Slow down: Instead of hogging down khana mindlessly while youre watching Fear Factor, turn off the technology and pay attention to the foods flavour. If you realise you’re full before taking those final few bites, you may cut as many as 100 cals a day.
TO BE FITTER
Faster crunches and bicep curls arent the only way to greater strength. You may have been fascinated by concepts of power gym
ming and various other endurancebuilding plans, but it is resistance training and working on each muscle group which you need for the Mumbai life. Slow down: Try the above protocol in a super slow mode to start with. Remember, slower activities burn serious calories. Yoga makes it easier to realise when exactly youre slipping into overdrive through the day.TO SIZZLE IN BED
Chronic hurrying raises levels of hormones that suppresses the bodys production of dopamine, a ‘feelgood’ chemical that plays a key role in regulating libido. You may have found out that you’re more interested in snoozing than sex. Skipping foreplay and running into action also means your sex life is thanda. Slow down: Before sinking down into your pillow, take a moment to touch your spouse’s hand,
look into his/her eyes, and say something, whether it’s “How was your day?” or “I love you.” Communicating with each other at the end of a busy day enhances intimacy.FOR A HEALTHIER HEART
TV commercials of low-cholesterol oil show people getting breathless in the face of any anxiety. If you see yourself here, take guard. Those who hate to wait have an almost 50 per cent higher risk of developing high blood pressure in the next 15 years compared with those who know how to deal with it. Slow down: The next time you feel like throwing a paperweight at an HR officer who’s taking ages to sign your papers, say something calming to yourself such as, “In the larger scheme of things, it doesn’t matter if this takes an extra minute.” Pay attention to simple things your neighbour’s oneyear-old toddler for example.
FOR AN ENERGY BOOST
Living at a frenetic pace means you breathe in shallow, stressed gulps, depriving your brain and body of sufficient oxygen. The result: constant exhaustion and anxiety. Slow down: Count to four while inhaling through your nose, then count backward from four to one while exhaling through your mouth. Pay attention to your belly it should rise as you breathe in and fall as you slowly breathe out. Practice this wherever you can at your desk, in the shower or in that line at the post office.
TO DO MORE AT WORK
Project deadline and constant multi-tasking not only kill your creativity but also reduces productivity. Self-reflection decreases the odds that your work will be sloppy or that you’ll make more mistakes. Slow down: Prioritise which project is most important, then
tackle it and fight the tendency to jump back and forth between it and other to-dos. As an added perk, you’ll have a greater sense of accomplishment at the end of the day and probably feel a lot calmer.TO BE A BETTER PARENT
It’s tough to connect with your kids when there are endless things to do once you reach home. And the less time you spend with your children when they’re young, greater the odds that you’ll run into family conflict quarreling about deadlines, smoking, etc when they hit adolescence. Slow down: You simply need to use the time on hand differently. Again, give full attention to little moments. For instance, have breakfast with them once in a while and ask them about their most hated teacher. Let them know they’re valued and thus make way for better communication.