Happy New Year!! A New 2017!! New Beginnings!!

New beginnings are divine gifts from God to introspect and keep us honest! Every minute is a new beginning but a New Beginning in the New Year is a great opportunity thrust on us by the society at large and it will be shame to just let it pass by.

I have worked in 5 countries over my 20 year career - made my share of mistakes. Some of them turned out to be the best mistakes, which made me realize how the forces of nature disposes every plan that I ever made. After having endured over 7 cross-country moves, 17 house-moves, 3-house purchases (3 different countries), 11 schools for my children, one thing that struck me was that I was not afraid of making mistakes. Was I smart or wise to move around like this? No. But, the life lessons that we have learnt as a family is simply priceless. 

After this incredible journey, the other side of the grass is no longer green. I found out who I really am. To some extend, I could sense the purpose of my existence. Finally, I reached the dreaded finish line - conquering the fear of death. When I tell this to my friends, I get this ‘you are a crazy fool’ look. Yeah, overcoming fear through every single minute of your life can only be experienced. And this, to me, gives a great sense of accomplishment as I had the rare opportunity to make peace with myself. I believe, the credit goes to the constant-change-and-adaptation and Yoga. 

I bumped into Yoga in Oman (http://yogatherapy4all.blogspot.com) and was mesmerized by its awesome power to build mental strength to face anything in life.  Yoga provided the platform to find closure to many of my life’s pursuits.

I have always wondered about the turn of life events and I could connect 100% with the quote by Steve Jobs: “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”

Finally, my “connect the dots” moment (in my small world) was the realization that all the turn-of-events in my life was to steer me closer towards my Christian Faith! 

The pivotal points that helped me connect the dots - “cross-country moves” were to awaken the dying spirit; “Yoga” as a tool to find calmness, peace and clarity in mind in order to parse through my thoughts, frame by frame and find closure; and “Faith”, to conquer fear, even to the extent of overcoming the fear of death.

As I was reflecting on my life with Kavi (my Career Coach and best friend), I was hard on myself for not having accomplished as much as I should have. Kavi would encourage me to pat myself on the back for certain significant accomplishments (in his view) and focus on the steps to be taken for a brighter tomorrow. 

New Beginnings! In the New 2017!

Live Well. Laugh Often. Love Much.

Yoga in the real world

Training for running a marathon is a six months process that gradually infuses the potential pain of a marathon and tests a person’s commitment and endurance. Unfortunately, there is no such training process to start an Oracle ERP implementation. The preparation and planning phases are typically targeted for the core team and not for the entire team. Even worse, many organizations underestimate the magnitude and don’t even prepare/plan enough before embarking on an Oracle ERP implementation. These are projects undertaken once in 2 decades in Organizations and the in-house team seldom has prior implementation experience.

Drop-dead timelines, Budget burn-rate of $2 million a month, cutting corners in Scope or uncontrollable Scope Creep, unrealistic ROI expectations, deteriorating end-user confidence, unexpected life events of key members, the Data Migration/Recon nightmare, uncontrollable RICEW, the dreaded Change Impact and the inevitable egomaniacs: a perfect recipe for brewing stress.

The initial euphoria, thanks to the blissful ignorance of what lies ahead, fades soon to uncertainty, fear and, ultimately, unbearable stress.

The conventional team building exercises does help to destress but it is ineffective in the long run. It is impossible to change the personalities of the team overnight but there is an incredibly effective tool to have a sustainable positive impact on the team: Yoga

Yoga is popularly misunderstood as a technique that is all about pretzel-shaped poses!! Rather, Yoga’s primary focus is on breath, inner peace, mental calmness and the overall mental strength. Yogic postures are secondary.

The human body is designed in a way that the brain understands only one language, the breath. If the rate of breath is normal (not panting), the brain, through neurotransmitters, interprets that the body is not stressed and, as a result, releases a chemical called endorphin which makes us feel good and say, ‘oh, wow! I feel so happy!’. If there is shortness of breath, the brain shutdowns the generation of endorphin which is why we feel terrible and frustrated when we are under stress.

Breath => Calmness => control your brain => control release of endorphin => control happiness

Now, when you have learnt to calm down using the breathing techniques, you will have the mental strength/peace/calmness to apply human reason (your mind) as a filter upon the “partial and often” deception data from the prejudiced 5 senses of our body. We fail to reason our prejudiced perceptions that are based on how angry a team member might appear or sound from across the table in a meeting. At these real life moments (meetings), there are simple breathing techniques that will help the team members to calm down, be empathetic, be compassionate but still aggressive to get the job done.

