Simple ways to lose weight at home

We all are working from home due to the covid-19 pandemic situation. So, this allows us to lose extra weight and lead a healthy life. Check out these simple ways to lose weight at home.

Morning routine

Start your morning routine with a 30 minutes yoga session or a short walk. Now, this is where the hardest part comes, because of our laziness wake up late, after two days we start our routine. But we have to win over laziness to maintain our health. There’s a saying that “If you practice something for 21 days, then it becomes a habit”

Morning walk
Morning walk

Then start your day with a light breakfast, eat a fruit salad, or whatever your breakfast is, eat moderately. 

Drink water frequently, but only when you are thirsty. There’s a fact that “Drinking a gallon(3.4 liters) of water a day will make you lose your weight”. But you have to remember that “If you are drinking that much water, then you tend to lose your appetite, which is unhealthy”. So,ย drink water only when you are thirsty.

Afternoon routine

Afternoon meal is what you usually eat more. But you have to eat very light in the afternoon or skip your afternoon meal. The hard part in this is, you feel less active. Your stomach starts to groan when you start to do this. During this time, take a nap or try to distract yourself. 

Afternoon nap
Afternoon nap

Drink fruit juice, vegetable soup, or eat fruit salad, vegetable dishes.

Evening routine

Drink a cup of tea with light snacks you like between 4-6 pm. You can also drink a cup of milk or a health drink. 

Tea with snacks
Tea with snacks

Night routine

Eat your dinner between 7-8 pm. You can have a light or heavy dinner. After eating dinner, take a walk for 30 minutes on your terrace. Try to sleep 7-8 hours at night. 

A good sleep
A good sleep

It is a simple routine to lose weight gradually. You can lose up to 3-4 kg in six months by following this routine.

5 Yoga Poses to curb with Depression

When depression attacks, life appears to be hopeless. But yoga can benefit you. Try these yoga poses to recover your mental health.

Are you often surrounded by feelings of irrelevance? Is getting out of bed is a task for you? Do you feel like you have no future? These are some things that could site towards depression.

If this is how youโ€™ve been feeling, you could find some aid by practising yoga. When it comes to this age-old system, it is so significant to remember that yoga isnโ€™t just for physical health but also adds to improving mental health.

Yoga has shown its efficacy in several things like weight loss, rational behaviour, physical diseases, and mental health is another thing that yoga can take treat of.

There have been several studies published in journals like PLOS ONEInternational Journal of Preventive MedicineJournal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, and more that have noted that yoga has shown favourable results when it comes to depression and nervousness.

Some poses in yoga are dominant when it comes to depression and anxiety.

But before we start on this yoga journey, ย keep in mind that ease poses can reduce your depressive symptoms but cannot cure your depression. If you do have depression, please seek professional help.

Here are the five yoga poses that you can do daily to fight with depression:

1. Childโ€™s pose aka balasana
Childโ€™s pose is known to confer stability and serenity on you. According to an article published by Harvard Medical School and a study issued International Archives of Otorhinolaryngology, performing childโ€™s pose daily can help in decreasing the symptoms of depression or anxiety.

2. Plow pose aka halasana
Halasana or Plow Pose increases your posture by decreasing the burden on your back. When the back is lengthened, it has a calming effect on your brain and reduces stress. This pose is very useful for those who suffer from headaches and insomnia. The pose of Halasana is such that the head is placed below the heart.

3. Bridge pose aka sethu bandhasana
Well, this one is not just eminent for depression and anxiety but it also assists your gut to stay proper.

4. Downward-facing dog aka adho Mukha Svanasana
This is one of the most lively poses in yoga and the flow of this pose is known to flow blood throughout our body.

5. Corpse pose aka savasana
According to the yoga guru, โ€œPerformed at the end of most physical yoga sessions, the corpse pose is a favourite pose for many. Itโ€™s easy and also very effective. Anxiety is exhausting, draining you both physically and mentally. When you get into savasana, the posture gives you a chance to relax and recoup. It begins to cool your mind.โ€

Bottom line is that you need to take care of your breathing techniques while doing these poses and take it slow to reap the maximum benefits.

So, try these yoga poses for at least two to three weeks regularly and let the peace prevail in your life.

