How Your Exercise Can Be Holistic Therapy

Exercise is medicine, and it has therapeutic effects on our bodies. If you build your exercise practice on a holistic foundation, it can provide therapy to your whole body.

Three Elements of Exercise.

An exercise program must include these three elements to be considered holistic. You must practice cardiovascular conditioning, strength-training, and stretching.

If you favor one of these types of exercise, then some part of your body is not getting the movement that it needs. There are health benefits that are unique to each type of exercise. And practicing one type of exercise a lot will not compensate for a lack in other areas.

Holistic health from elemental exercise.

As mentioned above, each of the elements of exercise offers unique health benefits. By skimping on one, we deprive our bodies of those. But by practicing all three, we are guaranteed great health because we treat all of our body's systems. This holistic approach enables our exercise work-outs to provide therapy to our bodies.

First, cardio work-outs offer a boost to the blood flow that cannot be matched by stretching or strengthening. Neither yoga's hand-stands, nor supersets in bodybuilding, can offer the whole-body effects on circulation (and lymphatic immunity) that can be found in a quick jog or brisk walk. Furthermore, aerobic activities lasting just 20 minutes or more have long-lasting effects.

Next, strengthening, also called resistance-training or weight-lifting, has its own unique qualities. Our lifestyles today are especially deprived of its therapy, as overworked muscles become injury-prone. With proper strengthening, we can easily erase many of the strains felt from our workloads and habits.

Last, stretching, or flexibility training, provides its own set of health benefits. If your practice includes yoga, you might also include some meditation. So, your mind expands along with your muscles and joints.

Is your lifestyle based on holistic health? Check out the higher-lifestyle.blogspot.com Higher Lifestyle blog for tips on healthy living, natural pain relief, and holistic therapies.

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