After posting yesterday, I realized that I left exercise off the credo I wrote there. Exercise is vital to this whole thing, not only because it promotes good physical health, but because it promotes psychological health and a sense of well-being that cannot be achieved any other way.
Hopefully you have a form of exercise you love. Like dieting, for many people exercise has become a duty rather than a pleasure to be anticipated. Though I know it qualifies as fun for many people, when I see all those grim-faced people all in a row on ellipticals at a gym, it makes me shudder. I love to walk, the feeling of motion, of my body doing what it's supposed to do. I usually listen to something as I go, a book chapter or a dharma talk, that also feeds my mind, although I also quite enjoy walks without that, or even as a formal walking meditation (I'll write a bit more about that another time).
I am not a big proponent of needing to do a particular kind of exercise, though I think it has to be aerobic to do much good for either your body or mind. What's most important is that we find something we love so we will stick with it over the long term. Just like my philosophy of eating, this is not a short term fix with short term goals, but a way of life to which I am committing myself. It is much more important to make it an essential component of our lives than to fulfill the dictates of some program or regimen.
Though there are few statues or paintings depicting this, the Buddha walked a great deal. He was an itinerant teacher, going from town to town and depending on the largess of those he taught to make his way. He had no permanent home. Only in the rainy season did he set up an encampment to rest and wait out the rains. So if we need inspiration, we can think of the Buddha himself walking hundreds and perhaps thousands of miles in his lifetime to carry the message of freedom and the end of suffering to those who would them transmit it through the generations to us.
Hopefully you have a form of exercise you love. Like dieting, for many people exercise has become a duty rather than a pleasure to be anticipated. Though I know it qualifies as fun for many people, when I see all those grim-faced people all in a row on ellipticals at a gym, it makes me shudder. I love to walk, the feeling of motion, of my body doing what it's supposed to do. I usually listen to something as I go, a book chapter or a dharma talk, that also feeds my mind, although I also quite enjoy walks without that, or even as a formal walking meditation (I'll write a bit more about that another time).
I am not a big proponent of needing to do a particular kind of exercise, though I think it has to be aerobic to do much good for either your body or mind. What's most important is that we find something we love so we will stick with it over the long term. Just like my philosophy of eating, this is not a short term fix with short term goals, but a way of life to which I am committing myself. It is much more important to make it an essential component of our lives than to fulfill the dictates of some program or regimen.
Though there are few statues or paintings depicting this, the Buddha walked a great deal. He was an itinerant teacher, going from town to town and depending on the largess of those he taught to make his way. He had no permanent home. Only in the rainy season did he set up an encampment to rest and wait out the rains. So if we need inspiration, we can think of the Buddha himself walking hundreds and perhaps thousands of miles in his lifetime to carry the message of freedom and the end of suffering to those who would them transmit it through the generations to us.
The one thing I miss about working on campus is being able to take walks under the trees during my lunch break. There just any similar places to walk at my present place of work. So I walk through the building - not the same thing, but at least it's walking.
ReplyDeleteUh, that should have been "There just aren't any similar places..."
ReplyDeleteThe doctors say that when you regularly exercise, your mind also improves like you think faster or your brain works better. That's why regular exercise can help fight stress.
ReplyDelete