YOGA- Balance of Body and Mind

There are many practices in the world to keep the mental and body health in harmony; One such practice is yoga. In the last few years there has been an surge in the number of yoga practitioners as these days there are more health problems and more awareness and it does have a positive impact on the body. Yoga is the art and science of uniting the body and mind that helps in “Self-Realisation”. Yoga was a method used for liberation of individual souls but now it is presented as a solution for global problems. Yoga has various branches that are practiced based on the problems one would like to be deal with. Yoga gives inner peace.

Yoga has its origins from the Indian Subcontinent and is practiced and passed on for many generations. The word โ€˜Yogaโ€™ is derived from the Sanskrit root โ€˜Yujโ€™, meaning โ€˜to uniteโ€™. The highest or ultimate result of yoga is ‘samadhi’. A lot number of seals and fossil remains of the Indus Saraswati valley civilisation suggest the presence of yoga in ancient India. The presence of yoga is available in folk traditions, Indus valley civilization, Vedic and Upanishadic heritage, Buddhist and Jain traditions, the epics of Mahabharat and Ramayana etc. Yoga is broadly classified into four divisions- mantra yoga, raja yoga, laya yoga, hatha yoga. The practice of yoga in the vedic tradition was as a result of the internalization of the vedic ritual and its elevation symbolically from the material plane into the mental plane. By practicing yoga you have

  • Ability to move everywhere
  • Ability to control everything
  • Ability to become light or heavy
  • Ability to fulfil desires etc.

ADVANTAGES OF YOGA

Yoga is very deep and its understanding cannot be expressed in words. However, there are many advantages of performing yoga:

  1. Yoga helps to enhance the circulation of blood and nutrients to circulate to all parts of the body.
  2. Yoga can be done anywhere, anytime and doesn’t need any equipment.
  3. Yoga brings out the inner strength in your body and helps you to have a stronger body. It also aids in lifting your own body.
  4. Yoga improves your body posture making it healthy.
  5. Yoga improves the concentration of individuals.
  6. Brings up a healthy weight.
  7. Yoga prevents the risk of heart diseases because it help to reduce blood pressure, pulse rate, cholesterol and maintains a healthy weight too.
  8. There is a state of balance in the body and mind when practicing yoga.
  9. Yoga delays premature ageing because it is also a technique to detox your body.
  10. It is an effective treatment for depression and studies have shown that it acts as an anti-depressant and reduce stress.
  11. Yoga improves your body flexibility.
  12. Yoga helps you to sleep better without any disturbance.
  13. Yoga increases immunity because it is a type of healing that helps every cell in the body to be immune.
  14. It helps to improve the mood and helps to get rid of laziness, anxiety and dullness.
  15. It helps in the better functioning of the lungs through breathing exercises which is very much necessary for the existence of life.

RELEVANT LINKS:https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/opinion/you/mirrorlights-experts-say-yoga-can-improve-respiratory-health-and-immunity-post-covid/articleshow/83788419.cms https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/286745#risks-and-side-effects

YOGA, a way to attain inner peace

YOGA

Yoga comes with loads of health benefits which include physical, psychological as well as spiritual benefits.

The benefits of various yoga asanas have actually been professed to improve body versatility, stress reduction, performance, attainment of inner peace, and self-realization.

This system of exercise has been advocated as a complementary treatment to aid healing of a number of conditions such as coronary heart disease, anxiety, anxiety conditions, asthma, mental health and comprehensive rehab for conditions consisting of musculoskeletal issues, traumatic brain injury, etc.

The system has  been actually likewise recommended as a behavioral therapy for smoking cigarette cessations and substance abuses (consisting of alcoholic abuse).

Physical Benefits

  1. Enhancement of body flexibility and balance
  2. Enhancement of cardiovascular endurance (stronger heart).
  3. Enhancement of  food digestion.
  4. Enhancement of  stomach strength.
  5. Improvement in general muscular strength.
  6. Relaxing muscular stress.
  7. Controlled weight
  8. Increase of energy levels.
  9. Enhancement of the body immune system.

Psychological Benefits

  1. Relief and relaxation from tension resulting from the control of feelings.
  2. Prevention and remedy from stress-related disorders and mental health issues.
  3. Intellectual enhancement, self realization and awareness causing improved decision-making ability.

Spiritual Spiritual

  1. Life with meaning, resolve, and direction.
  2. Inner peace and stability of mind.
  3. tranquility

Having mentioned all these benefits, something as powerful and formidable as this is like fire. If done in a wrong way can invite more problems than what it can solve. These days a major problem that has risen up front is that many just start learning about these things by reading on instagram, facebook or watching a video or two without real world knowledge and guidance.

