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Health, Fitness, Environment And More On New Year’s Day Special With Milind Soman

Health, Fitness, Environment And More On New Year’s Day Special With Milind Soman

New Delhi: As the world steps into a new year and use it as a new opportunity to start or improve their fitness journey in times of a global pandemic, the team of Banega Swasth India spoke with Milind Soman, actor, supermodel, film producer and fitness enthusiast in a special interview. Mr Soman is known for breaking stereotypes, pushing fitness boundaries and has proved time and again that age is just a number. So, what motivates Milind Soman and what should be learnt from him when it comes to forming a new fitness and health routine this New Year?

Also Read: Physical Fitness And Exercises In The Times Of Covid: Celebrity Fitness Trainer Yasmin Karachiwala Answers FAQs


‘Challenges Inspire Me,’ Says Milind Soman

In 2012, Mr Soman took the challenge of running from Delhi to Mumbai to raise awareness about health and the environment and what people can do to save the Earth. Earlier this month, he took up another challenge for which he was cycling 1,000 km from Mumbai to Delhi. With this feat, the 56-year-old supermodel aimed to raise awareness about the air pollution caused by vehicles in the country and promote greener means of transport like a bicycle. He said that challenges inspire him. He said,

I like being fit. What motivated me is the feeling of good health, the feeling that I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. For example, I like to challenge myself at least three or four times a year. I thought of doing this cycle ride even though had not sat on a cycle for the past four years. If I was cycling every day, then it was not a challenge but the fact that I have not peddled a cycle in four years made this feat challenging. I want to keep feeling that anything that I think of doing like climbing a mountain or running from another city, I can do it. Challenges motivate me because they reassure me and reaffirm that I am in ‘bull shape’ and that I can do whatever I want.

Taking Care Of Oneself Will Help In Restoring Environmental Health Too, Says Mr Soman

Mr Soman emphasised that if each person starts taking care of themselves and their surroundings, they can contribute towards restoring the health of the environment. He said,

I believe that if we all of did a little bit, made a small effort towards our physical and mental health, we really would not have to face the crisis that we are facing right now when it comes to the environment. But, because of technology and our aspiration for comfort and convenience, we create a lot of pollution. So we need to control those wants. But we have become a consumerist society today. We all know and talk about the fact that we consume and consume and what are we going to leave for our future generations. But I must highlight that it is not about the future generation anymore. It is about the generation that has been born already, our next generation. I don’t think that when they will reach my age or half of my age, they will be able to do what I am doing because their lungs would not be strong enough.

He added that people have now started to realise that humanity is facing an existential crisis because of the climate change caused by human actions. But the actions being taken for protecting the environment taken individually and collectively are not adequate. He said,

We know that the environment is always going to be there, we may not be there. We all have to do our bit to leave a livable atmosphere for the coming generations. Small actions like plogging- picking up garbage while jogging- without thinking who made the mess and just focusing on doing your bit can help make a big difference.

Also Read: 2021: The Reality Of Climate Crisis And Action Against Climate Change

‘Eat Local, Seasonal And In Moderate Amount’

Mr Soman, who has recently started growing his own food himself said that food is key for a healthy body and one must exercise extreme caution in deciding goes inside their bodies. He said that food act as medicine, it should be seasonal, procured locally and consumed in moderate amount. He said,

I started growing food during the pandemic. Obviously, you cannot grow everything that you need but whatever you can do is a step in the right direction. Apart from this, eating locally, eating seasonal, eating whole food, are my priorities. I do eat packaged food sometimes but the priority would be home-cooked and fresh. The simplest tip for better eating is to eat what your grandparent would eat.

He further suggested that people should experiment with food and learn what is good for them. He said,

Food is going to affect your body, your mind, everything in your life. Do not eat something just because it tastes good.

Fitness Can Become A Priority Only If You Realise It Is Important: Milind Soman

According to Mr Soman, fitness can become a part of someone’s lifestyle and a priority only if they have the realization about how important it is to stay fit. People must start taking actions whenever it strikes them that they are not making enough efforts to keep themselves fit and strong, he said, adding that even small efforts every day can make a big difference.

Start with small goals like just one minute of exercise and be regular. Do it every day and gradually intensify, he said.

He highlighted how people from previous generations were stronger because their lifestyle included a lot of physical activities and a healthy diet and asserted that human bodies are not designed for comfort. Mr Soman said,

As humans, we need to understand that our bodies are not designed for comfort. It is made to work hard. So, if you take something that Is designed for something and uses for something else, it is going to deteriorate. It’s going to break down. So, you need to keep working, keep making efforts and keep challenging yourself. Look at previous generations, they were so strong. They were not afraid of walking 40-50 kilometers. It was not something to be considered and they could just do it. But we cannot think of even driving that much now. So that is how weak we are, not only physically but also mentally. We are also weak emotionally because we have distanced ourselves from the toughness that is required to face the life. We have this illusion of comfort and convenience but we need to really understand that we are built to face challenges.

