By Rachel V Thomas

Jun 20 (IANS): "Title: Yoga and Diet for Ailments; Author: Bijoylaxmi Hota; Publisher: Rupa; Pages: 296; Price: Rs. 295

If yoga has broken all barriers -- transcendental as well as geographical -- in recent times and is bringing more and more people globally into its fold for maintaining health and staying fit, it is something that was bound to happen.

Through her book "Yoga and Diet for Ailments," Bijoylaxmi Hota portrays the practice of yoga as the best remedy to ward off diseases and live life peacefully.

Yoga -- the 5,000-year-old Indian spiritual system -- harmonises the energy system of the human body and balances the personality and, most importantly, helps curb the tendencies of one's mind.

Hota defines yoga as a system that can recognise the fault or cause underlying a disease and also has the means to repair or cure the disease with natural remedies.

"There was a time when I used to be in and out of the hospital all the time and thought that was going to be my life for ever. It was not a nice feeling," Hota, the yoga therapist with over three-and-a-half decades of experience, told IANS.

Her book acts as a handy guide that advises the readers regarding the right mix of foods to eat during a particular disease as well as the yogic exercises that can help alleviate that disease.

It also presents the causes of the disease, symptoms and conventional treatments and the side effects associated with them.

The diet prescribed in the book only has food recipes with easily available natural ingredients and techniques that do not use any chemicals or added preservatives.

Owing to our busy schedules and various hardships of life, we often tend to bow down to habits, foods, lifestyles that are harmful to our body, thus becoming prey to different diseases.

A small headache and we pop painkiller without even realising the number of chemicals that enter our body and kill our innate immune system.

Worst are therapies with medicines full of chemicals. They add more poison to the already toxic and weak system paving the way for more serious illness in the future, says the book, which speaks on the diseases that Hota had successfully treated using the various methods prescribed in the book.

The book includes yogic therapies on ailments ranging from digestive disorders such as acidity, diarrhoea, constipation and piles; respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis and the common cold; disorders of the nervous system such as insomnia, panic attacks, Parkinson's disease and stroke; various other ailments such as allergies, incontinence, osteoporosis and vertigo.

"As I have gained the knowledge how to get rid of ailments with yoga and diet I must share it with the world so that people can cure themselves sitting at home and feel confident that the control of their health is in their own hands," maintained Hota who has written eight books on yoga and its benefits.

The new book also contains yogic cleansing methods for detoxification, meditation techniques, useful asanas and delicious yet healthy recipes.

Further, as a precautionary measure and as a warning for readers, Hota has also revealed potential dangers and side effects associated with allopathic drugs, especially antibiotics, painkillers and steroids.