Some things to exceptionally note for people outside, especially in the west, is that Even if you join a class near your home, there’s no guarantee that your facilitator has a deep and proper knowledge of what they are teaching. In India,there are major institutes where the teacher training program itself is 5-6 months long and even after that people are not allowed to teach on their own. Traditional schools, called ashrams or gurukuls, are very strict about these things. To any random unaware kid or person, it might appear to be just some random exercise and positions to be performed but had it been that simple, peace, stability of mind and tranquility would have had no value, just perform these actions and of you go on the way of spirituality but that is not how it is. Thousands and thousands of years took to develop this art and improve it to its smallest details and ultimate perfection. Hence, it is best not to learn yoga from any random place and find someone who has years and years of practice and has themselves learnt from a great Master or Guru.

Brilliant yoga heals the soul.


A little note about YOGA

What Is Yoga? | Serenity Yoga Retreats | Workshops | Classes

Philosophy

To convey its spiritual message and guide sessions, yoga often uses the imagery of a tree with roots, a trunk, branches, blossoms, and fruits. Each โ€œbranchโ€ of yoga represents a different focus and set of characteristics.

The six branches are:

  • Hatha yoga: This is the physical and mental branch designed to prime the body and mind.
  • Raja yoga: This branch involves meditation and strict adherence to a series of disciplinary steps known as the โ€œeight limbsโ€ of yoga.
  • Karma yoga: This is a path of service that aims to create a future free from negativity and selfishness.
  • Bhakti yoga: This aims to establish the path of devotion, a positive way to channel emotions and cultivate acceptance and tolerance.
  • Jnana yoga: This branch of yoga is about wisdom, the path of the scholar, and developing the intellect through study.
  • Tantra yoga: This is the pathway of ritual, ceremony, or consummation of a relationship.

Approaching yoga with a specific goal in mind can help a person decide which branch to follow.

Chakras

The word โ€œchakraโ€ literally means spinning wheel.

Yoga maintains that chakras are center points of energy, thoughts, feelings, and the physical body. According to yogic teachers, chakras determine the way people experience reality through emotional reactions, desires or aversions, levels of confidence or fear, and even physical symptoms and effects.

When energy becomes blocked in a chakra, it is said to trigger physical, mental, or emotional imbalances that manifest in symptoms, such as anxiety, lethargy, or poor digestion.

Asanas are the many physical positions in Hatha yoga. People who practice yoga use asanas to free energy and stimulate an imbalanced chakra.

There are seven major chakras, each with their own focus:

  • Sahasrara: The โ€œthousand-petaledโ€ or โ€œcrownโ€ chakra represents the state of pure consciousness. This chakra is located at the crown of the head, and the color white or violet represents it. Sahasrara involves matters of inner wisdom and physical death.
  • Ajna: The โ€œcommandโ€ or โ€œthird-eye chakraโ€ is a meeting point between two important energetic streams in the body. Ajna corresponds to the colors violet, indigo, or deep blue, though traditional yoga practitioners describe it as white. The ajna chakra relates to the pituitary gland, which drives growth and development.
  • Vishuddha: The color red or blue represents the โ€œespecially pureโ€ or โ€œthroatโ€ chakra. Practitioners consider this chakra to be the home of speech, hearing, and metabolism.
  • Anahata: The โ€œunstruckโ€ or โ€œheartโ€ chakra relates to the colors green and pink. Key issues involving anahata include complex emotions, compassion, tenderness, unconditional love, equilibrium, rejection, and wellbeing.
  • Manipura: Yellow represents the โ€œjewel cityโ€ or โ€œnavelโ€ chakra. Practitioners connect this chakra with the digestive system, as well as personal power, fear, anxiety, developing opinions, and tendencies towards an introverted personality.
  • Svadhishthana: Practitioners claim that the โ€œoneโ€™s own baseโ€ or โ€œpelvicโ€ chakra is the home of the reproductive organs, the genitourinary system, and the adrenal gland.
  • Muladhara: The โ€œroot supportโ€ or โ€œroot chakraโ€ is at the base of the spine in the coccygeal region. It is said to contain our natural urges relating to food, sleep, sex, and survival, as well as the source of avoidance and fear.

Types

Modern yoga
Modern yoga has a range of styles to suit everyone, whatever the desired outcome.

