Helping you start a new chapter by getting you moving the right way
We need to go back to the drawing board and get our basics right rather than looking at complex issues
Ilove playing with numbers. And today being 2.2.2019, the ‘2’s repeating three times in a row, is just magical for me, and it will be for you too. It’s just a matter of time when it sinks in for you. It was 10 years ago when I was wanting to put together a crazy run in Leh-Ladakh, aping Badwater, a 217 kms race in the US, which was then known in the pop ultra running culture as the toughest race in the world. I randomly looked up 222 on the internet. Lo and behold, it was just the number and distance I was looking for. A website on Google said, ‘meaning of 222 is that you are on the right track and you need to stay on it.’ Another website said, ‘it is creation of new beginnings’ and that ‘you have the power to change the script of your story’. Voila!
I went against a lot of so-called expert advice who were calling my run, La Ultra The High, an impossible project. I along with my band of merry women and men have now made it possible for 9 consecutive years along with almost 200 runners from all backgrounds from 23 countries from around the world and even from India now. These people were fit and they already run but before they did it, they only thought of it as a dream. I helped them realise it. By pushing them just that little bit more at the right time, at not time compromising on their safety. Then those, who were reluctant to even start, or started, but for whatever reason, didn’t last very long. Way back in 2013, I helped 18 such ladies of all age groups, from zilch to do 6 kms in 2 months time. Converting a zero to six, or any number for that reason, was a far more difficult task than running 222 kms in Ladakh. And we together managed by addressing running, strength, mind and other psychological and social issues. Same applies to you. Lot of you could have given up on yourself, thinking of it being an impossible task to get moving and become a healthier you. Others could have already picked up running, maybe even for years now, but simply aren’t doing justice to what you are capable of doing. Either way, we need to go back
WE’LL START SLOW, WORK ON THE FOUNDATION AND BEFORE YOU KNOW, YOU’LL BE A NEW YOU. A ROLE MODEL TO YOUR LOVED ONES.
to the drawing board and get our basics right rather than looking at complex issues.
Over next weeks and months, I will come up with a simple exercise and walk-run plan, where you’ll surprise yourself. We’ll start slow, work on the foundation and before you know, you’ll be a new you. A role model to your loved ones. Age, gender, medical conditions, nothing is going to stop you. It starts from today.
WEEK ONE
1. Time: For first week focus on just walking non-stop for 15 minutes at a comfortable pace. If you can not do that, it’s ok, do even lesser to start with. Idea is to focus on time on feet, becoming comfortable with just being with yourself.
2. Let go: When you walk, let go off all the stress and baggage you carry from life. Otherwise you stiffen up your shoulders, neck and upper back, in effect restricting your lung movements and then wonder why you get breathless after a few minutes of running only.
3. Smile: Even if life isn’t going great, it is important that you smile. The act of smiling relaxes your facial, neck and upper back muscles. Even if you fake it, any stranger looking at you will smile back, and soon that smile will become real.
4. Form: As much as I want you to have a good form, the plan is not to think about your form when you actually walk or run. It’ll be addressed by the activities and drills outside of walking and running.
5. Footwear: Walking and running shoes are over-rated. Start with any footwear that you are comfortable in. Once you start building time on feet and get stronger, you’ll realise the shoes don’t matter in any case. The feel of the shoe is far more important the science the brands try to sell you.
6. Squats: You might think that you can’t squat but you can. Throughout the day, you repeatedly sit down and get up. That’s all I need you to do. From standing position, sit down on a chair and as soon as you touch the chair, get up again. Repeat that 3-10 times. Do this 3-5 times a day.
Do the above for this one week and then we get to the next level. Remember to keep miling and smiling.