The O-town Scene

Yoga Life Fresh Air and Sarcasm By Ashok Kumar Malhotra By Renee Nied Yoga for (S)Aging Architectural Digest and Other Realities (a Public Service Message) I have taught yoga to children in the elementary, middle and high schools, as well as undergraduate college students, along with people of all ages for the past 45 years. One of the misconception I have encountered is the belief that yoga is only for young people, and that people who are 55 or older may just accept their fate of aging. This is a myth of the younger generation, which remains unsubstantiated. Recently, I gave a talk at a church in upstate New York to a group of people ranging from 55 years and older. During our discussion, we realized that most of the aging population had diverse skills and talents that could be put to use to help humanity in our own community. One member told me that we should change the name of this segment of humanity from an aging to "s-aging" group. This cluster of people has varied talents to help the community with greater wisdom and candor than any other age group. But how do we tap these well-tried out talents? Between the ages of 55 and 80 and beyond, changes do occur in terms of physical balance, mind's alertness and alteration in moods. How can we bring under voluntary control or slow down these changes. Are there some genuinely tried-out techniques? Yoga seems to be one of those possibilities! Yoga has been with us for the past 2,500 years. It has shown its effectiveness in controlling and slowing down the process of degeneration in bodily balance, while enhancing mental sharpness and adjusting mood swings. Its step-by-step empirical method, through simple physical postures, helps bring about steadiness to the bodily frame; through the regulation of inhalation and exhalation or breathing exercises assists in enhancing the mental alertness and through the meditation technique aids in controlling the mood swings. Since yoga offers this promise of physical, emotional and mental health through the formation of good habits of the body, heart and mind, a few of its exercises might help keep our "s-aging" population healthy so they can, in turn, keep giving their gift of wisdom to the younger generations like the ever-giving tree. Here are a couple of exercises suggested for the beginner. If done correctly and on a regular basis, they might be helpful: Exercise 1: Sit with your legs stretched out in the front. Keep your hands on the ground next to your body. Move your feet away from your body eight times. Relax for a few moments. Repeat this exercise 4-5 times. Now open up your legs a bit. Move your feet in a semi-circle eight times. Relax for a few moments. Repeat this exercise four to five times, then relax. Exercise 2: Sit in the easy posture by crossing your legs. Keep your back, neck and head straight up. Take the three middle fingers of your right hand and put them on your forehead. Keep the thumb and little finger free. Close the nostril with the thumb while keeping the other nostril open. Breathe in from the open nostril for a count of eight. Retain the air inside your lungs for a count of eight. Now close the nostril with the little finger and open the nostril by lifting up the thumb. Breathe out from the open nostril for a count of eight. Repeat this exercise five times and then resume your normal breathing. This exercise can be repeated for two to four minutes. Dr. Ashok Kumar Malhotra's work through the Ninash Foundation to build schools for the female and minority children of India earned him a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. His program on "Yoga for Relaxation" is shown at 9 a.m. Saturdays on the Public Access Channel 23. His articles are condensed from his books, available at amazon.com and www. info@ideaIndia.com. I sometimes purloin magazines from the dentist's office. Yes, I hop into a time machine, go back to 15th Century Middle English and, while I'm there, filch a magazine. Am I stealing? Or providing a public service? I ask: wouldn't you prefer having no magazine versus reading most of an article only to have the ending gone because some selfish reader tore out the recipe for ricotta cheese puffs and now you'll never know if Timmy made it out of the well? (P Timmy's fine. And the cheese puffs? .S.: Sublime.) And it's not like I go around purloining all over the place. I would never, for example, purloin from a skin doctor's office — for obvious reasons. Chiropractors, podiatrists and optometrists are all safe bets, however. Actually, it's kind of mean for the eye doctor to even offer reading material, given his client base, don't you think? Public service? Check. And so it was that, following a recent visit to the optometrist, I ended up owning the November 2013 Architectural Digest. (Bonus: it is way more recent than most magazines in my house. "Borrowed" magazines are often months behind — enough to render the fashion tips and recipes useless. I mean, who wants watermelon mojitos in January? Without the fresh watermelon and mint, all you have is a glass of rum ... wait a second.) Now, I don't know any celebrities personally but, based upon what I read in the November 2013 Architectural Digest, I can infer that they like building things or, rather, having things built. Things like hobby farms in Hawaii and such (Oprah). An additional nod to Ms. Winfrey for providing a reality where, in the December 2013 issue of her self-titled magazine, she recommends a $225 wax candle from Neiman Marcus and $55 ketchup and mustard as a stocking stuffer. (Also a shout out to the hair salon for the magazine.) On a related note: Spouse enjoys building things too. You might say that woodworking is his hobby. Although "enjoys" is slightly inaccurate. In fact, "hobby" is somewhat off the mark in that he never starts a project to create a wooden thing but, rather, prevents the house from falling down by working exclusively with two-by-fours. If anyone deserves a hobby shop in Hawaii, it's Spouse and he has never even graced the cover of a single magazine. (Although, should there exist a magazine for workers of wood, lumberjacks or Geppetto, let me state right here that Spouse is centerfold material. No one splits his thumb with a hammer then duct tapes it together like Spouse. And he likes to cook.) So the November 2013 Architectural Digest was disturbing because not only did it feature Mr. and Ms. Cindy Crawford (aka: Mr. and Ms. Rande Gerber — but, really, can the Gerbers get a "same day" table at Momofuku?), it also showcased the Mexican retreats they built in tandem with neighbor, George Clooney. Designed so that the friends could shift between homes with ease, each retreat features an open-air courtyard, a swimming pool and brise-soleils. "Brise-soleils" is French for a canopy made of wood. (Meanwhile, the guy who keeps the house from falling down is a "gars qui tient la maison de tomber," and a magazine centerfold is "le magazine centerfold.") More information de service public supplémentaires, you're welcome. The idea for the Gerber/Clooney houses came several years ago while the friends were vacationing together in Mexico. Mr. Clooney noticed the undeveloped oceanfront and wanted to build "something indigenous," he said. Like the undeveloped oceanfront, for example. Also, be sure to check out the photo on page 160 that features a Gibson guitar that was a gift to Mr. Clooney from Kid Rock, a frequent guest. You know, should you happen to visit the dentist's office (or Los Cabos). But don't try the optometrist's office — his copy is gone. A final public service message brought to you by Fresh Air and Sarcasm. Renee Nied writes about parenting, food, David Lynch and other important subjects from her home in Schoharie County at freshairandsarcasm.wordpress. com. January 9, 2014 O-Town Scene 5

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