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Don’t fear the teen years
Don’t fear the teen years
Bharat Thakur, Columnist, GULF NEWS, Published: March 08, 2008, 01:10
This is the second part of yoga for children. It focuses on teenagers.
Teen years are a difficult time. During puberty and later teens, several hormonal and physiological changes take place in the body.
These changes often result in rebellion and mood swings.
Regular practise of yoga can help teens maintain balance in their lives. Asanas help build flexibility, strengthen muscles and keep internal organs healthy.
Trataka is a cleansing technique that helps the child to improve memory, develop concentration and a strong will power.
Bandhas help balance certain hormonal secretions.
Given below are some practices that can be made part of the teen lifestyle so that teenagers benefit all round and stay healthy.
Surya Namaskar is a combination of ten postures, which can be practised daily in rounds of 10 to 20.
Chakrasana (The wheel pose)
Lie on the back with the knees bent and the heels touching the buttocks.
The feet and knees should be about 30cm apart.
Place the palms on the floor beside the head with the fingers pointing towards the shoulders.
Slowly, raise the body and arch the back, allowing the crown of the head to support the weight of the upper body.
Straighten the arms and legs as much as possible and lift the head and trunk from the floor.
Try to arch the back as high as possible in the final position.
Let the head hang between the straightened arms.
Hold this position for as long as is comfortable.
Slowly, lower the body so that the head rests on the floor and lower the rest of the body, too.
Practise three rounds.
Caution : Should be practised on a carpet to protect the head.
Shouldn’t be practised by teens with any illness, weak wrists or when they are feeling tired.
Sarvangasana (Shoulder stand)
Lie on the back on a mat. Make sure your body is straight.
With the support of your arms, slowly raise the legs to a vertical position, keeping them straight.
Bend the elbows and place the hands behind the rib cage, keeping them slightly away from the spine, to support the back.
Gently push the chest forward to bring it closer to the chin.
In the final position, the legs are vertical, together and in a straight line with the trunk.
Hold this position for as long as is comfortable.
To return to the starting position, bring the legs forward until the feet are above and behind the back of the head.
Slowly, release the position of the hands and bring the body down to the floor.
Relax on your back until the heart beat returns to normal.
Beginners should hold the position for a few seconds only.
Gradually increase the time to 3-5 minutes.
Should be performed once.
Caution: Shouldn’t be practised by teens suffering from enlarged thyroid, cervical spondylitis and slip disc.
Should be avoided during menstruation.
Marjariasana ( Cat-stretch pose)
Sit on your heels.
Raise the buttocks and stand on the knees.
Lean forward and place the hands flat on the floor beneath the shoulder, with the fingers facing forward.
Inhale and raise the head while depressing the spine, so that the back becomes concave.
Exhale while lowering the head and stretching the spine upwards.
At the end of each exhalation, contract the abdomen and pull in the buttocks and head between the arms and look towards the thighs.
This is one round; repeat 10 to 15 times.
Singhasana (Roaring-lion pose)
Sit on your heels with knees about 45cm apart.
Place the palms on the floor between the knees, with the fingers pointing towards the body.
Lean forward, resting the body on the straightened arms.
Arch the back and gently tilt the head back so that there is a comfortable tension in the neck.
Inhale slowly and deeply.
At the end of the inhalation, open the mouth and extend tongue as far as possible towards the chin.
While slowly exhaling, produce a clear steady “aaah” sound from the throat.
This is one round. Repeat five times.
Jalandhar bandha
Benefits: When we press the chin to the throat, the parathyroid and thyroid glands in the neck get activated and thyroxin is secreted.
This hormone helps reduce stress.
It also helps control numerous problems related to the thyroid gland.
Sit in a comfortable posture with the back straight.
Inhale deeply, fill your lungs with air, raise your chest and hold your breath.
Press your chin to the throat.
Hold your breath for 30 seconds to a minute.
When you can’t hold your breath anymore, raise your head and exhale.
Repeat three times.
Caution: People with cervical spondylosis shouldn’t attempt this bandha.
Teens with high thyroxin levels shouldn’t perform this bandha.
