Conscious Choice: Creating Balance

April 2000

Creating Balance

Exercise — a Key to Promoting Health and Wellness

by Bob Martin, MS

The concept of balance has been around since the beginning of time. As we look around our daily lives, we see that nature is always working to balance itself. Human nature does the same thing. To live a fulfilled and enlightened life, we need to work on creating a balance between the mind, body, and spirit. This is not easy for most of us as we try to keep up with the speed of change in today’s society. Despite the frantic pace, the importance of striving to create balance in our lives cannot be ignored.

One means by which we can begin to create this balance is to be physically active. The benefits of regular exercise range from disease prevention to stress reduction to improvements in daily energy levels. This is not a comprehensive list of benefits, but it should give you some idea of the many areas of life that can be positively influenced by regular physical activity. Exercise is not a cure-all, but it does provide a foundation for creating balance between the mind, body, and spirit.

The Importance of Exercise

At the physical level, the human body is experiencing constant change. Its complex systems of communication work to keep the balance necessary for our physical health and well-being. Fortunately, we are not responsible for the conscious coordination of this physiology, but we do have a role in supporting our body’s optimal function. One way by which we can promote peak performance of these physiological systems is through regular physical activity. From the time we get up in the morning to the time we go to bed, our bodies are in constant motion. Regular exercise helps to increase the circulation of nutrients and immune cells. It improves our strength, endurance, and flexibility; enhances our energy level; and diminishes the physiological effects of stress. In addition, exercise benefits our mental and emotional health by reducing stress and relieving anxiety and depression. Clearly, regular physical activity plays a vital role in promoting overall wellness.

Some people, upon hearing the words "regular exercise," fear a future of endless stationary-bike riding or grueling hours on a treadmill. This does not have to be the case! Exercise should be enjoyable — something that you love to do. With a little creativity, almost any physical activity can be turned into exercise. So what does regular exercise really mean? Getting up and moving your body every day so that circulation is increased and breathing is deep.

Resistance to regular exercise can have a detrimental effect on the body. Lack of physical activity has been shown to have an impact on the development of many diseases including coronary heart disease, obesity, hypertension, breast and colon cancer, and diabetes. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, more than 60 percent of American adults are not regularly physically active and 25 percent of that group are not active at all. This means that there are many people who are unnecessarily putting themselves at risk for developing disease. Are you one of them? Take a moment and become aware of how your body feels. Are you feeling energized or fatigued? How has your body changed from year to year? How is your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health affecting your ability to deal with your daily life experiences? Are you happy with your health and well-being? How has regular exercise or lack of it had an impact on your health? These are important questions to ask yourself because you may find that you want to and/or need to make some lifestyle changes to begin promoting a healthy balance in your life.

Alternative Forms of Exercise

Many people automatically think of exercise as going to the gym and riding the bike, running on the treadmill, or lifting weights. There are tremendous health and fitness benefits experienced with these forms of exercise, including reduction of body fat, greater muscle mass, increased energy level, enhanced flexibility, and improved strength and endurance. However, going to the gym may not be for everyone.

There are many different forms of physical activity that can be used to enhance your health and wellness. Listed below are some of the alternatives that are available and their general benefits. All of these activities have a common theme. Each gives you the opportunity to take personal responsibility for your own health and well-being. By taking responsibility, you will begin to develop an awareness of how your body is working and begin to make the changes necessary to have your body function optimally. Each offers something different physically, mentally, and spiritually. You need to find a form of exercise or a combination of the forms that suits your needs best.

Tai Chi

Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese art used to develop the mind, body, and spirit. It is a spiritual meditation that uses slow, relaxed movements combined with deep breathing. Because of its gentle nature, practicing Tai Chi can significantly benefit older adults who may not be able to participate in high-impact activities.

Deep, natural breathing is one of the foundations of Tai Chi. The breathing technique promotes relaxation and enhances awareness of the body while the deliberate movements develop muscle strength and endurance, flexibility, balance, and coordination. Breathing is coordinated with each movement to cultivate life energy through the body. "Chi" means "breath-energy" or "life energy." In Chinese culture, it is believed that the movement of this life energy through the body creates optimal health. Medical doctors in China use Tai Chi as a primary form of medical therapy for preventative and curative purposes. Whether on the physical or spiritual level (or both), Tai Chi can provide many health, fitness, and wellness benefits for people of all ages.

Qigong

Qigong (pronounced "chee gong") is similar to Tai Chi in that it is also an ancient Chinese art that uses gentle, natural exercises to increase and balance the flow of energy through the body. The movements in Qigong develop balance, coordination, flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance. Deep breathing is coordinated with the movements to promote relaxation and develop the mind-body connection. Qigong means "the practice of developing and balancing your Qi (life energy) to promote health." In Chinese philosophy, Qi is the bioelectrical energy that maintains our physical and mental well-being. When this energy is balanced through the practice of Qigong, all things flow smoothly and in a definite order. This leads to the individual experiencing physical, mental, and spiritual health.

