The modern lifestyle makes it really hard for people to prioritize themselves, especially for women. Such a strenuous routine could be due to many reasons, personal or professional, but taking care of your own health is as important as taking care of other things. And believe me, it doesn’t have to be that difficult. Finding balance can help you to easily and happily get through the day. Considering yourself as important, along with maintaining an overall stability of your mind and body, is essential to meet all the requirements of your career and family.
Therefore, we suggest six simple ways that you can achieve your health and fitness goals while maintaining perfect balance:
1. Give Time to “Yourself”
Women’s health issues start when there’s no space for “me” time. And this is the first & foremost advice that we give to all the women out there – find time for yourself. We know there is pressure from family and work, but once or twice a week make it a priority to take a break from those chores and responsibilities:
- Ask your partner or a good friend to take care of the house and kids.
- Plan for an evening dance class.
- Go for early morning walks.
- Try and exercise every day or maybe on alternate days.
- Meet your friends and spend time with them (we recommended that you exclude stressful talks).
- Just smile, feel the positivity around and surround yourself with motivational, encouraging & supportive people.
2. Melt the Stress with Rest
Women have the tendency to over-give and over-stretch ourselves. This demanding routine completely exhausts us. And even though our body signals for rest, we are likely to overlook this. Almost every women’s health magazine emphasises the importance of making sure to plan a time for deep rest and rejuvenation, along with daily meditation:
- No matter how fixed the schedule is, just set a regime for daily meditation and ayurvedic oil massage that provide intense relaxation.
Rest is vital. It allows you to ‘dive’ within yourself and replenish. You come out with more energy, love and focus. Hence, the importance of good sleep and meditation just cannot be underestimated.
3. Vata – Key to Balance
Taking care of your Vata – the king of all the dosha is the major key to staying in equilibrium. As Vata gets out of balance, it manifests into stress and tension. But when Vata is balanced, you tend to be more healthy and calm.
Vata governs your mind and body movements. It is fast-moving by nature, hence easily gets unstable. So don’t let Vata lead the other doshas towards a negative direction.
To balance Vata, maintain a systematic daily routine that keeps you consistent and moving:
- Exercise religiously.
- Sleep early, rise early and sleep without interruption.
- Meditate
- Perform yoga daily.
- Take time out for abhyanga massage.
- Maintain regular mealtimes.
4. Involve Your Family
Health and fitness can become difficult for women when the need arises to fit something new into your busy schedule. Don’t forget, your family can help you achieve that balance. This way, none of you feel detached from your loved ones nor does it make it too complicated to incorporate something new. And when the entire family starts following a healthy daily routine, they make it habitual and reap the benefits too.
5. Consume Foods that Support Strength
Consuming well-cooked meals at approximately same time each day helps to balance the bodily strength.
- Eat foods according to your health & body type.
- Avoid foods which are hard to digest (typically processed foods).
- Eat to soothe your Prakriti (Vata, Pitta, Kapha).
- Try to prepare meals that draw the family together.
- Ensure that you do not skip breakfast.
- Calmly sit with your food rather than eating on the go.
- Try to follow some fitness recipes for women like this pre or post workout Spiced Pear & Vanilla Chia Pudding or a super smoothie and so on.
- Avoid consuming soft drinks or cold and stale food.
- If you have a cold breakfast, do not forget to gradually move on to warm meals and drinks. The warmth of your meal supports the digestion and lets your Vata remain stable. This contributes towards strengthening the immunity.
6. Comfort Your Mind & Body with Herbs
Women’s healthcare topics are incomplete without mentioning herbal foods and spices that help reduce your stress and also boost the natural immune responses. These increase energy levels and maintain clarity of mind.
Herbs like Neem, Turmeric and Tulsi help to purify toxins. These and many others help rejuvenate the mind and body, promoting a stress-free life. Herbal foods and spices prove to be powerful for anyone who is under the pressure of personal or professional struggles.
Although there aren’t many formal women’s health education programs, it is still important for you to understand that any kind of imbalance can cause tension, worry, irritability or sadness in life. And this stress then leads to a disturbed monthly cycle which in turn leaves many other negative effects on the body.
A busy woman should always ensure to take extra caution for her mind and body so as to maintain the smooth functioning of the monthly cycles (governed by Vata) or an uninterrupted menopause.
So make sure to set aside some time just for you, make yourself feel important and try to follow the above-mentioned women’s health advice. This way you can effortlessly juggle all kinds of workloads, maintain your fitness and create peace within the mind and body. And yes, while creating this balance can of course take some time and effort, it is a really worthy investment.
Shubha Agarwal
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- Women’s Health: Six Ways to Balance Your Well-Being - Jan 28, 2017
