Embracing a Healthy Lifestyle: Your Path to Vitality and Well-being

Introduction

In today's fast-paced world, where stress, sedentary routines, and unhealthy dietary choices have become the norm, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is crucial. A healthy lifestyle encompasses more than just physical fitness; it involves nurturing our mental, emotional, and social well-being as well. 

By adopting healthy habits and making conscious choices, we can unlock the door to a vibrant and fulfilling life. In this blog post, we'll explore key elements of a healthy lifestyle and provide practical tips to help you embark on this transformative journey.

1. Nourish Your Body with Balanced Nutrition.

Eating a well-balanced diet forms the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. Focus on consuming nutrient-dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. 

Avoid excessive processed and sugary foods, opting for whole and natural options instead. Experiment with various flavors and cooking methods to make your meals exciting and enjoyable. Remember to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day.

2. Engage in Regular Physical Activity

Regular exercise is vital for maintaining a healthy body and mind. Find physical activities that you enjoy, such as walking, jogging, swimming, dancing, or cycling. 

Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, along with strength training exercises for muscle development. Incorporate movement into your daily routine by taking the stairs, walking or cycling to work, or participating in active hobbies. The key is to find activities that bring you joy and make you feel good.

3. Prioritize Quality Sleep

Adequate sleep is often overlooked but plays a significant role in maintaining optimal health. Establish a consistent sleep schedule, ensuring you get 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night. 

Create a sleep-friendly environment by keeping your bedroom cool, dark, and free from distractions. Disconnect from electronic devices at least an hour before bedtime to promote relaxation. 

Quality sleep rejuvenates your body and mind, improves cognitive function, and enhances your overall well-being.

4. Manage Stress Effectively

Chronic stress can have detrimental effects on your health. Explore stress management techniques that work for you, such as mindfulness meditation, deep breathing exercises, yoga, or engaging in hobbies that bring you joy. 

Prioritize self-care and allocate time for activities that promote relaxation and stress reduction. Don't hesitate to seek support from friends, family, or professionals when needed. By managing stress, you'll enhance your mental and emotional resilience.

5. Cultivate Healthy Relationships

Nurturing healthy relationships is essential for a fulfilling life. Surround yourself with positive and supportive individuals who uplift and inspire you. Allocate time for meaningful connections with family and friends. 

Engage in open and honest communication, express gratitude, and show empathy towards others. Building strong relationships not only enhances your well-being but also provides a sense of belonging and support.

6. Foster Mental and Emotional Well-being

Invest in your mental and emotional well-being by practicing self-reflection, self-compassion, and personal growth. Engage in activities that stimulate your mind, such as reading, solving puzzles, or learning new skills. 

Practice mindfulness to cultivate present-moment awareness and reduce anxiety. Seek professional help if you experience persistent mental health concerns or emotional difficulties. Remember that taking care of your mental and emotional health is just as important as taking care of your physical health.

Conclusion

Embracing a healthy lifestyle is a transformative journey that involves making conscious choices to prioritize your well-being. By nourishing your body with balanced nutrition, engaging in regular physical activity, prioritizing quality sleep, managing stress effectively, cultivating healthy relationships, and fostering mental and emotional well-being, you can unlock the door to a vibrant and fulfilling life. Remember, small changes add up.

You will be surprised to know what Ayurveda actually is.

Most of the people around the globe have misconceptions about AYURVEDA. These misconceptions have developed in the minds of people through the ages because people have not educated themselves properly about this medicine system and kept on spreading things which they heard from others.

Below given are some of the common misconceptions -

• Ayurveda is just doing yoga. 
  Yoga is a very essential part of the Ayurveda, but it alone cannot complete the total Ayurveda healthcare system.

• Ayurveda is just body massage.
  Again the same thing, body massage is also a part of Ayurveda healthcare system. It is performed with special arrangements and specially the oils used is very rich in medicinal properties.

• Ayurveda medicines are very costly. 
  This has been a hoax and people are believing in it for years.

• Ayurveda is nothing but just the use of natural herbs to treat ailments or injuries.
  Ayurveda is lot more than that, it makes you understand your own body composition and teaches you how to live a healthy life.

• Ayurveda medicines are only for curing chronic diseases.
  Ayurveda has shown a very effective and long lasting cure in case of chronic ailments, but it is equally effective in curing acute diseases also. 

• Ayurveda is a complementary practice and not a full medicine system.
  But the actual thing is quite different, The World Health Organization recognizes Ayurveda as a complete natural health care system.   

