Exercise - Meditation in Motion

A friend of mine once laughed at me as I prepared to go out for a run on an impossibly hot Florida afternoon, “What’s it gonna say on your tombstone?” He jested, “He died healthy?”.“Well,” I countered, “I’d like to think more like ‘He lived healthy’”.
Not exercising is the bane of most of our Western medical and to much of a degree, psychiatric ailments. A recent report noted 90% of all cardiovascular disease could be prevented by exercise.
For me, exercise is more than a way to augment my health, it is a way for me to keep my sanity.
My routine is quiet fixed, I have been doing this now for over 15 years. 3 days a week run, between 20-40 min depending on my time available, the weather, etc. 3 days a week swimming 30 min and weights/stretching 15 minutes.
1 day a week off.
Add to that some bicycling time permitting, and whatever else comes my way, be it a surf, a skate, some ball sports.
The important thing is to choose your weapon. Everyone needs a sport, and sport is our way to fight the battle of the bulge, keep our sanity, detox our bodies, and center our minds. At the center of all Joedaism’s principles is sport.
Sport is also about playing, feeling like a kid a gain.
For some, its about having a routine, a purpose, a challenge.
It doesn’t matter what your do, pick a sport, pick tow and do it.
You can do it by yourself, you can make it a social event.
You can compete against others, you can compete against yourself.
Dedicate your resources to your sport. Buy the gear. Consecrate the time. Make it a religious practice.
The health effects are life giving, lower blood pressure, lower glucose levels, lower lipid levels, increased circulation.
The mental benefits are also life giving, increasing endorphins, fighting addiction, depression, anxiety. Find a new strength in yourself, channel your neurotic behaviors into a more pure form.
The end result is that exercise is something that you do to yourself, for yourself. You have to do it every day, 30 minutes at least, for the rest of your life. Whatever condition you currently are in, find some way to get started. After 3 months of training, you may be ready to advance to something else more intense.
And best of all, you may never need to see the Doctor again.

Next time, Joedaisms top 10 commandments…