Dr. Dilip Sarkar suffered a heart attack on his 52nd birthday. He was a student of Western medicine, a vascular surgeon and, overall, very healthy. His heart attack forced him to re-evaluate. Eight years later, he practices yoga asana (postures), pranayam (breathing exercises), and teaches yoga therapy. In the first part of this series, he narrates his experience having a heart attack and making big changes in his life. Here, he answers questions about his new vocation and what he wants people to learn from his experience.

Anu Kaur: What is yoga therapy? And what type of yoga therapy do you teach?

Dilip Sarkar, MD: Yoga therapy is a state of empowering an individual toward wellness and health by the application of the philosophy and practice of yoga. The philosophy we teach is “Yoga Sutra of Patanjali” and the practice is “Patanjali Ashtanga Yoga.”

AK: As an advocate of yoga, how do feel yoga changes a person physically, mentally and spiritually?

DS: Yoga by definition is the union of the mind-body-spirit. It cures a disease and maintains health through self-realization. You look inside yourself, atman darshan (introspection), and observe what is bothering you and hurting you. Yoga tradition believes that, you are the cause and cure of your disease. By doing yoga, you achieve overall wellness and protect yourself against the progression of disease. (more…)

Filed under Healthy Lifestyle, Nutrition & Health, Spirit & Personal Energy  |  Submit Comment

Savor the Moment

Are you so busy that you multi-task in all areas of your life, including your eating habits? Functioning at maximum level, how many of us have eaten lunch in front of the computer or in the car, skipped a meal or inhaled something that our taste buds did not even catch? Is your schedule packed with meetings, chores, deadlines and social obligations? Have you ever found yourself in front of the candy dish at work without even remembering walking to it? Maybe you actually do sit down and have a meal, but you’re so preoccupied while eating that you still don’t taste the food.

If that is the case, mindfulness can be a wonderful tool to begin using in your life. Mindfulness is the opposite of being on autopilot. In today’s busy, information-loaded world, multi-tasking has become the accepted norm and eating is no exception. However, mindless and unaware eating can have an effect on us, both psychologically and physically—and eventually takes a toll on our body and overall quality of life.

More and more research is showing that mindfulness can play a role in managing stress, depression, anxiety and medical conditions such as heart disease, obesity and disordered eating. The beauty of mindfulness is that it is simple and available to you at all times. (more…)

Filed under Healthy Lifestyle, Nutrition & Health, Spirit & Personal Energy  |  Submit Comment

Dilip Sarkar, MD

Dr. Dilip Sarkar is one of the healthiest vascular surgeons in Portsmouth, Virginia. He exercises, eats right and gets regular check-ups. He doesn’t smoke, have no traditional risk factors and doesn’t have a family history of heart disease.

While no one expects to have a heart attack, Sarkar was completely unprepared for the heart attack he suffered on his 52nd birthday. He narrates his experience and begins the story of how he transformed his life.

Dilip Sarkar: It was my operating day. I still remember it was a Wednesday. I had just completed 7 or 8 surgeries and had come home. I was not feeling well (unexplained fatigue) but I did not have any classic symptoms of a heart attack, such as chest pain or shortness of breath. When I shared my discomfort with my wife she said that I looked tired and that I “must be over worked.” A family friend came for my birthday dinner that evening and I could not eat properly during the meal. My friend also said, “You must be overworked.”

After my friend left, I checked my pulse and it was high. As a physician, I knew it was a cardiovascular issue. My wife told me to call a physician, which I did. My cardiologist friend was waiting for me at the hospital when I got there. He took my EKG and told me I was having a heart attack. He took me right in for a coronary angiogram, which showed triple vessel disease. The doctor recommended coronary artery bypass surgery, which was performed two days later.

From that moment, something changed inside me. I have always been a spiritual person. But at that moment after surgery I said to God, “Have it as you will.” I had to surrender to him. I had been one of the busiest surgeons in town, yet when I came back home after my operation I decided I was not going to go back to work part time, as suggested by my cardiologist.

