As many of you may know, I have started teaching yoga full time. As I interact with various groups across the socio-economic strata, one thing becomes very clear. Exercising is not a part of our culture…particularly among women. Many come to me and say, “Oh I can’t do yoga because I have neck / back / knee / shoulder pain.” There is also a big category of women who have post-partum pains -because of epidural or cesarean procedure, even years after delivering their babies. Majority of the crowd have no fitness routine and they take absolutely no time to care for and maintain the body.
As someone who is in the wellness space and who has been enthusiastically doing one form of exercise or the other for more than a decade, it really pains me that so many are unnecessarily suffering -both physically and mentally -just because exercise isn’t a part of their routine.
We, as a society, don’t exercise, because it is just not a part of our culture. I know I am repeating myself, because I can’t stress this enough. We don’t see anyone around us exercising. Growing up, we didn’t see our parents taking time out for exercising. And for the ladies, doing housework is considered exercise enough. I have had people tell me, “why are you doing all this? It is enough if you sweep and mop your house. You will be fit.”
It is because of our lack of fitness culture, a huge percentage of our population suffer from lifestyle diseases. Diabetes, Thyroid, PCOD/PCOS, chronic pains, heart diseases and what not. We are ok to pop pills without a blink of the eye. We pay thousands and even lakhs of rupees to the doctor, but we won’t spend it on our fitness. We are ok to complain about our health and use it as a convenient excuse for well, not exercising. See the vicious cycle here?
I have been repeating the below points over and over to various groups at various places. I am sure I will be continuing to do so. I just want to share the same here:
1. Know the difference between activity and exercise:
I give the example of a knife. The “activity” that the knife does is cutting things. The more it cuts, the more blunt it becomes. It has to be sharpened from time to time. Sharpening is the “exercise” for the knife, so that it continues to function effectively . Similarly, the human body does a whole host of activities. Most of the times, it does no activity. To help us live our best lives and to keep the body fit, exercise is important
2. Walking alone is not sufficient:
Walking it a great place to start. It carves out the time for your fitness routine. While walking has many benefits, it is not the silver bullet to cure all ailments or take care of all the fitness needs. Walk 2-3 times a week. On the other days….
3. Strength training is non-negotiable:
Especially for women. I can’t believe that there is still a big taboo about going to the gym. Also, you don’t need to go to gym to strength train.
- Being able to go to the gym is the best, ideal situation. If not, start doing body weight exercise -squats, lunges, planks, leg lifts etc.
- For keeping the muscles strong, for maintaining bone density, to maintain a full range of mobility, strength training is the key.
- For all those who complain of knee pain, back pain and other chronic pains, diabetes, thyroid etc, start strengthening your muscles. Invest in a good trainer who can safely guide you. You will save a lot of money on doctor visits, tests and tablets.
- Strong core and strong muscles are essential to have a pain free body. Stop treating the symptoms and start exercising
4. Stop giving excuses. Prioritize your health:
We are very good at giving excuses – I am too busy, my work is very demanding, kids take up all my time, I have never exercised before, I do all the housework, I am too tired to exercise, I don’t know where to start, I don’t like exercising, I am in too much pain, I am very weak, I have knee pain, back pain, this pain that pain… Enough! Stop giving excuses. Exercising now will ensure that we don’t suffer in our old age. Exercising now will save us a whole host of pain. Please do yourself a favour and stop giving excuses. Whatever reason you may give, know that it is just an excuse. Nothing is more important than your health
5. Exercising doesn’t take much time:
Just 20-30 minutes per day, 5 days a week is sufficient. No need to spend hours and hours on this. Short, intense and effective exercising is the key. Don’t let time be a constraint. We CAN carve out 20 minutes for sure…no matter how busy we are. Prioritize exercising.
6. You are never too old / too sick / too much in pain to start exercising:
Whatever be your current physical condition, it is never a good enough excuse to start exercising. start where you are, do what you can. Regular exercising will help you manage the pain better… even better than pain killers. Exercises can be modified to suit your condition. You can work with whatever limitations you have. All you need to do is….
7. Take help of a qualified trainer:
If you are a beginner, chances are, you may not be in tune with your body. Invest in a good trainer and learn the basics from the trainer. This will ensure that you don’t injure yourself. A trainer can give you a customized program based on your current fitness level. S/he will also hold you accountable for doing the workout, till you start holding yourself accountable. Don’t be a miser and invest in your fitness. Nothing will give you better results.
8. Benefits beyond the body:
Apart from just strengthening, the benefits of exercising are a lot more than just physical good health. Hormonal balance, mental clarity, over all well being, intuitive and clean eating, better sleep…. the positive impact of 20-30 minutes of exercise extends into all facets of your life.
So please do yourself a favour. Show your body some kindness. Take care of it. This body works so tirelessly for your enjoyment. Don’t neglect it. Show some love by exercising. It will incredibly improve your quality of life. It may initially be difficult, but once it becomes a habit, I promise that you will look forward to it. Stop procrastinating. Stop giving excuses. Take charge of your health. Please!