Tha reasons that  physical activity is important are many and various.

It is important, even in this age of technology, to  imbue people with a feeling of worth that is independent of the purely cerebral. what I mean is that, even though the world is now run  mainly by bureacrats and scientists, the physical body, as it did in history and prehistory, carries a certain power and is esteemed iconically by people in society.

This is obvious when looking at the phenomenon of footballers and supermodels.

It is through physical activity often, though not always, that these seemingly desirable bodies are created and become a means of wielding power, of sorts.

Another, in my opinion, better or equally valid reason for engaging in physical activity is to maintain and improve health.

We know that physical activity, along with good nutrition, will help us to maintain and improve health.

We know that physical activity, along with good nutrition, will help us to maintain a healthy low fat, body.

As personal trainers, we deal every day with cases of people  that suffer from obesity, have problems with functional mobility and require our assistance in devising programmes that will improve their cardiac capabilities, help them  increase  muscle tone, help them lose fat whilst simultaneously increasing their oxygen intake, improving circulation and increasing  their ability to lead fuller lives.

However,  in addition to these two considerations, that is, aesthetic beauty and a healthy body, we have athird, combatting stress.

Of course,  we all know that physical exercise combats stress.Nevertheless, in the day to day, the importance of this function is often overlooked  or sidelined.

Stress in individuals is defined as any interference that disturbs a person's physical, emotional or mental wellbeing.It typically occurs when an individual is expected to perform beyond their normal range of capabilities.Tthe results of stress can be harmful to individuals, families, society and organisations.

It is the spanner in the works of contemporary society, the stimulus which creates social and individual imbalances, causing absenteeism from work and loss of time and profits.

Therefore, if we can reduce the effects of stress, we will not only make individuals more content,but also make companies more resilient.

The sympyoms  of stress manifest themselves in society by forming an over-dependence on the health care system and reliance on benefits and support for those who  have suffered illness or accidents due to stress.

For the individual, stress manifests itself in the form of insecurity and irritability, affecting relationships with those around them and causing deleterious effects on the mind and body of the stressed person.

Because we are no longer hunter-gatherer cavemen types, though some may beieve and act as though they are, our systemscan no longer deal effectively with stress by using the 'fight or flight' reaction that our ancestors would have used.

No longer are the dangers  attack from wild beasts, battles with neighbouring tribes, or whatever.No, unlike these dangers, to which the body can react by increasing blood  supply to the muscles, increasing breathing and heart rates, producing sweat,adrenaline and cortisol, the contemporary person, generally, internalises the threat.

Unfortunately,although this may be good for the wild beasts and neighbouring tribes, it is very damaging to the body and mind of the stressed person.

The Autonomic Nervous System reacts involuntarily, to stress, either using the Sympathetic and/or Parasympathetic System to deal with it.

This essay is not the place to discuss these systems.So, briefly, the Sympathetic is concerned with dynamism and action, the Parasympathetic with passiveness and regenerative rest.

Ideally, we need a balance between the two in order to live as nature intended.As the Chinese might perceive it, a ying and a yang.

This returns us to one of the main reasons why physical activity is so important. It is this activity which creates the required balnce.

Often, when sedentary people start to exercise, they perceive stresses in a different way. Things that before seemed problematic, lose their significance and, thereby, become less stressful.

Obviously, exercise alone will not achieve the balance needed.But physical exercise in conjunction with mental exercise will definitely help, if not accomplish the job entirely.

eating moderate amounts of nutritious foods, high in vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, low-fat proteins and fibre, along with exercise that builds muscle, increases lung and heart capacity and function, will undoubtedly help.

Any physical activity will increase the body's ability to deal with stress. Some of the more specific activities for stress relief are, probably, those which involve a psycho-physical dimension, such as martial arts.

Traditionally, martial arts  were devised to  maintain the mind-body relationship, helping to form a holistically stable individual.

This, indeed, was the intention of Bhodidarma, a Buddhist monk who, in AD 580, introduced the concepts of Chi Kung and Kung Fu to the Shaolin Monastery in China, the primary function of which was to fight disease.

In the early stages of the practise, great emphasis was placed on meditation, which was usually performed in a standing position.

Kung  Fu was a discipline designed to help  the individual work upon himself physically, mentally and spiritually in order to enable him to deal with fears that might impinge upon him during the course  of his everyday life.

I use Kung Fu as an example because, it seems to me, that in our contemporary society, many disciplines are separated artificially. We have lost the holistic nature of things.For example, there is a division between art, music and literature; between medicine, meditation and martial arts; between physical and intellectual activity.In Kung Fu, for example,most, if not all, of these activities were combined.

So, naturally, physical activity is important, because physical activity is inherent to our whole being.

But don't stress yourself about it, just do it.

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