Rajasthan from my camera

http://x.co/neel

Stop Smoking in a Easyway

We all know that SMOKING KILLS. And it is very clearly mentioned on the cigarette pack with an illustration. But still why is it so hard to leave it for a better life.

I was becoming a chain smoker i.e nowadays I was smoking around 20-25 sticks a day. I could feel the discomfort like a constant wheezing during breathing, cough, shivering of hands, lethargy etc etc. Then I realized that it is enough and I need to take control of my life back from nicotine. I happen to stumble upon Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking. Read the reviews and was impressed. Ordered the book through Flipkart and yet again it delivered the book right on time.

The day I finished the book, amazingly I stopped smoking. There are very simple things to understand in the process to stop smoking. I will enumerate in point form to save your time. Later you must try and read the book.

1. Why do we smoke- This is because we are addicted. We  need to accept  the truth that smokers are nothing but drug addicts. We smoke cigarette after cigarette because every time we smoke, the nicotine level goes up and it helps in calming the nerves but after half an hour or so it comes down and asks for another one. This is Nicotine Withdrawal symptom which keeps us smoking. We need to understand this.
2. Is it enjoyable - Is smoking fun? Or the first stick in the morning and one after meals, the best. An honest answer is that it is an ILLUSION. Does a non - smoker require the poison after meals to enjoy it? Think about it. We only loose our health and money due to its illusion.
3. Companion - Whenever a smoker is bored or stressed or speaking on phone or happy or sad or concentrating, the smoker smokes. Why? The truth is smoking doesn't help alleviate the situation neither it will not make you more happy nor less sad, less stressful, increase confidence or concentration. It is all nothing but an ILLUSION. Non smokers handle the same issues also without smoking. Infact, the situations will always remain same. Smoking does not change anything except engage us in the deadly chain of smoking one stick after another.  

There is nothing in the world which compares to having a good health. Smoking is snatching that from us. As a human being, we don't like to be controlled by our wife,parents, husband, boss, govt. Then why are we being controlled by this deadly stick. We never use to smoke when we were young. Then why now. 

There are a lot of issues to write about explaining and understanding the deadly trap of smoking. For now, I will stop here. In case of any questions, feel free to ask. I will be happy to help.

A final thing - smoke a cigarette and inhale the smoke deep in your lungs and answer yourself honestly - IS IT WORTH ??

Neelanjan Banerjee

http://x.co/neel

Running Workouts

To loose weight and to improve running dramatically, the following types of workouts are essential.

1. Tempo runs - Run for about 20-25 minutes at around 70-80 % of Max Heart Rate. In other words, one should be able to converse to a fellow runner in mono syllables only. This kind of run helps in increasing your base speed and improving lactic acid tolerance level.

2. Interval runs - Short sprints of 100, 200, 300 and 400 metres is the essence of this kind of run. Care should be taken to warm up properly before this type of training. A measured road or tracks are best suited to carry out interval training. It is the best exercise to cut down weight fast as it increases the metabolic rate even while resting.

3. Long runs - A weekend long run i.e not more than 10% of a week day run. It is best to gradually build up on weekend long runs to avoid injury. This kind of run helps in building up endurance and gets the body in fat burning zone. It is one of the most important workout which every runner must perform.

Also, adequate rest and fluid intake should be taken to aid recovery. Make it a point to ice knees and ankles after every run. Its aids in faster recovery and lesser injuries.

Neelanjan Banerjee
http://x.co/neel

Yoga

Whoever founded Yoga must have been a very strong person, both physically and mentally. The Sanskrit word Yoga has a literal meaning of "yoke", from a root yuj meaning 'to mean', 'to unite', or 'to attach'. As a term for a system of abstract meditation or mental abstraction it was introduced by Patanjali in the 2nd century BC.

For last one month I have been recuperating from calf muscle strain ( one of most most stubborn injury to recover ), I took up yoga to stay fit during the recovery period. I have registered to run the Hyderabad Marathon in August and the untimely injury is playing a spoil sport. Yoga came as a rescue to me to stay in shape for last one month. Mainly I have been concentrating on lower body Yoga postures, back and pranayam.

I found Surya namaskars to be the best warm up asana for the complete body and I generally perform 10-15 of them. Thereafter, I perform few sets of warrior pose followed by lunges. An excellent way to keep quads, hamstrings and glutes in shape. Then 2 sets of slow half squats followed by 20 push ups helps in raising the heart rate.Then 2 sets of plank for a minute helped me strengthening the core. Followed by some back exercises like bhujang asan and naukasan.I always like to conclude my Yoga session with some pranayam like kapalbahti, anlom vilom and meditation.

I will now tell you the toughest asana in my 30-40 minutes of yoga session. It is the meditation. Earlier I use to think that it will be a child's play to concentrate on breathing. But it is not. Believe you me, your mind will start wandering here and there the second you close your eye. We start thinking about breakfast, office, pending work, girlfriend, wife, money and many other things. If only we can control our mind for at least 10 minutes, it will be an achievement. The benefits of meditation is that it calms the mind, increases focus and concentration and gives us the ability to think clearly.

A person can induct Yoga in his/ her daily life and perform some asana anytime of the day. Gym goers can introduce yoga in cooling down and warm up phase. Also runners can hugely benefit to remain injury free. Office goers can practice deep breathing techniques any time of the day and can substantially increase their productivity.

Neelanjan Banerjee

http://x.co/neel