Here is another little gem for you, from Jim Kwik's YouTube video, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it, especially the 'how to remember things on a list' exercise. Let me list the 10 points below (from memory :-) and add my own thoughts:
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
1. Brain food - You are what you eat! The foods you eat will either make your mind dull (Tamastic), put it into overdrive (Rajastic) or balance and nourish it (Sattvic).
According to Jim Kwik the best brain foods are: avocado, blueberry, spinach, leafy greens, walnut, broccoli, eggs, salmon, coconut oil, turmeric.
According to Ayurveda how our diet effects our mind:
- Sattvic foods promote purity of mind, peace, intelligence, right decisions - milk, herbal tea, ghee, rice, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, honey, nuts, dhal, being in peace while eating, eating in silence, eating in good company
- Rajastic foods give motivation, keeping as attached to our ego and desires - coffee, black tea, meat, egg, onion, garlic, citrus fruits, spicy foods, chocolate, too much salt, eating too fast, eating while doing something else as well
- Tamastic foods cloud the mind, promote negative emotions - alcohol, fast food, fried food, frozen food, canned food, refined sugars, soda, overeating
2. Squashing the ants - now I am not too happy about this expression, being a Yogi and practising Ahimsa (non-harming) so renamed it to Rewiring the brain. This one is a big one, I keep telling you in class, be aware of the talk in your head, because it can be your best friend or your worst enemy. The whole reason we practice Yoga is to make the mind one-pointed, concentrating on the thoughts we would like to have in our head not allowing them to run away with us. There are plenty of techniques for achieving this, to name a few: in our Yoga practice concentration exercises, meditation, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural therapy), Brain Control, EFT tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique), Theta Healing.
3. Exercise - enough said
4. Supplements - don't know much about this
5. Positive peers - the saying goes that you are the sum of the 5 people around you. We are chameleons, and will assimilate with our peers. So choose wisely! Also beware of what comes in through the media, news, social networks - is it educating you, relaxing you, lifting you up, or is it taking you down under?
6. Clean environment - declutter, clean, repeat is my motto
7. Sleep - especially between 10 pm to 2 am, Pitta time, when all the digestion of the day happens, we are processing all the thoughts, emotions, inputs of the day
8. Brain protection - we are very strict on not having electronic items in our bedroom (unfortunately losing that battle with the children). Recently implemented the no iAnything the first 90 minutes after awakening (5.00 - 6.30 am, the Victory hour, blog post coming soon) and the last 60 minutes before bed, generally from 9 pm.
All of our devices have EMF (Electromotive force) protectors on them to neutralize radiation as much as possible. We do not use a microwave. No smart meter in this house. These are our steps, let me know if you have any good tips!
9. New ideas / study - Being a Gemini this one comes really easy for me, being the forever student, but if this is a challenge for you I strongly recommend implementing 10-30 minutes of reading, listening to podcasts, studying on a daily basis. Knowledge is power. Learning new things is fun!
10. Stress management - Come to a Yoga class!
Namaste
Dora