Mahavira Jain Vidyalaya Rajat Jayanti Mahotsava

Author(s): Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya Mumbai
Publisher: Mahavir Jain Vidyalay

Page 207

CHIMANLAL N. SHROFF
(M. J. VIDYALAYA
WORK, PLAY, REST AND SLEEP In order to live a hygienic life, it is not only necessary, as shown before to supply the body with wholesome substances and to exclude unwholesome substances, but it is also necessary that the body should at times be active and at times be inactive. There are two great forms of activity, work and play and two great forms of inactivity rest and sleep. All these are needed in healthy life and in due relation to each other.
Work:
There are few things more necessary to a normal healthy life than to have purposeful work. Work when done with zest is a wonderful tonic.
Exercise :
This should be in moderation and has greatest value in maintaining good health and efficiency. A very good plan is to take 10 to 20 minutes of exercise according to one's requirements in the morning and in the evening. Those who play outdoor games will have no difficulty in selecting their own time. Swimming is one of the finest exercises. It brings nearly every muscle in the body into play, and should be followed by massage of the body. A healthy body gives courage and an optimistic outlook upon life. A sluggish liver can hide the most beautiful sunrise, but a healthy body gives the eyes power to see beauty on the most dreary day. The value of exercise consists not in developing large muscles, but in attaining physical poise, symmetry of form, and the harmonious adjustment of the various parts of the body, as well as furthering the proper activity of tissue cells and organs, and the elimination of waste products, in fact, good health as a whole.
Always make deep breathing a part of one's daily exercise, no matter what one's physical troubles are, deep breathing will help to overcome them. It will cure cold feet by bringing more oxygen into the bood. It will help to drive away the constipation by giving natural massage to the bowels. It will help to overcome torpid liver by the exercise given to that organ. It will help to cure rheumatism by producing enough oxygen to burn up some of the foreign deposits in the various parts of the body.
Sleep :
At night the cells of the human body recuperate, hence undisturbed sleep is very important. Sleep is nature's great rejuvenator, and the health