Tag: fitness

Yoga Asanas that help in weight loss

The development of yoga has benefited many people in losing weight in a healthy way. Yoga for weight loss is a debatable topic. Many people believe that Yoga alone does not promote weight loss.

Yoga, when combined with healthy eating, has proven beneficial as it helps to lose weight along with keeping your mind and body healthy.

Yoga increases your mindfulness and how you relate to your body. You will start seeking out food that is healthy instead of binging on food that can increase your fat accumulation.

Losing weight has two important aspects, healthy eating, and exercise. Yoga poses for weight loss demand these aspects.

Yoga is not just about a few poses that strengthen you. It has more benefits to offer, such as:

  • Increased flexibility
  • Improved respiration
  • Improved energy and vitality
  • Balanced metabolism
  • Improved athletic health
  • Increased muscle tone
  • Improved cardio health
  • Weight reduction
  • Stress management

1. Chaturanga Dandasana – Plank Pose

Chaturanga dandasana is the best way to strengthen your core. As simple as it looks, its benefits are immense.

It is only when you are in the pose that you start to feel its intensity on your abdominal muscles.

2. Virabhadrasana – Warrior Pose

Toning your thighs and shoulders, as well as improving your concentration has become more accessible and interesting with the Warrior II pose. The more you hold that pose, the better the results you gain. With just a few minutes of Virabhadrasana, you will get tighter quads. Warrior III pose is made to improve your balance along with toning your back end, legs, and arms. It also helps to tone your tummy and give you a flat belly if you contract your abdominal muscles while you hold the position.

3. Trikonasana – Triangle pose

The trikonasana helps to improve digestion as well as reduce the fat deposited in the belly & waist. It stimulates and improves blood circulation in the entire body. The lateral motion of this asana helps you burn more fat from the waist and build more muscles in the thighs and hamstrings.

Though this pose does not make your muscles shake as others do, it does give you the benefit that other asanas do. It also improves balance & concentration.

4. Adho Mukha Svanasana – Downward Dog pose

Adho Mukha Svanasana tones your whole body with a little extra attention to specific muscles.

It helps to strengthen your arms, thighs, hamstring and back. Holding this pose and concentrating on your breathing engages your muscles and tones them, as well as improves your concentration and blood circulation.

5. Sarvangasana – Shoulder Stand Pose

Sarvangasana comes with multiple benefits, from increasing your strength to improving digestion. But it is known for boosting metabolism and balancing thyroid levels.

6. Sethu Bandha Sarvangasana – Bridge pose

Yet another asana with multiple benefits is the Sethu Bandha Sarvangasana or Bridge pose. It is excellent for glutes, thyroid as well as weight loss.

7. Parivrtta Utkatasana – Twisted Chair pose

The Parivrtta Utkatasana is also called the Yoga’s version of the squat. But you must know that it is a little more intense and tones the abdominal muscles, works the quads and glutes.

The asana also improves the lymph system and the digestive system. It is a great way to lose weight.

8. Dhanurasana – Bow Pose

Are you looking for the best way to lose that belly fat? Dhanurasana helps massage the abdominal organs, improves digestion, and strengthens the thighs, chest, and back. It stretches your whole body, strengthens and tones your muscles with improved blood circulation.

9. Surya Namaskara – Sun Salutation Pose

The Surya Namaskara or Sun Salutation does more than warm up the muscles and get the blood flowing. It stretches and tones most of the major muscles, trims the waist, tones the arms, stimulates the digestive system, and balances the metabolism.

Surya Namaskar is a whole package of good health and the best way to lose weight.

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Yoga for Everyone

Yoga : Its Origin, History and Development

Yoga is a collection of physical, mental, and spiritual activities that originated in ancient India that aim to control and still the mind the mind by recognizing a detached witness-consciousness that is unaffected by the mind or ordinary sorrow.

The name ‘Yoga’ comes from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj,’ which means ‘to join, yoke, or unify.’ Yoga, according to Yogic texts, leads to the union of individual consciousness with that of the Universal Consciousness, implying complete harmony between the mind and body, as well as between Man and Nature. Everything in the universe, according to modern scientists, is just a manifestation of the same quantum firmament. A yogi is someone who has experienced this oneness of existence and has attained the state of freedom known as mukti, nirvana, or moksha. As a result, the goal of Yoga is to achieve Self-realization, which leads to ‘the state of liberation’ (Moksha) or ‘freedom’ (Kaivalya).

Yoga’s beginnings may be traced back over 5,000 years to northern India. The Rig Veda, an old sacred scripture, is where the word yoga first appeared. Yoga is one of Hinduism’s six schools of philosophy, and it’s also a big part of Buddhism’s meditation practices.

Terminology of Yoga

Here are a few words you could hear during a yoga practice and what they mean:
Āsana
An Āsana is a body posture that includes reclining, standing, inverted, twisting, and balancing poses. It was originally and still is a general term for a sitting meditation pose, but it was later extended in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise to any type of position, including balancing, twisting, and balancing poses.

