start your day early

There are several benefits to rising in the early hours and soaking in the ambience. Here are the top few:




Best time to exercise: Did you know yoga exponents always advocate exercising with the rising sun? Doing asanas or even a jog or brisk walk can increase productivity for the rest of the day as it can jumpstart your metabolism levels.

You soak in the quietude: Early mornings are relatively peaceful. You won't have the honking of cars, kids yelling around or the drone of the TV. Experts advocate opening yourself to that kind of peace on a daily basis.

Connect with yourself: It's serene and thus it can be a good time to think, sort out your priorities for the day, use the moment to clear the mind, plan your work ahead and just breathe peacefully.

reasons for meditation

Sitting in total silence, eyes closed, palms facing upward and mouthing Om, may seem a practice for sadhus. But this very mindful meditation technique can fit perfectly into the mundane lives of nine-to-five working professionals. And you'll be more than enlightened. Here are seven benefits ti lure you to trying it.

1. Reduces the pain
Certain studies suggest that the pain you experience in your body is suppressed rage. Meditation helps you cool down. Also, though your back or other body areas may be feeling the ache, part of that pain may actually be in your head. In fact, a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience suggested just 80 minutes of meditation training could cut pain perception nearly in half. In the study, volunteers were given a pain test before and after the meditation training; brain scans using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of pain-reception regions revealed significant changes before and after meditation, too.

people who meditated regularly found pain less unpleasant. Apparently their brains were busy focusing on the present and anticipated the pain less, blunting its emotional impact.

2. Charges up your sex life 
That's right. A little mindfulness can go a long way in bed. A recent research suggested that mindful meditation training (in which a person learns how to bring thoughts into the present moment) can enhance a woman's sexual experience. Turns out, self-judgmental chatter often fills a woman's mind during sex, keeping her from the full sexual experience. In another study, college girls who meditated were quicker to become aroused when viewing erotic photos compared with non-meditating women.

3. Steer clear of mental blocks 
Whether you are trying to get out of a bout of depression or solve a dispute with a friend, doing the same thing in the same way doesn't always work. Meditation can help a person avoid mental traps that drag out problem solving. After just a few weeks of mindfulness training, volunteers were better at switching strategies for problem-solving than volunteers who were not taught the technique.

This difficulty of letting go of old, habitual and non-adaptive ways of responding for the sake of better ones may underlie many of our everyday difficulties. A married couple that repeatedly gets into the same quarrels and arguments may be able to break the cycle and look at things in a fresh perspective. Clinicians may be better able to offer new ways of looking at a clinical situation. Negotiators may be better at finding novel ways to settle disputes. Managers may be better able to think 'out of the box' and replace existing non-adaptive procedures with new and improved ones.

4. Makes you mentally tough 
Meditation can protect a person from the debilitating effects of some emotional events. In a study, US marines preparing for deployment spent two hours each week practising mindfulness meditation training for eight weeks. Compared with the marines who didn't meditate, those who did showed improved moods and working memory (allows for short-term retrieval and storage of information). The training seems to allow individuals to stay alert and in the moment without becoming emotional, equipping them with a mental armour.

5. Helps you keep cool
Both novice and experienced mediators in the study practised compassion meditation (widely practised by Tibetan leaders), which involves focusing on loved ones and directing loving-kindness toward them, and then extending that goodwill to all beings indiscriminately. When participants heard emotional sounds, such as a distressed woman crying or a baby laughing, they showed more brain activity in brain regions linked to empathy while meditating than when not meditating.

6. Helps you focus 
City denizens tend to suffer from mild ADHD. And smart phones, laptops, wi-fi and the opportunity to essentially contact anyone at any time, compounds the problem of distraction. Then how does one stay focused? The Zen practice of 'thinking about not thinking' boosts your attention span by freeing the mind of distractions. A brain-scan study results showed that Zenmeditation training, in which a person stays alert and aware of their breathing and posture while dismissing wandering thoughts, led to different activity in a set of brain regions known as the default network, which is linked with spontaneous bursts of thought and wandering minds. Their brains were also quicker to return to this Zen mode after being distracted compared with those who had no meditation training.

7. Bulks up the brain 
A few Om chants may make you smarter, suggests research on the effects of meditation on the brain. A study found that long-term meditators  have larger amounts of folding, of the brain's cortex than people who don't meditate. The extra folds may allow the meditators to process information faster than others.

people who meditate also have stronger connections between brain regions and show less agerelated brain shrinkage. The bulking-up in white matter was seen throughout the brain, the researchers said.

acceptances power

Happiness lies in the unconditional acceptance of everyday situations, which generally make us sad or angry. Do you know how to cultivate acceptance in your life?