• Ayurveda is only for old people.
  This is totally wrong because Ayurveda is for all age groups. On top of that- if Ayurveda is followed from childhood itself then it is more effective as it helps the child to develop immunity against the diseases.

• Ayurveda medicines have no expiry date.
  It is very wrong to believe this because after a certain time the herbal medicines loose their medicinal properties and hence turn ineffective. Also the Ayurveda oils loose its properties after a certain time and gives out a stale odor.

• Ayurveda cannot perform surgery.
  If you read the history then you will come to know that the modern surgical concepts are derived from the Ayurveda texts like Sushruta Samhita. Rhinoplasty which is practiced nowadays was practiced by Acharya Sushruta thousands of ears ago.

• Ayurveda is a time consuming medicine system.
  In most of the common diseases Ayurveda heals as fast as modern medicine does. But here I’ll tell you why it is slow in case of some diseases - Modern medicines usually treat the symptoms not the disease and hence it shows result in comparatively very less time. Ayurveda diagnosis the root causes of the disease and tries to uproot them perpetually. This curing process is time consuming, thus the cure too. 

• Ayurveda draws its theories from spiritual foundations and the system is not scientific.
  It is totally wrong to say this, because Ayurveda is tune with modern science, there are researches and laboratory tests done in this field before offering to public. Ayurvedic Practitioners undergo university based medical education like the modern medicine doctors do. But the education and the way of treatment they learn is somewhat different from what the modern doctors learn. Inspite of this, many people have somehow developed this thinking that Ayurveda is only a spiritual system of healing. Yes it has spiritual touch in its system that is why it is “Holistic Science of Medicine” and this is one of the many other points which differentiates Ayurveda from modern medicine system.

Ayurveda is not just a medicine system, it is actually the science of life. Besides providing treatment, it teaches a person how to live a healthy life. Many of the other medicine systems just treat you from your illness but doesn’t teach you how to live so as to maintain your health. Ayurveda does that in a very systematic and disciplined way. There are several courses offered at various Ayurveda centers which educated people how to live and maintain a healthy body and mind.
Ayurveda follows a very simple rule that a person will remain healthy until he has a balance between his surrounding environment and his body, mind and soul. If anything disturbs this balance then it leads to unhealthy situations.
If you follow an Ayurvedic lifestyle then it becomes very difficult for the diseases to catch you. If a person follows Ayurvedic lifestyle from childhood then it would make him/her immune from almost all disease until and unless anything disturbs the balance I mentioned above. This balance is disturbed mostly by – climatic change, pollution etc.

A very unique thing about Ayurveda is that it deals differently with different patients thus providing a unique treatment to each and every patient according to their body type. Ayurveda practitioners spend quality time with the patients to know them. The practitioners study the body type of the patient and then they prepare daily routines, food habits and medicines according to the patient’s body type.

In many articles you will find that Ayurveda medicine have side effects and there has been explanation given saying that- Ayurveda medicines can cause side effects if not consumed in right amount and right way. It seems quite weird because it is common for everything in this universe that “anything in excess is bad”. Ayurveda medicines also follows this universal rule and is bad in excess. We also know that there is a right time for doing things, if we do not ensure those things in that right time it will have some bad effects. So does Ayurveda medicines have bad effects when not consumed at the right time.
What is the definition of side effect?
The answer is when you consume right amount of drug in a right way and still face an unpleasant and unwanted effect in your body is called side effect.
Ayurveda medicine never causes any side effect if consumed in right amount and in a right way as prescribed by the practitioner.

Noise pollution : Avoidable or Unavoidable ?

While I was walking to gym at around six o’clock in the morning, a man on his bike came from behind and crossed me. But before crossing me he honked the horn without reason which I felt very irritating. There was no need to blow horn at that time still that man did that. Another busy day I was riding my bike on a market road, there was a lot of traffic and it was moving very slowly. People had to stop their vehicles many a times before moving forward. Whenever vehicles stopped people started blowing horn which felt quite irritating. I don’t understand, why there is an unnecessary requirement of blowing horn when you know that the man in the front is also in a hurry to reach his destination, he is not enjoying being stuck in the traffic. Now, on telling them not to honk, these people got angry and started shouting at me. Nowadays it happens to me everytime I get into a traffic.
There are lot of people who are facing this kind of problem and this is not the only cause of noise pollution. There a lot more avoidable and unavoidable causes of noise pollution which causes imbalance in the nature.

