Thursday, January 19, 2006

Body language

So on my way to work, I was happily standing in the train when I realised I wasn't vertical anymore. Someone picked me up, someone else picked up my bag and uni notes, and someone deposited me on a seat.

Looked like this year's
annual blackout had decided to give me an early surpise. If my life was a newspaper, I can see the headlines 'Annual blackout becomes biannual event'.

So I went to the company doc (the one who is known for giving a medical certificate to my colleague with the words "She is suffering from tired.") and as usual, he was lost. What is it with me and my ailments? Why are all docs lost when it comes to me? He examined my blood pressure and asked me to go to back to him 'if it happened again'. What the..??!! So I was supposed to wait around and actually hope for another blackout to 'happen again' so I could know what was wrong with me??

Back at work, I bumped into a colleague from another department. She looked sadder and quieter than when I'd last seen her. Thinner too, but the 'sadder and quieter' part was more evident. Not knowing what to say, I said, "Hey, have you lost weight or something?"

"16 kgs in 6 months." She said with a straight face.

"What?? How??"

"Diet."

"Diet? Purely diet?"

"Purely diet."

"No exercise?"

"No exercise."

I swear I almost had another blackout there, just listening to that.

I have always believed that no matter how plain-looking you think you are, if you get yourself a killer body, you can look fabulous. I also believe that there are many ways to get hold of that. And depriving yourself of food will get you not a killer body, but a dead body instead.

I believe that our body is continuously trying to talk to us, telling us things, giving us signals. When we're going through an emotional trauma, our body is usually the first to show signs of revolt. But how many of us really sit down to listen to it? I usually don't. I try and sort out what's bugging my heart and mind first, conveniently neglecting the body in the process. Even though I go to the gym regularly, I forget to have my meals, I forget to drink water, I get like four hours of sleep a night... and the story goes on.

But it's all wrong. Wrong. Wrong. And my body's started to yell at me now. Cos I wasn't listening earlier. Like Javed Jaffrey famously says in Salaam|Namaste, "The ghosts of the kicks not listening to the talks!"

Can you hear your body talking to you? In fact, it's not talking anymore, it's singing, in the hope that music is more attention-grabbing than mere spoken words. It's singing Shaan's song from the movie 'Moksha'.

Seep mein moti hai lekin, koi chunta hi nahin
Baat ek kehni hai humko, koi sunta hi nahin...


"There's a pearl in the shell, but no one bothers to pick it up. I have something to say, but no one bothers to listen to me."

Let's think about it. Put all the office problems, family problems, partner/spouse problems aside first. And now count. Count the number of glasses of water you drink in a day. Is it 8-10? Count the number of servings of fruits (and vegetables too, darn) you have in a day. Count the number of hours you sleep each night. Is it 7-8? (if it is any more than that, get outta my face, you lucky bloke!)

'Good health' is usually at the top in my list of 'most important things in life'. Without good health, we really have nothing. We can't enjoy anything at all. Food, friends, love, family... nothing.

I have to start taking better care of my health, I have to start treating my body better. I have to resume taking my folic acid tablets (the excuse that "taking tablets every day makes me a sick person" is just not good enough). I have to choose the red pill -- start eating the damn apples (that I have to because I can't take iron tablets to address my anaemia). Perhaps bananas too. (Or perhaps not. Yuck I hate bananas!)

In the last few days, my weight dropped by 2 kgs. My height dropped by 2 inches. (Ok fine, my height did not drop, I just stopped wearing my heels for a while, for fear of more blackout induced falls.)

And when you're ill, you also affect others around you. You look sad and frail and miserable. You send out negative vibes. When I'm sad, the vibes I send out can knock down a whole building. I'm not kidding you!

A wise old man once told me, "All the nonsense that you young people are eating these days... it will all come back to you in old age." And I really started thinking of the nonsense that we senselessly eat, and not in moderation. The sugar, the oil, the MSG. I hate the fact that there is no msg-free food around my company (recently, a colleague broke the horrifying news that it's not just chinese food that is msg-laden, some of the malay and indian food have it too!)

Scary.

