Parameters of Physical wellness

Perfect Breathing Focus on your breathing. Take a deep breath then exhale slowly. Repeat a couple of times a day. You can bring equilibrium to your mental state by breathing correctly. The first exercise in the ancient pranayama tradition—the art of filling every part of your body with life-force or prana. Always take longer to exhale so that the lungs are empty of stale air. Only then can oxygen flow in. The body is the boat human beings are given to sail across the sea of life. It is your duty to take care of it. Rest, Relaxation and Rejuvenation. A 20 minute nap improves memory retention and Nike expects workers to ‘just do it’ in their ‘quiet rooms.’ Meditation has the same effect, but delivers even better benefits. Rest enables stress chemicals to subside after competing all day. Non- competitive sports like walking, sailing, reading or socializing can provide a relaxing change of pace. Healthy Food Food brings people together, allows human beings to feel satisfied and comfortable, connects us with the earth and provides us with health. Freshly-cooked healthy food, pure fresh air and yogic exercise nurture and enhance prana. Positive Thinking Positive emotions like love, courage, humour, compassion wonder and peace create a positive field. To infuse our lives with what poets call “the rapture of being” is to create a positive field. Learning to create a positive field is an important part of the climate of wellbeing.

Action Plans to Maintain Perfect Health

• Start the day with a glass of warm water and a dash of lime. • Once a week have only fresh fruits until noon; let your lunch be the first meal of the day. • Kick the old coffee drinking habit. Have a glass of fresh fruit juice instead. • Include foods with high fibre content – plenty of fruits, vegetables and grains – in planning your diet. • Don’t rush through your meals. Set aside enough time to appreciate, enjoy and digest your food. • Shop for groceries yourself. Notice the look, feel and smell of fresh fruit and vegetables and enjoy their intrinsic goodness. • Make it a point to have dinner with the entire family at the table, and not in front of the TV. • Focus on your breathing. Take a deep breath, then exhale slowly. Repeat a couple of times a day. • Learn to relax. Spend twenty minutes consciously relaxing each muscle of your body. • Spend twenty minutes a day in silent meditation, prayer or contemplation.

Meditation for Wellness

In order to treat or prevent disease, it is essential to look into our emotional, mental and psychological environment, as our thoughts and emotions directly contribute to our wellbeing or otherwise. Some doctors believe that it is more important to know the patient who has the disease than to know the disease the patient has. Wise gurus, and now modern research, both believe that meditation can contribute enormously to an individual’s psychological and physiological wellbeing. It reduces stress, hypertension, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression, improves cardiovascular health, memory and concentration, work efficiency, and immunological resistance to diseases. As a result, some form of meditation has become an essential part of wellness programs.

Physical Wellness

‘Physical fitness is of utmost importance as it is the starting point for wellness of the mind and spirit. We would have perfect health as a state where all body parts function at their optimal level and wherein the body, mind and spirit are in perfect balance and in a state of bliss. Positive health implies perfect functioning of body and mind in a given society. To be healthy is to have the ability, despite an occasional bout of illness, to live with full use of your faculties, to be vigorous, alert and with a sense of joie de vivre, even in old age. In order to treat or prevent disease, it is essential to look into our emotional, mental and psychological environment, as our thoughts and emotions directly contribute to our wellbeing or otherwise. Your Happiness Quotient is directly affected by your physical condition. Hence it is said, health is the foundation for a feeling of wellbeing and joy.

Joyful Living

In order to experience the spontaneous happiness that bubbles out of your heart like a mountain stream. We need to concentrate on the following seven actions 1. Physical Wellness 2. Emotional Wellness 3. Personal Wellness 4. Family Bonding 5. Nurturing Workplace 6. Social Bonding 7. Dharmic Living Great mountain and beyond, a green sunlit valley is a beautiful and enjoyable sight. Only when you climb the mountain can you see the beauty of the journey ahead. Hence in the same way only when you learn the seven actions of happiness, you can realize and enjoy real happiness.

Positive Mindspace

When the garden is clean, blooming and full of life, the snakes of anger have no place to hide; the thorns of greed get cleared away. Adbuta, or wonder, is one of the positive navarasas—the nine emotions. It heals and energises. To stand in wonder before the splendour of God’s creation is to be rejuvenated. The body and bloodstream are bathed in endorphins and serotonins which are Nature’s tranquillisers.’ Enjoy the nature - the chirping of the birds, the wind through the fluttering leaves, the murmuring river. The harmonious fabric of nature enfolds us in a blanket of pure beauty. The colours and shapes that flowed from the hands of the great Architect of the universe soothe us in positive emotions.

Role of Women

Women have moved into the workforce in an unmistakable wave. In modern societies today, many of them bear the dual burden of managing a home and career. The infrastructure necessary to help them: crèches, dependable childcare, help from husbands, gadgets to make housework easier, is not yet in place. This generation of transitional women is at high risk from heart disease, particularly during the menopausal years. Statistics show that women have fifty per cent chance of dying of heart disease, ten times higher than their risk of dying by breast cancer. Dual responsibilities have reduced the woman’s capacity to perform her role of a primary caregiver. Her ability to absorb and reduce tensions has been greatly compromised. A common response is the super-mom syndrome. This is a woman who feels that she can be a super career woman and a super-mom. Maintaining this dazzling image can have a damaging impact on the overall health of women in this transitional era. Only joint efforts by the couple and the involvement of elders and the extended family, or community support can adequately fill this gap. To succeed today, women have to look like a woman, think like a man and work like a dog. It is a challenge all women have to meet and survive to enjoy success.