Unavoidable causes mostly comprises of noises produced by industries, aeroplanes, vehicles, construction sites. Now some of you will be thinking how come these causes are unavoidable?
I’ll tell you why- these causes are unavoidable because one of the main objective of any country is to develop economically and economic development is directly related to increase in the number of industries, transportation facilities and construction sites. Now if a nation doesn’t want to grow then these causes can be avoided by shutting down industries, stopping the transportation facilities and halting all construction works. But that won’t happen because every country is working hard to develop and therefore these causes are unavoidable. There are methods to minimize the noise from the above mentioned sources but these methods are costly and it is very difficult for a common man to apply these methods. So forget about these large scale methods and let’s focus on the approaches that are simple and needs no cost or very less cost. These approaches are very easy to follow using which we can forestall the avoidable causes of noise pollution.

Few of these approaches include -
1. Avoid playing loud music at homes, clubs, pubs, concerts, markets.
2. Avoid playing loud music at any parties, programs, festivals, religious places.
3. Avoid blowing of horn unnecessarily.
4. Avoid street quarrels and loud talking.
5. Avoid using household equipment producing loud noise.
6. Avoid using damaged equipment before repairing it.
7. Avoid bursting of crackers.
8. Avoid unnecessary usage of microphones during social events and political events.

There are more ways to control noise pollution but these are the most easy ways that we can follow in our everyday life. Also we can try stopping people from causing noise pollution by educating them. There is no harm in asking people to not do things which are wrong. Awareness is one of the main weapon to fight against any wrong doing. Until and unless people are aware of the consequences that their action can lead to, they will not stop. So whenever there is a chance, just make people aware of the effects of noise pollution. Tell people that noise pollution can make a person deaf, it can cause sleeplessness and headache. Tell them that it can cause serious stress, tension and aggressiveness which may lead to high blood pressure. Tell them that it can cause mental imbalance, psychological imbalance and cardiac disturbance.
If you want to tell more then tell them that beside affecting human beings, noise pollution seriously affects wildlife and aquatic animals. High noise level near animal habitats leads to migration of animals. This is turn disturbs the balance of the ecosystem and slowly leads to animal extinction. We have to keep in mind that anything in excess causes imbalance in the nature which affects every living being.

Why you should not waste food

There is enough food in this world to feed every single being but according to The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization around 795 million people of the world’s population, or one in nine, were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2014-2016. In developing countries one out of six children which accounts to roughly 100 million is underweight. The vast majority of the world's hungry people live in developing countries, where 12.9 percent of the population is undernourished. Asia is the continent with the most number of hungry people - two third of the total. The percentage in southern Asia has fallen in recent years but in western Asia it has increased slightly. One in four of the world's children are stunted. 66 million primary school age children attending classes are hungry across the developing world, with 23 million in Africa alone. In Sub-Saharan Africa region there is highest number of population with undernourishment which accounts to one in four.


Wasting of food has become a very common activity among the people who are getting plenty of food very easily. We think we have money so we won’t face scarcity of food but if we waste food like what we are doing now then it will affect us indirectly.
For example - Wasted food goes to landfills, then these vast landfills becomes the source of greenhouse gases and pollutes the city. So indirectly we ourselves and our beloved ones are getting affected by it.
There are millions of people who are facing poverty ridden life not by choice but by fate, from which many of them involve in crimes and violence when they don’t get food. This affects our society very badly. So, instead of throwing leftover into dustbin, we can atleast try collecting it and give it to the poor or give it to any organization that feeds the poor. This small activity by us can lead to minimizing of such crimes and violence.

Before wasting a single grain seed just think about the effort and the time a farmer puts in cultivating the crops. It takes several months and farmers invest a lot of hard work no matter what the day is like. A farmer works on a sunny day sweating and dehydrating, a farmer works on a cold freezing day putting all his efforts, a farmer works on a rainy day drenched heavy and sick.

Let’s mull into how cultivation is done and how much hardship is needed to grow crops.
First of all farmers till and plough the soil properly. Sometimes the soil is very dry and hard so it is needed to be watered before ploughing. Sometimes the ploughed field may have big pieces of soil called crumbs which is needed to be broken and then the field is levelled. Then farmers select good quality seeds for sowing. In some cases the seeds is needed to be pre-treated before sowing. Pre-treatments include seed scarification, stratification, seed soaking or seed cleaning with water. After sowing is done farmers then put manure and fertilizers to support healthy growing of the crops. Then the farmers irrigate the soil so that the seeds germinate. The nutrients after dissolving in water gets transported to each part of the plant. Plant contains 90% of water so irrigation is must for proper growth. For irrigation, farmers put a lot of effort transferring water from source to the fields. Now the unwanted plants called weed is to be removed to protect the healthy growth of crops. Tilling kills weeds in the starting itself but the weeds which are left are manually removed which takes time and effort. Some farmers use weedicides to kill the weeds. After 3 to 4 months the crops mature and now harvesting comes into role. After harvesting, the grain seeds needs to be separated from chaff (threshing). Then the produce needs to be stored in a place where it is safe from insects, rats, moisture and microbes. Then the produce is transferred to markets and finally people get food after this long and tiring process.

