The soul is beyond the body and, therefore, from this perspective, the height or stature of a person is indifferent. The true height of a person is the character and facts of him.
However, tall height is a natural ambition of humans. I agree that in today’s context it is partly due to the glamor associated with being tall. If that was the driver for any height increase drive, the efforts would defeat the purpose. Because the true purpose of increasing height must stem from a burning desire to achieve as much of our potential as we can. A tall height represents full growth of the body and therefore we should strive for that full growth.
Height varies from person to person based on their genetics, climate, and other conditions. Therefore, overall height comparison with others is not a correct approach. Instead, the right approach should be to stay as healthy as possible for full body growth.
I was born as a boy of medium height. Until the age of 17, my height did not grow much. At the age of 17, at just over 5 feet, I was among the short students in my class and was often teased for being short and skinny. Quite honestly, I felt humiliated at times and tended to avoid public company as much as possible. The matter got worse because I could see many other guys who were shorter than me a few years ago now surpassing me.
But for once, I decided to stop rationalizing and acting like an ostrich. I decided to take my concern head on. I changed my whole pattern of life. Over the next two years, I engaged in new patterns and by the time I was nineteen years old, I was 5’11” tall and had an extremely flexible and agile body. Today I stand over 6 feet tall.
In this article, I would share those tips that I followed in my height transformation process. I’m sure these will benefit everyone to achieve their full potential:
Tip 1: Brain Power
Our body responds to our thoughts. According to our thought patterns, the appropriate hormones are secreted and the corresponding physiological changes occur. Positive thoughts reverse the aging process and improve health. Negative thoughts speed up the aging process and stunt growth. Therefore, the first critical step in gaining height is to reprogram your thought patterns. It will not only help you increase height but also bring benefits in all areas of your life. For me, it made me a diligent person who helped me get admission in IIT. Here are specific tips on mental programming to gain height:
- Refuse to accept that you are born sickly and short. Visualize yourself in the most perfect health and live every moment in that vision.
- Stop compromising on quality issues. Keep demanding everything you can think of from yourself.
- Imagine that your height increases every moment with each movement of yours.
- Stop the traits of anger, helplessness and despondency.
Remember that willpower is the key. Once you understand it well, the rest will work automatically. If you try these tips without strong willpower, it will never work. This secret gives you everything you want in life.
Tip 2: Food
Just stop eating junk, fried, spicy and oily food. I cannot stress enough the importance of a simple, nutritious and healthy meal. Our body is made of the food we eat. We go from a baby of a few inches to a full-grown adult only through the food we eat. Food is the raw material used to build our building that we call body. How can you expect a strong building to be built if you use inferior raw material from the junkyard?
The following are some recommendations that have helped me:
- Eat at least two hours before bed.
- Have a light dinner
- Regular consumption of sprouts
- Have a regular eating schedule and avoid the habit of chewing from time to time
- Avoid the consumption of tea, coffee, cold drinks, ice creams, chocolates, etc.
- Regular use of triphala powder at night or early in the morning.
- eat lots of fresh fruits
- drinking a lot of water
- Walking for 10-15 minutes after meals
- Eat soaked almonds in the morning. The gulbandi variety is the best.
- Eating in sukhasan. This posture is a wonderful gift from our ancient seers.
Tip 3: exercise
The human body is built to work hard and live actively. The more we avoid physical labor, the more we become prone to underdevelopment, faster aging, and disease. Get used to doing intense training at least three times a week and normal exercises the rest of the days.
My routine in those days was the following:
- Waking up at 5 am and having a variety of workouts until 8 am. These included a mix and match of the following:
- running and jogging
- Flexibility and stretch
- martial arts practice
- Asans and Pranayamas
- Meditation
- At night I used to go to do Taekwondo exercises three times a week. The practice of high kicks is extremely beneficial
- On Sundays we would go play cricket.
This active routine did wonders for my body and activity.
I would request all health seekers to join the nearby taekwondo lessons. Taekwondo differs from other martial arts. In taekwondo, the emphasis is on high kicks and free stretches that help the body grow. In many other martial arts, the focus is on restricting body movements within a small region. Therefore, it seems to restrict the height of a person.
Similarly, weight training should be avoided during the first 20 years of life. That needs to be replaced with free-hand exercises like push-ups.
Many claim that Yogasan can help increase height. I even saw a video of a famous hathayogi. He delivered an impassioned speech in the video that seemed to show short stature as the source of all misery and inferiority complexes. Ironically, the hathayoga guru himself appeared no more than five and a half feet away!
The fact is that hathayoga is being overemphasized these days and its benefits are being exaggerated as a marketing gimmick. Certain asans benefit, but in essence it is the overall package of a healthy lifestyle that is effective. Replace these hathasans with any type of aerobic physical activity and the results would be exactly the same. Maybe even more!
That being said, certain poses are quite helpful for height growth. These should be added in the exercise routine: chakrasana, halasana, sarvangasana, pashchimatanasana, pavanmuktasana, hastapadasana, mayurasana. Among the pranayamas, the only pranayamas that I have found to be truly effective are Bahya Pranayama, Abhyantara and Chaturtha Pranayama. These provide all the claimed benefits of a variety of breathing practices like Anulom Vilom, Bhastrika etc. These rigorous outdoor cardio pranayamas give you all the benefits you want from a fitness regimen.
Be sure to develop the habit of deep breathing. We will discuss the art of deep breathing in a separate article.
Tip 4: Various
- Sleep well. The more you train, the more rest your body requires. Especially for growth, you need to make sure that you do not deprive your body of much-needed rest.
- Sleep early. You work so much during the day that you tend to fall asleep at 10 pm Wake up at 5 or 6 depending on your comfort. I prefer to vary the waking time according to the needs of my body. Avoid night sessions.
- keep your spine straight
- While standing up, try to stretch your whole body up. Sometimes stand on your toes for a full stretch. You can even raise your hands for a more complete stretch. On more formal occasions, you can stand normally and yet try to stretch your entire body without lifting your toes. Keep doing it from time to time. If you are on a bus, try to stretch without reaching on your toes and touching your head to the ceiling.
- Do not stay in a static position for a long time. Keep moving and changing positions. Stay active and give your body a little workout every time.
Tip 5: Brahmachraya (Mind Control)
It goes without saying that all this works only with perfect control over the mind. Get used to challenging your mind with even more control in each moment. Once you master the mind, the world will be at your feet, height is a petty thing.
To develop this mastery and realize what the real fun of life is, it is recommended to follow. The more you practice, the more you will earn:
- Stop putting your mind on all manner of sensory inputs that tend to promote lustful thought patterns: romantic/vulgar songs, movies, literature, company. These generate hormones that accelerate the aging process and stunt full natural growth.
- Stop looking at the idiot box. In addition to dulling the mind, it makes breathing shallow and thus causes stunted growth.
- Similarly, avoid video games, iPods, and other mind-numbing tools.
- Stop digging through the stale newspaper too much. Use it only to keep it up to date. Filling your mind with depressing stories from the past, first thing in the morning, is the worst treatment you can give yourself who is naturally programmed to always be looking to the future.
- Prepare action plans. Avoid discussions and analyzes that have no relevance to practical application and are simply a waste of time.
- Needless to say, avoid all acts that lead to the loss of vital energy and semen.
We will discuss the subject of Brahmacharya in detail in another article and dispel certain myths surrounding the subject. Brahmacharya is the greatest potential remedy for all humans living today and it needs correct, relevant and correct representation.
Please share your comments on these practices. They should start giving results in a few months. In addition to complete body growth, you will also gain a healthy body and a confident attitude.
Stretch to your fullest potential!