How my everyday workouts have changed…

There was a time when i thought that yoga was for the weaklings. My life was active, what with sports and other activities apart from academics that i was always a part of. Boxing, sprints, basketball, etc.

Now why Boxing, sprints and basketball? Let me explain

I grew up in a household where everyone was so calculative about everything. There were no risks taken. Monthly cheques came in and it was a breeze to make monthly payments. Why? Because we knew what the money had to be spent on. Everyone knew their duties. To be able to break away from monotony was something I was craving. Hence Boxing. No one in the family did anything like that. There were engineers and bankers in the family, and one odd cousin who took up law. And another crazy one getting into the defence services. When it was my turn to choose a college and a subject of ‘Choice” i chose literature. Much to the disbelief of everyone. I loved being the black sheep, it felt as if i had no responsibilities, that family wouldn’t give me any major roles to play, that I could just wade through life without a care in the world.

The usual falling in love, marriage and child ensued. Life was monotonous, tending to the family’s needs. I was happy playing the wife, attending social events, being momager to my daughter who was active in her sport, and traveling the world. A trip to a yoga studio in the midst of all this, and my rigourous workouts in the gym were something I looked forward to everyday. Everything was planned and sorted until Covid hit all of us. Being stuck at home, without pretty much nothing to do, at the same time having to figure out household chores and the best effective way to do them. Also, there were no workout spaces to go to, except for that one spare room in the house.

That’s when yoga took over as a full fledged workout. I was happy with my daily practice, I started watching way too many yoga videos of Instagram influencers, and we all are aware that once you open a specific type of video, all video suggestions would be on the same lines. My daily practice continued and strangely I liked how my body felt, how energetic it made me feel, and how calm my mind became. Around the same time, my cousin called me to see if I could take some yoga classes for his office. I was speechless since i had never done something like this before. But there i was, posed with an opportunity. What am i to do with it. After thinking about it for a few days, I said yes. What could possibly go wrong? I know a bit of yoga, i practice almost everyday, and all i need to do is teach basic asanas. So there i was, in front of some 40 odd members of a reputed firm, teaching them basic yoga. To my surprise, the session went so well, that they booked me for a few more classes. A few friends joined as a group and wanted me to take classes for them. Over time, i got so involved with the classes and my practice that I was having yoga on my mind constantly. 

Now, as a certified teacher, I am happy with what i am doing. My practice is taking me places where i have chances to teach and make new friendships. My practice has calmed me so much, is making me grounded, is making me more aware, i making me more giving and forgiving. Most importantly, it’s making me accept people and change. Today, I go through teaching daily classes, a full time job, housekeeping and of course, social time with so much ease that I never thought possible. Most importantly, I am navigating life as a yoga teacher.

All that started with that one inhale and one exhale.

My tryst with mud in Zambia

Turning 40. Big milestone year. Too many distractions. People planning parties for me. What do I do? Take off to an unheard of village in Zambia. Why? To volunteer to help build mud houses for the community.

I have never volunteered abroad before, so the idea was exciting. Nervous too, but mostly exciting. The month of June started with me researching various volunteering options in various countries of the world. It took me many hours of research to finally narrow it down to Zambia. Why? No idea. I just wanted to go there. I have been to Africa many a times before, but never to Zambia. The thought of watching the Victoria Falls at the end of the trip fascinated me? Maybe. I wrote to the volunteer organization, got some details clarified, collected as little information as possible, since I wanted to go with an open mind and no preconceived notions, booked my tickets, and voila! All set to go.

Some four flights, many hours of stopovers, and a three hour horrid drive later, I arrived in the dry, arid, and dusty village of Mwandi in the western province of Zambia. It is a fishing village, I am told. The mighty Zambezi runs right next to the village. I check into my volunteer camp, meet the lovely lady who runs the place, get introduced to 3 student volunteers who have been there for a week now. After a quick briefing and an early dinner, I retire into my room, fully excited about starting work the next day. 

New day, new adventures, new possibilities. That was all that was going through my head. Breakfast of cereals done, we started walking towards the site of the first mud hut that we plan to build. It was for a large family. The matriach of the family came to greet us, no words spoken, just gestures. She did not know English, and we did not know Lozi, the local tribal language. That was not a problem at all, the mere gestures and smiles were enough for us to see how happy she was to meet us.

We get started with work, after being told what and how to do. What? All by hand? Are you serious? Yes. No equipment to even mix the mud. With great reluctance we started work, however after a few minutes, we behaved like children playing with Play-Doh for the first time. We mixed mud, carried large buckets of water, made walls, smoothened walls, paved the flooring, all with just mud and water. In the two weeks that I was volunteering in that village, we built two mud houses. A feat that I thought was never possible when I first arrived there. But at the end of it, I came back a happy puppy. A tingling feeling of happiness of being able to help two families, a feeling of satisfaction, a feeling of humility. Five random strangers / volunteers was all it took. We became a family, we worked together, we exchanged stories, we helped eachother, we ate together, missed our respective families together, and at the end of it all, build something everlasting together. 

At the end of my trip, I also had a chance to meet the wonderful circlers of LC 4, LC 8, The President, National Vice President, National Secretary of Zambia. We exchanged pins, we talked about their national projects, we talked about our families, and we talked about cultures in our respective countries. It was so amazing to see this wonderful group of women come together to meet me. Truly thankful.

They say that if you travel far enough you will meet yourself. I did. To a continent far away from home, to a country that I had never visited before, to a village that was absolutely basic, to people who did not speak my language, and to a community that was in need of something as important as a house. Will I travel to volunteer again? Of course yes. Absolutely. One thing that I am sure I will be doing again and again.