6 Exercises for Greater Health
Whether a breath-taking walk or enjoying a full-body sweaty aerobics workout, physical activity is absolutely essential for keeping the body systems healthy.
The kinds of activities that introduce variables in gravity-loading like Qi Gong, jumping rope, plyometrics, jogging, and trampolining are highly recommended for supporting wellness as they increase blood and lymphatic flow and boost overall immunity.
Walking is the easiest and most readily available way to energize and mobilize the fluid systems of the body, especially if you engage in a brisk, bouncy style of walking. The ‘jive’ walk — where knee flexion and toe raises add a jaunty vertical dimension to forward progress — is fun!
It may surprise you to learn that brisk walking can build the same cardio fitness as running. If done at a pace where you can easily talk aloud in full sentences., brisk walking will give you enough of a workout to push your heart and muscles to adapt, but is easy enough that you can get your fitness without getting fatigued.
Nordic Walking with poles is a fantastic workout for both your muscles and your cardiovascular and lymphatic systems. It improves both core and upper body strength because you are moving both your upper body and lower body in synchrony. Here again, the mantra is ‘brisk and bouncy.’
Skipping along is a playful way to bring variable gravity into forward progress. Skipping rope adds the further benefits of moving the upper body plus the coordination it takes to maintain a brisk rhythm while skipping. And it provides resiliency-building plyometrics, which helps the cartilage in your knees and spine stay healthy.
Certain kinds of dance moves — Hip Hop, and The Shuffle — can do wonders for moving your lymphatic fluid. In ballet, petit allegro gives the lymphatic system a dainty, bouncy brilliance.
Trampolining is fantastic for improving the movement of lymph. If landing on hard surfaces proves difficult during plyometric training, use a mini- or maxi- trampoline instead. Rebounding is a unique form of brisk and bouncy exercise in which a weightless state is achieved at the top of each jump. This shift in gravitational loading benefits every muscle and cell of the body and provides an amazing boost to the lymphatic system.
The classic form of brisk bouncy exercise is running. If you already run, you know the joys it brings to be light on your feet and frisking along a beautiful path. People new to running get discouraged as soon as they realize how out of shape they have become. You don’t have to run far. You don’t have to run fast. You don’t even have to run the entire distance. Gradually train-up to run a certain length of time or distance by running a bit, then walking a bit. Start out slow, increasing the running distance gradually like Sister Marion Irvine, a nun who became an Olympic hopeful. She would run in the shade of the telephone poles and then walk to the next pole along the road she began training on. Soon enough she found she could run a little further, walk a little less. Sister Marion went on to set many world records for over-50 women, and became the oldest competitor (54) ever at a US Track and Field Olympic Marathon Trial!
Consistency is what unlocks greater fitness and health, especially with regard to exercise. Keeping a regular schedule gives the body and mind a comforting routine, and provides a refreshing break from the hum drum of ordinary living. Make brisk, bouncy exercise a part of your everyday life. Your body and mind will thank you!