Health is Wealth

We all exercise for the benefit of our health. Good health means a better disease free life. But it is extremely important to know and understand what good health is. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as completeness. Completeness means not only absence of disease but a complete physical, mental and social health. We often feel we are healthy just because we don’t have any problems or any diseases. But we are healthy only if we are free from any physical, mental and social risk factors of development of any disease.

We all often feel, why should we think or know of this information. Health is the rule of nature. We all are made & adapted so as to have maximum efficiency and performance. Our own body is the best of the doctors. It knows how to keep itself optimum. We all health professionals have a social commitment to maintain this optimum fitness in the entire population.

Most of the diseases in today’s world are under the domain of lifestyle diseases and are primarily caused due to wrong lifestyle. Diabetes, Hypertension (High Blood pressure), Obesity, Arthritis, Mental stress, Cancer, Back and neck pain, these all have become routine problems now seen in our daily clinical practice. And the unfortunate fact is these conditions (except cancer maybe) are routinely accepted now as social diseases by everyone extremely casually. But the fact is all these diseases are very much preventable.

Exercise boosts up our fitness and capability. It also boosts our immunity thereby helping us fight all the communicable diseases as well. If every one of us remains fit and healthy, surely the entire society and the country will by healthy and boost the economy of our country on health care costs.

Exercise is the excellent way for an optimal health and excellent life. But what does exercise mean? Many of us have mis-concepts about what exercise is!!! Any physical and mental activity which helps in benefiting our fitness and health can be called as an exercise. This can include simple walking, jogging, swimming, gyming, yoga, meditation, vipassana, satsang or sports. It is any activity which makes us happy, healthy and at peace. Our physical health is multi compartmental. But it is very much dependent on our mental status as well.

Our body and mind needs regular servicing and care. Of these the vital organs which need to be cared are the brain (mind), heart, lungs, abdominal organs (liver, kidney, pancreas etc.), muscles and tissues, bones and joints.

1) Brain: This includes the mind (and soul as well). Stress and un-satisfaction are amongst the prime reasons for diseases of the brain. Along with this, mental instability is also an important contributing factor for mental problems. For mental peace and concentration, meditation and pranayama are said to be very useful. Meditation means going in the empty state of the mind. Rather it is said as going in to know your inner self. It tackles the biggest problem of today’s generation which is lack of focus or concentration. It helps in giving rest to the brain by not having any thoughts in the mind. This help in increasing the functioning and capacity of the brain. Pranayam is also very useful for the functioning of the brain. It not only provides the essential oxygen, which is the food for the brain, but also helps in controlling the sympathetic system activity which is responsible for the stress and its related problems like hypertension etc. and thus helps in giving a healthy life. This includes anulom-vilom, kapalbhati, bhasrika, bhramri, agnisar kriya, ashwini, bahaya pranayama, omkar etc.

2) Heart and Lungs: The exercises which enhance the function of the heart, lungs and their muscles are called as aerobic exercises. These exercises increase the heart beats and the respiration rate by 20 – 30% and are to be done for at least 20-30 minutes. These exercises increase the stamina (Endurance) and reduce fatigue, which means we can work and perform for a longer time without getting tired. Many people have this misconception that daily work and house hold work means exercise. But this leads to exertion and not exercise. Exercise helps in increasing the body functioning and gives us happiness and euphoria. Exercises helps in increasing the body’s natural opiates, beta endorphins and encephalin, which gives us that happy feeling after a fitness session. Fatigue or exertion gives an exact opposite effect. Exercises like running, jogging, swimming, cycling, yoga, Suryanamaskar; Physical education exercises increase our physical functioning and working capabilities.

3) Abdominal Organs: This includes lives, stomach, intestines, pancreas, kidneys, hormones etc. Many diseases exist because of dysfunction of these organs including jaundice, diabetes, constipation, fluid retention etc. A good and healthy diet is extremely important in combination with good exercises for the optimal functioning of these organs. Along with a healthy diet, adequate hydration, calcium and vitamins are also extremely important for our body. Processes like kapalbhati and basti are very useful for functional enhancement of the stomach and abdomen.

4) Muscles, Bones and Joints: The exercises of strength, flexibility and agility contribute to Muscle, Bone and Joint health. Strength means the ability to do any work. This is an important aspect for routine activities like lifting, pushing, pulling etc. Strengthening exercises can be done in the Gym or even in your own home with the right set of equipment. Resisted exercises with weights, dumbbells, exercise bands, Gym balls, squats, lunges, Suryanamaskar etc. can be the exercises for strength training. These types of exercises are called as anaerobic exercises. These types of exercises help to increase our work efficiencies as well as making our muscles strong and bulky.

Flexibility is the ability to take the body into different positions and postures without getting injured. Muscles and joints tend to get stiffened in absence of exercises or with an advancing age. This may lead to strains or sprains or other forms of injuries. Stretching exercises add to the flexibility of our body. Yogasanas take our body into various postures which helps us maintain this movement. Especially aasans like Bhujangasan, Paschimmottanasan, Nautasan, Shalabhasan, Pawanmuktasan, Vajrasan, Tadasan, Virbhadrasan, Gomukhasan, Veerasan, Markatasan, Suryanamaskar etc. are extremely important for improving flexibility.

Agility means skill of performance. It is the ability to react and respond in the shortest time with extreme accuracy. Both strength and flexibility along with a sharp mind are crucial for agility. This also requires being at easy so as to react appropriately in the given situation.

One of the biggest problems we all have is we neither have the time or money nor the space for doing these exercises in this rat race. But truly speaking, exercises really do not require so much of time, money or space. There are many exercises which can be done in a shorter duration and even in small spaces. Our ancestors and monks used to do Suryanamaskars for their health enhancement. Along with such exercises, these monks/sages used to possess inner peace. Even their dietary habits were balanced and their behaviour used to be noble and gentle. The principles of Patanjali preach purity of the mind and the heart. They also say that gentle behaviour, good character and positive thoughts are most important for an optimal health.

Suryanamaskar is a complete body and mind exercise which does not require any much time or space, and definitely does not require any money. Research says that even 12-15 suryanamaskars can be adequate to maintain the level of body fitness in today’s stressful life. Dr. KH Sancheti says that “a simple habit of just moving each and every joint of your body once a day in bed, before you get up for work, is a good exercise for your body. It’s something similar to an airplane pilot who performs all the checks on an airplane before take-off. It’s very important to remember that our body is non-replaceable.”

But our today’s generation is trying to imitate the western culture of life but forgetting the mantra of health and fitness. Along with this, we all are busy in running around to satisfy our needs, then our wants and then our desires. This unknowingly puts a lot of stress on our body and mind and shows us the way of drugs, alcoholism, smoking and other addictions. These have no more remained personal problems but have in fact become social problems. Thus, we all have a moral obligation to prevent such addictions by promotion of health and fitness which takes us away from such unwanted desires.

In today’s world, we require parks and gardens more than malls and shopping complexes. We require fresh air and clean drinking water rather than pollutions and aerated colas and drinks. We all require fitness and health rather than medicines to help pull us every day ahead. We require a beautiful life worth living and enjoying every moments rather than just surviving. We require more commitments towards our own self in order to love and serve our country and humanity.