Stress and Relaxation:

Stress is an emotional and physical disorder due to our reaction against the happenings or incidents around us. It can be defined as “a particular pattern of disturbing psychological and physiological reactions that occur when an environment event threatens important motives and taxes one's ability to cope” (Source: http://library.thinkquest.org/13561/english/def_stress.html). The term “stress” is getting very common in our present life style. Everyone here from a student to a Business man, a politician to a house wife almost everyone suffers with it due to our changed lifestyle. The main reason is high competition in our society. Sometimes unlimited tension may leads to our different psychological and physiological problems. It may also be fatal sometimes. Heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, headache, insomnia, mental disorder etc may also occur due to excessive stress or tension. Now the question is how we do stay well and cope up with our hectic lifestyle?

We have to know the proper way of realizing stress and relaxing to lead a happy and healthy life style. The more we release stress the more easily we can handle the situations. The easiest way of relaxing is to take some nice deep breath. Another way of reducing stress is practicing yoga. One of the common breathing exercises is as follows:
At first, find a calm place where you won’t be disturbed or interrupted by anyone else. Sit down or lie down (whichever you feel would be better for you) and inhale slowly. Count one to ten gently and then slowly exhale by counting backward.

Ayurvedic Massage Therapy is also good for relieving stress. According to Ayurveda ashwagandha is an ideal herb that can release day to day stress. Positive thinking, self confidence and living without abnormal expectations are great ways of leading a healthy and stress free life.

Importance of Fruits for our skin:

For getting vigorous and attractive skin fruits are one of the most important items. They not only make our skin beautiful but also make it strong from inside. You won’t make your skin beautiful without making your body healthy. So from that point of view fruits should be utilized in two forms- Externally and Internally. Externally means several fruits pack can be used for skin. Internally means you need to have some good fruits on a daily basis to make your skin and body strong and healthy.

Fruits contain acids, which are great for skin as because they untie the stickiness between the dead skin cells and the new cells. Thus results in a smooth and soft skin. According to our skin type, we should choose the fruit masks, which are as follows:

1. For normal skin: take one peach. Cook until it become soft. Then mash it with the backside of a fork and add a teaspoon of honey to it. Mix it well and finally add oatmeal until it becomes thick. Apply it on to the skin and after 10 minutes rinse well with water.
2. For normal to oily skin: cook 2-3 carrots. When it becomes soft, smash it with the backside of a fork and add 4 and a half spoon of honey to with. Apply on to the skin and wait for 10 minutes to get it dried up. Then, rinse off with water.
3. For dry skin: mash 2 medium size bananas with a fork. If you desire, then add a teaspoon of honey to it. Mix it well and apply it on the face. After 10 minutes, rinse off with water.

There are several fruits those are rich sources of vitamins and minerals in our body. We should take them in adequate quantities to get a healthy and good-looking skin.

1. Lemons are the great sources of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antiaging product. In winter having plenty of oranges in the form of juice or raw whatever possible is recommended to maintain a youthful and healthy skin. Besides lemon, amla also contains high percentage of vitamin C.

2. Strawberries, plums etc. are rich sources of antioxidants. The antioxidants found in these fruits can protect the skin cells from damage.

3. Bananas, they not only good in taste but are also having many health benefits. It contains Vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium and magnesium. Besides giving healthy skin bananas are also important for making your heart strong.

4. Apples are also having great food values. For detoxifying body there is no alternative of apples. Having apple everyday makes your skin healthy and also reduces your heart attack chance.
Another fruit that is very helpful for getting bright and healthy skin is coconut.

Some fruits and their effectiveness in skin problems:

Apple- Excellent for cracked skin, wrinkles and also in some inflammation.

Apricots- Good for sun burned skin, skin itching and eczema.

Cucumber- Cucumber has beneficial effects on wrinkles, pimples and very good for reducing skin dryness.

Papaya- Can be used for removing whiteheads, boils and spots.

Pineapple- Good skin softener that cleanses and rejuvenates dull and dry skin.

Winter skin care:

Our skin becomes dry and irritated during the winter season which lacks with moisturizer. In winter we need to increase the moisture level of our skin to get a smooth and beautiful looking healthy skin. Here are some skin care tips that we need to follow mainly for that particular season-

1. Before bathing, do warm oil massage. It keeps your skin smooth and gentle.
2. Do not bath in very hot water; rather make your bathing water lukewarm.
3. Make use of chemical free soap for cleansing purpose. It protects the skin from loosing of natural moisture.
4. Try to exfoliate you skin atleast twice a week.

5. Drink plenty of water and orange juice and eat lot of green vegetables and fruits.

A simple recipe for letting your skin to be wonderful even in winter season is as follows:
Mix 1 teaspoon of brewer’s yeast with 2 teaspoons or more of distilled water. Make a smooth paste out of it and apply it on to the face. After 1 to 2 minutes, wash it with tepid water. And for lip protection, apply a light layer of clarified butter.

Ayurveda and Allopathy:

Ayurveda means “the science of life”. Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of cure that was originated thousands of years ago in India. Ayurvedic remedies supplies both healing and precautionary measures towards most favorable physical, mental and spiritual well being. The philosophy which is basically related to ayurveda is preventing unnecessary suffering and living a long, healthy life. Thus ayurveda solution which is made up of herbs is based on direct sense perception, logical inference and hearing from authoritative sources, that is saints or realized souls.
On the other hand, Allopathy which is also known as “conventional medicine” is developed in the West. It is also called as the Modern System of Medicine. In this system the diseases are treated with drugs which are having opposite effects to the existing symptoms. It was originated from ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian medicine. Allopathy is based on major three steps: hypothesis, experimentation and observation and finally the theory or the conclusion. In today’s world, allopathy follows a methodological approach towards diagnosing and treating patience.
But the major difference between them lies is the period of curing the illness. Ayurveda comparatively takes a long period of time to cure, whereas in most of the cases allopathic treatment cures the diseases within a short span of time. Although the negative side is allopathy treatment sometimes may causes side effects like hair loss, weak health, allergies and many more. But no such side effects can really be found in ayurvedic treatment. Now-a-days, many doctors those who are practicing allopathy even suggest many ayurvedic medicines for their patients. Still there is no alternative of ayurvedic treatment. This healing method is still widely accepted by almost all countries of the world.