Among the many good things we have around us, health is one of the most precious and sought after. Even when witnessing the illnesses and suffering of our freinds and relatives, many of us tend to think that the same should not happen to us. But its not possible in our life. Everybody will fall in sick.
Good health is basically healthy living based on a balanced diet, adequate exercise and mental equilibrium. The food we eat plays a major role in our health. There are many ways to maintain good health and to recover from illness, but there is no one system of medicine that can keep us completely healthy. Our wellness mainly depends on many factors such as genes, exercise, mental health and attitude, lifestyle, as well as nutritutional intake and balance.
Daily Exercise
Health, fitness and performance are three separate phenomena. Health is generally defined as freedom from disease; fitness is related to the ability to meet the demands of the environment; and performance is how successful an individual is in accomplishing a task. An individual can be healthy without being fit, and he or she can be of poor health and yet be able to perform superbly in certain athletic activities. There are several instances of physically fit athletes winning gold medals in competitions who are anything but healthy.
The mystique surrounding the cult of physical fitness has given rise to the mistaken belief that a good physical condition comes slowly and that a rigorous exercise routine is necessary for fitness. Exercise in itself is not a panacea. Exercising regularly does not mean you can eat any type of food and still remain healthy.
The science of physical fitness is primarily designed for athletes who focus on specific tasks. Another emphasis of physical fitness programmes is its use as a therapy for those recovering from illnesses. However, these programmes only focus on isolated body parts. When a specific area is put into action during an exercise, the body responds by sending more blood, nutrients and energy to that area. This response improves health and vitality in that area, but the system as a whole does not benefit from it.
I am not advocating that these fitness programmes not be followed; rather, I am suggesting that they be well understood. Most of these programmes put a lot of pressure on the individual, demanding a certain amount of exterior accomplishment. What happens is that he or she exerts more pressure than is possible and may overdo the exercise. This may result in uncomfortable breathing, difficulty in relaxing and tiredness. The programmes are organised on the basis of the competitive spirit and goals of an individual. Other parameters include the time devoted to it, physical load (pressure or effort channelled into a sport) and the amount of physiological effort exerted. The competition integral to these programmes results in stress at the cost of health. Most of the programmes meant for physical fitness are beneficial only to a certain degree, and no one exercise develops total fitness. Several types of exercises are necessary for all-round development.
