The importance of being well

The rise of health consciousness has become a staple presence around us. How many advertisements about joining a gym or connecting with the consumers’ emotions about well being and becoming your best self have you come across? You might think to yourself, “wow, I wish I could look like that.”

A few clicks into social media like Instagram and there will likely be a post about someone showing a workout routine or posing their best angles and ‘join me to get your body in shape’. It’s all a little bit too much sometimes especially when there is a new up-and-comer Insta model turned fitness guru looking a bit too same-same. It seems trendy to jump on the fitness bandwagon in the sea of millions doing the exact same thing. Cue the pretty posts that share motivational quotes, a vegan bowl or a green smoothie in hand, all in a calming Scandi decorated backdrop. 

Perhaps this is why industries have cottoned on and responded by creating new categories to profit such as blurring gym kit as athleisure. Why wear your fitness clothes for fitness only? Wear them outside of the gym. Wear them to the supermarket with your latte in hand. Clothing isn’t enough to be functional and assist performance anymore. It needs to look good so YOU look good. 

In my view, fitness nowadays has largely boiled down to two goals: improving physical health/ abilities and looking good. While the two aren’t mutually exclusive, I’d hazard a guess that a lot of mindset is geared towards the latter especially with the pressures of social media. It’s what’s on the outside that counts right? Now don’t get me wrong. I’m all for self improvement and being the best you can be. And I think it is great that more people are paying attention to their physical health.

On the flip side, how much of this fitness game is genuine and are people are doing it to keep up with the Joneses? Or wanting to be seen as ‘doing the right thing’ aka being health conscious? But I digress.

Anyway…

Now the reason for bringing that up is that I’m on the complete opposite spectrum, I never thought much about my health. In fact, my desire to scroll through health and fitness themed photos, videos and to be motivated isn’t very high on my list of to-do’s. For the longest time, my mindset was that I am still young, what could really go wrong? Sure, I can’t run a marathon but I’ve done ok in other aspects. Plus it’s not in my nature to be particularly sporty.

COVID-19 has mostly been spent at home due to lockdown and I’ve come to notice my own physical health. My work doesn’t require me to do inspections or exert physical labour as I’m a desk bound worker. Even so, my monotonous routine of a work commute provided me an opportunity to be outside, active and getting some sun light without requiring me to think about it. All was fine until working from home kicked in and that was a game changer. Sure the appeal of doing work wearing track pants was great. But with no longer a commute or a trek to the communal kitchen for a cuppa, I was relegated to vegetable duty. 

The novelty of working from home wore off quickly and I actually ached to be in the office again. Days felt longer, brain more muddy and so began my deliberate effort of taking time out of my day to devote to leaving the four walls of the living room I borrowed for my temporary office space. My usual route turned into a 5 to 6 kilometre power walk to clear my mind and be energised. I even started practising yoga on the back of a mate’s joke. While energised, I found my concentration levels were dropping and my attention span was shortening. I surmised that a combination of COVID-19 uncertainty, working from home plus the lack of daylight savings were the likely suspects given nothing else had changed. 

It comes as no surprise that the associated supplements and vitamins industry is a thriving market with fitness being fashionable (literally). It doesn’t take much Googling to confirm that growth and industry worth. Meandering through a Chemist Warehouse catalogue leaves me more confused with the dizzying amount of pages dedicated to discounted vitamins, each seemingly the same but in different bottles, colours and brands. Who bothers with this? Not me, or so I thought.  

Eventually I succumbed to the idea of trying vitamin supplements through the power of marketing to see if they would have an affect on my current state. What did I have to lose? Except money of course…Like many things in life now, subscriptions are de rigeur. How typical. No long term commitments, live free, YOLO etc. Vitable is one of many feel good, self care wellness subscription brands where they package the vitamins appropriate for you based on a short quiz and what you want to achieve. I received them in about 1.5 weeks, pre-portioned and encased in plain minimalist packaging. Easy and pain free. 

Always make sure you do your due diligence before taking vitamins and know the potential risks involved. Since taking them, I’ve noticed I’m more focused. Placebo effect or not, it has certainly helped me to start climbing out of the haziness. Who knows about the longer term benefits but even if it is acting as a placebo, I might consider continue taking them. 

Since starting the course of tailored supplements, it has got me thinking whether I am alone in feeling less focused during these uncertain times but also how good it felt to be back in focus. That for me puts me in a positive mindset already. I know by being focused, I can stay on track and go about my work or my life ‘as myself’. A lot of health and fitness is dedicated and pushes the physical aspect which is quantifiable (the gains, weight lost, looking good). In the current circumstances where social isolation or distancing is in place, it has thrown mental fitness more in the spotlight. Feelings are less measurable. Depression and anxiety may be common terms we hear when talking about mental well being but I’ve realised at least for myself, that also includes the ability to focus and be present. 

In this day and age of technology, we are connecting more than ever with colleagues by means of remote working. At the same time, it has accelerated the adoption of ‘introvert-ness’ in many of us within our own personal lives. Health and academic experts have drawn more attention to the possible impacts from prolonged periods of isolation and predict a significant increase in cases during and coming out of a pandemic. That’s not to say mental health wasn’t a consideration beforehand but this has certainly driven even more awareness within society which is a great thing in my opinion. 

While much of COVID-19 has not been positive, it has given me an opportunity to pay more attention to my overall lifestyle and well being. It seems rather fitting after talking about new beginnings. While I’m not going out on a limb here to say I’ve achieved enlightenment or aligned my chakras, looking after myself isn’t just about getting the exercise in. Health and fitness doesn’t stop at the physical. Good mental well being is equally as important and should not be forgotten. 

Let me know your thoughts and how you have you been coping with all this in the comments below. Have you experienced something similar or have a different take on this? And have you noticed a shift in society about being more mindful of health and fitness?