Miles To Go

Actor Milind Soman swears by a holistic approach towards life. He tells us the theory behind running barefoot.

- Mukul Kashyap

Since when has running been an integral part of your life?

I would say that sports have been integral part of my life for a long period. I started swimming at the age of nine and swam my first nationals in 1976. During my younger days, I was very active and was a competitive swimmer till 23. After that, I did nothing related to fitness for nearly 15 years. I never thought that I would run a marathon. The first Mumbai marathon was being held in 2004, and it caught my interest. I participated and finished it after which I was hooked to running. Earlier, I hated running, but then things changed. The obstacles in my mind had gone. I was 38, and realised that our minds are our only limitations. I was hooked to the feeling of running and it quickly became my passion.

Why do you think most people do not have time for fitness?

We do have time for fitness but we don’t think that it is a priority. It is equally easy and hard to build a good habit; either you smoke or you run. I used to smoke 30 cigarettes a day. I was hooked and I smoked for many years. It took me two years to break the smoking habit and I started running at the same time. Too many people in urban areas are hooked to harmful vices.

According to you, what are the aspects of a holistic life?

A holistic life involves being mindful and understanding your own needs. You must figure out if your needs are emotional or physical. You must also focus on your thoughts and really understand whether the thought has come from within or from someone else. You must reach conclusions after your own reasoning and not follow trends or other people’s advice. Take control over your mind and become more mentally strong. People ask me how I stay positive all the time and I attribute it to positive thoughts. You see, 99 per cent of the thoughts that we hav our trash and only 1 per cent are the truly positive thoughts.