It is a simple concept that is difficult to practice but there are some simple meditating and breathing techniques that can be taught to any team. It does wonders individually and helps enrich group dynamics.

I have been practicing Yoga for the past 5 years and was fortunate to undergo teacher-training courses under Guru Prema Nagesh (http://yogatherapy4all.blogspot.com). Life has never been stressful irrespective of what life throws at you, even in the course of an Oracle ERP Implementation. Especially, in leadership roles, it gives enormous internal strength and energy to not only endure the  personal challenges but also to help and motivate the team by spreading the positive energy which is exactly what is needed in an environment that is filled with uncertainty, fear, anxiety and hopelessness.

For instance, conducting “flash mob” style meditation for just 10 minutes in the War room has proven to be very effective. Also, constantly reminding and training the team to consciously focus on normal breath throughout the day has demonstrated dramatic positive outcomes.

Yoga instills in us the “inconvenient truth” that we humans cannot control everything. However, it is imperative to work smart, plan well, develop disaster recovery plans, cutover plans, blackout plans but with a calm mind (without anxiety) to be more productive.

Yoga is not just an hourly daily routine to get away from the craziness of the world. Yoga is a lifestyle to practice and apply the Yogic principles in the real world to rejoice every precious moment of life gifted to us, irrespective of how volatile and stressful our environments are. That unshakeable, robust mental strength and balance is the foundation of true inner peace, calmness and happiness.

In Oracle ERP Implementations, life gets so stressful that it reveals the fragile mental state beneath the tough demeanor during the initial phases of euphoria. Yoga can be a very potent tool to help the team cope with the stress and increase productivity dramatically.

I have completed three large Oracle ERP Implementations (the latest in Sep 2016) and two small Oracle ERP Implementations. I am human and I get stressed too but the Yogic lifestyle gives enormous inner peace, calmness and mental strength so much that no matter how crazy the situation is at home or work or commute, I am fortunate to have a smile on my face to celebrate life. And, I haven’t even scratched the surface with my Yoga wisdom.

With all the craziness during the project, I have always taken the time to conduct Yoga/Meditation sessions for the team members and I have got nothing but positive feedback. Imagine the positive impact on the team, with such a potent tool, to be successful at the cost of no personal lives.

Live well. Laugh often. Love much.

http://readingthegreen.blogspot.com

Life made beautiful by Yoga

Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, Fitness, Organic food are some of the many industries that do a good job in showing that their products and services are predominantly aimed towards providing solutions to problems faced by us on a daily  basis and take pride in flashing their balance sheets with billion-dollar-revenues. And, the world citizens don’t hesitate to pay the exorbitant price to procure these products and services for a QUICK-FIX-SOLUTION which, sadly, adds more complications (side effects) to our lives, as the extreme-capitalism has managed to keep the democratic powers under siege so much so that adding a few more harmful chemicals to the products that cause the side-effects have become an acceptable norm in life. Thanks to today’s hypocritical life, our life ends up in a tailspin further complicating our lives without any closure to our problems.

I know what it feels like to be caught in this tailspin that causes great pain which is not only persistent but also compounds to exploding levels, in our lives. The worst part is that hope is diminished to nothing which forces us to surrender ourselves to a life of pain and suffering.

In a nutshell, we work harder compromising our health to make more money to buy more QUICK-FIX-SOLUTIONS to get temporary relief and eventually end up in spending all that we had earned on diseases that we had bought for ourselves with QUICK-FIX-SOLUTIONS. Crazy!! Well, the inconvenient truth is that there are solutions to all our problems and it is free too! Today’s cynical belief is “There is no such thing as free lunch.” In fact, there is.

Yoga and Oxygen

One of the most important beliefs that my Yoga guru, Prema Nagesh (http://yogatherapy4all.blogspot.com) imprinted in our minds is that solutions to our problems are available all around us and we just need to have the calm mind to avail it. A calm mind is a strong mind. Calmness in the mind is lost when there are too many issues and problems in our daily lives which leave our mind transfixed with so much of noise that obscures the focus on the real life. If one can learn to attain calmness in mind, then most of the solutions to our unfathomable problems can be found without spending the big bucks or without reaching out to hard-to-reach places for solutions. Good news is that Yoga can do that for you at no cost.