Are you always trying to change things that seem to be out of control? Do fights in your personal relationships affect your day-today functioning? Stop for a moment and try to accept things as they are. According to Psychologist, adopting an attitude of acceptance can neutralise unpleasant experiences and transform them into pleasant ones.
  "When we oppose, we resist reality, and life becomes an endless series of disappointments, frustrations and sorrows. Once we learn to accept and embrace, we find real happiness," 

Train your mind

Your inability to drag yourself to the gym is only in your head. Here's how to overcome it and train your brain. Exercise not only makes you feel fitter, happier and sexier, it also increases your tendency of living to see your next meal. At least that's how your brain's `pleasure means reward centres' (the frontal cortex and nucleus accumbens) view the situation. In fact, the brain is wired to allow the body to rest. When we push ourselves, it wonders why.

The hardwiring that promotes voluntary movement or exercising -is tied to the same neurocircuits involved in searching and feeding. So if our bodies have evolved to conserve energy and resist things like fat loss, then it makes perfect sense that our brains will actually defend against moving too much. The solution is to correct your brain's hardwiring to trick those pleasure-reward centres into perceiving exercise as necessary to your survival. In other words, you need to make your workouts desirable.

staying young

While ageing is a natural process, one you cannot stop, there are lifestyle habits you can adopt, which will help you look, as well as feel youthful!  listing a few down.

One of the most popular cliches — drinking lots of water — is the easiest and most affordable way to staying fit and young! If you consume a good deal of water throughout the day, it will be beneficial for your skin, as it will keep it hydrated and prevent wrinkles and break-outs.

Simply eating right or having a balanced diet is not enough to keep yourself youthful. You need to keep your body active by doing cardio exercises. Running, walking, dancing are good and entertaining forms of exercises.

Smoking is one of those dangerous habits, which rapidly ages your body and appearance. So if you want to look younger and live a longer life, stay away from cigarettes.

Your face and neck are parts that age faster than the rest of your body. If you take good care of your skin, it can take away years from your appearance. Always wash your face twice a day and follow it up with a moisturiser.

Just like your body, even your brain needs exercise, so that it remains active. To do this, get into the habit of reading. Keep challenging your brain by learning a new language or solving crossword puzzles.

Are your exercise is crossing the limit ?

We all are aware of the saying that anything when done in excess is more bad than good, and the same can be rightly said for exercising as well. 



Though getting motivated to start exercising is a challenge for many, the bigger challenge is to take a day off from your exercising schedule, for those who are addicted to it. Our body needs a good amount of rest to combat several challenges and to be ready for daily wear and tear. There's a thin line of difference between exercising and over exercising, you have to take the right steps for a better and a healthy future.

You feel more tired than rejuvenated: One of the main reasons for working out apart from keeping you fit, is that it leaves you energized to tackle the twists and turns of a hectic schedule. However, if after exercising you feel extremely tired all day long, then maybe you need to reassess and redesign your exercising schedule to suit your body needs. Also if you are always in an irritable mood then there are chances that your body is worn out by over exercising and needs some rest.

Less or no sleep at all: If you feel like a sleepy head throughout the day, or do not get any sleep if even after a hectic and tiring schedule, chances are that it is due to you over exercising.

Hormonal imbalances: Hormonal imbalances are one of the major side-effects of over exercising. If you are falling sick often or if your periods are becoming irregular, then take a note of your exercise routine. While exercising in a healthy manner helps you to maintain a healthy and strong immune system, over exercising disrupts it all, leading to excess fatigue and weakened immune system.

Feeling 'blue': Although exercises are known to release hormones that makes you feel, good, fresh and energized throughout the day, over doing it weakens you leaving you moody, blue and completely unmotivated.

Slow recovery: If on a regular basis you are doing a high intensity workout without giving your body the much need break then, your body will recover on a slow pace if and when your body encounters an injury or when the internal immune system slows down. If you don't allow your body to fully recuperate and rebuild, your efforts will not pay any good deeds, especially if you're exercising to get healthy and a toned body.

While is it important to exercise on a regular basis to get a healthy body, it is also equally important to give our body enough rest and listen to the instincts and signals of your body.

sit right at your computer

The right posture while sitting at the desk for long hours can save you from backache. Here's how:

1. Push your hips as far back as they can go in the chair.

2. Sit straight, but make sure the small of your back gets some support.

3. Adjust the seat height so that your eyes are at level with your screen and your knees equal to, or slightly lower than, your hips.

