Its 2019, and simply hitting the gym is not enough. In the fast-paced lives that we lead today, the fitness of the mind is as important as the body. This is where Shivfit comes in.
Trainer, Shivoham, who has been in the fitness industry for almost a decade, teamed up with well-known mind coach Vrinda Mehta, to come up with a perfect program that includes fitness of both, body and mind.
While, Shivoham looks after the physical training, aka the body aspect, Vrinda, believes there can be no health without happiness, and together they form Shivfit. We speak to them about the Shivfit way, and their responses will surely inspire you to up your fitness game this year.
You offer a whole new perspective on what it means to be fit. How does the Shivfit Way stand out in the crowd of other fitness options?
Vrinda Mehta: Health and fitness are not just about eating right and exercising to look and perform a certain way. Fitness is also about how we feel within, about whether we are able to manage our thoughts and emotions on a daily basis. This is how Shivfit is different from other programs because we put equal emphasis on how we feel within ourselves, as put on how we look and perform on the outside.
Both of you have been in the fitness industry for the last 20 years. How did the initial collaboration happen?
Shivoham: Vrinda was already conducting the Mind workshops at the Juhu box (Shivfit, Juhu) and one fine day, we got talking and it struck us that just cross-functional training by itself is not enough. It was missing an integral part, which was the mind. I, being a very strong believer in Vrinda’s mind program and a living transformation of it from Deepesh Bhatt to Shivoham, couldn’t agree more that we should combine the two pieces of training of body and mind, and start something which no one else in the country was doing. That is how ShivFit emerged and it is evolving every day Tell us about the SHIVFIT MIND PROGRAM and what it is that you achieve in your three-hour workshop?
Vrinda Mehta: Shivfit mind workshop is about understanding the phenomenal power of your own mind, how it interacts with the world around us, and learning how you can use this power to improve the quality of your life in every way. We teach how you can actually create good health, abundant wealth, a successful career, and satisfying relationships because if there is a disturbance in any of these aspects in one’s life, it will impact their health and fitness eventually. We also teach the art of letting go and how to be truly happy, because happiness is essentially an internal process that does not actually depend on anything outside of you.
You have said there can be no Health without Happiness. Can your work-out help with depression, anxiety and other mental health issues?
Vrinda: Yes. The whole human system functions optimally when it is at ease and happy. Workouts and physical activity to help release feel-good chemicals and relieve stress, but it is not enough. Just like we train the body to get physically fit, we also need a clear understanding of the dynamics of the mind, and a practice that we follow daily to get mentally fit
What exercise would you suggest for a stress-ridden day?
Vrinda: I would recommend that one should do whatever activity they love doing. It could be a brisk walk outdoors, a short physical workout of moderate intensity, or dancing etc., followed by pranayama (breathing exercises) and meditation for relaxing the mind. There are also simple, yet, very effective practices like Surya Yog(not Surya Namaskar), which can be used to detoxify and rejuvenate your body and mind on a daily basis.
How much physical activity should an individual be doing in a week?
Shivoham: Physical activity is very relative to each individual. The physical activity a mother does, right from waking up in the morning and sending kids to school, to the housework, or the physical activity a labourer does carrying gas cylinders from house to house, or that an 18-25-year-old does in the gym, is all very relative, and all great in their own way. Physical activity is a must for the body’s physical well being and helps in keeping all the joints and muscles intact. Basically, to some extent, a little bit of weights and cardio is a must to be physically able and to survive old age.
You have trained several Bollywood celebrities like Sonakshi Sinha, Jacqueline Fernandez, Abhishek Bachchan, etc. Tell us who is the fast learner, the lazy one, and the most hardworking one?
Shivoham: They all are fast learners and hardworking, and their work and dedication to their job on screen and off the screen speaks for itself.
You started a nationwide fitness competition called SHIVFIT BATTLE OF THE FITTEST. What exactly is that?
Shivoham: “The battle of the fittest” is a fitness competition, the aim of which is to find the one person who can be labelled as the fittest man and woman across the nation.
This is a platform for athletes and regular people to come and prove themselves in front of the nation. There is no competition which gives the athletes from different sports, a chance to show their skills for which they have been training all year round. It’s not just about the particular sport that you are good at, but an all-around fitness level.
This competition is based around three main sports– weightlifting, gymnastics, and track and field.
What future goals have you set for yourself?
Shivoham: We haven’t set any goals, but we have an intention – to spread the truth to as many people as possible. The rest is for nature to decide.
With the wedding season in full swing, what fitness tips would you give to the grooms and brides-to-be?
Vrinda: Along with all the wedding preparations, the couple should definitely take time out to cater to their physical fitness and mental and emotional well-being. They should stay away from quick fixes and make a genuine effort to adopting a healthier lifestyle that they can continue life long and will pass on eventually to their children. The popular trend of losing weight just to look a certain way for the wedding, and letting go after the celebrations are over, is not conducive to good health. Both, the Bride and the Groom should get a full understanding of what they need to do to get mentally and physically fit, to be able to truly live and enjoy whatever life holds in store for them. They should learn how to consciously create all aspects of their life, and be happy.
Are negative thoughts as bad for you as those unhealthy carbs?
Vrinda: Yes, if not more. There is enough research that proves that our negative or positive emotions have a destructive or constructive effect respectively, on the molecules of water kept opposite us (in the experiment). So don’t you think our emotions will have an impact on the water molecules within us? We are more than 70% of water. Whenever we have negative emotions, our system is not at ease. Well, that is the definition of disease.
Will 2019 be a big year for India, in terms of mental health awareness?
Vrinda: It absolutely should be. Not just in India, awareness of mental health has to be a global activity. According to WHO (World Health Organisation predictions, depression and anxiety will be the biggest diseases to afflict man by 2020. In the busy environment that we live in, if we don’t learn how to handle our thoughts and emotions on a daily basis, we are going to be in trouble. This is already visible in the increasing rate of suicides, especially amongst youngsters. Having said that, I don’t mean all of us to have to run to a shrink or take medication. I feel that the modern approach of handling issues of the mind are not enough. We have to go the way of Yog and pranayama. If the modern psychiatric approach can learn from and combine with the ancient wisdom of Yog and Ayurveda, a holistic solution approach can be developed.
You have a program specially dedicated to expecting mothers. What does that program entail?
Vrinda: Yes, I have developed a workshop for pregnant women because it is a really significant time in a woman’s, and her yet-to-be-born child’s life. A woman goes through so many hormonal changes which lead her to go through so much emotionally and physically, she needs to be in charge of her mental and emotional state. Whatever she is going through within her, is forming the sub-conscious conditioning for her baby. It is a really vital time for the mother and the child, hence the workshop.