Sometimes, I feel that because I am away from home, and working in such a fast-paced deadline-oriented industry, I can't afford to fall sick. This week at work is a very crucial one, and even though many times I wanted to take medical leave and go see MY doctor (versus someone who asks me to 'come back if it happens again') and get that damn blood test done, I could not desert my project, my editor, and the crazy crisis we're currently struggling with. My work has the top place in my list of 'thing to take really seriously in life'. And so I have been dragging myself to work.

Even if my body wants to give away, I think my spirit keeps me going. And I've come to realise that perhaps that's not a thing to be proud of all the time. Running my body purely on enthusiasm and passion for my work, instead of physical energy is not a good thing to do all the time.

I know I have no desire to live till 80, or 60 for that matter. I wanna die early (50 would be nice, thank you), but I wanna die healthy and happy.

So all you guys here, wanna take a health pledge with me? Since we know that the mental health of people at Sayeshaz is quite a hopeless case, let's take better care of our physical health at least. Lose that paunch, flatten that tummy, get rid of that flab, get into the right BMI range, build those abs and biceps, quit smoking, tone those legs and arms, control that coke, bring down the eat-outs. Let's get going!

Listen to your body. The poor thing has been singing that sad little song for a long time now.

May the gym be with you.



55 comments:

Sahil said...

Oh my god. I'm so sorry to hear about your blackout. And that too on a train! What ARE you doing Sayesha? 2kg in a few days?

It's good that you're now going to be taking better care of your body. You need to do that, and down the line, you'll be glad that you did.

Chalo, mein bhi aap ko join karta hoon :)

...and I better be the first to comment. Been too long. Far too long.

Shobana said...

hey very inspiring, but all this inspiration doesnt last for more than 2 days in my case:)
do take care of ur health though.
psst....pssst.. i sleep for 9 hours a day.;)

ritzkini said...

ME SECOND !! YEAY !!
:)
yeah,girl...Amen to that..body-beautiful needs all the maintenance it can get..we just crossed half-a-life...it's allll downhill from now on...
:)

Sahil said...

hota hai man bruce. just when u think u're in - someone beats u to it, and all that excitement goes to waste.

dil pe mat le yaar...;)

Suds said...

HEy Sayesha I totally agree with u abt health... I have learnt it the hard way. Have been neglecting my health like mad for few year.. So this year is health year. Concentrate on health and everything else will follow...:) Hope I can achieve my goals..:) Anyway.. Enjoy

Shruthi said...

Very good post, as usual! I followed the link to "Don't kill me before I die"... and its such a wonderful post! Sayesha, your posts are so direct, simple, and straight from the heart, and always, always positive. I am going to find some time some day and sit and read all your old posts (i have been following ur blog only from the past 3 months or so). Just wondering, your optimism and positive attitude and incredible energy just pours forth from your blog... I wonder how you must be in real life?? Remain like this all the time! You are wonderful! :)

Raj said...

I think my body is dumb. I try listening to it but it doesn't say anything.

I've been thinking of joinging a gym for the past 1 year and have lost 4kg in the process :)

Adi Oso-Groot Finch said...

i can hear my body shout out aloud... "mote jaa ke kuch exercise kar!!"

alas, the aalsi me wouldnt budge from my bed/chair combo

Anonymous said...

Hi Sayesha, i have been a silent reader of your blog for quite sometime..... and really love reading.....

Your blackout again forced me to comment... please do take care of yourself. Health comes first and then everything else in this world...

Here is today's reminder form my side... Don't forget to take the apple today.

raj said...

been a silent reader for past few days. gotta say you write neat. not that i can digest your philosophical fundas but i must confess your writing style has got me hooked.
on this, yeah, take care, lady. i CAN tell you no deadline is more important than a team member's health.Never.period. Every deadline is extensible and in my opinion, all jobs are excuses to keep us all busy - if you think of it, what the hell, what if a newspaper doesnt get published - is it going to make a irreparable difference to the world? If you think on that lines, you'd realise that the whole newspaper or magazine industry lies on shaky foundations - they are not essentials - I am convinced that arguing this way, every conceivable job in this world is just an excuse for people to be busy and stop hurting civilization(
I mean if Cain had a 9-to-5 that barely left him time to think, would he have killed Abel is what I think often)

Deepa said...

