Exercise. Some of us love it. Some of us hate it. For some it’s a way of life. For others it is a means to an end. And most of us have experienced exercise in all of these ways, and more!
No matter how much or how little you think you know about exercise, I invite you to consider that you may benefit from having your relationship with exercise fundamentally REORGANIZED.
Some of you may remember that during the Level 1 Network Care workshop at New Day we talk about how a key advantage Network Care has over other types of care is that we REORGANIZE your nervous system so that you can function better than ever.
Consider this. Would you rather have me come over to your house and clean your bedroom closet? OR, would you rather have me come over to reorganize your closet? Routine cleaning is always needed, of course. But reorganization sounds a bit more exciting, wouldn’t you agree? It lays the groundwork for something new to occur.
Me running in high school (looking horrible!)
My relationship to exercise has had several reorganizations over the years, when it came upon me that my routine, time tested way, was no longer serving me.
Luckily for me, I never considered exercising optional. Somehow, at a young age, I got the idea in my head that a purposeful exercise routine is a desirable part of life. I also got the idea that I was good at running, and ran on my school’s cross country team in high school. I wasn’t actually a particularly great runner, but I was good enough to continue along with it through high school and for some years beyond.
Most of my workouts were some sort of distance run, and I could not imagine it otherwise (even though I enjoyed other forms of exercise). Running was the most efficient, I reasoned, burning the most calories and essentially getting rid of all the bad food and drink I consumed on the weekends. Running made so much sense that I thought that anyone who wasn’t running was probably just physically unable to perform this superior form of exercise, or just plain lazy.
It wasn’t until I had started in Network Care as a practice member that I had my first reorganization in my thinking around exercise. This reorganization was also occurring around my concept of eating and health more generally during this time, as my brain and body began to process differently through the care.
Was life really just about getting a little bit better (running) and then a little bit worse (eating and drinking)? And making ourselves worse (staying up all night writing a paper) and then fixing ourselves (getting chiropractic care). All this, over and over, continuously throughout our lives? At some point wouldn’t I just crap out? The cumulative effects of all the “bad” things I had done to my body eventually overtaking every “fix” I had found?
Soon thereafter I began to learn and study something that was being called “The Innate Diet” and “The Innate Lifestyle” by a chiropractor named Dr. James Chestnut. “The Innate Diet” is more or less what is now known as “The Paleo Diet.”
“The Innate Lifestyle” encouraged a person to pursue exercise as an essential daily nutrient for the body. In order to function at the level that our genetic code requires for health in the body, exercise is a requirement and NOT a semi-optional add on to “undo” the poor lifestyle choices I intermittently pursued. I began to consider the wide array of benefits of exercising on my body and mind, and I began to experience them as I sought out exercise classes and programs that helped me feel more stimulated, creative, and alive than running was making me feel at the time.
None of this is to say that running is inherently bad any more than any other approach to exercise could be. I needed to have my understanding and experience of exercise re-programmed before I could come back to benefitting once again from running.
At our upcoming New Day Community Dinner I will be speaking more about exercise, sharing my personal story as well as what research says about exercise and why we need it. I will share my top tips for exercising, recommended types of exercise, and why having your nervous system re-programmed through Network Care helps you get the most out of your exercise. I hope that this blog has stimulated your curiosity and that you will RSVP for our Community Dinner. Information below, as well as on our Events page.
