Category: Lifestyle

Useful tips For Anyone Starting Hiking As A Hobby

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

If you have always loved being outside and have a passion for adventure, then you might be considering taking up hiking as a hobby. The fact is that hiking is a great hobby as not only is an excellent form of physical activity but it’s also an excellent way to spend more time outdoors, exploring your local area, as well as areas that are a little further afield.

Of course, like any new hobby, there’s a lot that you need to know before you head off over the hilltops to explore. So bearing that in mind, below is a guide to the ins and outs of taking up hiking as a new hobby – read on for all of the best tips and advice.

Photo from Pixabay

Learn to map read

If you can already map read, you can skip this step. If you can’t map read and don’t understand how to use a compass, you might want to take the time to learn. It’s all well and good exploring the local area with just the wind to guide you, but as you head further afield, you will need to know how to map read and use a compass to navigate across different routes.

You might be able to join a local orienteering class to learn the basics or a survival group. If there isn’t a local group for this kind of thing, you should be able to find various map reading and compass using tutorials on YouTube to follow and learn from.

Invest in the right equipment

If you are going to be hiking regularly, then you need to invest in the right equipment. The most essential item is a pair of good quality walking boots or trainers that are comfortable and designed for exercise – to learn more about this head over to biopods.com and have a browse of the designs and resources available on there.

In addition to needing footwear, you will also require a backpack, a compass, a map, a water bottle, a torch, and camping supplies for any overnight hiking trips that you might like to plan in the future. Hiking can be a lot of fun, but it’s essential that you understand the need to always be prepared, which is why investing in the right equipment is so essential.

Be safe

When it comes to hiking– or any hobby – it’s crucial that you always put your safety first. Hiking can be a great way to stay fit and get out and about more, but if you aren’t smart about the approach to hiking that you take, you could end up putting yourself in danger, which is not what you want to do.

Always ensure that you tell someone where you are going and when you should be back. If you are walking alone, share a copy of your hiking trail with a friend or relative, so that if you don’t return on time, they know where you should be. Always carry a fully charged phone with you for emergencies, so that you can contact help, should you need it.

There you have it, everything that you need to know about starting hiking as a hobby.

#CHOOSEgentle With The New Johnson’s !

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Yes, our favorite brand, who was always gentle, got gentler. Keeping up with the changing times and changing needs of both the children and mothers, Johnson’s revamped their products and made them even better and safer to be used on kids. They understand that, with atmospheric changes like pollution, dirt and the otherwise stressful life, it’s important to bring about some changes in the products too. With this thought as the main motto, on the 8th of August, Johnson’s launched its new range of products and emphasized on #CHOOSEgentle.

Being a mommy blogger I was privileged enough to be called for this launch, and to our surprise, the best part was that we mommy bloggers were the first ones to not just see but also experience the products. Leaving the traditional way of ATL launch before anything else, in Deepali Agarwal’s (Head Baby Care, J&J) own words, she literally had to fight the senior management to leave that conventional route and chose a soft launch between the influencers community of mothers, who also happen to be the primary TG of the brand, because only a mother knows whats best for her child.

A few selected mommy bloggers from across the country gathered at the ITC Maratha in Mumbai for this grand launch. The brand had quite a few revelations to be made about the new products, primary being that the products would have the following

  • No Dyes
  • No Parabens
  • No Sulfates
  • No Phthalates
  • Highest IFRA Fragrance Standard
  • Each Product Tested For 12 Months

Along with these chemical changes that are brought in the products to make them even gentler for the kids, the brand has kept a special focus on ease of using the products.

  • Tear Drop Shape for Easy Holding
  • Safety Locks on the Bottles
  • One Hand Press for Opening the Bottles

 

The products have no been made so safe that they can easily be used on the baby from day 1. Have been tested with 5.5 lakh people globally and recommended by doctors.

 

As a mother, I have personally been very loyal to the brand, my mum used Johnson’s on me and then I blindly followed it for my son. Even now, some of the products are in regular use, not just by my kid but the entire family. The mildness which has been proven for years and that special Johnson’s fragrance is something I find difficult to get over myself.

