Fitness and the Tiger Safari
- Deepalakshmi P
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 21 hours ago
Deepalakshmi P
Yoga teacher
We chase weight loss like tourists chase tigers. But real fitness lies in the forest — in strength, stamina, balance, and joy. When the ecosystem thrives, the tiger appears naturally.
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“ The secrets of weight loss shared by this celebrity actress fitness trainer”…
“You can eat your favourite briyani, roti and chaval and still lose weight – read further to learn more about it.”
Often, when Sunita scroll the internet, she come across such catchy statements and undoubtedly you click on those links, curious to know some magic solution for weight loss.
Weight loss is the biggest selling point for any fitness trainer/ club.
Posting client testimonials on weight loss and especially case studies of bigger losses in shorter periods, are sure shot success formula for boosting the class enrolments.
Probably, fitness is the only industry where the customer is happy, when he makes losses.
However, in reality, if you see, the percentage of people who actually lost weight in a gym or diet plan or a fitness class is roughly 2-5%.
Except for the few disciplined and focussed ones, others are always on the weight loss see-saw.
It was the same with Sunita , January to October, she would manage to lose couple of kilos, only to regain that during the Diwali and Christmas break.
Sunita's fitness, journey last year was actually going pretty good. She had lost 4-5 kgs, thanks to some trainings and good diet plans.
Then, the real testing period of her commitment came with the Diwali vacation in October.
Kanha Tiger Reserve Trip
Last October, for Diwali vacation, She had gone to Kanha Tiger reserve and stayed at the Kanha Jungle Lodge.
A bit of History: -
It is run by the Sankhala family.
Mr. Kailash Sankhala is famously known as the Tiger Man of India.
Back in early 1900s, the British officers and Rajas were hunting animals to display their power.
Many thousands of tigers and forest animals were killed and photographs of the kings and officers standing beside those carcases were proudly published in papers and displayed on the palace walls.
Mr. Kailash was the first wildlife conservationist, who realised the alarming rate the animals and forests were disappearing.
He fought with government and other officers and finally with blessing of Prime Minister India Gandhi, he started the Project tiger in 1973.
Thanks to his firm belief and tireless efforts we have close 60 tiger reserves in India.
They were so thrilled to stay in a lodge started by this great man.
With all the enthusiasm, she woke up at ungodly hours of 4.30am and after some tea and biscuits we reached, the safari entrance gate at 5.30am.
The guides and drivers, hyped stories about their tiger sightings of last evening - tiger at the pond, the fence and so on.
They started the safari and were going on and on for close to 3 hours in the forest, but no sign of tigers.
The drivers were calling each other on mobiles and checking in the WhatsApp group for any update on the tiger movements.
They surely saw some paw prints, and there were also few alarm calls by the sambar deer, but no sign of tiger.
None of the jeeps, were lucky to spot a tiger in that gate that day.
However, they still had 2 more hours of safari left in the morning slot.
So, their guide and the driver, started showing as birds, other small herbivores, ant hills, snake marks etc etc.
These stories were actually very interesting and intriguing, that they were not disappointed about not seeing the tiger.
The same thing happened in the afternoon safari also, they could not see the tiger, but they learnt more about the forest.
That’s when Sunita casually remarked, that there is so much beauty in the forest, then why do people call it tiger safari?
The safari driver, who had more than 25 yrs experience in this field, told
“ Mam, tiger jungle ka hero hai. Tiger ka photo dalenge,naam bolenge tho, log dhoor se aayenge, paise dhenge. Tiger ki wajah se puri duniya se funds and donations milthi hai."
"But tiger, is the apex predator. For the tiger to survive, the other animals and eco system should also be there to support it.
So, the money that comes is used for everything from planting more trees, making artificial water holes, protecting small animal population, even fencing some areas to protect grass from over grazing etc".
Next day, they saw a very bold and graceful tigress, majestically walking along the road. She was not intimidated by the sounds of jeeps and excited tourists.
She stood in the middle of the road, posed for pictures.
Then, she crossed the road and went behind the thick green bushes and settled down comfortably, having done with the cameo appearance for that day.
What is the relation with Weight loss?
As the tiger is the hero of the jungle, weight loss is the poster boy of the fitness world.
That day in Kanha, she realised something simple yet profound — there is far more to a forest than the tiger. And there is far more to fitness than the weighing scale.
The forest thrives because of balance — trees, grasslands, deer, insects, water bodies, even the silence. The tiger survives because the ecosystem is strong.
Fitness is no different.
Weight loss will be sustainable only when other factors such as clean eating, good exercise and adequate rest are in place.
She realised why her weight loss goal has been elusive. Her focus on only sweating out, step counting and watching calories is not sufficient.
She vowed to fix her workout routine in a holistic manner by including cardio, strength training, mobility exercises and good breathing practices.
She promised to eat moderate and nourishing food that would support her plan.
She realised her body needs good rest and recovery plan also to make it sustainable over a long period.
She was no longer looking for quick tricks for weight loss...because she was no longer chasing the tiger.
She was nurturing the forest.
Enjoy your journey.
Stay healthy.
Stay happy.
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