Hey girl!!!
I really don't who or wat rang the bell ,guess wat ??
I just decided yesterday ,that i'll hav to hav toooo lose those extra pound ...just to make myself feel better...
Say that wud be like my B'day resolution.

Take Care ,coz all this work ,,...running around ,huffs and puffs is just to serve us 3 meals a day , shelter and tons of Luv ;o)

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about the blackout! Take care of urself! Take a break for a week. It doesn't make sense that you have a blackout and then get up the next hour and make a dash towards the office.
I agree with what raj said above.

Tinku

Anonymous said...

Wow. Take care Sayesha. Khana pakao, khud ko khilao.

My stab at broken hindi. :-)

ritzkini said...

@sahil
/*just when u think u're in - someone beats u to it, and all that excitement goes to waste.*/
hehehehe...sahi bola sahilbhai..
ek dum sahi..
:)
aur rahi dil pe lene ki baat...aisi choti cheezen agar dil pe lena start kiya..toh..bhagwaan hi bachaaaye !
:)

@sayesha
hey black-out-babe! photo mein toh hatti katti dikhti hai,yaar tu !beech beech mein tujhe kya ho jaata hai !??
:)

Anonymous said...

can identify with most of the post. get back to health quick.

Anu said...

voi Sayesh.. whats all this? Take care of your health Baby.. Work and Deadlines will always be there. Take care of your health so that you will blog regularly - people like me have got addicted to your posts :)

amit said...

arre bhai apne health par dhyan do.. ludhak jaogi ko kaam kya khaak karogi. it may seem like a motherly advice . my mom keeps on saying this to me n luckily i got a chance to give it to someone else..:) GUUHHAAAHHHAAAA

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Hey, hope you are better now. Take care of your health and don't take work too seriously. Maybe you should carry a "If I faint, please call X ..." card in your pocket.

Cheers
Kais

Unknown said...

man...u know what, i sincerely believe that the mind and body are one! I'm not saying this out of reading stuff but by pure experience. Its miraculous how one can make their body feel much stronger, healthier and happier by just conditioning themselves with a few breathing exercises rightly done.

After undergoing certain realisations, i have made it a point to regularly listen to the body. The sound of the body is nothing but the breath! For the uninitiated, it may sound weird, but the truth isnt always embraced immediately.

There are too many instances when i have seen comparatively bulkier people(not FAT though) who enjoy much better health than people with toned abs and gigantic muscles!

Sayesha said...

#Sahil,
Thanks yaar... just been negligent I suppose... will be okay soon... :)

//Chalo, mein bhi aap ko join karta hoon :)

Achha? Awesome! :D

#Jade,
//all this inspiration doesnt last for more than 2 days in my case:)

Oh man, that's not good :)

// i sleep for 9 hours a day.;)

Get outta my face, you lucky bloke! :D

#Kini,
Third actually! ;)
Hey, Chick's been hearing stuff about you man... for further details contact the V-bruddahs! :)

//it's allll downhill from now on

No man! It's all uphill till we're 50, and then we suddenly drop and die. How does that sound? :)

#Sahil,
:)

#Suds,
Cheers to your health year! :)

#Shruthi,
Thanks, dear! :)
Hope you survive the trauma of reading all the posts! :D

// wonder how you must be in real life??

Hmmm.. for that, you have to come to Singapore. Accomodation provided! :)

#Raj,
//I think my body is dumb.

Only body?? Ya phir... hahaha! :D

And thinking about the gym made you lose 4 kgs! Imagine what going to one will do for you! :)

#Raven,
I shall provide the chorus for your body's song.
"mote jaa ke kuch exercise kar!!"
:D

#Mitthu,
Hey, welcome and thanks! :)
ps: Had my apple! :)

#Raj,
Arre wah! Ek aur Raj? Welcome to Sayeshaz, Raj! Hope you're less aalsi than the other Raj! :)

I agree with whatever you said... but sometimes it becomes very difficult... I know that no one is indispensable in a corporation... when you're working in a team, you just wanna be there for each other till the project is through, so others are not too traumatised.. but yes, I agree with your fundas!

