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10-Week Walking Regimen





WEEK 1

• Walk for 15 – 30 minutes at a comfortable pace, depending on your ability. Warm up for 5 minutes at an easy walking pace before doing a 5-minute easy stretching routine. Resume walking at a comfortable pace, then end up with another 5 minutes of gentle stretching routine. 

• Take a rest on the 7th day. Your body needs to rest and rebuild itself. 



WEEK 2

• Increase your walking time by 5 - 10 minutes for this week. Do the same routine. 

• Rest on the 7th day. 



WEEK 3 – WEEK 10

• Increase your walking time by 5 - 10 minutes every week until you are now capable of walking for an hour each time. The health benefits of walking can be maximized if you sustain a 30 – 60 minute walk a day. 

• Remember to rest on the 7th day of each week. 
7 Common Walking Mistakes You Should Avoid




Walking is one of the important milestones which come by the first birthday and since then various changes and modifications take place on the gait pattern (the way you walk). Other than being a means of locomotion, walking is also a good form of low impact, less intense aerobic exercise. Most of us make certain mistakes while walking, which can have an unwanted impact on our health. It is very important to opt for correct techniques of walking to get the maximum benefits without any injury.


Here are the most common walking mistakes to be avoided:


Over-striding: Stride length, in simple words, refers to the length of each step taken while walking, running or jogging. We all have our own characteristic stride length. When you try to walk faster than your standard speed, you might try to increase your stride length because of which you might develop poor posture and hurt your back. Therefore instead of taking bigger steps, go for shorter and quicker ones!


Wrong Foot Gear: Choosing the wrong footwear will not only make your walk uncomfortable, but it will also make you prone to injury. Your walking shoes should be lightweight and should have a flexible sole to allow good freedom of motion by permitting your foot to roll through each step from heel to toe. Choose those shoes that fit you! If you walk for 30 minutes or more, then choose shoes larger than your dress shoes as your feet may swell when you walk for a long period of time. Prolonged walking with tight shoes can cause pain and cramping while loose shoes can make "push-off" (application of pressure for the purpose of moving) difficult.


Wrong Clothing: Improper clothing can interfere with your thermoregulation (the ability of your body to keep its temperature within certain boundaries even if the temperature of the surrounding environment is pretty different) and can eventually affect your walking efficiency. Choose clothing according to environmental conditions. For example, in a hot climate, wear fabrics like climacool or coolmax which will allow the sweat to evaporate away from the body. Wearing dark clothing while walking at night can make you susceptible to accidents. For safety purpose, wear reflector stripes or night glow badges.


Foot Slap: Foot slap occurs when at heel strike (i.e., when the heel makes contact with the floor), the forefoot slaps the ground (which means that you land flat footed) instead of rolling through from heel to toe. This can lead to pain in your shins. Foot slap can be due to weak dorsiflexors i.e. weak shins, heavy shoes, stiff shoes (inflexible sole) etc. In order to avoid foot slap, wear lightweight shoes with a flexible sole and low heel. Strengthen your shin by performing toe raises. To perform toe raises, stand on the ledge of a step with your heels hanging over the edge. Now, dip the heels down, then raise them high. Repeat 10 times. This is a simple, yet an effective way of strengthening your shins. You can also do heel walking (walking slowing, with small stride length, on your heels with your toes raised as high as possible) for 20 to 30 seconds to strengthen your shins.


Lack of Arm Swing: Normally while walking, arm swinging occurs in order to counterbalance the leg motion. Arm swinging can also aid in gaining the momentum, thereby helping you to walk at a faster speed. Lack of arm swing can put a lot of stress on your back. So, make sure to swing your arms back and forth opposite to the direction of leg motion.


Incorrect Posture: Improper postures like head down, leaning forward etc. are very commonly observed and these can lead to problems like neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain and breathing difficulty. So whenever you intend to walk, stand straight and feel like being tall! Do not arch your back. Pull your stomach in, keep your buttocks tight and maintain the natural curves of the spine to prevent undue stress.


Over-training: The zeal to burn calories in order to lose weight makes many people to walk beyond their capacity. They soon begin to feel tired and irritable, and pains and aches start popping up their ugly heads. Under such a situation, it is better to take a break and to refresh yourself. You must listen to your body and wait for it to recover. This is the best possible way to get ready for the next walking session!


Walking is a fun and it is a form of recreation during moments of leisure. You might take a great deal of interest in this form of physical activity, but wrong postures and incorrect walking techniques can nullify your efforts. You might also suffer from injuries which can act as obstacles for your fitness routine. So, adopting the correct techniques of walking is very essential in order to continue with your regular walks!

