We are our bodies, and our bodies lead to purpose

The late Dallas Willard, a philosophy professor at The University of Southern California, wrote a fascinating book called The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives and described why the body is important to one’s spiritual development. The book is a heavy read but rewards the diligent with fascinating insights.

Some religious language and ideas coming up, so bear with me. We’ll get around to Nordic walking.

Some important quotations:

• “Spirituality is simply the holistic quality of human life as it was meant to be, at the center of which is our relationship to God.”
• “The union of spirituality with the fullness of human life finds its deepest ground in the identification of the person with his or her body.”
• “…what is really meant by saying that the person is his or her body?”
• “…we do not have any knowledge or experience that is totally free from involvement with our bodies.”
• “…even our abstract thought rarely if ever is separate from all physical artifacts, images, and symbolisms associated with our bodies.” That is, we take information in via our senses and what we experience through them.
• “Emotions and feelings also inhabit distinct parts of our bodies: face, stomach, genitals, legs, arms, heart, shoulders.” This school of thought suggests our bodies react to stimuli first, and then we feel an emotion. For example, if I’m standing on a high ledge, I get queasy first, and then it registers as fear of the height.
• “…Even our decisions, choices, and actions issue from our sense of the position and posture of our bodies in our physical and our social world.” Do you ever feel disoriented in the middle of a crowd of people who aren’t paying attention to you but are pushing on past to pursue their own business?"
• “Our experience of others is also inescapably an experience of their embodied existence.” In other words, we have to interact with people physically, whether it’s face-to-face hearing them talk or texting on our smartphones. Even texting is a physical act.

Where does Nordic walking fit? Think about your desire for a good life well lived. Doesn’t that begin with the physical? You interact with the world and with others through your senses and form ideas and emotions based on what you experience physically.

When you go outdoors to Nordic walk, you see nature and appreciate its beauty, and if you’re with others, you enjoy the company of good friends sharing the benefits and pleasures of this whole body exercise.

A healthy body means being able to get out longer and more often to have those pleasurable experiences. You also gain a greater ability to serve others because your body has the capacity to perform what you need it to do.

Nordic walking is a useful way to help you find greater meaning. It’s low impact, so you’re not distracted by extreme effort, and it allows you to socialize while exercising. You can, therefore, form walking groups with several people and build relationships.

Kindle Paperback Hardcover Audio book Audio CD

Why you should be in a walking group

This article about a Harvard study reminds us of the importance of connecting. Walking groups are a good way to do that.

Main point: "Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period."

Key points:

• "...only about 50 percent of Americans have 'meaningful in-person social interactions' on a daily basis -- and the numbers are worst for Generation Z."
• "The key way that people seem to be able to break the cycle of loneliness and begin to develop good relationships is to volunteer."

Volunteering makes sense. Rather than trying to navigate unstructured situations (how comfortable to you feel when you're by yourself at a cocktail party?), volunteering puts you in a more structured environment and forces interaction. From that, relationships can grow. I've made many friends that way.

While not a typical volunteer scenario, Nordic walking groups are a great way to build and deepen relationships. Get together on your own with other Nordic walkers to walk along your favorite paths. You'll have a great time with each other and get good exercise to boot.

Virtues of the parents visited on their children

I came across this interesting article that described how (in mice at least) exercise by parents could transmit benefits to their offspring.

Key point: "...male mice who exercised produced smarter babies than their nonexercising counterparts."

Other points:

• "...factors like diet, stress and exercise can modify the behavior of the genes parents pass down."
• "Gene behavior can change when genes, which are made of segments of DNA, are activated or silenced."
• "Physical and mental exercise is known to benefit human learning, but future studies will have to determine if learning abilities can be inherited in humans."