Neem Hakim... Khatraye Jaan!

I haven't been here of late... too bad! in fact very very bad. I am just occupying the blog space and bringing out nothing new but yes I have been busy with a lot of things.  Moving house, kids vacations, our little time off with family, our own little vacation etc etc. I somehow convince myself with the excuses, lame or otherwise. Today being the 1st and  Monday I better have a post on my blog! So here we go... the first thought that came to my mind is my dear husband and the name that I game him very initially during our relationship... Neem Hakim... Khatraye jaan! Not that I invented the phrase, it has always been there. And, why do I call him so? Oh its a long story, but story that makes me smile every time I need to visit a doc or hear some health talks or on wellness. In fact last evening I told my husband that I have to write about 'The Neem Hakim'...so its Shree Ganesh here....

When we met, some 8 years ago, he didn't ask me out for coffee but did notice the way I walked. He said that I walked on my heel and gave a whole list of pros and cons. If I was down with a flu, he gave all the reasons why I had caught the cold and had the remedies and medications for the same. He had an answer for almost all ailments right from a minor bruise to may be the more serious ones... not that the serious ones were applicable to me. There... 'Neem Hakim'  was born! He is not a doctor by profession but can give any  doc worth his salt a run for his money!

On further probe learnt that he spent a lot of time with his doctor friend at his clinic and even heard the cases.   All this while he was on vacation of 3-4 months during his early career as a mariner. Ofcourse there wasn't anything more interesting to do. But the bonus being the little lessons that he was receiving and adding to his interest and love to know more about medicines. Wow! What patience!.... and he certainly is a walking medical dictionary, Oh I am proud of him. I couldn't have learnt medicine even if I was the last person to become a doc and save humanity! I just don't have the heart for it. I am so scared of visiting hospitals that before I make up my mind to make a visit for a bad cold, fever or aches, the ailment is cured on its own. I do appreciate all the people in the noble profession.... hats off to all the doctors in the world. But my Neem Hakim is very special indeed... comes with his pearls of wisdom every now and then. One such pearl worth a mention is doing Vajrasana (the yoga posture) while lying down, in fact after dinner. It seems that helps in digestion. I know the Vajrasana is to be done while sitting on the pose but have never heard or seen being done while lying down almost on the verge of going off to sleep. By the way, this form of the yoga posture is somehow my favorite too as it makes me laugh... laugh so much that my own digestion falls on track. Another pearl of wisdom from my man is to check the level of dehydration, just by looking at the colour  of the wasted liquid when one relieves onself! that lesson has been passed on to the boys also. So they know when they are drinking less of water. When I see them gulping water on SOS, I know whats on their mind. ...Big lesson from papa dearest!

“Each patient carries his own doctor inside him.” 

― Norman Cousins, Anatomy Of An Illness

During the postpartum, there came in a lot of dos and don'ts, no commands but just suggestions. Obviously no one can command a lioness who has just gone through childbirth. Oh, it was such fun listening to them as some had scientific backing and the others were the old wive's tales. But they all made me feel special. Even after so many years I do remember each one of them. I can actually come out with a handbook for all the young mothers. At times I feel he is a born doctor but somehow didn't give his inborn talent an opportunity to grow and flourish. Nevermind I have an exclusive doc on call always! No appointment needed.

Even medicine works on faith. If you trust your doc all shall be fine, and if you have doubts even the best can't treat you. Everything starts in the mind.

As  SupaNova Slom says, “Don't let sickness, depression, and disease THUG YOU OUT. Eat healthier, think healthier, speak healthier, and more positively over your life. When you do so, you will soon begin to conquer your life and your health through new found empowerment- mind, body, and spirit.”