Mental and Physical Fitness

Physical fitness has always been my thing. I have always been very active, martial arts, weight training, aerobics and such, however I also suffered a number of back injuries that have caught up with me. Most recently in the form of a herniated disk in my neck…talk about painful!

Of course I started out with frustration and discontent, suddenly going from martial arts classes four times a week to nothing at all for 4 months…after the initial pouting and anger, and settling into the knee jerk reaction of defeatist mentality, I started looking for “communications” if that is the right way to put it. In other words, what was the universe telling me that I did not want to listen to?….

I could go with societies pessimistic input “You’re getting old, you just can’t do the things you used to!” Love that one…heck I had back problems from an injury in my 20s…let alone now…and please…how old is OLD?

So I have been pondering the question while cautiously easing back into careful weight training and cardio to regain my strength. At this point 6 months later, am pain free…however I decided I do need to start re-evaluating the old method of “forcing” everything, which also entails not listening to the wisdom of my body…something I had been doing for quite a while I might add…to prove I could do anything…serious over achiever chip on my shoulder, but I digress.

When you start looking for something, it is amazing how many things you start to see that were invisible to you before. Think about the simple example of buying a new car, when I bought my PT Cruiser, I suddenly thought the whole world had run out and followed my example. I simply noticed all the other PT Cruisers that were there before, but I had not paid attention to, now that it was significant to me in some way that is. I admit I am a sucker for success stories, so I am drawn to real life achievers. At this point, after being told more than a few times that age would eventually catch up with me “blah blah blah”…I could not help but be drawn to a book called

“Fit Over 40. Amazing Inspirational Anti-aging, Health And Weight Loss E-book For The Over 40 Crowd.” Heck, there is a 77 year old woman in there that's a body builder and looks better than many 30 year olds I know…so much for that! Not that I’ll divulge my own age of course…but I decided to look ahead and see what could be in store for me as the years wear on…and you know what? I’m beginning to like what I see! Of course this may not be your challenge, or your cup of tea, but it is an example of the direction I am moving so I want to share it with you. I’ll let you know how it goes, as far as I’m concerned, you can never have too much information or inspiration!

So what is the point of all of this? Don’t take anyone else’s disparaging remarks to heart, most of these remarks are an easy out for people that need excuses for themselves, and want the rest of the world to agree with them so they feel better about giving up! So look for your own answers, and I guarantee, that there are other people that are in your shoes that have made a very different life than the pessimists would have you believe you are to expect!

There are many things that contribute to overall fitness. Of course you cannot ignore the body-mind-spirit connection and the incredible benefits of Relaxation. Vacations Should Never Be Under Estimated!