Exercise – The Real Wonder Drug [Fitness article]

 

 

Exercise

:

The Real Wonder Drug

A review and reminder

 

Exercise is good for the mind and for the body.

It sharpens the mind and boosts mood.

It provides energy and a sense of mastery.

It improves the quality of your sleep so you wake up

Feeling better rested.

 

It keeps the heart and blood vessels in working order.

It protects against such common conditions as diabetes.

It is invaluable in weight control.

 

Now comes more good news:

Intense exercise may curb your sweet tooth.

Animal studies show that exercise decreases preference for sweetness.

 

Scientists aren’t sure why exercise has this effect.

It may be that intense activity revs up endorphins

And related substances in your brain,

And that powerfully positive blast of pleasure

Might decrease the need for satisfying food.

 

The danger for athletes is that such an effect

Might keep them from consuming enough

Food to replace calories lost in exertion.

But most of us have no such problem.

 

And there’s more good news…

Long-term exercise

Improves your immune system with 30 minutes of exercise a day.

Three times a week, adults strengthened not only their muscles

But the immune system’s first line of defense against viral infection.

 

Blood tests showed them to have more active natural killer cells.

 

They had no such boost in immune function

If they exercised for only three months.

 

It took 11 months of working out to impact the immune system.

 

The results were especially important because the exercisers

Were older adults. The researchers say the study demonstrates

How a little exercise can help people maintain their health

And independence with advancing age.

 

And that leads directly to other new findings.

For example, working out is great,

But when you stop doing it,

You lose the benefits.

 

As the saying goes, use it or lose it.

 

When you stop exercising, you lose not only the physical benefits,

But the psychological benefits as well.

 

In this case, researchers looked at adults with lung disease

And found that after just 10 weeks of exercising —

 

Doing aerobic workouts,

Strength training and

Stretching three times a week

 

– there were significant gains mentally and physically.

Exercisers boosted high-level cognitive abilities and were

Better able to maintain train of thought.

They also showed fewer signs of depression and anxiety.

 

If they kept on exercising, they maintained the benefits,

But there were no subsequent gains in mental or physical function

Even if they kept up the good work for a year.

There comes a point where the gains max out.

 

However, those who stopped exercising returned

To their original, pre-study level of functioning.

They lost all they had gained.

 

No matter what, you just have to keep up the physical activity

To get the benefits.

 

And don’t expect a single bout of exercise to do much good,

At least for your sleep.

 

If exercise isn’t habitual, a single period of exertion

– whether it’s aerobic exercise or resistance-type exercise

– can actually disrupt your sleep.

 

If losing weight is one of the benefits you seek,

Then studies show your exercise has to consist of

Aerobic and calorie-burning activities,

Such as

 

Walking,

Jogging,

Swimming or

Bicycle riding.

 

Weight training offers many benefits —

 

Like building muscle and strength,

Boosting immunity,

Reducing the risk of low-back injury —

 

But by itself it won’t burn enough calories to promote much weight loss.

 

So get into the habit

.

Choose an activity that you like and

One you can keep on doing.

And just keep going at a nice steady pace.

 

cheers,
Bobby Wan

The Power of Words

The Power of Words

 

How many times have we set goals, visualized our desired outcome, created and repeated positive affirmations, and yet still not achieved what we had hoped? There are numerous potential causes for this. Sometimes its simply a matter of WORDS.

 

Every sound we utter sends out an energy wave that aids in creating our world. With every sentence we speak we are improving or destroying our health, relationships, finances, etc.

 

The most powerful example I’ve ever heard was a story told to me directly by the woman who had the experience. This woman had developed an incurable disease of the eyes. She was quickly going blind. Her physicians said there was NOTHING they could do. Being very determined and not liking what she heard, she turned to alternative therapies for a possible cure – something she never would have done had she not been in this desperate situation. A friend recommended she see someone that did crystal healing. She thought that sounded ridiculous but decided to give it a try. During her appointment, the crystal healing therapist asked her to describe herself, her life, etc. and she let her talk for about 10 minutes. Suddenly, the therapist stopped her and said “Did you know that in the last 10 minutes you said the words ‘I hate to see’ 15 times?” The woman was shocked. She used the words “I hate to see” before many things. “I hate to see the way the world is going.” “I hate to see how they  are treating the children in schools.” On and on she made reference to “I hate to see” this or that. This was literally an eye opening experience. She switched her words and now years later has perfect vision.

 

HOW MANY WORDS DO WE USE THAT DESTROY OUR DESIRES?

 

NEVER NEVER NEVER say “I’m Sorry.” Two of the most powerful words in the English language are the words I AM. These words tell every part of you – your personality, your subconscious, your ego, your spirit – who you are. They define WHO YOU ARE. Be very careful what you place behind those words. When you say “I’m sorry,” you are saying that WHO YOU ARE is a sorry individual. Replace the words “I’m sorry” with “I apologize.” Anyone who eliminates the words “I’m sorry” from their vocabulary will increase their self esteem almost immediately! The same goes for “I’m sick.” “I’m tired.” “I’m stupid.” – you get the idea. Replace those with “I feel ___” and eliminate the stupid comment altogether.

 

SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH GOAL ACHIEVEMENT?

 

Another very important aspect of conscious language is the LAW OF FOCUS. What ever we place our attention on is what we create. It’s important to focus on the positive thing we desire rather than the negative thing we want to avoid. For example, never focus on NOT AGING. Focusing on not aging ensures that you will age and quickly. Instead focus on being healthy, vibrant, and youthful.

 

An interesting and often overlooked part of all this is the need to avoid words that are negating a negative. What the heck do I mean by that? A word like LIMITLESS is actually drawing the subconscious mind to focus on LIMITS. This is NOT what we want. So saying something like LIMITLESS ABUNDANCE is placing limits on the abundance.

 

An example from my own life is the word EFFORTLESS. In the past when I made affirmations, I would typically end them with the words “easy, effortless, and fun.” An example might be “Having a wonderful relationship is easy, effortless, and fun.” This was actually drawing EFFORT into my life. Since I have eliminated that word and now only use “easy and fun” EVERYTHING has shifted. We sold our house in 2 weeks because it was “easy and fun.” – and there was no EFFORT involved. Doug’s immigration process to the U.S. was taken care of in less than 2 months. There are many, many other examples of how this has made things move very quickly and easily for us.

 

Review your own affirmations and the words you say out loud or just to yourself and see how POSITIVE you are actually being. It does make a difference!

 

cheers,

Bobby Wan