Exercise for a Long and Healthy Life - NL-014

Adding extra, healthy years to your life can be achieved by committing to a daily walk of 30 minutes. My friend's battle with cancer was aided significantly by exercise and movement, and is still an important part of her life. Despite the temperature, she would always take the time to go for a walk, and would take 10 minutes to practice deep breathing, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth, pausing for 5 seconds each time. I like to refer to this as the box-breathing exercise.

 

Receiving oxygen to each cell in your body is incredibly beneficial. It's important to note that our cells rely on oxygen and cancer cannot survive in its presence. On the weekends, she would go on long hikes and mentioned how much better she felt after exercising and spending time in the outdoors.

I am convinced that walking is just as fundamental to facing and avoiding health issues as a nutritious diet. Spending only 30 minutes out on a walk can set up your lymphatic system, bring into play the anti-aging process, kick-start DNA repair, enhance circulation and mobility, help with sleeping better, and enhance your emotion by providing you with the same endorphin release as highly intensive exercise, but without putting too much stress on the body. You may find yourself getting hooked on it, but it's a beneficial addiction - it's your body's way of informing you of what it requires to thrive.

If you want to shed pounds and get fit, you could target walking for an hour daily to firm up muscles and bring into play the fat-burning enzymes, or do it twice daily to keep them active for a full 24 hours.

Going to the gym, I don't usually see many people of a retirement age, which is a shame since physical activity is so beneficial for the elderly. It is amazing how much you can improve your overall health and well-being simply by doing yoga-style stretches and breathing exercises. There is no need to do any of the more demanding workouts; a brisk walk is something that comes naturally to our bodies and requires no recovery time.

I was once addicted to the endorphin rush that came from doing strenuous exercises like running, biking, weightlifting, and surfing. However, it would leave me exhausted whenever I wasn't exercising. I was putting a lot of stress on my adrenals and running myself down. Walking lets me still get that endorphin rush, but without the same consequences for my body. It's even better to take a walk without shoes, as it allows the absorption of electrons from the ground, which can help recharge my cells, and the sun exposure helps with Vitamin D production, which is often deficient in many people.