in the home that wasn’t mine then back.

Crying my lungs out,

sweating and hurting as my heart was in my mouth.

My chest and heart were aching, and I couldn’t breathe,

which made me cry even more, putting me back in the ring of self-defeat.

I had just had my life’s most significant and heart-wrenching fight,

and the fact that it was my family on the other side

pricked every nerve in my body.

I was convinced that mine was nothing or nobody.

Neither the coffee mug nor the bed,

Nor the sheets nor the clothes that were wet with my cold sweat.

I was feeling hot at the back of my neck

while cold shivers ran down my torso and the rest.

I knew then that I had nothing left here.

I slowly got up, with nothing but fear

feeling like my soul was carrying

my skin and bones that would otherwise swing.

That night, I remember sleeping with a headache

and crying out loud, only feeling betrayed.

The next morning opened one door, the only door

The door that I will always be grateful for.

The second quarter of 2020 was a massive change in all fronts. The only thing that centred me was binge watching The Mentalist (an american series). Here’s the thing about binge watching: you don’t always know what attracts you to do it in the first place but, if you consciously take note of what really keeps you going, trust me, you are halfway there to finding your door out of your comfort room.

For me, it was the main protagonist, Patrick Jane aka Simon Baker. Now, I was on my 4th round of binge watching this american drama, when I realised that this is it.. I need to move on, but how? The only thing that looked quite doable at the time, was to research a bit about the actor and his journey. I watched his interviews, read about his career graph and allowed myself to go gaga over his life ideals.

We are naturally aware beings, we just need to slow down to understand this and notice it. And once we are aware of the loop that we are in, our minds will consciously look to break out of it. Next time you want to break out of a habit, pick a random element that brings you joy WHILE performing the habit. And only take that element with you everywhere. For me that element was just a line in one of Simon’s interviews. The essence of the line was something like this: “I want to build a strong support system for my family. My childhood lacked this, so my dreams of entering Hollywood were frowned upon. I don’t want my kids to experience the same” At the time, for many unknown reasons, I related strongly with this. And then, there was no turning back. I didn’t feel alone. I felt that Simon Baker was with me, in my journey. And this made it easier for me to walk forward.

Hi all, I am Shikhaa from India and I’m here solely for the purpose of logging my fitness regime and motivating myself towards a goal, I so passionately care about. In the light of this I hope I inspire many a millions who wait for the “right time” to come. The right time is today Day 1- START and u won’t realise when it’s day 30 or day 60 or day 90!!

I have had a strong belief in “mindful training” for a long time now. And I have signed myself up to a consistent plan of getting to a fitness goal many times before but this time I plan to go deeper. I plan to start with a regime that I have self curated from videos of my fav yoga youtuber and some running apps.

P.S. I owe this to initial 4 years of understanding my own body clock and metabolism. Changes, good or bad, will take time and ones that you really want will take even more. So, don’t haste yourself into following multiple fitness goals all at once. Take it very easy, the last thing you want is to overwhelm yourself on day 1 and go back to bed for the rest of the day…. or maybe even a week!

Main focus: ENJOY SWEATING IT OUT!

DAY 1 (GO EASY)

Wake up at 4:30 am (except if its a Sunday, otherwise try to get up before 5) I will soon be writing another blog on why aligning yourself with the sunrise can maximise your productivity. You’ll love being a morning person if you aren’t already.

WARM UP 15–17 mins

Skipping (5–10 mins): 300–500 counts (definitely take breaks!) remember, enjoy your jumps, also take very tiny ones, and go at a pace you are comfortable with. With time you’ll feel lighter and skipping will be like a child’s play — wait, it was for many of us once, right?]

Push ups (20 reps 5–7 mins): It’s recommended for women to do knee push ups, I myself can’t go full but if your body allows, then go girl! Otherwise Knee push ups is the best way to start. But try to put more of your body weight forward on your arms while you do that, it will make your arms and core stronger and push you further.

WORKOUT 20 mins

2 K Run (15–20 mins): My longest run at a nonstop steady pace has been 5km but since I have a weak ankle, I believe in taking rests and maximizing my limits only on certain days in the week. 2 km was my aim today and I did it in 16 mins which was pretty good for now. 15–20 mins is totally doable. But remember you don’t have any benchmark to reach other than your own. We aren’t competing here, we are getting fit together and understanding our strength and stamina.

COOL DOWN 25 mins

Yoga (25 mins): Yoga with Adriene has the best videos to practise yoga with true mindfulness. I feel so aware of the present moment after every session in addition to stretching all my sore muscles. Adriene really knows how to push you with her multiple series. Currently I’m following her TRUE- yoga journey series. and Day 1 — Motive was a good way to start off. In case someday you have sore muscles after a run or an intense workout, switch back to her channel and look for deep stretch videos.

FNB

Store water with mint leaves in a copper vessel. Have 2–3 glasses of this today after 8 hours. Till then consume your regular water, varied fluids like buttermilk, milk and freshly squeezed juices. Hydration is a significant part of any fitness regime and most likely neglected by many. Make a note of this before you dive into your busy day. Remember to keep a large bottle close to you at all times

Lastly, It can’t get said enough that please enjoy your challenge and your goalsbefore becoming over ambitious and competitive. Whenever you miss out or underachieve what you plan to do, remind yourself that having done 12 push ups today was better than sitting at your desk all day a month back. Don’t let these petty issues convince you to start from scratch. Instead be determined to finish what you started even if it means that you skipped a few days. Rise up the next day.

See you tomorrow.