But there was a time not so long ago when life looked very different for me. I loved playing poker and the only time that people in Mumbai like to play that game is ‘late-night-through-the-morning’. As a result, I would have dinner at midnight, go to sleep at 6am, wake up at 1pm, have breakfast at 2pm, lunch at 5pm and basically lived a life as decadent as one can imagine. Then I was diagnosed with arthritis, followed by high cholesterol. The doctor who saw my reports said that with the level of cholesterol that I had, I should have been dead. That was my wake up call. I decided to make some changes in my life.

I had to start by giving up smoking. Even if you eat healthy, sleep on time, exercise and do all the other good things for your health, as soon as you light a cigarette, you deflate your motivation to do all those things and soon you go back to the debauchery. There is an inherent mismatch in detoxifying your body and smoking. It did not make any sense to me. So I decided to kick the butt. It was precisely then that the phrase “Easier said than done” took on a whole new meaning for me.

‘Valid’ reasons to smoke

I realised soon enough that quitting smoking was one of the most difficult things to do. I also read somewhere that it is easier to give up cocaine than to give up smoking. It is just so hard to not ‘light up’. When you’re trying to give up, the kind of excuses your mind makes up for smoking that cigarette are sometimes hilarious and at other times downright pathetic. I’ve listed a few that my fellow smokers will identify with. [I smoked so much and for so long that I still consider myself a member of the smokers club!]

Stressful situations

Any kind of stress is a reason to light up immediately. Stress at home [especially if you’re married], stress at work, stress at the poker table, not to forget the massive stress while you’re on the pot early in the morning and can’t do the job. Happy situations: Exhilaration, great news, reasons to celebrate, winning the lottery… Must smoke, and NOW!

Beautiful locations

How can you be in the countryside, admiring a gorgeous sunset and not have a smoke in your hand? How can you even think of walking along Darling Harbour, breathing in the fresh, clean air of Sydney without a cigarette to relish the moment?

After sex

To prolong the pleasure.

With friends

That’s how you celebrate with your friends, by being one of them. When they all light up, you light up.

Without friends

When you’re lonely, who do you have with you, except your loneliness and your Marlboro Man?

When you’re drinking

How do you enjoy a nice chai or a cappuccino without lighting up? And when you’re having alcohol you need an ashtray, right? Anyone who smokes creates these mountains of blockages. These are like chains that tie us to the habit. Am I about to give you a formula that will break these shackles away and make you give up smoking?

You bet I am.

Don’t be fooled, go for the real thing

With all of the different methods that I have tried in my life I finally found a foolproof one that works like magic. Before I tell you the magic formula, I have to first tell you the other so called magic formulas that did not work.

• Nicotine patches
• Electronic cigarettes
• Hypnosis
• Self-help books
• Psychological consultations
• Punching myself in the stomach and making myself believe that the cigarette that I was about to have was worse than 30 of those punches. [Some clown suggested this and like a desperate monkey I followed even this idea!]

As you’ve probably guessed by now, none of them worked. So this here is the foolproof guide to giving up smoking, coming from someone who used to smoke up to three packs a day.

Rule #1

Bring yourself mentally up to the point where you really want to quit smoking

If you try to give up smoking at a time when you relish each drag you take and every circle you blow out resembles a beautiful painting by Rothko to you, it ain’t gonna happen. I would try to give up smoking, fail and then try again and fail again. What worked for me finally is when I brought myself to a state of mind when I knew that I simply had to quit. I began to hate cigarettes and what they were doing to my body. You need to psyche yourself into hating smoking more than you really do; when you are disgusted by it, that’s when you can undertake the exercise to give it up.

Rule #2

Cold turkey is the only way

There’s so much out there on how to give up smoking. There are programmes that suggest you to reduce your intake, write down your progress and reward yourself for your achievement one day at a time. I tried it and it didn’t work. Not the first time. Not the tenth.

The only style of quitting that works effectively is ‘cold turkey’. Just throw away the pack and the lighter and say “I QUIT”. You may need to buy a fresh pack and a new lighter after an hour, but that’s okay. Out of the 15 times that you say, “I Quit”, only one needs to work out for you. That’s it.

Rule #3

Train your mind to love yourself and accept your body as a temple

This fundamental truth not only forms the backbone of your attempt to give up smoking but is also the basic tenet of all spiritual teachings: ‘Love thyself’. This is the root or the Mool Mantra of the theory of happiness itself. How can you do anything nice for your body if you don’t love yourself? Why would you sacrifice junk food or drinking yourself to liver failure unless you first see God living in your own soul?

This is not only the first step towards giving up smoking but also the first step towards living a life of bliss and joy.

