Mental−Physical wellness are linked

A Celerity “30-Under-30” awardee, and honoured as “Supply Chain Rockstar” by the Future Group, Aura Bhattacharjee, is an Enterprise Architecture Manager governing innovation, digitalisation & technology related projects of Mondelēz International. Besides her corporate career, she has been a published author with StoryMirror and “Dozen Pebbles Washed Ashore by Life” is her second paper back publication in the form of her own collection of stories. In an candid interview with corporate citizen she talks about her fitness regime and why for her mental and physical wellness are intertwined

Aura Bhattacharjee joined Mondelēz International after finishing her two years full-time MBA from SPJIMR, Mumbai (as a part of which, she had also pursued courses in Carnegie Mellon University at Pittsburgh, USA, for a month). Before her MBA, she worked across consulting and analytics domains after completing her Chemical Engineering from BITS Pilani, Hyderabad campus. She runs her own YouTube channel showcasing Kathak-based dance choreographies and Hindustani classical vocal song covers. She has had nine years of training in dancing, singing and painting. One of Aura’s stories is getting published in an Anthology titled ‘Kaleidoscope’, which was published by StoryMirror in 2019.

Your philosophy on fitness/wellness?

For me, mental and physical wellness are intertwined. In order to stay Zen and execute all my responsibilities throughout the day in an organised and mindful way, I start my day with a fitness regime involving yoga and workout. My philosophy says, that once you complete that initial momentum of kick-starting it, fitness regime becomes a part of your lifestyle, almost as much as brushing your teeth in the morning.

Your mantra about keeping fit?

Enjoy and have fun while you’re at it. Of course, discipline and dedication are of the utmost importance when it comes to staying fit. But above all, the reason I am able to stick to the discipline is that I absolutely enjoy doing it. That specific slot in the morning (be it 45 minutes or one or two hours, depending on how busy my day is, or what exercise routine I’m supposed to follow that day); is completely mine. It is so fulfilling to tune in to my favourite music while working on my muscles-planning about what kind of hot, fresh and hearty breakfast I’m going to reward myself and my family with soon after.

What keeps you fit and healthy?

A regular workout, nutritious food, self-care, good company: both in the form of friends and yourself, honesty.

Regular, moderate amount of exercise combined with hearty food is what keeps me fit.

Starting a day early with my workout routine also helps me take better control of the day. After waking up, I try to spend the first few moments soaking in the calmness of the morning; relaxing in my balcony observing how everyone around is gradually kick-starting the day. Even after my office work has started, I take breaks in between just to look up and gaze into the distant hills/sea creek and see whether they’re looking all misty amidst the cloud or are looking bright in sunlight.

I also truly believe in self-care. Especially we women, sometimes need to remind ourselves that it’s absolutely okay to take out some time for pampering ourselves-either at a salon or a spa or with a good meal. When I take good care of myself, I feel empowered to take care of everyone around me.

A good company of friends is very important for mental peace. I am blessed to have friends with whom I can have healthy arguments, interesting discussions and who have the right to brutally tell me on-my-face if I’m not doing something right, and who are also out there for any kind of help I need.

Having said that, another company that I absolutely enjoy is, that of my own. I’ve taken myself out for 5-6 hours of a shopping spree, to dates where I would simply read a book over a good meal in a cosy corner of a nice restaurant, to movies and beaches. Once you start enjoying your own company, you’re empowered at a whole new level.

Besides all of these, I believe one thing that provides me key strength and calmness, is maintaining an honest and straightforward approach to life. If you’re honest, and you stay away from mind-games, power-games, narcissism and manipulations, you automatically inculcate a serene strength within yourself and that eventually radiates in your overall mind and body.

"In order to stay healthy and keep diseases at bay, one has to be conscious of what’s going into one’s body on a regular basis"

Your stress busters? How do you like to rejuvenate and recharge?

Dancing, singing, reading books and travelling. I was trained in Kathak for nine years since I was a child and never lost touch with dancing through my Engineering/MBA/Job life. Even today, the kind of satisfaction that I get by spending hours at choreography and fitting all the steps perfectly on a song, is immense enough to rejuvenate me after all of my week’s work. I usually put all those final results up on my YouTube channel.

I had been trained in North Indian classical music and Rabindra Sangeet for nine years as well. Though I haven’t stayed in touch with singing as much as I did with dancing, recently I’ve been catching up on that. Any time I find a song is stuck in my head, I try to learn it, practice it, and if it turns out good, I put that up on my YouTube channel as well.

Reading books make me develop empathy, open the windows of my soul, learn, and stay grounded amidst the chaos. Any kind of travel, no matter how big or small it is, is always something that freshens up my mind.

Your food philosophy?

Moderation, mindfulness and portion control.

Moderation : I never strictly put a ban on any kind of food. That helps me keep craving at bay. I enjoy everything in moderate quantity.

Mindfulness : It’s very easy to get occupied with office-work or binge-watching a long movie trilogy or a web series and just eat anything that you can grab while you’re at those. In order to stay healthy and keep diseases at bay, one has to be conscious of what’s going into one’s body on a regular basis

Portion Control : I keep a control on overall calorie intake. This eventually led me to also keep a check on quantity of carbohydrate, proteins and every other nutrition.

Your exercise fundamentals?

I’m very fond of strength training and weight-lifting. We have a well-equipped gym in our Mondelēz office in Mumbai, with two expert trainers. I have always got my progress assessed quarterly by them and exercise charts developed by them accordingly. Usually, it comprises of Core, Cardio, Strength, HIIT, Upper and Lower Body, spread over five days. On weekends, I use Saturday as a rest day and Sunday for dancing. If I get set on choreographing a dance, I get so involved that before I know it, I would be dancing and sweating for 5-6 hours.

Your diet fads?

None. I’ve never followed any kind of specific fad diet. It is more because I know that I cannot stick to those for long. Also, restricting myself too much to certain foods will eventually increase my craving for them. I eat normal Indian food, with more quantity of vegetables and protein, and controlled amount of carbs, sugar and deepfried food.

Your Yoga regime?

Yoga is a must for me daily. I start my day with Suryanamaskar, which itself is a full-body workout and good cardio when done fast. Before lockdown, my routine used to comprise of Yoga on empty-stomach early in the morning, followed by a good breakfast; commuting to the office and hitting the gym for that day’s workout as per the chart, and then plunging into office work with post-workout snack.

Ever since lockdown, with office and gym closed, I’ve been trying to spice my regime by mixing sets of Suryanamaskar with zero-equipment bodyweight exercises for core/ upper and lower body/abs and cardio, ending with yoga asanas; altogether at one-go on empty stomach before breakfast.

Anything else you would like to say about keeping fit?

No need to go overboard with fitness. One must do as long as one’s enjoying it. Since both mental and physical wellness come under the umbrella of fitness, it’s important to take care that your fitness regime is not burning you out or draining you of enthusiasm. Instead, on the contrary, your fitness practice should be your go-to thing, for an immediate mood-upliftment or confidence-boosting.