Trataka (Gazing with concentration)
Light a candle and place it on a small table. The flame should be exactly at the eye level when sitting.
Sit in a comfortable position with the head and spine erect. Be at arm’s length from the candle.
Close your eyes to relax them.
Open your eyes and gaze steadily at the end of the candlewick. The flame may flicker slightly but the end of the wick will always remain steady.
Try not to blink or move the eye balls in any way.
Don’t strain, as that will make you blink because of tension.
After a minute or two, when your eyes become tired or begin to water, close them gently.
With your eyes closed, focus mentally on the image of the flame.
If the image moves, try to stabilise it.
When the image of the flame begins to fade, try to bring it back.
When the image can no longer be retained, open your eyes and gaze at the end of the wick once more.
Repeat the practice.
Continue this way for two to three times.
After completing the final round, rub your palms and keep them on your eyes a couple of times.
Caution: Must be practised on a steady flame, so ensure that the room is not airy.
Avoid undue strain.
Bharat Thakur is the founder of Bharat Thakur’s Artistic Yoga. For questions on yoga, write to dubai.artisticyoga@gmail.com. For more information, log on to http://www.bharatthakur.com
English county cricket teams pick UAE for pre-season tournament
English county cricket teams pick UAE for pre-season tournament By K.R. Nayar, Senior Reporter GULF NEWS Published: February 28, 2008, 00:40
Dubai: Top English county cricket teams have found UAE as an ideal venue for a pre-season tournament.
“UAE is close to UK and has the weather and facilities to play professional cricket before the start of their season,” said Matthew Jackson, the Chief Executive Officer Sports Arabia Ltd, the organiser of the Arch Trophy to be held in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi next month.
Top England Test stars like Andrew Flintoff, Marcus Trescothick, Ravi Bopara, Graham Gooch and Mushtaq Mohammad, representing five county teams, will play in the tournament.
“One of our companies, Arabian Cricket Ltd, a tour operator that specialises in organising cricket tours, organised a tour for Sussex and Essex last year.
“They enjoyed playing here. So we contacted the England Cricket board and International Cricket Council for approval to stage a tournament here. We are now sanctioned as an unofficial ICC event,” added Jackson.
“We are also staging an Under-19 English schools tournament from March 26 to 31 at the Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi and a County Academy tournament in December,” he said.
Jackson is keen to expand the Arch Trophy next year. “This will be an annual event contested mainly by English teams but we will soon include pro teams from other cricketing nations too,” he said.
Elaborating on how he picked the five counties, Jackson said: “Sussex and Essex readily agreed as they played here last year. We approached Lancashire and Yorkshire because they are two of the biggest pro teams in the UK and Somerset as they are the English second division champions.
“We are also keen to develop cricket in UAE and invited the UAE team to gain from the experience of playing some of the best players in world cricket and help them in their quest to qualify for the next World Cup.”
Want to test your fitness, climb 55 floors
Want to test your fitness, climb 55 floors
By a staff reporter KHALEEJ TIMES 26 February 2008
DUBAI — A high rise stair climb in Dubai’s iconic tall buildings will be held on February 29. As part of it, participants will scale 55 floors to test both their endurance and fitness.
The ‘Dynamisan High Rise Stair Climb’ was announced yesterday by Novartis Consumer Health (NCH).
The climb, to be held at the A W Rostamani 21st Century Tower in Dubai, is expected to be rolled out throughout the GCC countries over the coming months.
With the increasing incidence of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in the UAE, this climb aims to showcase the benefits of taking the stairs and getting more physical exercise to combat obesity and help ensure a healthy lifestyle.
Stair climbing is an effective cardiovascular work-out and burns twice as many calories as other sporting activities; 15 minutes of stair climbing produces the same results as 30 minutes of running. Climbing up the first 20 flights will be aerobic, after which the climb will intensify becoming an intense anaerobic work-out.
Samah ElManzalawy, Dynamisan Brand Manager from Novartis Consumer Health said, “We all work long hours and tend to neglect our health, especially with regards to exercise. We are often too tired to exercise, even though it will give us an energy boost.”
