The Young + The Middle-Aged + The Old = A Fun Yoga Session

I used to work out. As in, crazy-lifting, 60kg squats, 50kg bench presses, and move-if-you’re-not-using-that-bench kind of work out. My friends thought I became a monster because I raged a lot. I was a man trapped in a female’s body for a near three months when I stopped going to the gym because I became lazy and I made too many excuses to not go anymore. But the unexpected happened when I made my first trip to the home for the aged in Miri, because nobody told me there was going to be a Tai Chi session or I would’ve put on my best pair of gym clothes and started swinging my limbs around like a deranged person to get that motivation back!

The trip to the Home for the Aged Miri occurred in mid November last year, right after the finals. So you can pretty much imagine how happy I was starting off my internship with a meaningful trip! We brought along 20 children under the “After School Project” Program (ASP) founded by the Interhill Group and we were also joined by our fabulous lecturer, Dr. Kamala and a volunteer mentor, Johanna. Basically, the aim of trip was to instill civic behavior amongst our ASP kids, additionally educate them about respecting the elderly and always have a place in their hearts for their elders, which I think is extremely important to encourage within the young minds today. As soon as we arrived, we were pleasantly welcomed by the residents and caretakers, which followed by a short tour of the place. I don’t really feel comfortable about sharing the details of the residents but you can imagine how heartbreaking some of their stories are.

To distract you and myself from over thinking, here are some pictures of the tour so you guys have a decent idea of the place. There is a certain calmness in the area and it’s really nice and clean too! J

Afterwards, we gathered around the common room and you guessed it! The yoga/tai chi lesson commenced without me because I was wearing an office skirt and some long-sleeved top. What? I could still join the session if I wanted to? Nope. I would smell like Pumba, sweat like a beast in my formals, and probably cause some people to pass out. Instead, I took on the role of the photographer of the day. Enjoy!

Before we left, we managed to do some cleaning up activities around the compound of the home. I was genuinely surprised at how enthusiastic and helpful the children were!

All in all, it was a productive day. Personally, I think that you don’t need to be monetarily well-off to get started. The most basic and simple thing to do is volunteering, which would only require your energy and time. But most importantly, do in with a sincere mind and heart; don’t expect anything in return and the satisfaction of making a small change in the world or even in someone’s life is indescribable.

My next task was to write up a media release about it with a message to the public to incorporate any form of civic behavior in their daily routine. My first published media release with the Interhill Group! The feeling of seeing your written material in the news – priceless!

That’s all from me for now, folks!

Til then,

Sarah Sabri, Curtin Sarawak.