You want to build  muscles? Improve your endurance?

You want to win a competition? Or run a marathon?

Don’t worry! I don’t want to condition you to a professional athlete. Sport does not by its very nature mean to yield your maximum capacity or to fine tune your body. No. Sport has a much deeper meaning.

We all know that moving our body is crucial for health and well-being. But what happens exactly within our body when we’re active and when we challenge ourselves physically? Why is it so important to stay “in motion”? What impact does it have on our mind? Our soul? And how can we actually integrate a regular sports routine successfully into our life? You’ll find out the answers now!

 

~ Why it’s primarily about nutrition ~ 

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Nutrition is an essential part of everyone, everyday, everywhere – we can’t avoid nourishing our body with food daily. But we can actually live without doing sports every single day. In fact, that works very easily; because we don’t have a specific organ, like the stomach for eating, that reminds us regularly of being active. Essentially, we have to take time and energy for going to the gym, to fitness or swimming courses. There is an undeniable internal debate for us to get up and go for a run outside, to take our bike for a ride every day in all weather conditions.

That’s the primary reason why most people tend to focus on their nutrition and turn their back on physical activity. Of course: nutrition is a crucial part of our lives, since we eat  2-4 times a day in average and therefore invest more time into what goes into our stomachs. Professional athletes make an exception, as they spend the major part of their day with exercising and training; yet still only for a limited period of time during the year. As you see: nutrition is a powerful tool and underlies a certain amount of self-responsibility.

BUT: As long as you start exercising, moving your body on a regular basis, challenging your muscles, improving your fitness and endurance, your awareness and feeling of the physical body will change. Sooner or later you’ll realise the link between nutrition and sports; you’ll start thinking about your nutrition; and probably you’ll choose very intuitively the proper foods that your body needs.

 

 

~ Health benefits of physical activity ~

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Regular physical activity improves your life in many ways, as follows:

• Your sleep will get better.
• Say goodbye to stress!
• Your lifespan increases.
• Your self-confidence grows, especially because of your balanced and stronger body feeling.
• Your mood enhances. Endorphins, hooray! But not only during training. Your mood remains long-lasting on a higher level than without exercising.
• When you’ve eaten lousy – sport is an easy way to balance bad food choices.
• Physical activity is THE most important tool for disease prevention: cardio-vascular-diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis, gout, etc. – you’ll declare war on it with moving your body regularly.
• Your digestion will thank you.
• Your immune system shines like the brightest sunbeam that you’ve ever seen
• Your brainpower improves.
• You expand not only your lifetime, but also your quality of life (Warburton et al., 2006; Brechota et al., 2017)

So, could you find at least one aspect that you could and want to improve? Then it’s time to make a decision – NOW.

Simply say YES.

Give your body a YES, a YES for your well-being, your health, your mind, your soul. Simply say YES to your life.

And begin moving your body today.

Yes. You’re worth living the best life that you possibly can. You’re supposed to live strong, healthy and self-confident. You CAN get the best out of yourself.

 

 

~ How much is enough and good for me? ~

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As the case for a nutrition, there is an average amount of physical activity per day deemed healthy. According to the World Health Organization (WHO),  150 min of moderate activity or 75 min of intensive activity per week is ideal.

However, this is not a hard and fast rule that fits for everyone in every life situation. We are supposed to experience and figure out a suitable extent and intensity of exercise and bring it into agreement with our daily routines. An extent and intensity that fulfils the needs of our body; that delights and revives you.

As with nutrition and many other areas of life, we can conclude as follows:

“All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only the dose permits something not to be poisonous.” (Paracelsus)

High-performance sport, where athletes work hard on training several hours a day for many years, does not come without health consequences.  In severe cases, even sudden cardiac death. That’s why this very high-intense sport normally can’t be performed a whole life long.

On the contrary, being completely inactive and sedentary also leads to diseases. Classically, it starts with overweight and goes on to the diseases of civilisation that we’re facing in our modern western society. Diseases that underlie bad eating habits and a lack of exercise.

Physical activity: YES! Being active is essential for our health and well-being. However, with a balanced approach and attitude.

Let me help, guide and inspire you to find what sport works best for you, when and to what extent, and let me also show you the bright side of physical activity that brings you joy and fun. Follow me! 

 

 

~ Conclusion: Motion for Body, Mind & Soul ~

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Freshly acquired energy after a run. A walk that releases you from the mental hamster wheel. To feel like sliding on clouds after a swim training. Power. Strength. Endurance. Self-Confidence. A huge smile on your face.

Pure Energy. Life energy!

Physical activity is truly a miracle drug. A magical cure made by nature. What’s best- you have the most important tool always with you: your own body.

You don’t need to gain maximum capacity and workout for hours every day. The only thing that really counts is to integrate a little more activity within your daily life. Small steps, tiny little habits that are easily implemented. And you will definitely develop into a healthier YOU.

A YOU, who gains life energy and therefore finds a smoother connection to his/her self.

A YOU, who is able to make decisions in a self-confident way.

A YOU, who says “Thank you” to his/her body; because it is the gift of life to you. Take care of this magical gift and meet it’s requirements in the best possible way. Take care of your body as you’d care for your new-born baby.

I’m releasing you with the flowing energy of these lines and I’m wishing you a day full of energy and vitality. In the next articles on the section “sports”, we‘ll take a look at concrete tips for practising exercise on a regular basis so that you’ll be able to find your way in a more agile life.

Lots of love & a big hug.

Spread your love & Namasté,

yours Isabel!

 

 Literature

Warburton D.E.R., Nicol C.W., Bredin S.S.D. Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence. Canadian Medical Association Journal (2006). Vol. 174(6): 801-809.

Brechota M., Nüeschb S., Francka E. Does sports activity improve health? Representative evidence using local density of sports facilities as an instrument. Applied Economics (2017). Vol. 49(48): 4871-4884.

 

Pictures
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