Prānāyāma
In Sanskrit, Prānāyāma refers to the life energy that pervades all living things. The term Prānāyāma is used in modern-day yoga sessions to describe breathing exercises that erase physical and mental blockages in our bodies to release the breath.

Yoga Postures

When you first begin practising yoga, there will be specific postures that will form the foundation of your practice. You may receive the benefits of yoga by anchoring your practice with these postures: flexibility, greater muscle strength, spine protection, increased blood flow, and even improved happiness.

It is believed that there are 19 different types of yoga and 66 basic yoga postures. Some of the basic postures are:

  1. ŚĪRṢĀSANA – HEADSTAND
    You balance on your elbows, arms, and head in this asana. The Headstand is the first in the sequence and is known as the “King of āsanas” due to its numerous benefits. “Head-stand is a panacea, a cure-all, a sovereign specific for all diseases,” Swami Sivananda said.
  2. SARVĀṄGĀSANA – SHOULDERSTAND
    With the body resting on the shoulders, this is an inverted stance. Sarvangāsana denotes totality. Sarvangāsana, also known as the “Queen of āsanas,” strengthens the entire body. Because the chin is forced on the throat in this position, the thyroid gland is regulated, which in turn balances all other glands in the body, ensuring that all bodily systems and organs function properly.
  3. HALĀSANA – PLOUGH
    A plough-like stance with hands and feet on the floor. Its name comes from the Sanskrit word hala, which means plough. Halasana strengthens and tones the spine, as well as correcting a pronounced lower back curvature (lordosis). As the abdominal organs are massaged, it reduces problems like indigestion and constipation.
  4. MATSYĀSANA – FISH
    Matsyāsana posture is resting on the arms, arching the back and expanding the chest. The name Matsyāsana comes from the fact that it allows one to float in water like a fish. This posture promotes improved lung capacity and better breathing, which aids in the treatment of respiratory illnesses such as chronic bronchitis and asthma.
  5. PAŚCIMOTTĀNĀSANA – SITTING FORWARD BEND
    Paścimottānāsana Posture is stretching the spine forward. This seemingly simple pose is one of the most powerful and significant of all postures. It relieves the pressure on the spine generated by standing erect. Continuous practice helps to keep the back supple, the joints mobile, the nervous system energized, and the internal organs toned. It also helps to prevent diabetes by massaging the pancreas naturally.
  6. BHUJAṄGĀSANA – COBRA
    This posture is arching the upper body and expanding the chest. This position enhances flexibility, rejuvenates spinal nerves, and provides a rich blood supply to the spine by arching the spine. It helps to support the neck and upper back.
  7. ŚALABHĀSANA – LOCUST
    Śalabhāsana Posture is lying on the front with lifted legs. Śalabhāsana improves the operation of the intestines, strengthens the abdominal walls, and improves digestion. This posture enhances cervical flexibility and helps lower back pain and sciatica by bending the spine backwards. This posture aids in the development of willpower.
  8. DHANURĀSANA – BOW
    Dhanurāsana Posture is balancing on the abdomen in the shape of a bow. The benefits of Cobra and Locust positions are combined and enhanced in Dhanurāsana. This posture increases flexibility in the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral regions by working on the entire spine. It massages and energizes the digestive organs, which aids in the treatment of a variety of diseases. Another good āsana for women because it helps with menstrual difficulties.
  9.  ARDHA MATSYENDRĀSANA – HALF SPINAL TWIST
    Ardha Matsyendrāsana Posture is a twist for the entire spine. This asana is named after Matsyendranath, a renowned yogi. The Half Spinal Twist increases the mobility of the spine by twisting the vertebrae in both directions. In this position, the abdominal organs receive a deep massage, which helps to relieve digestive disorders.
  10. KAKĀSANA – CROW
    Kakāsana Posture is balancing in a squatting position. Kakāsana helps to strengthen the arm, wrists, and shoulders while also stretching the hips. It improves concentration and fosters mental and physical balance, as do all balancing poses.
  11. PĀDAHASTĀSANA – STANDING FORWARD BEND
    Pādahastāsana is a bending forward in a standing position. Pādahastāsana stretches the spine and mobilizes the joints, making it more elastic. It improves the neurological system by increasing blood flow to the brain. Standing Forward Bend is an exercise that promotes eternal youth.
  12. TRIKOṆĀSANA – TRIANGLE
    Posture is a lateral bend resembling a triangle. Trikonansa’s lateral stretch elongates the spine and improves hip and leg flexibility. The circulatory system is stimulated, the liver and spleen are massaged, and the digestive tract’s peristalsis is boosted. Other asanas improve as the body becomes lighter.

Health and fitness

Health is an important aspect in anyone’s life. Fitness is a proof for a healthy person. By achieving a healthy body, we can achieve a healthy mind. Small habit changes in our day-day life will change our life completely in a healthier way. Food is the first thing to take into considering when we talk about health. There are lots of aspects to having a healthy life. I will share with you the small steps that you need to take to start your healthy journey.

