Jaya Ahsan Credits Manual Farming and Organic Diet for Maintaining Fitness Routine

Acclaimed actress Jaya Ahsan, currently garnering critical praise for her role as Padma in Kaushik Ganguly’s latest film, *Aajw Ordhangini*, has revealed an unconventional approach to maintaining her physical health that departs significantly from the standard celebrity fitness regimen. While industry expectations often lean toward high-intensity gym routines, Ahsan emphasizes that she prefers manual labor and cultivation over traditional workouts.
For the production of her recent film, Ahsan briefly adopted Pilates to meet the physical demands of her role, but she admits that regular gym sessions are not a staple of her daily life. Instead, she finds vitality and fitness through gardening and agricultural work at her home. The actress actively engages in tilling the soil and cultivating a variety of vegetables, a practice she believes keeps her both physically active and mentally grounded.
This hands-on approach to farming extends directly to her diet, which consists largely of the organic produce grown on her own property. By avoiding store-bought goods, she mitigates concerns over chemical fertilizers. While she maintains a disciplined lifestyle, she remains pragmatic about cravings, noting that she occasionally enjoys pizza and does not succumb to guilt when indulging in “junk food.” Ahsan contends that food should be an enjoyable experience rather than a source of stress, noting that the mind and soul occasionally require small, unrestrained pleasures.
Health experts support the efficacy of Ahsan’s lifestyle choices, noting that physical labor, such as farming, offers comprehensive health benefits that indoor exercise machines often lack. Nutritionist Ananya Bhowmik points out that agricultural labor serves as a form of full-body toning that strengthens muscles and ensures cardiovascular health. Bhowmik draws parallels to human history, noting that before the advent of modern gym culture, consistent physical activity—such as hunting, fishing, and field work—was sufficient to maintain human physiological integrity.
Beyond physical fitness, the act of gardening provides mental health benefits that are difficult to replicate in a gym environment. Engaging with nature and cultivating crops facilitates the release of “happy hormones” while simultaneously reducing cortisol levels associated with stress. For those without access to agricultural land, experts suggest that maintaining a substantial garden or simply walking over large, varied terrains can offer similar health advantages, provided the activity is sustained and rigorous.