Invest in Happiness

You can buy happiness by spending your money using these seven principles: 1. Spend on experiences instead of things: holidays instead of jewels, movies instead of curios 2. Spend on small every day pleasures, instead of saving till you are blue in the face, to buy the one, huge, dream house. Do not ignore the roses and the chocolates. Drink that great cup of coffee and wear great clothes. 3. Don’t spend a lot on long term warranties. 4. Pay now and consume later. Anticipation helps you enjoy the pleasure twice. Waiting for a time share holiday, planning your monthly movie or weekend getaway, adds to the joy. 5. Look into details before making big investments. A house on the beach, sounds good on paper. But if the traffic jams are terrible, you have to drive there, pay for the security and the caretaker and then think again. 6. Avoid comparison shopping and keeping up with the Joneses. 7. Spend on others. It will make you happier.

Reality of Life

We have so much waiting for us. Each of us comes into the world with a need to learn many things. Life is the ultimate classroom. Each of us has different problems to solve, tests to pass. Events will swirl around us uncontrolled, regardless. Our response is something we can control. Choose to say beautiful words, to hear lovely words. Banish harsh, angry and foul language from the inner spaces of your heart. Perhaps you could set a song for the day in my mind. Those who met us would see the sparkle of that song in our eyes and feel the rhythm of its harmony in my limbs. Why should we allow foul language into our mind?

Family –A Garden of Love

The family provides the love and nurturing required for the survival of children. As we grow older, we crave nurturing, but are not adept at asking for it. We long for affirmation from the‘significant other’ in our lives. Affirmation is when important people in our lives appreciate us and express it verbally, tonally, non-verbally. The opposite of an affirmation is a discount. You need at least ten affirmations for every discount for the maintenance of a healthy relationship. A home filled with discounts becomes a torture chamber instead of a sanctuary. It is important to make sure you give affirmations to all members of the family, particularly the ones to whom you usually send devastating Heat Seeking Missiles (HSMs) like, ‘Why is your room like a pig sty?’ ‘Why do you always forget anything I tell you?’ Make every day an occasion to show how important your family is to you.

Good out of Bad

Our life provides us with a chance to achieve the highest in ourselves, by using pain as stepping-stones to enlightenment. No one can avoid bad times, but we can ensure that we look at this time as a time for growth and learning. When the mind-numbing pain that immediately follows loss has subsided, we can take proactive steps to provide emergency attention to heal our body, mind and spirit. Pour music into soul. Touch people whom we love. Explore new places. Reach into great books and study alternate futures. Pamper yourself and ask your loved ones for hugs. Meditate. Be silent. Plug into the universe. Let go. Let God catch you. Our sankalpa or intention must be pure. Be clear about the goal. Be non-judgemental. Love and seek to understand with tenderness. Learn and immerse yourself in knowledge. Learn all we can about our chosen field from books, internet, from people, competitors. Remain focused. Never give up. Never, ever!

Traditional Systems

The indigenous health-care system is commensurate with the traditional habits, lifestyle and value systems of a particular culture from where it has evolved. For example, the Keralites, in spite of coming into contactwith western culture, do not endorse its systems, and hold on to their own traditions. Perhaps that is why their age-old habit of using a high cholesterol diet has not resulted in an increased incidence of heart disease. The indigenous systems of medicine continue to have a stronghold in Kerala. All health-care systems, including modern medicine, are in agreement today over the issue that a patient’s psychological state has much to do with the healing process. Minor activities like taking part in a satsang, singing a tune you enjoy, and dancing for fun to your child’s delight can make you feel contented and allow the good chemicals flow.

Good out of Bad

Our life provides us with a chance to achieve the highest in ourselves, by using pain as stepping-stones to enlightenment. No one can avoid bad times, but we can ensure that we look at this time as a time for growth and learning. When the mind-numbing pain that immediately follows loss has subsided, we can take proactive steps to provide emergency attention to heal our body, mind and spirit. Pour music into soul. Touch people whom we love. Explore new places. Reach into great books and study alternate futures. Pamper yourself and ask your loved ones for hugs. Meditate. Be silent. Plug into the universe. Let go. Let God catch you. Our sankalpa or intention must be pure. Be clear about the goal. Be non-judgemental. Love and seek to understand with tenderness. Learn and immerse yourself in knowledge. Learn all we can about our chosen field from books, internet, from people, competitors. Remain focused. Never give up. Never, ever!

Nurturing the Workplace

Gandhiji knew it when he filled the streets with people singing Vande Mataram. A national anthem celebrates nationhood, the blood, sweat andtears of creating a country. It aims to transcend logic and unleash the tigers of passion. The Americans stand there, hand on heart, before their flag and sing the Stars and Stripes. It creates a wave of national pride and primes people for leadership. The Japanese use this same force to create love for the company they work in. Vivekananda carried the message of India to the world with his matchless talk which starts, “Arise, Awake, stop not till the goal is reached”! Words absorb and radiate power because of their meaning and usage. Gandhiji created a few words, “bullets” of truth that turned a large passive lake of humanity into a tsunami, which forced the British to leave India. They were: • Quit India! • Do or Die! • Purna Swaraj! (Total freedom) • Vande Mataram! • Jai Hind! • Be Indian, Buy Indian! • Swadeshi! • Satyameve Jayathe! Mantras or brief prayer-words were created by ancient seers to enter the heart and regenerate the awareness of the soul.’ When you infuse a sense of pride and joy in what you do, it becomes a joyful experience, instead of a chore. To work at something you love, to be “self-actualised”, in Maslow’s terms, is to protect yourself against dying young.’ ‘People can be very happy if they love their work.

