No.PR-145 June 27, 2020 New Delhi Staying Fit at Home, the most effective Mantra in the current uncertain times PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a Video Interaction on the topic “Stay Fit At Home”. The objective of the interaction was to discuss importance of being fit in the current scenario when most of the people are working from home. The panel discussion consisted of esteemed industry stalwarts from all arenas including Mr Paddy Upton, Mr. Yatinder Singh, Mr World 2015, Mr Asia 2018, Mr India (3 times); Ms Soumya Gupta, Sr. Nutritionist with Rujuta Diwekar; Mr. John Victor, CEO & Clinical Psychologist, Mind Solace, Ms Priya Sachdeva Kapur, Group director, corporate communications internal and external of SONA Group; Dr HS Tiwari, Medical Advisor, Multani Pharmaceuticals Limited and Ms Rica Roy, Deputy Editor NDTV who was also the moderator of the panel discussion. Mr Paddy Upton shared that athletes with whom he is interacting are having divers experience of the current situation. Athletes who have managed themselves very well during the lockdown will perform extremely well when they get back on the field as compared to the athletes who didn’t maintain their physical health and mental health. Athletes who are already established are having a good time during this break with their families but young athletes who are yet to establish themselves are a bit down as they are not getting the opportunity to perform. Mr Yatinder Singh shared his experience and said like everyone else he has also realized the importance of mental fitness during the lockdown. He said for staying fit a mix of physical fitness, mental fitness and emotional fitness is very important. Proper sleep is also important to maintain good immunity. He also mentioned that the best time to work out is early in the morning. If we work out late in the night then it will take around 3 hours for the blood flow to become normal so one should avoid it. Ms Somya Gupta said staying healthy and staying fit should be an everlasting thought. We should not limit ourselves to stay fit just for the lockdown period. She said good habits make good health, and good health makes good immunity. She advised on taking a mixture of boiled water with ginger, lime grass and jaggary/honey/sugar which in between the meals which will take care of throat and conjunction. She also advised on having kichri for dinner with ghee and achar because this combination is a very good immunity booster. Mr. John Victorsaid people are taking more time to finish their work during the lockdown which is increasing the stress and people are not able to sleep properly. People in India have pushed their sleep time, earlier most of the people use to sleep by 11pm and now they have started sleeping at 1am and later. The current lockdown and work from home situation sleep cycle of many people is affected and there has been an increase in the sale of sleeping pills. Ms Priya Sachdev Kapur spoke on how people are suffering from anxiety issues during the lockdown. She said when people are exercising then they should avoid using earphones and screens as it disturbs the concentration and one cannot focus proper on what they are doing. She also said that young mothers should have turmeric and ginger and they should also drink lots of water, do meditation, breathing exercise which will help them in maintain their fitness. Dr HS Tiwari, Medical Advisor, Multani Pharmaceuticals Limited explained how Ayurveda is helping to boost immunity. There should be daily routines to be followed as per the Ayurveda. Rasiana (immunity boaster process) should be followed for healthy body. He said many Ayurvedic products like chyawanprash and ayushkwath should be taken to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Mr Pradeep Multani, Vice President PHDCCI in his welcome address deliberated that we are spending a lot more time at home than we might like, which is why staying as physically active as possible is more important than ever. If people don’t have a fitness plan at home, they will become sedentary and that will affect their health. He said many people exercise in a gym or go for a run in a local park, so being forced to spend long periods of time at home is going to pose a challenge for remaining active. Mr Arshad Nizam Shawl, Chair Sports & Youth Affairs committee PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry gave a brief about the work done by the committee. He said with work from home increasing, people are working more hours from home and working late, therefore, staying fit and strong should be the mindset that we should have as low physical activity can be a challenge. Ms Rica Roy, Deputy Editor NDTV moderated the entire session. She also mentioned that Covid-19 has made the industry work for 12 to 14 hours a day. For precautions people are not using computer systems, headphones, microphones which are used by their colleagues. Ms Priya Hingorani, Co Chairperson Sports & Youth Affairs Committee gave the concluding remarks and thanked the speakers and delegates who attended the session. She said even if we are stuck at home, there are ways we can stay active and continue your workout routine – and some of these require very little or no equipment. The session was attended by Mr. Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary-General, PHD Chamber; Mr Satish Girotra, Co Chair Sports & Youth Affairs Committee PHD Chamber; Dr Jatinder Singh, Director PHD Chamber who also moderated the session in between and by many senior members of PHD Chamber. The interaction received extensive participation of a diverse audience from all over India. Ends Media Division, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry