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There are two main ways in which we can cause stress to us. One is physiological or lifestyle. Not having a balanced diet plan or following a good exercise or stress management program is one way. The physical body faces adversity causing stress in the form of diseases or minor discomfort.

The other way is to be mentally stressed. We get so tied up emotionally, that the body gets diseases even if we have a comfortable life. There are many reasons for a negative impact on stress management. We all know about, diet, exercise and lifestyle challenges. Everything that we do which is not in alignment with the body, causes stress.

However, there is one highly ignored factor which causes physical as well as mental stress. This is one aspect that most of us are now aware of. Most of us today in the middle income groups and above, across the World, have got used to certain minimum luxuries. These are coolers, heaters, air conditioners and refrigerators. If we are in a warm climate, we cannot function without cold water or air conditioning set at very low temperatures. There are individuals who like having chilled water, soft drinks, desserts, colas and ice creams most of the time.

Some people cannot eat food or drink any beverages unless they are very hot. Some of us need to shower with very hot water in cold climates or with cold water in warm or hot climates. We do all of this without thinking of the impact on the body. We feel that if it is hot, having cold water is helpful. This is not the case.

What we do not realise is that we cause stress to the body with extreme temperatures, whether internal or external. Use the following guidelines to keep the body healthy and protected from stress; irrespective of whether you are in a cold or a hot climactic zone:

• Avoid foods and drinks which are too hot or too cold. Cool and warm are better consistencies for the body.
• If in a hot climate, don’t drink too much of cold water, chilled shakes and other chilled stuff. Have beverages which are just slightly cooler than than your body temperature or just a little cooler than the outside temperature. If in a cold climate, one should definitely not have anything cold. Having warm liquids and warm foodstuff will help in cold climates. Contrasting temperatures give us a cold.
• The ideal temperature is a little more than your body temperature in case you want to have something warm or hot. Piping hot is not something which is required even in cold climates.
• Water is the best stress buster at all times. Ideally, sip water slowly rather than gulping it down. Drink water at room temperature or slightly above your own body temperature. Avoid cold water altogether if you want to manage your health.

Opt for one of our practical and balanced diet plans to supplement natural temperature control for good mental and physical health. 

The biggest factor in our lives are children. We spend a lot of time worrying about them. The biggest challenge seems to be balancing discipline with freedom. Children are exposed to a lot more information these days. Schools are trying to push in as much information as they can. The result is very little time for children to grow naturally. They need an outlet and freedom to be themselves. This may result in some traits which we think are incorrect. Children are meant to be playful, naughty and noisy. They will also have a lot of questions and retorts; more out of curiosity than out of malice.

They are also smarter and see through our ‘masks’. Students can see through really good teachers and the not so good ones. As a result, they behave differently with different individuals. They also pick up behavioral traits very fast from parents. However, we do not have the knowledge or the patience to manage children. We are all trying to ‘discipline’ them in some way or the other. Children have to be taught by setting personal examples and by explaining.

A lot of us may have faced some sort of scolding, aggressive retorts or even some spanking when we were children. We also implement this approach with our own children. Apart from impacting their outlook in life and mental development, there is also another outcome of parental aggression, even though it is well meaning.

Children who are subject to any kind of regular physical abuse, punishment or constant scolding from an authority figure like parents, teachers or guardian, have an increased risk of obesity and stress. This is in addition to other mental or behavioural problems like lack of confidence, anxiety and stress in later life.

Negative childhood experiences trigger binge eating to cope with emotions and stress caused by such behaviour. Apart from poor lifestyles and low physical activity, this is one of the reasons for even adulthood problems.

Children are meant to be active, curious, jumpy and excited. The answer is not to ‘discipline’ them or punish and scold them all the time. The issue lies with us. We do not know how to manage children and want to take the convenient way out. So do not get aggressive with children. That does not mean we do not have to teach the right things. It is just that there are various other ways to get your message across.

It has also been seen that a constant state of overt or subconscious stress reflects on the family and children. If you are angry, anxious or stressed, opt for our stress management program or stress consultation. Once stress is managed, we can think much better and productive and positive solutions will emerge automatically, on how to manage our children. Successful implementation of our stress management programs and online yoga programs will not only ensure your stress is managed, but also your children’s.

We are all interested in eating right. There are many online diet plans available. However, more than what to eat, it is also important to know when to eat. You could be eating right at all times but if you are not eating at the right times, you could still put on weight. If you are aiming for weight loss programs, this is an aspect one must consider. Eat at regular intervals if you want to manage your weight. You should try and eat four times a day or once in every three hours. Do not eat too much at one sitting. Eat only enough to make sure you are hungry again in three hours. In case you are hungry in-between you could have lime juice or a small cup of milk or a fruit. If you are looking for increasing lean muscle mass and finding fast weight loss tips, then do not skip meals. If you tend to skip meals, the body will hunger more for calories. So you will land up eating more than what is required. The following are the reasons why such a thing happens:

• When the human body is faced with lack of food at regular intervals, the brain sends out a message to the body that there is a lack of food in the environment. Consistently eating irregularly will send out a message that the human body is probably in a food shortage situation. The body then starts adjusting automatically in a way that it consumes and stores more food than is required. So if you are eating less than three times a day, the body will store more food and try and eat more at each meal. 
• The body not only stores more food every time we eat, bit it will also store food in the most usable way. This is done in the form of fat which can be released quickly when required. The way the body does this is by releasing energy stored in fat in the form of sugar, glucose, cholesterol and fat. Energy released in this form is instant and can be used to survive long periods of drought and famine or wars. Therefore, we find that human beings can survive for long without enough food.
• If you have persistently irregular eating habits in terms of less frequency and odd timings, the body will get the signal that you are in a long drawn out food crisis situation like a famine or war. The body starts getting automatically adjusted to behave exactly as if it were in a less food situation like a famine or food shortage.
• When this happens, the body will store food in the most appropriate form for quick use when required – fat, cholesterol & sugar. This is the best way to store, release and use energy by the human body.
• The final result of irregular eating is ulcers caused due to acidity, high blood pressure, diabetes and even cardiac problems. These disease may happen even if we are thin or may be exercising regularly.

Opt for one of our online diet plans and switch to eating the right food at the right time. 

There are a lot of times when we have phobias or anxiety about certain things. These may hamper you in your daily life. At times they may impact your personal or professional lives. However, there is something interesting that has been found. Researchers at a hospital in Boston have found that persons having anxiety or phobias age faster. The difference between persons (with the same age) with no anxieties or phobias and with some anxiety or phobia was found to be around 6 to 8 years. This means that if there is something you fear or are anxious about something, you will live less. This happens because the cells in your body die out faster. The technical term us cellular degeneration. This should be considered when undertaking any stress management activities.

Anxieties or phobias are nothing but some aspects of your life which your mind feels is detrimental to you. More often than not, these are rooted in fear. Fear as an emotion is required in physically hazardous and extreme situations to keep you safe. Imagine if our ancestors were completely fearless and not run away from wild animals or other dangers. There probably would have been no humans or very few humans.

Fear gets ingrained in us at an early age and operates even where there are no life threatening situations. The problem occurs when fear becomes deep rooted and impacts your functioning or prevents you from doing what you require or want. We all have a fear of change. We do not want situations to change and want to remain in a comfort zone. Sometimes, even an adverse situation becomes a comfort zone.

Worrying about anything is all a factor of fear. Phobias are an extreme manifestation of fear. To take an example some individuals may have a fear of spiders. Actual house spiders are harmless but this fear can take over your life. Similarly, constant worrying or anxiety is actually some deep rooted fear. Fear is present to some degree in all humans since the day they are born. But giving in to fear, phobia and anxiety will result in faster ageing, stress and onset of diseases.

One of the best ways to train your mind to get rid of fear is to practice Yoga for stress management. Yoga philosophy is the only one which gradually removes fear. It is a slow and lengthy process but works in 100% of all individuals. If you do not have fear, you do not have stress. Therefore, tackling fear is and integral part and parcel of good stress management programs. Opt for our stress consultation from our expert counselor.

The mind is constantly thinking all the time. Even when we are sleeping, the mind is at work. Even if we do not remember what is happening during sleep, the mind is thinking. Thoughts or mental activity also includes dreams, day dreaming and fantasizing. Therefore, just like the heart, the mind also keeps its activities going till we die. The primary role of the mind is to make itself and the body constantly aware that it is ‘alive’. It cannot do this alone and requires organs of action like the eyes, ears, hands, legs, skin and nose.

This constant thinking leads to stress. Since we think so much all the time, there are bound to be some thoughts which cause stress. Even thoughts in your sleep or dreams can cause stress. We think that since this a natural process, thoughts are bound to come and we cannot control the kind of thoughts we get. This is not true. We can control our thought process. To know how to do that, we must understand how the mind functions.

The mind broadly has a three stage process which explains the entire thought process cycle.

1. Receiving inputs – the mind receives inputs from the organs, external and internal. The external organs bring in external stimuli like sound, sight, smell, touch, grasping, force, pressure, taste, etc. The internal organs send inputs like internal disturbances. These could be aches, pain, internal discomfort, disease, indigestion and so on.
2. Analyze and compartmentalize –All the inputs received are ‘perceived’ and analyzed by the brain. The inputs are categorized in two; like and dislike. Everything you like or are neutral about falls under the ‘Like’ category. Everything else is dislike.
3. Action – Based on the above, the brain directs the organs to take action. The action in turn will generate more inputs and the cycle continues till you die. The more we categorize things and situations as ‘dislike’, the greater is the tendency to act in a way which causes more dislike inputs.

This thought process of being aware and acting as human causes all the problems. There is nothing you can do about the third stage, i.e. action. Changes can only be made at the first two stages.

• The input stage can be partially managed by consciously seeking the right kind of inputs. That is why it has always been said that stay with the right kind of company, do the right kind of work, listen to the right kind of music. We can create a very conducive environment for ourselves and our families. The mind will thus start getting trained. It is therefore, also important not to expose children to certain things and train them not to dislike anything or anyone. However, there are instances when inputs come in by default. You will smell, see things and hear things all the time. It is unavoidable. This can be managed in the second stage.
• The second stage is where a lot of changes can be made. The way you analyze and compartmentalize can be gradually changed. If most of the external inputs start getting slotted as ‘Like’, or ‘neutral’, the mind will send the right kind of directions to the body. This will trigger a positive cycle where most things are liked resulting in positive actions. This in turn will constantly keep the mind calm. You will find most of your problems will disappear if this positive cycle starts.

Start becoming neutral and liking more in life. Reprogramming your mind is not as difficult as we think. One of the best ways to do so is to opt for one of our relevant stress management programs.