Tips to be healthy

• Take care of your health. You cannot deliver a prize-winning performance with a broken-down body. • Force the world to look at issues like: What kind of world are we leaving for our children? Where have leisure, poetry and caring been banished? Why has the door been shut on the smiles and joy of our children? Why do we have no time for our friends or small acts of kindness? Why are deadlines so terrible that they extract death as the price? None of us would mind dying for great causes, but to diefor a power-point presentation, seems slightly frivolous. • Do not get stereotyped into how others see your role: as a mother or an all forgiving rescuer in the workplace. Encourage men to discover their so-called feminine qualities of sensitivity and caring. Do not stereotype men! • Affirm women who are role models instead of trying to find chinks in their armour. Network with them. There is a queen-bee complex, which causes successful women managers to surround themselves with male managers and discourage the entry of women. Identify this and speak up when required. • There are points in a woman’s life-cycle when her intensive physical presence is needed. There are high priority interactions which cannot be delegated. Build a support system with family, household staff, neighbours and friends to help you enjoy these times. Men too have been deprived of active participation in these peak experiences in the past. Make your company recognise and respond to these realities. • Hitch your wagon to the pursuit of daily and consistent learning. Be Saraswati. Bring your heritage of creating wholeness from leftovers, and wealth from waste. Be Lakshmi. Call forth the courage to speak, write and act for what is true and good for all. Be Shakti. Be all woman. Be all human. Celebrate the fact that you a woman.

Happiness Mantras to Improve our Wellness

 The world is like a buffet counter at a five-star hotel. Let’s not grab everything on our plates. Let us be choosy, so that we may avoid spiritual indigestion and physical exhaustion.  Let us replace stress with positive emotions that engender joy. Let us increase our HQ.  ‘I felt like a waterfall,’ said Diane Roffe-Stainrotter, gold-medallist skier in the 1994 Winter Olympics. The joy of a job perfectly executed, fills the body with the chemicals of bliss.  Professor Mihalyi Csikzent speaks about a state called the flow, which athletes, musicians, surgeons—in fact everyone—experiences when they are at their best. It is the experience of doing your job with  total immersion in it. So absorbed are you, that there is no place for anxiety or niggling worries.  Finding a job you love is one of the ways you can immunise yourself against heart problems.  A good marriage is a protective shield against heart attacks.

Forgive yourself. Explore the concept of acceptance of self.

• Doing things right • Doing the right things • Do away with unnecessary tasks • Improve existing tasks • Replicating best practices • Doing things not done by others • Breakthrough ideas must be welcomed • Appropriately disseminating knowledge and information • Encouraging cross-functional team work • Rewarding and recognizing efficiency • Providing constructive performance feedback • Appreciating gender, race and diversity • Investing in new technologies • Communicating directly and consistently with customers • Rewarding risk taking • Investing a lot of energy on creativity

creating a positive interpersonal field

Develop the capacity to pick up subtle verbal, tonal and non-verbal signals from others. Learn also the ability to send out soothing, nurturing signals to others, thus creating a positive interpersonal field. In order to develop this skill, practice working with people and listening to them with the same attitude as you would a beloved child, or respected parent. Your word, tone, glance should be completely focused on the person. Don’t dilute the interaction by playing with your Blackberry, talking on your cell phone or fiddling with your laptop. When you are with someone, pay complete attention. Anything less will only elicit a lukewarm response. Those who can create positive fields around themselves attract and build lifetime relationships.

The Feminine Principle

Another interesting challenge today is for all human beings to develop the feminine principle. New leadership models require the development of the right brain, which is intuitive, holistic and creative. Most of these traits, along with nurturing and interpersonal skills, were previously relegated to a lower status in a predominantly macho world. The change in leadership styles required today, have made these very traits important. The Indian model of ardhanareeshwarar—a god who integrates the male and female elements in himself—is an ancient Vedic concept. Follow the logic through. The popular advertisement for Raymonds (the textile giant) shows the complete man as a man who can deal with a baby as comfortably as he can with a balance sheet. It shows someone who can laugh, and is not afraid to shed a tear. Accessing their feminine side is a challenge men today face to deal with the transition to a more humane model of leadership.

Religion - the source to Encourage Social Unity

Religion, said the communists contemptuously, is the opiate of the masses. But if religion can calm the mind and slow down the heart and pulse rate, if it can make the engine of life work sturdily and longer, why not adopt it? Sri Aurobindo writes about a grand spiritual concept of health: For nearly forty years I believed them when they said I wasweakly in constitution, suffered constantly from the smaller and greater ailments and mistook this curse for a burden that Nature had laid upon me. When I renounced the aid of medicines, then they began to depart from me like disappointed parasites. Then only I understood what a mighty force was the natural health within me and how much mightier yet the Will and Faith exceeding mine which God meant to be the divine support of our life in this body… Negative emotions—anxiety, fear, depression, anger, impatience,hostility, aggressiveness, overindulgence of any desire—cause imbalance. Moderation leads to harmony. An integral view of health demands an integral view of life. To attune the different elements of our nature around this central nucleus is the next step. Without such a reorientation and reorganisation of our life, it will not be possible to establish in ourselves the law of harmony and peace which is so necessary a condition for integral health.

