Author - Vishav Dhiman (Fitness enthusiast) Age Is Just a Number Ask yourself how many sunsets have you seen, how many hearts have you won, how many trips have you gone on or places you have been to; that is how young you are. Life is a journey, RUKNA NAHI BAS CHALTE JAANA HAIN Change in a situation is another way to move on and explore new strengths and skills within you and enrich your treasure of experiences. LOCKDOWN, a state of social (or physical) distancing, is the most effective way to fight against CORONA, a deadly virus, which began in Wuhan, China and has spread all over the world. Situations have changed worldwide and everyone is compelled to stay home to be safe. Though everything around us is closed, life has to roll on at its best. Nature is at its best as there is no pollution, birds are floating in the clear and clean sky. I, like all of you, have been confined to my home having no social or outdoor activities like cycling, running etc; activities I cherish the most. Therefore, I have started free virtual YOGA sessions to share my experience with others. I have been a PAINTER for many years but lost touch due to the everyday grind of life, however I am utilizing this time to go back to painting and have started painting a portrait of BUDDHA '“ an image of peace & positivity. Though I miss my cycling routine but there is no regret as it was the call of the time and therefore I indulged myself in painting and Yoga and other in-house activities. Before December 2014, cycling was not even in my dreams but as a result of change in the situation and health, I chose cycling as my life style. It started with arthritis and acute knee pain followed by back pain. As per doctors, it was just age related (I was 62 years) which had been aggravated because of some kind of injury and if I did not stop or minimize my physical activities like brisk walks, I should be ready to get my knee replaced in the coming 2-3 years. My mind was not able to accept this as I was leading a much disciplined (Yogic) life. Anyways, after medication for few months, I joined a nearby gym for strengthening the muscles around my knees. My son literally forced me to do it as before this incident, I had never been to a gym. A few months later, when we, my husband and I, were in USA, my son encouraged me to ride the bicycle, but it was no easy task as I was trying it after more than 45 years. After coming back home, we both got our first bicycle in December 2015 and started our cycling routine covering only 500 meters. Slow and steady, we kept increasing the distances we rode and started exploring the surrounding areas of Doon. It was not just sightseeing by cycling that interested me, but also a journey to explore myself too. The long rides taught me that NO ONE KNOWS WHAT ONE CAN DO UNTIL ONE TRIES. You just must put your 100% and the rest will be taken care of by itself. While riding from MANALI to KHARDUNGLA (18380ft), highest motorable road in the world I learnt that summits are conquered in the mind (mental strength) first, and then by legs (physical strength). Till date, both of us have explored most part of UTTRAKHAND HILLS, HIMACHAL PRADESH, MANALI to LEH LADAKH KHARDUNGLA, ARUNACHAL PRADESH up to CHINA BORDER and recently KASHMIR to KANIYAKUMARI (we reached PUNE on 11th day) by riding 200-250 kms a day on our bicycles. Every moment of these trips gave us a chance to experience and to explore the diversity of our own country and our inner strengths. From the day we started cycling, both of us have participated in every Cyclothons' rallies, expeditions and cycle races, including 76 kms MTB DHANAULTI ride. We won many trophies and medals, not only in DEHRADUN but in NANITAL, CHANDIGARH, PAUNTA SAHIB (Himachal Pradesh) and in AMBALA (Haryana). The daily practice of nearly 400-500 kms cycling has changed my life. Surprisingly, the person who was advised by doctors to wear back brace since 2004 (after my back injury), started taking part in half marathons and 100 metre and 200 metre events without any kneecaps and back braces. August 11, 2019 is the day when we participated in The 6 HOURS STADIUM RUN in Dehradun and finished it by completing 87 loops. It was a great feeling to complete it, as a few months before in October 2018, I met with an accident while riding and broke my left collarbone and two ribs after which I started suffering from vertigo. As per the doctor, surgery was not advisable. He tried to put the bone back in its place and told me to wait for it to heal. It was really painful but during this tough time too, I kept practicing pranayama and came out mentally stronger to hit the 6 hour stadium run. This passion for YOG was inbuilt in me from a very young age as one of the ways to come out from my periodically occurring illnesses like bronchitis, allergies, asthma, migraines, a number of accidents, surgeries, arthritis, vertigo, back pain and fevers. Anti allergic medicine, inhaler, injections, back braces and knee caps had been become a part of my life which kept going like a roller coaster. In 1984, I lost my young sister and her two daughters. I was emotionally broken. My father advised me to take up some job like teaching which did help me to some extent to come out of this situation. But then, I was affected with vocal code infections. I was not even able to speak to my students. I left teaching and started an informal boutique which was enough to keep me occupied and away from all mental and emotional effects. I started giving more time to pranayama though I did not know how to do it properly. But I just kept on practicing. It was improving both my physical and mental being but at that point in time I was not able to recognize it. In 2003, I did Yog course at Patanjali which helped me to reduce my bronchitis & skin allergies. Whenever my condition worsened, I went in for medical care along with practice of Yog, especially pranayama, and made myself independent of inhaler, anti allergies medicines, kneecap and back brace. In 2015-17, I pursued masters in YOG, not for any degree but for better knowledge of Yog. Now, even trekking too is not an impossible task for me. Over the past few years, we have done the KEDARKANATH TREK in January 2017, GANGOTRI CYCLING and GOMUKH TREK in 2018, BHADRAJ trek, TOPTIBBA, VALLEY of FLOWERS, HEMKUND, VASUDHARA water falls in August 2019 One of the things life taught me is that whatever the circumstances, life always gives you another chance to win. It is never too late to chase your dreams. You only have to give your 100% efforts. Nature has given us the power to convert any challenging situation into an opportunity and try to get the best out of worst. It is challenging but accept gratefully what nature/God has given and try to make the best out of it. But the regular practice of Yog, specially pranayama, does help you make your comeback stronger to meet the challenges of life which is a continuous journey of sunrises and sunsets.