Moving Towards Sanity

Karate Belt and Yoga MatMoving towards Sanity. Oh you mean Exercise. Ugh, another blurb about exercise. Yaddah Yaddah. Do you too sometimes cringe when you hear or read some healthy young Spandex-y person touting the wonders of exercise? Oh spare me. Hey, chewing is exercise! 12 oz curls anyone?

Well, darn it, there’s a reason why this keeps being such a popular topic.

Cuz it’s true. SO true. This can keep you moving towards sanity.

Some simple reasons:

  1. Changes up your schedule, that’s always a good thing.
  2. Improves heart and lung capacity
  3. Definitely improves your mood as endorphins begin to react in your brain that reduces the perception of physical pain, and creates a feeling similar to morphine.
  4. Seriously reduces stress!
  5. If you can get outside, that’s the biggest bonus. The combination of the sun’s vitamin D and fresh air cannot be underestimated.

There are more good reasons, your body’s metabolism is raised, your burn calories not just during the moments of movement, but when you are at rest. Woohoo!

Now, I know that I will have some readers here who cannot exercise in the traditional manner. Either permanently or temporarily disabled, this needs to be taken into consideration. But there are still quite a few options. I know of some young local men who are all in power chairs, who have enjoyed Powersports. Even when you cannot walk, you can play soccer and hockey and other events. It’s quite cool. Did you ever see the documentary called Murderball? These are tough dudes. I see no handicap there.

I’ve never been an exercise junkie by any means WHATSOEVER. Nope. As a kid, I know I did the normal amount of running around, riding my bike, roller skating, dancing like a loon. I played Red Rover and Tag, and the like.

AND – I did do track briefly in high school. I wasn’t very good at it, and I think I joined because my best friend was doing it. What better reason to tag along, right? And there was a very hilarious (or disastrous)  time in college when I played Intramural softball. I won’t get into the details, but I was not good, and nearly got my head taken off by a speedy ball. I was the pitcher. Soon after that I was changed to catcher, solely because I would be able to wear a mask. Yeah, they feared for my poor noggin.

In my twenties, I was pretty much doing the 12 oz curls and chewing, but I did do a fair amount of club dancing. That was fun, and I guess it was enough to keep me kind of fit.

Here or in my blog, I’ll get more into my experiences with Kenpo Karate, Yoga, Tai Chi, Walking, Weight Training, etc. and I hope that you find something that will work for you. But for now, here are some resources that may help

Fitness Advice for Wheelchair Users

Free Yoga Therapy Resources for Veterans and Servicemembers

How to Exercise When You are Depressed

I truly hope that this information will keep us all moving towards Sanity.

Shanti and Shalom!