How to Walk Properly?




It is very important in life to do things in the right manner. An ineffective attempt made, takes you nowhere, except for causing frustration, due to not having achieved the desired result. Health fitness cannot be achieved magically and this fact applies to every smallest aspect associated with fitness. Like, for weight loss, say if you choose walking as your main workout type, then it becomes vital to ensure that you are following a proper walking style.




Walking is one of the best things you can do for your health. It's good for your heart, blood pressure and weight management. When you're walking to get or stay fit, your form, pace, and breathing is especially important. Mastering a good walking technique takes some time. But with practice, it will become second nature and will help you increase and maintain your pace comfortably. Here are some tips to get you started:


Keep your eyes focused forward, not up or down. Don't look down when walking; look ahead (especially when walking up hills).


Chin should be pointed down and pulled in slightly to maintain a neutral neck position, which will prevent neck pain by properly supporting your head.


Keep your shoulders back, down and relaxed. Bend your arms at the elbow at a 90-degree angle and swing them toward the center of your body. Be careful not to cross the center line of your body or bend your arms at more than 90 degrees. Swinging your arms properly will give you a better aerobic workout, burn more calories, and engage more muscles throughout your torso.


The back should be straight as you walk, allowing for its natural curves. You shouldn't be leaning backwards or forwards. But, a slight forward lean on hill climbs is acceptable.


Your chest should be slightly lifted. Breathe deeply, expanding your stomach, and try to breathe in rhythm with your steps.


Keep your belly button gently sucked in toward your spine. This will keep your abdominal muscles activated, which is a great workout for your tummy and it helps to protect your lower back from injury.


Your heel should hit the ground first. Take shorter, rather than longer, steps. More frequent short steps will give you a better workout and be easier on your joints.


By closely following the technique and form described, you can significantly improve your performance. It can help enhance the benefits you receive from walking. These benefits are:



  • Increased efficiency
  • Better use of energy supplies
  • Decreased risk of injury
  • Increased comfort
  • Faster times
  • Increased calorie burn
  • Increased muscle conditioning
  • Body shaping



Following fitness walking tips goes a long way in ensuring that you'll not fall prey to chronic body pains, poor posture problem, beauty related issues like double chin and potbelly. When you'll be away from the clutches of the above-mentioned problems, you'll tend to feel more active and enthusiastic about carrying out your day-to-day routine activities.

12 Tips to Motivate Yourself to Walk







Key to any walking program or for that matter any fitness program is Motivation. It is a fuel for weight loss. And just like any other program, maintaining a regular walking routine can be difficult once the initial newness wears off. Putting one foot after another, day in and day out, can get a bit monotonous. The monotony can have an adverse result on your fitness program.


So what do you do when your pace starts to slacken and boredom sets in? You motivate yourself! And here is how:


Choose different routes: The same old route can get a bit dreary. Explore a new route every now and then. If the environment is enjoyable, miles just fly by. By focusing on your surroundings you may even forget that you're exercising.


Count your steps: Ever heard of 10,000 steps per day plan? You can actually start counting the number of steps that you take and you will probably forget the exercising boredom. Sure you can use a pedometer, but you can also engross yourself in the activity while you are out walking. You can then compare the steps counted with the steps recorded in your pedometer.


Wear a pedometer: Several studies show that wearing a pedometer and having a daily step goal can boost your activity level. It can be a powerful reminder that every step counts, and soon you will be finding ways to add steps to your day.


Get a partner: Find a walking buddy to keep you motivated. Having a friend waiting for you to take a walk gets you out there day after day. Even the discussions, jokes, and tea afterward are great for relaxing. You can even walk with your dog.


Remind yourself of the benefits: Nothing will charge you more than reminding the benefits of walking. And there are so many of them.

  • Helps in weight loss
  • Lowers your blood pressure
  • Strengthens your bones and joints
  • Reduces the risk of heart disease
  • Reduces risk of diabetes, & the list just goes on!

Maintain a walking journal: Bring a bit of professionalism in your walking routine. Set a goal and plan a strategy to achieve it. Track your walking minutes, steps, or kilometers in a journal or even in an online log and analyze it every month. You will find yourself out walking just to make those numbers add up.


Choose the best time: Choosing the time that works best for you is an important step to ensure a successful walking program and stay motivated. Some people walk in the morning to get ready for the day. Some people walk during lunch hour because they hate mornings. Others walk in the evening or after dinner to relieve tension and relax. If you don't have full 30 to 40 minutes to walk, then break the 30 minutes down into several shorter walks.


