80) Giving up smoking

Sanjana Verma, 36, started smoking in college and continued after marriage. She had a valid reason too – her husband too smoked and they fell in love in college and saw no reason to kick the habit after marriage.

“My husband smokes and I don’t see anything morally wrong”, was the attitude.

The couple run a resort in Kodaikanal and that occupation accommodates smoking; one is constantly on the run to satisfy tourists and involves a lot of travel – ideal for smoke breaks!!!!

“It was only in my early thirties that I realized that I had got addicted to smoking”, says Sanjana and that was the onset of health problems.

“I had a lot of breathing difficulties and would sometimes breathe is spasm and jerks. In addition, it’s shallow and I would feel sluggish the whole day. Each breathing jerk gave me jolt of nearing the grave. What if the next breath refused to come in? I loved my husband and my kid son and thirty is a lousy age to die”.

“I was advised by all my friends and relatives to quit smoking and now I knew that the time was too short for procrastination. My husband enrolled me into a yoga course and he too decided to quit so that we both would rehabilitate together and motivate one another”.

“The yoga instructor Deepak was a doll and he puts through the asanas and those by themselves made us physically strong. Doing suryanamaskar at 6 in the morning in the chill climate of Kodai was some effort. He kept insisting the sun salute is ideal to flush out the toxins in the system and he advised both of us do 6 rounds in the afternoon before lunch and another round before dinner”.

“Three months of such disciplined effort, I believed saved my life. Sure, there were was always an urge to smoke but we gritted our teeth. We stopped going to parties and avoid every possible temptation. Even when the hero or someone in the movies playing on television lighted a smoke, there would a desire and an urge; my hubby would switch off the set and pop in a Wrigley”.

“Once you have decided to quit, the first fortnight is the worst with all the withdrawal symptoms: sweaty hands, increased palpitation and an almost all consuming desire for nicotine. After the first week, it gets easier”.

“As we got deeper into yoga and pranayama and meditations, we knew that we don’t need an artificial stimulation for the nerves especially when it comes at such a cost”.

Now our son can grow in a healthy environment and we have resolved to be better role models.