Trail Hopping in San Antonio by Ash on his folding bike

My source of inspiration for biking Mr. Ashutosh Bijoor has visited San Antonio recently and has captured the city with is a unique perspective. Unfortunately, I could not join him since I went to California for a mountaineering trip to climb “Mount Shasta” during that time.
Enjoy the San Antonio video taken during the bike ride. River Walk TrailMedina River TrailLeon Creek Trail

Read details in this blog over here: https://bijoor.me/2019/05/30/trail-hopping-in-the-us-san-antonio/

Enjoy the San Antonio video taken during the bike ride. 
River Walk Trail
Medina River Trail
Leon Creek Trail

I am going to cover all 3 trails on my folding bike soon 😉

High level of triglycerides can increase your risk of heart

What are triglycerides?

Triglycerides are a type of fat (lipid) found in your blood. When you eat, your body converts any calories it doesn’t need to use right away into triglycerides. The triglycerides are stored in your fat cells. Later, hormones release triglycerides for energy between meals. If you regularly eat more calories than you burn, particularly “easy” calories like carbohydrates and fats, you may have high triglycerides (hypertriglyceridemia).

What’s considered normal?

A simple blood test can reveal whether your triglycerides fall into a healthy range.

• Normal — Less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or less than 1.7 millimoles per liter (mmol/L)
• Borderline high — 150 to 199 mg/dL (1.8 to 2.2 mmol/L)
• High — 200 to 499 mg/dL (2.3 to 5.6 mmol/L)
• Very high — 500 mg/dL or above (5.7 mmol/L or above)

What’s the difference between triglycerides and cholesterol?

Triglycerides and cholesterol are separate types of lipids that circulate in your blood. Triglycerides store unused calories and provide your body with energy, and cholesterol is used to build cells and certain hormones. Because triglycerides and cholesterol can’t dissolve in blood, they circulate throughout your body with the help of proteins that transport the lipids (lipoproteins).

Giant Mountain bike Stance 1

Hi Friends,

I am excited to share the new that, today I have purchased a new mountain bike (bi cycle) worth Rs (1,30,000) One Lakh and Thirty Thousand. Its an investment towards health and fitness. Its exciting and environment friendly as well.

Enjoy this video and try it out, I am sure you will enjoy it 🙂

Art of Living yoga : Padma Sadhna

‘Padma’ means lotus and ‘Sadhana’ is your effort. This practice should therefore be as effortless and light as a lotus. Sadhana is the gentle nudge to get on to the mat and Padma is the unfurling of your potential, layer by layer. Together, Padma Sadhana can help you blossom from within through the practice of yoga postures.

5 elements for a blissful Padma Sadhana

According to the Agama tradition*, it is believed that the Devi (Goddess) sits on a five-layered seat or asana. The base of this seat is a tortoise, which represents stability. Stability alone is not enough. You need awareness also. So the second layer is the snake, which represents awareness. Awareness can lead to activity in the mind. So above the snake sits the lion, which symbolizes grace. Above the lion sits the Siddha, the perfect sage. And above the perfect sage sits the lotus, the symbol of full blossoming. When our yoga postures have all these five qualities – stability, awareness, grace, perfection and full blossoming, then the divinity dawns in us and that is Padma Sadhana.

Sri Sri says doing PadmaSadhana gives you access to your inner strength. When practiced daily, this 45-minute sequence of yoga poses can lead to a calmer mind, healthier body and more peace. This set of graceful yoga asanas (postures) helps prepare the body and mind for deeper meditation. One of the key tips is to stay relaxed throughout the practice. Doing Padma Sadhana before Sudarshan Kriya enhances your experience, so that you remain uplifted throughout the day, untouched by the mud around you.

5 Tips to Deepen Your Padma Sadhana

A very gentle yet deep yoga technique, Padma Sadhana, is experiencing meditation through asanas (yoga postures). The entire Padma Sadhana sequence is 40-minute long, which includes 10 minutes of yoga postures, 5 minutes of pranayama (breathing technique), 20 minutes of meditation, again followed by 5 minutes of pranayama. The yoga postures in Padma Sadhana flow into each other, with each yoga pose complementing the preceding one. When done correctly, Padma Sadhana stretches the body and prepares the mind for meditation. In fact, each yoga posture in the Padma Sadhana sequence becomes a meditative experience by itself.

Just as it is important to know how to do Padma Sadhana (move the body into yoga postures). It is also important to practice Padma Sadhana with the right attitude, the right feeling.

