|
Among the
middle class population in India, hard work is
anathema. Sport is reduced to watching cricket
on TV. All physical activities were lost when we
left school. The running, the playing football,
or cricket, or basketball etc were dropped the
day we graduated and were introduced to life we
had not experienced before.
As you enter the next stage of life a man and
women mature into multiple roles they perform
concurrently. For the woman: as a daughter, as a
wife, as a mother, as a homemaker, as a member
of the immediate community. For the man: bread
winner, provider of security for the household,
father, son, husband, a member of the immediate
community.
However, the people get so enmeshed in their new
roles that they lose the sense of being
themselves. Of what they were and the different
roles the society thrust on them. In this trying
to keep up with the demands of the various
roles, the health of the individual is the first
to be affected. We are left with no time to do
anything other than fulfilling the
multitude of tasks. Or so we say.
All the activities that we did when we were in
full time education get lost. And most of us
completely stop doing things that we used to do.
One of them being the pursuit of outdoor
activities. If I am raising this here in this
forum, I am not advocating relinquishing of any
or all of the other roles we perform, but what I
am suggesting is to look at the benefits of more
physical activities and actually doing them and
incorporating them into the roles that have
already been set.
I have lived in the UK for a few years and have
realised the importance of community based
activities, which are fun for the family and
also great source of exercise and excitement for
the participants. Most cities have running clubs
where people join up and do weekend runs. We do
not need skills to run. Most of us know how to
run. So instead of getting up late
on a Sunday morning, put a 10 KM run or a 5 KM
walk below your belt before 9 AM and you are set
for the day. Nobody will notice you were away.
Your kids will be getting ready to get out of
bed by 9. Your spouse would have just got up a
few minutes ago. And you will feel a lot better.
Most cities or localities in the UK organise a
race every year. A 10 KM or a half marathon or a
full marathon. These are fun activities. The
whole community turns up for a day of fun as
runners or for cheering up the runners. Cities
or community organisations can and should do
activities like this.
Running is not the only thing you can do. When
you go shopping, do not take your car or
scooter. Walk to the shops. Take your children
or spouse with you. Soon you will start finding
the benefits. You will be able to walk longer.
Your pot belly will start coming down. The belt
notches that had not been used since you were 30
are being used again.
Indian food can be quite rich. Indian sweets can
be very addictive. Middle class life style can
be very sedentary. Add all three and what do you
get. A potent mixture of a disease centred later
half of the life. More than your fair share of
visits to the doctor. Diabetes, cholesterol,
heart disease…. I am not a medical professional
to list all the diseases all this can accrue,
but I am trying to suggest is to do something to
come out of the sedentary lives that we lead.
The more you use your body now, the less your
body will use your money when you are older.
|
Comments: |
I am
in total agreement with the views
expressed by Mr. Sinha.
In today's times, people are leading
a very unhealthy lifestyle.
Inadequate sleep, eating disorder,
lack of proper regular exercise,
increasing rate of obesity and other
health diseases, shooting stress
levels are some of the facts, that
define the contemporary world's
lifestyle. It can be said that in
the present era, human beings have
got so engrossed in earning money,
that they have virtually stopped
paying attention to their physical
and mental fitness.
People don't realize the fact that
money cannot buy them happiness.
There is a saying that "if wealth is
lost, something is lost, but if
health is lost, everything is lost."
So, its high time, we start giving
importance to our health and make a
constant effort to work towards
maintaining our all round fitness.
There are distinctive types of
workout that one can perform in
order to keep fit, but one exercise
that is suitable for all age groups
is brisk walking.
It helps to fight against stress, by
providing complete relaxation to
your mind. It protects you from the
clutches of diseases like
osteoporosis, colon cancer,
constipation etc. It increases the
longevity of your life, by
maintaining your fitness. It helps
in reducing the problem of
depression, thus enabling you to
derive mental peace. It relieves you
from backache trouble and also acts
as a great remedy for arthritis
problem. It helps in increasing your
flexibility, by strengthening your
muscles, bones and joints, thereby
toning your body. It ensures that
you have a proper sleep at night.
Walking is the most underrated
exercise and yet one of the most
effective; the best starting point
if you haven't moved properly in
ages. One of the easiest and safest
ways to get and keep fit is a brisk
walk of 20 minutes three times
weekly. Studies have shown that
regular brisk walking can lower
cholesterol levels, stimulate
circulation, strengthen the heart,
help control weight, reduce high
blood pressure, stress and
depression, prevent osteoporosis,
and develop strength, stamina and
endurance. New research also
suggests walking is the best
exercise for the brain, as it
doesn't call on blood sugar for
energy like aerobic exercise. As the
brain is nourished by blood sugar,
it much prefers a brisk walk to an
aerobic class.
Any walking is better for health.
But, brisk walking is the best.
Brisk walking is better because the
heart reaches its natural training
zone when it has to work a little
harder than normal. But, if you are
unfit or have taken very little
exercise recently, then gentle
strolling is a good start. It is
much better to start slowly and
build up to walking faster rather
than overdoing things at the
beginning itself.
Walking will melt away the pounds,
tone your flabby bits and leave you
on an emotional high. Yet the form
of exercise destined to become the
fitness trend of 2007 does not
require gym membership or a personal
trainer. All you need to do is walk.
"It is free, enjoyable and already a
part of everyday life. All you need
to do is correct your technique,
walk faster and for longer and you
will lose weight."
There is much evidence of the
benefits of walking. Scientists at
the University of Pittsburgh
recently revealed that overweight
people who walked briskly for 30 to
60 minutes a day lost weight even if
they didn't change any other
lifestyle habits.Another American
study found that people who walked
for at least four hours a week
gained less weight (an average nine
pounds less) than couch potatoes as
they got older. Last year,
researchers at the University of
Colorado found that regular walking
helped to prevent peripheral artery
disease (which impairs blood flow in
the legs and causes leg pain in
one-fifth of the elderly people). -
Waris Shere - May 2, 2008 |
|
By sending comments to
PatnaDaily.Com, you agree to the
conditions listed
here. |
Return to previous Page |
