My new love - Podcasting

 

I've always been on the lookout for new opportunities to stay connected with life and people ... and in a lighter vein, finding new things to do to make my days fun and on a continuous journey of learning, I hit upon my new love - podcasting.

A fairly new concept in our country, podcasting, previously known as audio blogging, dates back to the 1980s but with the coming of age of the broadband access it caught on big time in the late 2004s. Wikipedia says that MTV video jockey Adam Curry and software developer Dave Winer are credited with this innovation. Adam Curry wrote a program and thereon developers improved upon his idea and podcasting was officially born. US is currently the most advanced podcast market and though podcasting in India is at a very nascent stage at present, it is catching up.

Connecting with people especially those achieving new boundaries has always fascinated me and besides I really do love to talk. So when friend,  spoke to me about his podcast, I was fascinated. I troubled him until he taught me the ropes . I googled and read a lot of articles and tips and so on about podcasting (very important to do so) and when I felt confident that I could, took it a step forward, started my podcast: crossleggedwithhiramehta. Icing on the cake, I got encouraged to record my podcasts at a dear friend's studio. Not wanting to record unprepared and with no proper script and clear thoughts, I wrote out 10 episodes and was on my way with, "Hi, I am Hira Mehta and welcome to an intro to my podcast crossleggedwithhiramehta, where I will be talking to you about anything and everything that life throws at us.... There is nothing in life like second innings, second chances or second childhood.. It's just this one life... Live this one life in the 'now' with me..." and ending the podcast with a "Namaste" ....and why not!!! Let everyone know that there is a chatterbox out there from India too !!!

It is another thing that I would really love to edit the episodes to add more thoughts/ insights and that always happens. You always feel you can better your work in the hind sight, so I lived with these 10 episodes and began to better them from the 11th one onwards. My podcasts touch upon life topics such as .....friendships and whatever does the word friendship even mean...... saying no without the guilt...... death and having anxious thoughts about it..... tolerance vs intolerance..... internet woes and mobile addiction... health and exercise, my way... decoding laughter.... why fairy tales no more...an interview of dementia also short film making, and so on. The podcasts share my thoughts on the subjects and a few thoughts on tackling it too. Each episode is a maximum of 10 minutes each... and that is not too long, right? I definitely don't want the listener to have to listen to me droning endlessly in their ears.

Things are not the same anymore, right from the way we interact with each other on social media, treat the environment, even polluting the air we breathe. As individuals there is just that much that we can do to make huge differences in society and surroundings so it is a good idea to perhaps start with ourselves first. Often we think, this seems to only happen to me or why me? so in my podcasts, I talk about these little troublesome things because I am just human as you are. I do believe that if we together can make our own lives better and breathe easy, it will be enough to take on the bigger issues. Podcasting for me is sharing gyaan in a positive, inspirational and with a touch of my own experiences and humour, my way!!! Even if one listener get inspired listening to me then I am happy sharing for sure. Besides it has connected me to a wonderful group of podcasters on the Facebook page and I am learning so much more from them. It offers me an opportunity to connect to more people all over the world in the podcasting scenario, just like social media, and hopefully to more listeners in the near future. Today I have already 23 episodes up and going.

So tune in every Monday after 9 pm to crossleggedwithhiramehta on anchor.fm/hira-mehta, headfone.co.in, Apple.com, Google.com, Breaker.audio, Radiopublic.com where I will continue to talk about you, me and anything and everything life throws at us.....  I believe there is always a scope for improvement and so if you listen in then do comment too to help me better myself...if you have a topic you want discussed,  write in to me .... and yes, till we meet again - Namaste !!!

A perfect start for 2019 - a Health and Wellness Meet-Up

As the year draws to a close each one of us every year make promises and resolutions to ourselves, some which we keep and some which we never get down to. So do I.  Mine being to start exercising. My one and only resolution that I lost somewhere along the line when my knees started troubling me. So when my friends, Dr. Bhavi Mody and Moushumi Pal, invited me to attend their first knowledge sharing and fun event of the year, "Your Health In Your Hands presents Wellness Meet-Up", I was happy to do so. A joint venture by Dr. Bhavi, Vrudhi and Moushumi Pal, Woodpecker Media was not just a meet and greet, but a well curated event organised to talk about something that's most important to each one of  us - our own health.  Topics that were presented by a number of eminent ladies were surprisingly all those that I have covered in my latest published book "Young and Sixty", that talks about my failings, sharing and life experiences to help inspire people to look within again, move forward and play a winning game on your own terms by taking control and living life in the Now!  The event organised on January 5th at Workbay, Bandra was hosted by Niddhi Puranik, the Fitness Ambassador, was indeed a perfect start for 2019. 

Learnings are always to be shared so here are some of the nuggets that I picked up from the speakers and am sure you will like me learn a lot from it too.

Dr.Bhavi Mody, Homeopath, Health Evangelist, Holistic Health Blogger, Speaker

§   When you talk about wellness, you as a centre,  need to feel good about yourself first. Lifestyle changes means go back to the basics. Move, sleep, workout and hydrate. Happiness is state of mind"

Dr Dimple Bhankharia, Dermatologist, Divine Skin Clinic on the secret to timeless beauty

§       Causes of ageing are smoking, prolonged exposure to the sun, stress, pollution, excess sugar and excess smoking.   Ageing happens 10 years earlier to a smoker.

§       As we age our skin begins to dry, get thinner, bruise easily, gets dull and loses its elasticity. 

Tips:

§          Vitamins A,C, E are good for skin

§          Think darker colour of fruits.. the lighter your skin will be..

