Be happy, be healthy

‘Follow a wellness boosting routine’

ABHIJEET DHAR, Director (Sales), CNN International Commercial

‘Holistic wellness is what you do on regular basis’

RITIKA JAYASWAL, CEO & Founder, Nourish Mantra

Wellness to me is multidimensional and is about ‘being well’ in all areas of life. It’s not only about the absence of disease or maladies but also about being actively engaged and making the right choices to consistently ‘be well’ — emotionally, physically, financially, socially, professionally, environmentally and spiritually.

My exercise regime is a blend of the gym, an outdoor sport at least thrice a week — the best way to destress for me — and games with my two dogs. A game of golf helps too. I also do yoga with my wife who’s a yoga therapist. Additionally, I am quite watchful of what I eat and drink, and have a fair idea of my boundaries. I read and love solving crosswords.

I also believe maintaining a work–life balance boils down to discipline, creating a separate space for work to build a physical and mental demarcation, etc. For instance, while working from home, it’s imperative to know when to call it a day and transition from the professional to the personal zone.”

The greatest asset in life is undoubtedly wellness. A few successful business people share tips on how they manage holistic wellness and care for themselves while taking care of everything else. Clearly, finding the right balance is not about hitting the gym or dashing to the jogging track; one needs to have a focus on one’s own self and hit the pause button often.

People often associate the word wellness with a recreational activity, like going on wellness retreats, spas, and the likes. To me, holistic wellness incorporates everything you do to your body, mind and soul — our food, ingredients that we feed our skin, what we consume and the people we spend time with.

Being an entrepreneur is challenging because everything won’t go as you may have planned — especially when working in two different time zones, India and the US. And as I believe adequate sleep is essential to maintain a healthy metabolism, blood circulation and brain activity, the first thing I do to keep myself from exhausting is switching on the DND mode on my phone when I go to bed. Since I was a kid, I’ve loved playing sports and represented my school at the CBSE nationallevel tennis tournament; I’ve kept up with sports from school and college — tennis, volleyball and basketball. Distressing for me is also when I spend time playing with Mustard, my dog. I also meditate regularly for about 20 minutes, which helps declutter and soothe my mind and spirit.

I also take up passion projects, like producing a few short films, which helps refresh me after I switch on my work mode again.”

‘Expressing gratitude creates a positive mind-set’ AGASTYA DALMIA, Director,

Keventers

‘Keep your self-esteem high!’ NELOFAR

CURRIMBHOY, Author & President, Shahnaz Husain Group of Companies

I think we were destined to be the generation to get caught in the web of a virus. For someone who worked 6 days a week to keep a family cosmetic brand ahead of its time, I’ve come to see that this [pandemic] was the time I was given to do everything I was meant to, and that was a very positive feeling. That belief and the ability to seek out its brighter side have been my strongest advantage in dealing with stress.

I find it most relaxing to express my self in writing — poetry, novels or musings — and find an outlet through fictional characters. The joy of experimenting, going where I never had before, led me to make my first documentary. In fact, this has been a time for the most magnificent journey of my life.

My go-to for de-stressing is to exercise in nature, eat light and look good. I keep my self-esteem high and never stop believing that the future is going to be better than today.”

For me, holistic wellness involves a stable work–life balance, time with friends and family and effectively completing my daily chores. It means spiritual, physical and intellectual growth so I can be a positive influence not only on myself but also be an inspiration to others. Towards this, it’s important to live in the present. But we spend so much time on contingency planning and worrying about a negative outcome, we fail to savour the gifts of today. Gratitude for what we have today is an important part of holistic wellness.

A routine helps me maintain work–life balance, starting with an early-morning ritual of sport. Playing a sport not only maintains one’s physical and mental health but also teaches one patience, perseverance and discipline. While I once played tennis professionally, now I play it to destress. Pranayama also helps me centre my mind. I also do things I like, without sacrificing my interests and hobbies to workload.

“Honestly, I don’t agree that putting in 14–16 hours a day is the only route to success. I believe the best way to tackle workload is not to count hours but to highlight the important work at a time and then finish it in a calculated manner.”

— The author is a food, lifestyle and travel writer and

can be reached at chand.sharmila@gmail.com