Exerc!se

E x e r c i s e
(Use it! or Lose it!)

You know, I’ve actually found some people that consider “Exercise” a dirty word. There are a few who will find this article to be about as popular as a fox in a hen house. ;o)

And yet, this one subject when introduced into a health building program can mean all the difference in the world when it comes to being physically healthy, or not. It may be hard to understand this one fact, but whether you live or die, might hinge on whether or not you’re exercising. It’s that important.

There are a million reasons for not starting on an exercise program. “Too Tired”, “Too Old”, “Too Fat”, “Too Lazy errrrrrr I mean Busy ;o)”, “Too Sick, etc. etc”. Welllllll, the bottom line is: “Move it! or Lose it!” I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but if you want to have some kind of quality in your life, it has to include some form of exercise. It’s that, or turning your life over to the medicos who will end up drugging you, and carving you up for the rest of your life.

Every “Natural” Health Building program has to included ALL the following factors.
1. Nutrition: Wholesome organic foods. Much of it should be raw.
2. Clean Air to breathe.
3. Pure Water to drink.
4. Some daily Sunlight.
5. Biochemistry: Vitamins and minerals, Enzymes, Essential Fats and Proteins.
6. Exercise.
7. Mental Development.
8. Spiritual Growth.

A person who is extremely healthy is addressing all of the above on a daily basis. Probably the most neglected by the general public is #8. However this “Spiritual” part of health, I leave up to the individual to follow where his or her heart leads. The only comment I’ll make on it is this. I’ve observed that those individuals who embrace the spiritual in their daily regimen are usually very happy people. Those who don’t include this facet of life seem to be very miserable indeed.

The second most neglected of these points is Exercise, and I believe I can speak with some authority here. Without question, the absolute best exercise a person can be involved with is “RUNNING”! The human body was designed to RUN! Period! The American Indian of just a century ago, thought nothing of running for a whole day to get to where he needed to go. It was common for him and his friends to be running down a deer or an elk in order to put some food on the table. This was his daily regimen.

However, nowadays, the major problem with Running is that too many Americans are already grossly over weight, and have been for years. They are too sick, too injured, and too unhealthy to even run a block or two let alone 5 or 6 miles. There needs to be a gradient here so that everyone can work themselves back up to what they should be able to do naturally. Believe it or not, this is what should be considered to be “normal”.

And what is this gradient???

Back in the early days of the Roman Empire, a common Roman Soldier would march 25 to 35 miles in one day, and could do this for a week or two at a time. “WALKING” is the second best exercise, and is that gradient step before “running”. I know many senior citizens who walk a couple of miles every day as their sole exercise, and these folks are in excellent physical condition.

“But”, you say. “What about those people who are badly injured and can’t even walk due to broken bones or damaged body parts. Welllllllll, this leads us to the third and last form of exercise in this gradient scale, and this is “REBOUNDING”. Rebounding on a mini trampoline is the third best exercise I know of and is a step that anyone can do. Even a person with broken bones that have been set into a cast can do a few minutes of rebounding a day with no further damage done to the body. You can even put a person in a chair on a rebounder and have someone else do the jumping in order to get the exercise the person needs. This is the lowest gradient there is, and anyone can do this. Some rebounders actually come with hand holds and a chair-like system attached to them.

And what do all these gradients have in common?

Each one of these exercises compresses and decompresses every cell in the body. Even your fingernails get exercised with each of the above regimens. Every time you hit the lower part of your step when running or walking, or the bottom of your bounce when rebounding, you are compressing every cell in your body. And when you are at the top of your bounce or step, your body’s cells are fully decompressed. Every single cell gets exercised this way.

I know that this is not going to be popular with many of you, but this is an area that needs to be looked at. There is no getting around it, and if you do face up to it, I can guarantee you that after a month or two of doing one of the above exercises, you’ll be feeling better than you have in years. I’ve never seen a fat runner. Never! Have you?

How do I know all this???

Well, on a personal note, I began running the summer I turned 50 years old. I’d never been a runner in my entire life before that age. The first day I started running, I was 35 pounds over weight, generally unhealthy, and I covered about 200 yards before I fell over completely exhausted.

Seven years later, I now run in 5K (3.1 miles), 10K (6.2 miles), and even 15K / 9.3 mile races and my times are not that bad for my age. I also look about 20 years younger, am as strong as a horse, and haven’t been sick even once since that time.

If I can do it. So can you. You really can.

Even though some of you don’t want to hear this in your current state of health, I can honestly say from experience, that I am so glad I made this permanent lifestyle change and added running to my health regimen. Now, I love it, and wouldn’t dream of living my life any other way.

You can be healthy!!!

Exercise plays a very important role in the overall health plan of getting you into a state of excellent health, and there is no way it can be ignored. It’s just one of those things that’s gotta be done!!!

Yours in health and love,

Ian “Doc” Shillington N.D.