This experience had me questioning, “Why me? What is next in my life?” My cardiologist had told me after the surgery that I did not possess any risk factors for a future heart attack, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc. Therefore, the remedy was not in medication (to control the risk factors), but rather in learning to control the mind and the stress of daily life. I wondered what else should I do since all of my life I had studied science and medicine. (more…)

Filed under Healthy Lifestyle, Nutrition & Health, Spirit & Personal Energy  |  2 Comments

You know what I love about South Asian Indian food? It is good for your body. Turmeric, dals (lentils), sabzis (vegetables) and yogurt are all foods that are healthy. The classic thaali (a South Asian meal offering a selection of small dishes, usually in a round steel tray), typically consists, of two rotis, ½ cup of dal, 1 cup of non-starchy vegetables, ½ cup of yogurt and ½ to 1 cup of salad is the perfect example of a well-balanced meal. But then why do so many of us who like Indian food have high cholesterol or have a family history of heart disease?

It could have something to do with the how snug your jeans feel around your tummy. Or, it could be the fact that you are too tired to exercise after work, taking care of the kids, or any of the things for which you are now responsible as an adult. It could be your blood pressure rising as you get stressed out about the traffic, work deadlines or the many small annoyances that trigger stress. Perhaps it could be abnormal cholesterol levels of which you are unaware because you haven’t gone for your physical in a while. It could even be a family history of diabetes and your current lifestyle that makes you a bit more prone to heart disease.

All or any one of these risk factors are little red flags to remind us to check that our daily habits align with our desire to be healthy. (more…)

Filed under Healthy Lifestyle, Nutrition & Health  |  Submit Comment

A few weeks ago, I was a chaperon for my 5-year-old’s class field trip to a pumpkin farm, Ticonderoga Farms in Loudoun County, Virginia. After being ushered onto the hayride, we were literally dropped off at a pumpkin patch to choose our jack-o’-lanterns off the vine.  Granted, some of those pumpkins where conveniently placed next to the vine to prevent a shortage of pumpkins and upset kindergartners. But the entire experience made me think how strange it is that I had never seen a baby pumpkin on  a vine before.

I went on to buy freshly picked figs from the farm.  Do I do things like this usually?  No.  Would I like to buy straight from the farm more often? Absolutely. It felt like I was taking my first baby steps into the Slow Food Movement. I am starting to become more in touch with where my food comes from and how it is produced. (more…)

Filed under Food & Recipes, Green, Healthy Lifestyle  |  6 Comments

Maryam, Yoga Instructor

Maryam was born in Iran and came to the US when she was 6 years old. She grew up in the Reston/Northern Virginia area and was exposed to art through her father, Nasser Ovissi, a living legend of Contemporary Iranian art.

Maryam studied Art Management and opened a gallery dedicated to Iranian-American Art Gallery in California.   She is an artist who now co-owns the amazing yoga studio, Beloved Yoga, in Reston, Virginia.  As she describes it “a place for people to just do yoga.”  Maryam is not new to the fitness world.  Maryam and her husband are also the owners of Kamp Pendleton Personal Training Studio.

I had the pleasure of spending some time with her at the delightful and refreshing Cafe Sano in Reston.  I discovered a place that locals enjoy and got a glimpse of Reston’s lake culture. (more…)

Filed under Healthy Lifestyle, Spirit & Personal Energy  |  1 Comment

A kitchen is like a favorite soft t-shirt; it feels better the more you use it. Settling into your kitchen can take a bit of trial and error as you figure out the ergonomics that will best fit your needs. Learning the key place to keep your favorite sharp knife so you can quickly dice onions and vegetables and toss them into the pan while the cumin sizzles or placing your spices within arm’s reach as your prepare a meal in under 30 minutes after work can take a bit of customization.

The kitchen is an amazing space in many ways. When guests come over, they all congregate here, no matter how beautiful your living room or how much seating is available elsewhere. The warmth of your kitchen draws people to it and ultimately to the nourishment it can provide. It is the part of the home where tantalizing aromas are created and waft through the hallway and into rooms, beckoning everyone to inquire, “What’s cooking?”

