Aloha,
Here’s a question for you: Why do you exercise? Why do you try to stay in shape?
(And if you don’t exercise and hate everything about keeping fit, keep reading. You just may change your attitude.)
The fitness world seems to think that killer abs and skinny thighs should be motivation enough to put in hours of grinding away at the gym (by the way, I don’t know who came up with the idea of “the gap,” but it’s an concept that needs to be retired immediately). Your doctor may think that strengthening your heart, lowering cholesterol or preventing diabetes is plenty of reason to spend hours of your precious time sweating away at activities you hate. That wedding coming up or your high school reunion? Surely that’s strong enough motivation to stick to that healthy diet and shed some pounds, right?
I’m not feelin’ it.
Most of us have come to accept some form of the mind-body-spirit connection. Yet in our activities, we treat the three as separate units. We work out and jog for the body. We study for the mind and read self-help books or go to seminars for psychological well-being. We pray or meditate for the spiritual side of us.
We’ve set up false silos within a system that has no separation.
In my newest Huffington Post article “A Better Reason to Be Fit“, I show you through both experience and research that exercising is as much about your emotional/mental/spiritual health as your physical health. The technical reasons for the mental/emotional benefits of exercise may be complicated. But the bottom line is not: Exercise makes you feel better emotionally and perform better mentally almost instantly. You probably know this from your own experience.
To your TOTAL empowerment!
Mahalo,
Dr. Matt
