Life made beautiful by Yoga

Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, Fitness, Organic food are some of the many industries that do a good job in showing that their products and services are predominantly aimed towards providing solutions to problems faced by us on a daily  basis and take pride in flashing their balance sheets with billion-dollar-revenues. And, the world citizens don’t hesitate to pay the exorbitant price to procure these products and services for a QUICK-FIX-SOLUTION which, sadly, adds more complications (side effects) to our lives, as the extreme-capitalism has managed to keep the democratic powers under siege so much so that adding a few more harmful chemicals to the products that cause the side-effects have become an acceptable norm in life. Thanks to today’s hypocritical life, our life ends up in a tailspin further complicating our lives without any closure to our problems.

I know what it feels like to be caught in this tailspin that causes great pain which is not only persistent but also compounds to exploding levels, in our lives. The worst part is that hope is diminished to nothing which forces us to surrender ourselves to a life of pain and suffering.

In a nutshell, we work harder compromising our health to make more money to buy more QUICK-FIX-SOLUTIONS to get temporary relief and eventually end up in spending all that we had earned on diseases that we had bought for ourselves with QUICK-FIX-SOLUTIONS. Crazy!! Well, the inconvenient truth is that there are solutions to all our problems and it is free too! Today’s cynical belief is “There is no such thing as free lunch.” In fact, there is.

Yoga and Oxygen

One of the most important beliefs that my Yoga guru, Prema Nagesh (http://yogatherapy4all.blogspot.com) imprinted in our minds is that solutions to our problems are available all around us and we just need to have the calm mind to avail it. A calm mind is a strong mind. Calmness in the mind is lost when there are too many issues and problems in our daily lives which leave our mind transfixed with so much of noise that obscures the focus on the real life. If one can learn to attain calmness in mind, then most of the solutions to our unfathomable problems can be found without spending the big bucks or without reaching out to hard-to-reach places for solutions. Good news is that Yoga can do that for you at no cost.

Think about it!!! How many people have you met who do not complain about life?! Not that many because many of our friends and relatives are in some kind of pain and still struggling to find a way out. As a result, the concentration in tasks at hand at the very moment is lost because our minds are wandering like a honey bee buzzing from one thought to another focusing on mistakes of the past or future. Here is where prime benefits of Yoga can be fruitful through rhythmic breathing (extra oxygen invigorates your brain thus calming it down and build concentration), asanas, guided meditation etc.

Now, imagine a life with herculean mental strength and calmness to shrug off (with a smile) a nagging spouse, problems with children, road rage, office politics, the venom of this cynical world and, after facing all the realities of life, imagine your mind to be calm and pristine like the snow-capped Himalayas. Please do not despise this imagination as something that is naive or non-existent. Trust me, there are people among us who are enjoying this priceless lifestyle through Yoga.

Regular physical exercise is something that we enjoy doing that will relieve the stress temporarily but the hard earned spirit-during-exercise fades away soon, when we step out of the gym and face the real world. The magic of sustaining that spirit even outside the gym and throughout the day is what Yoga can do. And, also that is the reason why just by learning difficult Yogic asanas will not give you the ultimate result. Rather it is by relating and applying the Yogic principles to every moment of our daily lives so that you could develop clarity and peace of mind.

Personally, I started Yoga about two years back with the utmost contempt and little did I realize at that time that my life would never be the same again. I joined Yoga for a pal of mine so that she would not give up but I was woken to the brunt magical force of Yoga that humbled me. I was training for marathon at that time and I despised Yoga as boring and not so physically demanding. My ignorance was stripped naked during my first Yoga session and I was sold to the idea of Yoga. Since then it has been an amazing journey that has transformed me to be a better person not just outside the home but also especially at home. Yoga has also given some unwarranted benefits especially at work as the “Calm Mind” empowers me with wisdom and strength that is the envy of many around me (in a good way). 

