Football, tennis and cricket tournaments are in full swing again and many people are motivated by these to play sports for their own health and enjoyment.

Proper exercise is the best way to maintain your general well-being and keep the mind, body and spirit in good health and free from illness.

Doing exercises in the gym or at home is a good way to develop discipline and regularity in your exercise regime.

However, playing sports such as tennis or football gives a different joy, a thrill to your spirit which adds enjoyment in what you are doing. It is this factor of enjoying the exercise which tempts the mind to do it again.

My advice, therefore, to those of us who find it difficult to find the time for exercise and prefer to spend time working, is to try to get together with a few friends and play some enjoyable sport or games regularly.

Another great idea would be to take one of the great walks in Sussex. Spending some time among nature, filling the lungs with pure country air and experiencing the life force enlivening you has the power to revive you from all types of worry and stress.

Moreover, being with like-minded people in a group is motivating and enjoyable.

When we do any exercise, we need to prepare our muscles and our inner body before we begin and should also nurture the body tissues afterwards.

With any exercise, the muscles and joints need regular care. It is important to do some stretching exercises for the whole body and massage the muscles, joints and ligaments.

I like to massage with warm oils, using mahanarayan oil with oil of wintergreen on the legs, calves, arms, neck and back to maintain the tone of the muscles and ease any stiffness and aching.

You could also warm up a little sesame seed oil or olive oil and add some oil of wintergreen or essential oil of ginger to massage the muscles regularly. This keeps the skin healthy and young too.

It is also important to do regular deep-breathing exercises to provide vital oxygen to the heart, muscles and ligaments, otherwise you accumulate lactic acid in the muscles which causes pain.

Nutrition of the tissues is vital as this forms the substrata which the cells use to produce energy and healing. A well-balanced, healthy diet will provide all the carbohydrates, proteins, fats and essential vitamins and minerals necessary to keep your body healthy and energetic.

Herb teas help digestion and the right herbal supplements provide extra benefit.

My suggestion is chyavanprash (Energy Plus Indian gooseberry in honey and raw cane sugar with 50 other rejuvenating herbs).

For overall body nutrition and energy, use mahanarayan oil (Rheuma Ease) for regular therapeutic massage to the muscles and ginger pick-me-up tea (ginger, cardamom, black pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon in a balanced ratio).

Enjoy the holistic exercise experience.

The products mentioned are available at Planet Janet, 86 Church Road, Hove.

Dr Milind Jani works as a conventional and holistic GP and Dr Asmita Jani as Ayurvedic Consultant from 3 Eaton Gardens, Hove. Call them on: 01273 777448 or e-mail: milind.jani@ntlworld.com