Proper diet

The first thing that comes to our mind when we think about being healthy is being on a proper diet. It is not just about what we eat, it is also about when we eat. Healthy food aside, having your food at the right time every day will cut off lots of health issues. Many of us skip breakfast and eat straight at lunch time. You haven’t had anything for the past 12 hours so your stomach is literally empty with stomach acid in it. There are many risk factors when high stomach acid is secreted. The main function of this acid is to digest the food that you intake so better give it some food in the morning otherwise it will cause some serious health issues.

Keep specific timings for your breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you take food at proper timings, it will solve many health issues. Breakfasts should be taken around 7 to 9 AM. Lunch should be taken around 12 to 2 PM. Dinner should be taken around 7 to 9 AM. So make sure you stick to the timings and have a healthy diet!

Next comes the healthy food. Make sure you take vegetables thrice a week and fish twice a week (if you are a non vegetarian) and one cheat day to eat your favorite junk food. Intake of all kinds of food is important. Junk food and outside food from time to time would be fine but making it as a part of your diet would cause major health issues.

Sleep schedule

Another important factor that ruins your health is lack of sleep. I know most of us have issues with falling asleep at night time and that becomes a routine. The first step to do is to not make it a routine and not normalizing the sleep schedule. If you can only sleep at 1 then consider it a serious issue and work towards changing it.

Ways to stabilize your sleep schedule

  • Push in all your work within 11 PM and make yourself completely free at night. If you are a work from home dude then plan it accordingly, you require 6 to 8 hours of sleep, that’s all matters.
  • Avoid using mobile phone or laptop after 11 PM. Make sure you have at least 30 mins gap without screen time before sleeping.

Exercise!

Fitness is achieved by exercising your body regularly. It can be anything that you do. A simple 1 hour walk in the morning will keep you active throughout the day. There are many forms of exercises that you can do. You can workout everyday with simple moves. The ultimate goal is to exercise your muscles and not make them lazy. Some forms of exercise are,

  • home workouts
  • Going to gym
  • Morning/evening walk
  • Cycling
  • Dance workout
  • yoga

Meditation helps you exercise your mind. It calms and clears your mind. If you start doing it you will definitely see the results in your day to day life.

Conclusion

These are some factors that affects our health and if we bring more concentration into all of this, we can be healthy mentally and physically. Make time to focus on your mind and body.

How to stay fit and healthy

In our daily life, this is a biggest problem of everyone to stay fit and healthy. Staying fit and healthy plays an important role in our life…

Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.com

5 ways to stay fit and healthy :–

  1. Cleanse your body

The first step to restoring your health is to purify your body.

your body needs detoxification to throw out the harmful toxins. To do this one has to follow a clean diet of fresh fruits and juices, which helps to purify the blood streams and cut down on toxins making the body lighter, healthier and healed.

2. Exercise daily

Move your body constantly to improve your health. With the help of daily exercise we can balance our body hormones, manage our stress and manage weight to the best.

A healthy exercise routine brings positive energy, healing, detoxification, and freshness in to your life.

3. Maintain healthy diet

For maintain our diet, we should eat right and healthy food to giving your body requires nutrition.

we should avoid junk foods, fizzy drinks, caffeine and sugary drink in our daily diet to save from the unhealthy additions to the body..

4. Follow healthy sleeping patterns

After having spent an entire day juggling between the meetings, stressful situations, food habits and running errands, it is important to unplug and recharge your own energy.

The more number of deep sleep hours brings health and happiness into life. it restores body health..

5. Drink more and more water

water is detoxifying and there is no alternative to water.

For optimum functioning of the body, our body needs proper hydration. and the single most productive aid to this is water.

Keep drinking throughout the day and catch up on hydration for your body to heal naturally and flush out the toxin. Its a natural healer….

Importance of Health and Fitness

One must constantly prioritize his or her health. The word health implies the state of being loose from contamination and offers the concept of being properly. Fitness and health each move hand in hand. Being healthful has a number of blessings, and there are ways of being healthy and healthy in simple terms being wholesome and healthy approach taking desirable care of the frame. A healthful mind endures best in a in shape and healthy frame. A glad thoughts and a healthy body assist you preserve the electricity to obtain success in lifestyles. All people ought to purpose excessive to obtain healthful fitness.



We stay in a global in which our life is stressful. We ought to visit faculties, prepare for checks, tuitions, and so forth. And for maintaining this each day ordinary, we want a healthy mind and focused mind. As time is going on, we’ve got modified, our lifestyle has changed, and we are greater prone to eating junk in place of ingesting healthy domestic food.

Dangerous ingesting may be harmful and can lead to special illnesses. We should eat excellent nutritious meals that’s rich in proteins and nutrients. It’ll help in frame boom, give electricity, and enhance our immune system. Healthy food behavior assist in preventing diverse illnesses. Having natural or food containing fiber enables in cleansing the inner body. Pulses, culmination. Veggies need to be a daily food regimen for a healthy frame. Daily sports are also critical. Gambling diverse outdoor games allows the frame to hold health. Normal morning stroll to maintain you fresh as well as suit. Consuming water is likewise an essential a part of having a suit and healthful body.

