The macrobiotic diet combines healthy food with a healthy lifestyle secluded from the fast-paced, mass-produced society that thrives off of greasy, sugary and salty foods. But what is a healthy diet if it's not paired with exercise? The dedication to harmony in diet with macrobiotics is so thorough, it only makes sense to be just as thorough in achieving harmony in the rest of your life, especially in your exercise. Since the macrobiotic diet revolves around simplicity and balance, the exercise should be the same--no overwhelming workouts ending with you lying in a pool of sweat at the end of the hour, but at the same time not so easy that you don't break a sweat.
Instructions
1. Educate yourself. If you aren't familiar with yoga, pilates or some other soft aerobic exercise, check out a DVD from the library or join a class at your local gym. The first step in creating the perfect exercise routine is educating yourself in the appropriate way to exercise. The key to a worthwhile exercise that doesn't involve dumbbells or fancy, expensive contraptions that look vaguely like medieval torture devices is using your body's own resistance. Push-ups work your upper body because you use your own weight and gravity and they don't put you in the dangerous position of a bench press. The same goes with sit-ups and virtually every single yoga pose invented. Take the time to expand your mind and understand how the body responds to strength training and stretching.
2. Once you have found an exercise regimen, make sure it works your body from head to toe and leaves you energized for the day, not worn out and in pain. The best yoga techniques employ complementary breathing with movement, transitioning from warm-up poses to more difficult poses, then back to rest and warm-up poses, so that the body never becomes too strained to continue, and the movement is both an exercise for the body and the mind, forcing concentration on your body's position as well as your breathing. Never push yourself to breathlessness. Find the perfect balance of stress and relaxation. Your muscles are almost constantly working. Sometimes finding the right relaxing pose is the best position for your body.
3. Set aside at least a half hour--or more if you can spare it--to dedicate to your exercise. Mornings work best for some people, while others lose concentration unless they have an instructor leading a class. Since the workout isn't too strenuous, doing it daily shouldn't be much of a strain on the body. But don't be afraid to take a day off from time to time. Find the balance that suits your body.
4. Embrace meditation. Your body and mind are linked and one is strongest when working in unison with the other. At the end of each routine, take at least 5 minutes to sit in silence. Concentrate on breathing easily. Block out worldly distractions and simply feel your existence and the state of your body. As you further your journey in macrobiotics, you will feel more balanced and harmony will be easier to maintain.
5. Once you are exercising routinely, remember to continuously push your body to further limits. Do more push-ups every week or find more advanced yoga poses. If running or jogging was part of your routine, try to run further in less time or simply jog further. Your body is constantly changing, therefore your exercise routine should change with it.
Tags: your body, your exercise, body further, body mind, exercise routine, macrobiotic diet, warm-up poses