No matter how dearly we love ourselves there are few things that will always rob us off our confidence. From belly fat, love handles to saggy arms and double chin - these are the problem areas that are hard to hide and instantly begin to show if we put on the slightest weight. Work your way through hiding that winter weight gain but one thing that will always be right out in the open is double chin. Excess weight is one of the biggest perpetrators of that extra facial mass, whereas age-related collagen loss also causes our skin to lose its elasticity and become saggy. If double chin has been your cause of concern then fret not! We bring you the natural way to achieve that enviable look all over again.Yoga has answers to some of our most common, everyday woes. Can the age-old practice help beat double chin? "Of course, you can try facial yoga. Other than that, all postures that come under 'the heart opener' are effective in reducing double chin. These include all such asanas that require you to extend your hands back, like the camel pose," says Manisha Kohli, co-founder of Yoga Chakra, GK II, Delhi.

Easy yogic tricks to reduce double chin with double chin exercises can be The Chub Blaster, The Giraffe, The Fish Expression, and The Dumbbell Technique.

1. The Chub Blaster
This will give a your jaw and neck and nice stretch and work on toning the muscles. Follow the steps given below.

- Stand or sit in a comfortable position - padmasana or sukhasana.

- Keep your head in a normal position.

- Now, lift your lower lip as much as possible and push your lower jaw out.

- You can feel the tension in your chin and jaw muscles.

- Stay for 10-15 seconds and relax.

2. The Giraffe

This one is the easiest of the lot and works magic on toning up that double chin when double chin workouts are done regularly.

- Sit comfortably and look ahead.

- Place your fingers at the end of your neck and stroke your skin downward.

- Simultaneously, tilt your head backwards.

- Now bend your neck to touch your chest with your chin.

- Repeat the entire process two times.

Try neck rotations, neck bends and several other neck exercises to get better results.

3. The Fish Expression

Another effective way to tighten your facial muscles is by doing the fish expression. Suck your lips and cheeks in till your mouth starts resembling a fish. Now look right and left, then up and hold the pose for 10-15 seconds. Repeat thrice.

4. The Dumbbell Technique

You can also try the dumbbell technique wherein you lift your chin up and repeatedly open and close your mouth for -10-15 seconds; repeat thrice.

Get in touch with a certified yoga practitioner to learn more double chin workouts and exercises to reduce double chin

Want to stay young for long? If so, start exercising four to five times a day as it may help keep your heart stay healthy and slow down ageing, according to researchers.
Research showed that different sizes of arteries are affected differently by varying amounts of exercise.
While exercising for about two to three days a week for about 30 minutes may be sufficient to minimise stiffening of middle-sized arteries, exercising for about four to five days a week is required to keep the larger central arteries youthful.
The study would help "develop exercise programmes to keep the heart youthful and even turn back time on older hearts and blood vessels", said one of the study authors, Benjamin Levine from the University of Texas.
With age, arteries -- which transport blood in and out of the heart -- become prone to stiffening, increasing the risk of heart diseases.
For the study, published in The Journal of Physiology, the team examined 102 people over 60 years old, with a consistent lifelong exercise history.
The participants were divided into four groups depending on their exercise history -- Sedentary: less than 2 exercise sessions per week; Casual Exercisers: 2-3 exercise sessions per week; Committed Exercisers: 4-5 exercise sessions per week and Masters Athletes: 6-7 exercise sessions per week.

A lifelong history of casual exercise (two-three times a week) resulted in more youthful middle-sized arteries, which supply oxygenated blood to the head and neck.
However, committed exercisers (4-5 times per week) also had more youthful large central arteries, which provide blood to the chest and abdomen, in addition to healthier middle-sized ones.

Larger arteries need more frequent exercise to slow down ageing, the researchers said.
The findings will help see "if we can reverse the ageing of a heart and blood vessels by using the right amount of exercise at the right time", Levine explained.

Life can be all fun and frolic as long as we are hale and healthy, but it can come to a standstill due to an injury or illness. The road to recovery can be cumbersome, but with dance-based physiotherapy, it need not be so!

Physiotherapists often encourage their patients and aid their recovery while enabling them to become independent as soon as possible after an injury or surgery. They seek the patient’s participation along with their own support, by creating awareness and empower them by educating them about their problems. They work with all age groups to help them in overcoming pain and disease.

Physiotherapy - What is it for?
With their expertise and knowledge, they can help in improving the various body systems including and not restricted to,

Neuromusculoskeletal (back-related pain, Arthritis, sports-linked injuries)

Respiratory (pulmonary diseases, Asthma, cystic fibrosis)

Neurological (Parkinson’s strokes, multiple sclerosis)

Cardiovascular (heart-associated disorders)

Dancing - A Form of Physio Exercise

Dancing is also known to be advantageous for the patients because it boosts the flow of blood to the body and helps in their timely recovery. It also strengthens your bones and makes them healthy. Additionally, you can improve your fitness levels.


