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Be happy so that you'll be healthy

Wellness is a state of mind

PHOTO: K. PICHUMANI

DANCE OF LIFE Wellness could mean different things to different people

Have you been feeling well lately? Not the adrenalin-induced wellness you felt when Dhoni was giving free sprinting lessons to Sri Lankans. Not the high you get as you cruise down in your EMI-gifted Innova. It's the kind of deep wellness, joy of the lasting kind.

The BBC, in an experiment asked a group of specialists to try and test methods that would make people radiate happiness. Experts put together a list of guaranteed wellness generators and ran the clinical trials in a British village. Here are some:

Plant something and nurture it. Count your blessings at the end of the day (such as, you have only one mother-in-law). Take time to talk for an hour with a loved one. Phone a friend. Get physical exercise for half an hour. Smile and say hello to a stranger once a day. Give yourself a treat every day and enjoy it. Cut your TV viewing by half.

See, wellness could mean different things to different people. Anand, who says he's a healer, says: "It's the quality or state of being in good health especially as an actively sought goal. Disease is caused by atmospheric stimulus that might be in any form."

Says Manushya Puthiran, poet and publisher: "It's good relationship with those around you. Wellness begins when you start feeling comfortable in company. Also, make an effort to be fit. If you don't feel healthy or fresh, the mind refuses to work. We should be comfortable with ourselves. Wellness starts there."

Actor Nizhalgal Ravi says: "It rained and rained and I felt real happiness. I felt like I was the earth and I was being drenched! Wellness could easily be the feeling you get when you see the water in your well rising five feet. It is also the silence till the kids return from school. Or the ecstasy when a movie unexpectedly turns up a bonanza at the box-office."

A techie who's into aerobics has the expected answer. "Wellness derives from fitness," he says patting his slight paunch. "Fitness helps you to be alert about everything. There is a mind-body connection." A very busy architect takes time off to say: "Wellness, to me, has everything to do with peace of mind. A healthy body is part of the equation but definitely, the mind predominates."

"Wellness is different things at different stages in life," said a retired government official. "Today, wellness for me is uninterrupted power supply and absolutely no visitors while I'm watching serials."

The different approaches to wellness touch on four aspects: peace of mind, a natural diet, well-rested body, fulfilling relationships and connecting with your own spirit. The consensus: wellness has nothing to do with what you buy or own. Wellness is a non-addictive, permanent high that springs from within.

GEETA PADMANABHAN

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