Greetings!

As the year 2017 ended, I put out my New Year 2018’s resolutions –

My New Year’s Resolutions for 2018?

1. For sure, at least these two magnificent treks – a long trek from Hemis to Tso Moriri in Ladakh, India and the 3 Passes Trek (Kongma La, – 5540 mt asl, Cho La – 5420 mt asl and Renjo La – 5345 mt) in Nepal’s Everest region.
2. Get fitter and stronger!
3. Learn to be more tolerant!
4. Blog regularly!

Let’s take NYR18 # 2 first.

Have I got fitter and stronger in the current year?

Six months into the not-so-new year, I did a dispassionate assessment of myself. My assessments were supervised by several pairs of hawk eyes.

Given the fact that I travel (on work, mostly), I could not “find the time” to train in gyms. A terribly lame excuse – my work takes me to gyms and training facilities. But to be fair to myself, a gym which is a training venue – where I am on work, not as a paying member – is uncomfortable for me to train myself. I have taught in may top class gyms across India – from Ahmedabad to Trivandrum – but when a student comes up for guidance, I cannot simply tell him I am out of bounds because I am “training myself”.

So I came with a very effective solution: train myself in the hotel – climb the stairs to and from my room, make the extra effort of waking up an hour earlier so I could hit the hotel gym – or, where their hotel had no gym, just go out and walk for an hour with a backpack to add to the resistance!

Guess what? I loved the walks. Here are the reasons –

1. I got to see a whole lot more of the local city – the people, their culture, conventions, and cuisine, the vocational patterns, kinds of schools the kids go to, the local eateries et al
2. I began to get a great cardio workout – and not only that but I found my gait and posture improving. No more was I walking the way I would take short, choppy steps on a cross trainer or a treadmill!
3. Outdoor exercise left me greatly revitalized, reduced tension and stress, and, importantly, gave me time and space for clear-headed, strategic thinking.

The result?

Yes, my aerobic and local muscular endurance have increased dramatically, given that I am aged 65.

I am happy with the results but, of course, there is much, much more scope for improvement across the fitness rainbow.

NYR18 # 3

I have struggled to be more tolerant. I do not at all refer to religious or communal tolerance. It was all about tolerating pig-headed, stubborn men and women who tend to jump to premature conclusions. I have tried to understand the other side’s perspective – empathize a bit more than in 2017!

I started counting sheep – from 1 to 10 .. then to 100 .. and then to … it has worked wonders!

Well, on a serious note, I have got into meditation. I meditate, period. No technical mantra or shloka. I just try to listen to and see my breath, and then paint it in subdued shades of my favorite colors. Just 15 minutes leads me to Divine Bliss.

Even better, I listen to – or, at least visualize – the spinning wheel run by the gushing waters of a Himalaya stream I was mesmerized by.

NYR18 # 1

“For sure, at least these two magnificent treks – a long trek from Hemis to Tso Moriri in Ladakh, India and the 3 Passes Trek (Kongma La, – 5540 mt asl, Cho La – 5420 mt asl and Renjo La – 5345 mt) in Nepal’s Everest region.”

I trek to Stok Kangri September 19 to 29. It will be nice to be on top of the 20,000+ feet asl peak! Hemis to Tso Moriri trek is put away for the time being. Stok is in Ladakh

The 3 Passes trek is definitely on schedule in October. I am most probably trekking alone, with a Sherpa and Guide to support me.

I still have three months to get into prime fitness condition. I am progressing though I need to gently push my upward path to Divine Bliss.

NYR18 # 4

Well .. that’s what I am doing right now, right? 😉 Seriously, though: I really hope to take up blogging more frequently. I have decided to widen the array of subjects – that will make it easier for me to write more frequently!