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Break That

I was in my teens, when it was five in the morning, still dark outside and suddenly I heard someone’s knuckles playing a band on the door of my cupboard (90s kids didn’t have the privilege of locking their rooms). I woke up irritated and it was my dad, I don’t know if he was secretly loving it, watching us groan. My siblings and I were unaware that this was going to be a regular for a lot of months to come. ‘Wake up and do what?’ — people ask me that even today. Workout. Run up the stairs and come down twenty times. Really, you can imagine our reactions when we saw the movie Dangal. 

I was the most frustrated when my dad said “You eat? You sleep? You go to school? Then you can make time to workout.” All my reasons lost to his words and do I thank my stars for it. He gave us the taste of waking up early and getting that engine started—like dark chocolate, black coffee or Beer. Something about acquired tastes, you keep going at it till you’re hooked. Either someone else is making you down it or its’ your own thirst kicking you. Now I don’t even put an alarm. Don’t need one; my desperate need to feel fit gets me up and running. 

While I was on this spree I did get the habit of watching the sunrise and hearing the birds when I’d reach the terrace. You would be shocked at how disciplined other creatures are. A Barbet (bird) would come everyday at the same time to watch the sun rise. Wait on the same tree. There are other birds who follow the same pattern even today. The ancient “cock-a-doodle-doo” of the rooster crowing strong even today; if you have pets at home you’ll know they are mostly more disciplined than us. Some habits can be innate behaviours and don’t need training. The one’s that need to be grilled into our routine are the real mosquitoes (they are the new bitches), right? How do you reach a point where you don’t break it and how do you crack a habit? 

Breaking it down: 

MAKE BETTER CHOICES: I read in this book “The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business” by Charles Duhigg, that you need to replace old habits with new and better ones. From smoking to chewing gum was a huge fad. Basically jump from one wagon to another healthier one. You can be creative in your own way, if you have the habit of using your phone a lot, then make sure you call people instead of text that saves screen time. Making better choices is a way of starting.

BE EXTREEMLY PATIENT: 21/90 days rule- It works, I’m on the other side of so many habits that they’ve become a lifestyle and I don’t even remember how I got here. When people ask me how did you control sugar cravings, I don’t recall because its so much a part of me now. So wait till it becomes a part of your subconscious routine. Imagine everyday’s task or practice as sticks; the more sticks you gather the harder it is to break the habit. A few sticks can still be broken. You have to collect all the practicing and training. Some habits do die hard and could take more than twenty-one days. Its how desperately you want it, its not magic, you should want that over other things.

STICK IT WITH A REWARD: Sticking to them is where people fail, because it doesn’t feel rewarding until you see the results. Until the results come forth, keep alternate rewards for every task that you complete (repeat: Complete). Don’t we say “good boy” to our pet dogs when they’ve done something nice, or give them a treat if they move the way we want them to. Our animal instincts own us in this arena of life. I was a weekend binger until I started rewarding myself with healthy alternatives on any day, that I felt I did a good job. My reward for finishing the staircase workout: I would draw a hopscotch on my terrace and skip around a bit. The book mentioned earlier has the same concept. Rewarding can be really motivating and you get to figure out your own reward, isn’t that great?

PUMP YOURSELF UP: So when people ask me to motivate them, I’m really not in a place to answer because humans are subjective beings. I look at Massy Arias on Instagram and drool over (my mom thinks it disgusting to pack those muscles). To each their own. I even put her picture on my phone-screen display. You choose your own motivation. 

DON’T BE TOO STRICT: You don’t need to be a perfectionist. The stricter you are the faster you will bounce back. We are influenced emotionally and mentally by so many things today that we may not be motivated everyday. Tell yourself “It’s okay for now.” Being nice to yourself is a part of feeling motivated. We always listen to people who are nice to us, so start by being that nice person. 

DISCIPLINE IS THE MAGIC: In spite of small failures, just show up and do your best the next day and the next and even after that. There are going to be good days and then horrible days, where you give up altogether. It may feel like starting from scratch, be willing to do it. It may feel like you don’t have what it takes, still show up. Keep showing up everyday. That’s discipline, I’ve dissected it for you. Then subconsciously the brain starts understanding “She’s Muhammad Ali, she’s a fighter, she’s going to keep coming back, so lets just give her this bout.” 

