Exercise, a Spiritual Necessity
For regular health info subscribe to Medical News Today. In addition to other medical news they have much on the importance of exercise, even how it should be prescribed for help.
See also:
https://nypost.com/2023/02/24/exercise-more-effective-than-meds-for-mental-health-study/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/study-reveals-how-exercise-turns-back-the-clock-in-aging-muscles?utm_source=Sailthru%20Email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=dedicated&utm_content=2023-01-29&apid=26107954&rvid=a0e14e214a885c361d53dbd7ca6f1544286b11587f73476629f009fd0f9bb527
EXERCISE TO PREVENT Covid-19. SEE THE LINKS BELOW:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/immune-aging-and-how-to-combat-it
https://www.acsm.org/blog-detail/acsm-blog/2020/03/30/exercise-immunity-covid-19-pandemic
There are numerous such articles online that apply not just to the current virus but to everything including cancer.
Scroll down for the exercises.
It seems like most of the people I have known at spiritual centers were into some sort of alternative medicine: homeopathy, acupuncture, Rolfing, shiatsu, massage, you name it, and a number of them made their living at it also. For anyone reading this who does likewise, I would most strongly suggest reading Do You Believe in Magic: The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine by Paul A. Offit, MD. Just to cite as one example, he discusses homeopathy in which the original substance is so totally diluted that none of it exists in the little bottle you buy. But somehow this substance is supposed to have magically imparted its essence or whatever to the water molecules . . . and cure you. He says, imagine if this were really true: all water on earth has been recycled over and over and over and through countless organisms. If all of those really imparted their “essence” to the water — YUCK!
Regarding Traditional Chinese Medicine, click here to see the article in April 2019 Scientific American American: “The WHO Takes a Reckless Step: The World Health Organization is now promoting unproven traditional Chinese medicine.” Fourth paragraph: “An extensive assessment was done in 2009 by researchers at the University of Maryland: they looked at 70 review papers evaluating Traditional Chinese Medicine, including acupuncture. None of the studies prove conclusive because the data were either too paltry for did not meet testing standards.” Plus, a testing of “187 Chinese products taken by sick patients . . . discovered 1234 hidden ingredients including unapproved and band Western drugs. . . samples contained plants that produce toxic chemicals and animal DNA from vulnerable or endangered species,” etc., etc.
But there is a truly magical elixir guaranteed to either cure or significantly ameliorate virtually any and every disorder. Exercise. Steve Jobs, as I read in Walter Isaacson’s biography, instead of undergoing the standard treatment for his cancer which almost certainly would’ve cured it, tried one form of alternative medicine after another. This is WHY he died. But the one thing he didn’t try was exercise. Interestingly, Isaacson wrote, when he first came up with the idea for the iPod he had to be convinced to make it so that people could carry it easily while working out — because he didn’t exercise himself. Well, regular exercise, especially when done intensively (even if only for relatively short amount of time; I include an article about a vigorous seven-minute workout that provides very significant benefits, much greater than far longer periods of moderate exercise) can reduce one’s risk of cancer by 30% or more. And even after one has had cancer, exercise can significantly reduce the chance of its recurrence.
More importantly it has very significant effects on the mind, stimulating the growth of brain cells, preventing Alzheimer’s disease, etc. It treats depression better than Prozac. Exercise before a mentally demanding task can help one perform it. Exercise afterwards can help one remember what one has learned.
And almost most important is the fact that if you exercise — you’ll feel better!!! It’s true. Believe me.
But from my point of view what is the very most important is its spiritual aspect. The reason why virtually nobody likes to exercise is that this is the way we are evolutionarily programmed. Our ancestors on the plains of Africa got tons of exercise. What they lacked was enough food, enough calories. So most of the time — the exceptions being competitions between males either for status in the band or for females — evolution made us significantly disinclined to go running around in circles or lifting rocks up and down for no good purpose. Now we are in the reverse situation, but our evolutionarily programmed finite being just doesn’t like to do what study after study after study says is the best thing. So in doing exercise — not gritting one’s teeth, but openly, just allowing all the feelings of resistance to come up into one’s mind without doing anything about them, and continuing with the exercise — one is helping to diminish the power of the finite being and allow the infinite spirit to reign. Exercise has been proven to add years to one’s life, and make all of one’s years considerably more disease and disability free. The infinite spirit needs all the time it can get.
A few years ago I had a problem with plantar fasciitis and couldn’t run, so I devised indoor exercises that were quite vigorous (vigorous can be defined easily as just that level of effort at which one would find it very difficult to carry on a conversation), but did not aggravate the condition. I did these throughout the day, 3 to 8 minutes at a time, so I still ended up with a total of 30 to 40 minutes of exercise daily. I would especially do these before and after rounds of sitting and/or before and after playing the piano (I practice four hours daily, in two sessions), and I found I liked this routine; it helped break down tension that might build up, especially at the piano.
But at one annual meeting at the Springwater Center (see below), when I suggested, due to my personal experience, that they might institute OPTIONAL three or four minutes of exercise as part of the 10 minutes of walking in between rounds of sitting, well, virtually nobody wanted to do that! Even if it was optional. And I had made the suggestion in part because much of the membership did seem to be letting themselves go physically. This in fact even included the teacher, Toni Packer, who told my wife she was supposed to do exercises for a back problem but, she stated with pride as if she enjoyed defying her doctor, “But I don’t do them.” It was those very back problems that caused her to become disabled and eventually to die at age 86. With exercise she might have had another decade. An active decade.
