It all begins with the self-talk, “I want to get in shape” or “I need to work out”. Then we look out into the world and see the media definition of what “in shape” is. Have you ever really stopped for a moment and asked yourself what is “in shape”?

You know…. “Fit”. What is that? Or better yet have you ever wondered why we call it a “work-out”?

Is it necessary?

What’s the objective?

Walking – Running – Weight lifting – Pilates – Rock climbing – Yoga – Swimming – Step Class – couch potato – beer curler…. why do we do that?

Is there more to it?

Here’s the progression…. somewhere around age 14 to 17 we get this idea… this image of who we want to be… what we want look like… then somewhere around age 27 to 29 we fulfill that image (or at least come pretty damned close). Then we go into our 30s with the same image…. Only to realize at 40 that we cant be 29 anymore (though many keep trying).

Have you ever seen the “kung fu” movie where the old guy beats up 5 young guys?

I know its only the movies, but there is a lesson there. The old guy doesn’t fight like the young guys…. He’s more efficient… he beats them not because he’s faster… not because he’s stronger – it’s because he knows his limitations and how to utilize his strengths toward his benefit.

Somewhere around age seven, our bodies begin to metamorphasize into the shape they will most probably retain for the remainder of adult life. Breathing patterns, our sense of awareness, balance, and confidence, at this time in our lives, is either enhanced or diminished by the activities in which we involve ourselves. Then somewhere around age 14 the bones in the body begin to change – the marrow changes from red to yellow. By the age 25 (I’m being generous), the only large bones that retain red marrow are the femurs and the clavicles. What that means is that the red blood cell production in the body is reduced. So part of our responsibility, as an adult is to call the blood to where it’s needed. It also means that we have to take a look at the activities in which we involve ourselves that may create unnecessary hardship on the overall soma.

Looking back on when I first met Master Lin, an old Chinese martial arts instructor- he says, in his broken Chinese English “if you have knife – and you sharpen knife on stone. After one year, stone has almost no indentation… After three year, small indentation – right” I nodded and agreed. He continued, “After five year big indentation… and after seven year, maybe break?

” Again I nodded and agreed, but still not sure of what his point was. Then he smiled and said, “The body is not made of stone”. He went on to say, “you see, until 25, you can do anything, 25 to 35…. you can still do…. 35 to 45…. if you do, you go down.”

So the question is, how do you want to look at yourself, as a Swatch or a Movado?

Both tell time, but one is a museum piece.

Contrary to popular belief, cardiovascular exercise does not insure cardiovascular health. The popular belief is that cardiac tissue is similar to muscle tissue, therefore the heart and cardiovascular system should be exercised like a muscle. Isn’t it fascinating that the AMA continues to encourage “cardiovascular health” by means of raising the heart rate?

Yet the USA has the highest rate of heart failure in the world – meanwhile the FDA pushes forth the idea, that in fact, it is the American diet that is responsible.

There’s a Ayurvedic concept that puts forth an idea that we are allotted only so many heartbeats within a lifetime. About 40,000 a year for the average man – if you lived a very peaceful serene life… like that of a monk and perhaps meditated regularly and consciously slowed your heart rate daily… 40,000 beats might last 18 months maybe even two years. Conversely, if you lived a very hectic lifestyle – one in which your heart was on a constant roller coaster ride…. Those 40,000 beats may only last six months. Do you realize that in the animal kingdom, it is the animals with the fastest heart rates that have the shortest life span?

. According to Gary Null:
“If your heart is always beating very quickly, that crucial muscle is aging prematurely. All tissue in the body has only a finite length of time that it can live. Anything that speeds up that process is, unfortunately, accelerating the death process. The further along your body is in this death process, the less integrity your cells will have. For example, an eighteen-year-old has greater strength and resiliency in the legs than a thirty-eight-year-old has. Similarly, heart rate can vary with age. The hearts of a fifty-year-old, a forty-year-old and a seventy-year-old are all different. However, the common needs at any age are to slow down the heartbeat, improve circulation, and clean the arteries, veins and capillaries.” Running is a very popular exercise these days. Many choose running because it keeps them independent. Not requiring any type of facility, it can be done anywhere anytime. But if one were to really examine the overall effects on the body and the organs beyond age 25 or so, they may reconsider. Or at least consider ways to compensate for the overall effects.

A human’s most natural response to danger is to run. When running the heartrate almost immediately rises. After about 20 minutes or so the body sends a message to the brain that there’s an emergency; evidenced by the repetitive running motion. So the adrenal glands release adrenaline into the blood stream, which is what creates the “runners high”. Now the body has the ability to continue as long and as far the will directs.