So before wasting food just think that you are wasting something which took so much time and effort to get produced. Put yourself in a situation where you yourself are cultivating crops. Consider yourself working hard in a sunny day or a rainy day or a freezing cold day because that’s what farmers do, right? Now think, will you waste even a single grain seed if you have put so much time and effort in producing it? No, right?

I will give you very simple ways which can help you not waste food -
1. Don’t overstuff your plate when you know that you’re going to finish only half.
   “Take what you need and use what you take”
2. Don’t fall for discounts at the store. It leads to unnecessary buying of items which finally goes
    into the dustbin.
3. Try to use the leftover of the dinner by simply heating it or if possible creating a new recipe
    out of it.
4. Finish using the things which you bought earlier and then jump on to the recent buys.
   “First in, first out”
5. See what is already there in the refrigerator and plan your shopping.
6. Don’t just go for the looks, there are fruits available at farmer’s market and grocery store that
   looks a little odd but are absolutely good to eat. If not bought these fruits might otherwise get
   tossed.
7. When you know you are not going to use certain items, donate them.
8. It may sound little awkward to some people but educate people and give them tips.

Inspiration : Is it really tough to live a healthy life ?

Many people have developed bad habit of smoking, drinking and doping just to show their status. They think doing these things showcases their status or even improvises it. It brings me to surprise that people who reach at this point that they think they are high class people seriously don’t understand why they consider smoking or drinking a status symbol. If they are so much educated and if they are so intelligent to understand things then why do they think this bad activity to be a status symbol. Everyone knows that smoking or drinking does nothing good but only harms the body. Besides harming the body physically a person is affected mentally, socially, psychologically and in a lot more ways. So how does a thing which has so many bad effects shows status of a person. It is just a wrong belief which has been developed in the minds of people.

There are people who are very talented and have used their talent in the right way to achieve great heights in success. Success is directly proportional to earning money, so they make a lot of money. On their way to success they develop this bad habit of drinking, smoking and doping which finally results into bad health and mental conditions. Now what they do is put all those hard earned money in maintaining their mental conditions and physical conditions, but it becomes very difficult to gain back their normal state. There are only a few who have made it possible and are living a healthy life now. Just think if they would have never involved into drinking,smoking or doping then they could have used their money in some good cause.
There is a very big misconception that drinking and smoking releases stress, thus helping in dealing with problems. Actually it does not releases stress instead it adds up more to the pile. Yes for a while, when you are high, it makes you forget your problems and makes you think that it is helping you. But it is for a short time, when you wake up fresh then you find that the problem is not solved instead it has been delayed for one day from getting solved. Then you drink more to release your stress and again the problem is carried to the next day, thus it never gets solved instead the time that you carry your problem increases giving rise to more stress everyday.
Many have already realized their mistake and have stopped this bad habit and it is high time that you  also should understand this. If you think that living a healthy life is really a tough thing to do then you should take a jibe into other people’s life who have really lived/living a healthy life. There are people who can really inspire you if you follow them. By following, it doesn’t mean following on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or other platforms, it means you follow them as your icon or motivation.

One of the best examples that I can give you is the Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar. His movies has given its audience an image of him to be a party lover. But to a surprise this actor desists himself from parties, alcohol, cigarettes and other vices. Besides being one of the richest actors and having all comforts he still lives a very strict and disciplined life. He wakes up early in the morning at around 4:30 am, warms up his body with morning walk or jog for 1 hour. Then he goes for 1 hour martial arts alternating between kick-boxing and shadow boxing. Then he goes for stretching and yoga which is followed by meditation for an hour which he believes helps him maintain inner balance and removes stress. Finally he goes for swimming followed by healthy and right amount of food intake. He plays basketball at-least thrice a week and regularly finds new ways to keep his body fit like using staircases instead of elevators, going for trekking etc. He eats fresh and organic food and his meals counts to 5 or 6 times a day. He consumes a proper balanced diet and he doesn’t take any diet supplements. He is a very fit person who at his late 40s can challenge and can even defeat young boys in many physical activities and stunts. There are other personalities like Milind Soman, Shilpa Shetty, Tiger Shroff, John Abraham and a lot more who are living a disciplined and healthy life.

