~||Riddhi on Mumbai Mirror||~

Leading television actress Riddhi Dogra currently playing the role of Priya Pradhan in Maryada: Lekin Kab Tak talks about fitness and dancing therapy to lose calories.

Body
Fitness – "Fitness is a way of life. I believe that if you want to enjoy your food and relish all that you eat, you must work out. I do a mix of cardio exercises, yoga and dancing regularly. With erratic shooting schedules one has to be determined to be able to pursue some exercise.

I love to dance and feel it's a great energy booster as well as an excellent form of cardio and the blood rush that you get is a high in itself. I would recommend everyone to either enrol in dancing classes or get a huge mirror and make one room spacious enough to dance to your heart's content. I simply love it! It's good for the body and mind. I walk as much as I can. I take the stairs and walk smaller distances as it's a great way to burn calories.

Diet – I have small frequent meals essentially comprising of protein (chicken, fish and paneer), green leafy veggies and wheat/oat. I am not fond of fried food and junk food. My breakfast is omelette, poha or daliya and fruits. I love to have a glass of cold coffee in the morning, which is essentially milk and one spoon of coffee with some sugar. Lunch is dal, sabzi or chicken/fish with roti. Dinner is sometimes a bowl of fruits, soup and salad or again rotis and veggies and one non-vegetarian item.

Mind
I love sweating it out by dancing it simply de stresses me. I am fond of reading a book by the window, I enjoy listening to music. Once in a while I do like to pamper myself with a spa treatment. The best way to cope with stress is to deal with it for the next 2 hours and not think long term or to do breathing exercises.

Spirit
I earnestly believe in the saying spread happiness, look for your happiness in someone else's laughter. Be good to people and do well though it may sound clichd. These words are said so often that it has lost its meaning. I also believe in the power of positive thinking and that God resides in each one of us and so one must always have a correct attitude towards people.

I don't follow a daily ritual but I do have a Ganpati idol in my hand bag that my mom gave me when I came to Bombay. I carry it everywhere with me. I don't pray but converse with God. He's like my therapist, I share everything with the Lord be it confusing, scary, peaceful , beautiful or sad. I like to go to the Mount Mary church in Bandra and the Gurudwara in Andheri. It's extremely soothing and has a relaxing and calming effect on me.

The books that have inspired me are Diary of a young girl by Anne Frank, The glass castle by Jeannette Walls, Like a flowing river by Paulo Coelho and Many lives Many Masters by Brian Weiss.

My motto is - When I grow old I want the wrinkles on my face to remind me of the times where laughter once was."

As told to Purnima Goswami Sharma