Tag: relaxation

Why Marina in Chennai is a fun way to exercise?

What’s the most fun way to exercise?

Marina Beach in Chennai is the world’s second-longest urban beach. It is located along the Bay of Bengal in Tamilnadu, India.

About 15000 to 20000 people visit the beach daily. It marks a prominent landmark in the south of India.

The beach is a star attraction during peak summer, especially in the months of April and May. A fun spot for family and children.

Children run around and splash in shallow water. Horsemen on the shore wait to take visitors around. On a ride and for a ride. They make quick money.

We often visit Marina for fun, as we live close by. 

Balloon shooting is a good fun exercise.

The men who run the stall today are second generation shopkeepers. It’s a legacy that comes with a hundred balloons and three old well-oiled air rifle guns. 

Many such stalls now form part of the landscape on the Marina.

Shooting balloons has become a popular fun exercise, especially after Gagan Narang of India won a bronze at the London Olympics in 2012.

Narang won the prize for the air-rifle event. His father said he saw the spark in his son first when he was just two. Narang, as we heard, ran around in Marina and burst balloons.

The stalls give you rifles ready and loaded. People just pay and shoot. Pay ₹200 (about $2 for a pack of 10 pellets) upfront and grab a gun. Keep firing, bang… bang! 

You won’t get many shots right though. And the bonus is you get three free shots when you hit the balloon the shopkeeper points at.

There’s no stopping the fun exercise. It’s so addictive that people stay up late to break records.

But, all stories have got twists.

Some boys come real sharp. They come in a gang and start bursting balloons at the word ‘go’. They splash money.

The shopkeepers always see a profit. They make about ₹1000 ($10) a day. It’s a lot of money for them. 

They would ask the boys to go Gung ho. And the boys make merry. 

But the stalls have something up their sleeves, always. How to cut costs?

In the buzz of activities, the shopkeepers don’t load pellets when handing the rifle to people.

Boys won’t know they were just firing blank shots. The rifles go bang, bang, but the balloons just stay. 

Isn’t that a lot of fun?

Reasons why balloon shooting in Marina must rank as the best fun exercise.

Come and join us. Let’s go give a shot at one of the stalls in Marina. 

Anyone?

 

Keep the good. But give the bad, the ‘kick’!

What strategies do you use to cope with negative feelings?

No big strategies. Just plain reading of how our brain works. That will do.

I’ve read on the internet that our body has a natural response to both positive and negative thoughts.

Our body secretes a hormone called dopamine when we read or hear good news. India winning the test series against touring Bazball-England should make us happy. So that’s loads of bright bulbs in the brain. No damage.

But, there’s a villain hormone at the same time. It’s called cortisol. It begins to flood the moment when you know you run to work late. And it doubles up in a deluge when you see the traffic on the road is moving too slow.

So our body basically plays both a good and bad cop. The bad guy is noticeably the dominant of the two. It’s tough calming him down.

There are no quick fixes to kill a bad thought, to say honestly. We should see the situation and act accordingly. 

Give an example.

Imagine, the traffic is now cleared. You start cruising along. Suddenly, you hear the sirens and an ambulance appears quickly in the rearview. Flashing and asking the right of way. You know clearly there’s someone in need of an emergency.

How would you react? Give way or keep pressing the pedal?

Giving way should naturally be the best way to react. Because you know you should help save a person in trauma. And the law says to give priority to an ambulance.

The same is the case with all negative thoughts put together. When the thought knocks at the door, do one of the following. Without thinking twice.

Just give in.

Walk away.

Drink a glass of water and relax.

Take a cold shower.

Shut down the phone.

Take the dog out for a walk.

Visit a local store and buy some candy.

Feed the fish.

Visit the beach and watch those waves kissing your feet.

Pay the guy at the balloon stall and pick up the gun. Check how good your aim is. 

Give no space for negative thoughts. At all.

Till about time your bad cop ‘cortisol’ runs completely empty. Leave no trace of him.

Life is a battle of wits. Keep calm when you win. Laugh whenever you fail.

Keep the good and give the bad cop the kick. On any day.

Be the winner. Always!