Reward yourself: If you achieve your goals, reward yourself with something interesting. New clothes, new walking shoes or even a movie; whatever works best for you.


Walk on the treadmill: When you are absolutely bored to walk outside, jump on the treadmill. You can watch TV or talk to your buddies on the phone and the miles would just add up.


Establish your motivation in your walking activity and you will stay persistent in walking toward a healthy body. The important thing is to set the goals, keep walking and keep shedding those pounds!



The Do-It-Now Habit

Do you feel overworked? Do you have too much to do? Are you not making the progress you want to be making toward your goals?

Why can some people produce twice as much as others? For example, Jane not only handles three kids, but works 30 hours per week and runs a small business from her home office. Jane's house is always clean and she prepares delicious, healthy meals for her family.

Jill, on the other hand, has one daughter, makes no money, has no time to do her housework and prefers pizza delivery dinners.

Both Jane and Jill are good mothers, but why are they so different? Why is Jane so efficient?

To be more like Jane and less Jill, break two bad habits and form one good habit.

Two Bad Habits

1. The first bad habit is to look at a piece of work you are supposed to do -- a task, a program, a communication, an assignment or - and put it aside to do later.

Instead of acting, you read it, digest it, think about doing it, consider the problems, sigh, and put it down to do later. Nothing is accomplished. A total waste of time.

2. The second bad habit is taking a piece of work, look at it and refer it to someone else. Even though it's your job, you try to get someone else to do it. The other person eventually sends it back to you. A total waste of your time AND the other person's time.

One Good Habit

"Do it Now."

"One of the best ways to cut your work in half is not to do it twice."

"If you do every piece of work that comes your way WHEN it comes your way and not after a while, if you always take the initiative and take action, not refer it, you never get any traffic back . . . "

"In short, the way to get rid of traffic is to do it, not to refer it; anything referred has to be read by you again, digested again, and handled again; so never refer traffic, just do it so it's done."

"So if you are truly a lover of ease, the sort of person who yawns comfortably and wears holes in heels resting them on desks, if your true ambition is one long bout of spring fever, then you'll do as I suggest and handle everything that comes your way when it comes and not later; and you'll never refer anything to anybody that you yourself can do promptly."

"Do it when you see it and do it yourself." -- L. Ron Hubbard

For example, the government sends you a tax form asking you for some financial information. You take ten minutes to understand what is required and realize it's quite simple. You notice it's not due for two months, but instead of tossing it in your desk to do later, you take another ten minutes to find the information, fill out the form and drop it in the mail.

If you wait to fill out the form later, you have had to spend another ten minutes to understand it again. Perhaps you look at the form every few days, think it over and decide to wait. You might even forget do fill out the form and then waste even more time trying to understand why the government is charging you a $250 late fee.

As another example, you notice your car tire is a little low and you fill it right now. If you wait, you get a flat tire while driving to work. You are not only two hours late for work, you have to buy a new tire.

More examples:

Your food explodes in the microwave? You clean it up now.

Your boss asks for a report? You write it and turn it in now.

Your group needs a decision from you? You make it now.

When you jump and do things at your first opportunity, you stay in better control of your job and your life while earning hours of extra time to use however you wish.

How to Form the Do-It-Now Habit

The best time to get into a do-it-now habit is, of course, RIGHT NOW!

1. Take a stack of papers, task or any kind of cluttered mess that you need to handle.

2. Take the first item.

3. Deal with it, handle it, do it now.

". . . take the initiative and take action. . . ."

4. If you find it hard to do it now, remember the reward. If you get your work done in half the time, how will you spend the OTHER half of your time? Earning more money? Starting new projects? Having more fun? The choice is yours.

Give it a try.

Now!
100 Things I’ve Learned About Photography


Since I found photography two and a half years ago I have learned different things which I would like to share with you today. These lessons have made me richer and I hope that you will find them refreshing and inspiring on your journey with the camera, too.