The best part is that people would love to be around you. It feels as if you have transcended through a portal to another galaxy of sheer bliss and looking back at the sufferings of people around you, it is sad. I have learnt so much of Yoga in the past two years and it seems so little while looking up to my guru and other Yoga experts around the world. If this little knowledge of Yoga could bring so much of joy, I am thrilled to look forward to learning more and more in the coming years.

Simply put, with Yoga, Life is beautiful. And, I invite you to Yoga so that you may also experience and enjoy the true essence of life as we all deserve to.

How I lost 17.5 pounds in two months?!

Leaving behind the hustle and bustle of city life to start an ordinary life in a simple, unique and beautiful country like Oman has been nothing short of bliss in many ways, especially if you perceive life not based on how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away. Yes, I had a second chance to live life to the fullest in Oman four years back with the hope that the desires close to my heart will no longer be dreams. The first year kicked off with a great sense of gratitude, thanks to the accomplishments in family-aspects, healthy lifestyle, peace, tranquillity, long distance running, swimming, blogging, toastmasters etc. Notably, the health aspect was amazing during the first two years so much that I was fit enough to run half marathon, swim for 1km non-stop, felt good about my body, but even during these two years of good times, something vital had been missing in me which I did not realize then: an unbalanced mind & spirit. Although it was missing during the first two years of good times, it did not affect my pursuit to better health and fitness, as the environment around me was ordinary and uneventful. But with the advent of the third year, my life transformed from “ordinary and uneventful” to “insane levels of stress and frustration” at work as I was thrust- with a responsibility of a major Oracle ERP implementation. This adverse transformation took a toll on my health and this is when the vital factor (unbalanced mind & spirit) became conspicuous.

The fairy tale, “two years of bliss” spun out of balance during the third year and, as a result, I became fatter by 23 pounds in just 12 months. My “empty” over-confidence in health and fitness shaped me to be a hypocrite that made me to believe that I was not overweight.

Then the reality struck!! I was overweight!! I was dumbfounded when I realized that I couldn’t even reduce 1 pound. I couldn’t believe it!! From 163 pounds to 185 pounds in one year!!  Something was terribly amiss.

My guilt-trodden mind engaged in intensive introspection on what went wrong and provoked waves of deep thoughts, but still the ultimate truth and answer never dawned on me. Feeling so lost in a maze, forces of nature introduced me to something that gave all the right answers for my fragile, unbalanced “mind & spirit”:

Yoga!!

I was still oblivious to the fact that this vital aspect was missing and this missing piece of the puzzle was the Achilles’ heel that made my fragile state vulnerable to the undue stress imposed by the change in the work environment.

The priceless lesson learnt was that no matter how fit we are physically with rigorous exercises, if the spirit is not in the right balanced state with the body and mind, even a slight change in the external factors will spin the delicate balance out of control resulting in the ups and downs of body weight and mental state.

The Core Foundation

This is exactly what Yoga is all about. Yoga means to be in perfect tune; your body, mind and spirit are in absolute harmony with existence. When you fine-tune yourself to a level that everything functions beautifully within you, the best of your abilities will naturally flow out of you. Have you noticed that when you are happy you have endless energy? Even if you skip your food or sleep, you will have so much energy to just go on. Just a little happiness liberates you from your normal limitations of energy and capability. Yoga is the science of activating your inner energies in such a way that your body, mind and emotions function at their highest peak. Ultimately, Yoga strengthens that balance so much that no external factors in real life can spin your balance out of control.

Typically, we jump-start with a rigorous exercise routine to shed excess weight but the biggest problem that most of us have is the consistency factor. We start the exercise with great enthusiasm and passion for a couple of weeks and then lose the steam for months which reflects in the ups and downs in the body weight as well.

The Workout

Yoga is the core, but a bit of variety worked for me. For me, combination of Yoga, circuit training at the gym and running, really did the wonder by shedding 17.5 pounds in just two months.

