Lifestyle Adherence

Hope 2019 is treating you well; and you are returning the favor as well.

I recently heard about “failure Friday”- the second Friday of the New Year when many fall off their resolutions!  Also heard the best time to buy used fitness equipment is February. I pondered these two hypotheses; there seems some meat in them.

So, why we fall off that precipice? Why struggle to adhere and commit to the newly perceived norms? My two cents (rather four):

1. Ask: Why are you doing what are you doing and how? So what?

2. You and, of course, many have told who you are and that has engrained in your brain. Remember: you are more than what you (and others) think. I strongly believe we are pliable (in a good way): we can modulate our body, we can control our mind, and could still tether our soul to “that” original cord.

3. Get the right information, synthesize your own and pave your own path (one size will not fit all; or, there are several paths to the same destination). Google, YouTube, Alexa, Internet, advices, even peer-reviewed publications are only leads; build on that. I write for a website   https://healthy-indian.com/ . It’s a good site for life style practices. Recently they published one of my essays - https://healthy-indian.com/lifestyle/are-genes-really-our-destiny/ there is no dearth of information.

4. Acquaint with what you do; make a truce, a friendship and a bond. Find somebody who can motivate and inspire (or, even drag you to the gym). Like we say in yoga, it’s a time to recognize the grace we seek (warrior 1); stability we aspire (warrior 2), balance we nurture (warriors 3), humility we develop (meek warrior) and the ensuing success (exalted warrior). These qualities will stay with you like a valiant friend in our journey – like Veerbhadra to Shiva, Krishna to Arjun, faith to Job or Katniss Everdeen to Peeta Mellark.

Continued Best,

Jay

Wish you all an Idyllic 2019!

Fair Fights.

Idyllic New Year to you, your family and loved ones. Wish you all the best in 2019 – A Blessed year to pursue goals with passion and perseverance.

Let your resolutions be your dreams

Imperfections and disappointments to fuel them

(In life there are no failures, only invitations to succeed)

Truth to light your path

Our creativity, talents and commitments are like timid wild animals. Seek them gently with care to ground them. Try to connect with them and accept them with love. I had talked in the past on the transition from sympathetically active flight, fight, freeze or faint to parasympathetically active realm of feed, relax and happy - a journey to discover the soul, the purpose of your life. There are few fights you may have to pick up, though; like a matador, with a purpose:

1.     Fight the feeling to be dissatisfied and unsatisfied. Change is a journey, sometimes long, that sting often. Gaining the mastery against the external influence (causes for discontentment) is a treacherous odyssey. A tortoise with its limbs withdrawn give clarity to that action. Make your goals comfortable, stable and steady. You are the reference and the judge. Let realities replace perceptions with right association (especially with food) and impressions.

2.    Fight the urge to devalue yourself. The power to transform yourself is in you- listen to your body, mind and spirit and be mindful. Differentiate challenges and struggles. Ability to find solutions to challenges is the beginning of your intelligence. Always ask: How are you doing? Why are you doing what are you doing? ...so what? Teach yourself! You are the one who knows you the best. Work with your strengths, recognizing your imperfections. One way to know something is to know yourself; to get closer to something is to get closer to yourself; and to learn something is to teach yourself.

3.    Fight the impulse to be (too) self-centered. Honor others. Ask for help when you need and help them in need. You may have a lot to offer to them and much more to learn from them. We are no more islands and it’s no more the survival of the fittest; cooperatively we all thrive. Thoughts, practices, talents, efforts, skills, passion and perseverance may all be absorbed from right associations. The opportunity to watch, observe and learn in a group setting makes one gritty; it creates herd immunity and collective resilience.

All the best to you this year and years ahead; Love,

Jay