasting is now becoming mainstream in the health and fitness world. There is more and more scientific evidence showing that fasting has a positive effect on health markers like blood lipids, blood sugar, hormone levels and inflammation. Fasting also has a positive effect on mental health and has shown to cause the growth of new brain cells. In addition to that, many people have lost a lot of weight through Intermittent fasting. A popular method is to fast twice a week for a 24 hour period on any random day. This method is great for secular people, but for Hindus there are auspicious days in the calender to fast regularly.
To get the full health benefits of intermittent fasting, it is best to fast at least three days* in one paksha (15 day period). Every Hindu should first consider fasting on ekadashi days. This is the most auspicious day for fasting in the paksha. Another great day for fasting is chaturdashi. This day is dedicated to Shiva, every chaturdashi in krishna paksha is considered a Shiva Ratri and the chaturdashi in shukla paksha is also dedicated to Shiva. The ananta padmanabha vrata and nrisimha jayanti also fall on chaturdashi days. South Indian shaivas will more likely want to fast on trayodashi days (pradosha). Other days to consider fasting are shashti (dedicated to Skanda) or chaturthi (dedicated to Ganesha).
There are also many yearly holidays one can consider fasting on. I don't have any exhaustive list, but this one gives a nice overview: http://www.mypanchang.com/hindufestivals2012.php
(http://www.mypanchang.com/hindufestivals2012.php)
Besides Ekadashi, other important days to fast on according to the Puranas are Rama Navami, Krishna Janmashtami and Maha Shivaratri.
*fasting for a full day is around 8 hours longer than 24 hours of fasting, because you don't eat in the night before the fast, not during the day of the fast and not during the night after the fast. The fast is broken the next morning. This will be around 32 hours of fasting.