Exercise is for elevating your spirit, not just your heart rate.

I have discovered the perfect exercise program. Two simple steps. Guaranteed to extend the years in your life and, more importantly, to improve the life in your years. It's a program that can be custom tailored to most people.

Step 1: Think of a few physical activities that you enjoy, used to enjoy, or have been wanting to try.

Step 2: Go out and enjoy them!



It would probably take more than ten fingers to count all of your friends, acquaintances and relatives that have plunged into a workout regimen but quit after a short time because they lacked the motivation. And…it may take all of your digits to count the number of times you have done that yourself. In too many lives, exercise without joy has become yet another stress.

Fun is the key to success.

One of my favorite activities is trail running. I enjoy other activities too, but trail running may very well be my favorite. You need only look at the three photos on this blog post – pics I took on a recent trail run – to understand why I love it so much.

We are all busy. We have too much to do and not enough time to do it. If our exercise regimen is something we dread, it becomes easy to ignore it. Why would someone leave something hanging that they have to do, to go do something they don’t like to do?

Physical activity is important for the whole person, not just for the physical body. Our spiritual, mental, emotional and physical aspects are intricately intertwined. Your mind, emotions and spirit dwell in your physical body. The better each one works, the better they all work; when you exercise your body, you also sharpen your mind and nurture your soul. Physical activity makes you feel good deep inside. Being active is part of your core essence. You are designed to move. You must move. All living bodies are enlivened by physical activity.

The greatest benefit of exercise is that it elevates your spirit, not just your heart rate.

Stop worrying so much about IT. Start taking care of YOU!

In recent years, we have been searching for something new, different and better in our approach to health and well-being. Since 1997, people in the United States now pay more visits to alternative healthcare practitioners such as chiropractors, acupuncturists and homeopaths than to medical doctors. We have thousands of natural and conventional remedies and therapies, and new ones continue to emerge. Yet, as a society, our health continues to decline. So, what are we missing…?

Life!

Even though people are looking outside the medical box, we still have not experienced a fundamental shift in thinking when it comes to our health. Today’s healthcare system—conventional and alternative—seems to ignore health and life. Our overarching concern is disease. We have countless names for the ills that befall us. But there is one name that fits them all: “IT”

We are consumed by IT.

Fighting IT.
Finding a cure for IT.
Losing IT and keeping IT off.
“Let me kiss IT and make IT feel better.”
IT cetera, IT cetera, IT cetera...

We do not have a health care system; we have a disease care system. And again, that holds true for the alternative market as much as the conventional one. We may be buying more herbs and vitamins rather than pharmaceuticals to fight IT, but we still worry mainly about IT.

Well, guess what? IT is YOU!

That’s right. As with vibrant health, IT comes only from within. Sure, there may be external factors in play such as pathogens, trauma, poor nutrition or stress, but all of that needs to be experienced, interpreted and integrated before your body can express IT. Ultimately, IT—however IT manifests—comes from within.

When you fight IT you are only fighting yourself. So stop fighting. Find peace with yourself. That does not mean to “give up and just learn to live with IT.” Just stop devoting all of your time, energy and money to your disease, pain or weight, and start paying attention to your life. Concern yourself with enhancing your life and maximizing your life expression. Place your priority on life, rather than IT, with your loved ones, too. “Let me kiss you and make you feel better.”

Understanding that IT is you does not mean to blame yourself for IT, but it does allow you to take responsibility for your life. Blame anchors you in the past, leaving you with a feeling of powerlessness, whereas taking responsibility gives you strength by allowing you to shape your future.
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Stop worrying so much about IT and start taking care of you.

Each moment, you are in the process of becoming.

As I was flying back from Australia a few days ago, I had a profound realization. It was one of those moments that shifts the way you look at everything. Forever.

The flight between Sydney and LAX is a long one. I was taking some time to read a classic spiritual novel, Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. If you consider yourself spiritually conscious and have never read it, I highly recommend it. If you have read it, I recommend it even more. This was my second time through. The first time was in 1979.

Anyway, one passage in the book refers to the sound of the river as, "not just water, but the voice of life, of Being, of perpetual Becoming." For me, that was an illuminating thought. It became clear to me: I'm not just who I am; I'm who I've become. And, in the future, I won't just be who I'll be, but what I become.

As I go through each day, I am not just doing or being; I'm becoming.

All that I say, think, plan, eat, drink, do (or don't get around to), feel, choose, react to -- everything -- contributes to what I am becoming. Kinda makes the mundane more important.

How about you? Take a look at the past week, month, year...
Think about your habits, your relationships, your plans.
What are you becoming...?

The greatest adventure is the journey of self discovery.

As with last week's post, this is one of my all time favorite healthy thoughts. I'm on holiday in Australia, kicking back and enjoying my time off. I'll be back next week with a new post. Until then, enjoy this collection of a few of my favorite Healthy Thoughts.

Just love yourself!

It's not whether you have the time; it's whether you take the time.

Focus on process, not progress.

Sometimes the fog that shrouds the beauty has a beauty all its own.

Health can change in two ways: by design or by default.

The best health insurance is a wellness lifestyle.

Healing is like a roller coaster -- you may not know what's over the next hill but you can be pretty sure it will be exciting!

How can we know the true power and beauty of Nature if we always "assist?"

Are you seeing the beauty that surrounds you? More importantly, are you recognizing the beauty within you?

You are beautiful and perfect!