4. Let your wrists rest on your desk and don't extend your hand too far while operating the mouse.

5. Ensure your feet are supported either by the floor or a footstool.

prevent obesity

You don't need fancy exercise equipment or an expensive gym membership for losing weight. Walking, jogging, running, cycling and swimming are great for weight loss

- If you are overweight, take action right now to prevent crossing over into obesity. The first step is to make healthier lifestyle choices in your diet and exercise.

- Eat healthy. Include fruits, green vegetables, cereals and whole grain foods in your daily diet. Avoid sweets, fried, junk, packaged and refined foods. Eat small meals and chew your food slowly.

- Set aside at least 30 minutes every day for cardiovascular exercise. You don't need fancy exercise equipment or an expensive gym membership for this purpose. Walking, jogging, running, cycling and swimming are great for weight loss. It is essential to exercise at least thrice a week.

- Ignore popular quick-fix weight loss methods unless they are medically supervised. This category includes fad diets, weight loss pills and powders and fat burning machines. Not only do these techniques have serious side effects, some of them have a yo-yo cycle wherein you will regain excess weight just as quickly as you lost it.

- If you are overweight, don't socially ostracise yourself even though it may appear that society is pushing you to it. Weight gain has a deep psycho-social impact in these condemnable "size zero figure" times. Depression and stress further aggravate the condition.

- Become a non-smoker. It's a myth that smoking induces weight loss. Nicotine suppresses the appetite but its side effects are enormous.

- Avoid drinking. Most forms of alcohol contain a high percentage of fat. The fat content shoots up thanks to sweetened aerated drinks and greasy, fried foods that alcohol is usually paired with.

- If diet and exercise fail in obesity prevention, don't shy away from bariatric surgery. It's the only medically proven method for sustained weight loss. Unlike liposuction or the tummy tuck, it's not a cosmetic option either.

- Reverse the clock. Discouraging as this state of health might be, please remember that you are not a lost cause. Give life a second chance. Depending on which spectrum of weight gain you belong to, there are effective solutions — from lifestyle modifications, diet and exercises to surgery.

how can we stay happy all day

Staying in shape and being happy is easy

Happiness is a state of mind. But to retain it is not as difficult as it appears. Health and happiness are directly proportional to each other in most cases. So if you are healthy, then it's incredibly easy to be happy too. Here are some easy to follow tips on how to be happy and healthy:





Sweat it out: Physical exercise is important and some brisk walk/jog will give you instant energy and a happiness boot in the morning. So get dressed in your jogging gear and the hit the roads. You'll feel invigoriated and good all day!

Beat the sun: Apply sunscreen lotion/cream with SPF to cover your exposed skin and prevent sun tan. In winter too, sunscreen is needed to protect skin from chapping.

No binging: At work or home, there are times when you are thirsty but you assume you are hungry. Drink lots of water. Avoid caffeine. Your craving for food will reduce.

Chew gum: If you are stressed out a stick of sugar free chewing gum can be a mood enhancer and make you feel energized.  chewing gum helps the brain mute the stress response to noise.

Car posture: If you have the luxury of a chauffeur, then roll up a towel and put it between your lower back and the car seat. This will help you sit straighter and avoid hunching over, a common cause of back and neck pain.

Eat right: Vitamins A, D, E and K need fat for your body to absorb and store them—and your evening meals contain the highest amount. Ask your doc to check your vitamin D levels. You may need a supplement.

Foot spa: Before bedtime, bathe your feet in hot water for 15 minutes. This will give you pain relief and help you relax. Afterward, apply foot cream or lotion to keep skin moisturized.

Early to rise: You will be less likely to switch off the snooze button of your alarm if you have to physically turn it off. Snoozing in the morning makes you grumpy and exhausted, so it's better to rise and shine instead and begin another day.

How to boost my self-esteem

Having a poor self-esteem can harm our personal as well as professional life. But there are many ways that can help us take charge of the situation.

Here go some tips to build confidence to take our life forward:



1. Groom yourself. Even a shower, a good perfume and a good hair do can boost our self image and self-confidence. Many turn their mood around completely with this one little thing.

2. Dress well. If my dress are nice I'll feel good about myself. I'll feel successful and presentable and ready to tackle the world.

3. Empower yourself with knowledge. Empowering myself is one of the best strategies for building self-confidence, and one of the best ways to empower myself is through knowledge. Research, studying, travelling, networking, meeting sets of different people, books, magazines... all this can help us to become more knowledgeable. It will make us build competence and prepared to face the world with loads of confidence.

4. Think positive. Replacing negative thoughts with positive ones can bring a big change in our life, it can make great things happen. Try it if you haven't.