#Deepa,
Good luck, girlie! Keep me updated of the progress! :)

#Tinku,
Thanks yaar! I will try really hard... being ill SUCKS!!! :(

#Sushant,
//Khana pakao, khud ko khilao.

Hahaha! Your hindi rocks man! :D

#Ritzkini,
Black-out babe? Ek aur nick? Wah! :) "Hatti katti" it seems! You make me sound like a pehelwaan! :/

#Spark,
Thanks! Am trying! :)

#Anurama,
Thanks, girl!! :P

#Amit,
Le! Aa gaya tu waapas apna GUHAAAA wali laughter lekar? :D

//ludhak jaogi ko kaam kya khaak karogi.

Apun ludhakne se pehle tere naam ki supaari nikalega, kya? :D

#Kais,
Thanks, man! :)

//"If I faint, please call X ..." card in your pocket.

Haha! That sounds like a good idea! :D

#Vikram H,
Amazing stuff man... gotta find out more!

//i have seen comparatively bulkier people(not FAT though) who enjoy much better health than people with toned abs and gigantic muscles!

Of course! Good health is not about abs and muscles. It's about feeling good within yourself.

ps: But I still think that one should control one's body weight.

#Vikram,
Pata tha! Tere toh mind, heart, body, saare din raat beer hi maangte hain! :D

Raj said...

Arre yaar, yeh doosra Raj kahaan se aa gaya?

Ab main kya trademark use karoon khud ko doosre Raj se differentiate karne ke liye? :(

Sahil said...

Oye Sayesha,

Mere first hona ka kohin khushi nahin kya? What happened to the "Tum toh yahaan ke puraane diljale ho.." and all that? Arre yaar, agar miss kara tha toh bolne mein ghis nahin jaoge yaar...

khair, u've been sick, so maaf kiya. tuh bhi kya yaad rakhegi...

BP said...

Hey take care of yourself!
Anyway, the nightmare is almost over ;)

starbreez said...

ARGH!!!

oxymoron said...

sayeshasss.
i the dont the likes hearing about the urs blacksout.
please the takes the good cares of the urs healths.
what the says u?
egggggjaacctly!
thank the yous.

atul lakhotia said...

take care of ur good health and urself!!

ritzkini said...

V-bruddahs ??
yeh kya hota hai ??? ONE MORE OF ROS' nicks ????!!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
:))

Pujya said...

arre u were sick..i thought u went out on a date bunked the office like ol' school days..now u TAKECARE... aur yeh sare doctor ghanchkkar hote hain.. ek hi kaam hazaar baar karate hain..

and u know u just made me realised its been 3 days i havent slept AT ALL..i mean AT ALL..i leave home at 7am come back at 1am and then tons of work to finish..gosh..i m going to sleep today and tomorrow..

Anonymous said...

Hey Sash, sorry yaar :-(. Hope you take care of those blackouts and they never ever happen again! You should see another doc Sash. Get to the bottom of this.

Yup, we gotta listen to our bodies and take better care of it. A little effort put in the right direction can yield wonderful results. Have to keep reminding ourselves.

Siddiqui said...

>>medial leave

??

R said...

body talks too?

kya zamana aa gaya hai! sunna padega!!

hehehee :D

The Girl Who Sold The World said...

Oh oh.....you sound like my parents...well, I'm not really careless about my health but then, my body is really sweet and understanding. No matter how much I eat, I NEVER gain weight... :D HA!!! I eat 24/7 and it usually isn't unhealthy food... but still, nice, sweet body doesn't fatten up...hehehe. :D
As for the sleep, I'm insomniac...I sleep at 5:30 am or 6 and wake up at 8... ;)
Take care of your health.....while travelling in train, if you feel that you're fainting, shove your doc's number into someone's face. :P

Ta-ta!

Kaala Kavva said...

//May the gym be with you.
hahahahah
mast hai tu sayesha

Eclectic Blogger said...

//Since we know that the mental health of people at Sayeshaz

(including Sayesha herself)

is quite a hopeless case, let's take better care of our physical health at least.//

Yes yes, very true I say!

Sayesha said...