Rule #4

Rectify your lifestyle

Don’t even bother to read ahead if you think that you cannot adhere to this one. You’d be wasting your time.

To start with, you must follow a disciplined lifestyle and timetable. This one is absolutely non-negotiable. You must wake up early and by early I mean latest is 6.30am. Maintain a fixed time for your breakfast and lunch as per your convenience but follow the timing for your dinner and sleep time as per my suggestion. Your dinner must be before 7pm and you must go to bed before 10.30pm. The domino effect of bad habits and bad health emanates from not following this rule completely.

When you sleep late, you wake up late. Your body automatically craves junk food. When you eat junk food, you poison yourself with bad food and drink, and you begin to love the additional toxicity that the nicotine in a cigarette provides.

But the opposite is also true. Good habits and a detox regimen also has a domino effect on you. When you are on a detox, you automatically start to develop a natural dislike for junk food. There came a time in my life that from being a hard core non-vegetarian [wherein I could and did eat anything that once ‘lived’], I went on to becoming a pure vegetarian. My body and soul both rejected any form of meat. By rectifying your lifestyle, you pave the way for a positive mindset that is weary of toxins and craves for a positive outlook towards life.

Rule #5

Flush, flush, flush

The nicotine that is currently in your body must go. It needs to be flushed out. If not, it will keep giving you withdrawal systems.

Drink plain warm water, ginger water, juices, green teas, lemonades with a pinch of organic turmeric added to it. Consume anything else that is organic and healthy and does not come out of a box or a packaged bottle. The other way of flushing toxins is eating loads of fresh organic fruits and steamed vegetables. The more you eat these, the more nicotine you will be able to flush out. The last—my favourite one—is pure ghee, preferably homemade; include it in your diet. What I advise is to have two teaspoons on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. To all those who led you to believe that ghee is fattening and adds to your cholesterol, please tell them [nicely] to shut up.

Rule #6

Mentally prepare yourself to put on some weight

When you give up smoking, you start to actually taste food. You start relishing it. Nicotine can cut down your hunger, so giving it up can increase your appetite. You will start eating more than you used to. Just let it happen. Remember that it is more important to give up smoking at this stage than to look sexy and slim [if you are that].

Rule #7

When you go off it, STAY off it

This is where most smokers goof up. After successfully pushing through the initial 25 days or so, we actually believe we are in total control and allow ourselves a drag or two thinking that we have given up and it cannot lure us back. I once gave up smoking for an entire year before I stumbled upon a night of raucous frenzy. In a state of mindlessness, I ‘allowed’ myself a puff [or maybe it was two]. The next morning I was smoking a pack a day and graduated to my two packs a few days after.

After all the effort that you make to giving up this habit, it is absolutely imperative that you do not give in to a weak moment and fight it like you have fought for nothing else in you entire life.

And now for the good news

When you succeed in giving up smoking, the first thing that you gain is your confidence and your self-respect. You know that you have conquered one of the most ruthless chemicals known to man. You know that you’ve quit an addiction that would have killed you like it has killed millions before. There’s more:

• You will be able to taste those sumptuous meals you eat—priceless!
• Your sex-life improves dramatically. I’d imagine this to be one of the most compelling reasons for a lot of men to give up.
• You glow. The detoxification process clears your skin of toxins and infuses fresh oxygen into your cells, healing them, rejuvenating them and making your skin radiate and shine.
• You get your life back.

Give it up and experience how it feels to live a complete, healthy and a joyous life full of love, positivity and fulfillment.

The post 7 rules that helped me successfully quit smoking appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Now after a long sabbatical he’s back to acting but with a renewed perspective on life. We caught up with Bijay Anand for a quick chat on his journey so far.

Many years ago, you suddenly quit films and TV. Tell us what happened?

Bijay Anand: I was in the glamour world for 16 long years. I started with modelling and worked in more than 300 commercials for brands like Raymonds, S Kumars, Chiclets and Vadilal ice-cream to name a few. I did 15 television serials after that stint and then my career peaked with the movie Yash and then Pyar to Hona Hi Tha, which went on to hit a silver jubilee. Being one of the lead actors in the film, I was offered around 26 films immediately after its release. Many of those offers were tempting and hard to refuse. But somehow, I had just switched off from the film industry, acting, glamour and fame that came my way. Art was my newfound love and an exciting adventure that I was eager to undertake. It was then that I decided I would not act anymore and I would only pursue art and took up my role as an art advisor/consultant.

When did you get into yoga?

