In Rhythm with Nature

When the mind is pure and the intellect subdued,

When love and hate no longer affect a person;

A lonely spot is sought, little is eaten, meditation is practiced,

the ego is surrendered;

‘I’ and ‘mine’ disappear, peace is attained.

Bhagavad Gita

Back in 2012, when I was living in America, I had this idea of creating something that’ll inspire people to appreciate the beauty of nature … move closer to it … and dance to its rhythm. So www.eternallycreative.com was born. Little did I realize then, that more than anything else it’ll transform my own life. Since then, it has been a journey of not only understanding the rhythm of nature around us but also the rhythm of nature inside of me. It is this journey that I would like to share today and how it has transformed me from my core. I believe it has the power to transform your life as well.

To understand this journey, we need to travel a bit back in time. It was 2002. It was London. It was a chilly winter morning. I was waiting patiently in the doctors chamber for my health report. It was a routine checkup. I was only 27 and I felt great. So it wasn’t supposed to be a life changing event. But unfortunately it was. I was diagnosed with hypertension. The doctor was charming. She had a beautiful smile. She told me it’s possible to reverse the situation and no medication was needed for now. All I got to do was run more, sleep more, eat less, and stay away from alcohol.

At that point of my life I wasn’t running much, sleeping a lot less than I needed to, eating quite a lot, and used to drink wine occasionally. I was apprehensive. Staying away from alcohol was easy as I wasn’t much of a drinker. However, fixing rest of my lifestyle issues seemed to be quite challenging. I was taking the tube to work when it was still dark and biting cold. I was working 14 hours a day. And I was always feeling hungry. How do I manage to sleep more? When do I get the time to run? How do I manage to eat less? I had to go back and visit her in 3 months. She told me that she was looking forward to a marked improvement in my lifestyle.

I had only 3 months and I was desperate to fix my lifestyle because of 3 reasons.

1. I didn’t want to be on medication for life.
2. I was thankful for the doctor being kind and not putting me on medication.
3. And I didn’t want to disappoint someone who was so kind, beautiful, and charming.

So I started waking up at dawn, ran everyday for 30 mins in biting cold, did some yoga (no inversions) and stretching exercises, only had 3 meals a day, skipped watching TV, and tried to sleep as early as I could.

In 3 months, I lost 11 pounds (about 5 kilos). I went back to the doctor. She ran her tests, looked at my report, and smiled. I still remember that beautiful smile. You probably have a smile on your face too as you read this. I know it’s a beautiful story but it’s not the end of it. It’s just the beginning.

Since then, I have more or less stuck to my routine of eating less, exercising more, and sleeping more. Though I’ve never had any serious illness or had any medication for chronic diseases, I continued to be a bit hypertensive. I suspect my constant travel across timezones and long hours at a desk job didn’t help matters much. However, travel did broaden my perspective and gave me an understanding of the diversity of nature, human beings, and culture. It enabled me to learn from nature, people, and cultures. It provided me with deep insights about the rhythm of nature that exists both outside of our bodies and inside.

I remember back in 2012, I had seen a photo of Mount Grinnel at sunrise by Harry Lichtman and had practically made up my mind to have my own Harry Lichtman moment. A year later in 2013, things worked out beautifully and that moment came. Not only did I have my own Harry Lichtman moment, I came back with so much more. You can find that story here.

In that road trip I realized my true nature. I realized, I’m happiest when I live close to nature in complete harmony. I’m calm and composed when I rise just before the sun comes up (and don’t need an alarm clock for that) and sleep just after the sun goes down. I’m at my creative best when I witness the breathtaking colors of dawn and dusk. I feel healthy when I eat freshly prepared food that have been grown organically or gathered from the forests. And I feel most energetic when I take long walks up the mountains, around the lakes, and deep into the forests.

I had a similar experience later that year when I traveled to Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico with my family. I went through snowstorms to see the most amazing red rock formations. I slept under wide open skies and witnessed a billion stars. I experienced the simple lifestyles of the Navajo people. And I bonded with my family more than ever before. You can find that story here.

Then again back in India when I visited my cousin’s house in the Himalayas I needed no alarm to wake up around 4:00 am. And then, I saw the most magical vision. The shinning Big Dipper (known as Saptarshi in India) over the gleaming snow capped Himalayan mountain ranges.

There has been many more such instances of me being close to nature and finding my true self. However, this article is not about my travels but about finding nature’s rhythm inside me and living an abundant, healthy, and joyous life. Yes, traveling and being close to nature helps but it’s not a practical solution as a lifestyle for my city dwelling technology career. May be someday it will be, but not yet. So I had to tune in to nature’s rhythm without constantly being in touch with nature. I continued to sleep more, eat less, and exercise more. And I did one key change in my life. I consciously chose to live a minimalistic lifestyle—material minimalism (less attachment to things) and digital minimalism (less attachment to digital content).

It was only in 2016, before I traveled to Australia for work, my blood pressure reading was reported to be normal—for the first time since I was 27. However, as luck would have it, in early 2018 I again found myself working 14-16 hours a day, gained almost 11 pounds, and fell sick. Though my vitals were all good, the doctor attributed my illness to a certain unknown airborne virus and my reduced levels of immunity caused by stress. I was somewhat heartbroken that day. I realized that only I was responsible for this. I was responsible for my inability to say no, for running after material success, and not listening to my body. I had to get back in sync with my body’s rhythm … I had to be in rhythm with nature all over again.

Since my vitals were all good and I had no restrictions of doing any kind of physical activity, I enrolled myself in a yoga teacher training program. Yoga was not just a form of exercise for me. It was a lifestyle that I had been following for long. But I felt, something was lacking. I wanted to learn a bit more about the anatomy and how a yogic lifestyle integrates with nature’s rhythm.

