Book and media are bombarding the lay public with information regarding various methods of keeping fit. A common man is confused, as to which path to follow: the internet has added further information and confusion. From, “method of fitness” it has been converted to either “fads of fitness” or “business of fitness”.
My advice is “follow the middle path”. Too much of
exercise can cause fatigue in the muscles and ligaments. It can cause fatigue, fractures in bones, arthritis in weight bearing joints, degenerative change in the spine.
Too little or no exercise will lead to obesity, stiffness in various joints of the body including spine, dullness and lack of enthusiasm for any work. Obesity can further lead to hypertension and heart attacks.
Moderate degree of
exercise is the secret of happy life along with moderate amount of food intake. So the question arises which type of exercises one should do? The answer to that is very much related to one’s age, profession and the amount of time one can afford for this activity.
I am aiming at the average professional or a retired person who finds need to shake off the stress and strain of life by
keeping fit. Human body is a wonderful piece of machinery which puts out tremendous amount of mental and physical work but the body itself needs energy through food, exercises and relaxation. I will limit myself to the exercise part. Yoga is unique in the sense that it do affect slowly – deliberately to stretch the innumerable muscles and ligaments related or attached to various joints of the body and are very useful at any age. But one word of caution, do not try to do any exercise which one thinks is beyond his capacity. Next is
walking, if you can afford time or tread mill exercise is good. Light sports e.g., tennis, badminton for pleasure rather than serious competition. Last but not the least is the posture and adopts while sitting in a chair, the type of bed, one sleeps at night and the type of pillow one takes has a great bearing in preventing neck pain and back pain. Avoid long periods of squatting on the ground particularly cross leg sitting to avoid arthritis in knee joints.
For good health one needs a moderate degree of sleep,
exercise and moderate amount of food along with some degree of relaxation one can indulge in for example music, reading, painting etc.