I am not telling that you to copy them exactly, but you can atleast take them as your motivation. It may not be possible for many of us to follow the time table that these celebrities do, but if you can do atleast 50% or 60% of what they do then that would help you a lot.

Sacrifice for the needy

Every one of us who is reading this blog is lucky enough to get more than what is needed in our life to survive. But did you know that half the world’s population is in extreme poverty. We are one half of the world’s population who are lucky enough to have adequate food, clothes, home, vehicle, money, family, friends and other comforts. Most of us have these basic needs more than what is needed but we are still unhappy with that. To the other side of the coin are the billions of people who don’t even get 10% of what you have. If we mull into this matter then we will be moved aback by surprise knowing the life of poverty laden people.

There are people who don’t have shelter, they spend their nights and days in the streets and roads. Then there are people who have big big houses, flats and bungalows, guest houses, large gardens, farm houses etc. There are people who don’t get clean water and/or anything to eat for several days and are forced to eat the discarded food items. Then there are people who organize big big events, programs and parties where they waste good quality food and water. There are people who don’t have clothes to cover their body let it be summer or let it be winter. Then there are people who have different sets of clothes for every season and they go on buying new ones every now and then.

Now if you see yourself helping these needy ones then there are very simple ways. You need not necessarily have to leave all the joys and comforts of your life or join any organization or NGO. Only thing you have to do is to sacrifice few things which may matter very less to you in your life, but it may mean everything in the poor’s life. Few of the things which you can do are –

1. Donate money – don’t eat from a restaurant for one day, or don’t buy costly clothing for just once. This way sacrifice a small amount of money and donate it to groups or organizations that help the poor.
2. Donate Items – there will be a lot of items at your home like small containers, old clothing, first aid items, linens etc. that will be of no use to you. Sacrifice a little time in collecting those things and donate it to organizations or directly to the poor ones.
3. Provide food – mostly there is always some food left after every meal, instead of throwing it to the garbage sacrifice your comfort zone and try to collect it and give it to the poor. In parties and programs lots of food are wasted, try to donate those food to organizations that feed the poor.
4. Create jobs - for those who can should sacrifice a little bit of their comfort zone and try to employ the poor. Let it be for cleaning, washing, cooking or arranging things but you should not take advantage of him/her. No matter how small the job may be but it would mean everything for that poor, a way for his livelihood.
5. Contact local help – sometimes you will see sick poor people lying on the streets, poor children roaming around or some mad like humans that may pose a threat to themselves and even to others. When you face such situation sacrifice your comfort for a while and quickly call the police or organizations for help to prevent any mishap.
6. Educate them – since you people are educated sacrifice a little bit of your leisure time and try teaching the poor who are not fortunate enough to go to schools or colleges. Not necessarily that you teach them like a school does but you can teach whatever you can. They will respect you for this and you will feel a special kind of happiness.
   
   

Apart from the above mentioned points people should respect the poor and talk to them like a friend, sibling, kin or like a teacher. May be you will become one of the best human being who has ever met them. May be your light talk will make them feel socially motivated or make their hopes alive for a better life. Keep in mind that every human being is as important as you are. They may also have family, relatives, friends but it is the bad times that have led them to the situation they are facing at present.

Life is all about balance

Do I know myself? Ask this question to yourself. Most of us will have an answer saying “yes, I know myself”. Of course you know yourself, who the hell will know more about you than you yourself. But here I want to tell you that there are things which people usually don’t know about themselves which they should have known. Those things are about the balance of mind, body and soul with the nature surrounding you. In this world of science and technology people usually don’t talk much about the balance that I mentioned above. This balance of life can be maintained by various ways but I want to talk about Ayurveda which is one of the best ways for maintaining this balance.

Ayurveda, “the science of life” is not just medicine practice or a way of medical treatment, it is the science of life. It not only deals with natural medicines but also teaches an individual about the composition of body and the way to live a healthy life. There are three factors that decides on whether an individual is in balance (mind, body & soul) with the nature around him. Ayurveda, examines an individual in all these three ways. This examination gives a detailed idea to an individual about his body constitution and also carves an idea about his natural state of body. After this examination an individual comes to know about current state of body and how to live life to gain back their natural state.

You must have heard of the phrase – “It’s never too late”, yeah if you think about this phrase practically then it is not always 100% correct, but it gives you strength not to be hopeless, so yes it is correct in this sense. Whatever is done can’t be undone, so why worry and waste time thinking about past. Just think of the present and act accordingly to make your future better . It’s never too late, this is the point to start if you have not started.