Movement: A Key to a Healthy, Happy Life: Part 2

Yesterday and today are introductory articles to this series on Movement and Exercise – the theme of this entire series on movement is that movement is an essential key to healthy and happy living, and to living a Low Density Lifestyle.

I discussed in yesterday’s article on movement and exercise, part 1, how  movement of and by itself is important, and that the best approach was one that focused on a number of things: the body, the mind, the energy system, the breath and stillness.

I concluded the article by saying that whether you’re seeking spiritual harmony, soulful pleasures, or just want to sweat, training the body is as important as training the mind and spirit—you can’t have one without the other, and they are deeply interconnected.

Now, that is not to say that you have to have abs of steel to attain good health and a Low Density Lifestyle; instead what is important is an approach to movement that focuses on flexibility and strength, and touches on the components that help to make us FREE (FREE=Flow/Relax/Effortless Effort): the body, the mind, the energy system, the breath and stillness.

You may wonder why stillness is mentioned when it is movement I am talking about. Stillness gives the body a chance to rest and regenerate, and for the internal computer that runs our body and mind to reset the hardware and software within us.

You can’t just push, push, push all the time—we do too much of that. Taking the time to be still and to relax helps the body get into the effortless effort mode, and when we are in that mode we are more capable of feeling the pulse of the universe vibrating deep within our soul.

We also can’t ignore the importance of the breath, and when we practice stillness we become more cognizant of the breath and our breathing patterns. Breath is essential to all the processes that occur in the body; in Eastern traditions breath is essential because it is known that being in tune with your breath connects you to your deepest inner knowing.

The breath also signals both the beginning and end of life. If you have ever been present at the passing of a life, you would have witnessed that the final sign of transition is a deep and freeing gasp. In contrast, if you have ever had the pleasure of being witness to a new life about to begin its journey, you would have seen that the first sign of life is the cry of a newborn baby as they claim their place in the world.

Author Tarthand Tulku in his book Tibetan Meditation notes that we have both an outer and inner breath: the outer breath is our physical respiration, while the inner breath silently moves through the body and is smooth and full of feeling, and as it circulates throughout, has powerful effects on our energy centers.

If all you ever do is push, push, push all the time with your movement approach, and for that matter in your everyday doings, and never practice stillness and awareness of breath, your body will just become tighter and more rigid.

That is not the way to be if you want to live up to your peak abilities and enjoy the bounty of life. There is a certain lightness of spirit and soul that is desired in order to live a more zestful life, and so your movement philosophy should make sure that is what is represented in your approach.

That’s not to say that at times you won’t sweat and strain and feel sore all over, but you should also make the time to do something kinesthetic that has a different orientation: one that encompasses stillness, quiet and awareness of breath, so that you can feed and nourish the soul.

There also are many times when your movements are just natural extensions of life. Gardening, walking, hiking, biking, baking, playing with your friends or kids, and many other things that are part of the everyday aspects of life are all important ingredients to a healthy life because they are part of the ebb and flow of the cycles of nature and the changing seasons.

Thomas Jefferson understood this very thing when he once said, “walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far.”

And the Zen proverb “chop wood, carry water” is a reminder that in the daily routines of life, we can find harmony, increased awareness, stillness and flexibility of body and mind – all of which are essential to living a healthy, happy and fulfilled life that will help point you towards living a Low Density Lifestyle.

Movement: A Key to a Healthy, Happy Life: Part 1

For the next few weeks I will be writing about the subject of Movement. Movement comes in all shapes and sizes, but the common unifying denominator of it is that it is an essential  part of living a healthy, happy and fulfilled life.

It is also an important ingredient for living a Low Density Lifestyle. The inverse of that is that a sedentary life is not conducive to living a Low Density Lifestyle.

We are born to move. Movement is essential to life—it helps get the circulation of blood and energy in your body flowing better.

Nothing in nature stays the same, as change is the only constant of life. And we are in constant motion in the dance of life: the world is a dynamic environment of energy exchanges.

Movement of and by itself, no matter what type, by virtue of its ability to get the heart pumping and blood flowing, can help to take lactic acid and other toxins that build up in the muscles, organs and connective tissue and assist the body in metabolizing and excreting them. This can help to dissipate the blockages and densities in the body.