Think about it!!! How many people have you met who do not complain about life?! Not that many because many of our friends and relatives are in some kind of pain and still struggling to find a way out. As a result, the concentration in tasks at hand at the very moment is lost because our minds are wandering like a honey bee buzzing from one thought to another focusing on mistakes of the past or future. Here is where prime benefits of Yoga can be fruitful through rhythmic breathing (extra oxygen invigorates your brain thus calming it down and build concentration), asanas, guided meditation etc.

Now, imagine a life with herculean mental strength and calmness to shrug off (with a smile) a nagging spouse, problems with children, road rage, office politics, the venom of this cynical world and, after facing all the realities of life, imagine your mind to be calm and pristine like the snow-capped Himalayas. Please do not despise this imagination as something that is naive or non-existent. Trust me, there are people among us who are enjoying this priceless lifestyle through Yoga.

Regular physical exercise is something that we enjoy doing that will relieve the stress temporarily but the hard earned spirit-during-exercise fades away soon, when we step out of the gym and face the real world. The magic of sustaining that spirit even outside the gym and throughout the day is what Yoga can do. And, also that is the reason why just by learning difficult Yogic asanas will not give you the ultimate result. Rather it is by relating and applying the Yogic principles to every moment of our daily lives so that you could develop clarity and peace of mind.

Personally, I started Yoga about two years back with the utmost contempt and little did I realize at that time that my life would never be the same again. I joined Yoga for a pal of mine so that she would not give up but I was woken to the brunt magical force of Yoga that humbled me. I was training for marathon at that time and I despised Yoga as boring and not so physically demanding. My ignorance was stripped naked during my first Yoga session and I was sold to the idea of Yoga. Since then it has been an amazing journey that has transformed me to be a better person not just outside the home but also especially at home. Yoga has also given some unwarranted benefits especially at work as the “Calm Mind” empowers me with wisdom and strength that is the envy of many around me (in a good way). 

The best part is that people would love to be around you. It feels as if you have transcended through a portal to another galaxy of sheer bliss and looking back at the sufferings of people around you, it is sad. I have learnt so much of Yoga in the past two years and it seems so little while looking up to my guru and other Yoga experts around the world. If this little knowledge of Yoga could bring so much of joy, I am thrilled to look forward to learning more and more in the coming years.

Simply put, with Yoga, Life is beautiful. And, I invite you to Yoga so that you may also experience and enjoy the true essence of life as we all deserve to.

How I lost 17.5 pounds in two months?!

Leaving behind the hustle and bustle of city life to start an ordinary life in a simple, unique and beautiful country like Oman has been nothing short of bliss in many ways, especially if you perceive life not based on how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away. Yes, I had a second chance to live life to the fullest in Oman four years back with the hope that the desires close to my heart will no longer be dreams. The first year kicked off with a great sense of gratitude, thanks to the accomplishments in family-aspects, healthy lifestyle, peace, tranquillity, long distance running, swimming, blogging, toastmasters etc. Notably, the health aspect was amazing during the first two years so much that I was fit enough to run half marathon, swim for 1km non-stop, felt good about my body, but even during these two years of good times, something vital had been missing in me which I did not realize then: an unbalanced mind & spirit. Although it was missing during the first two years of good times, it did not affect my pursuit to better health and fitness, as the environment around me was ordinary and uneventful. But with the advent of the third year, my life transformed from “ordinary and uneventful” to “insane levels of stress and frustration” at work as I was thrust- with a responsibility of a major Oracle ERP implementation. This adverse transformation took a toll on my health and this is when the vital factor (unbalanced mind & spirit) became conspicuous.

The fairy tale, “two years of bliss” spun out of balance during the third year and, as a result, I became fatter by 23 pounds in just 12 months. My “empty” over-confidence in health and fitness shaped me to be a hypocrite that made me to believe that I was not overweight.

Then the reality struck!! I was overweight!! I was dumbfounded when I realized that I couldn’t even reduce 1 pound. I couldn’t believe it!! From 163 pounds to 185 pounds in one year!!  Something was terribly amiss.

My guilt-trodden mind engaged in intensive introspection on what went wrong and provoked waves of deep thoughts, but still the ultimate truth and answer never dawned on me. Feeling so lost in a maze, forces of nature introduced me to something that gave all the right answers for my fragile, unbalanced “mind & spirit”:

Yoga!!