Well, Johnson’s once again proved that there could be no brand better than them, who understands baby skin care as well. Not just going by the theory, but we also did some practical demos, which instilled the faith even more. The baby shampoo having the perfect pH balance is something I myself tested practically. We were given an apparatus which included litmus strips, and 3 different kinds of shampoos, one Johnson’s, one regular family shampoo and one herbal shampoo. We had to take one spoon of each shampoo in different beakers, add 60ml water and mix them. We dipped the litmus strips in each solution and the results were astonishing. The litmus strip which was dipped in family shampoo turned literally black, which denoted its pH balance was on the higher side, making it extremely harsh even for adults, forget children. The herbal shampoo was less in comparison to the family shampoo, but when it came to Johnson’s shampoo, the litmus did not change color at all, hence proving that its pH was less than 4.5 which was perfectly balanced and very mild, gentle and safe to be used on children.

It was a day filled with a lot of fun activities and of course knowledge shared by the experts about the brand. Loved meeting all fellow mommy bloggers and enjoyed each moment spent at the event. I have already used the products and simply love them, they are really gentle.

So a big shout out to all you mothers who want nothing but the best for your children, trust Johnson’s and #CHOOSEgentle!

 

Mother Sparsh Baby Wipes, the next best thing to a mother’s touch!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

When I say this that the mother’s touch is something that can never be replaced with anything, I truly mean it. A mother’s touch is an incomparable gesture for both the mother and the child and the mother always wants the best for her child. Whatever a mother chooses for her child, she wants that particular thing to take care of her child the way she personally would. Its a feeling that cannot be explained in words and only a mum can understand. Hence when buying baby care products, a mother is so cautious that, she would never take a chance. This is one reason that I always believe in a product which a mother recommends when I come across reviews, I know that if a mother has raved about a product it has to be genuinely good. I am a mother myself, and I would never mislead my readers about any product unless I believe in it completely and can confidently recommend it.

One such product that I recently came across was the Mother Sparsh Baby Wipes and as the name suggests, it truly feels like a mother’s sparsh. Sparsh in Hindi means ‘touch’ and yes these wipes are as gentle on the baby’s skin as a mother’s touch.

Highlights of the product:

  • 98% Water Wipes- mostly wipes have more lotion content, which has preservatives and chemicals and can leave the baby’s skin prone to rashes or other allergies. These contain 98% water and hence are completely safe.
  • Alcohol-Free
  • Parabens Free
  • pH Balanced
  • Hypoallergenic
  • Extra Moisture
  • Non-Woven Spunlace Fabric and Biodegradable- Made up of 100% plant fabric which makes it totally nature-friendly
  • Proven for Mildness
  • Suitable to be used right from birth.
  • Natural Care with Aloe Vera
  • Enriched with Vitamin E
  • Cost Effective- pick up on discounted price from First Cry and it works up to just Rs. 1.53 per wipe

I have tried and tested this product and that gives me a reason to recommend it to all mothers. Be rest assured of the quality and go ahead with it.

Leica hosted its third session of ‘Coffee with Leica’ , a photo talk by Canadian Diplomat, Roger Chen

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

A leader in luxury camera segment worldwide, German Luxury Camera brand ‘Leica’celebrated the cultural heritage of India with the third session of ‘Coffee with Leica’on Saturday, 21stJuly 2018 by joining hands with Canadian Diplomat and proud Leica user- Mr. Roger Chen. The brand through this initiative not only promoted the Indian culture but also sharing Leica’s experience with the new generation of photographers.

Post the amazing response received for the first two sessions of ‘Coffee with Leica’, the third session was sculpted around Roger’s latest collection ‘Devotion- A Journey through India’, where he displayed photographs taken during his three years stay in India, capturing festivals, religion, culture and tradition. The session addressed new generation of photographers, sharing valuable information around ‘The art of capturing Indian streets which is filled with the amusing culture of India’ and photography journey with Leica.

The way Roger went on telling stories about each of his capture, it was a great narrative not just about photography nuances but also the culture of India. He also shared why some of his pictures, which he loved, never made it to the exhibition. All those minute details which change our perspective of looking at photographs in a certain way was just so interesting and intriguing.