5. Volunteer. Volunteering for a good cause, bettering other people's lives or even spreading good message can have amazing side benefits. You will feel better about yourself instantly.

6. Exercise. Exercise can be one of the most empowering activities. It makes us feel on top of the world. Brisk walking, swimming, running, yoga...all can boost your self confidence, make us feel lighter and raring to go.

HTC One (E8) The affordable 'One'

We're now used to seeing device makers introducing cheaper, compact, under-powered variants of their flagship phones. But it's not often that we see a device of the same calibre, just wrapped in a less premium or fancy form factor, being on offer at a much lower price point.

HTC One (E8) is one such smartphone. It takes the best from One (M8), the company's flagship phone for 2014, and packs it in a polycarbonate body. This will let HTC reach out to prospective customers who were holding back because of the high price of One (M8).

Display

HTC One (E8) sports a 5-inch, Full-HD display that looks bright, offers great viewing angles and vivid colours. Colour reproduction is among the best in class, at par with One (M8).

Pictures and text look crisp and sharp. Although the display is a bit reflective, we did not face issues while using the phone under sunlight. It is in fact one of the best displays we've seen off late.

The display comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection to guard against minor scratches.

Software
Just like HTC One (M8), the One (E8) too comes with Android 4.4.2 KitKat, the latest version of the OS with Sense 6, HTC's custom UI, running on top. While it looks very different from stock Android, we quite like the Sense 6 interface. It doesn't look very different from that of the previous version of Sense.

It sports the on-screen navigation keys, which hide while playing games and using apps that make use of Android's new immersive mode.

HTC has not skinned the notifications tray and has sobered down the settings menu which is now devoid of coloured graphical icons. As with the previous version of Sense, the app launcher involves vertical scrolling.

The phone includes a new version of BlinkFeed, HTC's homescreen utility that brings personalized updates from the user's preferred news sources and social networks.

HTC has also included new gestures for unlocking the screen and going directly to Blink Feed or other home screens. 

Camera
Unlike HTC One (M8), the One (E8) doesn't feature an UltraPixel camera or a secondary camera lens for depth sensing. Instead, it includes a 13MP BSI sensor with f/2.2 aperture.

The rear camera is similar to the one on HTC Desire 816. It's not clear if the phone has a dedicated ImageChip, but the camera shutter is more responsive (almost zero lag) than Desire 816 and also includes Zoe Mode missing in the mid-ranger.

Performance
HTC One (E8) is one of the most powerful smartphones available right now. The variant available in India comes with a 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor and 2GB RAM.

Thanks to all the power under the hood, we did not notice any lag while launching and switching between apps, editing photos, browsing the web, clicking pictures, watching high definition videos, or playing graphics-heavy games.

In terms of synthetic benchmarks, it scored 25,005 in Quadrant Standard, 37,224 in AnTuTu and 58.6 in NenaMark 2, topping the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2 by a small margin in some tests.

Interestingly, it scored a little better compared to our One (M8) unit as well. But we do not recommend a phone based solely on benchmarks as real world performance is different at times.

There's no doubt that HTC One (E8) offers one of the best smartphone experiences.

We were able to play videos of popular file formats barring MOV, without any hiccups. Additional file formats can be played through third party video player apps. The sound delivered by the phone's front-stereo speakers is unparalleled in terms of both quality as well as loudness.

Call quality was excellent and the phone works well even in weak signal areas. We also observed that the phone catches even weak Wi-Fi signals.

The phone comes with GPS and A-GPS for navigation and maps and was easily able to lock a signal.

It comes with FM radio and NFC connectivity options. It's not clear if the phone is capable of supporting Indian 4G LTE bands like its metal sibling. HTC feels that the phone is targeted at a segment different than the one M8 targets.

HTC One (E8) comes with a 2600mAh battery with a claimed standby time of up to 504 hours and talk time of up to 26.8 hours on 3G.

We were satisfied with the battery backup delivered by the phone. With moderate to high usage, including about one to two hours of making calls, playing games, clicking some pictures, listening to music and browsing the web, the phone will last you a full working day, even if you put the screen brightness at the maximum level and keep 3G turned on.

The phone also comes with an Extreme power-saving mode, activating which will make the phone's battery last for 2 weeks, as per HTC. It also claims that the phone can offer 30 hours of talk time in the mode even when the battery's charge level is 10%.

The Extreme mode restricts background data and offers access to Phone, Messages, Mail, Calendar, and Calculator apps.

Verdict
With HTC One (E8), HTC's intent was to offer the same experience as that of HTC One (M8) at a relatively lower price. Has it been able to achieve that? We feel it has succeeded.

