So much for elongating muscles. I am sure there will still be sceptics who will argue that I have no scientific proof and therefore I must be wrong. This selective argument is often used by people who simply do not want to believe something, carefully glossing over those things they have to believe in but can’t explain (such people probably wouldn’t ‘believe in’ acupuncture or most of the functions of the brain). To those I say, all right don’t believe it. Maybe there is some other explanation, that nobody has thought of yet, for the anti-gravitational force. Let us not argue about it. The fact is, and this is unarguable, that the posture-maintaining muscles and general muscle tone do create an anti-gravitational force that counteracts or neutralises part of the body’s actual weight. In my concept of backache, this anti-gravitational force, crested totf posture-maintaining muscles and general muscle tone, plays a very important role. It is almost like the vital force of the back. The greater the force the less the pressure on the spine’s joints and discs and on the joints of the leg.

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Meditation is not a religion. It is a way of stilling our overactive brains and keeping them healthy. It has now become a great tool used by many top executives, politicians and other people who realise the great benefits of allowing the brain to slow down and stay in a state of relaxation for at least 20 minutes a day.

Many men use relaxing sports such as fishing, sailing and swimming as a form of meditation. Unfortunately, most of us can’t do these sports often enough and therefore we need something else to fill the gap.

How does meditation work? The brain is powered by electricity. Every second trillions of brain cells fire electrical impulses that organise themselves into the following rhythmical patterns.

Beta waves. The most common and highest frequency electrical impulses, which are firing during every waking moment. These waves are also associated with anxiety. In fact, when the brain spends a lot of time in the beta state we often refer to the feeling of being blocked, anxious and stuck in a problem.

Alpha waves. These are slower and occur when we are relaxed: times such as during a pleasant walk or when you simply feel ‘laid back’.

Theta waves. These impulses are about two to four times slower that beta waves and occur during the meditative state, which is a state between wakefulness and sleep. People who can access these waves often have better problem-solving abilities and achieve deep and personal insights. The great news is that theta waves are not confined to the formal state of meditation but are increased by that process. It has been found that by practising meditation twice a day for 20 minutes you will be able to experience periods through the day where your brain will go into this state for problemsolving or Co gain an insight to a situation that you have been grappling with.

Delta waves. These waves are associated with deep sleep and are the slowest of all the brain waves.

There are countless books on methods of meditating but mediation is not a mysterious process. There are several styles but they all end up at the same place. Choose whichever suits you: as long as it brings about a relaxation response in which your brain is floating in the theta state. The more you practise meditation, the more long-term benefits you will enjoy. It will positively affect every aspect of your health, brainpower and creative inspirations.

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Poor defence mechanism of the body allows several disease-causing germs to infect people with AIDS. Detailed below are some of the common opportunistic infections seen in people with AIDS.

Tuberculosis: This is a bacterial infection and is normally transmitted when a person with active tuberculosis coughs or sneezes. During the act of coughing or sneezing, germ particles of tuberculosis called droplet nuclei are released in the air. These droplet nuclei contain the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. When a healthy person inhales the droplet nuclei, he/she can get infected with tuberculosis. Many people in India who are infected with tuberculosis develop latent infection only. Latent infection means the infected person will neither have any signs or symptoms nor will be able to spread the infection to others. They can however, become sick and get infected with active tuberculosis at a later stage.

Tuberculosis often occurs in the early stages of HIV infection. Since tuberculosis is already one of the major health problems in India, people with HIV infection are at a higher risk of getting it. Very often, tuberculosis is the first indication that a person has HIV infection. Although tuberculosis largely affects the lungs, it can affect other organs of the body also. People with AIDS are more likely to get infection in other organs of the body.

One of the major concerns related to tuberculosis and AIDS is resistance of the tuberculosis bacteria to several medicines that were earlier effective for its treatment. Resistance of medicines normally occurs when people fail to complete a course of treatment. Since treatment for tuberculosis takes several months, there is a very high rate of drop-outs. People who fail to complete the full course of treatment can become resistant to medicines and spread the resistant bacteria to others also. Resistant tuberculosis is one of the important causes of early death in people with HIV infection.

Tuberculosis is more common in people with HIV infection who have less than two hundred CD4+ count.

Common symptoms of tuberculosis include cough, fever, increased sweating at nights, loss of weight and excessive fatigue.

AIDS dementia complex: This is not a true opportunistic infection. It is one of the few conditions caused directly by the HIV virus. HIV can cross the blood barrier present all around the brain. It can damage not only the brain but also the spinal cord— the main nerve that emerges from the base of the neck and passes through the backbone — and the nerves.

Common symptoms of AIDS dementia complex include confusion, depression and a strange unusual behaviour. There may be general loss of interest in the surroundings, indifference, etc. In later stages, it causes loss of memory, uncoordinated movements, or paralysis.

Diagnostic diseases: Kaposis’s sarcoma and cryptococcal meningitis are the two diseases that are a definite indication of AIDS.

Kaposis’s sarcoma: This is the most common cancer seen in people with AIDS. Some studies have indicated that this cancer is due to infection by one of the herpes groups of viruses. Some other studies have indicated that it is due to an abnormality of the production of blood cells. Although more studies are necessary to identify the cause of kaposis’s sarcoma, its presence is a definite indication of AIDS. Common symptoms of kaposis’s sarcoma include red or purple raised areas on the skin. They may also be present in internal organs of the body such as mouth, lymph nodes, digestive tract and lungs. Recent advances in management of kaposis’s sarcoma have increased the chances of complete recovery.

Cryptococcal meningitis: This infection is caused by a yeast-like fungus called cryptocossus neoformans. It is found in soil in most parts of the world, especially the soil that is contaminated with bird droppings. In the early stages of the infection, the fungus affects the brain and the lungs. In later stages, it can affect any other part of the body. Cryptococcal meningitis is more common among people with CD4 count less than fifty.

Common symptoms of cryptococcal meningitis include fever, mild headache followed by nausea, vomiting, severe headache and blurring of vision.

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