Of brittle bones and stilettos on stones

Oh dear Calcium! How is it that you avoid us vegetarians? Why would you do that to us?
We constantly swallow gallons and gallons of the white milky stuff believing that we will get our daily doze of you, but you seem to chase us despite that, why?
Ok no more silly talk with Calcium. Let's dive right into it. Calcium is a cause for concern for many vegetarians despite their daily doze of yogurt, cottage cheese and 'doodh-wali-chai.'
So where are we going wrong? For starters, in the study of Ms Diya Dembla, dairy, the whole range, does more damage in your system than good. You may think your dairy intake is helping you with your quota of calcium, but in reality, it is casing your digestive system to slow down, hampering the balanced secretion of hormones and yes, may even aggravate those pimples.
So what can we do if we drop the milk? Well, here are a bunch of very simple vegetarian sources of calcium which if included on a daily basis in your diet, that all nighter high-heel party won't kill your toes/knees the next day. Will take way more than that.

1. White Sesame Seeds:- Add them to your salad, stir fry with them, munch them raw. Excellent source of calcium.

2. Almonds: Oh there's so much you can do with almonds.

3. Raw Spinach: See this one's not the same as cooked spinach. The calci in cooked is almost destroyed. So you want to make sure that you get some amount of raw spinach through a juice or salad or garnish.

4. Bok Choy:- GO ahead, unveil the chinese chef in you and add this to your stir fry's.

5. ALL green leafy vegetables: Have you been avoiding fresh green fenugreek? Well now's your chance to kiss and make up. Pretty much all leafy greens have quite the doze of calcium and if included in your meals everyday, your heels won't hurt.

So what will you be including in your meal today my dear vegetarian?

Vitamin L

There's something magical about being in love. The flutter in your eyes, the gorgeous glowing skin, the effervescent smile and that almost foolishly happy for absolutely no reason disposition. LOVE. It can do that to the most rational, logical and practical of us all. If you think being goofy in love with a smile for no reason is unbecoming, i've got news for you bebe. 

When we are in love or feel loved the body releases a lot of feel-good hormones. One of them, among many is Oxytocin. Did you know that oxytocin is also one of the hormones that impacts the contraction and expansion of the womb and how milk ducts get stimulated while feeding? It also plays a role in not developing food allergies.

Have i lost my male readers? Wait. I have news for you too. Apparently when men and women go out for a romantic date or a mushy movie, levels of progesterone are boosted by almost 10% and this enhances the men's desire to get intimate. When Harry Met Sally tonight?

The love between man and woman is not the only kind that is nourishing for us. Research suggests that fathers who have a good bond with their children have lower levels of cortisol which invariably shoots up during the week while they are at work. Oh cortisol! You do not want elevated levels of cortisol in your body because this one is a trouble maker.

So grab a bite together over a moonlit sky. Hug your babies nice and tight. Make passionate love to your beau. Walk hand in hand singing and laughing over meaningful conversation. You'll soon realize, your medical bills are disappearing and the way you look and feel will be everyone's envy. LOVE.

Downfall 007

Are you the best at feeling low, depressed and constantly unhappy?
Do you have the unique gift of turning a perfectly beautiful day into a sob story?
Do you feel like the world is conspiring against you?
And most importantly, are you able to have healthy relationships without feeling like somethings wrong with the other person?
I've got news for you my darling friend. Other than the fact that you probably need help in the mental department too, but for starters check your levels of:-
1. CALCIUM
2. B VITAMINS
3. D VITAMINS
4. PROTEIN
It is a proven fact that low levels of the aforementioned have an immediate effect on your mental health. Deficiency in some nutrients are conducive to feeling mentally unfit and in particular low, depressed and victimized.
It is not abnormal to feel these emotions, but if you've been feeling like that on more than one occasion and it persists across a year, yes, start with checking your levels of 1, 2, 3, 4.
And hey, your body is not the world wide web where everything can happen at the click of an instant. If you've discovered that you are deficient in any of the above, give yourself at least, three months, to feel healthy and fine before you decide, it is the mental department that needs help.
Stay Happy!

Size Zero. RIP.

Size Zero. RIP.