I was still oblivious to the fact that this vital aspect was missing and this missing piece of the puzzle was the Achilles’ heel that made my fragile state vulnerable to the undue stress imposed by the change in the work environment.

The priceless lesson learnt was that no matter how fit we are physically with rigorous exercises, if the spirit is not in the right balanced state with the body and mind, even a slight change in the external factors will spin the delicate balance out of control resulting in the ups and downs of body weight and mental state.

The Core Foundation

This is exactly what Yoga is all about. Yoga means to be in perfect tune; your body, mind and spirit are in absolute harmony with existence. When you fine-tune yourself to a level that everything functions beautifully within you, the best of your abilities will naturally flow out of you. Have you noticed that when you are happy you have endless energy? Even if you skip your food or sleep, you will have so much energy to just go on. Just a little happiness liberates you from your normal limitations of energy and capability. Yoga is the science of activating your inner energies in such a way that your body, mind and emotions function at their highest peak. Ultimately, Yoga strengthens that balance so much that no external factors in real life can spin your balance out of control.

Typically, we jump-start with a rigorous exercise routine to shed excess weight but the biggest problem that most of us have is the consistency factor. We start the exercise with great enthusiasm and passion for a couple of weeks and then lose the steam for months which reflects in the ups and downs in the body weight as well.

The Workout

Yoga is the core, but a bit of variety worked for me. For me, combination of Yoga, circuit training at the gym and running, really did the wonder by shedding 17.5 pounds in just two months.

-        Day 1     Yoga 1 hour

-        Day 2     Circuit Training at Gym + 15 minutes cardio + 10 minutes of Yoga/Pranayama

-        Day 3     Yoga 1 hour

-        Day 4     Circuit Training at Gym + 15 minutes cardio + 10 minutes of Yoga/Pranayama

-        Day 5     Running – 1 hour

-        Day 6     Yoga 1 hour

-        Day 7     Relax or Yoga Meditation

Diet

Now, comes the tricky part: DIET. Each of us have our naturally ways of venting out when we are stressed and mine is to eat, eat and eat. When I get stressed out, I eat bars of snickers, packets of M & Ms, a variety of Indian sweets, chicken tikka masala with white rice at 11pm etc. This was a perfect recipe to be obese in no time. For the kind of reckless diet that I engaged myself in, I should be thankful that I put on only 23 pounds in 12 months.

Tips on diet restrictions that helped me greatly:

1.       Start off with a complete medical check-up to ensure that you do not have any major health issues.

2.       Sleep

a.       Do not sleep late. Go to bed by 10pm

b.      Wake up by 5pm

c.       Sleep is fundamental to many aspects in life

d.      If your mind is disturbed before going to bed, meditate to clear your mind.

e.      If you are not getting good sleep or waking up in the middle of night and cannot continue your sleep, something is wrong with your balance for which meditation techniques can help greatly.

f.        Do not drink too much water before going to bed and you may have to wake up in the middle of the night to drain your bladder.

3.       Never be hungry.

a.       No long breaks between meals.

b.      Have fruits or nuts or milk between meals.

c.       Healthy snacks will not make you super-hungry which will help avoid overeating.

4.       Water

a.       Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

b.      Many a times, we feel tired and the reason is that we forget to drink water. Keep your body hydrated all the time.

5.       Water Therapy

a.       Drink one litre of warm water mixed with one spoon of pure honey.

b.      This helps is avoiding over 20 diseases.

6.       STOP sweets. A major factor. If you cannot stop, at least moderate.

7.       Rice

a.       No white rice.

b.      Switch to broken brown rice.

c.       No rice at night, even broken brown rice.

8.       Whole Wheat: in all foods

9.       Drink low fat milk

10.   Vegetables: Have plenty of vegetables, preferably with all meals or snacks

11.   Fruits

a.       Always eat fruit in an empty stomach.

b.      Eating the fruit is healthier than fruit juice.

c.       Have a fruit before any meal.

12.   Finish dinner by 7 to 8 pm. A cup of low-fat milk before bed is fine.

Daily Routine:

-        Wake up by 5am à waking up early triggers a wave of positive thoughts and energy.

-        Water therapy at 5am à Drink 1 litre of warm water mixed with 1 tease spoon of pure honey.