The general public often make mistakes with the aid of skipping food or by way of doing immoderate exercise if you want to shed pounds. Eating drug treatments, a cup of soup, or just one meal in a day will not help keep a healthy body. It’ll sluggish down your metabolism and lead to gaining more weight, with a view to make you feel tired and pressured. An dangerous and unfit life-style also outcomes in untimely demise. Obesity and absence of physical health set the stage for diabetes, heart disease, and different serious health troubles.



It is very critical to eat right meals at the suitable time. We will even get help from a dietitian or a nutritionist who can help us with the good enough amount of food we need to consumption in our regular routine. They can investigate, diagnose, suggest, and treat various scientific diagnoses and dietary problems by and large on one-on-one. This can assist us to keep our body suit and wholesome.

Green leafy vegetables have to be eaten. A balanced weight loss plan is important. A right amount of fiber, protein, and diet ought to be taken, and we must do normal fitness workout. Everyday sporting activities are critical as it enables to reinforce up your energy to keep running. Suitable wholesome meals and day by day sports will assist you to live healthy and healthful.

We have to maintain being suit as well as having wholesome food. In some unspecified time in the future in time, our schedule or the disturbing lifestyle hampers our food plan and physique. Therefore we ought to locate change ways to hold ourselves healthy. We are able to stroll using stairs rather than lifts or walk to nearby places in place of taking a automobile. Preserving a proper slumbering hour is likewise very vital in forming a wholesome way of life. Faculty-age kids or teenagers must sleep for at the least nine.Five hours, and adults ought to get 7-9 hours of sleep.



But, staying healthy also helps in the usage of our most strength ability. No longer a unmarried day have to be skipped for making efforts to hold bodily and mental fitness. Staying healthy does assist no longer best physically however additionally emotionally. Proper intellectual fitness paperwork while there may be no pressure and right airing of emotion. Folks that are not mentally suit or have issues letting out feelings frequently have an effect on their health, which leads to panic assaults or every other health issues.

Consequently health results in accurate health. A healthy man or woman can triumph over diseases and can result in an energetic and strain-unfastened lifestyle. Therefore we ought to concentrate on our fitness, have accurate nutritious food, sleep well, and workout often.

How physical activity can transform your life

Physical activity can do wonders for your body as well as your mental health. When you don’t perform any kind of physical activity your body becomes lethargic, cholesterol levels start to increases and your body loses all the stamina your physical health becomes bad. It also leads to many chronic diseases like diabetes and heart-related problems.

Benefits of physical activity.

There are so many health benefits If you perform any kind of physical activity and it applies to everyone people who have different body types and different body as well. It not only helps you in keeping your body fit as well as your mental health like it helps you sleep better, and boosts your overall mood also has a positive impact on depression and anxiety, it not just helps your body to be in a good shape but also allows you to perform basic Lifestyle actions.

Types of physical activity.

There are too many physical activities like running, cycling, skipping, playing sports, strength training, etc. But mainly there are four types of physical activity like aerobic, muscle-strengthening, bone-strengthening, and stretching

Aerobic Activity

Activities in which your bigger muscles are involved or many muscles performing a single activity at a time are called aerobic activity. Running, swimming, walking, bicycling and dancing all comes under the category of aerobic or endurance activities

Muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening Activity.

Muscle-strengthening activities improve the strength, power, and endurance of your muscles. Doing pushups and situps, lifting weights, climbing stairs, and digging in the garden are examples of muscle-strengthening activities.

With bone-strengthening activities, your feet, legs, or arms support your body’s weight, and your muscles push against your bones. This helps make your bones strong. Running, walking, jumping rope, and lifting weights are examples of bone-strengthening activities.

Muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activities also can be aerobic, depending on whether they make your heart and lungs work harder than usual. For example, running is both an aerobic activity and a bone-strengthening activity.

Stretching

Stretching helps improve your flexibility and your ability to fully move your joints, stretching is really important to do before doing any kind of physical activity and after also for saving yourself from injuries. Various stretches can be done for opening up your joints and muscles and it’s also very time efficient a full-body stretch doesn’t takes longer than 10 minutes.

Mistakes done while doing these activities

There are some mistakes done by beginners and sometimes by intermediates which leads them to not getting the ideal results, getting too much injured while performing these activities and feeling too tired in between the activity. Have seen many people ignore warm-up or just don’t do it correctly. They might don’t know how crucial it is to do a good warm-up, it not only saves you from injury but also increases the blood flow in the muscles which leads to increased body temperature and improves muscle elasticity and increases range of motion which allows you to perform the exercise more freely and correctly that results in improved strength and endurance.

