Mind Over Money: Walking 5 km a day, scuba diving helps this yoga enthusiast CEO keep mentally fit

In an interview with ETMarkets, Narasimhan said, “The environment underwater whilst beautiful can be hostile too. You have to change your breathing, bring your mind into the moment and heighten your awareness.” Edited excerpts:
With 3 decades of rich experience and in different leadership roles – how do you keep yourself mentally fit?
Firstly, I’m glad to see the rise in awareness around mental health and fitness. We all know that leadership can be very challenging at a professional and personal level.

At a professional level, one needs to have the strength of character and a sound and analytical mind to take on such a role. This can only occur when people and processes work in tandem.

Find the right people,

them to perform, unburden them from any unnecessary pressure, remove roadblocks and set the right processes in place to achieve goals.

On the personal front, mental fitness is simply rooted in work-life balance. It is very easy to get into a mode where the lines are blurred and skewed toward work.

I think it’s important that there is a switch-off time from work every day, a healthy routine that involves spending time with oneself and with family.

I spend my personal time around learning and entertainment. I’m a news addict and love to keep in touch with everything that’s happening around me. I also enjoy watching films regularly.

Our WFH Hybrid policy helps several colleagues to make the most of their time at work, while being present at home. Regular family vacations are also a big step in keeping this balance going.

The pandemic ensured that we missed vacations for at least two years. My new year resolution is to plan vacations well in advance to deal with the hustle of regular work life.

Yoga is a great way to relax and calm your mind. Is there any specific regime you follow?
For me, yoga is not just a way to calm my mind but also to bring in mobility into my body. As we age, it is very important to incorporate yoga for mobility and stretching.

Additionally, yoga serves as a tool to release all my day-to-day stress. I concentrate on practicing deep breathing exercises regularly.

It enriches the body from within and helps in removing toxicity. It also helps me eliminate all unnecessary thoughts and draws positive energy.

We have heard that you are also into walking and scuba diving. Tell us about your experience and how does it help you remain grounded?
I like my data. I count my steps. I’m hooked up to a gadget to help me do the same. I try to walk every day without fail. It is an important part of my life. It helps me to keep physically, mentally, spiritually, and professionally fit.

My walking buddy is my wife. We walk 5 km almost every day at a brisk pace. Last year, we completed over 780 km of walking, and I intend to double the number this year.

I do dive occasionally. I am a PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) certified Deep Water diver.

The environment underwater whilst beautiful can be hostile too. You have to change your breathing, bring your mind into the moment and heighten your awareness.

This is something I picked up in 2015 and it showed me that stepping out of my comfort zone can be a very rewarding and insightful experience. It allowed me to experience a dimension of myself that I don’t usually tap into.

During a dive, things can go as per plan or require you to make changes on the go. While it appears as a high-risk sport, proper education, training, and discipline ensure that you understand the fragility of life itself.

This is bound to make you grounded and sensible in the long run. And given that I got certified along with my son, this was a great bonding exercise too.

Why is mental health more important in current times and especially for the ones who are in leadership roles? Your views.
Not just leadership, but everyone needs to take care of their health. If we have to workout everyday to take care of our bodies, we need to pay attention to what we eat and even seek help when necessary.

Since the pandemic began, we have realised the importance of this component of health and the impact it can have on us as a collective and as an individual.

On the leadership front, the task comes with a massive responsibility and mental health is important to keep me emotionally stable, taking a balanced view of every situation and also enabling me to give clear direction to the team.

High aspirations and a desire to achieve more on both, personal and professional fronts, lead to a lot of stress.

And we can often get caught up between both. One of the most important daily habits to maintain good mental health is to ensure adequate sleep and nutrition.

I track my sleep pattern and work on improving it every day. As a leader, it helps me be at my most productive self every single day.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)