Stay Healthy, Stay Happy
A column by Anoushka Shankar in today's paper caught my attention. It's refreshing as she writes about this mad obsession about being size zero or minus or whatever that is ruling our minds today. Of late I have noticed most people are only talking about how one looks is of utmost importance. But who defines what is the right size for a woman to be? Of course in case of India Bollywood dictates all thing vain and glamorous. So it becomes increasingly important for women to covet the size of the leading actresses and nothing else can make you happy enough if you are not the right size.
The fashion glitterati and the society pages are filled with images to sell all products which will guarantee one's self esteem via vanity. India's recent economic boom has brought in this new sub-culture of mall fashion. You walk in these air conditioned buildings and live in the beauty bubble. What happened in America in 1960s and 70s is happening to India today. We are overwhelmed with exhibitionist culture. "If you have got it flaunt it" is taken indeed very seriously. But if you have - not then aspire for the unattainable at all cost. So size zero is your only goal not staying healthy or happy. Anoushka mentions "Is it essential for your happiness to tear muscles and damage knee caps by running miles and miles on the tread mill?...I am sick and tired of women around me fighting with their bodies and being in competition with some unreachable goal. Men too." The definition of staying healthy and being happy has taken the route of glossies in our imagination. That is incredibly sad. A photo shoot and air brushing outputs rule our minds today. As if regular big city blues were not enough we add this extra burden on ourselves and spend endless hours at beauty salons and spas.
Few years back I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. The doctor advised me to make some life changes. Honestly they seemed very hard for me and I ignored his good advice. In the highly stressful lives that we lead in any big city today world wide all life style adjustments are difficult to make I said to myself and went on with my life. Anyways it turned out most of my friends around me were already taking medicines to keep this malady under control. What the heck! I said to myself and carried on. Then suddenly following this diagnosis within six months my mother suffered a stroke. This event opened my eyes to a great extent. For the first time in my life I started to lose weight sincerely to keep all maladies away, to stay healthy was my only objective. And it has paid more dividends, although I still am large size woman but am a very happy person as I have no ailments and am not on any regular prescription drugs.
Life is more than just looking the part I believe. Living it and enjoying it with your loved ones makes it rounded and beautiful not size x, y, z. So people take a break from the glossy world and stay healthy, stay happy!
Have a great weekend.
The fashion glitterati and the society pages are filled with images to sell all products which will guarantee one's self esteem via vanity. India's recent economic boom has brought in this new sub-culture of mall fashion. You walk in these air conditioned buildings and live in the beauty bubble. What happened in America in 1960s and 70s is happening to India today. We are overwhelmed with exhibitionist culture. "If you have got it flaunt it" is taken indeed very seriously. But if you have - not then aspire for the unattainable at all cost. So size zero is your only goal not staying healthy or happy. Anoushka mentions "Is it essential for your happiness to tear muscles and damage knee caps by running miles and miles on the tread mill?...I am sick and tired of women around me fighting with their bodies and being in competition with some unreachable goal. Men too." The definition of staying healthy and being happy has taken the route of glossies in our imagination. That is incredibly sad. A photo shoot and air brushing outputs rule our minds today. As if regular big city blues were not enough we add this extra burden on ourselves and spend endless hours at beauty salons and spas.
Few years back I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. The doctor advised me to make some life changes. Honestly they seemed very hard for me and I ignored his good advice. In the highly stressful lives that we lead in any big city today world wide all life style adjustments are difficult to make I said to myself and went on with my life. Anyways it turned out most of my friends around me were already taking medicines to keep this malady under control. What the heck! I said to myself and carried on. Then suddenly following this diagnosis within six months my mother suffered a stroke. This event opened my eyes to a great extent. For the first time in my life I started to lose weight sincerely to keep all maladies away, to stay healthy was my only objective. And it has paid more dividends, although I still am large size woman but am a very happy person as I have no ailments and am not on any regular prescription drugs.
Life is more than just looking the part I believe. Living it and enjoying it with your loved ones makes it rounded and beautiful not size x, y, z. So people take a break from the glossy world and stay healthy, stay happy!
Have a great weekend.
Comments
As a Sitar player, she is at best a wee bit above average. Hopefully she is a better columnist.
> "If you have got it flaunt it"
What really matters is do you like your own body. And if you don't what are you doing about it? Changing your likings, or changing your body? If it is the latter, how?
> extra burden on ourselves and
> spend endless hours at
> beauty salons and spas.
There are other ways of looking young, but for anything, you'll *have* to spend time.
> I was diagnosed with high blood
> pressure.
Hopefully exercise and a good balanced diet (why do people say they are on a diet when they are not eating anything. absurd) is a part of your lifestyle. Physical activity and a diet which encompasses variety is they key to good health. Eat everything, in large quantities, and then burn them out. Thats what our granddads and grandmoms did, and they almost never had to call sick to school.
Maybe a clarification will help.
> wee bit above average
Well, that was sarcastic, but my perspective of things is that she is just a bit above average when it comes to playing the Sitar (not that I know how to play the Sitar, but then we do say that some singer is better than another, don't we). She got all the limelight because
1. She is pretty
2. She is the daughter of a great Sitar player.
I feel that Ravi Shankar's musical talent was inherited by his other daughter. Thats what I honestly feel, and put through to you candidly.
> There are other ways of looking young
Start exercising, it will take time, yes, so finding it is a good start - talking about commitment. (I don't know if you exercise or not, but I did not assume you didn't.)
> on a diet when they are not eating
I don't know if you knew this or not. If you go on a diet of starving yourself, you lose valuable muscle mass. That affects your metabolic rate. The moment you are off your so called diet, you gain weight twice as fast. (Talk about sarcasm - this is the way your body is sarcastic).
And speaking etymologically, I do find the word diet rather ambivalent, to put it mildly.
You won't lose a reader :)
> What really matters is do you
> like your own body. And if you
> don't what are you doing about it?
> Changing your likings, or
> changing your body? If it
> is the latter, how?
It is important to like your own body. I honestly feel that. A little bit of narcissism isn't all that bad. In fact any athlete, any body-builder, any boxer or any judoka will be a tiny bit narcissistic. This narcissism is not to be equated with flaunting of one's body, but this is the first step to having a healthy body.
I also believe it is OK to be completely satisfied with one's body. I know a lot of people who are, and there is nothing wrong in it (as long as they take care of their health).
Not being satisfied with one's body is the essence of the olympic motto - citius, altius, fortius. Not being satisfied with one's body and its limits. That is what pushes some people to do things.
Not being satisfied with one's body is OK. Wanting to shed a few pounds is OK. But taking the easy way out - cutting down on food - artificially changing the body's mechanism by means fat-burners or nicotine - is certainly not OK.
Wanting to put on a few pounds is also OK. However, steriods are definitely not the way.