Like tea or coffee, sugar or sugar free, image gurus have battled with the size zero conundrum for years. The silence was broken when a very bootiful Cindy Crawford appeared on a magazine cover flaunting her bump. That was breaking all fashion principles. How can someone who was known for her hourglass figure expose her ‘flaws,’ so publicly?

That edition was a runaway success. Something the publishing team at W magazine took their chances with and were rewarded with an all-copies-sold-out prize. That was the new wave of fashion imaging. It reached out to the everyday woman. Someone who had little time for herself and led a very normal life with a little bit of a bulge on the belly and flab on the arms. It gave the everyday woman hope. Hope that one day she can be accepted as she is. Today, albeit thin is still in on the ramp and fashion brands, thin is also relative. More brands want nicer bodies over anorexic ones. Of course, if you’re genetically blessed with the perfect stats you are welcomed with open arms, but that's becoming rare.

At the more recent, American’s Top Model fashion reality show, Tyra Banks and the rest of the judges actually let go of three prospective fashion super stars because they thought they would project the wrong body image to the young and restless. Are we truly changing the way fashion imaging is projecting bodies or is it just a phase? Do you like to see slightly healthier curves on the cover of a fashion magazine or do you still prefer the non-realistic fantasy of a mannequin body on the cover?

I wish I had access to the Neilson’s research of sales for size zeros across the globe. With so much awareness and focus on better health and fitter bodies rather than skinny ones, I bet the size zero phenomenon is near extinction.

If you’ve got the curves and look attractive, watch out, you could be picked for the next fashion campaign. Enjoy your healthy body and stop obsessing about being skinny because real is in, size zero is out. 

The marriage of emotions & skin health.

My skin today, still white, but has more natural color. 

In freshman year, I was a Resident Assistant (R.A) in my dorm. I must confess, i had quite the fan club of young boys and older pre med R.As. It was quite flattering and it felt good too. You could see it in my skin. It reflected confidence. Albeit, i was a scholarship student and always stressed about my grades. It was constant. My skin at the time was clean and clear, but lacked a natural color. It was just pale white. 
On one of our training programs i met Angela. (name changed) She entered the room and her presence commanded attention. She had something about her that gravitated all the men for sure, but women as well. You just wanted to befriend her. She had this magnetic personality. This very attractive aura.  However, i absolutely must confess, she was NOT conventionally good-looking. She was coco colored, had frizzy shoulder length hair, which she tied into a neat pony tail most of the times and was on the verge of getting plump. And yet, she always had people who wanted to befriend her. Her fan club was way bigger than mine :)

Angela had gorgeous skin. It was radiant. It had color. When she laughed, blood gushed through the apples of her cheeks. Angela reflected a very content, happy and fulfilling soul. 

My point? Your skin truly reflects what emotions you carry through your body. 
99%, and that's a very high percentile, of my clients with severe acne or major skin disorders are struggling with something big in their lives. They've not been able to come to terms with. Or accept it. Or are angry about it. NINETY-NINE PERCENT. And that's a huge percentage. 
Look at your skin. It is telling you a story about your emotions. Observe your skin on good days and bad. It will tell you a lot about how you're feeling. So truly, your skin is a reflection of what you're carrying within you. I hope it is nothing but positivity. 
Om Shanti Shanti! 

Touch the God within

We're so many things to so many people. 
Sometimes, not the person who we truly are. Do you really know yourself? Have you taken some time everyday to sit with your thoughts? Listen to your mind & body in its most mundane and basic nature? Not overpowered by greed, ambition, lust or desire? 
If you asked me today, Diya, i'm, gonna give you 5 million dollars- I want you to get your MBA, work for a MNC and become a corporate diva. Other than the fact that i am mathematically challenged and hence petrified of a MBA, i would say no. I'll just take the money and do my own thing. ;) 
I know myself. I know what makes me happy and it doesn't make a difference to my life if the woman next to me in a fancy job and expensive bag thinks less of me. I am so happy. I do what i love doing and live in sync with what truly brings me happiness. 
It all started with the practice of yoga in 2007. It helped me find the god within. My inner temple.
What do you do everyday to worship yourself? Heal yourself? Nourish your mind and your thoughts?