The training was physically challenging for me. I felt pain in every part of my body. I realized, that after moving back to India I had been somewhat out of sync with nature’s rhythm. I had again fallen back to my old workaholic habits. But I never gave up. I not only completed the training and got certified as a yoga instructor but I also attended it with the enthusiasm of a teenager. It generally takes about 12 weeks and a bit of willpower to adopt a new habit. Our existing habits are another layer of information that affects our DNA. It’s called the epigenetic code and it’s so powerful that it reinforces our habits in a way that we feel we cannot escape them. That what makes us creatures of habit. That’s why we need that willpower and a bit of wisdom (to know that at the end of it you’ll become a better human). And yes, I had great teachers—they were supportive and kind. And most importantly they never gave up on me.

At the end of the training, I had lost the 11 pounds that I had gained earlier during 2018. I was feeling great, had a lot more energy, had more focus, and was generally feeling happier. But what was the secret behind it? What had turned it around for me? Was it a few yoga postures, better sleep, an improved meditation practice? I had several questions but not enough convincing answers.

That was when I started reading Sapiens. The book, written by historian Yuval Noah Harari, gave me key insights on how to live better. I realized that though our lifestyles have evolved rapidly since the industrial revolution but our bodies and minds have not been able to keep up with it. The human body is still somewhat hardwired to the Paleolithic age. We are not evolved enough to survive the constant exposure to light and information of our modern times.

So I made some changes to my lifestyle. I changed my diet that somewhat mimicked the caveman’s diet. I started eating more live, fresh, and organic foods that had high fat, moderate protein, low carb, and low sugar (diet minimalism). I almost completely avoided processed and packaged foods and drinks that had harmful preservatives and stabilizers. I reduced my exposure to social media and almost all forms of media and entertainment that no more contributed toward my personal growth (digital minimalism). I was reading more, I was writing more, and I was sleeping more. I was consuming a lot less food and lot less digital content. Sapiens was the best book I read in 2018. It improved my life … significantly.

So where do we go from here? So what changes can we make in our lifestyles so that not only we are in sync with our body’s Paleolithic nature but can also feed our mind with just enough information to stay relevant, effective, and creative in the stressful times that we live in? I found some concrete answers in a book by Satchin Panda. If Sapiens was the best book I read in 2018, The Circadian Code is by far the best book I read in 2019. Reading that book gave me real insights about the circadian clocks that we carry in each of our cells. Suddenly, my grandma’s advice (who lived an active life well into her 80s) of maintaining a daily discipline of sleeping on time, eating on time, and living an active lifestyle made so much more sense.

Based on the insight I gained from Sapiens and The Circadian Code I integrated 4 simple practices in my lifestyle. These 4 practices have been the 4 pillars of my health, well being, and happiness. Today, exactly a year after I started my transformation, I weigh 22 pounds less (almost 10 kgs), I have more energy, I sleep a lot better, and I’ve not fallen sick for a single day. Now, it’s only a matter of discipline. I just need to stick to the 4 practices for the rest of my life. I wanted to share this with you because I sincerely believe these are the fundamental building blocks that can make us better beings and the world a much better place to live in.

1. Sleep — Sleep is key, for both the mind and the body. I generally go to bed early enough so that I get at least 7 hours of sleep before sunrise. I no more require to use a bone jarring alarm. Everyday our body battles a lot of stressors that cause cellular damage. Adequate sleep gives the mind and the body enough time to heal itself. And if you’re already suffering from a chronic disease the body may just be able to reverse the affliction. However, if the body doesn’t get enough time to heal itself it gives you a lifestyle disease.
2. Time-restricted eating — I only eat within an 8 hour window. That translates to only 2 meals per day, breakfast and dinner. I stick to high fat, moderate protein, low carbs, and low sugar. Apart from those two meals I only consume water. Nothing else. I give 16 hours to my body to process the food and carry on with its repair work. An eating window between 10 am – 6 pm is ideal. It varies a bit for me due to my work schedule but I’m constantly trying to get better at this.
3. Physical activity — The human body and its metabolism is designed to be in motion whenever it’s not engaged in eating or sleeping. I practice yoga, I run, I walk, I do jump rope, I do stair climbing. I try to move my body as much as I can throughout the day.
4. Mental activity — I start and end my day with meditation. It calms the mind, improves focus, and eliminates anxiety. It makes your mind sharp, improves mental acuity, and eliminates brain fog. There are several techniques like Vipassana, Mantra, Mindfulness, Zen, Transcendental et al. I believe learning any of one them is good enough. The key thing is to practice it everyday. Even 1 minute of it everyday is more beneficial than attending a 10 day retreat and then never integrating it in your daily life. Practice everyday, twice a day, without fail. I practice Vipassana. I started with 1 minute and can now effortlessly do that for an hour after 4 months of practice. As I approach my mid 40s I’m experiencing improved mental clarity, alertness, creativity, and awareness. My ability to focus is better and my mental acuity is getting back to where it was during my early 30s. And I’ve started writing poems after a gap of 15 years. I’m reading more, learning more, writing more, and generally am more effective at what I do.

And yes, I continue to enjoy the beauty of nature even in my day-to-day city life.

I’m not an extraordinary person by any means. I have just started to live with extraordinary levels of awareness of how my mind and my body works. That awareness and that knowledge has led me to integrate the above 4 practices in my daily life. And because of that I generally feel extraordinarily happy and healthy. Each one of us deserves to be extraordinarily happy and healthy. And if I can be, so can you.

So be happy now!