Running, Biking and Women Fitness – Rukhsana Parveen Haque

2.5K

Rukhsana Parveen Haque, 47,  is an ordinary woman with an extraordinary zest to prioritize her fitness. Her daily posts on fitness speak volumes on women fitness.

Who is Rukhsana?

Born in Tezpur and brought up partially in Guwahati and Tezpur, she graduated in Physics & MBA from AMU,Aligarh. She was commissioned in the Indian Air Force in 1996 as a Pilot Officer (Administrative Branch), earned a para badge by Skydiving in NDA, Pune in 2000. Retired as a Squadron Leader in Dec’2007 after twelve years. Interestingly, she filed a writ petition along with her senior, Wing Commander Anupama Joshi during May’2007 in the Delhi High Court for granting Permanent Commission to Women Officers serving as Ground Duty Officers and was granted the same in 2010. However, she didn’t join back as she was already in the Corporate domain and had achieved what they had set out to – Women & Men to be at par…no gender bias!!

The cycling and running bug bit me sometime 3 years ago!!!

Before that it was just an abstract thought dictated by the ever growing media deluge for fitness and work-life balance etc. But three years ago, I seriously decided to turn this abstraction into reality and brought myself a lovely cycle and associated clothing to go with it….I joined a number of cycling groups and after I shifted residence closer to my work place, I realized I had more time to devote and gradually this became an addictive pastime with added benefits to my health….Thus here goes my story….

To start…..I will give due credit to my better half for imploring me to get into a habit so that I don’t chew his brains out every now & then for leisure activities like movies or socializing with friends!!! He is, as any ‘normal’ Indian (Ha Ha) is, obsessed with cricket and like most, only an avid cricket watcher. And we all know how these men get glued to the small screen for days and weeks…. like forever…… I was a ‘cricket’ widow!!!!

I started asking myself what I could do; what was my calling; especially those weekend days when I was home and there was sports on TV.

I put my heart into cycling and before I realized it, it became a passion: CYCLING has become my obsession now and I am mighty proud of it, since besides contributing to my health, it has become a source of much happiness.

Nowadays I look forward to getting into this routine of Bicycling/Running and meeting other riders, runners along the way. I also feel good about myself, especially whenever I set myself a target and I achieve it!!!. The tougher the target, more is the effort put in to achieve it, but when it is accomplished, nothing beats the feeling!! One feels one has earned everything and then one can gorge on food with no feeling of guilt whatsoever!!! The added benefits of this is one also wants to dress beautifully; you are on a high more often than not!!! The lows almost appear to disappear from your daily life, including during tough & rough days in office.

Now, isn’t that priceless…There is a bounce in your step, a new sway to your hips as if you have found a novel way to beat the blues… You click a lot of pictures; immerse yourself in writing posts on fb and time just flies…

You are ready for the ‘Monday to Friday Corporate Slavery’ …

Someone asks you, “30+”! You say, ‘WTF’!? but you feel joyous!! Medicines have become a thing of the past… no bad cholesterol, no signs of hyper-thyroidism, no skin ailments….Nothing at all…It feels great!! And you feel alive.

To all the women out there

Just dress up every morning at dawn and show up!! Look after yourself ….and get out of that drudgery of home & hearth. Explore the world by knowing yourself first: how much can you stretch yourself. Shine….in the sun, when it rains or when it is icy cold….Be one with nature and hear the chirping of the birds, the rustling of the leaves as the wind blows…with the occasional city vehicles plying ferociously and destroying the pleasantness, haha….

As the Poet Rumi says ….. “When you do things from the soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.”

You will be utterly surprised to discover the new ‘you’ and your friends and admirers will also think of emulating you. Life will have a different meaning now. You will start looking forward for the next Ride/ Run…

And all you women out there…. get going…Pick up a bicycle and RIDE or Wear a good pair of shoes and RUN

 “It’s your road, and yours alone, others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.” (Rumi)