His collection is up for exhibition at Leica Store, New Delhi from July 16thto July 26th, 2018.

About the Speaker

Mr. Roger Chen has been a diplomat working overseas over the past 25 years in locations such as Jakarta, Kuwait, Shanghai, São Paulo, Cairo, Beijing, New York and the past three years in Delhi. As an avid travel photographer, Roger has thrived on capturing the diverse cultures, traditions and customs he has been to be privileged to witness. In his Leica journey he documents the world through the Leica M10 and a 35mm f/1.4 Summilux. Follow him on Instagram to see India through his lenses.

About Leica

Leica is a 107-year-old popular German, luxury camera and sports optic brand. Known to be held by renowned photographers and celebrities worldwide, Leica a pioneer in camera and optics for decades, aims at bringing in a class apart photographic experience with their first store in the heart of the capital at Connaught Place, New Delhi in India.

Leica is headquartered at Wetzlar, Germany and has branch offices in Australia, China, France, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Singapore, South Korea, the UK and the US. Leica would be holding such interesting photo talk events and photo walks every month, for those who are keen to attend, must follow them on Instagram to get regular updates.

I throughly enjoyed myself and all I can say is that apart from gaining knowledge, I am filled with much more enthusiasm to try new techniques in photography, break the rules and simply keep experimenting. I also had a small chit chat with Roger and here is what he said

Wishes and Blessings Organise a Painting Competition at Balwant Rai Mehta School!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Established in 2014 with a mission to ‘inspire and empower dreams’, Wishes and Blessings is a registered NGO that has emerged as a unique platform for helping the underprivileged. We aim to spread blessings and fulfil wishes by linking beneficiaries with donors. We work across
the spectrum of society surpassing age and gender barriers on diverse causes including education, health, skill development and relief. With their continuous effort in various fields, they strive to reach out to as many needy people as possible and according to their age and requirements, they put in efforts to fulfil their wishes.

Recently in association with Balwant Rai Mehta School, they organised a painting competition for children and I was bestowed upon an opportunity to be present their as a judge. Though judging the talent of these amazing kids is never justified and always a difficult task, but like the say its not about winning or loosing, its about the passion and the spirit. The moment I entered in the hall, I could sense the high spirits, excitement and passion that children were putting in painting their imaginations on sheets. As I kept moving, I felt as if each painting spoke something to me, it spoke to me of their sheer dedication, it spoke to me of the fact that they were not doing it for any competition, it didn’t matter if they won or not, they were doing it to satiate their own creativity. And each painting better than the other, put me as an artist to shame. The imagination that these children possess, their vividness is something we can never achieve as adults.

The best part about the event was that specially abled, and hearing impaired children were also part of it, but they were not made to feel any different. They were sitting like regular children and till the time, one actually doesn’t interact and come to know of their issues, its never showcased. And I would say that probably we as adults feel more for their disabilities, but the confidence they show, the way they carry themselves is unmatched.

After soaking myself in their art for about an hour, when I could not take my eyes off their working, it was finally time to judge the top 3 in all categories and this I would say was the most challenging part. In true sense each painting was better than the other and on several occasions we ended up being confused on which one to chose. After juggling our heads for long, finally 3 winners were chosen in each category, and all thanks to the support from Wishes and Blessings, the first winner in each category got scholarship worth Rs. 10000, to help them pursue their dreams further in the field of art.

It was a great event and I felt very privileged to be a part of it. I am looking forward to attend more events by Wishes and Blessings and somehow in my own little way contribute to the well being of mankind.

7 Tips to keep your bowels healthy

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

When it comes to keeping your bowels healthy, your lifestyle and the choice of different foods plays a crucial role. Simply put, what you like to eat can also substantially affect the way that your body digests food.

The more important things that can help you maintain a healthy digestive tract include drinking lots of water and adding a substantial amount of fiber into your daily diet. Besides dietary changes, regular exercise can also contribute to the wellbeing of your digestive tract too. Let us check out a few tips that can keep your bowels healthy.

o Eating a diet rich in fiber content

According to leading nutrition consultants across the globe, eating food items with high fiber content can substantially improve your overall digestive health. This includes the different whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits.

