Name: Ms. Usher Komugisha
Role: Sports Journalist
QN: What does wellness mean to you ?
Wellness to me is an expression of self-love. It reflects flourishment and a means of thriving that deeply reviews who I am as an African Woman. For me, it stretches from physical, social, spiritual and mental health wellbeing.
QN: Are you currently prioritizing your well being? Why? If Yes, how?
As a creative, I prioritize my wellbeing and I absolutely do not let anyone or anything disrespect this space. For instance, every day I make sure that I sleep a minimum of eight hours. In most cases, it is eight straight hours or it can be six and a real power nap of two later in the day. Sometimes, depending on my schedule it can even be more than eight.
This helps my body, mind and soul to rest especially if I am covering a major tournament that entails a lot of focus while doing big interviews, commentating or walking long distances in big stadiums.
For instance, I recently covered the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon in January-February 2022 and just for the final, my watch alerted me that I had walked a total of 7km! The Olembe Stadium is a 60,000 seater stadium so walking from the media zone to the fans zone a couple of times is no child’s play so by the time I get to bed, I truly need to rest.
Diet wise, I eat very healthy food. I eat like an athlete. Whole grain, protein and fruits for breakfast, well-balanced course meals for lunch and dinner that include salads and soups. I also drink a lot of water and this is between 3-4 liters a day. I love water. I also allow myself a cheat day every fortnight so on this day I will eat fast food if I feel like it.
For exercises, I love to jog – a lot of road running. I am considering starting gym sessions as encouraged by a friend recently so I will take that up soon so that I work on my cardiovascular system and build my muscle strength.
I also spend considerable time alone. I use this time to think, meditate, pray, read books or truly just watch the sky and be amazed at the glory of God. When I travel, I love to experience different cultures and food and immerse myself in spaces that feed my soul. It can be any sort of nature and the people.
Socially, I have purposed to spend time with the people I care about and to truly love them. I am very intentional about this and it is working miracles.
QN: How can sports contribute to wellness?
It is scientifically proven that if you involve yourself in sports, it improves your blood circulation, lowers stress levels, controls blood sugar, feeds your soul, lowers cholesterol levels, improves immunity, strengthens the mind and bones to mention but a few.
Engaging in sports is also a means of developing other virtues like discipline. For instance, if you set out to jog every morning, it means that whether it rains or not, you have to be up and working out. This creates discipline and that discipline can be transferred to your other areas of life. It also builds resilience because sometimes your body says you cannot do something but your mind keeps pushing the body and eventually you win.
Sports also helps in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of diseases. So many diseases can be avoided by merely working out especially for people who sit for long hours in meetings or just behind their desks and especially using computers.
I urge every woman out there to embrace sports as part of their daily routine. They can thank me later.
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Biography:
Usher Komugisha is a Multiple Award-Winning multimedia sports journalist that has a passion for covering sports majorly in Africa.
Her work has been featured on major news networks across the world including Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN, Sky Sports and SuperSport among others. She commentates for the Basketball Africa League which is broadcast in 215 nations and territories across the world as well as FIBA.
She played basketball, rugby and golf as well as excelled at track and field from a very young age and this shaped her sports journalism journey and propelled her to a deep understanding of reporting about sports and its power to change the narrative about Africa.
A book addict and linguist who speaks 18 languages, Komugisha was selected among the Top 100 Most Influential Young Africans and was named as the recipient of the prestigious South African G Sport Awards for the inaugural African Woman in Sport Award that focuses on celebrating women in sports on the continent.
She has covered the Summer Olympics, World University Games, FIBA Basketball World Cup, Africa Cup of Nations, FIBA Women’s AfroBasket, African Nations Championship and many other tournaments across the world.
Usher continues to use her platforms to inspire youth on the continent. She is also an activist for Women In Sport. For her coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, she used the hashtag #KnowHerName on Twitter to highlight the achievements of mostly African Women excelling and breaking barriers.