The event is open to everyone.
FXLabs, Zapak, Sify Launch "Agni"
FXLabs, Zapak, Sify Launch “Agni”
Techtree News Staff
Game company, FXLabs, has launched its first PC adventure game, “Agni” starring Malaika Arora Khan as the lead character. For which, the company has partnered with Zapak and Sify.
FXLabs claims “Agni” is the first PC game developed in India. “Agni” is designed as a third person shooter-role playing game or TPS-RPG that features more than 10 original scenic stages, and four different characters named Tara, Ghayab, Adhira, and of course, Agni.
Speaking at the launch, Sashi Reddi, founder and chairman of FXLabs, said, “Agni will provide Indian gamers with international quality, and content with local flavor at Indian prices. We have followed international ‘AAA’ production standard that rivals the best PC games in quality.”
Zapak will be the Buzz Marketing Partner (360 degrees) for “Agni” and will promote the game both online and offline via Gameplexes. While Sify will market the game online and through their GameDromes.
Also present at the occasion, Arun Mehra, chief marketing officer of Zapak Digital Entertainment, said, “We would get our users to sample the game through a 60 minutes trial version, which we will launch on Zapak.com soon. We will be promoting the game offline through our Gameplexes in 11 cities and host a tournament around it, to be flagged off by Malaika Arora Khan in Delhi next week.”
Meanwhile, those who want to try their hand at “Agni”, can download the game from the FXLabs Web site.
Abu Dhabi to host T/20, county warm-up games
Abu Dhabi to host T/20, county warm-up games
By Adur Pradeep, KHALEEJ TIMES 20 February 2008
DUBAI — Abu Dhabi is all set to join the Twenty20 bandwagon soon.
The likes of former international cricketers Chris Cairns, Marwan Atapattu and Rashid Latif will be in action in Abu Dhabi next week.
Playing for Lashings XI, they take on the Chairman’s XI at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Among others, Lashings XI will have the likes of Alwin Kallicharran, Grant Glower and Chris Harris in their team.
“We plan to have regular meetings with Lashings XI. We would like to conduct it on an annual basis,” Dilawar Mani, CEO of Abu Dhabi Cricket Club, told Khaleej Times.
The city is also set to host five UK counties — Sussex, Essex, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Somerset — from March 12 to 28, he said. “The likes of England’s Andrew Flintoff and Pakistan’s Mushtaq Ahmed are expected to play in the pre-season warm-up matches here.
“The UAE team is also playing against the counties. Out of the twelve matches, Abu Dhabi will host eight games, while Sharjah will have four,” he added.
Regarding the Twenty20 match to be played on Monday, he said, the game, under floodlights, is scheduled to start at 6.30pm. Tickets prices are fixed at Dh20 for East and West mounds; Dh30 for North and South stands.
The chairman’s XI include Saqib Ali, Alawi Shukri, Sajjad Ahmed and Arshad Ali.
“The match has only been made possible by the support provided by Shaikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Chairman of the Club,” Mani said in a statement.
Tickets are available at the Zayed Cricket Stadium office reception from 10 am to 6 pm. The sponsors of the match include Emirates Palace, Etihad Airways, Khaleej Times, Gulf Technical & PDM International.
“The cricket match in Abu Dhabi will be a grand occasion. Playing cricket in the Emirates has always been a dream and we are sure it will be a wonderful experience. The fan-base for Lashings and the international cricket stars in the team, is huge.
“The beautiful stadium of Abu Dhabi, green outfield, impressive seating areas and flood lights will all add colour to this event.
“We would like to thank Shaikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Omar Al Askari, Dilawar Mani and the ADCC for this opportunity.” David Folb, chairman of Lashings said in a statement.
List of Players: Lashings XI: Alwin Kallicharran, Chris Harris, Adam Hollioake, Philp DeFreitas, Jimmy Adams, Devon Malcolm, Brendon Taylor, Chris Cairns, Chris Silverwood, Grant Flower, Graeme Hick, Rashid Latif, Marwan Attapattu, Ed Giddins
Chairman’s XI: Saqib Ali, Alawi Shukri, Sajjad Ahmed, Arshad Ali, Amjad Javed, Irfan Haider, Khurram Khan, Mohd Iqbal, Prasanth Braggs, Amjad Ali, Fayaz Ahmed, Haroon Iftiqar, Fahad Al Hashimi, Waqas Alwi.