Follow The Rules of Dharma

Hinduism describes dharma as the natural universal laws whose observance enables humans to be contented and happy, and to save him from degradation and suffering. ‘You can fool everybody, but you cannot fool yourself. Not even for a single minute. Doing your dharma as you understand it, alone can make you happy. In order to achieve good karma it is important to live life according to dharma, what is right. This involves doing what is right for the individual, the family and also for the universe itself. Dharma is like a cosmic norm and if one goes against the norm it can result in bad karma. So, dharma affects the future according to the karma accumulated. Anything that helps human being to reach god is dharma. The purpose of dharma is not only to attain a union of the soul with the supreme reality, it also suggests a code of conduct that is intended to secure both worldly joys and supreme happiness. The practice of dharma gives an experience of peace, joy, strength and tranquility within one's self and makes life disciplined.

Work with love

People can be very happy if they love their work. To work at something you love, is to be “self-actualised”, in Maslow’s terms. This will ensure you die young when you are a100 years old. Serve others. Look at your profession as a means to serve and make others happy. Make a living causing the least amount of pain to living creatures. Eliminate mad deadlines. Ensure freedom to be self-dependent, take own decisions, be innovative. Believe in hi-touch along with hi-tech. You can choose to enjoy any work. It is your choice to be happy at work. • Plan a happiness break at work • Create a route map of progress at work • Develop a network of caring • Make friends to enjoy, support, caring and sharing • If nothing works look for another job

Restore Peace Defuse Anger

Anger is "an emotional state that varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage," The instinctive, natural way to express anger is to respond aggressively. The three main approaches are expressing, suppressing, and calming. Expressing your angry feelings in an assertive—not aggressive—manner is the healthiest way to express anger. It means being respectful of yourself and others. The goal of anger management is to reduce both your emotional feelings and the physiological arousal that anger causes. Simple relaxation tools, such as deep breathing and relaxing imagery, can help calm down angry feelings. Physical activity can provide an outlet for your emotions, especially if you're about to erupt. If you feel your anger escalating, go for a brisk walk or run, or spend some time doing other favorite physical activities. Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that can leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out.

Necessity is the mother of innovation

A small bank, which did not have the funds to pay for expensive real estate, came up with the idea of using other people’s premises: schools, petrol pumps and super-markets. Then they moved seamlessly into a growth path, starting thousands of ATMs and mobile banks. Today, they are one of the largest banks in India. More recently, many banks have introduced the concept of 24-hour direct banking with business being carried out by anonymous people at the end of a telephone. This is neutralizing the competitive advantage, which established banks enjoyed by virtue of functioning from prime sites in Mumbai.

Necessary Steps to Increase Personal Happiness

• The world is in your drawing room, it is clamouring to change your life with more and more sophisticated toys. As a popular saying goes, ‘What separates the men from the boys is just the price of their toys.’ Simplify and go home to what you really need. • The world is like a buffet counter at a five-star hotel. Let’s not grab everything on our plates. Let us be choosy, so that we may avoid spiritual indigestion and physical exhaustion. • Let us replace stress with positive emotions that engender joy. Let us increase our Happiness Quotient (HQ). • Finding a job you love is one of the ways you can immunize yourself against heart problems. • A good marriage is a protective shield against heart attacks. • Merely avoiding negative emotions is not enough; one should consistently cultivate the positive emotions of love, compassion, courage and peace.

The Ideal Householder

The ideal householder leads on earth a consecrated life, not unmindful of any duty to the living, or to the departed. His wife, the glory of his house, is modest and frugal, adores her husband, guards herself, and is the guardian of his house’s fame. His children are his choicest treasures; their babbling voices are his music; he feasts with the Gods when he eats the rice their tiny fingers have played with; and his one aim is to make them worthier than himself. Affection is the very life of his soul, of all his virtues the first and greatest. The sum and source of them all is love. His house is open to every guest, whom he welcomes with a smiling face and a pleasant word, and with whom he shares his meal, courteous in speech grateful for every kindness, just in all his dealings, master of himself in perfect self-control, strict in the performance of every assigned duty, pure, patient and forbearing with a heart free from envy, moderate in desires, speaking no evil of others, refraining from unprofitable words, dreading the touch of evil diligent in the discharge of all the duties of his position, and liberal in his benefaction, he is one whom all unite to praise.