According to my the biggest mistake people do is not having a plan like what they have to do today, we should plan our exercises or activities a day before the actual day. When they don’t have things planned then they can’t focus on the activity fully cause they have their mind indulged in thinking about the next step and because of that they can’t focus on the present step which leads to waste their time and not doing the activity with a dedication that’s why most people cant attain results

Reasons why you can’t put on weight

Diet can play a crucial role in transforming your body whether it is weight gain or weight loss. Diet can help you achieve your goals faster than anything else, many people don’t know the importance of diet and how much important is to pay attention to your diet. There are many types of diet which can be helpful for you to achieve your goals, everyone has different body and their body requirements are also different you just can’t go ahead and follow the diet seen on the internet by so called fitness trainers. I will suggest you to gain some knowledge by yourself because you just can’t relay on someone and eat what they are eating or suggesting, you can’t make the best gains by copying or following someone else’s diet routine, everyone has different number of maintenance calories, different lifestyle, different metabolism and different appetite. If your appetite is not as much as the guy who is suggesting you the diet or you are following the diet of someone else you simply just can’t eat that much of food and if you eat forcefully it can result in bloating and you feel lazy for the whole day. There are different kind of diets which you can follow, all you have to do is just gain some knowledge about these things.

What is maintenance calories?

Maintenance calories is the number of calories required to your body for performing simple and complex actions like muscle movement, energy conversion and cell growth. Maintenance calories is the minimum number of calories you need to maintain your body weight that means you can’t gain weight or lose weight just by eating that much of calories. For gaining weight the basic principles is you need to eat at least 300-500 calories more than your maintenance calories and for losing weight you need to cut-off 500 calories from your maintenance calories. Now many of you might be thinking about how to calculate maintenance calories, it’s really simple click on the link below. It will lead you to a calorie calculater in that you have to enter your present body weight, height and type of physical activity only, then it will show you your maintenance calories.https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/maintenance-calorie

Mistakes done by people when they are gaining weight.

People think they have to eat more for gaining weight and its true but the problems starts when they start eating anything and just start filling their self up, without caring about nutrition and just eating to hit their daily calorie-intake goal. You need to have a balanced diet with a certain amount of carbohydrates, proteins, healthy fats and other micro nutrients. Nobody wants to be fat and get unfit, think how demoralising it would be when you are putting efforts to be healthy but end up getting fat and unhealthy, our goal is to make some serious muscle gains and Improve our strength. We need to have a good amount of protein and carbohydrates in our daily diet because when we do physical activity and our muscles break then it needs proteins and carbohydrates to built it strong and bigger.

Workouts that are apt for beginners

Sometimes in your life,you have come through a phase that you need to take care of your body.Your vision is always to compete or attain the beauty of people in instagram and other celebrities.You work so hard to look like them but you fail.Your workouts exhaust you rather giving you a joy and mental peace.Thats why I am here with a few beginner workout tips to get to the place where you want.Read on to know what are they

1.Start slow:

Don’t go like I am going to do 1 hour of cardio or run 10 miles a day,seven days a week.Look this won’t work or never work.Even people who are experts in working out ,never exhaust their body with workouts like this.If you are somebody new to workout or someone who is restarting their workout schedule.Banish all those social media and go to your nearby gym trainer or online websites and apps that gives you a workout plan for only few pennies.If your goal is strong and long term.It is okay to spend some pennies on it,because I am sure it will worth it.

2.Good workout plan:

Your workout plan should be able to blend with your regular routines.It should not be something you should work on more rather it should be a part of your life like brushing,eating and much more.Dont put so much stress on creating a workout plan that doesnt even suit you.Listen to your body,analyse what it wants and give it .If we eat so much without listening to our body cues,we will end up puking somewhere same goes to workout dont go overboard.

3.Take enough rest:

Many as beginners,including myself what we do is we workout everyday thinking in that way we will gain more results actually it is not .Workout should be planned with a number of off days that is suitable for your body and lifestyle.Without proper rest we wont gain or lose the proper body mass instead our muscles will be sore and cry for help.Having good rest is important and vital for not only beginners but for even advance trainers.

These are few tips for people who are starting their workout schedule for the first time.Keep these three points on mind and start working on yourself.It is better late than never.All the best buddies ,kick start to some amazing fitness sessions.

Staying fit in lockdown

Corona virus disease which was first identified at Wuhan, China has caused a massive spread all over the world as because this is an infectious ailment, our country has adopted the method of Lockdown to tame down the vulnerable situation of Covid 19. This circumstance is becoming a lot more serious over the days when Corona virus is creating a dreadful impact worldwide. Lockdown basically is a very effective process to ensures the security of people by isolating the positive cases. Government has taken up this solution to break the chain of Corona Virus. Lockdown will help in the reduction of death rate as face to face interactions nowadays is to be avoided. The policy of staying separated from one another is also known as Quarantining oneself. This is relatively a new term which signifies that people should not get much exposed to the contagious disease. World Health Organizations has termed Covid 19 as a Pandemic. Hence, all the other places like Shopping malls, Cinema Halls, Restaurants which provided entertainment to the common folks after a strenuous busy day have been closed down. Also, school, colleges, universities has declared to be shut off till the Graph of Covid spread goes down. Hence it is much crucial for all of us to take proper measures and precautions to protect ourselves at this time. Usage of Masks and Sanitizers has become compulsory as declared by the Government which is undeniable and is the best rule to be followed for the protection of every one around, preventing the spread of Virus. Those who are breaking such regulations are to be strictly punished by the cops. Other than that, Few below mentioned steps can be followed for a happy living:-

1) Mental Health of a person needs to be taken care of and known just as we do to the physical Health. Mental Health is not much talked about and not many considers this as a significant issue. This requires serious treatment too. Mental Health is a time span when the afftected one faces a lot of trauma, starts gets negative feelings and lose all hope of living. A large no. of people commits suicide on a regular basis due to depression. If someone seeks help he should be talked to often or will mandatorily attend a psychiatrist. Understanding the depth of such an ailment in India is practically impossible as they don’t know how to communicate regarding this to another. due to this Covid situation Mental Health is getting hampered as because People are social beings, it is a torture of them to caged down for a very long tenure.