The health benefits of dancing also extend to combating anxiety and depression. It stimulates the release of the ‘feel-good’ hormones, also known as ‘endorphins’ and helps to uplift the mood. Further, you can also rely on dancing for gaining body balance. The benefits of social interaction can also be enjoyed through the practice. Moreover, you can dance to improve your body posture. And dancing is highly enjoyable and can be performed anywhere, at home or outdoors.
Words of Caution

When relying on dancing as a form of your physiotherapy treatment, you must take care to follow the instructions of your medical practitioner. They will consider your present physical condition and guide you on the correct dance techniques that are suited for your recovery. Moreover, if you experience pain as a result of dancing when recovering from disorders, do not delay in contacting the doctor at the earliest.
Physiotherapy can prove to be beneficial at any stage of our lives, and you can rely on it for not just for dealing with chronic pain, but as a preventive mechanism for dance or sport-related injuries as well. And it can be much more exciting and enjoyable when it is dance-based, especially, if you are a dance-loving soul.

Exercise doesn’t just keep you healthy and fit. Turns out, it can also help people fight addiction. A study conducted by the University of Buffalo has identified a key mechanism on how aerobic exercise can help impact the brain in ways that may support treatment and prevention strategies for addiction.

Aerobic exercises are a form of cardio exercise that increase the heart rate, breathing and circulation of oxygen through the blood. It can also help people who are suffering from diabetes, heart disease and arthritis. It also offers mental health benefits, such as reducing stress, anxiety and depression.

“Several studies have shown that, in addition to these benefits, aerobic exercise has been effective in preventing the start, increase and relapse of substance use, including alcohol, nicotine, stimulants and opioids,” said Panayotis (Peter) Thanos, the senior author of the study.

Using animal models, Thanos and his team found that daily aerobic exercise altered the mesolimbic dopamine pathway in the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with substance use disorders, and plays an important role in reward, motivation and learning.

The study is published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Other interesting ways to kick addictions

* Nose spray that helps you kick gambling habit

In January, Finnish researchers said they were to launch a study to see if gambling addiction can be treated with a fast-working nasal spray. The spray contains naloxone, an emergency treatment for opiate overdoses (heroin, opium, morphine) that blocks the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to pleasure with a central role in addictions.

* Facebook to quit smoking

A clinical trial done by the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) shows that smokers were 2.5 times more likely to quit post a cessation intervention programme delivered entirely on social networking giant Facebook than by other online quit-smoking programmes.

* Cut down on sugar to overcome alcohol addiction

It is believed that alcohol has a direct connection with sugar. So, if you want to avoid craving for liquor, cut down on your sweet intake.

The pool’s the place to be in summer, but if you aren’t a swimmer, that vast body of water (and all those people gliding across the length) can be intimidating. Experts tell us you don’t actually need to swim to get the benefits of water. Stay in the shallows and do a spot of exercise. One study published in the Medical Science Monitor said that water exercises benefited patients with hip osteoarthritis both before and after total hip replacement. “We noted a significant reduction of pain (p<0.001), increased ranges of motion and muscle strength, and reduced use of medicines (NSAIDs) (p<0.001),” it stated.

Chitra Kataria, who heads the rehabilitation division at Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, in Delhi, says that water therapy is used in hospitals for everything from building cardiovascular capacity and endurance in sportspeople, to developing joint mobilisation in those who have orthopaedic conditions, and strengthening muscles during post-fracture care. “Exercises that people find painful on land are less painful in water, because of its buoyancy that reduces the effect of gravity,” she says. Water exercises may even help those who have a niggling pain in the neck or back because of poor posture.

Besides rehab though, people who want quick results from high intensity interval training (HIIT) can get in the pool and do similar workouts. “You’ll gain stamina and muscle mass, while burning fat fast, without injuring yourself,” says Fitness Coach and Aqua aerobics instructor, Pooja Bhatia Arora, Bengaluru. Most people who do HIIT on land may not have sufficient muscle strength, because of which they load the joints, leading to injury. In the pool, you can avoid this, and also feel less fatigued, because of the cooling effect of water.

A team thing

Get in the pool with your whole family or a bunch of friends. “Experience the water so you feel a connection with it. So just hang out in the pool, or play some fun games. They’ll give you a workout without you even realising it,” says Manisha Khungar, a swimming coach based in Gurgaon. Play tag as you walk in the water trying to catch each other; do a relay using a pool noodle; simply play handball in the water.
4 exercises you can do in the pool
Russian twists

Start with feet wide. Extend both arms forward and bring palms together. Twist from side to side ensuring palms and wrist are firm, to create enough drag force in water. Keep the core tight and movement on the lower body minimal throughout the exercise. This works on spine mobility and helps tone the obliques.

Squats

Squats in the pool can be done at the shallow end where the water level is below waist. Start with feet shoulder-width apart, feet pointed slightly outward. Push the butt back and down, keeping the back straight (neutral position) and knees behind the toes. ‘Sit’ back, completely extending the hip and knee. Squats strengthen the glutes. Pool squats also help improve mobility of the knee joint.

Push-ups

A pool push up can be done at the vertical pool wall. Start with hands wider than shoulder-width and palms resting on the pool deck. Propel yourself up and straighten your elbows, all this while keeping the back neutral (straight). For a beginner, use the pool floor and jump into the pushup. If you would like to challenge yourself, propel yourself upon without a jump and make your descent slower. A pushup works on pectoral muscles and triceps.

Frog Jump

Start with legs shoulder-width apart. Jumps and try touching your toes with your hand, while getting both legs into a butterfly position. The frog jump in the pool works on the abdomen and inner-outer thighs. It also is a cardiovascular exercise.