Just about any kind of high-fiber diet can help your body’s digestive system to keep the food ‘moving’ throughout your digestive tract. In the long run, this will also make you markedly less likely to become overly constipated. In fact, a high-fiber diet can also help you prevent and treat a myriad of different digestive problems and conditions, such as hemorrhoids, Diverticulosis, and the annoying irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). And there is a bonus as well here. Once you start consuming foods rich in fiber, you can achieve and maintain your dream weight in the long run.

o Try to include both insoluble and soluble fiber in your daily diet

One should consume both types of fiber because they help improve your digestive system in a variety of different ways. For example, the most common types of “Insoluble fibers” colloquially known as roughage cannot be digested by the human body. They help add a substantial amount of bulk to the stool.

On the other hand, the different types of the highly soluble fiber draw in lots of water and thereby help prevent watery stools at the same time. Good sources of insoluble fiber include different vegetables, wheat bran, and whole grains. Besides these choices, you can get highly soluble fiber from nuts, seeds, oat bran, and even legumes.

  • Always try to limit those foods that are way too high in fat content

This is because fatty foods slow down the whole digestive process completely. Foods with high-fat content make a man (or even a woman for that matter) prone to periodic bouts of high constipation. Remember that it is equally important to add at least some amount of fat in your daily diet. And there is a certain way of going about doing it.

For instance, pairing the fat-rich foods with high-fiber foods items can make them a lot easier to pass through your entire digestive system.

o Lean meats are the way to go!

When you prepare a meal, always keep in mind that protein is an essential part of just about any healthy diet. But, you should be careful to understand that fatty cuts of meat that you consume can also lead to uncomfortable digestion. This is why, whenever you consume a lot of meat, always go to the meat shop and only select the lean cuts, such as skinless poultry, or sirloin steaks.

o Maintain a schedule if you can

Meal times have been an integral part of our collective lifestyle since time immemorial. Our bodies are attuned to eating at certain times of the day and night. This is why making a schedule and keeping to it, more or less rigidly can also help your digestive system with reference to your bowel movements. After all, it stands to reason that the more regular your meals, the steadier will be those bowel movements as well. If you really want clean and healthy bowels, then maybe you should consider sitting down at roughly the same time periods for all your major (and also minor) meals of the day, such as breakfast, lunch, dinner and a light supper, before going to bed.

o The seminal importance of drinking water

As mentioned earlier, staying well hydrated is important. The thing is that drinking plenty of fresh water is really good for your overall digestive health. And when you mix your hydration plans with a high-fiber diet, then all that fiber will pull in the water and help you pass your stools easily.

o Skip all those the bad habit if you can and also exercise regularly

Ok here is the thing. Excessive smoking, excessive caffeine, and alcoholic beverage consumption is terrible news for your digestive tract. In fact, hard liquor, coffee, and even cigarette smoking can easily throw a spanner in the works when it comes to the effective functioning of your entire digestive system. And it is not just your bowels that will be affected, but rather other parts of your digestive system such as stomach (ulcers) and heartburn (Esophagus reflux).

Apart from the above, exercise also goes a long way in taking care of your bowel movements. And the good news is that it doesn’t have to be a high-intensity workout. Even a simple cardio workout at homeis effective. To get into the mood for an awesome workout, invest in trendy active wear and stylish accessories such as sports bra and butt lifterpanties.

o Conclusion

In the light of the above, it can easily be seen that taking care of your bowels is really not that hard, provided you follow these simple tips.

Author Bio:

Judy Robinson is a passionate health and lifestyle blogger. She loves to write on healthy lifestyle, fitness 101 and DIY related topics. Follow @judyrobinsonfor more updates.

 

3 Natural Health Resets That Might Change Your Life

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

 

Image via Pixabay

A lot gets said about the best tactics for enhancing your overall health, ranging from all kinds of dramatic dietary recommendations, to adverts for particular exercise routines whose advocates are convinced can solve all the problems experienced by mankind, in short order.

