You can’t expect a good result if you only eat a well-balanced and nutritious diet and skip your workout every day; or if you’re on a diet and working out until late at night, disrupting your sleep schedule; or if you work out regularly and sleep well but skip meals!

Do you understand, why? Diet, Exercise, and Sleep are all interconnected. These three factors tend to interact in a variety of ways. They are so intertwined that it is difficult to say which one should be prioritized.

• Sleep-deprived people are more drawn towards consuming unhealthy food and overeating. Sleep deprivation causes them to become lazy thereby giving up on exercise.
• Similarly, working out every day reduces sleep-related problems. It also helps you to avoid lazing around doing nothing which, otherwise, directly leads you to consume junk and unhealthy food.
• In the same manner, eating nutritious food and avoiding high-calorie foods help you to sleep in a better manner and keeps you active throughout the day, thus inducing a good workout session.

The main problem that people experience is facing sleep issues. They believe that, unlike the other two aspects, it isn’t in their control if sleep doesn’t naturally come to them. Let me help you with simple steps that might improve your sleep:

• Try having early dinner so that your body gets time to digest the food.
• Avoid caffeine like soda, coffee, and energy drinks as they contain properties that shoo away your sleep.

Exercise regularly to fatigue your body which will automatically shut itself down, thus giving you a good sleep.

Just as we were celebrating the reduction in COVID-19 numbers, it has had a resurgence of kinds. Call it the peaking of the first wave, the second wave, or the third- call it whatever you wish, the reality is that the numbers have been rising over October and November again.

We were all settling into a way of doing things and we’re planning on moving out of the house in measured terms. Many had started meeting family and friends in small numbers or going to the gym etc. But the numbers have risen again and everyone is worried again.

We have heard from a variety of people about being careful, about sanitization, and are eagerly awaiting the vaccine! Whose advice we want to follow, who to believe is up to us, but the age-old wisdom that always plays itself out stands firm – “make your immune system strong and you will either not get infections and diseases OR if you do, the effect will be minimal because your body will be able to fight it”.

So, while we do SMS (Sanitize-Mask-Social distance), we must improve our immunity as well.

Here are ways in which you can-

1. Sleep well- get your 7-8 hours of sleep a day to help your body recover.
2. Exercise- This will boost your immunity and improve your mental health and outlook as well. Any exercise will help walking, running, yoga, calisthenics. The ancient Indian form of Yoga has many specific asanas for immunity boosting (refer to our Yoga Series).
3. Stress- Do not stress. Stay positive- use meditation, long walks, time with friends, fun times with family, etc. to help you achieve this.
4. Food- Include immunity building foods in your diet :

• Vitamin C- in the form of citrus fruits such as oranges, or Supplements.
• Natural ingredients such as Tulsi, Turmeric, and Ashwagandha are known to help in building immunity immensely. Again, these are available in pure form or as supplements.
• Various kinds of spices that are easily available in every kitchen household can be good immunity boosters too and can be added to daily cooking-jeera (cumin), dhania (coriander), and lehsun (garlic).

If you think you or your family may be a compromised immune system – please work on it and fix it now. Now is not the time to indulge in comfort – now is the time to work on strengthening our immune system.

Stay safe.

The name of this particular asana comes from Lord Natraj or the Lord of dance. It is considered the most graceful yoga pose.

Steps to do a proper Natarajasana:

1. Stand in a mountain position. Shift your weight on your right foot, bend your knee, and hold your ankle with your right arm.
2. Raise your left arm over your head. Gently push your right leg into your hand and raise your toes towards the ceiling until your thigh is parallel to the floor or higher.
3. Relax the shoulders and breathe. Gently release down.

There are a lot of benefits that Natarajasana provides us. Some of them are:

• It provides deep relaxation to the body.
• It stretches your spine and abdominal region.
• It helps in reducing stress and anxiety.

This position heavily relies upon your upper body strength and your balancing capabilities. It is a tough but effective yoga pose for many issues.

