Sweat it out!! Consistency is the key

Ayurveda says Exercise is the best way to increase your digestive fire! I often get this question—but why can I not eat Yoghurt, cheese, nuts, smoothies etc heavy foods? I see so many people eating them and they are perfectly fine!? My friend!! they must be doing a lot of exercise and thus create a lot of heat in the body necessary to digest the heavy foods. Exercise does not necessarily mean the GYM membership we take at the beginning of the year as a part of resolution and sweat heavily for the first couple of weeks and then forget about it. It is something that you do religiously without fail.

But what is qualified as an exercise?

Any movement that creates exertion in the body–it could be gentle walk, brisk walk, run, hike, pilates, bike, swim etc. The degree of movement changes according to our own capacity. If you have never done any sort of movement in the past; start with gentle walk and test your capacity and do it until you reach half your capacity– this is if you start sweating from the forehead and axillary region or start breathing from your mouth and slowly build up your capacity to exert everyday

What are the tangible benefits?

1. Makes your tissues and whole body fit—it melts fat and wrings the tissues out of their excess mucous to make them fit and strong
2. You will be able to indulge in that ice cream or cheese cake once in a while and not feel guilty–digestive fire increases
3. You will be able to fit into clothes that are a size or 2 smaller–best treatment for obesity
4. You will actually get things done faster—body and mind becomes fresh and light
5. You will notice that your resistance to allergens and pollens have improved–increased immunity

How long should I do it?

Consistency is definitely the key, some movement every single day is necessary. This cannot be a weekend only activity–doing 20min everyday consistently is much more beneficial than doing 2h on the weekend day

Any Rules to follow?

1. Never exercise after eating
2. Vata, Pitta constitution people must be cautious not to overdo 
3. If you are sick stay away from exercise–this includes Fever, cold, cough etc
4. Women should avoid exercise during menstruation

So, you can have a trainer at the gym or do it yourself at home–doing it consistently and slowly building up your capacity without hurting your body tissues is crucial.