Modern yoga has evolved with a focus on exercise, strength, flexibility, and breathing. It can help boost physical and mental well-being.

There are many styles of yoga, and no style is more authentic or superior to another. The key is to choose a class appropriate for your fitness level.

Types and styles of yoga may include:

Ashtanga yoga: This type of yoga uses ancient yoga teachings. However, it became popular during the 1970s. Ashtanga applies six established sequences of postures that rapidly link every movement to breath.

Bikram yoga: Also known as โ€œhotโ€ yoga, Bikram occurs in artificially heated rooms at temperatures of nearly 105 degrees and 40 percent humidity. It consists of 26 poses and a sequence of two breathing exercises.

Hatha yoga: This is a generic term for any type of yoga that teaches physical postures. โ€œHathaโ€ classes usually serve as a gentle introduction to the basic yoga postures.

Iyengar yoga: This type focuses on finding the correct alignment in each pose using a range of props, such as blocks, blankets, straps, chairs, and bolsters.

Jivamukti yoga: Jivamukti means โ€œliberation while living.โ€ This type emerged in 1984 and incorporates spiritual teachings and practices that focus on the fast-paced flow between poses rather than the poses themselves.

This focus is called vinyasa. Each class has a theme, which is explored through yoga scripture, chanting, meditation, asana, pranayama, and music. Jivamukti yoga can be physically intense.

Kripalu yoga: This type teaches practitioners to know, accept, and learn from the body. A student of Kripalu learns to find their own level of practice by looking inward. The classes usually begin with breathing exercises and gentle stretches, followed by a series of individual poses and final relaxation.

Kundalini yoga: Kundalini means โ€œcoiled, like a snake.โ€ Kundalini yoga is a system of meditation that aims to release pent-up energy.

A class typically begins with chanting and ends with singing. In between, it features asana, pranayama, and meditation customized to create a specific outcome.

Power yoga: In the late 1980s, practitioners developed this active and athletic type of yoga, based on the traditional ashtanga system.

Sivananda: This is a system based on a five-point philosophy. This philosophy maintains that proper breathing, relaxation, diet, exercise, and positive thinking work together to form a healthy yogic lifestyle. Typically uses the same 12 basic asanas, bookended by sun salutations and savasana poses.

Viniyoga: Viniyoga can adapt to any person, regardless of physical ability. Viniyoga teachers require in-depth training and tend to be experts on anatomy and yoga therapy.

Yin: This is a quiet, meditative yoga practice, also called taoist yoga. Yin yoga allows the release of tension in key joints, including:

  • the ankles
  • knees
  • ยท hips
  • the whole back
  • neck
  • shoulders

Yin poses are passive, meaning that gravity shoulders most of the force and effort.

Prenatal yoga: Prenatal yoga uses postures that practitioners have designed for people who are pregnant. It can support people in getting back into shape after pregnancy as well as supporting health iduring pregnancy.

Restorative yoga:ย This is a relaxing method of yoga. A person spends a restorative yoga class in four or five simple poses, using props like blankets and bolsters to sink into deep relaxation without exerting any effort in holding the pose.

Risks and side effects

Yoga is low-impact and safe for people when a well-trained instructor is guiding the practice.

Injury due to yoga is an infrequent barrier to continued practice, and severe injury due to yoga is rare. However, consider a few factors before starting.

Anyone who is pregnant or who has an on-going medical condition, such as high blood pressureglaucoma, or sciatica, should talk to their healthcare practitioner before practicing yoga. They may need to alter or avoid some yoga poses.

Beginners should avoid extreme poses and difficult techniques, such as headstand, lotus position, and forceful breathing.

When using yoga to manage a condition, do not replace conventional medical care with yoga or postpone seeing a healthcare provider about pain or any other medical problem.

Takeaway

Yoga is a five-millennia-old practice that has changed over time. Modern yoga focuses on stretches and poses designed to stimulate inner peace and physical energy.

Ancient yoga was less about fitness and more about mental focus and expanding spiritual energy. The Yoga Sutra, now considered to be the definitive guidebook to practicing yoga, came into the practice 2000 years ago.

There are many different types of yoga depending on what people want from it and a personโ€™s current level of physical fitness. However, some people choose to replace conventional treatment for conditions with yoga and this can prevent a person from receiving the necessary care.

People with certain conditions, such as sciatica, should approach yoga slowly and with caution.

Yoga can help support a balanced, active lifestyle.