-        8 am Breakfast

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit before food à papaya or banana or apple or orange

o   2 dates

o   Breakfast Options

1.       Museli with skimmed milk

2.       Whole wheat bread with egg whites

3.       Whole wheat dosa with sambar / puthina chutney / tomato chutney (no coconut chutney)

4.       idli

-        11am Snack

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit before food à Always have fruits in empty stomach

o   One cup of skimmed milk

o   One slice whole wheat bread with fat free cheese spread

-        1 pm Lunch

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit before food à Always have fruits in empty stomach

o   Lunch Options

1.       Broken brown rice 1 cup, with any vegetable and/or chicken, dhal & salad

2.       Whole wheat spaghetti with vegetables and/or chicken & salad

3.       If you have the luxury of having lunch at home (like me… hee hee)

·         Broken brown rice with

o   Fish curry / chicken curry / veg curry varieties

o   Two vegetables

-        4 pm Snack

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit

-        6 pm Snack if hungry

o   Marie biscuits or buttermilk

-        7 pm Dinner

o   Do not drink water 30 minutes before and after food.

o   Fruit before food à Always have fruits in empty stomach

o   Dinner Options

1.       Veg salad with avocado à if you feel that you have had too much food during day time.

2.       Whole wheat chappathi and veg dish

3.       NO non-veg for dinner

-        9 pm

o   Banana

o   1 cup of skimmed Milk

Tips for strengthening your balance on a daily basis:

1.       Meditate early morning and before going to bed à Just close your eyes and:

a.       Pray

b.      Feel gratified àThink through the list of blessings that you have.

c.       Prepare your mind & spirit

                                                               i.      Early Morning

1.       Think of all the positive aspects that you need to have in order to have a successful day.

2.       Never to get angry

3.       Be a leader with extraordinary patience

4.       Be calm, cool and pleasant all the time

5.       Do not react impulsively even if people are mean to you and, in case you do, you have already lowered yourself.

6.       Be alert to proactively sense danger or potential issues in the environment which is very essential for project management or any work activities or personal activities.

7.       If you do this right, you will feel elated and you will be ready to face all the problems that life is waiting to throw at you.

                                                             ii.      Before going to bed at night

1.       Think of all the positive aspects (as mentioned above) that have been able to accomplish during the day and pat yourself on your back.

2.       Think of all the blessings you have and feel gratified.

3.       If you do this right, you will have a very peaceful, restful sleep at night.

At first, the points above might look herculean, but trust me; your life will be so fulfilled and happy that you will engage in a constant pursuit of further betterment. It is nothing but a “snowball” effect that will you help to ensure that the lost weight is lost for ever.

Long story short:

-        Yoga is core to ensure that your body, mind and spirit are harmony with existence in order help you face any problem that life throws at you.

-        Physical exercises that you like: gym, running, walking, swimming, outdoor games etc.

The joy that I am experiencing with the right balance is priceless and it really pains to see so many with so many problems for which there are remedies all around us, within our control, but we are always in a constant pursuit of quick “tablet” solutions from doctors which in turn creates more problems.

I wish and hope that this blog will influence a couple of souls to not only get fit but also pursue true, meaningfu

Aloo Tikki Chaat at Chowpatty - Oman

Aloo Tikki Chaat at Chowpatty

There are Chaats that are slushy-moist and there are Chaats that are dry, but to have a blast of the all-in-one Chaat is something rare and can speak volumes about the “Love” in the Chaat. And, yes, we have a winner at Chowpatty, as there usually is, in many restaurants. It is “Aloo Tikki Chaat” (ATC).

There are a few dishes that can create an explosion from the very first bite to the last and paralyze all your senses which are possible only if the dish is made with utmost love and innate talent.

The Looks

As they say, looks can be deceiving. ATC is nicely coated creamy white Yogurt with a splash of chili powder and chopped coriander leaves which are an appealing contrast of white, red and green. For a first timer, as you dig in your first scoop, with the expectation of ATC to be a slushy Chaat, the deceiving part which is the brown potato that comes to light with a striking contrast. And, there is a bit of drama in a subtle way………to complete the taste that tickles the taste buds.

The Service and Ambiance

It is a friendly place with good service and the ambiance is pretty good for the relatively economical price tag. The sleek porcelain plates/cups, the heavy metallic fork-spoon, the sleek menu card and the clean-cut setup are a bit surprisingly rich for a small-time restaurant.

The Taste

The collision of the creamy yogurt laced with chili powder with the crispy potato cutlet is simply “made for each other”. The chopped onions play a vital role in blending the slushy yogurt, spice and potato cutlet. The Chaat spices and a touch of sweet tamarind sauce bring out the final flavor/punch of the Chaat family.