2) As because the Gyms are closed, you cannot skip on your exercises. Exercises are a must for your body, it releases stress and motivates you to get back in shape and keeps away ailments. Even a little bit of working out, or running around would help a lot. Exercising is the best way to work on yourself, plank for 30 seconds, arm and leg stretch is indeed a must. If someone has never been to a gym, this is the best time to indulge yourself in working out at home.

3) Talking to family is a very relaxing idea as it takes away all the boredom of your life and opening up to them is essential for your growth. Family is the foremost place which knows you thoroughly and understands you better no matter what. Spend your leisure time by chit chatting with them or playing indoor games like Chess, Ludo, Cards together just like we did in our child hood days. Family bond makes you feel and live much better. Use this ample of time to strengthen your connections, which was previously lost due to shortage of time by getting closer to your family.

4) Eat properly, take proper vitamins and minerals which are prescribed by the doctors globally. Taking medicines time to time is very essential these days. In taking Junk foods are absolutely a big No No for your health right now. Food should be consumed at regular intervals, Seasonal fruits shall be consumed daily for removing body toxins and it also keeps the body hydrated.

5) Many people can start pursuing their lost passions once again, utilizing this time for your benefit is the best option. Hence those who couldn’t earlier manage time to continue with their likings because of the work pressure can restart by cooking new dishes, gardening, painting, singing, dancing, writing e t c. All these are a part of self care which would enhance your skills once again.

6) Children are getting time to spend with their parents which is in turn a boon for them because both the parents work for a lot of time and do not get the scope to speak to their children, also the children spends a lot of time in Schools. After a busy day, no body has the energy to communicate with each other making the child lonely and irritated. Parents must take the initiative to engage the child and watch a movie or t v shows all together or read out a book to them which will increase their moral values and they will become comfortable while exchanging views.

7) Youngsters should help their parents out with household domestic chores which in turn is going to make the difficult and boring work ten times simple. Also, Teenagers should spend time with the grand parents, hear out their stories of experiences which also serves as a healing therapy both ways. Also they can associate themselves with new Learning courses online which will enhance their knowledge.

The practice of Domestic Violence all over India should be stopped immediately as this will hurt both ou and your loved ones.

The art of forgiving

I have grown up idealizing my grandma. I love her and love everything she does. For me she has always been my iron woman. I have never in my life seen her whine or cry over something even once. It’s as if she doesn’t care. As if this world is too juvenile for her attention and care. Trust me, she doesn’t give two hoots about anything on this planet. Her life has always revolved around her and it continues to be like that. I’m not saying she’s selfish, she’s just not as bothered about others as we are. If she ever receives a compliment from someone, she thanks them. If people ever talk I’ll about her she does something which most of us fail to do- she forgives them.

I don’t know how she does it. I asked her one day how she lets go of all her anger to which she said that people who make you angry have the sole purpose of annoying nad irritating you. They want to get inside your mind and poison it. They want you to constantly think of them and how they wronged you. When you get angry at someone you pledge that you would never talk to them or think of them and in order to hold up this pledge you have to constantly remind your mind to not think of them. This is counterproductive because in order to forcefully and deliberately forget people you in turn constantly remind yourself of their bad deeds. This spoils your mind and wastes your time. Holding a grudge against someone comes with a heavy cost which you have to pay with your peace of mind. Thus, in order to be happy, you have to prioritise who is more important to you- yourself or others and if the answer is the former, you must forgive others.

Forgiveness isn’t philanthropy. You are not doing it to release others from their crimes and deeds, you are doing that to release your own self from the negative emotions and thoughts which come with resentment.

Life is too short to live it for others. You must start living for yourself. Love more, hate less because this is going to benefit you. Prioritise yourself. You should be your first priority and your happiness should be above your ego. The day you start loving yourself and the moment you realise that you want to start living life for your soul is the moment you will learn the art of forgiving. Imagine living for a 100 years. When you were 5 years old you had a fight with a friend of yours and you decided you would never speak to that friend or ever think of him. Now, you spent the next 95 years of your life reminding yourself how that person hurt you and how you should never think of him. Thus, you kept living every moment of your life for that person and just wasted a glorious 100 years holding on to a grudge which was fatal for your mental peace and we’ll being.

Thus, the path to eternal happiness starts from forgiveness. Let go of the hatred you have towards other people and you’ll notice how improved your life is. Always remember that your self respect is greater than your ego. While your ego prefers holding on to something your self respect will always remind you to let go because that’s the only way you can actually honour yourself.

Om Shanti.

Caste system and food- yes, it’s related.

