Friends today we have with us Dr. Deepti Sehgal, the author of “Body and Mind Transformation”. She is a registered Doctor of Oriental Medicine, an internationally certified Macrobiotic Consultant, Acid-Alkaline Health Coach, Holistic Whole and Natural Foods Nutritionist, Detox Specialist, Raw Food Nutritionist, Health and Wellness Author and Trainer, and Whole and Natural Foods Meal Planner and Natural Foods Chef Instructor. Her dietary and wellness practice is majorly based on the ancient concepts of health and healing. She believes one can achieve amazing results by eating right, by consuming whole natural foods, by breathing right, by focusing on organ health, by living a natural lifestyle, by keeping one’s meal timings right, by tuning one’s activities with nature, and by natural self-care techniques. Her practice is fully based on combining the concepts of modern nutrition theory with the health and healing concepts as suggested by ancient healing practices including Macrobiotics, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda.
Upon asking her what her vision is, she says, “To map the ancient health and wellness practices with the current lifestyles and dietary habits of modern people to help them become healthy and well from within.”
Health being the major concern today, needs lot of attention with regard to medical care. But instead you decided to jot down a book so as to make the reader realize that the solution is with him or her, why?
Simply because the solution is actually within us. Ancient healing modalities across the world have always focussed on this fact. It is just that due to the convenient ‘pill-culture’ and due to lack of knowledge about right ways of dieting, living and thinking, we have lost touch with the ancient wisdom. Modernization is progressive, but blindly following modernization can be destructive. And today, our health state is a direct indicator of this destruction.
Think logically about the following and you realize finding solutions within yourself makes much sense: How do you get sick? Does anyone make you sick? Do you get diseased in a day? Is it what you do over years that makes you diseased?
Once you begin relating to these self-reflective questions, you realize it is your own habits, choices, dietary patterns, lifestyle that someday accumulates into a disease.
Why do you consider this book different and revolutionary?
This book is revolutionary and different for the following reasons: Firstly, it directly relates out current lifestyles and dietary patterns with the diseases that we are making. Secondly, it is revolutionary book in Indian context as the foundational health and wellness topics covered have never been talked about so collaboratively. Thirdly, it uncovers the ancient view points on health and wellness, as were practiced by different cultures of the world, way before modernization made us sick! Lastly, it helps you connect with yourself, understand yourself versus understating your foods for health and well-being.
What made you to write this book?
During my health and wellness consultations there was one common gap that I came across all the time. People follow dietary and lifestyle routines without realizing why they are following them, what are those plans doing to them, are they on the right plans and why may their plans fail making them still prone to diseases. I have been counselling people on these health and wellness aspects, and empower them to take the right decisions about their diet, lifestyle and actions themselves. This was primarily the thought behind conceiving this book.
However, I also believe that if you are right and you know you are right, there is no better way than pass your knowledge to the world than writing a book!
What is the most important thing that we ought to do to keep in good health?
Be empowered and know yourself. Be aware of your body functioning and your connect with the nature. Listen to your body and its signals in time, to maintain a lasting state of health. Keep your body clean inside. Detox regularly. Any foods or exercise routines come much later.
Self-Awareness and Self-Consciousness is the second part of your book, could you explain to us how it is related to our health?
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda life sciences always focussed that each individual is different. That also means that something which is good for one may not be necessarily good for others.
In today’s times, we are living a lifestyle that is common to all. From the body’s perspective, most of the people exercise and eat well, many of them go on specific diets, and yet we are diseased than ever before. From our mind’s perspective, we do not realize that everyone cannot be an engineer or a doctor. Someone good at art and culture may be the weakest student in the class, and that does not mean that they do not have brains. It just signifies that everyone is unique with a set of unique characteristics to be explored about self and excelling based on their uniqueness.
At a physical level, if we are unaware about our body functioning, our body signals that indicate health issues, we will never be able to achieve perfect health despite of following the best diet or exercising pattern. Similarly, at the mind level we must recognize the uniqueness of our capabilities or else we might end up becoming an average and complaining engineer than a promising singer or writer!
Self-awareness and self-consciousness helps you understand yourself, your body, your emotions, your feelings and that what you must pursue for a happy and successful life. When you know how our body functions, how closely you are connected with nature, how changes in nature impact you, how your body is supposed to function with the beginning and setting of the day, what happens when you exercise and how your daily routines and regular choices may be dragging you towards a diseased state, you are automatically empowered to take right health and lifestyle decisions. With that empowerment, you need not depend upon someone else to tell you what to eat or how to eat it, why it is important to move the body, why it is important to relax and sleep at the right time and why it is important to have right meals at the right time. You are yourself self-sufficient to think and act towards a healthy state of being.
What according to you are a few foundational steps to healing?
The foundations of good health begin from thinking what we need as human beings to perform right.
At the body level it includes: Eliminating the wrong foods that create toxicity in our body and deteriorate us from within. Including foods that build us from within. Moving the body in any exercising form to sweat out toxicity. Keeping body clean from within by detoxifying regularly so that toxins do not keep accumulating within us. Keeping a check on regular elimination, be it our bowel movement, sweating, breathing or bladder. The toxins must get out of the body regularly. Ample rest and relaxation to rejuvenate our body for optimal functioning each day. Living as per our internal clock, which means waking up early and sleeping early. Listening to our discomforting body signals and acting on correcting them in time.
At the mind level it includes: Respecting ourselves for what we are and choosing to do something that defines us than what defines the societal standards! Consciously making an effort to think positive. Not stressing a lot and recognizing our stress triggers and acting on them timely.
How was it for you to get your book published?
My confidence level is up double the time. Rather, on a little hilarious note, after this publishing experience I feel like quoting this:
‘In a prestigious and respectful way, If you want to covey or communicate something right to others, that people do not want to listen, write a Book!’
What is your advice for the reader of your book?
The little secret to health is understanding yourself than understanding your diets and exercising routines. This book will help you create a perfect understanding about yourself, how your body functions, why you should know yourself and what are the ways to get back to right ways of eating, living and thinking.
Share anything in specific about your book.
The book has been designed to make you understand that our health conditions are an outcome of our choice and habits. We have been told this since ages! However, this book makes you understand how we ourselves create our diseases.This also means we have the power to transform ourselves, if we adopt the right route to health and well-being!
