Fitness for the corporate go-getter

Are you in a high-stress job, and have no time for anything other than work? Are you suffering from square eyes because you stare at your PC monitor for 10 hours a day? Worry not, three experts show you how you too can lead a healthy life, and get ahead in your career

MUMBAI: What is your average day like? Getting up, getting ready, traveling to work, attending endless meetings, eating whatever you can get your hands on, having countless cups of coffee and traveling home. Sounds familiar? It should. After all, this is more or less the lifestyle of the average, working Mumbaikar today. These days, most of us give time to and pay attention to everybody and everything, apart from our own body. But we fail to realise that if our body stops functioning efficiently, everything else will pale into insignificance. So to bring a healthy way of life to your desktop, we decided to ask the experts how the Mumbaikar can stay fit without spending hours at the gym. By following these simple steps, you can discover a happier, more relaxed and healthier you. So read on.

The way to a healthy life is through your stomach
- Try to carry food from home. If not every day, then at least three times a week you should eat home-made food. It would be ideal to carry chapattis and vegetables as they provide nutrition in the form of proteins and anti-oxidants.
- If you do not have time to cook every morning, you can carry whole fruits, peanuts and roasted chanas to work. These are healthy and can be made by anybody - someone who's staying as a paying guest, bachelors, someone who doesn't know how to cook or anybody else. Fruits contain a large quantity of anti-oxidants, fibres and minerals while nuts provide you with protein. It is a filling and wholesome meal and it's nourishing too.
- When eating out, go for non-oily options like idlis, tandoori rotis, paneer etc. Also ask the waiter to use less oil in the dish. Your meal should be low in fat. You can have a whole-wheat (brown) bread sandwich and salad, with dressing on the side. Add very little, maybe one teaspoon of dressing to the salad.
- For breakfast, have milk with wheat flakes or muesli and a whole wheat sandwich with eggs or paneer.
- Carry almonds as a mid-morning snack.

Ideally there should be a four-hour gap between meals and you must have at least four meals a day. The quantity of food depends on your age and the amount of physical activity in your life. The higher the age, the lighter your meals should be. You should avoid having a heavy lunch, as it tends to make you feel lazy at work.
Dr Anjali Mukherjee, diet therapist

Yoga is the path to a healthy mind and body
Most people's work these days involves sitting in front of a computer all the time. This affects their fingers, elbows, shoulders, neck and eyes. As most people spend a lot of time sitting on a chair, their lower back gets affected. The third factor is that their mind gets affected due to constant stress and deadlines.

The first thing that has to be done is to keep a reminder on your computer. This should remind you to take a break and de-stress every two hours. Now, relax each muscle at a time.

Eyes: Look at a faraway object. Then rotate your eye balls - left, up, right, down. Do this six-seven times. Then rub your palms together and cup your eyes with them. Repeat this process moving your eyes in reverse order. Every time you go to the washroom, splash fresh water on your eyes. This does not take more than five minutes.

Shoulders: Move the shoulders forward, up, back and then down. Repeat the process in reverse motion. Do this 10 times. There are 200 micro-muscles in the shoulders. If you do not do relaxing exercises every two hours, the tension will pile up and later it will be very difficult to relax them.

Lower back: To relax your lower back, interlock your fingers and stretch upward, sideward, backward and a little forward. By doing this, you can keep your back in good shape.

Mind: In the corporate world, there is more brainwork and less physical work. Thus, it is equally important to relax and de-stress your brain. Usually, adults breathe from the chest. In order to unwind, it is important to breath from your stomach. Sit straight, place your hands on your knees, palms facing down, focus on your belly button and inhale and exhale. While inhaling, your stomach should go out, away from your spine and while exhaling, your stomach should go towards your spine. Do this in a smooth, non-jerky manner. Repeat this 20 times. It will make you feel rejuvenated.

Legs: To relax your legs, stretch them with your toes pointing outward and then inwards. Then rotate your feet. This relaxes your ankle joint and knee joint.

Destress as you travel
While traveling on the bus or train, your feet should be firmly rooted to the ground. Try to maintain steadiness. This helps your mind be steady. Instead of getting involved in what's going on around you, listen to all sounds passively and avoid passing judgment on anything.

While driving, the same could be done at traffic signals. You can also listen to soft music or hum a steady note. You should look around and observe. This will take your mind away from problems and work. You can also move your ankles forward and backward in order to relax them.
Falguni Harkisandas, Yoga therapist

Quick workouts for those on the move
- Instead of using the elevator, take the stairs. Also, run up and down the stairs in your office whenever you can.
- For a quick workout, hold your office chair, push up and down in the cavity of the chair.
- Lie on the carpet, put your arms around your knees and pull your knees to your forehead.
- You can also do sit-ups from the chair by pushing the handle down.
- Drink plenty of green tea while at work. It helps in liberating energy and de-stressing.

Workout as you travel
- While traveling in car, do neck circles slowly while breathing in and out.
- Stretch out your legs and do half crunches. You can also lie in the back seat, fold your knees and bring them to your forehead.

A 15-minute work out in the morning:
- Do spot jogging for five minutes.
- Do stretching for three minutes.
- Do push ups and pull downs for three minutes.
- Do exercises for upper abdominal and lower abdominal muscles for three minutes.
- Do one minute of cool down stretching.
- After this do meditation.
Mickey Mehta, fitness expert

That's it! Concentrating on your body for a maximum of 15-20 minutes every day, as you travel or take a break at work can improve your health considerably. For a body that fulfils all your dreams and aspirations, is that too much to ask?