Ouch, my ankle!

I'm always spraining my ankle. How do I prevent this from happening?

Surekha D.

Please be less anxious, less hurried. Slow down. You may have heard of the workaholic who'd jump up and down, frantically waving his arms at the horizon. When asked about his pre-dawn ritual, he replied, “I'm urging the sun to hurry up!”

Well, you've seen the result of the sun's slow, steady rise — it's spectacular. Decide to follow the sun's rhythm and you'll find yourself more relaxed, more consistently active rather than having bursts of activity followed by periods of exhaustion, and yes, your ankles will be stable and strong.

Include three practices daily:

Centre yourself. Sit comfortably and answer four questions after giving each due thought: Where am I right now? What am I doing? What thought is in my mind? What is the quality of my breathing? Relax in the full knowing that the answer will come without being induced or forced. Relax even if the answer doesn't come. This is how you sow the seeds of ease in non-knowing, non-doing, non-stressfulness. Tip: Take an entire day off occasionally and float in non-doing, non-planning, and just be with yourself, with silence. Make your day's axiom: No deadlines, no pressures, only a quiet joy.

Strengthen your ankles. Do this exercise 3 times a day: Sit on a chair. Raise feet slightly off the ground and rotate ankles 10 times clockwise, 10 times anti-clockwise. While exercising, close your eyes and put your total attention on your ankles so that your movements are backed by your intention to strengthen them, and not done mechanically.

Get organised. Just making a list lets you know you're on top of things and brings on an inner poise, a sense of equilibrium. Tip: Run neither with the hares nor with the hounds, just stand steadily where you are and say “No”. It maintains the much required balance in life.

I've been doing 250 abdominal crunches for 2 years. But my stomach still protrudes. I'm not bothered about flaunting a six-pack, but I would like a reasonably flat stomach, especially as I have a minor lower backache which plays up during stressful times. Please advise.

Deven A.

Do these additional four floor exercises and you'll find your waistband loosening almost immediately:

Air-cycling. Lie on back, arms at sides. Cycle in the air with both legs simultaneously — 30 times.

Moon-walking. In the same starting position, walk in the air with knees slightly bent — 20 times.

Air-bicycling. Next, cycle in the air by pumping legs alternately as if you're on a bicycle — 30 times.

Roll-backs. Finally, raise both legs and feet toward the ceiling and roll backwards until your feet almost touch the floor above your head. Return to starting position and repeat — 20 times.

Morning brew. Boil a teaspoon of cumin seed and a tablespoon of coriander seeds in a big mug of water. Drink it hot. It eliminates bloating.

Last, but not the least, walk with shoulders squared and stomach in. It adds confidence and oomph to your personality.

I feel so cold that I need to wear woollens even in summer in our centrally cooled office. I'm 30 and have no health problems, but this is beginning to worry me. What should I do?

Chandana T.

There's nothing to worry about. Many people feel cold in an airconditioned environment. I advise four practices:

Get out at lunchtime and soak some sun deeply into your body until you feel toasted to your toes and fingers.

Start each day with a brisk 30-minute walk to rev up your blood circulation. Do 20 arm windmills in the office.

Eat a betel leaf daily to add iron to your system.

Wear socks. You may not need sweaters if you keep your extremities warm.

I worry all the time — about guests coming to dinner, about our weekly brainstorming meetings at the office and stuff like that. It keeps me awake at nights and affects my concentration and health. How do I stop worrying?

Shoba J.

There are some self-reassuring practices you can adopt immediately:

Reduce sugar, white flour and coffee intake. They make the blood rush to your head and up anxiety levels. Instead, sip hot water through the day, eat balanced meals, weight-train to feel strong and grounded.

Daily, whether there's a dinner party/ meeting or not, do deep breathing — 8-8-8. Inhale through nostrils to a count of 8, hold breath to 8, exhale through mouth to 8. Do this 110 times. See how peaceful you feel. This exercise teaches the brain the skill of calming down.

Face and accept the fact: “there's going to be a meeting”, instead of fighting the idea. Fighting tenses you up; facing and accepting makes you peaceful. Let your body slump in the chair, relax and allow time to float on… Reassure yourself, “I have my whole life to do things. I'm competent. Things will go well.” They will.

The writer is co-author of the book ‘Fitness for Life'. Queries may be sent to life@thehindu.co.in.