The idea is to create space for the new habit not beat yourself into it. Be creative at rewarding yourself and just make sure it’s a reward less damaging and a habit worth keeping.

Other Reads: https://www.headspace.com/blog/2017/06/24/setting-phone-boundaries/

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Head over ‘Heals’

 Part I -“Heal-arious as can be

(Part II) 

We all love adventures in our own ways and every time you put yourself out there, you learn something and you will dirty your hands, get hurt, break a limb and lose an eye (okay may be not that drastic). A cell is a world in itself and it can divide and multiply. The whole process replaces old cells and this causes physical healing in our bodies. All the elements are natural healers and our body is meant to heal when the elements are well balanced. Small things you can incorporate daily to achieve this:

  1. Greenery: Our eyes are the only part of the body that never grow in size from birth to death. It is almost telling us “To look at the world the same way as when we didn’t understand anything.” That’s when we had most amount of common sense. Being in the centre of the spectrum, green is the colour of balance, which strikes the eye in such a way as to require no adjustments. Therefore, seeing green colour helps your eyes quickly recover from strain. Forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) is a thing in Japan, where people connect with the natural forest atmosphere and this nature therapy is a cornerstone of preventive healthcare. Just being and immersing ourselves in nature can cure us and keep us healthy. 
  2. Physical movement: Why didn’t I say exercising? For healing just getting your body moving is enough. You can dance, jump about or walk or just do some cleaning. Physical activity is essential because our bodies were meant to move and not be stationary and glued to our chairs and couches. If you move enough everyday and don’t have a sedentary lifestyle you would recover (if you fell sick, or had a health issue) sooner than some one who is a couch potato. Mental health improves by just getting yourself some exercise. 
  3. Laughing: There are plenty of live comedy shows, comedy movies, hilarious reads and Netflix comedy series. Endorphins are released in our bodies, everytime we laugh, increasing our body’s production of antibodies and T-cells that fight off disease and boost our immune system. A strong immune system is essential to healing. Funnier people definitely have it easier in life. So make sure you get some laughter in everyday, it’s the most fun way to heal. 
  4. Good bacteria: Gut health is not a new topic and there is more awareness today about good bacteria that they make up ninety percent of our body. We can incorporate fermented food in our diets and avoid antibiotics which destroy good along with bad bacteria. Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, ACV, Coconut vinegar, Beetroot Kvaas, Kombucha and Rice-cake(Idli) batter is what I’ve tried. Gut health also improves with exposure to different bacteria, from pets like dogs, travelling to different countries and farming and playing in the mud. So pick up that spade and start gardening in your backyard. 
  5. Animals: How does cuddling your dog feel? It’s a boon that we have so many animals, still not extinct and we can co-exist and benefit each other. Yes, gut health does improve with having pets at home but this link will surprise you how some animals can even heal you. This link has so many interesting facts: https://www.goodnet.org/articles/5-animals-incredible-healing-powers-list. We have a symbiotic relationship with so many animals. Humans can really connect with other species, we hardly see a goat and cow hugging each other but humans can do that with so many of the domestic species. A research reveals that those who rear cats and dogs have healthy hearts as compared to their counterparts. If you don’t have pets make sure you meet your neighbour’s once in a while. 
  6. Early morning Sunlight: As the famous health adage goes: everything in moderation. And sunlight is NO exception. In moderate amounts, exposing our skin to sunlight on a regular basis—especially a daily basis—can have numerous and immense benefits on some surprising facets to our health. The Vitamin D bit everyone is already aware, but sunlight can helps cure seasonal depression, improve the immune system. The human eye contains photosensitive cells in its retina, with connections directly to the pituitary gland in the brain. Stimulation of these important cells comes from sunlight, in particular, the blue unseen spectrum. Taking a peek outside at the dawn’s first sunlight is a habit worth implementing.
  7. Doing something new: Learning a new language or a new skill, even doing a new activity helps the brain cells produce new neural pathways and electrical connections. This helps the white matter remain dense and healthy, increasing the ability to do learn faster and heal fast. Its important we stimulate our brain with new experiences every week if not everyday. Monotony can reduce the brains capacity and in the long run lead to dementia. Prevention is better than cure and we can do our bit in maintaining the health. 
  8. Sleeping well: Sleeping repairs your body like nothing else. Resting is different, you’re conscious and awake when resting. Sleep stops most of the functions in your body and only the involuntary systems are functioning. Your brain also gets rid of 60 percent more toxins when you get the proper amount of sleep. Wounds heal faster when we sleep. I sometimes try to sleep off a flu and it works. So get at least 7-8 hours of sleep. Good night.

