Every time I read this“saying”, I find it so very relevant to our species. What better day than today, to emphasize this, for I truly feel that across all generations, women have always put themselves last! Be it our great- grandmothers, aunts, mothers, sisters, daughters, nieces, friends, maids. You name them(it), each and every woman at some point in her life has neglected herself and her health and prioritize their loved ones ahead of them in some form or other. I see most of you seconding this. So, I do believe that “Now is the time to Rise!”

Today’s ever-changing environment is grueling, demanding and not to forget extremely fast paced. Work family and social commitments leavewomen with absolutely no “personal” or “me” time at disposal. Lifestyle changes, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise or even adapting to new lifestyles, are all taking a toll on women’s health. Multi tasking is ‘in’, though it does leave women with a lot of mental and physical scars, one of the most common seen mental scar is “chronic stress” which manifests itself into a worrying physical scar.

Stress is the root cause of most ailments seen in today’s modern society. Be it migraine, depression, high blood pressure, hormonal imbalance, mental imbalance, anxiety disorders, cardiovascular diseases, fertility issues, menopause, memory loss, diabetes, cholesterol, all point to nothing but“stress” in some form or the other. Stress affects our health, without us even realizing it.

What better way to fight it, than by having a regular fitness regime? Exercising is one of the most effective ways to not only improve physical health, but also mental health. Regular exercise can have a profound effect on a woman’s lifestyle and well being. Exercise regulates blood flow, rectifies hormonal imbalance, promotes release of good chemicals(endorphins) from our brain, which reduces anxiety and depression and the benefits that a body would derive from it. Aerobics is very popular with young girls, since its fast paced and pumps you with a lot of energy, lowers cholesterol, improves immune function, burns up calories, which in turn helps in shedding excess weight; these are just a few benefits to name.

Strength training is one of the most important and essential form of fitnessfor women. Women in the pre-menopausal and menopausal age,lose a lot of muscle strength, there is decrease in bone density with high incidence of osteoporosis, there is also a decrease in metabolic rate, not to mention the umpteen mood swings and hot flashes that a woman has to go through on a daily basis. This is where physical training intervenes and regular weight training helps in :

• regaining lost muscle strength,
• increases bone density
• increasesmetabolic rate
• burns more calories
• enhances mood
• reduces stress levels.
• Physically stronger
• Reduce risk of injury, back pain & arthrities

Yoga is another very important form of fitness fortoday’s superwoman. Recommended by doctors& fitness proffessionalsaround the world for women of all ages. The benefits of yoga for women are substantial and astounding. Yoga is a blessing for women for it believes in holistic healing i.e.healing of the mind and the body. That is precisely why today’s women should make it a part of their day to day busy and chaotic lives. I can go on and on about benefits of Yoga, here are just a few to start with:

• Improves spine health
• builds muscle strength
• improves posture
• boosts immunity
• clears your skin
• tones your body
• increases blood flow
• drops your blood pressure
• improves balance
• it heals aches and pains and keeps sickness at bay

The latest entrant in the field of fitness is “AntiGravity” or “Aerial yoga”. Apart from being a major stress buster, it has been showing some impressive physical and mental benefits for women such as:

• Total body workout
• Decompresses tight joints
• Strengthens your core
• Clears your skin
• Regulates your hormones
• Helps with insomnia
• Increase flexibility

If you have the determination and the drive, nothing can stop you from rising and succeeding, so do yourself a favor today and take an hour from your daily schedule and devote it to fitness. Fitness of any form at any time of the day or night. Be it Yoga, Pilates, Tai chi, strength training or a very basic, walk in the garden will also do the magic!

“It’s never too early or too late to work towards being the healthiest you”
So Rise and Shine in good Health!