Ten booster shots!

To lead a life powered with health, beauty, depth and simplicity, please unfold each day slowly, lovingly as you would unwrap a precious porcelain piece. Here are ten ways to achieve that:

- Everybody wants to be loved. So, think a hundred times before you condemn or ridicule someone. Discover the charm in staying neutral. Close your lips and feel your nerves calm down.

- Lend a good book  to someone who needs it. It is better to have worn-out pages in a book that have touched many lives than a well-preserved one that merely keeps the  dust off the shelf.

-  Get into mindful eating, not mind ‘awful’ eating. Power each day around one healthy principle: Monday: No  icecreams, no cookies. Tuesday: Only water, no to fizzy beverages. Wednesday: A high fibre , low-fat day — only fruits, no fries. Thursday: a day for dark vegetables — the darker the colour, the more nutrient-rich it is. Steam, don’t boil, to retain nutrients. Friday: Binge. A change invigorates. Saturday: Go green — spinach, fenugreek, etc. Sunday: Go oil-free. A light stomach ensures a light mind and quality sleep.

-  Dedicate yourself to improve yourself. Read a chapter from a holy book. Spend time with nature and fill your lungs with fresh air. Send healing vibrations of love and forgiveness into yourself and to those around you. Do two things unselfishly without expecting any reward, recognition, reciprocation.

-  Strive to unchain yourself from desires and be free. It’s only with very little can you learn to live in true, joyous abundance.

-  Keep your exercise gear handy to stay fit. Every day, cycle for 30 minutes on your stationary bike for stamina and light-footedness.  Every two hours, inhale through your nose to 12 counts while swelling your stomach, exhale through your mouth to 12 counts while drawing in your stomach, four times. After a week, you’ll feel a deep joy of well-being surging in you.  

-  Eat wisely. Opt for organic jaggery over white sugar, ragi or jowar over polished rice, fresh fruits over sweets. Eat every morsel mindfully, gratefully.

-  Learn a lesson or two from the cow. She takes in minimum grass and water and gives milk. Power every day with: “What can I give today?” And continue to give and embrace others unstintingly.

-  Throw yourself wholeheartedly, lovingly and sincerely into every activity that you take on. Wholeheartedness dispels drudgery, enriches your inner life, enlarges your inner vision. You feel deep fulfillment and become majestic and calm.
-  Finally, to be truly powerful, never lean on excuses.

(The writers are authors of the book ‘Fitness For Life’ )