I’m not a nutritionist but food has always attracted me towards itself and for good. I grew up in a very strict household where my mother made sure that I knew what was good for my body and what wasn’t. Junk food was a strict no-no! No aerated drinks, no chips, no pizza etc. I hated all the restrictions which were put on me but with time I understood that it was all a part of food education- yes, it exists and you actually have to educate your kiddos about food. This isn’t a common tradition in India but for my parents it was crucial that me and my brother knew everything there was to know about food and it’s benefits.

Fast forward to my 19 year old self, I thank my mother for all that gyaan! The compliments I receive for my physique today are a result of my upbringing.

Sometime back in college when things were hunky-dory a friend of mine walked up to me and asked if I was ‘on’ some diet.

‘I’m never ‘on’ a diet Ayesha, it’s a part of my life. I eat to survive. Diet is survival!’

‘Don’t lie, I know you are on Keto. I’ll also start from tomorrow’, and off she went, even before I could ask her what that diet was and what she was planning to do. I went home and Googled it and was not surprised to find out that like many other diets out there, this one also kicked carbohydrates out of the balcony! NO CARBS WHATSOEVER (it says little carbs but if I can’t I have my roti and chawal it’s equivalent to no carbs only.)

This diet is a disaster in making. I hope all of you know about the Vedic caste system. For those of you who don’t, let me explain it to you as simply as is possible. The Vedic or let’s say the Hindu caste system divides people into four castes or say, types- Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras, with the Brahmanas being on the top of the hierarchy and the Shudras at the bottom rung. Now the caste system has another category- the Ati Shudras.

The Shudras and the Ati Shudras were despised by everyone. In a town which comprised of the other three castes, the Shudras weren’t allowed to enter. They lived on the periphery of the town and were subjected to the most inhuman treatment you can fathom. Worst was the scenario for the Ati Shudras who has sound a clapper before they set their foot in the town so that the people knew they were coming. The system was pathetic. It poisoned the body politic of India like nothing else and we are bearing the brunt of it even today.

Now to understand the relation between the caste system and food, replace carbs with the Shudras, Protein with Brahmanas and the story will become clear to you. Think over it, it may ring a bell somewhere in your brain.

I’ll elucidate on this tomorrow. Also, I do not mean to hurt anyone’s sentiments or feelings by this article. I’m only drawing a comparison. Please forgive me if at any point it hurt you even if in the most subtle way. Healing is my only intention. I mean no harm to anyone.

Om Shanti.

International Yoga Day

Since 2015, on this day- the 21st of June all of us come together to celebrate ‘The International Yoga Day’. I feel it is a very good initiative started by our Prime Minister who managed to convince the entire globe to come together on this day and dedicate some time of their day to yoga.As many people say and even you must have heard, Yoga is not just about exercise and asanas and losing weight, it is actually the unification of the mind with the body and soul. It is the coming together of all your senses to unite and synchronise.

This morning, my college had organised an online yoga session for us students. Because of the lockdown I hardly am used to waking up on time anymore. My morning starts when its almost noon and then like an owl I am up almost the entire night. Today as i woke up for the session early, the world outside seemed a bit different. Inspite of the eclipse, it was bright and sunny, I could hear the birds, I went outside in my garden, walked on the fresh dewy grass and questioned why it did’t occur to me before? Why didn’t I wake up early every single day and enjoy my day like this? While I was going to college, I barely had time to enjoy my day like this. My time went away in watching series, just lying on my bed, eating and sleeping because during college, this was my definition of relaxing and calming down. Today I realized that that is not what I want. That is not my true self. I don’t enjoy sitting in front of a screen the entire day. I am a nature’s baby, this is what I like doing and I was surprised that just one day of seeing the early morning sun could make me feel like this.

Once the session was over and I was lying in Shavasana, I thanked my body for having putting up with me all these days. I have pledged that now on, from this day onwards I’ll take care of my body and not take it for granted. I will ensure that my laziness doesn’t take over my mind and that I’m able to make good decisions for my health.Yoga, has made me realize that if I take care of myself I will feel happier and more energetic. Our brain tricks us into procrastinating and just not doing anything but that is not how we truly are.Our subconscious mind always wants us to be the best version of ourselves so why not try being that.why do we let our brain take over. On this International Yoga Day, let us all pledge that we will look after ourselves and love ourselves.

Om shanti.

Bickering Bollywood.

So we all know that Indian film industry aka Bollywood is the second highest movie producing industry in the whole world after Hollywood per annum. Well to be honest yeah i agree that Bollywood is a gold mine of vibrant,diverse and really amazing movies. But the question remains at the point as why such an old, powerful movie industry with actors like Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan who come in the list of top ten richest actors in the world, and with directors like Satyajit Ray are never producing movies which at least can be the bread and butter of the whole world. French and the German movie industry even the movie industry of Chile and the Korea is producing movies which garners massive popularity worldwide. In french we have Belle de Jour(1967) and ‘blue is the warmest color (2013), German’s having ‘The Marriage of Maria Braun(1978)’ and ‘Freier fall (2013)’, chile’s A fantstic woman (2017), the ripple maker Parasite(2019) and many more from many other countries as well. And then the question prevails why not Bollywood?

