Anuraadha Tewari: Despite being the land of Yoga, India does not really have a fitness-oriented culture

Writer- Director Anuraadha Tewari says that this World Health Day, everyone must focus on taking care of themselves, not just physically, but mentally as well. She says that gradually that awareness is coming, but we have a long way to go.

“For some reason, though everyone knows that health is wealth, people don’t really end up addressing it, unless something breaks down or something becomes sort of an emergency. I feel India does not really have a fitness-oriented culture and yet, we are the land of Yoga. I think it’s the modern culture that is not integrated into ourselves just yet. However, having said that, post-pandemic specifically with both generation, millennial and Gen Z, I think health is kind of a priority now, and it’s not just physical fitness. Health is as much mental health is what everybody is looking into and I think that is definitely sort of moving up the priority charts,” she says.

Meanwhile, there are some people who overdo fitness regimes and diets. “There are some people who overdo the fitness regime. I just feel, anything that you do in life, must be done with balance. Anything you do is over structured, too much head and very little heart, it is anyway actually going to impact your personality in adverse ways. So, I would just say that find a medium, and do it in a way that you don’t take away pleasure from your being. Don’t deprive yourselves of anything. Make it something that continuously gives you joys, no matter how strict you are with yourself,” she says.

Ask her how she keeps herself healthy. And she says, “Just be in touch with yourself. Make sure that you take stock of yourself both mentally and physically. I think by doing that it takes away half the problem, half the stress.”

She adds, “Instead of going into a sort of binge like trying to go to gym and stopping and suddenly going on a diet and then stopping, do something simple that can integrate into your lifestyle on a daily basis, like brushing your teeth. So, to me, a walk is the best thing to do, no matter where you’re, whether you go to gym or not, just take out time to walk for at least 20 minutes.”

She also adds that one needs to be more realistic. “It’s important to figure out what is right for you. Be far more holistic about it and I would surely recommend the Indian way of thinking, whether it’s Ayurveda or whatever it takes. Be far more holistic and I think the results will be more long lasting and have no side effects,” she says.