Exercise Your Options
Exercise is big business. There
are a multitude of companies that
want to sell you the latest exercise
garb, workout gadget, club
membership, or video. Yet, we
don’t have to spend a lot of
money to take regular walks
or do stretches in the
morning or evening.
Even aerobic exercise can
be a simple, inexpensive
pursuit. To a large extent,
the choice of what kind
of exercise goes back to the motivation issue that we discussed
last month. What does it take to move you. Here are some
thoughts to consider when exercising your workout options.
Three Types of Exercise
Different types of exercise meet different needs. Basically, exercise
can be classified as follows:
Aerobic (cardiovascular) exercise improves circulation and
the absorption of oxygen. Running, rowing, and cycling are examples
of aerobic exercise. This is type of movement that is most
often suggested for losing weight and preventing heart disease.
Anaerobic exercise builds strength by working against resistance
(e.g., weight lifting). This kind of exercise can be helpful
for strengthening a weak area where you are experiencing chronic
pain (i.e., back pain). Many people use it to achieve a more muscular
figure.
Stretching exercise (such as yoga) develops flexibility and
protects muscles from injury. Edgar Cayce tended to recommend
stretching exercises for specific therapeutic purposes. Traditional
osteopathic manipulations typically recommended by
Cayce often involved stretching.
For most of us, aerobic and stretching
exercises are most helpful for health maintenance.
Of course, it is a good idea to
talk with your physician before beginning
any serious exercise regimen, especially if
you have been diagnosed with an illness.
Cayce on Exercise
“Exercise is wonderful, and necessary
and little or few take as much as is needed,
in a systematic manner. Use common
sense, use discretion.” (283-1) That really
sums up Edgar Cayce’s view of exercise.
In terms of physiology, Cayce took
into account the circadian (twenty-four
hour) rhythm of the body’s functioning
when recommending exercise. For example,
he noted that the body tends to
change its pattern of circulation (deep/superficial
and upper/lower hepatic) during
the day/night cycle. With this in mind, he
typically suggested vertical exercises for
the morning and horizontal exercises at
bedtime to assist with the changeover of
circulation patterns. Optimal exercise
works with the body’s own natural physiology
rather than against it. This is a fundamental
principle of the Cayce approach
for any healing modality.
In studying the Cayce health readings I
have also noticed that Cayce tended to
view exercise in much the same way as osteopathic
treatment. His referrals for osteopathic
manipulations typically were for
either specific or general treatment. Specific
treatment addresses a specific anatomical
problem by correcting that problem
area (usually along the spine). General
osteopathic treatment served more as a
tonic for the whole system - coordinating
all the systems of the body and improving
drainage (eliminations).
Actually, when you go back and study
the old osteopathic text, you realize that
the general treatment is usually presented
as a series of specific treatments that mobilize
each of the major areas of the body.
In other words, the various joints are put
through their normal range of motion,
much as in a general exercise workout. Regardless
of whether the osteopathic treatment
was general or specific, it tended to
be more of a gentle stretching of muscles
and ligaments rather than high velocity
popping and cracking.
The general and specific treatment
concept carries over to Cayce’s recommendations
for exercise. General exercise
(such as walking, swimming, or playing
tennis) was recommended to help the
whole system to function optimally. Specific
exercise recommendations focused on
a particular anatomical or physiological
problem in the body, and often involved
stretching and loosening similar to traditional
osteopathic manipulation.
The practical outcome of this line of
reasoning is that stretching exercises may
serve some of the same purpose as the osteopathic
treatment that Edgar Cayce so
often recommended (and which is often so
difficult to obtain today). Keeping a balance
of general and specific exercise can
help maintain coordination in the system
while allowing for improvement of weak or
problematic areas.
Physiotherapist Harold Reilly integrated
Cayce’s specific exercises into his exercise
regimen and developed a general exercise
program consisting of a series of specific
moves, similar to a traditional general osteopathic
treatment. Reilly also recommended
specific exercises for specific conditions.
Fascinating parallel, isn’t it?
A modern variation of the general/specific
exercise concept is the “Daily Dozen.”
These movements tend to work out each
area of the body as a general tonic, yet
specific movements may be utilized for specific
conditions.
For those who are able to visit Virginia
Beach, be sure to ask about the morning
exercise program offered by Peter Van
Daam at the conference center. Peter’s enthusiasm
and expertise will help motivate
you to get moving.
Application
We still must come back to the fundamental
issues of application - the best exercises
for you are the ones that you do.
What is your choice. What is it that moves
you? A general exercise program including
aerobic and stretching exercises will probably
be best for most people. Some of you
may have need of specific therapeutic exercises
for medical conditions. Your osteopath,
chiropractor, or physical therapist is
probably the best source of information on
specific therapeutic exercises for your
unique situation. Also, as you have heard
so many times, be sure to talk with your
physician before beginning any strenuous
exercise regimen to make sure that you
don’t overdo it and put yourself in a
dangerous situation.
David McMillin has written numerous articles for the Association for Research and Enlightenment, founded by Edgar Cayce in 1931. McMillin’s articles on holistic health and alternative healing have helped members for many years.
Tags: alternative health, diet, edgar cayce, exercise, holistic health
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