§          Daily skin care routine important

§         Use a sunscreen every 3 hours with SPF >30 and definitely before moving out

§         Eye cream once you cross 35.

§         Exfoliate your skin. Exfoliating scrub once a week

§         Not just fruits, vegetables and nuts, add oil, green tea, flax seeds and dark chocolate to  your diet.

Dr Rashi Gupta, Dentist

§     Butterfly effect is an optical phenomenon seen in some sections of tooth roots but it is not only about mouth teeth and guns but  proper alignment of jaws also.  Jaws are important to be aligned properly for breathing and therefore attention must be paid to this even in children.  Yawning is important it supplies extra oxygen to the brain. Avoid free dental check-ups and take a proper check up occasionally.

Wellness talk by Dr Naavnidhi Wadhwa, Celebrity Life, Health and Business Coach

§     You need to be aware of your five senses for example we never use our senses especially when eating.. You need to be with food which is the source of our energy.  Mind learns only when you involve 5 senses. There is no stress when you use the five senses properly with mindfulness.  She conducted a unique meditation exercise unlike others where you are asked to blank out your mind first.  She explained that creating thought is work of the mind so we can't ask it to become blank (love this) .

Ms. Marrgalit on Bach Flower Remedies

§   Bach therapy focuses on outlook and personality of person to eradicate seven negative emotions using 38 flower essences that corresponds to a particular negative emotion. For example: White chestnut for persistent unwanted thoughts, Vine for my way or the highway, Beech helps develop tolerance

§      Bach Rescue Remedy combination of 5 flower essence brings you awareness and calms you down was recommended by her

§     These remedies however, cannot be bought off the shelf as the practitioner takes history of person and creates the essence suitably.

§       Up to 7 flowers can be combined to solve two or more specific emotions and situations.

Doodles and health session by Shambhavi Tarotforu, Award Winning Celebrity, Tarot Reader, Life Coach,Vaastu, Colour Therapist

§        An engaging activity and an ice breaker was conducted with the ladies which was fun. From the absent mind random designing on paper is doodles. Each one of us were given a piece of paper and pencil to doodle.  The paper colour and the pencil colour that we actually picked up also spoke volumes about us as per her.  Green being progression, Yellow  being positivity and healing, Orange being spiritually and so on.  On explaining the significance of doodling squares, rounds, etc. she explained when too many doodles are Squares or Circles close eyes and see what you see first. Be aware of what you draw or Doodles..it speaks volumes about you...example when we write names on paper, the way the alphabets are written shows how much attention you seek.

Neha Suradhkar talked about Self Love, Positive Body Image and Loving Yourself Unconditionally.

§        Looking good and feeling good both are important.

§       Do what you can do best with what you have.

§       Dressing up by understanding colours, styles and what works for you and your skin focusing on features that you can highlight

§        If you are on heavier side make sure your negatives are downplayed.

§       Don't put any conditions on yourself but accept yourself the way you are

Dr. Nikhil Shah, WinSoles on the benefits of the soles they create to align the body as per each individual requirement. Some facts he shared were walking for just routine work like market runs does not  count as walking. 15 minutes of concentrated walking is important. Checking right posture, foot alignment, whether flat footed or not, are you standing climbing and running in a proper surface are important for  walking correctly and foot balance.

Rashmi Bagri, Corporate Trainer, conducted an exercise to appreciate, experience and get to know the person sitting next to you. Each one was asked to draw the person and then list features that attracted you or those that you liked. A feel good exercise for participants.

Trupti Sawant  (Trups S Sawant) on Science of Forgiveness - Is it a Choice or a Compulsion today?

§       There are  11 major chakras or energy centre that starts from the sub conscious mind.

§       When a person does not troubled you anymore in thought dream or physically then it is true forgiveness.

§       Write Letter S on unruled paper in script style and say  that you forgive..

Riddhi Doshi Patel, Performance Skills Trainer, Behavioral Coach, Psychologist, Integrated Art Therapy Practitioner on accepting yourself.

§     Made all the ladies get up and loosen up with a bit of stretching exercises and an exercise using modality of dance moves. As she explained, nothing works if there is no connect between mind and body. She conducted an exercise to thank every part of the body by asking us to close our eyes and touch each part of your body in appreciation and thanks.

My take away was simple, that being, to look after my health, exercise and sleep well.  As for eating healthy, I am not the one who can lecture anyone on it for sure, but I do believe in eating in moderation and with a thought that at the end of the day, that I  do not want to be at the mercy of others on account of any ill health.

You too can learn more so join Dr. Bhavi Mody and Moushomi Pal in their endeavour to take you on the path of good health. Like their FB page:  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/vrudhihwc/?ref=search

And do pick up a copy of  my book that talks of this too ..........

India Links : Flipkart, Amazon.in,  Infibeam, Notionpress.com

International : Amazon.com  Amazon.co.uk

AGE WITH HUMOUR

WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?

GUILT? …….    STRESS!!

INCOMPLETE BUCKET LIST?

MONEY WISE- MONEY FOOLISH

MEMORIES MAKEOVER

LET’S TALK #MENTAL HEALTH

FOLLOW YOUR HEART

WHEN PANIC ATTACKS !!

GEN-NEXT AND US !!!

  GETTING OFF THE GRUDGE TRAIN

WHY CAN’T I ENJOY MY MONEY?

THE GRANDPARENT GUILT TRAP

   DECONSTRUCTING  DEMENTIA

& ALZHEIMER‘S

BRAIN POWER…   SOUL MATTERS!

…….AND  MORE