Wednesday, November 9, 2011

How to be fit and healthy naturally?


I have published this blog today for people who want to discuss exercise metabolism, cardiovascular, cardio-respiratory responses, muscular adaptations or any other topic related to the physiology and adaptations to exercise and training.


My view for diet, exercise and fitness

Eat some energy foods, a couple of exercises between the sheet, then a couple of hours of sleep, then wake up and do it all over again. For any human being or animal, God has created one necessary and the best thing in this world is exercise and it can make you stress free. It can give you satisfaction. It can give u fun. It can give you excitement. For all those, who do not exercise or have no time to workout or are too lazy for any physical activity or are getting too stressed out to read this fully, you need to have a fit body for your own sake. Come on share how you feel and how you should keep yourself fit. Yes I can do that!!! I can start doing push-ups in a business suit if I don't get to exercise for one day!! How many times have you said, "I really need to be fit"? Share your thoughts and experience regarding exercise. How important is exercise in our daily life? What are the benefits? Nobody knows the best way to lose weight, but everyone has their own experiences and what works best for them. Please share ideas and even healthy foods, recipes, workouts, and weight loss goals.



Why do you hate exercising?

Somewhere, sometime, some of us decided that exercise was something that we hated. It is an unjust price that has to be suffered through to get back into shape. I love to do exercise, but I don't like big chest. I like very flat chest and very muscular hands. Exercise physiologist develops, implements, and evaluates exercise programs for patients. Assesses cardiovascular and metabolic effects of exercise for cardiac and musculoskeletal rehabilitation. I do exercise and keep body in shape. I love my fitness, physique and stamina.

Why not burn some fats and reduce weight?

Most people have a hard time finding good information on the internet. I know I sure did when I tried. Sitting and moaning over all those flabs would not help. Neither there would be a miracle some day that you shed all that weight in a blink of an eye. You need to push, you need to move those feet and go ahead. I have a weight loss success story. I lost 10 kilograms in a period of 6 months. People who are trying to lose weight will know it is a very big achievement. It is not easy. No miracle pills, no nothing, only pure exercise.

Make your body fit and healthy in a natural way

I have listed below some really simple steps to keep our body fit and healthy in a natural way. Carry on

1. After you wake up before you actually brush your teeth, have 3-4 leads of garlic, as it helps in burning fat and after half an hour drink water).

2. After a glass of water, drink lemon water or nimbu pani, what we say in India, without sugar but add a spoonful of honey in that.

3. To avoid dehydration, have a glass of orange juice in the breakfast.

4. Avoid bread, oily food, ghee, and butter.
5. You can take a glass of milk because it gives your body strength.

6. Take a tablespoon of nutrilite protein with a glass of milk or water because it contains 80% protein.

7. Before 20 minutes to lunch, drink at least 1 liter of water.

8. In lunch, have 3 chapattis or rotis with whatever vegetable or sabji you have.

9. Avoid oily stuff. Avoid rice in the lunch. Try to have as much as sprouts in your food as possible. Try to have salads or fruits.

10. At the same time when you are taking milk, protein, juice, salads, fruit, it maintains nutritional value of the diet.

11. Avoid lots of coffee or tea, one cup in the morning and one cup in the evening is okay, but not more than 2 cups a day.

12. Before 1 hour to dinner, have a glass of spinach cum tomato soup. In the dinner, you can have, rice and pulses. Again, I would tell you to avoid oil but you can have a teaspoon of ghee on your pulses with rice.

13. Before going to bed, drink 2 glasses of water and a glass of milk.

P.S. Maximum stress should be on avoiding oil and fatty stuff. Maximum intake of liquid and water is important. I added one teaspoon of ghee in the dal and pulses at dinnertime because in a day to day life when you work, your energy gets wasted up and you burn fats but for a good metabolism, you need a little fat too, not in more quantity but at least in a small amount will suffice so do not totally remove fats from your diet.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

"Once the Casting is Done, the Art Belongs to the Actor."

"Once the Casting is Done, the Art Belongs to the Actor."
-Robert Altman-



WHAT IS ACTING?

This is a question I ask each new acting student at the beginning of class. I get every type of answer one can imagine; from "Being someone else", Playing a character," to "Being real". So far no one yet has gotten it right. I ask them next;

"WHAT IS A NOVEL?"

After a few hints they eventually say; "A story?" Then I ask; "If a novel is a story, then what is a stage play?" They hesitatingly answer; "A story."



"WHAT IS A SCREEN PLAY?"

They answer; "A story." And what is a commercial? They answer; "A mini story." "If all these things are stories, then who is telling the story?" "The actor?" "Wrong." "The writer?" "Wrong." "The characters?" "Bingo". The story is told by the characters and since we, as actors, are portraying (acting as, not like) the characters, could we not say that acting is storytelling? The look that comes over their faces when they figure out what acting really is, is classic, it should be photographed. (I'll do that one day)

ACTING IS STORYTELLING:

Is, always has been and always will be. That bears repeating: ACTING IS STORYTELLING; is, always has been and always will be.



THE DEFINITION:

When actors realize what acting really is and what it's all about, I can see the light come on in their eyes at the simplicity of it. Acting is Storytelling. Storytelling is the oldest form of communication/education/healing in the history of mankind, dating back to the "storyteller" (the shaman) around the campfires of prehistoric or primitive villages. The stories painted or drawn on the walls of caves in petroglyphs, on animal skins and in the oral tradition, were man's first form of education, communication, entertainment and healing, far predating the written word.

THE "ORAL TRADITION":

The Twelve Tribes of Israel used the "oral tradition" for centuries in passing down the parables of the Creation and Noah's Flood. It was not until King Solomon decreed that these stories be written down, that we had any records from which much of the "Old Testament" was taken. We, as actors, have a responsibility to carry on this tradition, yes, in fact, mankind has a "need" for "storytellers" that is almost as great as his need for love.



HOW DO YOU TELL THE STORY?

The actor must first know the story; in fact, under The Millennium System©, knowing the story is the New Age Actor's first responsibility. [Notice I did not say "plot"; there is a great difference between story and plot.] He must know each event down to the tiniest detail in proper sequence (all stories have a sequence of events; one thing happenend first, one thing happened second, etc.). He then must create his character. Stories are told by and through the characters by visualization and by coloring the events with emotions.
"ACTING WITHOUT EMOTIONS IS LIKE AN EAGLE WITHOUT WINGS."
AN ART FORM:

Acting, (Storytelling) as an art form, is evolving and freeing itself from the dogmas, rituals, routines and authorities of the past. Stanislaviski's Method, Meisner's Technique, Chekhov's Approach and the other psycho-intellectual forms of acting have become antiquated, limiting, cumbersome, ponderous, clumsy, stiff, dangerous to the actor, confusing, basically ineffectual and stifling to creativity. (Other than these problems, the old methods are probably all right.)

OLD METHODS:
In these old methods, (which were based on audience tastes and preferences at the time; theater has always been an extension of a culture's attempt at self analysis) things were done according to formula, the "guideposts", or "gote sheet" (gag... puke), even to the archaic planning of gestures or movements and the choreographing of emotions. Choreographing of actions, gestures and/or emotions (choices), to me, is like painting a picture "by the numbers", it is not "creating" and playing the moment. I was originally trained in the "Method", in college, but soon abandoned it for Meisner and eventually trying or experimenting with most of the other so-called psyco-intellectual forms that evolved from the "Method" in my thirty year career (so far) as a professional actor; I like to say, "been there, done that, got the 'T' shirt and now I wash my horse with it."

PATTERNS of EXPRESSION:
Today, the actor or creative artist, must work out his own uninhibited patterns of expression, get out of his head, create his character, play and stay in the moment. He should never negate or resist an impulse of the character; all lines (or the emotional content thereof) of dialogue will cause the character to (a) stand still; (b) move back; or (c) move toward. The movements (toward or back) may be half an inch or half a mile; even if it is infinitesimal, especially on film, it is a byproduct of listening and responding to the other character's dialogue/action or your own character's. "Listening is the single most important thing an actor can do during a performance." - (Meryl Streep) "Don't listen to the words, listen to the person." - (Jack Lemmon)

DIRECTORS:

Directors are learning (at least some are) that they get better performances "when they set actors free, to give them openendedness (freedom to explore); create a space, or perimeter, where actors feel empowered and have room to let go and enjoy letting their creative juices flow." (James Cameron) Every major actor I know or seen interviewed, has stated that they preferred a director who understands the acting process and allows them the freedom to create. A Director should tell the actor what he wants from the character, supply the vision, not how to do it. He is not there to give acting lessons; film making can cost twenty thousand dollars an hour and up (way up), he does not have the time. "I don't look for a puppet or someone to recite the lines when I cast, I look for actors who can bring something special to the story, hopefully something no one has thought of yet. I look for creativity." - (Ron Howard) The professional actor must commit his creative responsibility to the story and to the character.