Movies like Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali (1955) and Mira Nair’s Salam Bombay (1988) in a manner defined Indian movie industry’s potential. But current scenario Bollywood is all about nepotism and love stories nowadays. As if we see that famous movie Slumdog Millionaire(2008) which bagged eight Oscars is not what india is?But the entire movie industry of the world is running after one thing that if India is represented it either poverty or god forbid it’s about curry, thanks to everywhere you see starting from movies like critically acclaimed Lion(2016) or Love Sonoa(2018) everything is about how indians are suffering,human trafficking, lack of sanitation and blah blah blah!!! If we talk about that’s what we see i the world. But people need to realize something that India the world’s second most populous country,sixth largest economy and seventh largest country is not all about trash and poverty. This scenario as explained above is what shows the failure of bollywood. but not everythings bad as we can’t say that Bollywood has gone down totally in these recent years as we made so many good movies too like Raazi(2018), Neerja(2016), Uri(2019), Barfi(2012) , Lust stories(2018) , Mary Kom(2014), three idiots(2009), Bajirao Mastani (2015), Jodha Akbar(2008), Dangal(2016), Devdas(2002), My name is Khan(2010), Swades(2004), English Vinglish(2012), Tumbaad(2018), lagaan(2001), Tare zameen par(2007), PK(2014) and many more which show case the value of the Indian movie industry and it’s potentials.

Now if we talk about problem which is wrecking us all starts with the lack of originality and the rejection of new talent in Indian film industry and how can we forget the grandad of all fiasco the one and only Nepotism. Nepotism is whats actually responsible for killing the Indian film industry in a really gruesome manner as due to this the new talents in indian film industry is getting choked as we speak. Another big problem is the lack of experimentation and really comical and absurd action movies as I’m literally starving for a good science fiction movie or a bone chilling horror fiction at least. But all we get is boring love stories with a lot of songs which are not even sung by the actors but they are just LIP SYNCING to it. No diversity at all as white washing of the whole cast is the forte of bollywood. Not even a single dusky or black actor or actress in a lead role you will find here(leaving the very few exceptions). That’s what i meant when i wrote bickering bollywood as if bollywood won’t up it’s ante there will soon be what we call a hot white mess left in the indian subcontinent for people to watch. Toodles!

5 Ways to Stay Fit During Quarantine

Now that you are spending less or no time outside your homes, it’s more important than ever to prioritize your physical health. Staying active can boost your mood and even reduce stress. How can you stay on top of fitness game without going to your local gym, doing weights and following your fitness instructors? Online challenges and videos, home fitness apps, creative at home swaps and the use of the safe outdoors, if available, can help.

Here are some ways to stay active while also staying home: 

Switch up your running/walking routines

Whether you’re a runner, jogger or a walker, try and keep your routine fun by setting a schedule and small goals. If you’re a walker, map out a different route of your house for each week of exercise or just stay in one place. If you’re a runner and have access to a terrace or a garden, select a goal such as run a 4 KM and set up a training schedule to achieve your goals, and with time you can increase up a notch and challenge yourself.

Check out this 1 Mile walk at home- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njeZ29umqVE

Try a bodyweight workout

You don’t have to grab weights to achieve a good workout. You can still feel the burn if you do a low impact cardio, bodyweight strength or a high intensity interval training circuit. 

Check out this 30-minute body weight workout from Greatist- https://greatist.com/fitness/no-gym-bodyweight-workout-infographic#1

Try a fitness challenge on YouTube

Want to build core strength? Tone your abs? Tone your arms? Find a fitness challenge on YouTube that targets the zone you want to work on. You’ll be surprised by how much stronger you can become in a week or more.

Check out these videos out

7 day workout challenge by Carly Rowena: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ixZnsKTErE
6 minute arm workout by The Uma Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpLA1tPwjXA

20 Min Total Core Workout (Equipment Free Ab Workout): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b2lNLq3EaA

Try a Fitness Website

Active.com offers 30-day fitness challenges including push-up challenges, ab challenges and more.

Greatist offers many detailed work out blogs- from workout plans for beginners to expert routines. For a start, check these out- 

https://greatist.com/health/back-workouts-at-home

https://greatist.com/health/calisthenics

https://greatist.com/fitness/chest-workout-at-home

Follow along with a studio

Many studios offer video easy to follow tutorials, try Zumba tutorials for high energy workouts or go with cardio dance workouts. You can also try free tutorials with simple, at-home equipment swaps like bags of flour or books instead of weights. Although these workouts will be different than the gym sessions that you’re used to, it’s an interesting way to break a sweat and re-connect with your own body.

Check out Keaira LaShae’s  dance workouts-

10 Minute Cardio Dance Abs Workout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTH5saFBDqA

Cardio Fitness Party Workout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhUP6FQj3t4

Check out the link to read more on at-home equipment swaps-

8 Household Items That Double as Workout Equipment for Your Makeshift Home Gym: https://www.realsimple.com/health/fitness-exercise/fitness-equipment-alternatives-home