Cricket set to resume in Dubai soon
Cricket set to resume in Dubai soon
By K.R. Nayar, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Published: February 11, 2008, 23:56
Dubai: Emirates, the Dubai based international airlines has stepped forward to the rescue of the Dubai cricket fans, who are reeling under the impact of lack of grounds.
“We will soon create seven cricket grounds in Dubai. It will be made in a land that our company is having near Silicon Oasis,” remarked Maurice Flanagan, the executive vice chairman, Emirates airlines and Group.
Cricket in Dubai had come to standstill ever since the seven grounds of the Dubai Cricket Council (DCC) ground in the Al Jadaf area were taken away for the construction of the Dubai Health City in 2005.
Tournaments used to be held regularly at the Al Jadaf grounds since 1990. In 1997, Emirates airline helped DCC to build two turf ground investing Dhs 800,000.
The International Cricket Council and Asian Cricket Council matches used to be held on these grounds. The Sri Lankan national team and Lord’s Taverners team from London had played on these grounds.
“It has been very difficult for our team (Fly Emirates) to practice. We have over five players who represent the UAE team and we badly needed a place for them to play as well as practice.
“We also host matches against foreign team like Lord’s Taverners and so we decided to have our own grounds,” said Flanagan, who also signed a sponsorship deal with the International Cricket Council (ICC) as their official partner till 2015, yesterday.
Flanagan, who is keen lover of the game, had assured all support to the DCC officials soon after their grounds were evicted.
“We will have turf wickets and some grounds with imported clay. It may be completed in a year and a half,” added Flanagan.
Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, applauded the Emirates airlines initiative to create ground in Dubai.
“We are happy to see cricket grounds being built anywhere around the world. It has been a problem for the cricketers in Dubai and so it is great to hear that Emirates sporting complex is willing to accommodate cricket,” said Speed, who also appreciated Emirates’ contribution to the promotion of the game around the world.
Mind Speaks – Sreesanth
Indian Fast bowler Sreesanth is really a personality to watch for all management enthusiast. Watch him dance with Sharukh Khan.
Coming soon, more about him and his style and the Sreesanth Syndrome.
Bird flu hits badminton!
Bird flu hits badminton!
8 Feb, 2008, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
There is never a shortage of excuses for India’s sub-standard performance in international sporting events. Two decades ago, the then PM Rajiv Gandhi wondered why the country had sent a huge contingent to the 1986 Asian Games when India returned with just five gold medals, four of them courtesy P T Usha!
The excuses offered for poor performances were bizarre, like that the wrestlers were reportedly demoralised because they had to sleep on the floor while the officials accompanying them occupied their beds in the games’ village.
Now we are told that bird flu could affect India’s performance in international badminton in the Thomas Cup (for men) and Uber Cup (for women)! And this despite no Indian player coming down with anything remotely resembling bird flu over the last few weeks!
What has happened is that an acute shortage of quality shuttlecocks has forced the cancellation of the training camp being organised by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) ahead of the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup. The training camp was scheduled to commence on February 7.
With locally-manufactured shuttlecocks not being up to the mark, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) would import them from China where they are made from goose feathers. The BAI says it had asked the SAI six weeks ago to import shuttlecocks for the camp.
SAI says it had passed on the request to the Union sports ministry. Since the imported shuttlecocks are made from goose feathers, the delay in sourcing them is attributed to the Union agriculture ministry’s apprehensions of bird flu. Such fears are unwarranted since the shuttlecocks are chemically treated.
However, that hasn’t stopped the training camp from being cancelled while the BAI, SAI and sports ministry continue to play ‘shuttlecock’ with the issue! That too just six months ahead of the Beijing Olympics where badminton is one of the events!
