Dr Priyanka BORAMANI responds to ThinkWellness360 questionnaire:
Your view on beauty?
Beauty, for me, is being comfortable with yourself. If you are comfortable with the colour of your skin, also the skin of your thought, to use a timeless metaphor, it would invariably translate into increased self-confidence. Beauty is also about how you treat others and make them feel.
People won’t remember my face, but they would definitely remember how I made them feel. To sum it up: beauty is about being ‘you,’ and never being influenced, or compelled, by someone else’s idea of beauty.
Your ‘take’ on fitness?
I reckon that fitness is not being ‘size-zero,’ or having a certain body type. Fitness is about keeping your body active and not allowing your cells to get ‘lazy.’ Most of us have abandoned playing some form of sport, or doing a certain activity, which one would enjoy at some point in our lives.
The sad part also is — most of us tend to conveniently blame it on our busy schedules. If only we could get back to that one sport, or, maybe, go for that one trek, dance to that one lilting song, or walk on that favourite promenade for 30 minutes, and better still make it a part of our daily routine — that would be fitness for me.
Your view of health and wellness?
Health and wellness is a state of mind — two sides of the same coin. It is the cumulative quintessence of physical and mental well-being, because the two are interdependent. It is important for us to strive towards achieving a balance. Physical illness shows symptoms, making them easier to diagnose, but poor mental health goes undetected most often.
Most people fail to even realise that they aren’t doing fine, when it comes to mental health. The stigma attached to it doesn’t help either. We tend to neglect our mental health — this eventually leads to a shortfall in our physical wellness quotient, our social and work life.
Making the right lifestyle choices, also changes, is a definitive way to deter most health issues, or conditions. It’s often the simple things that make the best natural ‘prescription’ — like talking and/or confiding in a trusted friend. This can go a long way. I believe that a healthy mind is the way to go for a healthy body, mind, and life, and vice versa.
Your ‘take’ on work-life balance?
I think we have all made forlorn, or half-hearted, attempts to maintain what is often called as the ‘ideal’ work-life balance. I really don’t think there is a fool-proof, or fail-safe, formula to achieving that perfect balance. What’s important is shutting off and dedicating a ‘guilt-free’ hour for yourself and doing what you really love.
We must stop being tough on ourselves. Devoting equal time, in the present dispensation, including contemporary demands, or modalities, for your work, loved ones and yourself is practically impossible.
Yet, a little ‘must-do’ on your calendar, like a weekly family dinner outing, or just a 15-minute daily chat with your loved ones would make them —and, you — happy and relaxed.
Your mantra to beat stress?
I haven’t honestly mastered any mantra to beat stress yet. I am still learning. But, what’s important is acceptance. Accepting that you are stressed would be the first step.
Only when that happens would you be able to get your mind to calm down. Think of this ‘prop’ as meditation, music, art, etc. Personally, for me, a long walk, or cooking does the trick. Next, comes rationalising, prioritising and dealing with your stress, one step at a time.
My parents always tell me to not look at stress as an affliction, but as something that would push me to do better. It’s just recently that I realised how true this is. Unravelling that big picture made me grasp this eternal, also timeless, nugget of wisdom. I
feel one must give their best and let destiny do the rest — i.e., the ‘best’ there is to it.
