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Hacking Health

We live in a world where there is a new fad diet, superfood, supplement or nutrition theory every month. There are so many tricks to optimizing workouts, peak performance, burning fat, living longer, sleeping better and biohacking your immune system. Wellness has become a part of mainstream discourse like never before, and the result is an overwhelming barrage of seemingly contradictory information.

But here’s one simple truth: good health impacts every aspect of life, be it productivity at work, interpersonal relationships or a balanced family life. In Hacking Health, Mukesh Bansal takes on the mammoth task of demystifying the science, simplifying the research and tracing the story of our relationship with our body. Through a combination of personal experience and cutting-edge science, this is a book that draws from ancient wisdom and also debunks unscientific myths to help you make smart choices in pursuit of good health. From nutrition and fitness to sleep and immunity, weight management and mental health to ageing and longevity, this book delves into the breadth and depth of holistic health and helps you navigate the lines between science and pseudoscience.

Can we use science to hack the human body’s functioning and be our most efficient, fittest and happiest selves? Hacking Health takes a 360-degree approach to answer this very question and help you unlock your body’s potential.

The 10 New Life-Changing Skills

The earlier 3 Industrial Revolutions (3IRs) created blue collar and white-collar jobs, which required people to carry out instructions, not question authority and follow time tested systems and processes.
Now, we are in the midst of the 4th Industrial revolution (4IR), also called Industry 4.0. It is creating ‘green collar’ jobs, which need people to ‘think, reflect and act’. To develop these abilities and perform the green collar jobs efficiently, it is critical that professionals develop certain skills -the 10 new life-changing skills:

1. Creativity
2. Innovation
3. Critical Thinking
4. Framing the Right Question
5. Smart Problem-Solving
6. Lifelong Learning
7. Storytelling
8. Influence Without Authority
9. Humanness
10. Entrepreneurial Spirit.

This book will introduce readers to these skills, which they can apply in their businesses and professions to come up trumps.

Stories and Sutras

India is the birthplace of legends, the mother of culture and tradition, and as Indians, we love our stories. This book contains ten powerful stories of the original superheroes-stories that will leave a permanent impression on your consciousness and spill over in your conversations, stories of passion and patriotism, of valour and wit, of devotion and sacrifice, and of intelligence and faith.

When decoded, the accounts in this book are not merely stories-they are a treasure trove of wisdom, life hacks, leadership and management sutras. Did you know that Lord Hanuman can teach us communication skills, that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj can teach us how to run a startup and that Chanakya shows us how to use emotional intelligence in business strategy? Have you ever imagined Arjuna, Narada Muni, Kabir and Adi Shankaracharya as leaders and influencers and do you know about Rani Abbakka, one of the unsung battle queens of India? Stories and Sutras is a journey of these incredible tales and priceless sutras-an edutainment experience that is uniquely Indian and utterly global.

Yoga Also for the Godless

Practitioners of the ancient science of yoga have long contended that you don’t have to be a Hindu, in the conventional sense, to practise yoga, even though its origins lie in India. Renowned spiritual teacher, author, social reformer, educationist and global speaker Sri M goes a step further in this new and path-breaking book-he proves that, let alone belonging to a particular religion, one doesn’t even need to believe in God to be a true yogi. One of the best-known Vedantic scholars of our times, he draws on his deep knowledge of ancient Indian scriptures to prove that the godless are as capable as the God-inspired of reaching the pinnacle of self-realisation and bliss through yoga.
Based on a profound understanding of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, this is a step-by-step guide to the theory and practice of yoga for those who seek to know it better, and also for the young and the millennial, who may be stepping out for the first time. In lucid prose, with photographs for visual aid, Sri M takes us through the most complex notions of breath, body and posture with admirable brevity and clarity.

Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master

In this tell-all autobiography, Sri M writes about his fascinating journey as a young man from the southern coast of India to the mystical Himalayan Mountains. At the age of nineteen and a half, he felt an irresistible urge to go to the Himalayas in quest for his great Master. He finally met his Master at the Vyasa Cave, beyond the Badrinath shrine. After spending three and half years with his Master, wandering freely across the length and breadth of the Himalayan ranges, he was instructed to go back to live in the plains and lead a normal life. He started working for a living, fulfilled his social commitments and prepared himself to teach others all that he had learned and experienced. This book reveals the spiritual journey of a young lad from Kerala, who by his sincerity and dedication evolved into a living yogi. Sri M shares his knowledge of the Upanishads and spiritual insights born out of first hand experiences in his autobiography. Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master will make for an engaging and riveting read for those interested in the life and teachings of Sri M.

Equal, Yet Different

Equal, Yet Different is exactly how women want to be treated, and need to be treated.