Need of Family Network

Today, however, the family, as the ‘shock absorber of society, to which the bruised and battered individual returns after doing battle with the world,’ in the words of Alvin Toffler in his landmark work Future Shock, is going through a transitional phase. The breakdown of the joint family has led to a loosening of extended family relationships. The powerful mother-in-law of the joint family is emerging as the subdued caretaker of children, helping the educated daughter-in-law augment the double income of all upwardly mobile young couples. The large, amorphous, supportive joint family that supported a wide variety of people and bestowed unconditional love for the crippled, the old and the helpless, has been reduced to the nuclear family where everyone is in sharp focus. Much like the modern corporation, there is no place to hide, no place for passengers, and everyone has to pull their own weight. It is our mission to restore to it its traditional role as a place of rest and healing, albeit in a new paradigm. There should be one person in the family who can cushion the blows of the outside world. Someone who is not too busy to listen, give support, and manage the daily tasks of living. This could even be a paid caregiver or cook. Networking with parents, in-laws, neighbours, domestic help and friends is the key for working mothers.

Give Yourself a Hug

Soon you will be looking at March, 31st the time of financial reckoning and feeling completely drained and knocked out. You are overworked and exhausted and you don’t like the person you see in the mirror. Your doctor does not like the person he sees in your medical reports. Now turn inward and start a personal affirmation account for yourself. Give yourself a big hug for being the most hard working, kind and special person in your life. Invest in a note book which will document your love affair with yourself.

Women’s Day

Mothers, sisters, daughters and other women beloved to us make March 8th a special day of celebration, a day to show, respect, appreciation and love to women. This day cannot be dismissed like all the other days that make Archies cards such a successful business. Even before women appeared on the corporate scene, women were the secret, hidden ingredient that made life worth living. So all of us, men and women, should use this day to write letters of appreciation to all the special women in our life, for the beauty they bring into our lives, for their delicat,e subtle strength and grace under pressure, for their tact and capacity to love, care and selflessly give, till there is nothing left to give. Thirty countries observe it as a National holiday. It is a day to celebrate beauty and motherhood! In Portugal a ‘Girls night out’ is customary. It is a day for us women to enjoy the fact that we are beautifully different from men. Our brain’s communication centre is much bigger. We love to discuss our problems, we are biologically wired to avoid conflict, we care more about character and the capacity to care, than about good looks. We are better at reading between the lines. In short our EQ (Emotional Quotient) is better. Vive la difference!

Enhance Family Attachment

The family provides the love and nurturing required for the survival of children. Affirmation is important when people in our lives appreciate us and express it verbally, tonally, non-verbally. It is important to make sure you give affirmations to all members of the family, particularly the ones to whom you usually send devastating Heat Seeking Missiles (HSMs) like, ‘Why is your room like a pig sty?’ ‘Why do you always forget everything I tell you?’ Make every day an occasion to show how important your family is to you. Children need the security of a simple, dependable schedule. Ambiguity or lack of dependability in family life is known to affect the individual’s capacity to live in a secure long-term relationship in the future. Be a mindful parent. So parents need to devote time on quality food and lifestyle.

Season of Hope

Easter Sunday celebrates the themes of hope, regeneration, resurrection and the possibility of eternal life. The day is a joyous one, celebrated with a feast of Easter eggs, coloured red, hearty meals, games and family reunions. The Russian princesses exchanged golden jeweled eggs made by the fabled jeweller Faberge. This day follows 40 days of the Lenten fast. On a personal level, it reminds us of the cycle of time which moves inexorably from fasting to feasting, from sorrow to happiness, from defeat to victory, from darkness to light and death to eternal life. It is a reminder that neither good times nor bad are permanent. As the Bible puts it, “This too shall pass”. We can take the Easter message to heart as we dive into a new financial year on 1st April. Here are some of the lessons: 1. Everything changes 2. The kalachakra or wheel of life takes one through the ups and downs of life. Neither lasts. Both are temporary. 3. Have faith that good things are waiting round the corner. Meanwhile, work hard and hope. 4. Celebrate the dawn of hope and move forward. 5. Transformation is awaiting you if you are willing to allow your old self to die. Just like a seed transforms from being a seed, to become a plant and a mighty tree. So, roll up your sleeves, close your personal and corporate accounts as the March 31st deadline approaches. Pay creditors. Make up with those with whom you have had conflicts. Reach out to enemies, if any. Thank God for the blessings of the previous year. Get ready for a brand new future – the season of Hope! See how skillfully March 31st avoids major holidays like Christmas and New Year. Notice how it takes into account the unpredictable outcome of the February-March crop. Celebrate the past; clear the decks for a bright and prosperous, financial year ahead.

Tips to Assess family welfare

Here are some questions which helps you to understand your family welfare. 1. Is your family important to you? 2. Do you spend quality time with members of your family? 3. Would you like to increase the amount of quality time you spend with your family? 4. Does your family include those outside the nuclear family? 5. Is your family linked together through the internet, letters or phone calls? 6. Is respect from your family important to you? 7. Do you show appreciation for things your family has done for you? 8. Do you seek to make your family life different from what it is today? 9. Do you do things to bring about a happier marriage and family life? 10. Do you seek out books and classes that would help you to be a successful parent? 11. Do alcohol and tobacco play a part in your life? Is it a problem? 12. Do you speak up too much or too little in your family? 13. Is there too much fighting in your family? 14. Do you have a bad temper? 15. Does your family do fun things together? 16. Are you considerate in handling of misunderstandings between family members? 17. Do you come from a broken or divorced family? 18. Given the present situation, is there anything you could do to strengthen family ties? 19. Could you possibly use outside help such as counsellors and friends, to assist you in attaining a solid family now or in the future? a. Good: More than 10 Yeses b. Adequate: More than 6 Yeses c. Poor: Less than 5 Yeses

Principles of Emotional Well-being

•Listen to yourself. • Live in the present moment. Now. Every minute. • Discipline yourself—it will give you true freedom. • Do not pretend to be in total control. • Allow yourself to be vulnerable sometimes. • Ask for help. Network. • Reinvent and renew yourself periodically. • Explore the concept of acceptance of self. • Love yourself. Accept yourself, your body and mind, as you are. • In your quest for self-improvement, affirm and love yourself as you are today, here and now. • Accept your life, good and bad as it is now, as a divine gift. • Love another. A gift of yourself is the greatest gift you can give. • Keep the child in you alive. Cuddle, nurture and liberate the baby in you.

