One of the aspects of life that we each must keep in mind is looking after the physical body. We only have one body and that one body might be required to last a long time. It might also be required to travel through rough terrain. One part of looking after the physical body is physical training. Obviously physical training is required to keep the body fit and functional as well as to maintain adequate strength throughout the body and adequate mobility throughout the body.
When you look at the ways of modern living, there are many instances where the set up takes you away from what one would think is natural. For example, working in offices. Many office jobs require you to spend long hours every day sitting. Now times that by 5 days a week, then times that by 48, 49 weeks per year or whatever. All of a sudden, you’re spending a hell of a lot of time sitting and as Ido Portal says, “The body will become better at whatever you do, or don’t do.” So, if you spend a lot of time sitting, your body will adapt to being stable in that position.
Now, if all you ever do is walk sit, walk sit lie: for example get out of bed, walk to kitchen, sit, eat breakfast, get ready, walk to car, sit, drive to work, get out of car, walk, sit at desk.. well it’s not hard to see why the body becomes stiff and prone to injury. The body is adapting to those positions. The body is calcifying in those positions.
So clearly, we need to take care of the physical body and keep it limber and fit throughout our lives. And we need to think of movement and exercise as medicine against the problem of inadequate activity.
Obviously, there are scientific benefits of exercising. There’s no doubt that it is good for us and can help regulate our moods. But I kind of view things all from a metaphysical perspective, from an energy perspective as it is, after all, the foundation of reality. From this perspective I would say the main “why’s” of training, the reasons why I like to incorporate physical training into my life are as follows:
- Basic physical health. There is a certain amount of strength that is required in the body. It’s the balance between tension and relaxation in the muscles that helps keep things in order structurally. If you’re too weak your joints will feel vulnerable, certain movements or areas of your back will cause pain for example. So, the body must be trained for basic physical health.
- Functionality. You want to have good functionality in this life. You want to be able to do things. You want to be able to do the basics well. Lifting, walking, running, lunging, jumping, climbing, rotating the core, squatting, swimming etc etc.. You also want to be functional in modern world scenarios. For example, our car’s battery was dead and the battery is located in the boot. The boot door was locked shut. So, I had to go through the front door and slither through the back seats into the boot and in all sorts of awkward positions, get the battery out. That’s functionality. If I was overweight and couldn’t move my spine well, I would have had to call someone to come get the battery out.
- Freedom and Self-Discipline. Ok so here’s where the cool stuff starts coming in: Self-Discipline. If you, like me, are a big fan of freedom, then you’re going to need a lot of self-discipline. Because the structures and ways of modern life aren’t made to allow freedom for the individual. They are made to help keep the structures and systems going. So, if you want to be free, the odds are against you. You have to keep driving yourself forward. You need a lot of self-discipline. Physical training is a great way to develop that, especially if you have no idea what self-discipline is. Every time you plan an exercise routine that is challenging for you and you complete it, you are increasing your self-discipline. You’re kind of telling yourself, “no, I am in charge here, and even when things are difficult, I can still do what I set out to do.”
- Energy processing. Another great benefit of physical training is that it can help neutralize negative emotions, feelings, and the incessant churning of the mind. It brings you into the now and grounds your energy. It can help lift your mood.
- Strength and Strength Endurance Training. When I say strength training, I don’t just mean physical strength I also mean strength of spirit. Physical training can help you summon that fighter’s spirit within you. It can get you familiar with what a fighter’s spirit means. When you don’t want to continue on anymore, but you keep going: that is a valuable lesson.
- Fun. Physical training is a great way to incorporate fun and playfulness whilst doing something productive at the same time. Dance, handstands, cartwheels, games etc. are great for the body and also help to keep a light-hearted spirit.
- Beauty and Presentation. This is pretty self-explanatory but something to consider is that your body is a source of information for the way other people perceive you. Obviously in real terms who cares what people think and if you are not a splitting image of society’s expectations of beauty and people are degrading you because of that then basically they can go fuck themselves but from a business/marketing point of view presentation is something to be kept in mind and we all gotta make money so I guess it pays to consider this aspect.
So those are the basic “why’s” of training from a metaphysical/philosophical point of view. There are probably a couple more but those are the main one’s. The cool thing is that if you just want to be healthy and stay in shape, understanding these underlying reasons completely changes the ball game. It’s a lot easier to train when you know that each session is empowering your life. It’s a lot easier to train if you feel unbalanced and know you will be feeling better afterward.
I hope this article has been helpful for you and as the old chines proverb says, “You are as old as your spine.” So, keep your spine mobile yet strong. Keep your body mobile yet strong.
