The Hindu Business Line : The power of wholeness Fitness first

No economic recession can shadow the shine of wholeness nor can a luxurious lifestyle enhance it. We must free our mind from doubts, imagined limitations and fears.

Bharat Savur

The wise take time out to reflect. I read about a woman who was terminally ill. Even though she had only six months of life in her hands, the after-care provided by the hospital staff made it possible for her to be up on her feet. Before she left, she thanked the staff for their unceasing efforts. She said, “In the past few months, lying in bed close to death, I learnt an important lesson. We’ve always been taught to see the glass as half full, not half empty. But, I say: make the whole glass beautiful!”

It’s a moving testimony from one who has passionately realised the value of life. This woman emerged admirably whole in her attitude, no doubt, living a fuller life than she ever did before. In this greater spirit, don’t just think about the festivity of a new year, a new car and so on; think about the joyous festivity of living from a new and exalted sense of wholeness. No economic recession can shadow the shine of wholeness nor can a luxurious lifestyle enhance it. To experience wholeness, we must free our mind from doubts, imagined limitations, lingering hurts and fears. The best and simplest technique that talks directly to the mind is this positive affirmation: “Life loves me and wants me to succeed.” The best times to affirm are: before chanting, at bedtime, during meditation, or as soon as you wake up in the morning. Affirm loudly, joyously and vigorously several times. Feel the words resound in your awareness. Thus, you awaken to your wholeness.

To allow your body to partake of wholeness, do the meditative, moderate-speed walk. Take long, strong strides so that your muscles and joints stretch out towards the accepting earth. Silently bless your fellow walkers, the rustling leaves, a bird flying, the breeze playing in your hair, a stray dog snoozing. The blessing is a harmonious bridge to a collective wholeness. Now, carry this feeling of being woven into everything and everybody to your workplace. Don’t be surprised at the reciprocal shower of affection from your colleagues.

Avoid de-nourishing calories, instead fill up on nutrients. Replace nutrient-depleted sugared cakes and cookies with vitamin-rich jaggery, dates and raisins. Replace vitamin-robbing refined flour with fibre-rich whole wheat flour. Have apple sliced in low-fat, honeyed yoghurt instead of ice cream. Munch carrot-cucumber sticks instead of unwholesome wafers. Gnaw a guava, ignore the chocolate bar. Sip fresh fruit shakes, toss out soda pops. Add protein+enzyme+mineral-packed moong sprouts to salads, idlis, dals, soups and scrambled paneer. All cooking oils, butter, ghee are extracted, not whole foods. Whole foods are nuts and seeds — eat tiny amounts and chew slowly and thoroughly.

If you eat balanced meals and still crave for sweets or more food, know that this is not body hunger. It is you, at a deeper level, calling for wholeness in life. Turn away from food; focus on a wider canvas.

Call a sibling or friend and have a heart-warming conversation.

Listen to music with closed eyes and feel its rhythm flowing all around your brain.

Sing/chant with feeling; imagine that your voice is rising from your heart to your crown. When you hear your voice vibrate, you simultaneously feel joy spreading through you.

Lie down, close your eyes and do the Yoga Nidra meditation. Relax first the entire right side of your body by commanding each part. Then, relax the left side, then the middle section. This is an excellent meditation to practise after lunch. It cleanses, focuses and boosts your energy for the second half of your working day.

Also, consciously stop thinking, speaking, repeating and replaying in your mind negative thoughts of anger, anxiety, jealousy and fear. The body reads the negativity as something lacking, something required to make it whole, and hence, you feel it as a ‘craving’.

When you think, speak, repeat optimistic, loving, kind and accepting thoughts, you send healing vibrations to yourself and others. When faced with a problem, don’t think, “How can I solve it?”, instead look at how you can heal it. It takes away any biased smallness and brings a luminous wholeness to it.

Make wholeness your way. The word ‘heal’ is derived from an ancient Anglo Saxon term hal, which means ‘to make whole’. Close your eyes and whisper, “I am whole”. Make your glass vibrantly beautiful.

The writer is co-author of the book ‘Fitness for Life’.

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