Mar 25, 2009

A Mind <-> Body Acquaintance

If you are expecting some deep insights on mind or body wellness here,well I exactly don't promise that.But couldn't find a more appropriate heading for the wholesome experience that I had.The place was B&J clinic,Chennai.Stepping out of the elevator on floor 3,pleasant & a merry mood dissolves the mind almost instantaneously in good melodies that the radio spills.Though occasionally it sounds like maternity ward with some loud cries of nerve twists & muscle triggers,ambience was much pleasant to ask for more.There was an urge to go back everyday to get well soon.Such was the magic of that place, I still believe.It was in destiny to revisit bone,muscle & nerve connections in my body right there,in a whole new feel.Doctor visits,ejection of huge cash in to their treasure boxes,yet no satisfied results.Not uncommon these days,to hear from medically ignorant folks like us.Contrary to all this,I had an holistic experience there replenishing my mind,body & soul in the most simplest way from one of the best hands.

It was day 1.Honestly with no big hopes,I handed my OP card to a physio there.The problem identified was a block of bone needed a fix in to it's original slot which was found displaced mildly.Almost like a lorry off it's track slightly, he simplified.Though not from the medical stream,my knowledge of biology until class12 failed to kick start ,blocking me from visualizing how could this be done on my knee without a cut open kinds.The treatment was to happen for the subsequent weeks until recovery.

The physio got in to action from the very next day.He left me in astonishment each following day,leaving me spell bound watching him passionately fix my bone in it's slot at the same time educating me on the do's & don'ts of this eternally perishable body.I felt remarkable changes from day 3 itself,which is when our conversations began to voice our minds.I have had so many misconceptions about my own body in particular & human body in general in spite of my regular readings on health & fitness.Each day he enlightened me with some amazing actions & adaptations of human body.There is so much to do with the mind than with the body,he made me realise.He taught me the technique of applying mind during a body workout,the results of which were simply mind blowing.He told me once, a workout even with a slight distracted mind can end up targeting the wrong muscle in the body.So he would applaud for simple correct efforts,which was definitely an inspiration at every stage.He confirmed more than half the ortho surgeries happening in the city hospitals can easily be avoided if doctors believe in good physiotherapists.Unfortunately lack of confidence in the existence of good physios in some challenging cases & a strong belief in their own mastered surgical art adds up the count of ortho surgeries happening everyday,he opened up once.

The wish for a quick & steady recovery was more for this physio whose hands worked magic than me as a fearful patient, at times.Everyday he thoroughly enjoyed his play over delicate invisible objects like bones & joints with at most care,serious caution & his inherent passion.He made sure it's just not a physio - patient interaction.He enquired on the where abouts of each person on whom he worked his magic.He said it's a way to connect to his patients to heal them well.In that way our chemistry was just perfect,I felt.

Being open minded,willingness to help people, a sound knowledge in his profession, zest to fix injuries, urge to care with personalized attention & a wish to heal his patients didn't seem like ordinary qualities of this hand picked physio, by god, for my quick recovery.His was a telling tale of an upcoming physio who has a bright & a blessed future awaiting his door steps in the coming years. This three year experienced pro also showed everybody out there ,the way to go.Compliment him,he simply loves to pass on the credit to his co therapists for whom he has great admiration, in a humble self depreciating tone, recalling his journey from a suburb to city,at times.

The therapy employed simple everyday insignificant objects like bags,balls,bands & wands to strengthen & improve a specific part of the body in significant ways.What a stream of science,it made me wonder.Unlike the shabby delicate external wounds,physiotherapy is to do much with invisible internal injuries.Though no blood by sight,bones seem to be their core fight (oh,that's from the awe fully blunt poet inside me).

A world away from all this,being bitten by the herd syndrome for having chosen my profession, finally I was left with no choice but to ignore the benefits of a good conceptual weekly body workout and it's awesome benefits, all these years.My physio elucidated how important an occasional stretch is,what a simple resistant exercise can do,why deep breaths are essential & what sipping water frequently does, in an otherwise mundane,stress built life of a core IT Pro.Recently I read a health quote which said,those who cannot find time for regular fitness,will soon have to find time for illness.My piece of advice to my own self will be, to make time for fitness amidst importantly appearing unimportant activities.Having said that, only I know how difficult it is to find this small measure of time everyday to sync up the mind with body.

A lady about 75 years,whom i befriended while there gave me a piece of advice which was more than a thoughtful timely gift.She walked up to me one day quite cheerfully,with her replaced knees and said,'Remember my young lady,at any time in your life don't ever become flabby,which is the worst struggle against yourself '.Quite true ,for having battled against my flabs myself in the recent past years.In a random attempt I once imbibed, human soul as a complex manifestation of one's mind+body during a life time & beyond.In simplest way,a fit body together with an unclogged mind paves way to a pleasant soul.(No doubt the vice-versa is true as well, which I might rediscover & etch somewhere when I wander as a jobless soul) .Back to life,doesn't matter if you are a physio, a plumber or a programmer,relishing simple earthly joys in the mind, engulfed in one's healthy body is just priceless,I realized.Can there be a more blessing than this ?

Before the treatment ended,he brought my lorry back on track.Finally with my pain relieved & profession revealed, my physio taxed a bill of 6k for the whole bone mending & fixing program.But for having obtained value for every single penny I spent there,I had no regrets.But my physio had a slight sigh & a little big eye on the huge salaries that my entire community of cyber cooleys draw every month.In three fortnights,having spent time closely with my physio & few of his eminent subordinates,I only realised the amount of blessings banked by them for relieving millions of pains over multiple months,though they don't mint little extra money like us.On the contrary,being a couch potato all day long in some wrong body postures,consuming mindless cups of caffeine,building up the good for nothing stress & refusing to take even few deep breaths,I just wondered with all the money banked by us month after month,without much thought & time for either simple pleasures or some long term health & fitness plans,where are we seriously heading to?.I just had one thing to tell my sighing physio 'The grass is always greener on the other side', stretching my quadriceps, pondering the simple mind <->body experience that happened in me during our rendezvous.