PRINCIPLES OF LIFE - PART 4 OF 5

The 5 principles of life - breath, water, nutrition, exercise, life balance.

Part 4 of 5, is about EXERCISE.  The brutal truth is that we can’t store fitness.   Our bodies are built to move, and when we don’t it rewards us with heart disease, osteoporosis, low energy, poor sex drive, poor mood or depression.  Our body only does what we ask of it and what we give it.  Those aches and pains?  The fatigue?  All signs that your body wants and needs to move. 

All you need to do is google “benefits of exercise” and you will find a thousand reasons why you must move.  Exercise will:

• increase your energy
• keep your ticker, well ticking!
• decrease blood pressure and cholesterol
• balance hormones helping with depression, fatigue and stress
• build bone density
• manage weight and increase metabolism (which prevents another whole host of ailments)
• increase lean tissue (muscle) which keeps us young
• stimulates the human growth hormone known as the “fountain of youth”.

In a study done on adults 90 - 102 years of age, the number one factor they all had in common was a healthy percentage of lean tissue.  With this fact and all the benefits above, exercise can be considered “the fountain of youth”.

If you are currently not doing any form of exercise, anything will help.  Incorporating more movement into your daily activities is a great place to start.  Move whenever and as often as you can.  Talking on the phone?  Do some squats.  Watching TV?  Start stretching.  Shopping locally?  Rather than drive to each store, walk across the street and then back again.  Standing in line?  Engage your abdominals, hold for 10 seconds and relax.  Repeat 10x.  It doesn’t have to take up extra time.  Build it in to whatever you are doing.

While active living is a great place to start, some formal exercise is necessary.  Cardiovascular activity is important for heart health, circulation and lymphatic drainage.  Walking and swimming are excellent choices.  Strength conditioning improves bone density, increases metabolism, improves balance and back health.  Many of our clients began with Total Body Vibration, gained strength, reduced pain with very little effort and are now finding themselves effortlessly walking, doing Pilates or dance classes.  Stretching helps with circulation, muscle balance, metabolism and energy flow.

Participating in an instructor led program will ensure you are exercising safely and are incorporating all the components of fitness (cardio, strength, flexibility).  Either private or small group instruction is best to ensure you are being closely monitored for proper technique and to prevent the tendency to do too much too soon.

Find something that interests you OR, if plain old exercise doesn’t fit your groove, then set a goal as an incentive to get you going.  Perhaps a hike or a family vacation that involves an activity that you need to be in shape for.  Last year, Anne Johnson got the Devji family in shape to climb Mt. Kilimonjaro.  I met with a client last month to discuss a training regime to hike the Grand Canyon this May.    It may be even as simple as being able to play on the floor with your grandchildren (and then get up again, with grace!).  Whatever it is, if it’s compelling enough, it will get you moving.

The link below is an article from the Vancouver Sun.  It talks about a new government incentive to reward British Columbians for leading an active lifestyle!  Very cool!  http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Health+innovation+starts+home+Falcon+says/2649430/story.html

“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goal, adjust the action steps.”  –Confucius