Bijay Anand: As an art dealer, I had a lot of time to travel. Most of my work was via emails—that is how we bought paintings as well as sold them. With that kind of free time [and easy money], I took to travelling with a passion. A lot of my trips somehow drew me towards exotic spas and resorts and several others took me to destinations like Europe, Thailand, Bali and Rishikesh. These are hotspots for yoga and that is how yoga happened to me. It fell into my lap due to my nomadic, adventure seeking, hungry-for-knowledge quest.

Did you dabble in various other forms of yoga before you discovered Kundalini yoga?

Bijay Anand: Yes, I tried almost all forms of yoga before I accidentally stumbled upon Kundalini yoga at the week-long International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh. I was dazzled by this “gang of white angels” led by Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa whose class I took on the last day of the festival just out of plain curiosity. First five minutes into the class and I knew I had finally come home.

What difference did Kundalini yoga make in your life?

Bijay Anand: The discovery of Kundalini yoga brought a new meaning into my life. It showed me clearly who I was and it changed me in ways that surprised and then amazed me. Then one day, during my meditation, I saw that my purpose in life was to spread the joy that this science had brought into my life. I felt that this is what I was meant to do for the rest of my life. So I taught Kundalini yoga for a little over two years and also founded my company Anahata Retreats, which organises yoga retreats. I do this because I don’t want people to go through what I went through in my life. The anger, pain, sorrow, addictions [smoking, gambling and alcohol] and also the diseases that I was struck with like arthritis, high cholesterol and depression… I don’t want others to go through the same. [Read Bijay’s first person account of how he quit smoking]

What brings you back to acting after a break of 17 years?

Bijay Anand: One day I received a call from Nikhil Sinha’s office inviting me to play the role of King Janaka, Sita’s father for his show Siya ke Ram. Since the past many years, I had refused several acting offers. So at first I refused this role as well, but still went along to meet the director. When I heard Janaka’s character and read the script, it was like an epiphany. Every word that I was teaching in my classes, workshops and courses around the world was repeated in those dialogues. As Nikhil Sinha put it, “You are not an actor playing Janaka’s role. You are Janaka.”

I realised then that whatever I was teaching 30, 40 or sometimes even 200 people, I could teach the same philosophy as Janaka and reach out to millions of people to spread my message of love, compassion and an organic way of living.

And that’s how I am now back to acting, after 17 years.

What’s special about the role you are playing?

Bijay Anand: Janaka is quiet, still, calm, strong, loving, compassionate, and not only wise and knowledgeable but also hungry for more wisdom and knowledge. Janaka is a ruler who believes in the Karma of loving unconditionally and without any expectations. He is a great ruler, the perfect husband and also the most doting and loving father to Sita.

For an actor, a role with such a range of emotions is a dream and I am so excited about playing it. Getting to play this Janaka is also special for another reason. Many years ago, when Ravi Chopra was casting for his new project, Ramayan, even before he decided who will play the character of Ram, he had made up his mind that I would play the role of Laxman. When asked what made him so sure he had a one-line answer, and, I quote, “Have you ever, ever in your entire life seen anyone as hot-tempered and aggressive as Bijay? End of discussion.” That was some 20 years ago, and today I am being cast for the role of Janaka.

I am grateful to Kundalini yoga for having changed me from being an actor always cast as an angry, aggressive and belligerent young man to being cast as a calm, wise and knowledgeable king who epitomises love and compassion.

How does it feel to face the camera after such a long gap?

Bijay Anand: I feel like it never left me all this while. It is an amazing feeling to be facing the camera again and I’m loving every minute of it.

How much has changed in the film industry since you left?

Bijay Anand: Not much and yet so much. What we see outside is only but a reflection of our own soul. In that sense I see so much has changed now but I guess it was always there before.

All the wisdom you have gained from yoga has evidently changed you as a person—has it also changed you as an actor?

Bijay Anand: Tremendously. 17 years later, I certainly know more about human emotions than I did back then. More importantly, I know today who I am. It is only when you know yourself does your ego finally break down and you see the light. It also helps you to internalise scenes, emotions and situations as an actor and play these roles with more authenticity.

Who do you consider as your gurus/idols… in yoga, in acting and in life?

Bijay Anand: My first guru is Osho. I had listened to only four tapes of his when I was around 15 and these four tapes [Love, Death, Compassion and Guilt] changed the course of my life. I’ve never heard any of his tapes hence or read any of his books but I believe him to be my guru and an original philosopher.

The are many teachers for who I have utmost reverence and respect. Some of them are Jehangir Palkhivala, Jawahar Bangera, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Gurushabd, the eminent lawyer Harish Salve and Kamal Choraria who have given me so much in terms of understanding the world and existence.

The post “Kundalini yoga brought new meaning into my life” — Bijay Anand appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.