#Raj,
Let's call you Raj-Original? In short, Rajo? Hahahaha! :D

#Sahil,
Mehfil ke puraane diljale jab mehfil chhodkar chale jaate hain na, toh mehfil naaraaz ho jati hai. Manane mein time lagega janaab. Do hafte kam se kam. Mehnat karo.

#Banana,
Yeah baby! One more day. Can't tell you how thankful I am to have you on the project. It's so assuring to know that if I do conk off one day, you will be able to hold your own.

#Starbreez,
:(
Don't get angry with me yaar. I'm already angry with myself! :(

#Oxymoron,
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA! Your comment made me laugh out loud, man! It is SOOOOOO funny! :D

Sayeshasss the thanks the Oxysmoron for cheering the hers ups. :)

#Atul,
Trying trying. Thanks! :)

#Ritzi,
Oye saare nicks ka credit ROS ko kyun dete ho? V-bruddahs is Sayesha's original. Vikram and Virdi yaar! Offo kuchh logon ko sab kuchh explain karna padta hai! :/

#Aethyr,
//i thought u went out on a date bunked the office like ol' school days

I wish! :/

//its been 3 days i havent slept AT ALL

Sheesh!! Lady, I order you to do a sleep marathon. ASAP! :O

#Harshi,
Thanks, girl! :)

//Get to the bottom of this.

There's actually no bottom to this, but I'll do the best I can :)

#Ashy,
Arrrghhhhh typooooooooooo! :O
Thanks for pointing out! :P

#Rohit,
//body talks too?

Haha! It sings too if you don't listen to it talking. Finally, it yells and kicks you in the face! :D

#The Girl,
//Oh oh.....you sound like my parents.

Arre yaar, all this advice/order is from me to myself too. Just thought I should share it with you guys too.

//shove your doc's number into someone's face.

Sheesh! Kya advice deti hai yaar! :O

//I sleep at 5:30 am or 6 and wake up at 8

You better get some good sleep, missy. Tu meri chhoti behen hoti, toh I'd have given you kaan ke neeche baajakar ek! Actually, I can still give you that, can't I? :D

#Ze Ex,
Thank you thank you! :)

#Eclectic,
Hehehe! :P

Rays Of Sun said...

OMG! Thats ME..though I have never suffered a black out but am worse than you.
# of glasses of H2O--->1-2 or none. Dinner time is with OJ..Sheesh Man.I suck!
#hrs of sleep---->Less than 5
Hope you feel better baby:)

Anonymous said...

Finally! It's taken a long time, but Sayesha finally vows to get enough food, water and sleep! Now would you please practice what you promised to? please please...

// working in such a **past-faced** deadline-oriented industry

I thought it was a joke... was it? :P

// Lose that paunch, flatten that tummy, get rid of that flab, get into the right BMI range, build those abs and biceps, quit smoking, tone those legs and arms, control that coke, bring down the eat-outs.

This sounds like the ending of the Guinness ad... very cool.

Do it! (Ala Ben Stiller in Starsky and Hutch :)

Kathy said...

Gosh are you ok?Yeah..our body always give signals that there is something wrong but we just ignore it...and it's bad,We should be aware before something happen.I'm not doing any diets coz im not fond of eating too..i just eat when im feelin' hungry and in no time.But doctor says that's not good too..we must eat in proper time.
The only thing i do at home is basic yoga...i just do some abdominal deep breathing exercise and probably it helps a lot.You can do it even when your at office or train and it takes only a minute.Try it..
I think kawaii sayesha needs a break...try one whole day of just sitting and relax,off your pc,mobile,room's light,and just listen to some healing sounds...
Take care baby^_~

love,
-kathy-

Anonymous said...

health is wealth and no point losing health in aspiration to gain wealth

Anonymous said...

"when you're working in a team, you just wanna be there for each other till the project is through, so others are not too traumatised"
Sayesha, I can very much empathise with that. However, the anti-thesis to this lies in your own post - listen to your body - if your body creaks, it is okay to let down your friends. team , whoeever once in a while - 'cos without that body in condition, how would you be there for these same friends the next time?

