Why should we not sleep with our head towards the north?
Elders say that we should not sleep with our head towards the north. The answer to this lies in the story of Ganesha. Parvati stationed Ganesha at the door when she was taking bath. At that time Shiva came and demanded to be let inside. Ganesha did not agree to let him in. Angry, Shiva cut off Ganesha's head. Parvati finished her bath; she came and saw what had happened and was very angry. She commanded that he be brought back to life. It was decided that they behead an animal sleeping with its head towards north and fix that head on Ganesha. Accordingly, Shiva beheaded an elephant sleeping with its head towards north and fixed it on Ganesha. Since then, Ganesha has an elephant's head. Along with this originated the story that it is not good to sleep with our head towards north.
Apart from this story, Vastu shastra also states that we should not sleep with our head towards the north. If we do so, it is possible that we may be affected by ill health. According to Vastu shastra, it is good to sleep with the head towards south. Only a dead body is placed with its head in the northern direction.
The head is like the north pole to our body. It is said that if we sleep with the head towards north, the north pole of the body and the north pole of the Earth repel and cause bad effects in the circulation of blood, thereby disturbing sleep and increasing stress. But medical science does not accept this. Still, since there are three other directions other than north, there is no harm in not sleeping with the head towards north.
Why should you sit on the floor when you have your meals?
Nowadays, there are dining tables in most houses. Even then, many orthodox people sit on the floor to eat their meals. They say that Anna yagma is a holy act; it should not be done on a table. Eating at a table is western culture. According to Indian culture, it is best to be seated on the floor during meals. The scientific basis for this practice is to enhance our health.
When we sit on the floor, we usually sit cross legged. In yoga, this posture is called sukhasana. It is a very good posture. It brings calmness to the body and hence stimulates the digestive process. When we sit in this posture, it sends a signal to the brain to prepare the stomach for digestion. There is another important reason. We should never eat such that the stomach is completely full. If we do, digestion becomes difficult. When we sit on a chair and eat, it is possible to eat till the stomach is full. But, when we sit on the floor to eat, we bend forwards. When the stomach is near full, it becomes difficult to bend forward, we feel full and stop eating. So we don't eat "full stomach", we stop eating when the stomach is near full. This is good for the body. The digestion process becomes easy. Accumulation of fat is also prevented. Have you noticed that those who sit on the floor to eat are generally slim?
