FITNESS!

Def:  state or condition of being physcially sound and healthy, suitably adapted to one’s environment, especially as a result of exercise and proper nutrition; a state of general mental and physical well-being.

I love this picture of the tree pose…balance, grace, centered, strong.  Beautiful.  One of my all time favorites, even as a kid.  Imagine being that tree, roots running deep.  Feel the energy flow, and return.

Fitness isn’t pumping iron.  Or, it could be, if that’s your vibe.  Let me say, it this way:  fitness is much more about balance than any single element alone.  We can be physically strong, buff even, and still have high cholesterol, blood pressure, and a miserable digestive system.  It’s all gotta flow.  To my mind, it starts with the breath, but that’s a post upcoming.  To get us started here, I want to introduce you to a concept I hadn’t heard of before.

I came across a brilliant book, Mind, Body, Sport by John Douillard wherein we are guided to consider one’s Ayurvedic body type (dosha) when choosing an activity.  One size does not fit all!  Are you noticing a theme here? (haha).  I for one, am completely relieved to dismiss high intensity sports from thought…they look effective, yet I blamed myself for never pulling it together and just doing it.  Guess what?  It’s not for me!  Ha!  In doing what I enjoy, I do it more often and I see the results.  What I was doing was chiding myself for not buckling down; and, doing far too little as a result.  I rebelled.  Against who?  The program that dictated the latest scientific fad/craze/rage, that’s who.  And who won?  They did.  Ahhh, yes, I was programmed for outer authority, reinforcing that I didn’t know better for myself.

Have some fun and check out this quick article I found to get you started.  Read through.  See what resonates and then do that!  Let the other stuff go.  If you love to run with a driving beat from your ipod, then ditch the quiet of yoga…or find a dynamic yoga class.  Better at team sports?  Then get off the bench and join up!  I’m amazed at how many Meet-ups there are everywhere!  Just google.  There’s something out there for you, and likely free.

Here’s to balance!  And, let me know what you find?  What dosha are you and what exercises are you surprised to learn are cool for you and which ones are you happy to let go of?

And, even if you don’t take the quiz, it might just be enough to read down the list and watch for the exercises that make you cringe and those that resonate.

This is fun!

photo thanks to unsplash.com