Lifestyle Archives - Wedding Times Magazine

9 Apr

How to stay connected with the outside world from home

Owing to social distancing to control the spread of COVID-19, we are physically cut off from the outside world. With travel plans and brunch dates with friends abandoned indefinitely, here’s a list of ways in which you can still replicate the joys of socialising, at home

At present, we are deluged with information on COVID-19 from around the world. The pandemic has forced us all indoors till things get better. Although for homebodies this may seem almost comforting, staying cooped up at home can slowly wear you out. However, thanks to the suite of communication technology at our service, we do not have to be completely disconnected from the outside world. Between the exploration of your newfound culinary talents and bingeing on shows, throw a virtual dinner party or attend a live yoga session to stay connected with the community.

What’s your game?

The classics (think: UNO and Monopoly) are making a comeback stronger than ever before. Friends and families are now engaging in virtual altercations over being dealt an unfair hand. Newer games such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons are the new rage among millennials, especially in Japan. As the name suggests, this Nintendo Switch series allows you to build and live in a whole new world devoid of any infections. Some say it might be the ideal quarantine game, and we couldn’t agree more. Look to virtual games and get your friends to join in for game nights!

3 Apr

Fitness apps to download this lockdown

by Irene Fernandes

To keep you on track with your fitness goals, we’ve rounded up a few workout applications that can help you stay fit while at home

A new normal is being shaped as we adapt to this way of at-home living. It’s also made us alter our fitness routines, as we are forced to embrace the rules of social distancing during this lockdown. However, being confined to your home needn’t stop you from staying fit. Here are some apps to keep you moving; choose what suits your fitness requirements.

Nike Training Club

In view of the lockdown, Nike has decided to make all of its Nike Training Club Premium workouts free until further notice. This app offers focused routines that target abs and core, arms and shoulders, glutes and legs, along with strength, endurance and mobility workouts. If you’re facing space constraints at home, make sure to check out their ‘big workouts for small spaces’ section. While consistency is the key, the app also makes sure that you get enough rest after a particularly intense week of workout, by adjusting your workout frequency and updating your plan. The app also offers celebrity-guided workouts featuring athletes like Serena Williams and Simone Biles and singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding among others.

Available on: iOS and Android

Freeletics

Before you begin training, the app prompts you to take a fitness test and based on the results, customises a workout for you. With over 900 variations, this app allows users to train anywhere with workouts that are challenging and that take between 10 and 25 minutes. The free version of the app offers The Coach, which is a digital personal trainer, whereas in-app purchases will give you access to the premium training feature.

Available on: iOS and Android

1 Apr

5 ways in which we’re leading happier lives

by Gayatri S

As we reel under the impact of the pandemic, we find ourselves valuing life and realising that there’s little we need to survive and be content. Here’s a look at how COVID-19 has altered life as we know it and taken us back to a simpler way of life

One can’t deny that this is one of the most difficult periods in time. From worrying about the intensifying pandemic and a global recession to being under lockdown for such a lengthy duration, the situation has been dismal, to say the least. However, while we’re confined in our homes, we have in a way, been forced to go back to a more basic way of life. Simply put, we’re now compelled to live without items or experiences, which we were conditioned to believe are essential to our happiness.

Health effect

The focus has always been on being successful and leading comfortable lives, but today, being healthy and virus-free is all that matters. As they rightly say, money can’t happiness—and in this case, a disease-free existence. And so, from inculcating good hygiene to consuming immunity boosting concoctions, we’re doing all we can to stay in the pink of health. Unhealthy eating habits like ordering in and eating out all the time have gone right out of the window, as we’re now cooking wholesome meals ourselves. And with the shortage of supplies, we are more conscious of food waste. We’ve even found ways to exercise and stay fit at home.

Housekeeping 101

With citizens confined to their homes, suddenly, we’re all left to our own devices, quite literally so. Moreover, it’s now our responsibility to take care of ourselves and our needs. Whether it’s cooking our meals or cleaning our homes, we’re learning to be independent, self-sufficient and responsible.

31 Mar

5 lifestyle concepts to transform your life during isolation

As we are amidst a nationwide lockdown owing to COVID-19, staying at home at all times is slowly but surely becoming wearisome. If you are beginning to feel like you are stuck in a rut, you’re not alone. So, here are some of the world’s most revered lifestyle concepts to help you reinvent your life and rediscover happiness at home

It is but normal to crave change, especially when you are isolated at home owing to the pandemic. If the everyday cycle of ‘eat, sleep, Netflix, repeat’ is beginning to burn you out, fret not! From the Japanese ikigai to the Swedish lagom, here are a few tried-and-tested ways to usher in a more empowered and fulfilling life.

HYGGE

‘Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities; forget about your worries and your strife’. Through this upbeat number, the thought-provoking duo, Baloo and Mowgli, captured the essence of life; one also summarised by the Danish concept of hygge (pronounced hoo-gah). Ticking off a millennial’s list of self-care essentials (think: scented candles, fuzzy socks and a cup of hot chocolate with floating marshmallows), hygge is all about getting comfortable with the bare minimum. Since home is where you are going to be for the next few weeks, there is no better time to bring out the fluffy pillows and exquisite throws. Sprinkle a bit of hygge in your life to give yourself a soothing hug in this testing time.

26 Mar

Home workout challenges that you and your partner can take on together

Grooming & Fitness, Skin & Hair

It is believed that couples who sweat together, stay together. And if you’re the kind that looks a challenge in the eye, take on some of our favourite online workout challenges to try at home

Constant motivation, someone to check your form, and the comforting thought that your bed is just a few steps away (just in case)—working out at home has been the go-to for those who can’t make it to the gym. But, as you’re isolated with your partner now, we enumerate some fun online challenges to help you stay in shape.

Take a dance on me

There is no dearth of YouTube videos featuring dance tutorials or “follow me” dance workouts. However, we love the dance choreography challenges taking over YouTube and other social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok. You have to learn the choreography to a famous tune, recreate the dance and upload it online! In fact, you can even tag your friends to get more people to participate in the challenge.

22 May

10 easy and effective ways to boost your health

Grooming & Fitness

Trying to get fit and healthy is easier now than ever with a few healthy food swaps and on-the-go exercises

Tired of spending huge sums of money on protein shakes and weight loss beverages? We have a few tips that will help you become fit in a more natural and economical way. Whether you are a workaholic or a couch potato, these healthy ideas will not disappoint.

A raw deal

Time and again, you’ve been told that certain foods, when eaten raw, are healthier. Although it is not entirely false, cooking your carrots and tomatoes releases nutrients that aren’t available in raw form. Normally served in salads, carrots release beta-carotene and tomatoes release antioxidants that not only make your meal more flavoursome, but also enhance the nutrients in it.

16 May

5 easy pre-wedding fitness tips

by Prapti Ajmera

Grooming & Fitness, Makeover, Weddings

Whether you are getting married in white or red, your outfit shouldn’t take everyone’s breath away, you should!

At last, the day you’ve been waiting for with bated breath is here. You try putting on your blouse and—oh no! It doesn’t fit. Scared this might happen right before your wedding? Don’t worry, there’s still time to fix things. Read on to find out how you can flaunt your best side at your wedding.

Grooming & Fitness, Skin & Hair

29 Apr

Get fit, naturally

by Lynn Lobo

Say ‘I do’ to your health, the natural way. Follow these simple tips to plan a safe and healthy pre-wedding fitness regimen

One wedding genus that syncs perfectly with an eco-conscious mindset is a nature-friendly workout. Nothing works better than the raw, fresh appeal of the great outdoors and employing natural mediums to facilitate your health graph for the better before your big day. With crowds of people inducting themselves into the ‘green movement’, to-be-weds have opted to hop onto the ecological bandwagon and are taking significant steps to make their fitness regimes natural with the smallest environmental impact.

Grooming & Fitness, Skin & Hair

24 Apr

The next level of fitness training

by Lynn Lobo

Experts weigh in and breakdown the anatomy of new-fangled fitness regimens that are currently trending

As newer apps roll out on a month-to-month basis in the tech turf, the fitness orb is no stranger to an amplification of its existing techniques. When it comes to fitness, we’re always on the hunt for that new ‘magic formulae’ of a workout that, at the snap of a finger, takes us from flab to fab! As a swarm of new workout regimens have stormed the fitness domain and as a to-be-wed, challenging your body with a goal to shape up, especially before your big day, requires for you to indulge in the right workouts and be aware of the newer workout fads.