Category Archives: Exercise
Simple Weekly Exercise Plan
Daily exercise of our body as well as our mind and spirit are essential to ridding the body of emotion that is counterproductive.
I love the simplicity of the following list of exercise for the body. Remember all you have to do is (1) write this down or print it out, (2) put it somewhere you look at it daily, and (3) do it!
Deep breathing–10 minutes daily
Walking–30 minutes daily
Monday–20 minutes endurance exercise
Tuesday–10 minutes strength training
Wednesday–20 minutes endurance exercise
Thursday–10 minute strength training
Friday–20 minutes endurance exercise
Saturday–add 30 minutes walking–do AM and PM
Links for feeling good:
1. From Weight Loss Journal: “How to Exercise without Even Realizing It”:
There are two kinds of people in this world: those that genuinely love to exercise, and the rest of us. Sadly, both types of people need to be active to stay happy and healthy. If you fall under the latter category, there’s only so many times you can update your jogging playlist to maintain a slither of excitement when it comes to exercise.
However, if you perceive any activity that works up a sweat as a chore, it’s only going to be less enjoyable and more difficult.
Even if you don’t find exercise particularly fun, there’s always ways to make it a little easier and, bear with me, even slightly enjoyable. It’s possible to trick your body into liking it. Here’s a few different ways to exercise without feeling like you’re exercising:
2. From zentofitness: “Simple Stress Management”:
Stress is not always a bad thing and quite simply something that triggers an internal reaction and response in the body, namely triggering our HPA axis (hypothalamus-pitutary-adrenal) and produces stress hormones.
When we have too much stress these hormones pump out and trigger our fight or flight response – supressing appetite, causing anxiety, inhibiting digestion and repair of the body. This is fine in the short term and our body can handle this for short and brief periods. The problem comes when we get stuck in a state of chronic stress and it beomes the default state. With prolonged exposure to stress our bodies ability to produce stress hormones starts to shut down – this leads to a host of problems.
Whether it is working long hours in a job you don’t like, over-exercising, undereating or a combination. The stress compounds and wears the body out. Making even the most simple of tasks seem a chore and life become a struggle.
3. From The Maven of Mayhem: “Adventures in Exercising”:
But eventually this grotesque display of self-pity stirred something within me. By Wednesday I had finally had enough of the sadness, the anger, the excuses.
So I went out and spontaneously signed up for a gym.
For a year.
And I was there the very next morning with my shoes and my water bottle and my workout clothes, ready to tackle my demons, physical, mental, and emotional.
Anyway, I’ve never really been a gym member. I was ever so temporarily in early 1996, before Intrepid graced my stomach and I got too sick and too tired to trek down to the gym for several months. After that, I developed a phobia of sweaty skinny people. As a fat girl, there’s a serious confidence issue when faced with size six sorority sisters looking fabulous as they run like gazelles on the treadmills beside me. I had to get over that. I think I have. In fact, I’ve come to a few key realizations in the last couple of days at the gym.
Stress Relief Book 3: Essential Stretch

Falun Dafa the Second by longtrekhome
Essential Stretch: Gentle Movements for Stress Relief, Flexability and Overall Well-Being
Michelle LeMay
ISBN 0-300-52893-8
Essential Stretch by Michelle LeMay with the ISBN 0-399-52893-8 is featured in this post. Michelle has spent years developing and teaching her stretch techniques. The table of contacts includes the basics, the blessings, the techniques (oscillations, breath, heart activation, meditation and centering), the stretches (full body, lower body and upper body), and five different routines depending on the user’s skill level.
The five routines are: (1) full body routine for getting started, (2) full body routine for the seasoned stretcher, (3) short and sweet routines, (4) daily stretches, and (5) mind your mind.
Her centering process includes several helpful techniques. Centering is the ability to “tune out” inner and external stress and get in touch with your quietness inside you. We each have this center but this technique needs to be strengthened in order to lower our stress level. Remember it is our reaction to stress that uses the most useless energy. We want to bombard our stressor. But the centering process helps to use our energy the only place that we can make a difference—on ourselves.
The techniques for centering that she includes are: (1) increase your self-awareness, (2) quiet your mind, (3) focus inward, and (4) create a positive shift. The positive shift uses clarity, letting go of burdens, self-love, peace, mind/body connection, and being happy statements to be included with your stretch.
Excerpt from the book:
“Essential Stretch is a simple movement technique. Anyone can do it—no matter what your age or fitness level—and everyone can benefit from it, even super-fit athletes and dancers. Unfortunately, when it comes to exercise programs, stretch has been placed on the back burner, or related to the category of exercise for the elderly. But research reveals that stretching is often the missing link in successful exercise programs, As you will see, it is becoming apparent that it may be the missing link in our lives.”
Tags: centering, energy, exercises, peace, positive, self-awareness, stress relief, stressor, stretch

