Highlights
- Yoga and meditation helped an Adelaide man manage his shock after being diagnosed with major vision loss
- Prior to his diagnosis, Oswaldo Grillet's life in the fast lane did not allow him time to reflect
- The United Nations (UN) has declared June 21 as the International Day of Yoga to promote its benefits on the physical and mental health of humanity
This story is part of the SBS health and wellbeing initiative Mind Your Health. Click to visit the portal, featuring digital stories, podcasts and videos in English and multiple languages.
It is common for many people to 'walk a fine line' between their busy lives and the search for happiness.
But what happens when, in the midst of that struggle, life hits you head-on with a challenge that seems insurmountable?
That was the situation that faced Oswaldo Grillet, a 48-year-old from Venezuela who now works doing what he loves every day of his life after acquiring an acute visual impairment as an adult.
Mr Grillet has developed a condition known as retinal detachment in his right eye and, as a result, has lost more than 50 per cent of his sight.
Oswaldo Grillet finds peace and the ability to switch off his daily concerns while practising yoga.
There are several reasons why a person may develop retinal detachment.
In Mr Grillet's case, he says the trigger was severe myopia, a common vision disorder which he corrected by wearing glasses.
“Normally, an operation can resolve the (retinal detachment) if treated immediately, but I was in a remote location and it took two or three days before I was able to see a real professional,” he recalls.
... in life there is always a before and an after... you must learn to let go when you have to let go...Oswaldo Grillet
Mr Grillet says he was mountain bike riding in a remote part of New Zealand when he noticed a problem in his vision which literally stopped him in his tracks and forced him to seek urgent medical attention.
Oswaldo Grillet used to enjoy mountain bike riding.
He says his condition deteriorated due to the delay in getting to hospital, so when he finally arrived, several days later, the seriousness of his condition had escalated.
He says he spent a year in and out of hospital because of the four surgeries he had to undergo to recover part of the vision in his right eye.
Nowadays, Mr Grillet says his vision remains blurred in that eye, even with glasses, so he has had no other option but to accept that his eyesight “will never return to normal."
However, he insists that the brain has the ability to adapt to any changes.
“Without a doubt, in my life there is a before and after... and you have to learn to let go... and yes, I had to stop doing things I loved, or I had to do them differently and make adjustments," he said.
A new beginning
The toughest period for Mr Grillet was the first few weeks following his diagnosis.
He said he was forced to slow down dramatically and change his lifestyle immediately as he admits that, for years, he was disconnected from his body and mind, and led a busy life, brimming with projects and responsibilities that exhausted his attention and time.
With the partial loss of his vision, he says he was forced to look for paths that allowed him to practice introspection and in that space, he says discovered his priorities and the ways to accept the “changing processes in life”.
... whenever you lose something, a new space is created... it's an opportunity to understand that something new and different is coming.Oswaldo Grillet
Discovering a 'scientific, mystical path'
Mr Grillet says he now pays greater attention to his internal processes and redirects his energy along “a scientific mystical path”, as he describes it, which is based on conventional medicine, crucial to prevent further deterioration of his vision, in combination with the ancient techniques of yoga and meditation that helped him heal his body, mind and soul.
“I'm not talking about something superficial, it's something that takes years of study to gain an understanding of what life is all about... and with those tools (yoga and meditation)... a human being is empowered to see life as it is and not as you think it should be,” he explains.
Mr Grillet is an experienced practitioner of yoga and meditation who began exploring both techniques in Venezuela when he was a teenager, and, years later, he travelled to India where he lived as a monk, studying and practising yoga, devotional music, transcendental meditation and Ayurvedic medicine.
LISTEN TO
La australiana-colombiana que abrió un sendero para mejorar la movilidad en “beneficio de todos” | Ep 1
SBS Spanish
30/07/202215:09
This wealth of knowledge facilitated his path after his diagnosis, and increased his personal awareness to help him find ways to adapt to the new circumstances.
You think you're being productive the more active you are but it turns out that you might be hurting yourself because your stress levels are too high, even if you're doing a sport.
He said yoga and meditation were key to helping him manage his condition, “...because retinal detachment is linked to the nervous system and pressure," which can be exacerbated by stress.
He now maintains an active but healthy life, dividing his time between work as a motivational therapist, social worker and yoga teacher, and composing music, playing the electric guitar in a rock band and writing.
Mr Grillet insists that if done correctly, meditation is a relatively simple practice that has ample benefits.
“For almost 50 years now, science has been scanning the brains of great meditators, and neuroscience is demonstrating (what can be achieved by meditating)."
“Knowing how to meditate helps you perceive life as it is and not as your mental conditioning wants it to be... that's what's important... and if you think about it and decide to consider making it part of your life, you're going to empower yourself, you're going to be at peace, regardless of what is happening in the external world.”
The International Day of Yoga
The United Nations (UN) has declared June 21 as the International Day of Yoga to promote its benefits on the physical and mental health of humanity.
“During the pandemic, there was a growing tendency for people around the world to adopt this practice to stay healthy and rejuvenated and to combat social isolation and depression,” says the UN.
... yoga also played an important role in the psychosocial care and rehabilitation of patients with COVID-19 to alleviate their fears and anxieties.
The essence of yoga is to cultivate determination so that a person can cultivate love for themselves and achieve internal peace, so that they can live in harmony with all that is outside their control.
Yoga can also be defined as a tool for achieving “balance not only physically or between mind and body, but also balance in the relationship humans have with the world”.
“Yoga can be an important instrument in humanity's collective quest to promote sustainable lifestyles in harmony with planet Earth,” highlighted the UN during Yoga Day 2022 which carried the slogan “Yoga for Humanity”.
This story is part of the Speak My Language initiative, funded by the Commonwealth Department of Social Services. SBS Spanish is proud to share this story through its partnership with the Ethnic Communities Council of New South Wales and all states and territories in Australia.
Listen to the story of Oswaldo Grillet in Spanish by clicking on the main image.
