VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 05 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2020
A BI-MONTHLY DIGITAL MAGAZINE FOR E MOTIONAL W ELLNESS
VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 05 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2020
A BI-MONTHLY DIGITAL MAGAZINE FOR E MOTIONAL W ELLNESS
WE MAG
VOLUME O1 | ISSUE 05
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2020
Vira Komarraju EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Jolly Vin
DESIGN
HEAD
WEQIP - The Emotional Wellness Foundation PUBLISHED
BY
WE MAG takes constant and utmost care to ensure that the content is accurate, original, and complete. WE MAG & WEQIP assume no liability or responsibility for any inaccurate, inauthentic or incomplete information. The views and opinions expressed in the articles are that of its author(s) and are not necessarily the views of the publisher and editor. The published material, editorials and all other content is published in good faith and WE MAG carries no responsibility for the opinion expressed thereon. The materials and content contained in this publication are for general information only and are not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. WE MAG reserves the right to change any information without notice. WE MAG & WEQIP cannot be held responsible and shall not be liable for content of other websites, resources, external organizations and people that might be mentioned in the articles. If you have any query regarding article submission, feedback, errors & omissions, or any other comment please mail to us at info@weqip.com Any form of reproduction of any content of this digital publication without the written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. For more information and exclusive digital content, head over to www.weqip.com WEQIP is a trademarked organization. All rights reserved.
From The Founder's Desk
My Dear Friends,
Before anything else, I want to profess my immense love for the leap year – like this one. Well, to begin, I was born in one, got married in one, my progenies came in two consecutive leap years and then I submitted my thesis in the next. These are the major milestones of my life – but so many other big and small achievements - personally and professionally seem to happen for me in leap years. Life for me truly takes a leap in the leap year. On a serious note, I think I consider it an excuse to get extremely excited from the 1st of January – wanting to infect everyone with my enthusiasm. The not-so-new-borns now know how their passionate mother functions and the Mr. keeps indulging my euphoria – probably for his own entertainment. Now, haven’t we all considered New Year as a time for resolutions, new beginnings, fresh starts, letting go, moving on – you get the picture! How I am learning to live & cherish each day is another story. Each day after all is a NEW day, it is our chance to start again, it is our chance to embrace new opportunities. Every day gives us the opportunity to heal, recover, make progress – however insignificant it may seem. It’s time we stop waiting for a new week, new month, new quarter, new year to embrace change. For that matter, why look as far as tomorrow when we can start making a shift from this very second –NOW. Do we really need a leap year for taking new leaps, a New Year for new beginnings? Nothing describes living-in-the-moment like this quote by A.A. Milne – the creator of everyone’s favourite teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh: “What day is it?” asked Pooh. “It’s today,” squeaked Piglet. “My favourite day,” said Pooh.” Like Pooh, let’s enjoy life in all its glory – every single day – with its ups and downs, smiles and frowns. Let’s learn from the past and plan for the future – but living needs to happen right here, right now – in the moment, leap year or not! Remember to share not only your feedback and views, but also your thoughts and ideas with me at saumya@weqip.com. Much love and with you on this journey, Dr. Saumya Goyal
Founder - WE MAG & WEQIP
Letter From The Editor
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the first edition of this calendar year and 5th issue of WE MAG! Minimalism is what we all need – more in thoughts than in the stuff we have acquired. It is good not just for our closet space but our mental health as well – it makes us less anxious, removes clutter from our mind, simplifies our living and leaves more time for meaningful relationships. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of pieces we have on minimalism in this issue. If this is any indication, 2020 is the year of minimalism and this issue ‘WE MAG’s minimalism-edition’. However, like any other fad, it is prudent that we do not go overboard with the concept (especially when it comes to possessions), not make it a competition – we must embrace any idea only till it doesn’t start stressing us. Real minimalism, I believe, starts with our minds, the rest will follow. In this edition Diane Webb, a seasoned psychotherapist, shares her ideas on how to banish drama and negativity in 2020. Palka Arora Chopra discusses her strategies on finding inner strength. In our photo essay column ‘Faces’, Kunal Khanna, the Chief Happiness Officer & Founder -The Happiness Company weaves together photographs on abundance in austerity. Priyanca Singh, an avid traveller, highlights how minimalism changed her life and Divya Singh, an inner transformation guide helps us embark on a journey to declutter our mind for inner peace and happiness. ‘Musings’ – our poetry column - includes poems on life, self-love and more by a social media consultant Sammy Sahni from her book Iridescence. ‘Musings’ also includes my poem, ‘Don’t Sport’. Jolly Vin, WEQIP’s nutritional mentor sheds light on importance of gut for our mental health and as always don’t miss out on her simple recipe. A PhD from IIT Mumbai - Dr. Anamika Chawhan guides us on achieving the ambition mindset. A social and digital media enthusiast Prachee Ashar inspires us to embrace our flaws. Saumya’s piece on 20/20 rules for 2020 makes for a delightful read. ‘Medium’ includes work by a talented young artist Madhurima De. We introduce a new column ‘Scan’ in this edition and Juan Alejandro Lozano Rojas’ interesting review of a study linking hospitality and psychology is our opening piece for that. Kavita Panyam, a multiple award-winning counselling psychologist helps us understand the nuances of teenage behaviour and a child educator Dr. Hasini Yadav enables us to get a better understanding of how emotions can be read. I encourage you to share your views and engage in discussion on these stories. If you wish to contribute an article, thought piece, viewpoint, photo essay, artwork, recipe, poem, book review – or anything related to emotional wellness, send in your work to write@weqip.com. I hope this year brings with it more inner strength, self-confidence, peace and above all mental health. Happy reading… Vira Komarraju
Editor - WE MAG
ON THE COVER
Summer in the Garden By Mandy Budan U s e d
w i t h
p e r m i s s i o n
Mandy Budan's art collections can be found on Fine Art America and on her website
ON THE COVER
A R T I S T
P R O F I L E
-
M A N D Y
B U D A N
Thick paint, rich colour, strong rhythms and patterns define Mandy Budan's love of fine art. Mandy was born in Toronto, Canada in 1964 and spent most of her career in the graphic and web design fields. She started painting professionally in 2000 while still maintaining a graphic design business and made the move to full-time painter in 2011. Mandy travels the beautiful Canadian countryside seeking out those perfect moments where light, colour and the landscape collide. Photos, sketches and memory come together in the studio as she strives to recapture those moments in a contemporary, abstract way. To see more of her work visit: https://www.budanart.com/
06 | WE MAG | January-February 2020
W E
M A G
VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 05
C O N T E N T S Ideas
0 9
Banishing Drama And Negativity In 2020 – Diane Webb Insight
1 5
Finding Inner Strength – Palka Arora Chopra Faces
2 3
Abundance In Austerity-Finding More In Less – Kunal Khanna Reflection
3 7
How Minimalism Changed My Life – Priyanca Singh Inspiration
4 1
Decluttering Your Mind For Inner Peace And Happiness – Divya Singh Musings
4 9
Iridescence – Sammy Sahni Nutrition For The Mind
5 3
The Glory Of Gut – Jolly Vin Workplace Diaries
6 1
The Ambition Mindset – Dr. Anamika Chawhan
W E
M A G
VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 05
C O N T E N T S Your Voice
6 5
Embracing Flaws – Prachee Ashar Life Lessons
7 1
The 20/20 Rules For 2020 – Dr. Saumya Goyal Medium
7 9
Tears – Madhurima De Scan
8 1
The Psychology Of Hospitality – Juan Alejandro Lozano Rojas
Teen Aid
8 7
Why Teenagers Behave As They Do And What You Can Do About It – Kavita Panyam Perspective
9 7
Emotional Thermometer – Dr. Hasini Yadav
Musings
1 0 3
Don't Sport – Vira Komarraju
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The Emotional Wellness Foundation WWW.WEQIP.COM
EQUIPPING WELLNESS - MIND + HEART+ SOUL
India is home to more than 1.3 billion people and over 200 million suffer from mental illness sometime during their lifetime. Unfortunately, out of these only a few ever muster the courage to talk about it and reach out for help. Why? Because mental illness is still considered a stigma, a shame, a humiliation, and a big stain on one’s personality. We have a long way to create a culture which considers mental illness for what it is – an illness. We at WEQIP are driven by the philosophy that ‘Mind is part of the body too’ and we need to take care of it as much as our body. In line with this, we are dedicated to creating platforms and driving initiatives which bring people together to acknowledge, talk about, and address the elephant in the room. ABOUT US
WEQIP™ FOCUSES ON ENHANCING WELLNESS OF MIND, HEART, AND SOUL THE TRINITY FOR HAPPINESS
Our publications are completely collaborative in nature and our stories are of people, by people, and most importantly for people. They are for those of us whose life is touched by emotional or behavioural health issue at any point in time in their life – a parent, a teacher, a manager, a child, an IT professional, an actor, a housewife, an HR executive, an artist, a friend to name a few. WEQIP Blog or WE Blog as we like to refer it to and our digital magazine WE Mag is constantly on the lookout of people who have something powerful to say about Emotional/ Behavioural Health & Wellness. We encourage experts, professionals, mental health warriors from various backgrounds to share their knowledge and experiences through these media. The ideas can take any form - art, essay, story, poem, interview, showcase, spotlight, or a straightforward article. The content becomes more enriched as we go along this collaborative journey. If you feel you have a story in you, an idea which would help others, a great practice which is worth emulating, or you are just curious to know more, please reach out to us at – write@weqip.com OUR DIGITAL PUBLICATIONS