It was 10:00 pm night, I just finish my Fb Live session. After posting the live video, I just scrolled my WhatsApp messages and my eyes got fixed to a message from an unknown number. I opened the message that read- “Hi, I am Pinky (Name Changed). I am a mother of two kids. I happened to come across your videos and found them very helpful as you spoke about women’s health and holistic fitness. Thanks for sharing. I am a working woman. Being at home due to corona lockdown, I am feeling helpless with the mountain of office work as well as household chores to take care of. It’s taking a toll on my physical as well as mental health to some extent. However, I would like to mention that before lockdown also I was facing a lot of health issues such as stress, migraine, PCOD, anxiety, depression. I know that I need to work on my lifestyle. I tried also but due to other priorities and commitments, I gave up.
I really look up to you to guide me and help me to come out of this situation. Please help..!!
I could very well resonate with Pinky’s message. This was ME… sometime back. By the grace of God, universe & working on myself with Nirvana Fitness(I always say that I owe it to Nirvana), I could transform myself and improved my physical, mental and emotional health.
I felt a huge urge to connect to all the women who are struggling with their health and fitness issues. So just thought of sharing my views as well as health and wellness tips for women.
Women’s Health & Fitness Challenges :
“It’s been a week, I am having nausea, fever and headache. I took medicines also. Hope I should be fine”.
A doctor’s appointment can be canceled because of a friend’s visit, parent-teacher meeting of kids, or so-called an important weekend outing to finish household chores and purchasing.
Above are the few examples of how much priority we give to women’s health.
It has been an irony that in our country where we worship various Goddess Maa Durga, Maa Lakshmi, Maa Saraswati and so on, the women’s health issues have never been given due attention by anyone, be it families, societies or the woman herself. Since ages, our grandmothers, moms, aunts as well as we, ourselves have a lacklustre attitude towards women’s wellness and fitness.
Gender inequality perception as well as low self-worth are few of the challenges, that keep women wellness issues aside.
The biggest challenge is the challenge posed by the woman herself. Firstly, women need to give due priority to themselves and take charge of their fitness and wellness.
Why women’s health is important?
Women are the center of their families. They are the multitasker and handle all the responsibilities of being a mother, wife, daughter, daughter in law, working professional or homemaker efficiently. At the home front, the role of a woman is irreplaceable. They run the household chores skilfully. Being the focal point of the family, their energies mould the kids as well as set the ambiance of the house.
A happy and healthy woman radiates the positive vibes around, which is powerful to bring positive changes into her family and society.
Thus to ensure a healthy mind and body, women need to take good care of their health and access the health care system without negligence.
Biologically also, women under go various faces of life cycle (menstrual, child birth, menopause). In the absence of proper heath care system and health advice by the health expert, women tend to develop lot of health issues.
Mental illness, anxiety, depression, heavy bleeding, cardiovascular diseases, obesity after childbirth, cluttered mind, diabetes, shallow breathing issues, severe headache, joint pain, and other lifestyle-related issues are some of the health problems that usually women face in due course of their lives.
Here, I share simple Health & WellnessTips for women to Follow:
Tip 1: Give your health & wellness a priority
There is nothing more important than your health. All works and tasks can be handled in due course. Do not overburden yourself so much so that you finally end up being hospitalized or on an operation table because of neglecting health issues.
“Take charge of your holistic fitness NOW.”
Tip 2: Work on your mindset
“I am not good enough.”
“I wonder when I will be fit in my wedding dress?”
“I don’t have time for myself.”
“I don’t have time to work out.”
“I am not able to lose weight though I follow diet and fitness regime.”
“I feel messed up.”
“I feel chocked, I am not able to breathe.”
“I can not give up my morning tea.”
“I can not getup early morning for work out.”
Are you saying any of the above sentences to yourself in your mind? Are they part of your self-talk? It’s common to have such thoughts in mind. These negative thoughts do more harm to us.
“Become aware of your thoughts, replace them with positive intentions.”
Few examples are:
“I love myself and I am perfectly healthy.”
“I feel love for the very process of life itself.”
“I feel love for my body and the way it works.”