Despite the growing number of women acquiring professional degrees, they remain under-represented and almost invisible when it comes to top leadership positions or decision-making roles. While women have proved beyond doubt that they are just as talented and capable as men, they are still held back by expectations laid down by society and a largely unconscious bias on the part of colleagues and family members. Besides grappling with external challenges, women find that their own mindsets are also shaped by similar conditioning. The reasons for women not making it to the top echelons of the business world extend far beyond the known ones like marriage and maternity.

Based on in-depth interviews with career women, leaders and experts on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), Equal, Yet Different identifies catalysts that can help women achieve maximum potential and fulfilment. This book will benefit all those interested in women’s careers-women themselves, their spouses, bosses and even organizations looking to succeed.

ADVANCE PRAISE

‘A must-read for all working women who aim to rise to the very top of their game . . . also for the men who lead organizations or someday hope to, and men who have wives/partners. Bravo!’ FAYE D’SOUZA, JOURNALIST

‘There are many conscious and unconscious mindsets that manifest at home and in the workplace, which continue to hold women back. Equal, Yet Different offers a positive and balanced perspective on the catalysts that could enable career women to achieve their full potential’ ANAND MAHINDRA, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA

‘A book that does not speak in generalities and actually maps out an action plan for women in the workforce. I plan to implement a lot of her excellent advice and you should too’ NAOMI DATTA, AUTHOR AND TELEVISION PRODUCER
‘Anita, in writing this book, has gifted us all a true guide and created a new manifesto for an equal world’ SHRADHA SHARMA, FOUNDER AND CEO, YOURSTORY MEDIA

Equal, Yet Different is full of ideas on what career women need to do to become the best versions of themselves . . . she mentions not only areas such as networking and managing finances but gives equal importance to health, nutrition and exercise’ RUJUTA DIWEKAR, NUTRITIONIST AND AUTHOR

‘A book both men and women must read to bring true diversity to the home and workplace’ RASHMI BANSAL, BESTSELLING AUTHOR

‘A simple yet thought-provoking read that I recommend not only to all those who aspire to make a mark but also to those who support them in fulfilling their dream’ RACHANA RANADE, ENTREPRENEUR AND FINANCE CONTENT CREATOR

No Limits

Tech entrepreneur Mukesh Bansal has been a lifelong student of human performance optimisation. He has studied the science behind it, and worked closely with high performers across business, sports and entertainment, to understand what it takes to transcend apparent limitations and achieve true potential.

Through his entrepreneurial experience and studying the field of health and fitness, Bansal came to understand the enormous power of plasticity: the ability of the human brain to rewire itself at will as we develop new skills. He also realised that high performers across domains rely on common tools that were embraced by ancient wisdom and are validated by modern science. Knowing that high performance is not a matter of genetics or luck is highly empowering.
No Limits distils Bansal’s findings on talent, deliberate practice, mindset, habit, willpower and learning. It is a guide to maximising one’s potential with well-defined strategies. So, no matter what you do, you can be a superior version of yourself, performing at increasingly better levels, constantly reaching higher.

Shunya

He appears out of nowhere in a sleepy little neighbourhood in suburban Kerala. He calls himself Shunya, the zero. Who is he? A lunatic? A dark magician? A fraud? Or an avadhuta, an enlightened soul? Saami-as they call him-settles into a small cottage in the backyard of the local toddy shop. Here he spins parables, blesses, curses, drinks endless glasses of black tea and lives in total freedom. On rare occasions, he plays soul-stirring melodies on his old, bamboo-reed flute. Then, just as mysteriously as he arrived, Shunya vanishes, setting the path for a new avadhuta, a new era. This first novel by Sri M is a meditation on the void which collapses the wall between reality and make-believe, the limited and the infinite. With its spare storytelling and profound wisdom, it leads us into the realm of ‘shunya’, the nothingness of profound and lasting peace, the beginning and end of all things.

Icons of Grace

The path to spiritual understanding can be a confusing one. The manic pace of the present age has loosened the threads that tied our ancestors to prayer and faith. But role models could still help us find our way back. In Icons of Grace, respected ISKCON monk Nityanand Charan Das introduces readers to the lives of twenty-one extraordinary people who served as spiritual guides, through their teachings and through personal example.

At one level, the lives of these great souls-from Mirabai and Ramanujacharya to Sant Tukaram and Adi Shankaracharya-are a practical demonstration of the most essential spiritual principles. In relating them, though, Nityanand Charan Das aims not just to record the richness of their cultural and spiritual legacies but also to convey to readers the lessons one can learn through one’s daily actions and choices. Icons of Grace is inspiring. It also offers hope: however imperfect our journey has been thus far, spiritual redemption is accessible to us all.

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