Priced at less than Rs 35,000, you get a top-of-the line smartphone that doesn't compromise when it comes to performance. It features the latest hardware and software experience, and will satisfy most users. The dual-sim capability with CDMA support, is an added bonus.

habits for a successful man

Succeeding in life is not only about working hard, but also working smart.

We all want to be successful in life. But many of us end up working harder in wrong areas of life. But simple habits and smarter thinking can bring your success rate high in your life.

Wake up early
Mornings are one of the most productive times of the day. Both our mind and body are fresh and are gearing up to take on the day. Don't start your day at the office, start it two hours before that. Plan your goals for the day, make a list of things you need to do and make sure you follow them.

Workout
A healthy body makes for a healthier life which is essential for achieving your goals. Exercise daily so that your body is ready to take on the hard work you need to do to achieve success.

Groom yourself
Half the battle is won if our confidence levels are high. And good looks make sure we are confident. When i know i am well groomed and well dressed, it automatically increase your confidence levels. The world looks at you differently as well.

Eat right
Our food should help as go ahead in life not feel like going to bed. If our lunch is making as feel dizzy and sleepy, we need to change our eating habits. Eat light and eat healthy.

7 Postures to avoid when exercising

If you often wonder about why you suffer frequent injuries at the gym, it's time to take a long, hard look at your workout form.

While exercising, method and posture play an important role. Here is  an insight on why poor form is to blame for your aches and pains.

Stop jerking: Stop jerking your weights and your body, it will only cause injury and it will have no effect on the muscles. Smooth weight training will surely get you the much needed muscles. When you twist and jerk your body while lifting weights, you open yourself up to a world of injuries like joint pain, muscle pulls, even fractures.

Slow movements: You don't want to workout in a jiffy, it defeats the purpose. Muscle fibers need slow yet smooth movement to build size and strength. If you workout really quickly, all the fibers don't get worked out. Take time and do a proper workout.

Pain in the neck: Summertime is the best time to flaunt your six pack abs. But, if you are gungho about stomach crunches, you need to know one thing. Do not place your hand on your neck as you pull your neck forward. This will cause severe neck pain. Instead, place your hand on your chest or by your side. If you are accustomed to placing your hands behind your head, then use them only as markers. Do not force your head forward in order to compensate or start the crunching movement.

Squat right: When it comes to squats, balance and body alignment is important. Do not bend too forward nor go down below your knee level. When squatting, arch your back, your abs should be tight, head up and your body should be in proper alignment. Do not let your knees cross your toes, and do not lock your knees as you lift yourself.

Full range motion: When weight training even if you do easy and few exercises make a note to do full range motions. There are two benefits: your joints are more mobile, but more importantly your muscle has a boost of strength when completely extended.

Straighten your back for a deadlift: If you arch your back, chances are you will risk a slip disc or hernia. Also keep your head in neutral position, not up or down.

Bench press posture: You may think that bench press doesn't have a right posture, but arching your back can induce lower back pain. Here's what you should do; feet should be on the floor, butt on the bench, with slight arch in your lower back and you're good to go.

5-point gym protocol

Following gym etiquette are as important as being well-mannered at the dining table, office or while traveling by public transport. Sometimes, you might forget about people around you in a gym and end up doing things that annoy others. Here's a look at some of the unsaid rules you must follow when you if you frequent the gym:

1. Avoid gym when you're sick: If you go to the gym while you battle a flu, tiny microbes are likely to get stuck on equipment. This will result in your gym mates catching the flu as well. While you are down with a cold, but feel like working out, it is better to do an outdoor activity like jogging or brisk walking depending on your condition. If you still want to workout in gym, then ensure that you sanitize all equipment after use.

2. Focus only on what you do: Make sure that you are completely focused on workouts that you do, irrespective of distractions you might face in gym. This will not only make the person working out next you comfortable, but also helps you leave the gym without injuries due to carelessness and have a productive time at gym.

3. Appropriate dressing is important: While appropriate dressing enhances your workout sessions by helping you move comfortably, it also avoids unwanted attention from fellow gym mates — especially if you are in a unisex gym. Wear clothing that covers your body appropriately and which helps you exercise with ease and confidence. Also avoid baggy clothing as you may tend to trip over it or it may get caught between equipment.

4. Share with your gym partner: Learn to share equipment with your gym mates. If you are taking a small break, don't leave your towel on the machine thinking that it will be available while you return. Let someone else slip in and do his set. That will save everyone's time.

5. Have patience: If someone is working out on a machine, don't rush or crowd around him just so that you can use it. One of the most annoying things that one can do is keep asking 'Are you almost done?'Avoid it. Wait till he finishes and be prepared for your turn.