Health and Happiness

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Yesterday on my way to back from the supermarket, a lady asked for help to get down from the pavement to the road. I held her hand and she climbed down. She did not look very old or unwell. She had to walk towards a bylane and did not have to cross the road. I walked ahead. When I turned back, I saw her struggling to reach the bylane as the vehicles were taking a turn at that point. I went back and helped her to walk till the end of vehicular traffic lane. She started crying and said sorry for troubling me. She said her husband was unwell, her daughter in law does not talk to her, their flat is under redevelopment so she is staying in a tiny house,she is walking to her daughter in law's house and her husband is not there. She referred to her husband as her 'Mr.' All this said in two minutes. I told her to believe in God and keep praying to him. I turned back and our child wanted to know the reason for the old lady's tears. The lady was just overwhelmed by a stranger's kindness and all her hurt with her loved ones came to the fore. I did not know how to explain these human relations dynamics to the child. I did not even know if it is appropriate to give her my version of things,  rather than letting her experience her own world. Also, there is this innate urge to protect her from the harsh realities of life.

The child is upset about Michael Schumacher's accident and his state of coma. She is scouring the newspapers for some good news about him. She was upset when the newspapers stopped reporting on his health status. I shudder to think how the other news impact her and things she does not even talk about. She will have her own learnings and lessons in life. I will provide her the support and the strength to be a responsible citizen of the planet. 

At the Yoga class, they take our weight every month. This happens usually on the 4th or 5th of the month. All students start reminding the teachers about the weight has to be taken from 1st of the month. The day the weight is taken, every smile speaks kilograms. The weighing machine is inside in an ante room. It is an old weighing scale unlike the hi tech ones we sees today. The class is abuzz with excitement. The announcement is made by the Yoga teacher a few minutes after the morning prayers.  First the ladies have to go in to measure their weight and there is a register where every month our weight is noted against our name. Annual records are kept and even half a kilo difference is written down. As each person comes out after their weight measurement, to their mats to start their Yogasana, others are watching their expression. Each smile speaks if there is a weight gain or a weight loss. The senior  60 years plus members, which consists of 90% of the class, are discussing their weight. I enjoy observing the men section of the class and yes each kilogram matters to them too.

The Yoga teacher, we call him 'Sir', was talking to me and saying what is this excitement all about. He said he sees this excitement in students only on the day the weight is measured. It is not there to learn new Aasans. He said that they eat what they eat , do all that they always do and at the beginning of the month, each and every student expects a weight loss. He said "Weight is a combination of nourishment, Aasan, Praanaayam, one's lifestyle and one's thoughts". Do we behave responsibly in all these aspects of our life?

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