Five books for your well being

Health books for May speak of yoga, immunity and matters of the mind that help us to live harmoniously

May 28, 2022 12:11 pm | Updated 08:29 pm IST

Health books for May : When the mind fights, the body fights better

Health books for May : When the mind fights, the body fights better

The Immunity Diet: Fight off Infections and Live Your Best Life, By Kavita Devgan, Rupa Publications 

Health Books for May: The Immunity Diet

Health Books for May: The Immunity Diet

Conversations around immunity have taken centre stage ever since Covid-19 hit us. Everybody now realises that a strong immune system and precautions are the best weapons against the pandemic. 

In the book, nutritionist Kavita Devgan walks us through the importance of one’s immune system and how lifestyle changes can nurture or destroy it.

She explains immunity as the ability of our bodies and minds to withstand the daily stress in life and cope with imbalances and diseases. “It is the strength of our immune system which decides who gets sick and who doesn’t, who catches the newest bug in town and who stays fit,” she writes. To help readers understand better ways to develop an unbreachab le immune system, she provides food solutions and recipes.

The author has put together an extensive set of habits that can help to boost immunity and also touches upon the often overlooked topic of mental wellbeing. The book is also enriched with immersive descriptions, engaging tools, hacks and tips on nutrients The book gives you an edge in a better understanding of how can we be the protectors of our own health.

A Thousand Brains: A New Story of Intelligence, By Jeff Hawkins, Hachette India

Health books for May: A Thousand Brains

Health books for May: A Thousand Brains

This book offers a new theory of the brain. Neuroscientist and computer engineer Jeff Hawkins argues that the basic picture we all carry of how the brain works is wrong. He takes a radically new approach combining cutting edge theoretical neurosciences to understand the human brain and its complex and mysterious functioning.

He says while neuroscience tells us that the brain combines sensory input from every part of the body into a single perception, it does not tell us how.  We think brains “compute” in some sense, but we can’t say what those computations are.

Hawkins’ theory implies that the brain is organized into millions of individually computing units, called cortical columns. These columns process information from the outside world in the same way, and each builds a complete model of the world and every column has a different connection to the rest of the body. The brain sorts out all those models not to build a single thought, but to manage the thousands of individual thoughts it has every moment.

Hawkins revaluates some of neuroscience’s theories and says once we understand how the brain works, it is a lot easier to make yourself the one you want to be. He believes a new understanding of intelligence would lead to truly intelligent AI, and explores how we can create machines that can learn on their own. He also throws light on why we need not fear super-intelligent systems, and how human and machine intelligence may someday merge.

Decoding the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali By Acharya Kaushal Kumar and Jai Singhania, Vigyan Yoga

Health books for May: Decoding the Yogasutras

Health books for May: Decoding the Yogasutras

The self-help book is a contemporary take on the ancient science of Patanjali’s Yoga sutra, originally in Sanskrit. Acharya Kaushal Kumar and Jai Singhania have simplified the core understanding of the yoga philosophies, essential to our spiritual traditions.

To help readers understand and learn the science and inner workings of the mind and body, the authors have included 195 sutras, divided into four chapters in the book. The book has been written to clear misunderstandings and/ or myths about Yoga, by explaining each of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras logically and practically.

‘The authors write that the main intent of the yoga sutras is to control and regulate the mind. Due to ignorance, many people fail to differentiate the mind from the soul and the book tries to eliminate the ignorance and teaches how to master the mind and become more efficient humans. The authors give their interpretation in calling out the unrealistic nature of superpowers, which many books in the past have tried to establish, and discuss every claim of theirs with science and logic. 

Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation By Kevin Roose; Hachette India

Health Books for May: Future Proof

Health Books for May: Future Proof

The counter-intuitive guide tells us how to stay relevant – and employable – in the machine age. The author challenges the future scenario and says it may be different from what we have been taught to believe – that to compete with automation and AI, humans will have to become more like the machines themselves and build up technical skills like coding.

He wonders what if this prediction is wrong; then what do we need to do to become futureproof?

Kevin cites examples of automation: How the perceived blue-collar phenomenon is set to affect truck drivers, factory workers, and other people with repetitive manual jobs; When JPMorgan Chase built a software called COIN that uses machine learning to review complicated contracts and documents that the firm’s lawyers take 300,000 hours every year to review. The machine takes a few seconds, and requires just one human to run the program; Last summer, a Chinese tech company built a deep learning algorithm that diagnosed brain cancer and other diseases faster and more accurately than a team of 15 top Chinese doctors.

Kevin spent last few years studying how people, communities, and organisations adapt to periods of change, from the Industrial Revolution to the present. He writes in an age dominated by machines, its human skills that really and eventually matter. His profound idea in nine prescriptive chapters is the antidote to the worries many people feel when they think about AI and automation.

Kevin distills what he has learned about how we will survive the future. The only way to become ‘futureproof’ is to become incredibly and irreplaceably human, he says.

The Way of Nagomi – How To Live A Balanced and Harmonious Life The Japanese Way, By Ken Mogi, Hachette India

Health books for May : The Way Of Nagomi

Health books for May : The Way Of Nagomi

The ancient philosophy of Nagomi is at the very heart of the Japanese way of life that seeks to find balance and peace in everything. A popular and common concept in Japan, to achieve Nagomi is to have peace of mind, emotional balance and wellbeing. And that could start from the way food is prepared at home every day, blending sweet, salt, sour and bitter tastes to the way the ephemerality of the cherry blossom season is celebrated.

Ken Mogi illustrates why it’s important to value both the big and small, positive and negative experiences in life and enlightens readers on how to apply Nagomi to every aspect of life, such as maintaining happy relationships with loved ones in spite of disagreement; learning new things while staying true to oneself; finding calm and a sense of peace in every work done; always mixing unlikely components to strike a harmonious balance.

He delves into Japan’s history, traditions and culture and provides a toolkit on how we can all create Nagomi for harmony and satisfaction in life.

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