Writing this post brings fond memories to me. During my college days of learning Ayurved, I would share all the new health knowledge I gathered with my family. Mom and dad would agree with a lot of it and share their own experiences while my brothers had a jolly time making fun of the new Sanskrit words I said and the food or other changes I suggested..

After all the ayurvedic dos and don’ts they had to listen to from me…invariably their concern would be ‘can we never eat this or do that?’

And how pleased would they be with my “Na. Na..kyarek chale” answer!

(kyarek chale is the Gujrati for ‘its alright sometime’)

Coming back to the topic of this post…It is Abhyaas.

Abhyaas means continuous, repeated practice.

Ayurved says that which is done daily or regularly is what creates an impact and a corresponding effective consequence.

Think about this.

Do we start to suffer from chronic ill health by consuming the wrong food once or twice or occasionally?

No, we do not.

Same way, we cannot get well having the right food or medicine once or twice, irregularly or occasionally.

Anything that is consistent bears results.

Good health is a consequence of forming right, healthy habits. Habit means making it a part of everyday life. 

Bad health is naturally a result of wrong habits.

Just as planting seeds and then watering it daily makes it develop roots and grow gradually, then forming stems, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits step by step, similarly the roots of any action performed repeatedly must grow strong and deep for it to have an effect.

Nothing happens overnight. Everything is eventual. It is just that we are rarely aware of all that which goes into the  making of the eventuality.

Occasional indulgences, relaxations of principles and out of routine behaviors are totally fine and must be done too…

It’s alright to have curd one night with your favorite dish. But it is not alright to make eating daily curd and at night a habit.

Tasty but junk hotel food is alright once in a while but it is not alright every weekend.

Who doesn’t enjoy an ice cream for dessert sometime? But having chilled drinks daily or frequent ice-creams is very different.

Staying up late or waking up late sometime is not a crime, but if done daily it has the potential to impact our complete life.

Laying on the sofa one rainy day is so ok, but not the lack of  physical activity on most days.

So, the bottom-line is, be consistent in the good, sensible practices… only then will they bring you wellness.

Stay occasional and rare in the unmindful indulgences, if you must…only then will they be stopped from causing you much harm.

Kyarek chale.