Many people can benefit from dynamic fitness exercises but many, especially the obese and seniors, can not perform them safely. The Youtube video below typifies this type of exercise, which can be regarded as `Fitness without the Health.’ Undoubtedly many young and active people like to practice these energetic movements. They can be fun and good for burning off excess energy.
Others are looking for gentler forms of exercise to reduce stress. Most gentle exercises help circulation and are very calming to perform. However, they do not contain the `ingredients’ for full body fitness. The Youtube video below typifies this type of gentle exercise, which can be regarded as `Health without the Fitness.’ Those who practice this type of activity gain much and feel better for the experience – particularly those suffering from stress, the elderly and the obese.
But what if you want to do a calming mind-body activity and also need to lose weight and get fit? Well, there is a holistic exercise that can provide a fitness program and yet is gentle and calming; Jiangan (the `Chinese Wand Exercises’), In the third Youtube video you can see me practice the graduated, safe stretching and strengthening movements in the gentle and meditative routine. It may have the feel of Tai Chi and Qigong but the addition of a light pole transforms the nature of the gentle movements. Jiangan stretches and strengthens and the floor exercises in particular (in parts 3-4 of the video) show that you can perform a fitness exercise in a slow, gentle way and get `dual benefit’. The external body is worked potently but without exertion so it is a safe method for seniors, the obese and sedentary to get fit as well as healthy. It gives maximum return for minimum physical effort. Jiangan can be regarded as `Health with Fitness.’
Watching the three videos I am reminded of the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. If Goldilocks came into a gym and saw people practising the fitness exercise of the first video she might say that it was too energetic; if she saw people practising the gentle arm-waving exercises of the second video she might say that it was too soft. And I like to think that if she saw Jiangan that she would say that it was `just right.’
