Enriched meaning and purpose with exercise!

Meaning and purpose are really emotional experiences that we are able to track in our bodies. For a musician the meaning of the music is experienced in the whole body, not just through the ears. The whole body holds and responds to the sensation of the sound. For people who find meaning in helping others it is through the body that the meaning is expressed; in gestures of physical holding, and caring, in the writing of helpful words, and in talking in endearing and helpful tones. So it is the physical body that helps us carry out our purpose. In many spiritual practices they talk of our bodies being the temple of our heart and soul. Caring for our body so that it can help us serve our purpose and give meaning to our lives to the end of our days is an important consideration. In a way caring for our bodies by exercising and eating well could therefore also be seen as spiritual practice.

A well exercised body does not necessarily mean following a gym programme. Also exercise is not really about losing weight as weight is controlled mainly by what you eat.  Rather the function of exercise is to:

1. Ensure that your lungs heart and blood vessels are fit
2. That you have a good posture and flexibility, so your body can move well
3. Have sufficiently toned muscles to ensure your body is strong enough to so you are able to take action as you desire.

So the sort of exercise that is best to choose would include:

1. Finding ways to break a sweat at least 3 times a week for 20 minutes each time. This could include fast walking, running, cycling, tennis, squash, swimming, and volleyball. But it could also be about games with the children, speed dusting and vacuuming the house, and running up the stairs, digging a hole to plant a tree in the garden.
2. To carry out exercises for flexibility and posture – like Yoga and Pilates
3. Weight training, or resistance training, using weights, bands or your own body weight.

For information about a good healthy way of exercising log onto the MEMBER PORTAL  and scroll down to Road to wellness: General Health for general wellness tips. Or log onto MYPLAN to set up a personal exercise plan.