But there is an art to movement. Even though we are always in motion, and always doing things, there is a certain approach to movement that can greatly enhance being in the flow state – which is the state of heightened awareness, a state where the mind is still and you are activating more of your potential.

The type of movement I am talking about can be any type of movement that touches your soul—what your passion is may be different from someone else. But the key is to do something that is aimed at the mind-body unison.

What would be best is if the approach focused on a number of things: the body, the mind, the energy system, the breath and stillness.

Granted, there may not be one approach you’re doing that may fit the bill and meet all these needs. But that’s ok. The trend nowadays is cross-training, to do a number of things that touch on each of the key areas that need attention.

The best philosophy in approaching what type of movement to engage in, in order to achieve a better chance of overcoming blockages and density in the body, and allowing you to attain a Low Density Lifestyle, is to practice an approach or approaches that both elongate your muscles and strengthen them. You need both—one creates flexibility and the other strength, and they go hand in hand in helping to create a dynamic flow in the body and mind.

There are many approaches that aim for this: from the East we have Tai Chi, Aikido, Kung Fu and other martial arts, along with Yoga; from the West we have Pilates, resistance work using a ball or bands, and strength training.

Then, of course, there are the various sports, which can put you profoundly in the zone when you become deeply immersed in them; and there is also dance, a modality that has its origins in the primal rhythms of the universe.

Some people mistakenly think that living a Low Density Lifestyle means having a body without muscle tone; they picture the image of a blissed-out wandering mendicant who has not a care in the world.

That is because many spiritual traditions caution followers to turn away from the body because they believe it to be a trap set by the ego to hinder transcendence.

But this is far from the truth. Whether you’re seeking spiritual harmony, soulful pleasures, or just want to sweat, training the body is as important as training the mind and spirit—you can’t have one without the other, and they are deeply interconnected.

To be continued tomorrow…

Longevity – Secrets to Living a Long and Healthy Life: Part I

Longevity, the ability to live a long and healthy life, is one of the things that a Low Density Lifestyle can do for you.

If you want to experience longevity and live a long and healthy life, there are nine secrets to doing so. And whatever your age, whether you’re young, middle or elderly, or young at heart, if you take these nine secrets into account, you will have found the Fountain of Youth.

In today’s article, I will give you three of the secrets to longevity. In tomorrow’s article, I will give the next three secrets, and then I will conclude the series on the following day with the final three. So make sure you read them all, so that you can live long and prosper, as Mr. Spock always said.

The Secrets to Longevity

Secret #1: Be Active, But Move in Natural Ways
It’s not a matter of being an Olympic hopeful or competing in triathlons. You just need to move in ways natural to your body rhythms, and to make it part of your daily work routine. Gardening, hiking, walking and bicycling all fit into this, along with countless other movements that can be part of a daily routine.

Obviously exercise is important, but it should be done to accentuate flow. You need different types of exercise, and these should include aerobic, balancing, flexibility and muscle strengthening. Yoga and Pilates fit this bill, but these are not the only ones. Further down the road, in a future article, I’ll talk about the LDL (that’s short for Low Density Lifestyle) Flow series of movements, which combines everything you need effortlessly and seamlessly.

Secret #2: Eat Less
Longevity studies have shown that if people cut their caloric intake by 20% they will live longer. In Japan there is a saying that you should only eat till you’re 80% full. Furthermore, the Japanese believe that if you chew your food really well, about 50 times per mouthful, you will get full much quicker and will need to eat less.

Contrast that with most people, who keep eating even when they are full. Studies have shown that eating less causes less cellular damage in the body because there are less free radicals floating around. Another thing that eating less will do is cause you to lose weight, and having excess weight on your body will not allow you to live a long and prosperous life.

Secret #3: Right Diet
Eating the right diet is an important key to longevity. Patients and clients often tell me that they eat well, but I always find that to be a meaningless comment. Instead I ask them to tell me what their five favorite foods are, and that tells me much more, especially if they tell me ice cream, lasagna and frozen broccoli.

So what constitutes eating well? A diet that emphasizes plant foods, and contains no or only lean meats–and if meats are eaten, it should be only as a supplement, not as the main dish. Studies show that if you restrict meat intake, you live longer.

Furthermore, eating well also means eating few, if any, processed foods, including junk foods, sugars, and foods laden with preservatives and additives.

I’ll be back next time with the next three secrets to longevity and living a long and healthy life. See you then.

« Previous Page