I love to talk - 8

Sonata of soul:

You had a beautiful soul, fresh and pious when you were born to this Earth. Years of experiences left several blotches like a collage imprint on your mind yet your soul has remained intact unscathed and you are amazed to find out that the day it is freed from your body it is still the same innocent pious soul that you were born with, ready to take shelter in heavenly abode, near God.

So why can’t you give your soul the same divine dwelling even while on Earth? Now, wouldn’t you want to give your soul a body without blemishes, without scratches, just as beautiful as the soul itself? Wouldn’t you want your soul to dress in a body that is like a fresh dew drop of a virgin dawn? Shouldn’t you strengthen it against the scorching Sun or the winter frost bite? Shouldn’t you like to protect it from the deadly chemicals and other hazards of civilization?

So here are a few tips (self practiced) to make the temple of your soul sparkling and sanctimonious; a stride towards confidence and healthy living: (I do not have copy right for the following)

Morning exercise : SURYA NAMASKAR (copied from a website and you can even check out you tube for demonstrations)

Step 1: (prayer pose)- Stand erect with your chest out, feet together, knees pulled up and thighs tight. Bring your hands forward, in front of your chest as if in prayer, elbows straight and not drooping.

Step 2: (raised arms pose)- On inhale, stretch your arms up over your head, palms still together. Then arching back as far as you can go, stretch with your arms apart for next pose.

Step 3: (standing forward bend pose)- While exhaling, swing down from the hips keeping your upper body and torso straight. Without bending the knees place your hands on either sides of your feet flat on the mat, head as close to your knees as possible.

Step 4: (equestrian pose)- Inhale bring the right foot to the back of the mat on the toes like a lunge. Use your finger tips for support and keep the left leg at a right angle and then start bending the extended leg at the knee towards the floor and look up.

Step 5: (plank pose) - Retain your breath and extend your left leg back on your toes side by side your right without moving the position of your hands and leg at all. Palms flat on the mat, keep your spine straight and elbows locked. Do not let your head or hips drop. It should look like you are about to do a push up.

Step 6: (Salute with 8 limbs pose)- Exhale, bending your elbows towards your body and going down as low as you can at the shoulders while keeping the rest of your body perfectly stiff exactly like a push up. Once down near the floor, bend and drop your knees, chest and forehead to the ground lightly touching in that order. Your hips and pelvic should still be raised. Eight points should be touching the floor in this step- forehead, chest, and two palms, both knees and both feet.

Step 7: (cobra pose)- Inhale, while swinging your body forwards, straightening your arms, stretching your shoulders upwards and lowering your hips down to the ground. Lift your chest upward and arch your back and look up towards the ceiling.

Step 8:(downward facing dog pose)- Exhale and without moving your hands and feet, tuck your toes and raise your hips and backside up. Elongate the spine and straighten the knees, spreading the fingers evenly push down from your forearms and try to put your heels down to the ground pushing back the thighs. Let your head hang and try lowering your shoulder blades to broaden the collarbone.

Step 9: (equestrian pose) - Lunge forward while inhaling and bring your right leg in between your hands repeating the position in Step: 4

Step 10: (standing forward bend pose)- On exhale, bring the left foot forward next to the right and forward bend into (Step:3).

Step 11:(raised arms pose)- Straighten the back and raise your arms above your head, palms joined and repeat Step:2

Step 12: (prayer pose)- Lower your hands in down to your chest as in Step:1.


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Some healthy food to pamper your taste bud: Salads ((Copied from net, try out several different kinds available as per your taste)

1. Salad recipe

Ingredients:

· 0.5 lb boneless chicken cut into small slices.

· 1/2 cup red cabbage, thinly sliced

· 1 medium sized red onion, chopped

· 1/2 cup carrot, peeled & grated

· 1/4 cup green bell pepper, thinly sliced

· 1/4 cup red bell pepper, thinly sliced

· 1/2 cup lettuce, chopped

· 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

· 1 1/2 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed

· 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

· 1 tbsp roasted almond flakes

· Salt & black pepper as per taste

· Canola oil / sesame oil / peanut oil

Dressing:

· 2 tbsp soy sauce

· 2 tbsp olive oil / canola oil / sesame oil

· 1 tbsp minced garlic

· 2 tbsp rice vinegar

· 1 tsp sugar

· 1 tsp fresh grated ginger

· 1 tsp crushed red chili pepper

Method:
First step is to cook chicken. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and spoon in 2 tbsp oil. When oil is hot, add chicken slices. Sprinkle some salt and black pepper on the chicken and mix it well. Then add little amount of water and cover the pan. After two minutes, stir the chicken and cover it again. cook the chicken thoroughly by stirring it often. once chicken is cooked, drain it and keep aside. Cooking chicken will take approx. 5-8 minutes.

Take a large salad bowl and drop vinegar into it. Add garlic and ginger to the vinegar and keep it for 5-10 minutes. Add rest of the dressing ingredients into vinegar and whisk together. Now add the chicken and all other salad ingredients to the dressing and mix them well.

2. Chicken Salad Recipe

Ingredients :

1/2 cup lettuce leaves

1/4 kg Chicken (boneless and cooked)

1/2 tsp garlic powder or fresh crushed garlic

3 tsp onion (grated)

1/2 tsp pepper powder

Salt to taste

Method :

Mix garlic powder, grated onions, pepper and salt for dressing. Blend lettuce leaves and make a fine paste. Place chicken pieces on a flat dish and pour blended lettuce leaves over it. Now sprinkle the dressing over it. You can add chilly sauce to it for better taste.

3. Breakfast salad

Ingredients

150g Baby Leaf Spinach

1 Medium Egg

2 Medium Tomatoes

2 Slices Extra Lean Ham

Method

1. Rinse spinach and leave to drain.
2. Turn on grill.
3. Bring pan of water to boil and poach egg.
4. Slice tomatoes in half and place under grill.
5. While egg and tomatoes are cooking, slice ham to your preference.
6. Arrange spinach leaves on plate, and sprinkle chopped ham on top.
7. Place cooked egg and tomatoes on bed of spinach and enjoy!

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Now Its all about giving a breathing spa to your skin. Homemade Orange peel scrub

Ingredients:
1 cup dried orange peels
2 tbsp dry roasted blackgram dal/urad dal/minappapu
1 tbsp dry roasted red gram dal/toor dal/kandi pappu
2 tsp semolina/rava
1 dried rose petals
1 tbps sandal powder/chandan powder

Method:
Make the powder of dried citrus peels until smooth (but little coarse) in advance. Mix all the above ingredients and grind till it attains coarse powder texture. Store it in an air-tight container and ready to use.

Usage:
When you want to ex-foliate your skin, mix above scrub with warm milk, honey and a hint of rose-water to make a coarse paste. Before a bath, rub this all over. Use rough circular motions as you go along to ex-foliate the dead skin cells.

For face take the same mixture and dilute with few drops of warm water. Gently scrub in circular motion and rinse with warm water. It's a wonderful scrub and so easy to make and the effects are immediately visible. For dry skin use full cream or homemade butter instead of milk.

SEASONS' GREETINGS TO YOU ALL :-)