-        Day 1     Yoga 1 hour

-        Day 2     Circuit Training at Gym + 15 minutes cardio + 10 minutes of Yoga/Pranayama

-        Day 3     Yoga 1 hour

-        Day 4     Circuit Training at Gym + 15 minutes cardio + 10 minutes of Yoga/Pranayama

-        Day 5     Running – 1 hour

-        Day 6     Yoga 1 hour

-        Day 7     Relax or Yoga Meditation

Diet

Now, comes the tricky part: DIET. Each of us have our naturally ways of venting out when we are stressed and mine is to eat, eat and eat. When I get stressed out, I eat bars of snickers, packets of M & Ms, a variety of Indian sweets, chicken tikka masala with white rice at 11pm etc. This was a perfect recipe to be obese in no time. For the kind of reckless diet that I engaged myself in, I should be thankful that I put on only 23 pounds in 12 months.

Tips on diet restrictions that helped me greatly:

1.       Start off with a complete medical check-up to ensure that you do not have any major health issues.

2.       Sleep

a.       Do not sleep late. Go to bed by 10pm

b.      Wake up by 5pm

c.       Sleep is fundamental to many aspects in life

d.      If your mind is disturbed before going to bed, meditate to clear your mind.

e.      If you are not getting good sleep or waking up in the middle of night and cannot continue your sleep, something is wrong with your balance for which meditation techniques can help greatly.

f.        Do not drink too much water before going to bed and you may have to wake up in the middle of the night to drain your bladder.

3.       Never be hungry.

a.       No long breaks between meals.

b.      Have fruits or nuts or milk between meals.

c.       Healthy snacks will not make you super-hungry which will help avoid overeating.

4.       Water

a.       Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

b.      Many a times, we feel tired and the reason is that we forget to drink water. Keep your body hydrated all the time.

5.       Water Therapy

a.       Drink one litre of warm water mixed with one spoon of pure honey.

b.      This helps is avoiding over 20 diseases.

6.       STOP sweets. A major factor. If you cannot stop, at least moderate.

7.       Rice

a.       No white rice.

b.      Switch to broken brown rice.

c.       No rice at night, even broken brown rice.

8.       Whole Wheat: in all foods

9.       Drink low fat milk

10.   Vegetables: Have plenty of vegetables, preferably with all meals or snacks

11.   Fruits

a.       Always eat fruit in an empty stomach.

b.      Eating the fruit is healthier than fruit juice.

c.       Have a fruit before any meal.

12.   Finish dinner by 7 to 8 pm. A cup of low-fat milk before bed is fine.

Daily Routine:

-        Wake up by 5am à waking up early triggers a wave of positive thoughts and energy.

-        Water therapy at 5am à Drink 1 litre of warm water mixed with 1 tease spoon of pure honey.

-        8 am Breakfast

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit before food à papaya or banana or apple or orange

o   2 dates

o   Breakfast Options

1.       Museli with skimmed milk

2.       Whole wheat bread with egg whites

3.       Whole wheat dosa with sambar / puthina chutney / tomato chutney (no coconut chutney)

4.       idli

-        11am Snack

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit before food à Always have fruits in empty stomach

o   One cup of skimmed milk

o   One slice whole wheat bread with fat free cheese spread

-        1 pm Lunch

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit before food à Always have fruits in empty stomach

o   Lunch Options

1.       Broken brown rice 1 cup, with any vegetable and/or chicken, dhal & salad

2.       Whole wheat spaghetti with vegetables and/or chicken & salad

3.       If you have the luxury of having lunch at home (like me… hee hee)

·         Broken brown rice with

o   Fish curry / chicken curry / veg curry varieties

o   Two vegetables

-        4 pm Snack

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit

-        6 pm Snack if hungry

o   Marie biscuits or buttermilk

-        7 pm Dinner

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit before food à Always have fruits in empty stomach

o   Dinner Options

1.       Veg salad with avocado à if you feel that you have had too much food during day time.

2.       Whole wheat chappathi and veg dish

3.       NO non-veg for dinner

-        9 pm

o   Banana

o   1 cup of skimmed Milk

Tips for strengthening your balance on a daily basis:

1.       Meditate early morning and before going to bed à Just close your eyes and:

a.       Pray

b.      Feel gratified àThink through the list of blessings that you have.

c.       Prepare your mind & spirit

                                                               i.      Early Morning

1.       Think of all the positive aspects that you need to have in order to have a successful day.

2.       Never to get angry

3.       Be a leader with extraordinary patience

4.       Be calm, cool and pleasant all the time

5.       Do not react impulsively even if people are mean to you and, in case you do, you have already lowered yourself.

6.       Be alert to proactively sense danger or potential issues in the environment which is very essential for project management or any work activities or personal activities.

7.       If you do this right, you will feel elated and you will be ready to face all the problems that life is waiting to throw at you.

                                                             ii.      Before going to bed at night

1.       Think of all the positive aspects (as mentioned above) that have been able to accomplish during the day and pat yourself on your back.

2.       Think of all the blessings you have and feel gratified.

3.       If you do this right, you will have a very peaceful, restful sleep at night.

At first, the points above might look herculean, but trust me; your life will be so fulfilled and happy that you will engage in a constant pursuit of further betterment. It is nothing but a “snowball” effect that will you help to ensure that the lost weight is lost for ever.

Long story short:

-        Yoga is core to ensure that your body, mind and spirit are harmony with existence in order help you face any problem that life throws at you.

-        Physical exercises that you like: gym, running, walking, swimming, outdoor games etc.

The joy that I am experiencing with the right balance is priceless and it really pains to see so many with so many problems for which there are remedies all around us, within our control, but we are always in a constant pursuit of quick “tablet” solutions from doctors which in turn creates more problems.

I wish and hope that this blog will influence a couple of souls to not only get fit but also pursue true, meaningfu

Aloo Tikki Chaat at Chowpatty - Oman

Aloo Tikki Chaat at Chowpatty

There are Chaats that are slushy-moist and there are Chaats that are dry, but to have a blast of the all-in-one Chaat is something rare and can speak volumes about the “Love” in the Chaat. And, yes, we have a winner at Chowpatty, as there usually is, in many restaurants. It is “Aloo Tikki Chaat” (ATC).

There are a few dishes that can create an explosion from the very first bite to the last and paralyze all your senses which are possible only if the dish is made with utmost love and innate talent.

The Looks

As they say, looks can be deceiving. ATC is nicely coated creamy white Yogurt with a splash of chili powder and chopped coriander leaves which are an appealing contrast of white, red and green. For a first timer, as you dig in your first scoop, with the expectation of ATC to be a slushy Chaat, the deceiving part which is the brown potato that comes to light with a striking contrast. And, there is a bit of drama in a subtle way………to complete the taste that tickles the taste buds.

The Service and Ambiance

It is a friendly place with good service and the ambiance is pretty good for the relatively economical price tag. The sleek porcelain plates/cups, the heavy metallic fork-spoon, the sleek menu card and the clean-cut setup are a bit surprisingly rich for a small-time restaurant.

The Taste

The collision of the creamy yogurt laced with chili powder with the crispy potato cutlet is simply “made for each other”. The chopped onions play a vital role in blending the slushy yogurt, spice and potato cutlet. The Chaat spices and a touch of sweet tamarind sauce bring out the final flavor/punch of the Chaat family.

Oh, yes, I had two ATC just like many other times. It was goooood.

Verdict: ATC is outstanding and good value for money

Improvisation:

1.       Ask for extra spicy.

2.       Ask for additional chopped onions and coriander to toss on top.
3.   Masala chai is good which complements the spicy Chaat. It is a bit extra sweet though.

Cost       : Omani rial 800 baisa

Restaurant:  Chowpatty

Location: Al Khuwair, Oman, opposite to Best Western Hotel