But, yeah, ajob is a job is a job- u no what I turned down a job in Singapore for this precise reason -the potential employers had no reasonable leave policy - even medical leave :-) (Well, those who know esp my current employers would say SIGH, ofcourswe)



And Raj, respecting your seniority here, lemme change my nic to raj_come_lately - now cheer up :-)

Sayesha said...

#ROS,
1-2 glasses of water??? Or none??? You deserve one dhishoom for that! Keep count now. Every day!

#Viv,
//I thought it was a joke... was it? :P

Hahaha! If it was, I didn't get it myself! :P

Another typo. Sheesh! :/

Thanks for the motivation, my dear. And for all the monitoring sms messages too! :)

#Kathy,
Thanks for the tips girl! I used to be a yoga girl in school, now I've become more the gymming type. Nothing like a good sweat and a loooooong warm bath afterwards! :D

But the description of that break sounds good! (I may not be able to survive without the pc though!) :)

#Vasanthi,
Wealth? Hahahahahaha! You think I'm doing this to myself for wealth? Hahahaha! I gotta give you a tutorial on editorial salaries in the children's book publishing industry! :D

#RCL,
//'cos without that body in condition, how would you be there for these same friends the next time?

You're absolutely right, you know!

And yeah, perks here, especially in my industry are really pathetic. One can only stay here outta love for the work. :)

t said...

God Sayesha-di! Pls take care of urself yaar!
Hmm agree that ur body talks to u; but what abt the time whn ur body says, "come on eat pizza", "treat urself to loads of chocolate sauce", "go on eat that cheese cake dammit!"... sigh, finding balance is so tuf na!

Sayesha said...

#Trupsster,
//but what abt the time whn ur body says, "come on eat pizza", "treat urself to loads of chocolate sauce", "go on eat that cheese cake dammit!"

I say, listen to it! But work it all off at the gym! That's my funda at least! I never derive myself of any food if I'm craving for it! :D

Oh man... I want pani puri... NOW! :(

Nimme said...

ha well
u will live for 100 years
and u will be healthy.

50 is still a very young age.
As in if we have good and regular habits in eating we will live long

Ginkgo said...

the only times I hear my body talk...'loud' at that, is when Im hungry....:-)

and again when I get back after playing tennis or cricket...

Ujwal said...

hey sayesha!
Thanks for making me realize that my body needs some care which i am not taking.
Nice blog u have here.
Btw, I have a seperate cricket blog. However, I have shelved it and now I post my cricket things on my regular blog. hehe...too lazy to maintain 2 blogs!

Sayesha said...

#Nirmal,
100 years??? Sheesh! NoOoOoOoO! :O

#Ginkgo,
:)

#Ujwal,
Welcome to Sayeshaz! :)
Yeah I know maintaining two blogs can be quite difficult, I have two too, one's my travelogue... and I just can't seem to pay equal attention to both! :O

Have a good weekend, everyone! :)

The Girl Who Sold The World said...

// Tu meri chhoti behen hoti, toh I'd have given you kaan ke neeche baajakar ek! Actually, I can still give you that, can't I? :D//

Offfff courssssse! Anytime, wherever, whenever. ;)

The Girl Who Sold The World said...

Hey! Maine half century maari! (I mean, in the comments section :D). And what's more?! I'm taking away the 51st comment too...shagu ho gaya! :P

The Girl Who Sold The World said...

HMPH! Don't mind...52nd comment bhi maar rahi hoon hai... *SHAGUN
Typo :/

R said...

my winamp's playing jimi jendrix and on my behalf is asking you... Are You Experienced?!

Sayesha said...

Me online from library! :)

#The Girl,
Here! One zordaar chapaaaaaaaaaaaat! :D
ps: Hahahaha! Shagun ho gaya it seems! :D

#Rohit,
I need to see a live performance by you man! :)

educatedunemployed said...

Hey Sayesha..woman take care of you..I havent been able to read your posts in detail.I do a skimming glance just like I do with all my fat text books..But whats this I see???!!!Please please don't neglect yourself..and I am sure the hazzar people before me have said the same thing...but I say it again..take care of your self.

Sayesha said...

#Educated,
Thanks, dear! I will take more care from now on :)