CREATING CHARACTERS:

The actor, after learning and knowing the story, starts to create his character beginning with the given circumstances as supplied by the writer, inserting his own given circumstances, (visible physical characteristics he cannot change; height, weight, race, etc.; notice I did not say "gender", we have men playing women and women playing men, makeup does wonders) then creating a comprehensive BACK STORY of the character. Second only to knowing the story, the BACK STORY is the most important responsibility of the actor. Repeating: the BACK STORY is the second most important responsibility of the actor. With it, he creates a character that is anyone but himself, it is always a fantasy character from a creative imagination that is based on someone else. You can shape your character to anything your imagination can deliver. "A man isn't an actor until he commands a technique which enables him to get an impression across into the heart of an audience without reference or relation to his own individuality. The better the actor, the more completely is he able to eliminate the personal equation." John Barrymore - On the flip side; the poorer the actor, the more he must rely on his own personality (personal equation) in his attempt to tell the story.

PREPARATION:

The most important steps in acting lie in preparation. IN PREPARATION. It is the key to good acting; learning the story, researching and creating the character and lastly, learning the dialogue. All of these things must be done before you can even approach the stage or set. The actor cannot begin to "eliminate the personal equation" in the absence of preparation. There can be no creation in the absence of preparation. There can be no true performance.... in the absence of preparation.

Monday, October 31, 2011

My collection...

Ms Lanka 2010 for Ms. Asia 2011:
My own collection......


















Ms Lanka 2010 for Ms. Asia 2011:


Ms Lanka 2010 for Ms. Asia 2011:

The buzz at Technique International these past few days was a mix of glamour, tension and drama as contestants gathered together to be interviewed by the Technique team, "A very enthusiastic set of contestants were interviewed. They were confident and had good personalities. We hope to select a few more contestants this week after entries close on august 4", commented Gwendoline Kuhatheva, Derector of Business Development and education of technique. She and her team have been kept busy setting the dates for the many events leading up to the finale extravaganza. Beauty for a cause is in support of the Differently able and under privileged woman & children.


Ms Lanka 2008 - Saduni Taraka crowned by Jayatilleke de Silva, Editor Sunday Observer

For starters the good news for all contestants is that next week photographs will be taken for the Sunday Observer Most Popular Contestants. That's your cue to groom yourself accordingly so that the glittering crown belongs to you and only you!

That's not all! The camera man Vipula Amerasinghe will be in action the following weeks capturing, your beauty for the Mini titles Ms. Photogenic, Ms. Beautiful Smile and Ms. Exotic Eyes. So remember to vie for the glamour stakes!




Ms Lanka 2009 - Karishma Selvaratnam crowned by Dinesh Weerawansa, Editor in chief Sunday Observer

The other Mini titles, Ms. Talent and Ms. Designer will be held on October 2, while on October 3 the Mini titles Ms Personality and Ms Catwalk will be worked off at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre.

A day out for all contestants is on the cards for October 10 and on that day the competition for Ms Body Beautiful and Ms Crowning Glory will be selected.

The high point of this 'glamour drama' will be the extravagant finale which will be held in all its glittering splendour on November 7 at the Bishop's College Auditorium. Be sure you are there to cheer the contestants of your choice.

Ms Lanka 2006 - Rizana Ousman crowned by Radika Gunawardhana Ms Lanka 2005.

Technique International in collaboration with the Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka's leading newspaper with the largest circulation will present the pageant this year too. The other sponsors are Pico Events, softlogic, Sterling Flowers and Trendy Wear.

Gwendoline Kuhatheva - Director of Business Development and Education Technique International. Organiser Ms Lanka.

Image collection.....