1. Never do photography to become a rock-star.
2. Enjoy what you are shooting.
3. Prepare well for your shooting, realizing that your battery isn’t charge when you’re setting up for that sunrise shoot is too late!
4. Always take one warm garment more than you actually need with you
5. Pay attention to your thoughts and emotions while you are shooting
6. Set goals you can achieve
7. Write tips about photography, because writing is also learning
8. Never go shooting without a tripod
9. Be pleased with the little prosperities
10. Build relationships with potential photo buddies
11. Watch the place you want to shoot first with your heart then with the camera
12. Always stay calm
13. Know that you tend to overestimate yourself
14. Perspective is the killer
15. Dedicate yourself to photography, but never browbeat yourself too much
16. Take part in a photography community
17. Keep your camera clean
18. Never compare yourself to others in a better or worse context
19. Find your own style of photography
20. Try to compose more and to hit the shutter less
21. Seek out and learn to accept critique on your images
22. Do something different to recover creativity
23. Get inspiration from the work of other photographers
24. Criticize honestly but respectfully
25. Get feedback from your lady
26. Don’t copy other photographer’s style
27. Be bold
28. Take care of the golden ratio
29. 10mm rocks!
30. Take selfportraits
31. Read books about photography
32. To give a landscapephotograph the extra boost, integrate a person (maybe yourself)
33. Every shooting situation is different than you expect
34. Pay attention to s-curves and lines
35. Always shoot in RAW
36. Keep your sensor clean, so you can save some work cleaning your image in post production
37. Discover the things you think are beautiful
38. It takes time to become a good photographer
39. The best equipment is that what you have now
40. You can’t take photographs of everything
41. Break the rules of photography knowingly, but not your camera 
42. Pay attention to the different way that light falls on different parts of your scene
43. The eye moves to the point of contrast
44. Clouds increase the atmosphere of a landscape
45. Start a photoblog
46. Accept praise and say “thank you”
47. ‘Nice Shot’ is not a very useful comment to write
48. ‘Amazing!’ isn’t useful either. Try to describe specifically what you like or don’t like about an image.
49. You are not your camera
50. Ask a question at the end of your comment on a photo to get a ping-pong conversation with the photographer
51. Do a review of your archives on a regular basis, the longer you photograph – the more diamonds are hidden there
52. Always clarify what the eyecatcher (focal point) will be in your image
53. No image is better than a bad one
54. Everyone has to start little
55. Your opinion about photography is important!
56. Leave a funny but thoughtful comment
57. Speak about your experiences with your photo buddies
58. Limit your photograph to the substance
59. Participate in Photocontests
60. Post processing = Optimizing your image to the best result
61. Shoot exposure latitudes as often as possible
62. Use photomatix as seldom as possible, HDR’s always have a synthetic flavor
63. Always remember what brought you to photography
64. Never shoot a person who doensn’t want to be photographed
65. Always turn arround, sometimes the better image is behind you
66. It’s who’s behind the camera, not the camera
67. Mistakes are allowed! The more mistakes you make, the more you learn!
68. If you have an idea and immediately you think : No, this is not going to work – Do it anyway. When in doubt – always shoot.
69. Understand and look to your histogramm while shooting. It delivers very important information about your image
70. Know your camera, because searching the menu button in the night is time you don’t want to waste
71. Shoot as often as possible
72. Believe in yourself
73. Don’t be afraid of getting dirty
74. Pay attention to qualitiy in your image
75. Your photographs are a personal map of your psyche
76. Re-check your ISO-Settings. It’s aweful to detect the wrong settings on your screen.
77. Be thankful for long and thoughtful comments on your images
78. Never trust your LCD. Normally it is brighter and sharper as the original image.
79. Provide for enough disc space, because it’s cheap and you will need it.
80. Learn to enjoy beautful moments when you don’t have a camera with you.
81. Always arrive at least half an hour earlier before sunrise / sundown, composing in a hurry is a bad thing.
82. Try to amplify your mental and physical limits. Takes some extra shots when you think “it’s enough”
83. Pay attention to structures in the sky and wait until they fit into structures in the foreground
84. Visit the same place as often as possible. Light never shows the same mountain.
85. Print your images in big size. You will love it.
86. Calibrate your monitor. Working with a monitor that is not accurate is like being together with someone you can’t trust. It always ends badly.
87. Don’t think about what others may say about your image. If you like it, it’s worth publishing.
88. Never address reproaches to yourself. Learn from your mistakes and look forward, not backward.
89. Fight your laziness ! Creativitiy comes after discipline.
90. Ask yourself : What do you want to express in your images ?
91. Always try to think outside the box, collect new ideas about photographs you could do and ask yourself : Why not?
92. Search for a mentor.
93. Photography is never a waste of time.
94. Every community has it’s downsides. Don’t leave it out of an emotional response.
95. There will always be people who will not like what you are doing.
96. Henri Cartier-Bresson was right when he said that “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”
97. A better camera doesn’t guarantee better images.
98. Always have printing in mind when you postprocess your images.
99. Photography is fair : You gain publicity with the quality of your images. Unless the images are stolen, there is no way of cheating yourself higher.
100. Write a 100 things list