How to do the Bakasana properly:

1. Slowly bend down on the floor and place your hands on the floor and place your fingers apart.
2. Now walk your toes towards your arms and stand on your toes. Now place your knees on your triceps.
3. Now try raising your hips upward and forward. Lift one of your legs and then the other slowly with control.
4. Hold the position for 40-50 seconds and then exhale as you bring your toes on the ground.

The benefits that a proper Bakasana provides us with:

• It tends to strengthen the arms and shoulders.
• It builds your triceps and biceps.
• It helps in improving the balance of your body.

Salabhasana is known highly for strengthening the back and in the form of a stretching exercise. It is quite popular and a particularly easy asana.

Following are the steps to do a proper Salabhasana:

1. Lie down on your stomach with your chin touching the ground.
2. Place your hands beside your torso and place your big toes inwards.
3. Raise your head, chest, and legs from the ground as far as possible.
4. Tighten the muscles of buttocks and stretch your thigh muscles.
5. Bring your shoulder blades as close as possible and stretch your legs.
6. Breathe deeply as you hold the position for at least 10-15 seconds.
7. Slowly retrieve back to your normal position.

Some of the benefits that Salabhasana provides us are:

• It strengthens your lower body muscles.
• It brings more flexibility to the body.
• It helps in improving digestion.

The position resembles a wheel or chakra and hence the name. This is the base pose of other similar positions.

How to do a well-balanced Chakrasana:

1. Lay down on the flat ground or yoga mat and place your hands directly under your knees, parallel to your hips.
2. Bring the hands behind your shoulder towards your head with your palms facing inward towards you.
3. Squeeze your elbows together and press down on your hands.
4. Lift yourself by lifting the arms and stretching the legs. Press the chest and forward and extend the arms.
5. Slowly retrieve back to your normal position.

Chakrasana provides various benefits:

• It helps people suffering from asthma, back pain, and migraines.
• It is said to cure infertility.
• It improves the functioning of the heart and chest.

Sirsasana or Headstand is proclaimed to be the king of asanas. It is amongst the most beneficial asanas. It is one such yoga asana that is practiced all around the world.

How to do a proper headstand:

• Place your forearms on the mat in such a way that you are on all your fours.
• Interlock your fingers and make a triangle with your forearms and head.
• Place the crown of your head in between the triangle, right on top of the floor, and back of your skull right up against your hands.
• Crow your feet under and walk your feet in towards your body. Remember your hips must directly align with your shoulders.
• Slowly stretch your legs high up in the air. one at a time till both legs are up. Hold the position as long as you can, without strain.
• Then slowly lower your legs in reverse order.

This is the correct way of doing Sirsasana. Do not exert or put too much pressure on yourself. You wouldn’t want to hurt your head or back, in the process.

These are the benefits that Sirsasana provide us:

• It increases blood circulation and oxygen supply to your brain.
• It is very helpful in reducing headaches.
• It also helps in relaxing and battling stress.

Vrikshasana was particularly easy, wasn’t it? Now let’s try Dhanurasana!

As the name suggests, the Dhanurasana pose resembles the shape of a bow. It is done by making a U shape with your body and joining your hands and legs.

How to do it:
Dhanurasana is not very difficult to do. Let’s take a look at the following steps-

• Lie flat on your stomach with legs and arms spread out. Your arms should be beside your waist.
• Bend your knees and lower your ankle above your buttocks. Grab your ankles while inhaling slowly.
• Arch your back and raise your thighs, chest, and head slowly.
• Lift your gaze as you exhale and kick your heel up close to your buttocks.
• Hold the position and breathe while balancing on your stomach.
• Relax slowly by bringing your legs lower first and then the rest of the body.

The following are the benefits that Dhanurasana provides us:

• Dhanurasana provides flexibility to the body.
• It offers a lot of relief in menstrual contraction and constipation.
• It helps with a kidney disorder.
• It helps in stimulating reproductive organs.