Yesterday, I received a call from a friend asking me to visit his home as he needed a checkup. As I entered, the cold air-conditioned room greeted me. “Let’s have tea first, and then we will talk”, he said. As I began walking towards the kitchen, he immediately said, “We don’t need to go too far. I will order the tea from here.” He pressed the bell nearby and soon the tea arrived. He proudly declared while sipping his tea that he is so busy these days that he doesn’t even move out of his chair. His newly purchased air-conditioned car was adding more praise to this talk. He even finished a couple of tasks while talking to me. In the meantime, he received confirmation about the delivery of daily essentials that he had ordered from the store behind his house. I was observing all this silently. “Did you see how I operate from one place?” he asked, proudly. After hearing this and watching the entire scenario, I did not need to check him up at all. I told him, “You have digestion problems, and you regularly deal with issues like gas. Also, you are putting on a lot of weight. That’s why you feel tired on climbing just four stairs. Your Cholesterol and blood sugar levels may be gone up.”
My friend was shocked to hear me say all this, even without a checkup. He had, in fact, called me to address these exact complaints. Friends, I think this friend of mine represents all of us. Due to a lot of facilities at our disposal, physical exertion has been totally left out of our lives. Hence, many lifestyle disease such as Diabetes, Obesity, Digestion disorders, Cholesterol and Joint pain crop up easily. Therefore, we are going to discuss an important part of our Dinacharya(daily routine) i.e. Exercise, for the timely prevention of these kinds of diseases.
In the old books of Ayurveda, the term ‘Exercise’ is defined as ‘the work that will cause physical exertion.” There are numerous benefits of physical exertion. The body feels lighter after exercising. There is no better medicine than exercise which helps to reduce fats getting deposited in the body. The increased fats cause problems like fatigue, dullness and weight gain. We also experience knee pain due to this extra weight. It also increases the possibility of contracting diseases like Diabetes, increased Blood pressure and increased cholesterol. Exercise helps to maintain our body weight. Naturally, the possibility of contracting such diseases is avoided.
Exercise strengthens the muscles in the body. It also helps to maintain the natural flexibility of the muscles. The muscles get toned, which in turn helps to increase our strength. Exercise also increases our capacity to tolerate hard work. It not only helps to endure hard work but also protects our body against various external environmental factors such as the sun, cold, wind, rain, etc. Exercise helps to improve blood circulation in the body. There is adequate blood circulation and supply to all parts of the body. This keeps them in good health, thereby maintaining the good health of the body.
Exercise has a favorable effect on our digestive power. The exertion caused by exercise demands more food. Naturally, we feel hungrier after exercise. As a result, we consume more food, which is digested properly. This leads to the better nourishment of the body. Exercise keeps us away from complaints like indigestion and gas.
The health of our body and mind are dependent on each other. The strength we get from exercise also strengthens our mind. Exercise also makes us feel lighter, which energizes and inspires our minds. In our fast-paced world, “survival of the fittest” has become the rule. In such a situation, exercise helps to keep the both our body and mind fit.
Dr Mayuresh Aagte
Note : Please use all of the foods/medicines mentioned in this article after consulting with your doctor and taking into account your age and health.