Yard [0044] : Water For Life

Dear Friends,

Namaste!

Let’s turn our attention to water now because water is an important and integral part of our diet. In fact, water is known in Sanskrit (ancient Aryan language of Yoga) as “Jeevan” which means “Life”.

Another Sanskrit word for water is “Jala”. (“Ja” - “Jaayate Yasmin” meaning “That in which Life appeared”. “La” - “Leeyate Yasmat” meaning “That in which Life will dissolve”). Even modern theory of evolution corroborates the fact that first form of life was indeed aquatic! Ancient wisdom also predicts that water is where life on this planet will eventually end! We shall see!!

Since Water is synonymous with Life, no wonder it plays a crucial role in our diet. However, misconceptions and extreme views are ten-a-penny when it comes to drinking (water) to our health.

So let’s take the help of Yoga Shastra to explore sensible and practical answers to some fundamental questions around drinking water:

1.    How much water to drink every day?

We have heard umpteen times that we must drink as much water as possible throughout the day. Some suggest that we must drink at least eight to ten litres of water every day.

There is no doubt that we should drink a lot of water. But beyond a point, drinking water is useless in the best case and actually counterproductive in the worst! No doubt water contains useful minerals and is the best available cleansing agent for our system. However, there is a limit beyond which water alone cannot cleanse our system. Drinking more water is a waste beyond this point. Worse, it actually interferes with our appetite and digestion process by diluting the digestive juices and puts too much pressure on our bladder in particular and excretory system in general to throw the water out of our body.And when any system in the world is overworked day in and day out, it is bound to undergo wear and tear much faster!

It is almost like in the case of game of cricket. If a batsman hits a six clearing the ropes, no matter what distance the ball lands beyond the ropes, he would still get only six runs. So, if a batsman hits the ball eighty yards out, he would get six runs. And if he hits the ball out double that distance, he still gets only six runs but has spent double his energy!

Yoga completely and thoroughly abhors wastage of any kind. Therefore Yoga is all about optimization and not about maximization. (We have discussed earlier that Yoga is all about equilibrium and not about extremes!)

So Yoga tells us not to maximize the quantity of water we drink but to optimize it. And what is that optimum quantity? We have seen earlier that our stomach must be half filled by food, one fourth by air and one fourth by water. And how do we know if we are drinking optimum quantity of water? By examining the colour and odour of our urine!

If our urine is colourless and odourless and we don’t have to relieve ourselves ever so often, then we are drinking sufficient water! If our urine smells and its colour is yellow and turbid, we must drink more water. If our urine is ‘ok’ but we end up visiting the rest room too frequently (almost on an hourly basis in extreme cases) or feel constantly bloated or ‘full’, we can afford to reduce the amount of water we are drinking.

2.    When to drink water?

The best time to drink water is in between two meals. Drinking water during or just before or after a meal surely interferes with our appetite and digestion process by diluting the digestive juices as stated above.

If the interval between two meals is anywhere between two to four hours (in a healthy routine, as we have earlier discussed), it is best to drink a lot of water one hour after finishing a meal.

Generally, when the weather is hot, it is advisable to drink more water. When the weather is cold (and the body does not get the opportunity to dispense water through our sweat glands), our body can do with less water.

3.    What should be the temperature of drinking water?

Water is best drunk either hot or at natural temperature. We must not drink cold water for it douses the digestive ‘fire’ inside us. Drinking hot water helps in getting rid of “Aam” (toxins) in our body. (Antonym of “Aam” is “Ojas” – positive energy). Hot water is good for cough/cold/sore-throat and flushes the grease out of our system more effectively than cold water.

However, the water must not be so hot as to scald and damage our system! (Avoid extremes!!). If used judiciously, hot water therapy definitely gives us better health!

Ciao.