Message #42921

[mccoy]

Intuitively, exercise (barring extreme exercise) is good for health and spirituality as well. Exercise bestows a sense of calmness which is also conducive to meditation.

Yogananda was well aware of this, suggesting to carry out physical exercise and offering his own routine of physical exercise, which actually were more exercises to attract prana in the body and revitalize it.

Present science has proved that exercise is beneficial to health and longevity in many ways. Exercise also improves brain function and surprisingly, is the best preventive action against Alzheimer disease.

For the most of us in this forum, devotees no more in their early youth, exercise prevents physical frailty, which is conducive to injuries, disability and premature death.

It's a win-win situation, with benefits to physical health, longevity, mind, and spirit.

The main challenge is that until retired we don't have all day to exercise, so it needs to be optimized. What to do and for how long.

Both kinds of exercise are necessary: cardio or aerobic and resistance exercise (with weights or free body). Also, stability exercises (against falls) and stretching exercises (yoga postures) are very useful. The specialistic literature suggests specific schemes for aerobic exercises to improve healthspan and longevity. Ditto for resistance exercises.
The first rule of course is moderation and not to be injured.

Presently, I'm lifting weights for an average of 90-120 minutes per week, plus I'm doing zone 2 for 60-90 minutes per week. I should add some exercise to improve my VO2 max, that is respiratory efficiency. I should also start back with energization exercises, which I interrupted due to nagging rib aches.

Meditation-like, as I said the body is quieter, heart rate is lower, breath rate is lower, all beneficial aspects.

Meditation itself constitutes a stress-relieving technique which improves our health and longevity, in addition to pushing our spiritual evolution.