Follow the five tips and make your Padma Sadhana experience blissful, deep and meditative.

#1 Keep the body stable. When you get into any posture for Padma Sadhana, ensure that you are not very unsteady or uncomfortable. Meditation happens when the body is at ease. The Patanjali Yoga Sutra, Sthira Sukham Asanam, gives prime importance to both stability and comfort while doing your asanas (sthira=stable; sukham=comfort).

If your body is shaky in a particular posture, it means you are overdoing. Find a position that is stable and comfortable for you.

#2 Be aware of what is happening. Once you have attained stability in the yoga posture, move on to the next level – awareness.

Simply being stable in a yoga pose can either bring dullness or make the mind wander. For instance, in Shavasana (Corpse Pose), you can be stable in the position but what if you go off to sleep? Or you start forming a chain of thoughts in your mind?

Yoga is doing the yoga postures with the awareness that ‘I am doing the stretch, my breath is moving in and out, my heart is beating, my thoughts are coming and going.’ This doesn’t mean that one keeps thinking – I am doing this stretch and my heart is beating. It simply means drawing your attention to this and then letting go of the thought. When the mind experiences this state of awareness, being totally in the present moment, it slips into meditation.

#3 Let the yoga poses flow gracefully like a dance. The whole beauty of Padma Sadhana lies in the graceful manner in which it is carried out. You may be totally aware of the movement but you may just be doing it mechanically like a robot. Moreover, there are chances of injuring yourself while doing a stretch with a jerk or with stiffness. With awareness, you can bring grace in your postures. Do them very gently, coordinating each body movement with therhythm of breath consciously. Moreover, doing yoga poses gracefully with a smile relaxes the mind.

#4 Strive to develop perfection. Simply being graceful in your movements, even though you don’t get them right, again doesn’t help. You need to perfect your yoga posture too. Again, with awareness you are able to identify if you are doing a posture gracefully but not being able to stretch more than a point to get the asana right. This becomes possible with regular practice and a bit of effort.

Take for example the Bow Pose (Dhanurasana). If you find it difficult to hold that pose for long, keep practicing daily and you will notice the posture becoming effortless and more graceful over the days.

#5 Go beyond the body. Padma means lotus. Just as a lotus blossoms, one’s potential can also expand with the practice of Padma Sadhana.

How does this happen? Certainly all the four tips above contribute – yet the real secret is this: go beyond the body.

All of us want to achieve that perfect posture and would be satisfied if we could do a series absolutely perfectly. But you’re a yogi! As a yogi, you know it is not wise to get stuck at the perfection level of the asana – go beyond and observe what is happening inside of you. Are you experiencing the true essence of yoga: the union of the body, mind and spirit?

Yoga practice is not a substitute for medicine. Please consult a doctor before practicing yoga postures. It is important to learn and practice yoga postures under the supervision of a trained Art of Living Yoga teacher. Find an Art of Living Yoga course at an Art of Living Center near you. Do you need information or share feedback? Write to us at info@srisriyoga.in.

Think to get better Instead of More – solution to save environment

The Story of Solutions explores how we can move our economy in a more sustainable and just direction, starting with orienting ourselves toward a new goal.

In the current ‘Game of More’, we’re told to cheer a growing economy — more roads, more malls, more Stuff! — even though our health indicators are worsening, income inequality is growing and polar icecaps are melting.

But what if we changed the point of the game? What if the goal of our economy wasn’t more, but better — better health, better jobs and a better chance to survive on the planet?

The Story of Electronics products we keep on changing to often

The Story of Electronics, explore the high-tech revolution’s collateral damage—25 million tons of e-waste and counting, poisoned workers and a public left holding the bill. Host Annie Leonard takes viewers from the mines and factories where our gadgets begin to the horrific backyard recycling shops in China where many end up. The film concludes with a call for a green ‘race to the top’ where designers compete to make long-lasting, toxic-free products that are fully and easily recyclable.

Our production partner on the electronics film is the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, which promotes green design and responsible recycling in the electronics industry.

Dark truth behind Cosmetics

The Story of Cosmetics, examines the pervasive use of toxic chemicals in our everyday personal care products, from lipstick to baby shampoo. Produced with Free Range Studios and hosted by Annie Leonard, the seven-minute film by The Story of Stuff Project reveals the implications for consumer and worker health and the environment, and outlines ways we can move the industry away from hazardous chemicals and towards safer alternatives. The film concludes with a call for viewers to support legislation aimed at ensuring the safety of cosmetics and personal care products.

