Exercise values, again! Pie of Living-Six points

For people who do not exercise I am sure that another study on the values of exercise will create another big yawn and a "whatever" comment. However I have just read about a study that was conducted by a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard. He writes about brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, a protein that builds and maintains the brain's cell circuitry. And guess what increases BDNF levels in the brain? Yep you got got it, exercise. The connection between the brain and exercise is very real and is another good reason to have some form of exercise program in place. But what really amazes me about all of this(not speaking as a scientist, since I am not) is that the common sense approach to the body would tell me that every part of the body has a tie in with each other. A few years ago a scientist told me about his magical software invention that would monitor the heart in harmony with the brain and that there was definitely synergistic activity between the two. He stated that cardiologists were very hard to convince of this principle since they approach the heart as a function all of itself. Again, my common sense tells me that each part of the healthy body works in complete harmony with each other to propel us through the ever day tasks of living. The study further revealed that exercise affects things like improved memory, academic performance and executive function at work. Of course we always have to consider how the social aspects of life will affect this proclamation and what if, "we just don't like to exercise and refuse to?" I had a very intelligent friend tell me a few years ago that he searched and searched for a doctor that would tell him he did not need to exercise to be healthy, since he hated the thought of it. Lo and behold that guy is now in his 80's and living a very good life. Since I believe that we all have our choices of how we want to live our lives, I do respect every one's choices. The only exception to that is if their choices affect my health adversely, i.e. inhaling second hand smoke is not something I like to do. My conclusion here is that this is another study that does prove that exercise has positive value to a healthy lifestyle. It also states that as our population ages, we will be concerned about preventing neurological disorders like Alzheimer's(actually I thought we were concerned about that now) and exercise has a role. It also brings up our youth and how important exercise can be for their further. Well, in addition to this exercise will fight the extreme obesity that is going on in our younger generations today.

In my "Moving Out of the Comfort Zone" motivational seminar I use what I call the pie of life graphic to emphasize and point out what we do in our every day lives, i.e. work, play, family, exercise, etc. I try to emphasize that the slices of this magical pie should be as equal as possible. This is also a way to see how your time is actually spent and what you can do to increase your quality of life. Now after reading some interesting stuff from Ms. Jan Montague I have created what I call the pie of living and the six points associated with it. These are points of living that exist in the everyday life without exception. In my book, "Mind Management" I emphasize three facets of life, being: physical, spiritual, and emotional, while Ms. Montague takes it a little further. The six dimensions of personal wellness, or living are: EMOTIONAL-Go to http://www.fasttwitchmind.com/ and read my recent post about our ego's and you will see how emotion fits into our daily lives. Our emotional feelings reflects the degree to which an individual feels positive and enthusiastic about oneself and one's life. Recognizing this dimension will give us the ability to copy with the stresses and challenges of the day, plus it enables us to accept our selves unconditionally. In most cases, except for the egomaniac, we have a tendency to be our own worst critics. Our self talk should always be positive in nature and not talking to ourselves in a negative tone. INTELLECTUAL-The intellectual phase of our lives promotes the use of one's mind to create a greater understanding appreciation of oneself and the rest of the world around us. It should involve a person to think creatively and rationally. The key here is determining just exactly what the intellectual capacity is and how to apply it. Some people will have obvious gifts, i.e. mathematics, music, science, etc., while others will have to search for their intellectual gifts(kind of life finding those hidden presents at Christmas). PHYSICAL-(Here we go again), The physical dimension promotes participation in activities for cardiovascular endurance, muscular strengthening, and flexibility. My thoughts are that we should find what we like to exercise in for minimum healthy fitness. If we find ourselves obsessed with competing then that adds another dimension to physical, but that is up to the individual. SOCIAL-The social dimension is humanistic, emphasizing the creation and maintenance of healthy relationships. This is the ability to add positive notes to the society that we live in, while developing our own individual social grace. SPIRITUAL-This dimension is totally an individual choice, in my opinion, and does not have to be based on any certain religion, philosophy, or group. It is up to the individual to find their own peace of mind as to personal values and ethics. VOCATIONAL-Everyone should have some form of vocation and it is the responsibility of the parent to guide their children into some for of vocation. There is a popular movie at the movie titled, "Step Brothers", and the theme revolves around two mature adults falling in love and getting married; however, they both have sons 40 year of age still living with them. These guys have never held a job and still act like adolescent children. The point here is that they were never taught and encouraged by these two parents to move out and move on with their lives. While it was a comedy it really had some realism in it for many parents of today. Happy ending, THEY GOT A JOB FINALLY!!

Now I guess my readers will be saying, "let's get away from this deep stuff and get back to EXERCISE." We will of course, but I believe strongly in the pie of life(living) and it affects every aspect of our lives and health. Go get that physical if you haven't!!

Mike Greer