last evening, I was speaking to an 86-year-old grandaunt of mine and found that she was very upset and crying on the phone, the reason being that her skin was totally in wrinkles and dry all over and hung on her weak muscles.
Until the age of 80, she lived a very active life, travelled abroad alone and managed her farmhouse all by herself. She was completely aghast at the sudden ageing process and spent her time mostly in bed as her son and family moved in with her and she had no work or independence.
There was no way that I could console her because she was mentally not prepared for these signs of ageing and anything that I said may hurt her all the more. In fact she was a lucky lady because it hit her so late.
We feel that people of such age need more rest and should be cared for completely and absolved of their duties. In many cases, the result was just the opposite.
The less responsibility they shouldered and less active they became, the faster was the ageing process. Of course, it doesn’t mean that the senior citizens had to be tortured by making them do menial work.
Activity could include yoga, walking, teaching the grandchild, etc., which aim at making them feel that they have an onus or a role in the family and society.
Human beings always look forward to a sense of purpose for living. Even a person who is self-centred and has the purpose of looking after himself has a chance of living a longer life.
As a contrast to this lady who is so upset, I have come across her sister who is 80 years of age and enjoying life, treating every day as a bonus and trying to regenerate by keeping herself active, taking food supplements and vitamins, spending time with her children and accepting the wrinkles and the weakening of the body and strength. She is the happier of the two. While trying to regenerate, we have to accept the fact that the body has an ageing process.
The instance of Sannyasis or hermits is altogether different. There are people in society who are in the process of rejuvenating or tackling the ageing process in such a way that they remain disease-free for a long time.
At the age of 80 also, they have taut skin and hardly any signs of old age. These practices were prevalent in India in the past, got adopted by the Western world and now, we are copying from them.
It is said that such hermits can control death too. Many books and journals have been published in the West about age reversal. In the next article, we will take a glimpse of these practices taking into account the applicability in the current situations.
let’s take a look at the topics dominating the ageing process as the negative factors have now become a matter of pride. I am taking into account the last two decades and focusing on the literate urban India.
I am sure all of you must have come across such people and discussions. The reason I wish to mention is the more we do so, the higher is the chance of the symptoms aggravating.
The universe is like a mirror which hears everything and gives us more of what we speak about. If we always speak about fear then the higher is the chance that we come across more of fearful situations.
There is also the belief that there are angels or divine beings which listen to all that we say and they may at any time say Tathastu, which means ‘let it happen’.
Diseases and sicknesses are very personal topics, and unless there is a necessity it is better to avoid the following issues and get ourselves into a whirlpool of the same.
Disease is a matter of pride! Any conversation with a person above 50 years will reveal a lot about his health profile with a lot of pride as if he has cultivated a sympathy factor over time. The reason I say 50 years is the diseases which affected a person in the 60s are now affecting in the 50s and the same goes for 40s and the 30s as there has been a shift in the lifestyle system.
People may say they are into gyms, take walks and do yoga, but most are blind to the input-output ratio. An hour on the treadmill or walking may help you lose around 300 calories while one standard Indian meal may make you consume 1,000 calories. The international medical system has qualified Indians as ‘gorgers’, meaning we are used to large meals at long intervals. Of course, we are in a transition stage, and a lot of people are shifting to a different system of small meals at frequent intervals.
If you analyse the talks among the senior citizens, you will find the focus on health but not in a positive way towards regeneration or age reversal.
It’s all about how they are attacked by diseases and harassed by family and society causing damage to mental health, which also leads to poor physical health. Unless you have a couple of diseases and don’t appear to be a victim, you cannot become an active participant. There are exceptions to the rule, but I am referring to the majority.
Who spends how muchIJ The proud talks about whose child earns how much are accompanied by who spent how much on health. Unless you are a person who was hospitalised and spent a minimum of a couple of lakhs, you will not be counted as a person of high status.
The amount you spent on medicine every month, the type of hospital you consult with and have been admitted to determine your social status. There has to be one confinement in the Intensive Care Unit for others to take your words seriously.
In the early morning, you will find senior citizens taking a walk in the park, followed by doing yoga or laughter therapy and then sitting down on the benches for a small talk comprising complaints.
The entire positive energy of the previous activities is cancelled by this small talk and the body begins acquiring toxins, and by the time they come back home, they are on a negative track.
Rejuvenation and age reversal: Can we not change our discussion styles to aim at rejuvenation instead of acting like a victim. There is plenty of literature available with our health /yoga centres as well as on the net. Thanks to Skype, everyone is familiar with computers as they spend a good amount of time with their family which lives abroad.
Taking advantage of this, we can look out for literature, resorts, Vipasana centres, local remedies, cleansing methods, etc., so that we combat the ageing process. If we change our lifestyle, we will belong to the ‘no disease zone’. We can also encourage others to join us and generate positive energy. let’s discuss more about this in the next article.
Sikta_pati@rediffmail.com