Dinaz Vervatwala

Charting the fitness path Dinaz Vervatwala is committed to the well-being of women

FIT FOR LIFE:

Dinaz Vervatwala I WAS born in Jamshedpur, the youngest of three children and the only girl in the family. My upbringing was far away from being girl like, thanks to the influence of my brothers. Cycling and hiking were great hobbies and pastimes, and formed the fitness foundations that ultimately charted my destiny. I lost my father while I was in Class X and life was hard after that. My mother worked hard to bring us all up and it took a long time for us to recover. After my schooling at Sacred Heart Convent School at Jamshedpur, I left for Mumbai to pursue my under graduation in Accounting hoping to be a Chartered Accountant someday. While studying, I worked at night and completed the course. I returned to Jamshedpur as an intern for S.P. Bilimoria and there I resumed my hobbies and added jogging and free hand exercises to my routine. I got married to Jamshed Vervatwala in 1988 and moved to Hyderabad and continued to study and work towards becoming a Chartered Accountant. The internship was interesting but had long hours built in. Fitness and a healthy lifestyle used to pique my interest constantly, but time was not on my side. Some of my family members were victims of osteoporosis and it was sad to see them fall prey to this deadly disease that according to information available at that point, medication and prayers were the only solution. Many a time, I used to wonder how elderly women in the West were in relatively better shape than their contemporaries across the globe. Standard response to queries regarding women's problems were attributed to `natural' causes and fate (which I didn't buy). My opportunity came after I had my first child in 1993. I was at home looking after my son and as expected putting on weight. I decided to start exercising by myself and then it struck me that that may have been the opportunity I was waiting for. I started on my own, encouraged by my family, started reading and watching exercise videos and getting better educated and informed.

 

In 1993, I opened my classes to the public and waited for my first client. Dinaz's was born and the rest is history. Since then I have remained committed to the well-being of women. I run three studios, all wooden-floored and our operating systems of maintenance and management are comparable to the best in the rest of the world. All the instructors and administration show compassion and concern to our clients at all times. I am proud to report that I have distinguished members of society as chief patron and patrons of Dinaz's, a distinction not found anywhere in the country. The task of motivating women to exercise in society we live in is proving increasingly difficult as labour-saving devices and sedentary entertainments become more easily accessible. With this as a background, I am encouraging a number of youngsters to look into becoming fitness professionals. Today's fitness pro has to stay on top of things because today's exerciser is lot more knowledgeable about health and fitness than ever before. In 1999, I opened my doors to the 50-plus women in a programme called "Nifty-Fifty" designed by me to include women in the peri-menopausal, menopausal to the post menopausal population. At that point (may be even today), no structured and scientific programme was available in the country. Today, that programme is popular at all the locations and that caught the eye of the doctors from the Obstetrics and Gynaecologists Society of Hyderabad and the Indian Menopause Society - Hyderabad Chapter who invited me to talk at a scientific session called `Positive Health After 40'. I took along a 50-plus group who demonstrated and that led to us starting an exercise programme for the doctors at the OGSH.

 

STRETCH & SWING: Dinaz shows the way. One of the high points of my life was when I was invited by the President of the Indian Menopause Society as an expert to the Second National Revised Consensus & Policy Development Expert Meet on Menopause & the Role of HRT In Indian Women organised by Indian Menopause Society and Apollo Hospital at New Delhi. I presented a paper "Exercising and Menopause - Increasing the Joy of Living". I was the youngest out of 45 experts to be invited and the only fitness expert in the country. I am proud and privileged to be a resident of Hyderabad. I had the honour of having the chief minister and his wife as chief guest and guest of honour at the grand finale of our summer camp on May 30, 2002. He spoke of the need and power of exercise and adopting healthy lifestyles. He encouraged making exercise a family activity and spoke highly about women entrepreneurs. I feel privileged to be a personal trainer to Mrs. Bhuvaneshwari Devi. Dinaz's is associated with doctors, hospitals, corporates, senior citizens, teenagers, T.V. etc. Finally, it is all about how to enjoy living not how to avoid dying. .A few simple steps like eating right, exercising moderately, quitting smoking and staying involved in our communities can yield enormous benefits.