When the run is over and the runner feels elated. There’s no experience like it! The blood is surging with adrenaline while the brain has the body ready for anything – superhuman activity if necessary. Meanwhile the liver is working overtime to clean up this “toxin” – yes that’s right toxin… the liver treats the adrenaline in the blood stream as a toxin, and immediately goes to work removing it to restore ph “balance”. If you take a look at the various roles the liver plays in our over all health and wellness its quite fascinating. At times the liver holds as much as a third of the entire blood supply. It is kind of like a big sponge that filters out the toxins. The toxins stay in the liver until the ph balance is on the alkaline side, then it releases trace amounts of its toxins into the bloodstream to be eliminated either through urine or prespiration. This is all fine and well so long as there is a sufficient supply of fresh red bloodcells. However, beyond the age 25 the production of red blood cells is significantly diminished.

So what happens if you run everyday and never really allow the ph balance to go to the alkaline side?

The liver retains the toxins and its functions become impaired; eventually the blood becomes acidic which creates a multitude of symptoms and autoimmune responses; the spiral toward old “age begins”. Initial symptoms could include sinusitis, lethargy, mania, depression, and irregular menstrual cycle, to name a few. Interestingly enough, the liver is also responsible for converting tryptophan from the proteins we ingest, into a necessary building block for neurotransmitters. What that means is that on a long-term basis running can indirectly affect the quantity and quality of neurotransmitter production in the brain, specifically serotonin and melatonin levels. When the joints begin to breakdown on the runner, its not just the because of the constant jarring, rather it’s a result of the body moving more to the acid side of the ph balance.

Weight lifting is another misunderstood practice. The theory is – weight bearing exercises increase bone density. Ok that’s probably true however the lactic acid produced performing useless movement will quite probably send the ph balance of the blood to the acid side creating a host of other concerns. If a muscle has a great ability to contract, but no stretch, it’s a weak muscle. Conversely, if a muscle has a great stretch, but not the ability to contract, it’s a weak muscle.

When a human body dies, the ph balance almost immediately moves to the acid side of the ph balance. When rigourmortis sets in, it’s an indication that the body is now completely acidic; that kind of sheds a different light on muscle aches if you think about it.

I am fascinated with the flocks in the “health clubs” – what is that?

The air is recirculated – the lights are fluorescent – between the computers, televisions, ellipticals, stairmasters, treadmills etc, the electromagnetic energy gives me a jolt just looking from the outside. That club has nothing to do with health. I call them human aquariums. Why do these people choose to squander their life force in these boxes? Ok, call me crazy, but from what I see, the movement is even without consideration. Almost as if to disconnect is the objective. I wonder how many of them workout to disconnect from themselves?

There is so much that we as human beings all share in common. Each of us in this diverse world has the same common denominator – these three aspects to our existence – the internal, the energetic and the external. We are all made up of the Elements – our world is made up of various manifestations of the Elements – we are surrounded by the same oneness that bonds all humankind together into one big collective. Whether we call it the elements, Mother Nature or divine consciousness doesn’t matter. We all seek harmony – balance – clarity, understanding of self. Not withstanding how surroundings have influenced perceptions and perspectives – we define, refine, and clarify self and self-perspective – beyond that we look outside ourselves. Adjusting self in relation to someone or something else. It takes two to see one – individuality can only exist if there is more than one. To the extent that we find harmony – balance – clarity, within our own internal universe – an understanding of self so to speak (or, at the least an angle of repose)- is the same extent to which we are in harmony with our external universe. Through examining the collective – the external universe, we gain perspective on the microcosm – the internal universe likewise, by examining the internal universe – the macrocosm is seen clearer.

The reality is “in shape” has nothing to do with how many miles you can run how many boards you can break or how many mountains you can climb. A toned body is a result of will, flexibility, coordination and balance whose product is longevity; and that has more to do with facilitating a harmony of mind and body through the methods we practice to find peace within our essence. Maybe that’s the “workout” – working out what’s inside with what’s outside and vice verse. Perhaps being “fit” or “in shape” has to do with ones ability to cultivate, refine, define and represent what’s inside and/or outside.

Perhaps instead of pursuing disconnected, useless movement to be “fit” or “in shape”, we might endeavor to ask our selves, how do I bring sacredness into my life through movement?