“I feel love for the universe and the way it works.”
“I am surrounded by people who encourage me to be healthy.”
“I breathe deeply, exercise regularly and feed only good nutritious food to my body.”
“I love every cell of my body.”
“I am grateful for my healthy body. Peace flows through my body, mind and soul.”
“Every day in every way, I am healthier and stronger.”
“I honour my body by trusting the signals that it sends me.”
“I enjoy the foods that are best for my body. I love every cell of my body.”
“I am surrounded by people who encourage me to be healthy.”
Tip 3: Identify and QUit unhealthy morning habits
Mornings are the best time to bring change in your daily routine to achieve your optimal health.
Did you ever wonder how do you start your day in the morning?
Did you ever think about what bad morning habits you should quit and what good habits you can build to be more healthy, productive and set the tone of your day?
Now take a quick look on below and check:
Do you snooze the alarm button?
Do you check your phone as soon as you get up?
Do you leave your bed unmade?
Do you forget to drink water in order to keep yourself hydrate?
Do you take tea/ coffee in morning?
Do you have lethargic attitude towards fitness?
Do you think that you can not give up unhealthy food habits?
Above are Top 7 Bad morning habits to give up. You can identify the habits that you would like to get rid of. You can gradually work on them, stay focused.
Use morning time wisely and invest in yourself. Value your mornings, be grateful to your mornings.
Tip 4: Identify the healthy habits to include in your daily routine
Few of the healthy habits that I can suggest you are:
1. Take good night sleep ( 7-8 hours, min 6 hours)
A good sleep is very important as it helps our body to be repaired and rejuvenate.
2. Get up early morning:
Start your day with the intention of gratitude and love:
“Smile & look into the mirror and say to yourself, “I feel love, I connect to the abundance of love in the universe.”
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” — Marcus Aurelius
Love and gratitude are powerful intentions. As you practice these intentions, you can see the positive changes in life.
3. Nurture your body & mind with Exercise & Meditation:
A stressed mind not only affect mental health, it also doesn’t allow to reap the benefits of physical fitness. High-stress levels increase the cortisol hormones that slow down the process of weight loss and increase food binging habits.
You can choose various forms of physical fitness such as Yoga, pilates, Tai chi, Nirvana Fitness(the combination of Yoga, Pilates, and Tai chi, breathing techniques, meditative music, and powerful intentions), Zumba fitness, Gym, dance fitness, running, swimming, playing sports such as badminton, lawn tennis and so on.
4. Nurture your body & mind with nutritious food
“You become what you feed to your body and mind.”
There are various aspects related to food such as:
- Origin or source of food
- Nature of food
- How to cook
- When to eat
- How to eat
- How much to eat
A freshly cooked food rich in nutrients, procured from trusted source, prepared and consumed mindfully with positive intentions, in small portions at right time nourish our body and mind both.
STEP 5- Analyze your fitness needs & design your Health & Wellness Plan
Surprised or overwhelmed??
As I ask you to create your own wellness plan?
We all have the power to heal ourselves. We just need to trust ourselves. As you go through the above-mentioned tips, you know yourself better than anyone. With little research, you can plan your diet and workout schedule to start with. Keep a variety of your diet by including the balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Similarly, enjoy various forms of fitness. Create your weekly and monthly health and wellness plan.
Step 6- Stick to your health & wellness plan
Now that your health and fitness plan is ready, stick to your diet and fitness regime. Few points to note:
- Take a 30 days Fitness Challenge.
- Have an accountability partner
- Do give yourself rewards every week after the successful completion of a weekly regime task.
- Assign yourself the consequences, if you are unable to finish the weekly tasks.
- Above all, stay motivated and do not lose your focus.
In short, YOU ARE YOUR OWN BOSS..!
Step 7- Stay consistent and embrace yourself
It may be possible that you may not achieve your fitness goals or stick to your health regime 100%, still stay consistent. Do not get disheartened and just give up.
Remember, “Fitness is a journey, not a destination.”
Yukti Raj Kishore.
Women Wellnesspreneur, Certified Flow Coach & Nirvana Fitness Ambassador
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