Solitude

Giving healthy food to their children is a constant concern for parents no matter what social status they belong to. But not all parents are aware of what constitutes healthy nutritious food. The Human Development Report (2009) prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reported high rates of malnutrition among children in slums, and the urban elite. Malnutrition among slum children is not a surprise as they do not have access to nutritious food. This report highlighted the co-emergence of malnutrition and overnutrition where rich urban children eat excessive calorie rich but nutrient empty food (devoid of minerals and vitamins). Intake of palatably tasty but nutritiously poor fast foods, aerated drinks, foods high in trans fat, saturated fats and sugar (such as pizzas, burgers, sodas and colas, cakes and pastries, samosa, French fries) do not provide the necessary minerals and vitamins required for daily intake although they may provide the necessary calories. Obe...

Grief and loss can be debilitating but can be overcome.  Ms Howard stood rigid and unemotional by the grave in which her 20-year-old son Patrick was buried. Life as she knew it was over. Time was now referred to as, “Before Patrick's death” and “After Patrick's death.” It's been 10 years since her loss. As she sat on my sofa, she said with a smile, “You know, Patrick wanted to be a psychologist. He wanted to work with people who had lost someone dear and look at the irony... here I am, still grieving Patrick, even after 10 years.” It has taken Ms Howard years to reach out and ask for support. All this time has been spent trying to hold her family together, move on, live life and “get over it”. “After a point people merely feel sympathy, but no empathy. They said that I should try to forget and stop grieving. People keep telling me that 10 years is a long time. I feel very depressed that I am unable to move on.” Part of life Grief and loss can come disgui...

Quick tips for the frequent traveller. Frequent travellers often adopt a sitting posture irrespective of the mode of travel (by air/land). During the journey their spine is subjected to prolonged stress owing to bad posture, vehicle vibrations and poor ergonomics in the vehicle. Repetitive stress in frequent travellers leads to mechanical injury that, if left unattended, results in disabling conditions. The importance of maintaining a good posture and following proper mechanics during lifting heavy baggage, in prevention of back injuries, cannot be overemphasised. Neck Isometrics:  Place your hands against the back of your head. Begin putting foreword pressure against the back of your head and resist the movement with your neck muscles. Hold for a count of 10. Repeat 5-8 times. Shoulder stretches:  Clasp hands behind the back and raise the hand till you feel a mild stretch over the chest and shoulders. Hold for a count of 10 and relax, Repeat 2-3 times Hamstrings stretch: ...

Negative people are an unfortunate fact of life. Whether it’s the coworker who is always complaining about the company or the sister whose judgmental remarks make every visit an ordeal, they drive us nuts. Here’s the bad news: we’re not going to change them. But we can learn to react to them in ways that protect our self-esteem as well as our sanity. So we’ve gathered some great tips for you: Steer the conversation in a neutral direction. Talk about books, movies, celebrities  — anything that will stop the complaining or snarking. If a person is talking about a specific problem  (the high cost of medical care, the amount of work she has to do), just listen to her and try to understand how she feels. If you want, ask if there’s anything you can do to help, but only if it won’t drain you. Don’t argue.  That just draws you into the cycle of negativity. Complainers are likely to think that you’re trying to talk them out of feeling angry, and that can make them even angrier...

The weight loss industry grows at six per cent a year and yet the incidence of obesity also increases by six per cent every year! Obviously something is not working. To make matters worse, we are deafened by a cacophony of conflicting dietary advice from the Cookie Diet to the Cabbage Soup Diet and everything in between. If you’ve found it hard to maintain or lose weight, you need to go beyond the familiar “diet and exercise” mantra. There are three hidden causes for the obesity epidemic. 1. The “Overfed / Undernourished” Syndrome Depleted soil conditions and refining give us nutritionally bankrupt foods which fill us without nourishing us. This leads to constant hunger at the cellular level. Solution: Turn to “superfoods” such as wheat grass and alfalfa sprouts to satisfy your ‘cellular’ hunger. Voila! You will eat less and feel more satisfied without dieting! 2. The “Craving-for-Refined-Foods” Syndrome It is not the lack of will power, but undiagnosed food allergies that make you...

Do you remember the first time you tried to stand on your little feet? You stumbled and fell down immediately. Your mom rushed to you seeing you cry out aloud, wrapped her arms around, pulled you close and kissed on your cheek. You felt her warmth and love and those drops of tears disappeared from your eyes even before you realized . Do you remember the first time you crossed a street with your father? He lifted you up in his arms and with very cautious steps he carried you across. You felt so secured. Yes that's how our parents are; an eternal source of care and affection, an indomitable sense of security and so much more. But, when this endless love tends to be overbearing, when the security of their arms chain down our dreams, where do we look up to? We get drowned in an awkward feeling of disgust which we all hate to acknowledge. Superficial life Beginning from the days of our school we are nurtured to be the best among the rest wherever we go and in whatever we do. And, neve...

1. It’s okay to make mistakes. Mistakes and failures are there to teach us. If we learn from them and correct the way on our path, better things will result from it. 2. We create our own reality. We have the power to break mental patterns that no longer serve us, and we have the power to consciously choose thoughts that empower us. It’s only a matter of breaking old habits and creating new ones. 3. Finding validation and seeking love from another person through relationships is a self-destructive path. Those types of relationships never last, and when they end, they burn in heartache. You must love and respect yourself first. When you wholeheartedly love who you are, the world will fall in love with you, and the right relationship will fall into place. Until I fully accept, love and respect myself, I will continue to attract those relationships rooted in fear, insecurities and disempowerment. 4. A few moments of silence each day will broaden your horizon, strengthen your self-a...

7 habits of really happy people We all know that person. The one who is always laughing, crackin’ jokes, having fun, and just being happy, no matter what’s going on.   Everyone is attracted to them, and perhaps you want to be like them. But maybe you think it’s impossible to always be happy. However, you most certainly can be happy like them and you SHOULD be happy like them. They are no special secrets to how these people can have so much joy. They don’t possess anything that you don’t have. The only thing they do is practice habits that make them happy. So here are seven habits that can be found in people who are always really happy. If you can practice these and turn them into habits you’ll be just as happy as them. 1. Don’t care what others think They don’t care what others think or have to say. If they did, they wouldn’t let themselves free and be happy because of the possibility of scrutiny. Really happy people also never let negative people and their a...