Body

Most babies are given the gift of a physically healthy body at birth. When life begins, the human infant is completely incapable of taking care of itself, but through the care of others, proper nutrition, sleep, and the will to thrive, growth and strength occur. The first year of life sees an infant first being able to turn their head, turning over, crawling and finally walking. On the surface it appears that it is time that causes a baby grow, physically develop, and become stronger. For a baby, just as it is for adults, nutrition, sleep and the use of the muscles, bones, the physical body that causes growth, and strength. In fact, if a baby didn’t try to stand, try to walk, it never would be able to accomplish that feat.

In adults, our body constantly monitors what it is doing and makes adjustments. Keeping muscles and bone only as minimally strong as necessary keeps the weight of our frame as light as possible. Putting higher physical demands on a body will make it stronger and sturdier. Conversely, lower physical demands on a body will cause it to be weaker but lighter. Think about someone who has had a cast on a broken bone. The bone, and attached muscles are unused, and when the cast is removed, the muscles have atrophied, and if a joint was involved, the joint is stiff. The adage “use it or loose it” is absolutely true.

Today, for most people, lifestyle choices do not give us the opportunity to use our body physically to adequately keep muscles and bones strong for daily living. Awareness of this fact has created an industry of fitness centers and home gym equipment so that “professional sitters” (those who have desk jobs) can spend time and energy focused specifically on physical health.

Besides physical exercise, proper nutrition must be available to the cells in our body to have a strong body. If Calories are not available for energy and the proper elements are not present in proper amounts, our body will “make due” with what is there, but it will never be as strong as it could be. This goes for bone strength, muscle strength, cardiovascular endurance, the immune system and possibly more.

Finally, we must rest for our physical body to be strong. Most adults do not get adequate sleep. Again, our body will make due, but it will not be as strong as it could be. Sleep benefits alertness, memory and problem solving, and overall health, as well as reducing the risk of accidents. Lower sleep hours have been shown to be a risk factor for weight gain, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes. Wound healing has been shown to be affected by sleep. It has also been shown that sleep deprivation affects the immune system and metabolism.

Although medicines and science can do wonderful things, our amazing human body is almost always better in its natural state. It is our job to take care of the temple that houses our spirit and mind.

Helpful Links

Yoga Journal
Ace Fitness
Exercise
Oklahoma Bicycle Society
Oklahoma City Running Club
Assess Your Physical Activity
Active Lifestyle Challenge (beginners)
Presidential Champions (already exercising)
Advanced Performance (already exercising, need a challenge)
Exercising with Specific Health Issues