The responsibility of cooking for two (or more) is peppered with the reconciling of tastes. He likes it spicy; you like it bland. She says coconut curry; you say no way. Where do you start when blending tastes, coordinating schedules and dividing daily responsibilities? Awareness and planning can make all the difference. (more…)

Filed under Healthy Lifestyle, Nutrition & Health, Spirit & Personal Energy  |  1 Comment

I was excited and humbled that The Virginia Dietetic Association (VDA) honored me as this year’s Emerging Dietetic Leader. Here’s some of what they said:

Anu Kaur, MS, RD, - Emerging Dietetic Leader

“This is a relatively new award that is intended to honor a Virginia member who shows great promise in their early career to move our profession and association forward… [Anu Kaur] has been described as a pioneer of the “whole-person” approach in which she employs the values and practices of East and West philosophy to focus on the mind-body-spirit. A unique aspect of her business is “Tea Time With The Dietitian” in which she conducts home nutrition parties by sharing a cup of tea (preferably “chai”) with the host and guests while discussing nutrition topics in a casual, intimate setting… Anu’s mission is authentically connecting with people and guiding the process of mindful changes in daily living.”

I’ve been familiar with the VDA, but when I received this award it occurred to me that it is a great resource for my readers as well. If you want to find out how to get in touch with a dietitian in the state of Virginia and learn more about the profession, then the VDA is a great place to start.  Find people out there who can give you guidance on eating healthier and get some one-to-one time with a nutrition health professional.

Filed under Announcements, Nutrition & Health  |  2 Comments

Ahh, lifestyles… what does that mean?  Living in Crete and eating a healthy amount of wild greens like purslane everyday or just going there for vacation?  Eating the revered fruit, the olive, and using its oil after the first press or eating any fried item?

The America Heart Association recommends a diet high in monounsaturated fat and low in saturated fat (7% or less of your caloric intake) because this diet helps decrease LDL (the bad cholesterol) without reducing the good cholesterol, HDL.  Olive oil is coveted for it’s monounsaturated fat and is one of the main ingredients of the Mediterranean Diet.  A serving of olive oil, 1 tablespoon, is made up of  77% monounsaturated fat, making it one of nature’s greatest natural resource of monounsaturated fat.   Like other oils, olive oil also has saturated fat (14%) but is less then what is found in other fats, such as butter and palm kernel oil.

We know olive oil is good for us but what type olive oil should one buy?   We have so many choices…extra virgin, virgin, light, lite, pure, or refined.  I often hear questions like:  Which type of olive oil would be lower in calories?  Which one can I use for frying, baking, and drizzling? (more…)

Filed under Food & Recipes, Healthy Lifestyle, Nutrition & Health  |  1 Comment

I was just reminiscing about being in Cancun, Mexico and enjoying an elegant brunch buffet where I eagerly forked a delicate sliver of a pale citrus fruit.  Its appearance was one of a sweet sub-tropical Mexican variety and its dainty succulent sections beckoned me.

How absolutely beautiful it looked on the small crystal platter next to the smoked salmon.  Enticed with its beauty and delicacy I put the entire wedge in one big swipe into my watering mouth.

My lips puckered and my tongue recoiled from the tartness that hit all four sides of my mouth as I devoured the Mexican staple!  I had been duped by the simple lime without its rind.

The green lime, precisely speaking, the Citrus aurantifolia, with its yellow undertones, is the pinnacle of loveliness when it ripens to its full green color.  Rolled with the palm of the hand, to let its juices willingly flow, it is an appreciated accent to entrees and beverages such as the likes of Ceviche and Cuban Mojitos.  As far as a straight shot goes – well I suppose that is a personal preference.

However, my favorite use of the lime is in water and and my Trader Joe’s non-alcoholic Mojito drink.  As someone who experiences headaches and fatigue on days when I drink too little water throughout the day I am always looking for ways to enjoy the most important unsung nutrient, WATER. (more…)

Filed under Food & Recipes, Healthy Lifestyle, Nutrition & Health  |  Submit Comment