But for all the fine-tuning you can do to try and get your body and mind performing to their optimal standards, there are also a wide range of more straightforward, holistic, and big-picture changes you can make, which can have a disproportionately large impact on your health and well-being as a whole.

Author Charles Duhigg writes in his book, “The Power of Habit”, about “keystone habits” — habits which set off a cascade of positive change, and lead to numerous positive habits, in and of themselves.

Here are some “keystone” approaches, strategies, and techniques, for improving your health.

Go camping

There are many benefits to camping, from getting more fresh air, to spending a larger proportion of your day being physically active, and even just benefiting from the apparently innate healing benefit of trees.

Researchers have, in the past, found evidence that patients in hospital rooms with windows facing trees, experience better health in a shorter timeframe than others.

Other research has suggested that people who live in more rural environments and spend more time in nature tend to be happier and healthier than those who don’t.

Researchers have also suggested that continuous bouts of low-level physical activity throughout the day — such as walking — have a profound impact on health; considerably more than a daily hour in the gym.

Research has also found that chronic insomniacs, when taken camping, quickly have their circadian rhythms rebalanced and are able to fall asleep, probably due to the natural cycles of light and dark. If you need to optimize your circadian rhythm, a few days spent in the great outdoors, without digital devices, may be the key.

Quit caffeine

Caffeine is a ubiquitous substance in today’s world — it’s pretty much everywhere, and it’s in virtually everything. Chocolate bars contain caffeine due to their cocoa content, coffee and energy drinks obviously contain it, but even other soft-drinks you wouldn’t expect — such as Lucozade — contain added caffeine.

Over time, however, constant caffeine use can lead to burnout and adrenal fatigue, as stress hormones are kept constantly high.

Quit caffeine and deal with the withdrawals (which can take a few months) and you’ll likely find that you have much more consistent energy levels as a result.

Eat as much as you need to feel satisfied

Many dieters who think they’re being healthy end up causing themselves severe health problems due to being restrictive eating patterns.

Eating at a caloric deficit — even one deemed “moderate” by modern diet gurus — can lead to major hormonal issues, including the shut-down of the thyroid — as evidenced by the Minnesota Starvation Experiment and similar studies.

There’s also evidence that yo-yo dieting causes the body to gain fat more easily in future.

To avoid these catastrophic outcomes, eat as much as you need, as often as you need it, in order to feel satisfied. Just stick to whole foods and whole-cooked meals, and limit processed food intake to every once in a while for special occasions.

Blurb Hosts Hotel Marketing Round Table Discussion in Goa

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Blurb, a leading PR agency in Goa which caters to Luxury Hotels and Restaurant Industry is all set to host a round table discussion on the Hotel Marketing. Well known players from the industry will be seen taking the speakers position and throw light on the current industry standards. Names like Saurabh Khanna, GM, The Park Hotels, Sachin Patil, STAAH Channel Manager & Rubiq Website Development, Wilbert Egipsy, Digital Marketing & Ecommerce Unomas, Sol De Goa, would grace the occasion and raise the standards of such a round table discussion as they bring with them years of experience and are encyclopaedias of the industry in their own rights.

Blurb was created to work in this area with a special focus on social media marketing. At the time, there were no agencies in Goa specialising in end to end marketing solutions for hospitality brands. Over the past four years, its success stories include most of Goa’s leading restaurant and hotel brands, such as the Black Sheep Bistro, Mustard, Simba Craft Beer, Habanero Goa, and Vivanta by Taj Panaji to name a few.

The start-up was created by Sapna Shahani, an enterprising female entrepreneur who spent her formative years in the tech rich city of San Francisco, California and later returned to her hometown Mumbai. Goa was always a home away from home where she spent family holidays, so setting up business in Goa felt more comfortable than the overcrowded business capital of Mumbai. Sapna completed a fast-track MBA course at the Indian School of Business (Mumbai) which was specially designed for working women entrepreneurs. This gave her the confidence to make the shift from TV/ documentary production to running her own full-fledged PR and marketing agency.

