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Talkin' Body

Dear reader,

It's been a while, yet there hasn't been much to write home about. On a handful of occasions over the past 6 months, my fingers would hover over the keyboard as I wondered about the originality of my thoughts. The piece would subsequently die a quiet death. And today isn't an attempt to get back on the wagon and write more frequently.

If ignorance is bliss, then knowledge is agony, in particular, the acute awareness of how unfit you are. Spotting myself in the mirror and becoming increasingly unhappy with the view, I bit the bullet and enrolled in a gym recently. I've been researching a bit on the effect of exercise on the body. You can check them out here and here if you like. 

Before the monsoon took over, I did go cycling regularly but not enough to challenge my body. Besides, with the Metro work contributing to nightmarish traffic in my neighbourhood, it simply wasn't pleasurable. There are some great free circuit training apps but here, the issue is motivation. I realized that nothing was going to galvanize me like the thought of spending and wasting money. So I took a rather expensive 1-month membership to try and get into the habit of physical activity.

Let's get this straight; with no interest in a 'gym-bod' or 6-packs, I'm not going to evangelize the experience. I question the choice on days my muscles are extremely sore. I find myself unable to think of junk food or booze without guilt. Small dietary changes like switching from wheat rotis to nachni ones are healthier but cumbersome too. But it is fascinating to observe the slight changes in body and mind. 

 I now wake up earlier but well-rested. I feel physically lighter though I haven't lost any weight. My posture is different, without me trying to hold it so. I'm noticing more about the state of my limbs, attentive to how weak one side of my body is, how terribly unyielding the muscles are and how much effort it takes to breathe. I am looking forward to the Yoga classes that are part of the membership package because I have all the flexibility of a corpse in the grip of rigor mortis. It may also be making a difference to my thoughts but the jury's still out on that.

The gym isn't everyone's cup of tea but I'll keep sipping for now and see where it takes me. At the very least, it's a healthy dose of much needed physical activity that's been absent from my life for a heck of a long time.

Happy Diwali all. 

Song for the moment: Sweet Pain - N.F.A Khan & Michael Brook

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