BRING IT ON, She Says

Aarti Mahajan Dingra

Everyone is different- something we all have often heard, but how well have you comprehended it? Let’s pick the distinguishing factors when it comes to growing in a career; some starts with setting plan and then paving the way towards that and some set on the journey without any clue of destination; they believe in themselves, make instinctual decisions, not only avail but create opportunities for themselves, take calculated risks and figure it out eventually. But that does not mean the latter category lacks dedication or does not work consistently and it is definitely not the case of unsuccessful pursuit. ‘We The Women’ has brought to you about the journey of one such maverick today who might give many of the preconceived notions, or dare I say stereotypes, a substantial shake.
Aarti Mahajan Dingra, is a fitness trainer and owner of ‘Shape and Smile-The fitness club. She is one of those with megawatt smile and aura exhibiting moving oomph, which I believe, her establishment as a trainer and entrepreneur has a lot to do with and vice-versa. Mother of about one year old ‘Armaan’, Aarti not only manages SNS, but still takes a class herself every day. Watching her move and groove would most probably make your jaw drops, considering that she had her baby through cesarean section and had put on sweet pounds of pregnancy fat, not very long ago. But we will get back to that in a while let’s first hop upon her journey like we traditionally do.
On being asked how her voyage was propelled and propagated, her words are, “Even today, sometimes I feel I don’t know myself; life is a constant exploration of yourself.”
Anyone who knows her since childhood would describe her as a rebellious and stubborn girl right from the childhood. They might even go on and tell you that she was not the ‘girly girl’ but more of a person who would be categorized as a spoilt brat or tomboy, a stereotypical tag for the little girls who would not be hushed and docile. “I was energetic, fearless and notorious; I just learnt to channelize all that gradually as I grew,” smirks Aarti.
She wanted to be a herpetologist, study reptiles, but when does it ever goes as planned.
“To be one, I needed to graduate in medical and while I was in third year of my college I realized that it wasn’t about the profession but the goal to be independent and self-sufficient that I should strive for,” shares Aarti. That led her to switch to the road paved by her father; business was the next step and so happened the pursuance of MBA. “Mathematics was not my subject after tenth, but I believe in achieving what I put my mind to; dropped a year, cleared the entrance and somehow made it through the course,” she tells.
While she dropped and prepared for the entrance for MBA, she also attained a degree of B. Ed. Pursuing MBA (Finance and Marketing), Aarti was often put in the category that the faculty was sure would not make through the placements and that made her get subjected to various remarks unanimously. “Although they were rarely personal but still it pinched me so much that even though I was not inclined towards getting into MNC, I participated in Pool campus, in Chandigarh, where many colleges of north zone participated and got selected,” boasts Aarti. According to her, from a lot of more than 1200, 37 got selected; out of which seven were from J&K, only two from her campus.
Aarti is one of those who not only get irked by the negative remarks but provoked too and so, she strives to answer by proving them wrong rather than replying back.
“Criticism has always been a blessing in disguise to me; I feel immensely motivated on being challenged. Whenever someone tells me I cannot, I mentally accept to challenge and work to prove that I can,” expresses Aarti. This is what has majorly influenced Aarti’s coarse so far.
Getting into an MNC boasted Aarti’s confidence immensely. But working Nine to Five did not please her heart. “I had no clue what I was seeking but I was certain that working a regular job was not. It was not the reason I got the degree in the first place,” says Aarti. But her accomplishments clearly reveal that Aarti is neither one of those who would hesitate to take risks nor one of those who would dive into anything entirely uncalculated.
Aarti decided to take up her father’s advice to get into field of fitness and start her own club. So after 5 months, left the hefty package and took the risk to be an entrepreneur. She elaborates, “I had never gone against the flow, I picked up every opportunity that came my way. But that doesn’t mean that I took anything for granted, instead I gave it all my dedication.”
Once in the field, Aarti has aspired to improvise, innovate and excel. She attained certification in various fitness regimes; Reebok’s Fitness, Step, Martial Arts, Core Pilates Trainer (2012), International Sports Science Association Certified Trainer (2013), Doonya Bollywood Workout (2014), Zumba Fitness (2014), Yoga by Kaivalyadham University, Pune (2016) and Basic Belly Dance Certification (2017).
At SNS, Aarti has come up with various innovative programs and events such as six days Belly Dance workshop by a Pune-based professional Belly Dance instructor, Arun Bhardwaj and various women oriented events on Women's day. As of today, Aarti has organized more than 20 successful fitness events in association with Jammu Club and Amar Singh Club.
She has delivered guest lectures at various institutions such as Presentation Convent School, TBS Jammu University, SMVDU and so on. To add on, she has been special guest at MBS College of Engineering, for showcase of Zumba; at SOS school, Jammu on Drug addiction; at JD institute, on fitness; organized special Zumba classes for IIT Jammu Students and is also associated with Big 92.7 FM for spreading awareness about fitness in more than half a dozen episodes.
Aarti has interest in varying things and hence various pursuits. Arti is also a member of Core women Committee of Chamber of Commerce. She is recipient of ‘CNN-IBN Citizen Journalist award-2008’, ‘Young Women Achiever award in the field of Health & Fitness-2014’ and has recently been awarded by Indian Motorbike Company "Wheels of Change-Girl Child education-2017.
She also believes in contributing back into the society and therefore she does whatever she can, say, volunteering at Home for mentally challenged children, representing member of BJP's Beti Bachao, Beti Padao campaign from J&K, organizing fund raising events at SNS through which she has so far sponsored 2 girls for higher education and other charity events.
Now let’s get back to where we started. Becoming mother, like any other woman is considered as greatest blessing. The thing to be considered here is, what was its impact of marriage and then becoming mother on her, her career and life in general.
“Marriage never hindered my progress; my husband Manik Dingra and my in-laws are very supportive. But things took drastic turn when I conceived. I was advised to quit vigorous physical activity. Even after delivery I could not resume my previous routine because of C-Section,” shares Aarti.
Aarti was adamant to resume her workout and so as soon as she recovered enough she got back into the field.
“I had gained more than Twenty Kgs, had lost my stamina, strength and flexibility as there was no muscle mass, just fat. Mentally I presumed I could but initially my body could not keep up with my determination,” remembers Aarti. She further points out, “To make things worst I was feeling depressed and further guilty for being so and that put me into the vicious circle. Thankfully, I decided to make myself more aware of what was happening and hence I learnt about Postnatal Depression.”
Yet, she took it easy on herself and only made sure to be consistent. The result? On Armaan’s first birthday she almost attained the shape and stamina she had formerly.
“I enjoy a good challenge and working my way to accomplish goals, however small and succeed,” expresses Aarti.
Aarti advocates becoming independent. Her words to women out there are, “We need to snap out of the notion that only men are supposed to earn. Women need to be self sufficient and self reliant, so that they could not only be in control of their finances but their life; have charge of their choices and decisions.”