அண்ணாமலை

ஒரிஜினல் கதை தான் உங்களுக்கு தெரியுமே. குடிசை ரஜினியும் பங்களா சரத்பாபுவும் சின்ன வயசுலேந்து நண்பர்கள். ராதாரவி ரஜினியோட இடத்தை ஏமாத்தி வாங்கி அங்க ஹோட்டல் கட்டிடறார். இருந்த வீட்டை இடிச்சிட்டதால ரஜினி கோவப்பட்டு, சரத்பாபு கூட்டத்தையும் ஏழையாக்கி நடுத்தெருவுல நிக்க வெக்கறேன்னு சபதம் போட்டு ஜெயிச்சும் காட்டறாரு. கடைசில சரத்பாபுவை மன்னிச்சு அவரோட பங்களாவை திருப்பி குடுத்துடறாரு.

குடிசைல இருந்தாலும் ரஜினி நிம்மதியா இருப்பாரு. அப்ப சரத்பாபுவும் சந்தோஷமா தான் இருப்பாரு. ரஜினி சவால் விட்ட பிறகு, காட்டுத்தனமா வேலை செய்வாரு.. பால் பண்ணை வெச்சு.. பயங்கரமா பிசினஸை டெவலப் பண்ணி, கன்னாபின்னான்னு பிஸியாயிடுவாரு. அதுவும் ஒரே பாட்டுல.கதை சூப்பர் கதை தான். படமும் சூப்பர் ஹிட்டு தான். இருந்தாலும்....
காதலிச்சு கல்யாணம் பண்ணிகிட்ட குஷ்புவோட பேசக்கூட நேரம் இருக்காது. ஜனகராஜ் கூட அரட்டையடிக்க டைம் இருக்காது... ஆசையா வெச்சிருந்த சைக்கிளை ஓட்ட முடியாது.. அம்மா மனோரமாகிட்ட கலகலப்பா இருக்க முடியாது.. பிஸி.. பிஸி.. பிஸி..  அவரோட நோக்கம் எல்லாம் சவால்ல ஜெயிக்கணுங்கறது தான்.. அவரு வாழ்க்கைல கிட்டத்தட்ட 20 வருஷம் இதுலயே போயிடும்.. அப்பவும் சரத்பாபு தன் ஹோட்டல் பிஸினஸை பாத்துகிட்டு , வசதியா தான் இருப்பாரு.
ரஜினி அவ்ளோ கஷ்டப்பட்டு, சரத்பாபுவோட பதவி, பங்களா எல்லாத்தையும் பறிச்சிடுவாரு. உடனே சரத்பாபு மனசு திருந்திடுவாரு. ரஜினி ஹீரோவாச்சே.. திருந்தின நண்பனுக்கு சொத்தை திருப்பி குடுத்துடுவாரு..!
என் டவுட்டு என்னான்னா... ரஜினி பெரிசா நினைக்கற தன் நிம்மதி, சந்தோஷம் எல்லாத்தையும் தொலைச்சிடறாரு. சரத்பாபுவை பொறுத்தவரை ஒரே ஒரு நாள் தான் கஷ்டம். பங்களாவும் கைக்கு வந்துடுது, ரஜினியும் சம்மந்தி ஆயிடறாரு.
இதுல யாரு புத்திசாலி ? ரஜினியா இல்லை சரத்பாபுவா?
குடும்பம், சந்தோஷம், நிம்மதி எல்லாத்தையும் இழந்து 20 வருஷ வாழ்க்கைய போக்கடிச்சு ரஜினி சவால்ல ஜெயிச்சதா காட்டினதுக்கு பதிலா, ரஜினி வழக்கம் போல சந்தோஷமா, நிம்மதியா நண்பர்கள் / குடும்பத்து ஆளுங்களோட உதவியோட, சேர்ந்துகிட்டு அதே மாதிரி போராடி பணமும் பதவியும் ஜெயிச்சு, சரத்பாபு / ராதாரவியை தோற்கடிக்கற மாதிரி காட்டியிருந்தா இன்னும் பெட்டரா இருந்திருக்கும்.. ரஜினி கேரக்டர் மேல இன்ன்ன்ன்னும் மரியாதை கூடியிருக்கும் அப்டீன்னு நான் நினைக்கறேன்.
நீங்க கேட்டதால தான் இந்த 'கதைய மாத்தி'னேன். மத்தபடி ஒரிஜினல் 'அண்ணாமலை'  என்னோட ஆல் டைம் ஃபேவரைட்.
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