Dance and fitness are the two faces of the same coin. You can stay fit and healthy if you dance.
It becomes more important to stay fit and healthy for women when she is a mother. It is difficult to balance your career with your responsibilities but women are experts in doing that.
In an inspiring conversation with Paayel, from Sportz Business Magazine, Pria Shiam, a mother and a professional dancer explains about her fitness routine with dance and her responsibilities being a mother.
Q: How you feel dance is related to fitness?
Dancing is probably the most consistent form of fitness I practice in my life. Being so passionate about it and getting lost in the music, I often don’t even realize I’m working so hard and burning calories! It’s a great way to get fit if you are not too stimulated Iy the gym environment.
Q: How many dance styles and variations you know?
I only started dancing one year ago. I’ve always loved Bollywood and Indian music and decided to sign up for a class to meet people and do something fun after years of being focused on pregnancy and taking care of a newborn. Currently, I am exploring different fusion styles within Bollywood – my favorites include classic Bollywood, bollyfemme, bollyhop, belly fusion, and south Indian kuthu. I would really like to learn the bachata and dancehall.
Q: What are the challenges a career-oriented mother face?
Time management is probably the biggest challenge I face. Being the primary caretaker for my son, I spend most of the day looking after him, and finding the time to work towards my other goals is difficult sometimes. The other thing to battle with is the exhaustion that any mother will understand the exercising by dancing and eating well does really help with increasing my energy level.
Q: What fitness and skincare routine you follow?
I love yoga and actually trained to become a yoga teacher. So that and dancing is my main form of physical exercise at the moment however I’m about to get a personal trainer to reach higher fitness levels.
Skincare wise, I really believe in healing from the inside out and not using harsh chemicals on the skin. I’m a vegan, so I avoid meat and dairy products which are highly inflammatory and worsen conditions like acne. I also use simple skincare products that are free of fragrances and chemicals and contain natural/organic ingredients.
Q: What are the diet you follow and your cheat day meal?
I don’t follow any particular diet. I am a vegan so my diet consists of only plant-based foods. At home, I usually cook very healthy and wholesome food, and reserve cheating for social events. However, I have a sweet tooth and can’t say no to some good chocolate or ice cream once in a while, or every week.
Q: Where do you see yourself in the upcoming 5 years?
In five years, I hope to have graduated with my bachelor of health science degree in naturopathy and be starting work as a practitioner. I also hope to have grown and expanded my online family with dancing and entertaining and be collaborating with artists and creating more content.
Q: What is your daily workout routine?
Currently, just walking with the baby and dance rehearsals.
Q: A fitness concerned mother’s healthy rules for her kid?
My two years old can be a fussy eater, but from a young age, I introduced a variety of foods like pasta, legumes like lentils and chickpeas, vegetables, and fruits. I avoid feeding him processed food like packaged snacks and prefer to make my own homemade snacks for him like raw treats made from nuts and dates and opt for roasted seaweed in place of chips.
Q: Which role do you enjoy more? Being a mother or a fitness coach?
Being a mother beats about any other role as it is so rewarding raising a little human being, but without tending to the other aspects of me such as the dancer and the healer, I wouldn’t be able to live a wholesome and dynamic life and feel full within myself to be a good mother to my son. Therefore I always say, fill your own cup first as you cannot pour from an empty cup. It’s so important to have more to your identity.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a health advice. We would ask you to consult a qualified professional or medical expert to gain additional knowledge before you choose to consume any product or perform any exercise.