Principles of Healthy Living

• Start the day with a glass of warm water and a dash of lime. • Eat only freshly-cooked meals, not refrigerated leftovers. • Include one green vegetable and one yellow vegetable in every meal. • Go on a ‘juice fast’ for a day. Start with vegetable juice, and sipfruit juice for lunch and dinner. • Kick the old coffee-drinking habit. Have a glass of fresh fruit juice instead. • Make every meal an enjoyable experience. Set dishes out attractively and chew slowly to appreciate the full flavour of the foods you eat. • Make every meal an enjoyable experience. Set dishes out attractively and chew slowly to appreciate the full flavour of the foods you eat.

Beware of Happiness Traps

•Expecting too much from others. • Not accepting yourself as you are; demanding too much of yourself. • Not being content with anything. • Feeling you are not contributing. • Feeling excluded. • Playing politics and being manipulative. • Feeling you cannot prevent another’s suffering. • Constantly craving for food. • In a rush all the time. • Excessively or often angry. • Full of lethargy and inactivity. • Having too much tiredness. • Ignoring others.

Tips to Work-life Balance

1. Take short relaxation breaks, at least thrice a day. 2. Eat fresh, energy-giving foods. 3. Take a walk outdoors during lunch break. 4. Stay away from politics and back-biting. 5. Involve your spouse and children in your work. Bring them to the office during lunch break or on a Saturday. 6. Spend time reading and improving your mind. 7. Get involved in activities that will benefit others. 8. Develop an absorbing hobby or skill—driving, dancing, gardening, carpentry, painting, amateur radio, etc. 9. Keep in touch with your close friends and extended family, use the power of the internet. 10. Plan to cut off from work on weekends. 11. Meditate. Take care of yourself. 12. Look at your life-goals and evaluate your job to see if it will help you achieve them. 13. Learn to say ‘No’. 14. Remember that people are more important than getting ahead. 15. If you have a toxic workplace, look for another job. 16. Know that you are more important than the car you drive, house you inhabit, your bank balance or the promise of a foreign holiday.

Action Plan to protect your legacy

* Commit your dream to paper. Be clear about your legacy – give details. • Build ownership in those empowered to take it forward. Listen to divergent opinions and let go. • Start detaching yourself and don’t give too much advice and cramp the style and enthusiasm of those on the job. • Remember life is short. * Let not your legacy become ashes and dust when you die. You have responsibility to leave the world a better place. Start the task now!

Recharge Yourself Regularly

1. Take short relaxation breaks, at least thrice a day. 2. Eat fresh, energy-giving foods. 3. Take a walk outdoors during lunch break. 4. Stay away from politics and back-biting. 5. Involve your spouse and children in your work. Bring them to the office during lunch break or on a Saturday. 6. Spend time reading and improving your mind. 7. Get involved in activities that will benefit others. 8. Develop an absorbing hobby or skill—driving, dancing, gardening, carpentry, painting, amateur radio, etc. 9. Keep in touch with your close friends and extended family; use the power of the internet. 10. Plan to cut off from work on weekends.

Asanas for Healthy and Happy Life

Padmasana (Lotus Pose). This pose destroys all disease and brings peace of mind to those who suffer from anxiety, tension, anger and other negative emotions. Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand). Also known as the mother of asanas, this asana stimulates every part of the body and helps transport oxygen-rich blood to the heart. Matsyasana (Fish Pose). This asana expands the chest and tones the nerves of the neck and back. It also ensures maximum benefit to the thyroid and parathyroid glands. Dhanurasana (Bow Pose). An excellent asana for the spine, it strengthens the hips and takes care of spondylitis. The expansion of the chest increases blood circulation in the heart muscles. Savasana (Shanti Asana). This is a powerful practice for relaxing the body and releasing mental and physical tension. Techniques like self-hypnosis or kaya kriya can be applied here to provide relief from anxiety and insomnia. Persons who have are sad and disturbed are greatly benefited by this asana. Yoga Nidra (Yogic Sleep). A state of conscious deep sleep for extreme relaxation and subtler spiritual exploration. Silence. Practice silence. Let thoughts pass like birds in the sky. Let the mind sink to its bedrock of silence. As the Zen Buddhists say, ‘The mind is a drunken monkey that is bitten by a scorpion.’ Allow it to relax into silence.

