Rachna Chhachhi - ALIVE! Lifestyle Changes to Age-Proof Your Mind and Body

To Mama

They say I look like you

I wish you could see

We discuss the songs you love each night

And I smell your fragrance next to me

Wherever you are, Mama

I know youre smiling down at me

Coz when I look into the mirror

I see you in me

RIP 13 November 2020

Contents

The voices from the world are growing.

L aurence works for a bank in Paris and is getting no menopausal symptoms at age 53 even though her periods are scanty. She wont deny herself dessert immediately after dinner.

Aradhna is 23, a French Wine scholar (FWS), who rejected work at a fancy five-star hotel as a sommelier and chose to teach yin yoga instead. A job does not fit into her grand scheme of things.

Ronnie lives in New Delhi. At 81, he loves his whisky and eats non-vegetarian food every day. He has no health issues.

At age 37, Andrew is already a well-known change leader. His daily practice to keep himself mentally fit is meditation and riding his mountain bike in the forest.

Steven lives in the Greater Boston area. At 79, his brain is sharp and agile, and if he doesnt agree with you, prepare for a long-drawn-out discussion where you cant beat him because of his depth of knowledge. He enjoys his red wine every evening.

Camille travelled from France to India to learn yoga. She is just 26 and feels that it is her generation that is going to popularize sustainable living.

Chhachhi Sir, as everyone calls him, is 91. In Gurgaon, his mid-morning cup of coffee has a dollop of Baileys Irish Cream and he gets irritated if he doesnt get his second helping on time. He has never had a lifestyle or any other disease.

These people are not following a lifestyle propagated by health gurus or experts. They are carving their own path. And through this book, we are going to learn what they are doing right despite embracing habits that are seen as unhealthy.

Why did I interview these people across the world?

As a health expert, I saw them live a life that was contradictory to the tenets and advice given by every nutritional health expert on how to live a long and disease-free life. I was seeking answers because they were not following the guidelines to be as healthy as they were. As CALM as they are.

So, I reached out to the universe to give me the answers.

I interviewed over fifty people across the world for this book. Over the years, I have treated and guided thousands of others who have rediscovered good health by beating a chronic disease. All of them come from different parts of the world, with different genetic make-ups, blood groups, lineages and upbringing. They dont necessarily follow what health and nutritional guidelines insist upon to stay healthya lot of what I practice and preach isnt what you see on Dr Google or nutritional talks on social media. And yet, the people I treat are living examples of good health and are ageing well with a wonderful quality of life. The fifty people I spoke to were doing the same, but not under any guidance. It was like they had an intuitive sense about it.

What were they doing right?

Everything that is written in this book will leave you in a good mood and feeling positive. Every story has the purpose of helping you leave your toxicity behind so you can consistently enjoy the journey of life, every day, day after day. And the habits cultivated by the people featured in this book are supported by science.

This book is about a new beginning where shifting your energy brings about a change in your immune system.

For each one of us who have been short-changing ourselves and pretending to live while we rush from one activity to another, this book will help you hit the pause button, reflect on how you can make your every day more meaningful in a structured manner, and put the joy of the everyday back into your life. Once this joy is back, it impacts everything around youyour health, family, relationships, work, quality of life and your longevity. I coined a saying that goes, Leaf your life back. Since you cant take back your life, you can do it one leaf at a time, until the tree that is you starts to grow again, this time with denser leaves, a cooler shade and stronger roots.

Enjoy, imbibe, and follow, whether you are age 20, 30, 40, 60, or 80. The book is packed with clinical research data quoted in the references section, so you will know that every aspect of the lifestyle that I have recommended has scientific and anecdotal proof in the form of the inspirational journeys shared. Walk with me, a little briskly, while I take you on the journey of being alive while you live.

Its not about the years; its about what you put in the years.

Why Steve?

I have never met him in person, but he is an old friend.

Steven P. Cohen (I call him Steve) is an author and thought leader who lives in the Greater Boston area. After law school, he spent twelve years in politics and with the government in the US. The next twelve years he worked in his familys business. Each of these activities required lots of negotiation. When most people would be making retirement plans, Steve launched The Negotiations Skills Company, and ran it for twenty-five years. Simultaneously, he was a professor at Groupe HEC (Paris) and Brandeis Universitys International Business School (Boston). He has coached companies and employees across the world, including the Tatas and the Aditya Birla Group in India.

Steve has authored Negotiating Skills for Managers (McGraw-Hill [and Tata McGraw-Hill], 2002) and The Practical Negotiator:How to Argue Your Point, Plead Your Case, and Prevail in Any Situation (Career Press, October 2013).

I met him twenty years ago, when he was 59 years old and I was running a gender practices company. He was the negotiation king, so I sought his advice to help women advocate for themselves in the workplace. I literally cold-called him and he responded almost immediately. That was in 2000. He wrote a regular column for us online (my entire business model was online even then). Later, I had to shut down my company, but Steve and I kept in touch via email. I remember sending him an extremely emotional email after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, and his response was warm and reassuring.

From 59 to his current age of 79, when the quality of life often declines, Steve remains a poster boy for good health, me time, and mental agility. I have seen his journey from a senior executive coach helping people change habits and perspectives to leading a supposedly semi-retired life.

He remains active in companies where he sits on the board and as trustee of his community foundation. He gardens, and proudly sends pictures of his six-year-old grandson meditating.

When he sent me that serene picture of his grandson, I was reminded of what the Dalai Lama had once said, If every eight-year-old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.

As a global consultant, his professional knowledge, and exposure to various societies, cultures and organizations, gives Steve a unique perspective and quirky sense of humour that makes him relatable, warm and easy to learn from. He has provided solutions for a broad range of negotiating challenges faced by people across dozens of countries. Each question/ problem was submitted by a real person looking for advice.