Oh, yes, I had two ATC just like many other times. It was goooood.

Verdict: ATC is outstanding and good value for money

Improvisation:

1.       Ask for extra spicy.

2.       Ask for additional chopped onions and coriander to toss on top.
3.   Masala chai is good which complements the spicy Chaat. It is a bit extra sweet though.

Cost       : Omani rial 800 baisa

Restaurant:  Chowpatty

Location: Al Khuwair, Oman, opposite to Best Western Hotel

Yoga

Back pain and Uner, my friend, are inseparable to the extent that sometimes he says, “I feel abnormal and odd when I don’t have back pain”. Back pain had been an integral part of Uner’s life for more than three decades!! Every time Uner whines about his back pain saga, I laugh mirthlessly and despise him: “Enough whining and do something about it…..” To be fair, Uner had been to all kinds of Ortho(s) in US, Canada, Singapore, India and Oman over the past fourteen years. I infuriated him when I quipped, “Don’t worry. You will meet your soul mate (ortho) someday”. From x-rays to MRIs to calcium supplements to physiotherapy to all kinds of precautions were tried. Nothing much worked other than leaving behind indelible memory of agony. Eventually, he resigned himself to the fate of living with pain. I guess the back pain was more palatable than the countless heart-breaking disappointments from the umpteen attempts of futile pursuits for cure.

For over a year, I had been hearing about a Yoga teacher who had helped many such souls who claimed to have found their Holy Grail for their health problems. Bringing up the “Y” word or “any” word as another pursuit for cure with a person like Uner who had “tried it all and nothing worked” was like adding fuel to fire. Well, I did dare to face the brunt though. The toughest part was to face the interview Q&A: Where is this place? Who is this lady? Is it too far? Don’t we have anything nearby? Would she come home to teach? When will this get cured? (Coincidentally, although there were many Yoga options available near our apartment, this particular Yoga place was far away.)

Boy, I developed back pain by the time I had answered all these questions. And, yes, finally, we have a winner!! Uner agrees to go for Yoga on condition that I will not jump the gun to make any commitments to the Yoga teacher during the meeting. The plan was to take a decision after a week or so. Well, there is nothing much for me to decide, eh?! I had only one answer to that question. I agreed.

I was told that it is very difficult to find a slot in the Yoga class and, in a worst case scenario, the only possible slot would be as early as 5.30am! Now, I wouldn’t disclose such delicate details of my insidious plan to a spoilt-brat like Uner who is already on the edge, would I?

Finally, we met the Yoga teacher and as we sat down conscious of the awkward pause that filled the air, I broke the ice with introductions. Realizing that Uner’s body language was not leading the conversation in the right direction, I was at the edge of the sofa trying to make amends to conversations in an anxious effort to maintain the delicate balance. Within a few minutes, the conversation had already progressed into a comfort zone and I wondered, “What’s next?” I was a bit pleasantly surprised as I read Uner’s face, emanating “intrigue”, “amazement” and “skepticism”. And, then Uner’s decision shocked me: “Can I join tomorrow at 5.30am?” wow!! I didn’t see that coming!!

Even at the very first class, Uner was sold to the idea of Yoga and since then, there has been a tremendous improvement with his back pain, acidity problem, diet, motivational levels, spiritual state etc. I am impressed and amazed with both his road-to-recovery and the Yoga teacher!! Incredible!!







  

Amazed and intrigued, I signed up for Yoga as well for once a week on Friday, initially, as I run on Thursdays. My purpose of pursuing Yoga was a coincidence!! For a very long time, I have been exploring ways to compliment my training for marathon. Bingo!! I fell for it. After the very first Yoga class, I signed up for twice a week.

Having lived a fairly active lifestyle with running and swimming, I was a bit taken aback to realize my inability to flex my body amidst a group of elder people bending their bodies as if they had no bones!! One of the toughest sports that had made me discover some muscles that I never knew existed was Squash, but Yoga would beat them all! The conditioning of mind and each part of the body – both internal and external!! – accompanied with systematic breathing and awareness-of-the-body in a gracious manner is simply incredible. One has to experience it to believe it.