Creating Joy in Family Life

Today everyone has a chance to maintain links with the extended family through the internet. It is a nourishing and often supportive network. Today, however, the family, as the ‘shock absorber of society, to which the bruised and battered individual returns after doing battle with the world,’ in the words of Alvin Toffler in his landmark work Future Shock, is going through a transitional phase. The breakdown of the joint family has led to a loosening of extended family relationships. The powerful mother-in-law of the joint family is emerging as the subdued caretaker of children, helping the educated daughter-in-law augment the double income of all upwardly mobile young couples. The large, amorphous, supportive joint family that supported a wide variety of people and bestowed unconditional love for the crippled, the old and the helpless, has been reduced to the nuclear family where everyone is in sharp focus. Much like the modern corporation, there is no place to hide, no place for passengers, and everyone has to pull their own weight. It is our mission to restore to it its traditional role as a place of rest and healing, albeit in a new paradigm. There should be one person in the family who can cushion the blows of the outside world. Someone who is not too busy to listen, give support, and manage the daily tasks of living. This could even be a paid caregiver or cook. Networking with parents, in-laws, neighbours, domestic help and friends is the key for working mothers.

Nurturing the Prana

Prana is the life-force that flows in all living things. Kirlian photography has captured pictures of the pranic aura. When prana leaves the body, the body dies. When prana is in full flow, the person is full of vitality, energy and enthusiasm. Prana creates a field of possibilities where the seed of any idea develops rapidly, where our activities proceed smoothly and bear rich dividends. To develop prana, meditation, pranayama and a calm attitude are key. Freshly-cooked healthy food, pure fresh air and yogic exercise nurture and enhance prana. Eating too much, consuming stale food, exercising till you are ready to drop dead, constant arguments, overworking, getting emotionally upset, breathing polluted air, all interfere with the smooth flow of prana. Moderation is the rule.

Drala

The Tibetians of the Shambala tradition believe in a concept called drala by which any space can be made sacred. Drala is created by the reverence, purity and faith within a space. When a person treats his office space with reverence and keeps it clean and sparkling, he attracts drala into that space. Drala makes that space powerful and attractive. When he dresses carefully, speaks and acts mindfully, he attracts personal drala. Many are able to do this in their homes. Indian homes have beautiful white flower patterns drawn at the entrance to attract Lakshmi, the Goddess of Good Fortune. The atmosphere is further enhanced by the fragrance of incense and joss sticks. Certain sounds like that of mantras or the sound of bells, or wind chimes in a Chinese home, are said to purify the field.

Yoga: Mind, Body and Spirit

Yoga rejuvenates the physical system and restores mental equilibrium. The word ‘yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit word yuj which means to ‘yoke’, ‘unite’ or ‘join’. It implies the joining or uniting of the individual consciousness with the universal consciousness. This chapter deals with the most popular element of yoga—asanas or body exercises. Yogasana is the science of the beauty of form. It combines effortless postures and definite stances in the projection of a healthy and striking personality. Asanas mould every part of the body to its ideal contours. Yogasanas, in conjunction with pranayama, bring harmony and balance to every part of the body, and are highly therapeutic for the body, mind and soul. Yogasanas are best practiced with good teachers, and there are various well-known schools of yoga to choose from, namely, the Bihar School of Yoga, the Krishnamacharya Yoga Foundation, the BKS Iyengar School of Yoga, and the Sivananda Centre for Yoga. Every Indian city has yoga teachers.

Feeling of Wellbeing

Auspiciousness or a feeling of wellbeing is created in a space or a field by treating it as sacred. What happens to a space that is sacred is transformation. When you consider yourself as sacred, you will treat yourself well. You will wear clean, good smelling clothes. Maybe ironed and starched, mended if torn, but clean and fresh. You will smile at yourself, encourage yourself. Just as you put on clean fresh clothes, you will also clean up the mental space or field around you. Sweep out all ill will, anger, fear and anxiety. Let there be the fragrance of incense, divinity of prayer and mantra, the smiles of loved ones, laughter and joy, the smell and taste of good plain, food. It is as important to clean the field around you as it is to have a bath. Sweep out the sad baggage of the past. Take into that field only what is bright and elevating, fine and happy. The space around you, your house, your office needs the same kind of careful attention. When a space is sacred, it magnetizes wonderful people and attracts beautiful events into it. All the words spoken in that space should be sweet and loving. When harsh words or events happen, do not allow them to take root like evil weeds. Sweep them away and find the gentleness and kindness that grows beneath.

Building Your Social Capital

We all try to amass wealth, by putting money in fixed deposits, dabbling in shares, buying gold or land or a house. Cold cash in a favourite option. But the latest research shows that social capital could be your greatest asset. An oven (physical capital) or an MBA (cultural or human capital) can increase productivity. In the same way, social contacts certainly enhance the productivity of individuals, teams, families and communities. Anything you own will not really help you, especially during a crisi,s unless you have goodwill, fellowship, mutual sympathy and affectionate interactions with your family, neighbours, friends and work associates. The man who has no social capital, will find no support when faced by financial loss medical emergencies or any catastrophe where he needs a helping hand. Everyday life would be lonely and boring. Those without social capital are more prone to illness. Dean Ornish the heart specialist says that those who have five or more close friends are far less likely to get heart attacks than those who don’t. Though no man is an island, there are four negative consequences of social capital: exclusion of outsiders; excess claims on group members and restrictions on individual freedom. So gather your social network close around you like a warm multi-coloured blanket. Keep in touch on telephone, sms, internet. All of these channels can enhance the most important way of communicating-in-person and face to face.

The Healthy, Nurturing, Home

A healthy home should be a healing space, a nurturing positive mind field. It can be a place where all wounds are healed. Alvin Toffler wrote ‘The family is the giant shock absorber of the family to which the bruised and battered individual returns after doing battle with the world!’ If your home is not a sanctuary but a battle-field do something about it. Get help, maybe professional help. Reserve time for laughter and happiness—schedule time for it, like you do for your work. Have a rule to avoid difficult topics during meal times or bed time. Music, if is soothing, can be a powerful force for peace. The very walls absorb the vibrations of the music. Mantras can do the same for your home. I sometimes feel that if music can be infused into the mindspace so that it plays quietly in your mind, as the background to your day, it can have a really soothing affect. Avoid violent, depressing programmes. Just as you would not allow a terrorist into your home, do not allow such movies into the sacred space of your home. You surely are the protector of the field that exists in your home. Make your home fragrant with incense. Clean and sparkling and beautiful. Respectful of the sacred forces that can animate your home.

Happiness for Health

Today so much of our lives are spent in the office. The corporate jungle takes an unimaginable toll on the heart. The endless deadlines, the deadly competitiveness, going from one crisis to another, negatively impact the body. Nature’s ultimate survival mechanism of fight or flight becomes a chronic response. Such a response is like using an atom bomb to kill an ant—totally inappropriate. Due to the modern urge to change jobs rapidly, many executives find themselves in threatening environments surrounded by potential enemies. They have had no time to develop friends or trusted supports. Every day they walk into the modern equivalent of a jungle infested with wild animals and danger. Family support systems are far away. Nuclear families build up explosive pressure due to a revolution of rising expectations, fuelled by the media. Many of us spend most of our time at work. If we do not enjoy our work, if we feel overwhelmed by it, it will surely damage us. The constant pressure of negative emotions causes inescapable damage to our arteries and other delicate tissues. It also slows down the body’s capacity to repair this damage. Politics can make the blood boil with suppressed rage and unexpressed anxiety. ‘Fast tracking,’ being a corporate star, will extract the inevitable price of damage to arteries if you are not ‘mindful’, if you are not aware of the impact of everything you do on your system. Mindfulness will help you unclench and relax the muscles, slow down the racing heartbeat. You can start by consciously breathing slowly and calmly.

Tips to Work-life Balance

1. Take short relaxation breaks, at least thrice a day. 2. Eat fresh, energy-giving foods. 3. Take a walk outdoors during lunch break. 4. Stay away from politics and back-biting. 5. Involve your spouse and children in your work. Bring them to the office during lunch break or on a Saturday. 6. Spend time reading and improving your mind. 7. Get involved in activities that will benefit others. 8. Develop an absorbing hobby or skill—driving, dancing, gardening, carpentry, painting, amateur radio, etc. 9. Keep in touch with your close friends and extended family, use the power of the internet. 10. Plan to cut off from work on weekends.

Workplace Wellness Assessment

Here are some few questions to assess your workplace wellness: 1. Would it be personally profitable for me to spend more time reading? 2. Do I effectively balance time between family, social, academic and recreational activities? 3. Do I concentrate too hard on just getting the job done rather than on my whole career? 4. Do I see about my bosses as role models? 5. Do I hope that by improving my knowledge I will have a job and a good life? 6. Are there some active steps I might take today to ensure a successful future? 7. Would talking to professionals in various fields help improve my job awareness? 8. Would this be a frightening thing to do? 9. Are there some channels, people or sources that could make this a pleasant experience? 10. Have I honestly assessed my potential for growth and participation in future jobs? 11. Do I travel more than a week every month? 12. Do I rest when I am tired? 13. Have I learnt to say ‘No’ politely? Score a. Good: More than 9 Yeses b. Adequate: 5 or more Nos c. Poor: Less than 5 Nos

Survey on Happiness

A recent happiness survey shows that hairdressers have the highest levels of happiness at work! The reason? They are in direct touch withtheir customers. Chris Humphries, Director General of City and Guilds U.K., says: Nowadays, job satisfaction and happiness is about fulfilling your potential, tapping into your own creativity and feeling that you canmake a difference. Many are exchanging their desk-bound jobs for vocations that enable them to be hands-on, use their brains and be in-change of their own destiny. In a Guardian article by Laura Smith, two out of five hairdressers described themselves as extremely happy. She gives two reasons: 1. Creativity 2. Contact with customers

Meditation To Overcome Stress

One way to break the pattern of stressful living and strive for personal wellness is to change the responses to tough situations. There is, of course, no way to make the situations less tough. Meditation and pranayama provide a way of reducing the automatic and violent reactions to stress. You can actually control autonomous systems like heartbeat and pulse rate, which were thought to be outside the individual’s control. Knowing and practising meditation can provide you with a silent space where you can retreat into peace: slow breathing, steady heartbeat, low pulse. This space is always available within a person who has learnt to meditate. While you cannot change your job, family or your life-situation, you can certainly learn to breathe more peacefully, thus reversing the process of excitation and avoiding the emotional hijack. It is not possible to learn meditation by thinking about it, any more than it is possible to learn swimming by talking about it. If you have to swim, you have to get into the water. Learning meditation and understanding your breathing patterns through pranayama are the best investment you ever make. In India, there is no excuse not to learn these things. Stress need not be the reaction to the pace of your life. You can learn peaceful responses that protect your body.