Think about it, what if you had a partner you lived with. Things were going fine for a while – no problems. Then suddenly they decide not to talk to you. Oh but you love them. I mean really love them. So you let some time go by. Three months goes by, your concerned but you don’t want to crowd. More time goes by. Six months later they decide to communicate with you. They say to you “ok we can talk…. but only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – from 7 to 8:30pm”, because that’s all the time their schedule will allow, and then they say, “When we talk… we can only talk about what I want to talk about”. What kind of relationship would that be? Would it be harmonious, comfortable, at ease?

Or what if you and your partner live together and you come home to find they have done something that you don’t like?

You’d probably say, ” Honey, I don’t like when you do that.”

And they reply, “Oh, I’m sorry – OK”

But the next day you come home, they’ve done it again.

So you say, ” honey, I don’t like when you do that – so please do something else. ”

And they say, “Oh yeah – OK”

But the next day you come home, you find they’ve done it again. You a say “hey, I don’t like it when you do that so please don’t do it”!

But the next day you come home you find they’ve done it again.

What kind of home would that be?

Would it be harmonious, comfortable, at ease?

There’s a belief that terminal dis-ease is the essence trying to leave an uncomfortable house.

When taking a step back and looking at health and wellness there are basic understandings of natural harmony that our society absolutely fails at instilling into our psyche.

I recall when I visited Switzerland some years ago, my friend, and host during this excursion, worked as a Shiatsu therapist in a local HMO (a.k.a. Health Maintenance Organization). I was fascinated to understand their concept of an HMO. Apparently it was a requisite for its members to have at least one body therapy session per week, whether that be Cranio-sacral, Massage, Reiki, etc. It didn’t matter – it was a requisite to look after your body – to take responsibility. I thought about how natural that is – how correct. Then I look around our modern society today and see how medication and surgery are normalized – the quick fix. It’s easier to not take responsibility, after-all, in our civilized world, who has the time?

I read somewhere that the way classical Chinese medicine was practiced in “the old days” was such that a patient would visit the doctor and receive whatever treatment was necessary (i.e. acupuncture, tui na, qi gong etc.), they were given their herbs and their exercise – homework so to speak. So long as they did their part and remained healthy, they visited the doctor as instructed and paid him promptly. However, if they became ill, the doctor would be required to make a house call at no charge.

There’s a saying that the body is like an insolent child and the mind is its parent. Bottom line – no one knows exactly where it hurts or exactly how much pressure to apply better than you do. No we didn’t come with an owner’s manual but we do have a lifetime warranty for recuperation. Our mission is to discover our exercises and put our selves in the place where we can allow our recuperative energies to flow.

We encounter so much within our lifetime: television, radio, news, sports, rhetoric, information, people, ideas, and inspirations. What inspires us, the information we gather and the people we allow into our realm, in relation to how much we are exposed to, are quite minimal when you think about it. The choices we make, sometimes consciously — sometimes not, in the end, all have their significance within our perspectives of our true self — our destiny so to speak. In that respect each experience, each person, each inspiration acted upon, defines our realities and our expectations. They are an acknowledgment of self — a confirmation of existence, necessary in defining and being in harmony with our universe. Each day we are granted, we must arise and accept our realities as they are. All we can ever hope to influence is now — today. With discipline and directed efforts we carve, shape, mold and define our expressions of self. Without those directed efforts, our existence could be equated to that of a weed growing in an open field, whose existence is just as organic and as valid as that of a rose. But then, it’s not a rose.

At some point in everyone’s existence the universe asks the question:
“Who is going to take responsibility for your wellness?”

Most people turn to the world outside themselves for answers, happiness and even knowledge. Its unfortunate that we are living in a time where the average person doesn’t even know where their organs are let alone how they work. So when the universe does ask the almighty question, one is so unprepared and overwhelmed that they have no choice but to turn responsibility over to a “higher authority.”

Cultivating “body wisdom” encourages self-reliance, which demands at the very least, the recognition that all you need to know lies within your self. Unlike simple understanding, which is one dimensional, where the intellect is engaged in order to comprehend yoga, martial arts, Pilates, step class or other practices, realization is three-dimensional. It is the simultaneous comprehension of the body as a whole entity – externally, energetically and internally.

Healing and cultivating a conscious deliberate life lies not in what is known and understood, rather its what is constantly practiced.

What I think, is my mind – What I feel, is my heart – What I do, is my life.

There are only two times during our existence that we are perfectly “balanced” – prior to birth and upon our demise. The reality is being healthy is a dynamic process that is constantly in flux, adjusting to our external and internal environments. How our mind and body work together determines our psychological and physiological processes and clearly affects our equilibrium.

