Some habits pass down like family heirlooms.
I grew up watching my dad and uncles carry their pot bellies with pride. They were confident, convinced they were healthy — and in many ways, they truly were. But I never felt at home in that version of health. I couldn’t sit in one place, working as they did, rooted in a single rhythm.
I was always restless.
At the gym, I’d dream of cycling.
Cycling, I’d dream of mountaineering.
And so it went, chasing the “next thing” instead of sitting with the present one.
But something shifted this year, around my birthday in April. For the first time, I was happy right where I was. Content with the spaces I had entered. Grateful for what my body allowed me to do. And for once, I didn’t want to be anywhere else.
Mumbai had something to do with it.
This city has a way of being brutal and enabling at the same time — pushing you into solitude, demanding you prove what you can carry on your own. In that solitude, I found rhythm.
Here’s what that season looked like:
Weights.
I’ve been lifting since 18, but this time wasn’t about “doing more.” It was about feeling more. Breathing through each rep, touching every muscle, keeping a promise to myself six days a week.
Swimming.
I hesitated before paying almost 10K for a yearly pool membership. But that leap became one of the best decisions of my life. The water opened my lungs, taught me endurance, dissolved fears I didn’t know I was carrying. On days I missed it, the day felt incomplete.
Running.
My favorite of them all.
The version of me that once believed he couldn’t run for five minutes now sprints highways in Mumbai. Running gave me rigor, energy, and a joy no other movement matched. It’s the most sustainable form of training I know — and the lessons it teaches your body are uncompromising.
Through all of this, I learnt ten truths worth keeping:
If you commit, your body will tell you what it deserves — and what it doesn’t.
If you are dareful, your dopamine flow won’t need brownies and hot chocolate.
If you don’t love it but never miss it, you will love it.
If you build, it will last for far more reasons than you think it would.
If you commit, move with consistency but fall back, it is okay — you will wake up and do it over again.
If you listen closely, movement will reveal truths your mind tries to hide.
If you rest with intention, your body will grow stronger in silence.
If you stay consistent, small efforts will compound into unshakable strength.
If you choose discipline today, you’ll avoid regret tomorrow.
If you honor your body, it will carry you further than ambition alone ever could.
This season of movement taught me something simple: discipline doesn’t always look like control. Sometimes it looks like listening. Sometimes it looks like showing up without love — until love arrives.
And now I wonder — how do you design your routines for your body?
What’s the movement that has taught you the most about yourself?