What's In Your Head?

When I watched "World War Z" almost two years ago on a date "day" with my husband R, one scene that gripped me was when Brad Pitt runs away from zombies, pretty fast, whilst carrying his pre-teen child. I remember turning immediately to R to ask if he could do the same should there be a Zombie Apocalypse in the near future. He was pretty sure he could. "The adrenalin kicks in hon. You'll be able to when the necessity arises." I on the other hand had zero confidence in myself. Carrying groceries up a flight of stairs was a miracle in itself. How ever, after I had my second born, this one scene kept coming back into my head constantly. I never told my husband about it, mostly because he'd brush it off as lunacy resultiing from postnatal hormones. Pregnancy is not kind to a woman's mental state.

R has always pushed me to be at the top of my game, but this time he didn't have to convince me very hard to join the gym. I initially made all the usual excuses of course: gym is a waste of money, it's precious time away from the kids, I won't cope once I start work so why start at all. But even as I made these excuses, I knew deep down that he was fed up of having to look after me when my back pain kicks in. He's actually 100% right to feel so. Our relationship is a partnership. We owe it to our spouse to take care of ourselves so that we can take care of each other. We now have not one but two children who need us both equally, and need us to be in our prime. Again: in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse my first born has R, and my second born is stuck with me.

I've always been an active person sans gym. In India, relying on public transport means you end up walking a lot. I also justified household chores to be a legitimate physical workout (it's not). So, aside from the mandatory sports activities in high school, and the madness of the NCC (National Cadet Corp) in college, my body was once again introduced to that unfamiliar territory called "exercise". I've always loved swimming and still do, except now, I'm not as young as I used to be and I don't like what the pool chemicals do to my skin and hair. I hate the impersonal feel of gym equipment (and we already have a treadmill at home) and while yoga is brilliant, if the instructor looks at you like you're wasting your time there, you might just end up falling asleep. So I casually walked into a class called Zumba. I dunno what made me do it. It could be that I was subconsciously drawn to it because it sounds like "Zombie". Or it could be because it sounds like "Samba", which makes sense as I have always been a huge fan of Latin American dancing. What ever it was, I LOVED it. My only regret is that classes are only available two days a week. I'd go to a 5am class if it was there. Even during the holidays, every one had to be up early because...that's right, I had to get ready for Zumba! For the first time in over a decade I started to sweat...in an air-conditioned room. It's an excellent cardio workout and for any one who loves to dance, it will also make you feel ALIVE. I've lost 4 kgs over the past 3 months which is not bad considering I've not made any dietary changes. I don't believe that it's the physical exertion alone that did it. If it was purely the Latino music then I'd play it on an iPod all day and gaze at blades of grass. It's the whole dance factor that did it for me. So, will I be able to outrun zombies? Not yet. (But I can pray that some of them are Latino and might wanna dance.) Lame jokes aside, do one thing for yourself this New Year. Get active. You'll be happier and more motivated to do the things you've been putting off doing. Endorphins are not a myth. It'll be the best gift you can give your loved ones in 2015, and hopefully, for life!