It was truly impressive and amazing to hear the stories of other students whose age range from teenage to 60+. The benefit that these students had reaped from Yoga was clearly evident from their eagerness to voluntarily share their road-to-recovery stories ranging from knee surgeries to weight loss to acidity problems to back pain to neck pain……the list goes on. Most of these folks had gone through a turbulent time in their lives and after having explored all the modern-world-pill-solutions, Yoga has proved to be an infallible remedy and has gifted them with pain-free life filled with happiness and a strange, but priceless sense of tranquility in their lives. Here is the best part……for these people who had spent a significant part of their daily lives in a hospital….they have not visited a doctor in many years!! Simply beautiful!

Now, Uner - once a skeptic - was sold to Yoga, which meant that I can go back to my mean old ways of teasing him even in the topic of “back pain” which Uner had categorized it as a taboo once, even for me. After the Yoga class, as Uner and I were driving back, I couldn’t wait to poke fun at Uner and I snickered, although I did not speak a word. Uner, sensing my wry smile even without looking at my face, he said with a belligerent tone, “Alright, you win. Now, shut up.” I burst into loud laughter and laughed my lungs out. Another road to recovery has just begun…......all thanks to this amazing Yoga teacher and thanks to power of Yoga.

Hoping for Courage and trying for Honor

Getting away from the daily-grind-of-11-months to a quiet place on an annual vacation does a world of good to your spirit and, amazingly, inspires you in many ways. On my recent annual vacation to my native village where I grew up, I was flooded with inspirational thoughts and I witnessed the “real purpose of life” in simple people, living (in my native village), so happily which is rare. It turned out to be an amazing trip especially in terms of mind and body food. (The “body” took a back seat as the overload of fresh-organic-festive-food had completely thrown the body out of balance. But,it was worth the pain.)

In a crazily busy environment, we would not have the time or the calm-frame-of-mind to examine our spirit to ask ourselves, “Am I am doing what I like to do?” Man, it is a fast life and there is no time to think!! People are easily sucked into the daily grind of mortgages, EMIs, fast food, pills, suitcase-life (travelling) and no-social-life. It is sad to watch people struggle in the fast paced life (A friend of mine travels 25 days a month!!). Oh, they make good money and their career is enviably rocking. It is not that they are desperate for money. It is just that they get sucked into it. One needs a lot of mettle to take the big step of “I quit. I don’t care if the whole world is running after something that is not making any sense.” It is easier said than done. Don’t get me wrong. Money is important, but am I jumping out of my bed in joy every morning to face the world in all aspects of life: God, Health, Family, Passion, Work etc? Whenever I end up having such a conversation with my friends, most of them tell me with a furious face, “What’s wrong with you, man? Are you not happy to see me go on with my life trying so hard not to open my “Pandora’s box”?” Well, I am not an exception, as I am still not out of the woods yet.

Over the past several years, I have been asking myself, “How would I define success in my life?” I had come up with answers many times but, in retrospect, those answers were biased (subconsciously) with worldly priorities and the answers did not survive the throbbing conscience. After having matured through the ups and downs of life (and still much, much more to learn in life), now, I think I seemed to have found the Holy Grail: The ability to be independent from the worldly forces (work, finance) and the capacity to take critical decisions to follow your passions. Well, this idea of independence is not something new to me either. It is a Holy Grail for many too, but thanks to the forces of nature, many of us deviate from the Holy Grail and get sucked into the daily grind. So, what is different and new this time? The conviction has strengthened and the vacation has made a profound impact on how to pursue the Holy Grail.

St. Thomas Church in my native village










And, the other question is “Why do we strive to achieve?” I got a reasonable answer from an unusual source. In the movie, The Blind Side, Michael Oher writes in his article (one of my favorites):

“Courage is a hard thing to figure. You can have courage based on a dumb idea or a mistake, but you are not supposed to question adults or your coach or your teacher. Because they make the rules. Maybe they know the best or maybe they don't. It all depends on who you are and where they come from. Didn’t at least one of the six hundred guys think of giving up and joining with the other side? I mean The Valley of Death! That's pretty salty stuff. That's why courage is tricky; should you always do what others tell you to do? Sometimes you might not even know why you do something. I mean any fool can have courage. But honor, that's the real reason you do something or you don't. It’s who you are and maybe who you want to be. If you die trying for something important then you have both honor and courage and that's pretty good. I think that's what the writer was saying, that you should hope for courage and try for honor and maybe even pray that the people telling you what to do have some too. “

Yes, don’t we all strive for honor? Well, so far, it has been just text book knowledge to me, as I am not out of the woods yet and I am still trying. Here I go…………..hoping for courage and trying for honor.