“Blurb aims to promote innovative businesses in the hospitality space and only plugs businesses that we believe in. Hiring a consultancy like Blurb is like taking out an insurance policy for your business. An external set of eyes helps you take customer-centric decisions to advance your brand’s relevance in the market. In today’s fast-paced world, there are so many marketing activities that entrepreneurs need to do to stay visible that it makes more sense to engage specialists for this responsibility, who have the bird’s eye view of the industry,” remarked Sapna.

Since its inception, Blurb has worked with premium five star hotels like Fort Tirakol to niche cafes and restaurants like Artjuna. ‘Every business has a unique story to tell and the Blurb team knows how to share it’. This catch phrase helps build the right brand perception in the eyes of the customer.

So what are you waiting for, if you want to hear the industry experts speak their knowledge out, pre-register yourself for the event and make the most of it.

7 Reasons Camping Is Beneficial for Your Health

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

If you want to make the most of your time with friends or family, then you should look into camping. There are many activities to indulge in, ranging from fishing, campfires to hiking and biking. But there is a lot more to camping than meets the eye.

Camping interestingly has numerous health benefits. In fact, spending time outdoors camping can add years to your life. Not sure how? Here are 7 reasons for you to consider.

1. Exercise

When you are camping, you get a great deal of exercise. You get to partake in different activities, like the ones mentioned above, which in turn allow you to burn those extra calories in no time. Additionally, exercising outdoors and doing as many activities as you can also benefit your heart and lungs greatly.

2. Healthy Food

During your camping trip, your options are limited when it comes to the food you can actually consume. Basically, you have to make do with meals that can be grilled or cooked on a campfire.

If you choose foods that require preparation, your digestive system will get a break from all the fast food you have had previously. Also, rather than taking pies and candies, promote healthy eating by taking fruits, nuts and granola bars instead.

3. Sufficient Sleep

The best part about camping is that you can sleep in for as long as you like. The environment and quiet nature will do wonders for you when it comes to getting proper sleep. After a tiring day of activities, you will find it incredibly easy to doze off under the starry sky. Rest assured, with sufficient sleep, your body will function more effectively than ever before. Surprisingly your sleep cycle will improve by leaps and bounds.

4. Decreases Anxiety and Depression

Based on research carried out, green spaces are known for decreasing depression and anxiety. By camping, you will break away from your hectic lifestyle. It is here where you can develop clarity to better understand yourself.

5. Socialization

Tired of your everyday routine? Well, that is where camping comes into the picture to give you the much-needed break you need from your place of employment and otherwise. Since you will get time with your friends or family, you can socialize and learn more about them, without any distractions of course. Socialization, according to the American Journal of Public Health, can increase your lifespan and defeat memory problems.

6. Fresh Air

Once you have set up camp, you can finally take a deep breath of fresh air, which alone will make you feel refreshed. The feeling of excitement is not because of the long vacation, but because of all the surrounding greenery. Said greenery gives off high-quality oxygen, which improves brain functionality, all the while making you feeling happier and decreasing stress levels as well.

7. Sunshine

Whether you are camping in your RV or sleeping outdoors, it really does not matter. The bottom line is that spending time outside will have a positive impact on your health. Apart from that tan you always wanted, the sun gives your body the Vitamin D it needs to absorb phosphorus and calcium so that your teeth and bones stay strong.

Now that you know of the health benefits that lie in store for you on your next camping trip, pack your Canvas tentASAP. Remember, the more you stay outdoors, especially with your friends or family, the better you will benefit in more ways than you can imagine.

Author Bio:

Judy Robinson is a passionate health and lifestyle blogger. She loves to write on healthy lifestyle, travel, fitness 101 and DIY related topics. Follow @judyrobinsonfor more updates.

Everything You Want to Know About Meditation

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Meditation has different meaning for different people. For me, its a soothing effect on my mind, body and soul. I don’t practice it regularly but whenever I do, it surely helps me declutter. I will admit that it takes a lot to meditate. It doesn’t come easy and even now I am not a pro. It really takes months and years of practice, because merely closing your eyes and deep breathing is not meditation. Meditation is like a connect with your own soul, to hear your innermost voice and to feel each and every breath that you take. Its difficult, but once you are able to do so, the peace is unmatchable.

Here is everything you wanna know about Meditation