Muscular Bonding

The self discipline I have that keeps me exercising every morning by myself probably comes from the years of dance training I had. We dancers, along with the singers, musicians and various others who have the professional responsibility of keeping their bodies, voices and musical instruments “in tune,” have an advantage because our daily practice is dictated by our vocations.

I understand, though, when people tell me they don’t have the discipline to exercise on their own every day like I do – even as they understand and accept my logic that the need to exercise is a natural, daily body instinct equal to eating and sleeping. They feel they need to go to a place and exercise with a class or group. (I have the grace not to ask if they also need to eat and sleep with a class or group.) These are the people I keep trying to help by suggesting a daily walk, more stair climbing, or a recreational sport on their days off, so they develop a natural exercise mindset.

But I’ve just finished reading a book that’s widened my perspective about exercise health. It’s titled “Keeping Together in Time” by William H. McNeill, and talks about the muscular bonding that happens with people who are involved in drill groups, team rowing, marching bands, choral, orchestral and dance groups.

People involved in such groups are getting something almost
as good as the individual exercisers like me – a muscular bonding that’s beneficial to the their health – the physical sociability of shared interests.

It should remind us that there is no finite rule for everyone.

All About Walking

The great actress, Helen Hayes, did. So did Dr. Norman Vincent
Peale, the author of “The Power of Positive Thinking.” Many great and not so great people walk for exercise, emotional equilibrium, to wear off nervous energy, for stimulation, to see and explore, to unwind, to wind up, to relax, detach, recharge.

When you walk you’re rolling forward from heel to toe alternately in a natural, rhythmic, pendulum swing from the hip sockets – a very soothing bodymotion that releases tension. The steady, rhythmic pattern of that kind of movement keeps the entire body in tune without strain. It also keeps the emotional body stabilized.

Analyze walking, and you see that the first part is like a tiny fall; the 2nd is to catch the falling weight; the 3rd is the continuation of the first 2, rhythmically alternating. In the process, the weight is tumbling forward through all the joints and being met by muscles that control it as the advancing leg swings forward to support it – subtle, but wonderful, invisible, safe exercise – just what the body craves.

To get the most benefit out of your walking, you should align your posture by lifting your chin to raise your eye level. That will lift your diaphragm enough to allow a better, deeper breathing pattern. Then there’s a reciprocal action between the diaphragm and abdominal muscles that helps the body coordinate the internal processes. The uplifted diaphragm helps correct any bad posture by aligning the spine. It also lifts any over balanced stomach/hip weight. The circulatory stimulation you get from the uplifted body and better breathing pattern enhances the emotional benefit.

Walking is easier than standing still. That’s why people pace the floor instead of being motionless in periods of stress or tension. Telling someone to sit down and relax while they’re worried or awaiting someone’s arrival is suggesting they impose extra tension on themselves when they have, unconsciously, found the best way to handle the situation – by pacing.

Start taking your body for a walk every day. It is, after all, the most natural exercise to do to satisfy the movement instinct.

Because you asked…

There’s been interest in last week’s reference to walking with poles.
So, here is the information on two sources I know.

Tom Rutlin (who pioneered walking with poles for exercise in the 80s)
Exerstrider Products
www.exerstrider.com
P.O. Box 33l3
Madison, WI 53704
608-223-932l

and

Peter Edwards (who’s a cross-country ski instructor and running coach for Glen Arbor H.S. in northern Michigan)
www.SkiWalking.com
5873 Lake Street, PO Box 322
Glen Arbor, MI 49636
877-SKIWALK (754-9255)

Eat Only What You Can Burn Off

A lot of exercise experts are so eager to get people moving that they don’t realize there are some who are scared to start for fear of causing a heart attack – even afraid to go to a doctor because they’re ashamed and, worse yet, may learn they already have diabetes or heart trouble.

If that’s you, be comforted by realizing you’re already acting on your instinct by having those fears, so it won’t be hard to get yourself ready for exercise. I stated in an earlier blog posting that exercise is a natural, daily instinct equal to eating and sleeping. It’s something your body wants to do every day – eat, sleep and move.

So listen to your body, pay attention to the amount of food you’re eating, and memorize the following statement: the body should only consume as much food per day as it can burn off in a day. (If the human body is fed too much it stores the excess as fat, and gets larger and larger.)

Then start singing as you dress and move about the house. Notice that it makes you feel good, lifts your upper body weight slightly, reducing the energy drain from your lower body. Do it every day; after you’ve lost a pound or two by cutting down your food intake, and have a little self confidence, go see a doctor for a general check-up so you can stop worrying. BUT, be sure to tell him or her up front that you’re “getting yourself ready to exercise every day and lose some weight, and want to be sure that everything checks out,” so that you don’t get flattened by a lecture and lose your self confidence.

Then act on your natural instinct to move, and start walking – a little more each day – and using the stairs instead of the elevators for one floor – things like that.

Then look on the internet for something that’s made around Madison, Wisconsin that’s called an Exerstrider, and looks like a pair of ski poles, and start going outside, taking walks around the block with them. They’ll make it possible for you to walk with a good, healthy stride, breathing deeply as you walk, and feeling good about yourself. (I don’t have any financial interest in Exerstriders, by the way. I just remember seeing it at a seminar I went to on Physical Fitness and Aging, and thought, “What a great thing for people who want to safely get in shape for an exercise program.)

If you listen to your physical instinct you’ll know when you’re ready to get into more strenuous exercise. Maybe you’ll even want to take up skiing or running, or maybe you’ll find daily walking is enough for your lifestyle.