Happy Healing

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Heal-arious as can be

When I was in school I fell on the field, in the corridor, on the paved ground, stoned areas, in the class and even tripped over nothing. The skirt and pinafore didn’t help with the knees either. My knees and elbows always had scratches and wounds. The school nurse even asked me once while applying tincture “Why did you fall again?” in her loud angry voice. They all healed though; every one of them. The scar would stay for a bit but eventually new skin cells replaced the old ones and now no one can tell I was a reckless child. 

Just like a wound every other part of our body, made up of living cells, are meant to heal. The body heals on its own and how?

I would love to share a few healing tips that I’ve incorporated in my life. Skip the ones you feel are ‘extra’ for you, but try them all. 

  1. Resting: This is most under-rated in the hustle hustle outlook of people today. Sadhguru on resting, “If your relaxation is not of good quality, your work will not be of good quality.” I had a back injury a while back and my physiotherapist recommended complete rest. It was 80 percent better within a day’s time. The best way to get off a cold and flu is ample amount of rest. Without popping a pill and just giving your body the rest it needs is what I see so many people sort to these days. 
  2. Fasting: Fasting is the resting of your digestive system. It is really like a system reboot in the body and it helps the in improving stomach health, healing other parts of the body and even keeps you alert. There’s intermittent fasting, Dry fasting, seasonal fasting and other types. Thanks to my mother I’ve been intermittent fasting all my life. I read about this concept only recently, and it works like magic. I recommend you go through what Luke Coutinho has to share about fasting, he explains it the best and he’s a certified nutritionist. 
  3. Breathing: Did you take a deep breath after reading that? I’ve caught my breathing taking casual pauses like its waiting for me to notice. I have heard a few people have cured hormonal imbalances by just following Yogic breathing techniques; Pranayama. I haven’t tried this in a disciplined way, but everytime I’ve done Anulom Vilom it has made me feel alert. Fresh air is essential to life and holding a good posture almost makes it natural to take deep breaths. Correcting posture can correct the breathing to be involuntarily smooth. To be a little extra: You could try the balloon technique in the following link: https://www.sonima.com/fitness/email-apnea/ .
  4. Meditating: I am more acquainted with this now, and written vastly about meditating in my previous articles. Meditating can heal your mind, body and emotional state magically. It takes discipline and consistency to reach there but its definitely something each human being was born to do. We have evolved to depend on different sources of energy outside; electricity, internet, wifi; but the real source of energy is life and when we meditate we focus on that. We are inbuilt with this “soul energy”, we just have to focus and tap into it. 
  5. Salt: Yes, Epsom salt baths is trendy if you haven’t tried it yet and the new thing is to buy Himalayan pink salt Lamps! I have been using hot salt potli’s to recover sore muscles and muscle cramps. (heat the salt in a pan, put it in a handkerchief and tie a knot so it doesn’t spill, ready!) This heals the fastest! “The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.”— Isak Dinesen. Learn about Salt healing from this article :http://www.asianage.com/health-fitness/healing-power-salt-101
  6. Copper: Copper bottles have been fashionable for a while now without the science behind it getting famous. Just like our other trends. Copper has anti-microbial properties and it helps in the absorption of iron. As per our Ancient Indian Ayurveda it is an element that helps in balancing our doshas. Again cautious use of this element can restore hormonal health and other imbalances can be corrected. 
  7. Tisané: Herbal teas were used as a medicine in so older civilizations. People thought it is witchcraft, but they were just our garden herbs. ‘Tisané over Chai‘ has a few herbal tea infusions you can read on the website. ‘More Tisané’ will be published very soon keep an eye out. Herbs are mother nature’s potpourri which we have at our disposal. 

TO BE Contd…