Asthmatic school teacher takes up challenge for pupils

dubai — English teacher and head of section at The New Indian Model School Abhilasha Singh has always been a fitness enthusiast. However, her decision to take up the Dubai Fitness Challenge (DFC) is not just to attain personal fitness, but to encourage her students, parents, and network of teachers to lead a more active lifestyle.

“We have accepted the challenge as a team and are very motivated to excel,” she told Khaleej Times. Abhilasha is a marathon runner, cyclist, and is part of several running and fitness groups in the UAE. However, she expressed her disappointment at how inactive young children are these days.

Since students lead extremely hectic lifestyles, they need to be encouraged into doing more physical activity, she says. “I think it’s the little ones who are most benefitted by this movement. It is delightful to see them take the challenge up so passionately. I see that they take the stairs more and are generally more active and upbeat,” she added.

“As teachers, we face a lot of work pressure and it is a very demanding job. I also have high blood pressure, plus asthma. But running helps me soothe my senses… it’s my me-time,” laughs Abhilasha. “I took up running about 10 years ago. However, I could only run very short distances because of my health issues, but moving to Dubai gave me the confidence to run really long distances and now I am training for marathons,” said the teacher.

Abhilasha started the fitness challenge by running the DSC Pink Run to raise awareness on breast cancer. She clocks a minimum of 30-minutes on the fitness challenge mobile app and is simultaneously training for the Dubai Marathon as well. “On weekends, I run with several running groups in Ajman, Sharjah, and Dubai,” she added. She also routinely cycles at the Al Qudra cycling track in Dubai. “I have personally started running 5kms daily, and end my running session with a few minutes of yoga,” she added. Her running community is committed to the challenge as well.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

As teachers, we face a lot of work pressure and it is a very demanding job. I also have high blood pressure, plus asthma. But running helps me soothe my senses… it’s my me-time.” Abhilasha Singh