Equilibrium is defined as: “A condition in which all acting influences are canceled by others, resulting in a stable, balanced, or unchanging system – mental or emotional balance; poise”

Disease is defined as: “A condition of ill health or malfunction in a living organism – any disordered or unwholesome condition”

Balance is defined as: “A state of equilibrium or parity characterized by cancellation of all forces by equal opposing forces “

Homeostasis is defined as: “The ability or tendency of an organism to maintain internal equilibrium by adjusting its physiological processes”

American Heritage Dictionary

The diagram below attempts to illustrates equilibrium in a state of constant change, moving through balance into homeostasis then again through balance and into homeostasis.

We can all relate to (A) in the diagram, those unfortunate times when we’ve experienced a sense of dis-ease. Likewise, most of us can relate to (B), those moments of centeredness and clarity usually resulting in some peak experience.

We are limited only too what we have learned within our lifetime to maintain homeostasis. Ideally, (C) is a more apt illustration of the equilibrium we would like to permeate our live’s.

In daily living, feelings and reactions are automatic and predictable. Creating life spontaneously, rather than having each moment determined by past experiences, is indeed a struggle. Addiction, along with traumatic accidents, unexpected changes in life, breakups, the death of a loved one, etc. all require healing and recovery.

It is significant to realize that the self has in large part, coordinated our respective states of health and happiness, along with strife and pain and upset – whether consciously or unconsciously. The addictions we create in our lives are the very steps we overcome in the ladder toward our own self-realization – a necessary part of our evolution. Self-reliance then, when properly understood, offers us a useful framework for personal transformation. If trauma, dis-ease and imbalance have been generated by our selves; at any given moment, then our solutions for creating ease, harmony and health and wellbeing can also be generated by our selves.

For most, especially in patterns of addiction, many of our movements or choices are not considered ones. Rather, most of us function from a place of habit. Few people are exempt from this way of life. Whether its the one who is addicted to alcohol or drugs (including pharmaceuticals), or the worker who is addicted to work, or the artist to making art, and the athlete who can’t miss a day of jogging, or the drama king or queen who can’t go long without creating drama of some kind, or the worrier who doesn’t know how to live without worrying. We all possess addictive behavior of some sort; what need be addressed, however, are the patterns that interfere with our abilities to create and sustain health, well being and a joyous, fulfilled existence.

Concept… if you have a seed… a tomato seed, a flower seed, it doesn’t matter… if you put the seed in fertile soil… give it sunshine and nourishment, it will discover its potential and grow towards its fulfillment.

And so it is with everything, especially a consciously considered life, joyous living and self-realization. Create a fertile environment… plant seeds and potentialities grow… self-fulfillment is inevitable.

We are always more potential than we are actual. Actualizing our potential is growth… a step toward life… the unknown…. to do otherwise is… well, otherwise. Lets just say it only feeds dissatisfaction.

So here’s the big secret -

When you feel good, It’s not because the world is right.

It’s because your world is right!

And that’s really what it’s all about… how to consciously address specific aspects of your life… to make your world right.

“Right” is definitely relative. One mans bliss could be another’s hell. What remains absolute however, are the three aspects of human existence that can be consciously and consistently cultivated.

There is a saying in the Yellow Emperor’s classic on medicine:
7 bites of food = 1 drop of blood and
7 drops of blood = one drop of chi (vitality).
7 drops of chi = one drop of jing (vital fluids) and
7 drops of jing = 1 drop of shen (spirit)

The transition from food to blood is about digestion and elimination;
the transition from blood to chi is about breathing;
the transition from chi to jing is about restful sleep;
and the transition from jing to shen is about ones personal practice.

So there it is, the internal, the energetic, sleep and the external:
Digest and Eliminate – Breathe – Sleep – Practice

Conscious awareness and cultivation of these most basic aspects of our existence is the first step toward cultivating a long healthy existence. It will strengthen immunity, facilitate recovery and is a key to illuminating and managing addictions.

” – health is a balanced, sensitive, and complete interaction between the various facets of our existence and our environment. The natural connection or unity of all these factors should be experienced… otherwise health is lost and so are the sensitivity and vitality involved in Cultivating the Way.

The purpose of health therefore, is not to support personal longevity in some narrow, self-serving sense. Health permits a full open-ended participation in the illuminating process of the living universe.”

Dragons Play, Charles Belyea & Steven Tainer – ISBN: 0-9629308-1-4