India’s 10 Chak De moments
India’s 10 Chak De momentsSambuddha Dutt for Samachar.com Monday, December 31, 2007 (New Delhi)
The Year 2007 made every Indian sports fan experience every possible emotion. From joy to despair to anger, the past year had it all for us.
But what it will be remembered for the most, is the new anthem for the world of Indian sports, thanks to a movie that was based on our national sport, and has now attained cult status.
So, we thought it fitting to start our special look back at sports in 2007 with the top 10 Chak De moments for Indian sport.
10. Anup Sridhar’s badminton win
Anup Sridhar smashed his way into the quarterfinals of the world badminton championships and into NDTV’s top ten. His dream run included wins over the current Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat and a former All-England champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim.
9. Jyoti Randhawa: Best in Indian golf
The Jyoti flame burned bright in 2007, not only did Randhawa win the Indian Open title for a third time. He also had seven top 10 finishes on the European tour.
8. Sania Mirza’s best year
She made waves in 2007, Sania Mirza reached one final, three semis and three quarters in singles. No wonder, she called this her best year ever. The titles though came from doubles. She won four tournaments with four different partners.
7. Narain Karthikeyan: Fastest ever
Zooming in at number seven is Narain Karthikeyan, the fastest Indian on wheels won his first A-1 GP race. Now he is looking to complete some unfinished business in Formual 1.
6. India-England series: Prized moment
The test series win in England was certainly India’s most prized moment in the longer version of the game in recent times.
5. Sourav Ganguly: The comeback hero
It was the mother of all comebacks, Sourav Ganguly making 2007 his own by scoring more than a 1000 test runs.
The city of joy had more to celebrate with Dola Banerjee becoming the first Indian to win a gold at the archery World Cup.
4. Hockey: Courtesy Kabir Khan
The Chak De theme would have been incomplete without a win from hockey. The men’s team did their bit by winning the Asia Cup, a great turnaround given the debacle at the Asian games.
3. Sunil Chhetri: Football figure
Sunil Chettri was the Indian footballer of the year for his role in helping India win the Nehru Cup for the first time. It may have been a small tournament but it was a big day for Indian football, our best international showing in more than three decades.
2. Viswanathan Anand and Ivana Furtado
The two chess champions, Viswanathan Anand and Ivana Furtado, the 8-year-old only allowed a few draws because she felt bad for her opponents.
1. Yuvraj’s six fireworks
Yuvraj did not stand in front of a truck but he did steam-roll the opposition. His six sixes in an over in the 20-20 world cup is the stuff of legend. The six sixes performance of Yuvi came en route to India winning the title – the country’s first silverware in the international arena since the 1983 world cup win that certainly made choosing our number one Chak De moment an absolute no-brainer.
Four-and-half-year old hits karting track
Four-and-half-year old hits karting track
23 Dec 2007, 1914 hrs IST,PTI
CHENNAI: Karoon Murthy is just four-and-a-half years old but he is already blazing the karting tracks, which could possibly make him India’s youngest go-karter.
The UKG student, though cannot race in competitions till he is seven, he is racing here and in Bangalore on adult karts and is giving his elder competitors a run for their money.
Karoon probable has it in his genes, being the son of Kaushik Murthy, three time former national biking champion for TVS.
“Karoon was racing on battery karts since he was two-and-half years. Now he has begun to race on adult karts, which even many adults find difficult to race on,” says Kaushik.
A video of the child racing against a 13-year-old on a Karting track shows his potential. Not only does Karoon take the corners flawlessly but also races his elder competitor easily.
The third generation racer from the family, Karoon, a student at GRT School here, would also begin training in motor racing. Kaushk recently imported a Ninja racing bike for Karoon for this purpose.
“I plan to train him professionally. There is no one who can do both kinds of racing — car and bikes. We hope that he will be able to do both. He will start training on the bike at the Irungattukottai tracks soon,” he said.
Kaushk, who runs a team of professional stunters here called ‘Angels Racing’ and another team in Bangalore ‘Grips Racing’, says he was working on a training modules for Karoon.
“Akbar Ibrahim was my coach. We will put Karoon under his management once he starts racing. He knows what is best,” he says.
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