He said that in the last 10 years is has observed that people are becoming aware of the importance of being fit and healthy. He added that India has the largest and fastest growing running community in the world. However, according to him, men have been dominating the running events and there has been less participation from women. This prompted him to start ‘Pinkathon’, a running event only for women with an aim to encourage them to come out and dedicate some time for their own health.

While talking about the connection between the physical health and mental health, Mr Soman said that all aspects of health are connected, be it the environmental health, people’s physical health, mental health, emotional health, or their financial health. He said,

If you do something for your physical health, it obviously impacts your mental health in a good way and good mental health will help you take better decisions in life. You can make right choices with a stronger mindset and those choices will impact the environment too. I keep telling people that we do not have to think a lot about the environment, we just need to start making good choices for ourselves each and every day.

Also Read: Dia Mirza On Why We Need To Act Now On Climate Crisis

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (WaterSanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollutionwaste managementplastic banmanual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.

 

World

30,70,92,765Cases

26,71,04,072Active

3,45,00,172Recovered

54,88,521Deaths

Coronavirus has spread to 196 countries. The total confirmed cases worldwide are 30,70,92,765 and 54,88,521 have died; 26,71,04,072 are active cases and 3,45,00,172 have recovered as on January 10, 2022 at 3:24 am.

India

3,57,07,727 1,79,723Cases

7,23,619 1,33,008Active

3,45,00,172 46,569Recovered

4,83,936 146Deaths

In India, there are 3,57,07,727 confirmed cases including 4,83,936 deaths. The number of active cases is 7,23,619 and 3,45,00,172 have recovered as on January 10, 2022 at 2:30 am.

State Details



State

Cases

Active

Recovered

Deaths
Maharashtra

69,20,044 44,388

2,05,973 29,025

65,72,432 15,351

1,41,639 12

Kerala

52,85,542 6,238

35,601 3,804

52,00,350 2,390

49,591 44

Karnataka

30,51,958 12,000

49,631 11,095

29,63,957 901

38,370 4

Tamil Nadu

28,00,286 12,895

51,335 11,075

27,12,096 1,808

36,855 12

Andhra Pradesh

20,81,859 1,257

4,774 1,115

20,62,580 140

14,505 2

West Bengal

17,55,046 24,287

78,111 16,056

16,57,034 8,213

19,901 18

Uttar Pradesh

17,37,550 7,680

25,974 7,423

16,88,648 253

22,928 4

Delhi

15,49,730 22,751

60,733 12,555

14,63,837 10,179

25,160 17

Odisha

10,70,869 4,714

15,784 4,328

10,46,617 386

8,468

Chhattisgarh

10,23,313 2,502

15,464 2,398

9,94,234 102

13,615 2

Rajasthan

9,76,177 5,660

19,467 5,301

9,47,738 358

8,972 1

Gujarat

8,62,204 6,275

27,913 5,012

8,24,163 1,263

10,128

Madhya Pradesh

8,01,326 2,039

6,842 1,804

7,83,947 234

10,537 1

Haryana

7,94,151 5,166

18,321 4,361

7,65,758 805

10,072

Bihar

7,45,400 5,022

16,898 4,586

7,16,401 435

12,101 1

Telangana

6,94,030 1,673

13,522 1,342

6,76,466 330

4,042 1

Assam

6,26,741 988

6,434 539

6,14,126 448

6,181 1

Punjab

6,21,419 3,883

16,343 3,729

5,88,401 144

16,675 10

Jharkhand

3,77,572 3,444

23,328 2,230

3,49,074 1,208

5,170 6

Uttarakhand

3,50,885 1,413

4,118 864

3,39,343 548

7,424 1

Jammu And Kashmir

3,44,652 687

3,531 549

3,36,581 135

4,540 3

Himachal Pradesh

2,32,085 498

3,148 337

2,25,055 160

3,882 1

Goa

1,89,909 1,922

9,209 1,660

1,77,168 261

3,532 1

Mizoram

1,46,045 518

4,612 245

1,40,872 270

561 3

Puducherry

1,30,722 444

1,250 425

1,27,590 19

1,882

Manipur

1,26,156 68

469 55

1,23,676 12

2,011 1

Tripura

85,936 176

803 153

84,303 23

830

Meghalaya

85,234 76

394 66

83,355 10

1,485

Chandigarh

68,421 666

2,364 570

64,977 96

1,080

Arunachal Pradesh

55,558 37

222 36

55,054 1

282

Sikkim

32,719 70

218 66

32,092 4

409

Nagaland

32,270 6

81 2

31,486 4

703

Ladakh

22,561 89

340 59

22,000 30

221

Dadra And Nagar Haveli

10,787 16

89 11

10,694 5

4

Lakshadweep

10,420

1 3

10,368 3

51

Andaman And Nicobar Islands

8,150 175

322 135

7,699 40

129