Yoga

There are many forms of yoga from which to choose. It is beyond the scope of this article to go into each yoga form individually, so only the general concepts will be discussed. Yoga has many similarities to both Tai Chi and Qigong. All three promote physical health, general well-being, and longevity. However, yoga postures can be more complex and physically demanding than those of Tai Chi and Qigong. The different postures have a variety of effects on the body. Some postures are stimulating and energizing while others are calming, internally soothing, and may even promote sleep. The philosophy of yoga is that the quality of life is impaired if life’s pressures are not balanced with quiet time. On the physical level, yoga strengthens the body and improves both flexibility and endurance. It also develops the mind-body connection by demanding concentration on the body and breathing, which enhances self-awareness and the ability to be still. By stretching the mind and body to their limits, yoga encourages people to push past their mental and physical limits to realize their potential.

Aikido

Aikido, which means the "way of harmony," is part martial art, part competitive sport, and part spiritual discipline, combined. A practitioner of this art continually strives to condition the body, discipline the mind, and polish the spirit because the goal of Aikido is to subdue one’s base nature and triumph over one’s weaknesses. The physical benefits that are gained from this form of exercise include increased muscle strength and endurance, enhanced flexibility, improved balance and coordination. Aikido is more physically demanding than both Tai Chi and Qigong, but young and old alike have been known to participate. Everyone trains together in Aikido (men/women, young/old, and big/little). By training with different partners, a person learns to tailor the technique to fit the individual situation. The Aikido philosophy gives the individual the opportunity to translate the training to life experience by improving his/her ability to deal with all kinds of people and situations.

Pilates

Pilates, which is also known as the physical-mind method, uses stress-free and nonimpact exercises that stretch, strengthen, and balance the muscles of the body. This method combines sensory awareness with physical training to promote integration and balance of the body and mind. Pilates exercise teaches the individual to move from the body’s center using a variety of different equipment that was developed to build muscle strength and endurance as well as enhance awareness of the body. Joseph Pilates, who designed this form of training, believed that ideal fitness is "the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind that is fully capable of naturally and easily performing daily tasks with zest and pleasure."

Getting Started

When beginning a regular exercise routine, the first thing to do is find an activity that you enjoy. By choosing a physical activity that is fun, you greatly increase the chances of continuing that activity. If you don’t know which is best suited for you, try out a couple of different activities. You can find one that you enjoy or use a combination of them. There are no limits to the variety that can be used when creating an exercise program that is right for you.

As with all forms of exercise, it is important to lay down a good foundation and build upward. Great emphasis should be placed on learning the basics and then progressively taking steps to improve your knowledge, understanding, and technique. The importance of excellent technique and form cannot be stressed enough. Technique and form must be performed properly to ensure the greatest benefit and minimize the chance of injury as you progress to higher levels of difficulty. It is important to be patient. Some of the beneficial effects of regular exercise will be noticeable right away. Others may take time.

Regardless of whether you are aware of the changes or not, your body, mind, and spirit will undergo a transformation that will enhance your health and well-being. By improving your physical health, you will experience benefits in your mental, emotional, and spiritual nature. Bringing these components into balance will help you deal with your life experiences in a healthy and more meaningful manner. So don’t delay! Take charge of your health and your life by starting a regular exercise routine today! Springtime is right around the corner. Start making the changes in your lifestyle that will help you to be healthy, happy, and fulfilled.

Bob Martin is an exercise physiologist and owner of Natural Sciences for Health and Wellness, Inc., a company that develops personal fitness programs that promote physical health and wellness. For more information, please call 847-821-9951. Special thanks to Jennifer Martin and Lindsay Gassman-Peterson for the insight and guidance they provided.

Resources

The Chicago Aikikai, 3652 N. Lincoln, Chicago; 773-935-2334, www.asu.org/chicago

Aikido Today dojo directory, www.aiki .com/directory/dojo.html

Lara’s Integrative Movement, 2820 N. Sheffield, Chicago; 877-544-2828

Old Town Wellness, 1500 N. Wells, Chicago; 312-664-4030, www.oldtownwellness.com

Soderworld, 10 S. 410 Route 83, Hinsdale; 630-455-5885

The Raj Ayur Veda Health Center, Iowa; 800-248-9050, www.theraj.com

Two-day Chi-Lel Qi Gong Workshop 4/29 and 30; 800-784-0146, www.chilel-qigong.com

Water over Stone, Chicago, IL; 773-755-1347

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