And, for all you fact checkers out there,
http://www.storyofstuff.org/2011/04/1…

Bottled water is neither good for us nor for Environment

The Story of Bottled Water, the film explores the bottled water industrys attacks on tap water and its use of seductive, environmental-themed advertising to cover up the mountains of plastic waste it produces. The film concludes with a call to take back the tap, not only by making a personal commitment to avoid bottled water, but by supporting investments in clean, available tap water for all.

Our production partners on the bottled water film include five leading sustainability groups: Corporate Accountability International, Environmental Working Group, Food & Water Watch, Pacific Institute, and Polaris Institute.

And, for all you fact checkers out there, http://storyofstuff.org/pdfs/StoryOfB…

Visit for more details : http://storyofbottledwater.org

Top 10 tips for winter health

Ø Boost your immune system: Make sure your grocery bag is full of fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin A, C and E  (think carrots, oranges, grapefruits and dark leafy vegetables) to ensure your body has a steady flow of ammunition to fight infection.

Ø Grab a shut eye: Due to longer nights, you tend to sleep more. Don’t fret about it and enjoy the extra napping time that you get, guilt free!

Ø Get outdoors:         Even though it may be tempting to sit inside the warmth of your house, it’s important that you get some sunshine whenever possible.  It’s possible to get depressed if you don’t get enough sunshine. In medical lingo, it’s known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Ø Watch what you eat and drink: Winters are also a time when many people buy themselves a one way ticket to weight gain by reaching   for deep fried snacks and hot beverages. It’s important to remember cream based soups and cream laden caffeine drinks aren’t healthy.

Ø Stay active: Lethargy affects everyone during the winters. Getting out into the cold weather for your jog or cycling may seem impossible   but try and squeeze in a little bit of activity into your winter schedule. Remember to warm up as your muscles are  tighter during winters making them more prone to injury.

Ø Keep infections from spreading: Wash your hands regularly to keep infections from spreading

Ø Stay warm: Cover up if you are feeling cold. Don’t wait till your fingers have frozen or your feet have numbed.

     Wear socks, gloves, scarves, anything to make sure your body is comfortable.

Ø Hydrate yourself: It’s normal not to feel thirsty during winters, but keep yourself hydrated. If you don’t feel like drinking water, give your body lots of warm fluids in the form of clear soups and herbal teas.

Ø Show your skin some TLC: Your skin probably is the worst affected during winters. Lack of moisture in the air and in your body leaves it dry and flaky. Show it some love and affection, use a deep nourishing cream to ensure your skin stays healthy.

Ø Be heart healthy: Winter is notoriously associated with a rise in heart attacks. The reason for this is still much debated, but the fact remains. So if you are a heart patient, watch what you eat, exercise moderately and head to a hospital if you feel some discomfort. Be safe!!

Happy Winter 🙂

Health benefits of drinking warm lemon water in morning

 

Packed with all the goodness, make it a point to begin your day with a glass of warm lemon juice. Its cleansing and healing effects will have positive effects on your health in the long run. However it is very important to note that lemon juice when comes directly in contact with the teeth, can ruin the enamel on the teeth. Hence, it is advised to consume it diluted and also rinse your mouth thoroughly after drinking lemon juice.

• Lemon is an excellent and rich source of vitamin C, an essential nutrient that protects the body against immune system deficiencies
  
• Lemons contain pectin fiber which is very beneficial for colon health and also serves as a powerful antibacterial
  
• It balances maintain the pH levels in the body
  
• Having warm lemon juice early in the morning helps flush out toxins
  
• It aids digestion and encourages the production of bile
  
• It is also a great source citric acid, potassium, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium
  
• It helps prevent the growth and multiplication of pathogenic bacteria that cause infections and diseases
  
• It helps reducing pain and inflammation in joints and knees as it dissolves uric acid
  
• It helps cure the common cold
  
• The potassium content in lemon helps nourish brain and nerve cells
  
• It strengthens the liver by providing energy to the liver enzymes when they are too dilute
  
• It helps balance the calcium and oxygen levels in the liver In case of a heart burn, taking a glass of concentrated lemon juice can give relief
  
• It is of immense benefit to the skin and it prevents the formation of wrinkles and acne
  
• It helps maintain the health of the eyes and helps fight against eye problems
  
• Aids in the production of digestive juices
  
• Lemon juice helps replenish body salts especially after a strenuous workout session