More and more studies have been coming out these days about the detrimental effects of sitting. According to a recent Time magazine article (Stand up for Yourself: All-Day Sitting Hurts the Body. Here’s a Novel Way to Undo the Damage, by Alice Park) too much sitting could actually increase your risks of several cancers by 20 to 30%, even if one did some moderate exercise. Now I can’t prove this — but numerous studies have shown that vigorous exercise is much more beneficial than moderate — but I think these 3 to 8 minute vigorous exercise periods I do about 10 times during the day very greatly counteract the negative effects of sitting. My foot is better and I can run now, but I still find I like the short bursts of exercise during the day. I don’t feel right, mentally or physically, without them. (I have a special pair of “house” running shoes that are laced loosely, with a piece of duct tape in the heel that goes under the insole and splits in half where it goes over the top of the heel and down the outside a couple of inches. this allows me to slide in and out of them very rapidly for my exercises.)
And maybe you are 95 years old and totally out of shape and you think you can’t begin exercising now. Not true. Everybody can do something. Just move your arms up and down, straighten your legs in front of you and then lower your feet again back to the floor. Get up out of your chair and then sit down again. Little by little you’ll build up strength. Fitness guru Jack LaLanne did his regular workout the day before he died . . . at age 96.
Below I will list exercises, found from various sources including Sports Medicine Bible (see below), Backpackermagazine, and Consumer Reports On Health, and some that I’ve made up or adapted, that my
wife and I find sufficient to keep us in shape for the hiking and backpacking we do. I don’t claim to be an exercise expert, but I will say that even though we are both in our mid-sixties we feel
like we’re in the best shape of our lives.
First, these New York Times articles below are worth reading (the last I knew you can get 10 free articles from the New York Times per month; I have a subscription) :
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/can-exercise-keep-you-young/?scp=1&sq=exercise%20mice&st=cse
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/your-brain-on-exercise/?scp=1&sq=Your%20brain%20on%20exercise&st=cse
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/how-exercise-can-help-you-master-new-skills/?hpw
The bottom line is, Yes, exercise can keep you young, in countless different ways, and it’s also one of the best things you can do for your brain.
See also this link which indicates the greater the intensity of your workout, the better. Intense exercise may ameliorate Parkinson’s disease.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/what-parkinsons-teaches-us-about-the-brain/?src=me&ref=health
Also, this article shows physical decline is far from inevitable:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/aging-well-through-exercise/?pagemode=print
And, new research suggests that surges in a brain protein after exercise may play a particular role in improving memory and recall:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/how-exercise-benefits-the-brain/?scp=1&sq=exercise%20brain&st=cse
Exercise may also help prevent Alzheimer's:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/how-exercise-may-keep-alzheimers-at-bay/
It also reduces one's risk of cancer and type II diabetes from 30 to 50%. Numerous articles online can be found about this.
Also:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/mixing-weight-training-and-aerobics/?pagemode=print
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/01/exercise-as-housecleaning-for-the-body/?pagemode=print
Regarding stretching which seems to be best done after having warmed up some, see:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/the-right-reasons-to-stretch-before-exercise/?hpw
If you are doing yoga you may wish to reconsider after reading this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html?ref=general&src=me&pagewanted=print
Second, it is often mentioned that when someone starts an exercise program they should see a doctor first just to make sure there aren’t any underlying conditions that might be aggravated. Please note that I’m not a personal trainer. It may be best to see The Sports Medicine Bible mentioned below and partake of all the exercises and stretches listed to prevent any imbalances.
Third, see if it’s possible for the mind to just be with the exercise, without fighting its difficulty, without resistance.the sites below may also be helpful:
https://www.livestrong.com/cat/sports-and-fitness/
https://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/
But know what I write below about the negative impact of anything that interferes with the body’s natural inflammatory response. At the bottom of this page I include more links to articles of interest.
Aerobic exercise (for overall conditioning): weight bearing exercise is necessary to prevent bone loss due to aging. Recent studies show, additionally, that bone growth is most stimulated when there is an actual jolt to the body. For this reason, unless a person has a prior knee injury, I think running is the best. There also seems to be evidence that running, when not over done, can actually build cartilage in one’s joints. Swimming and bicycling are not weight bearing—they are fine for occasional exercise but not for one’s daily routine. Even cross country skiing—since there is no jolt—is thus inferior to running. And if you do have a prior knee injury, try the exercises for knees listed below . . . Maybe you can still run, in time. A good pair of running shoes, gel insoles, and running on soft surfaces will also help. I run five or six days a week for about 25 minutes and this seems sufficient, not to climb Everest maybe, but for the backpacking my wife and I do. Note that aerobic exercise — which makes your heart beat faster — increases the lengths of your telomeres (the protective ends of the chromosomes) in ways that strength training does not.
Because many runners get plantar fasciitis (heel pain caused by tightness of the tendons on the bottom of the foot) I strongly suggest slowly working into doing the heel raise exercise below on a daily basis.
Anyone concerned with spinal stenosis should avoid pounding exercises such as running or jumping jacks, as well as excessive twisting or flexing of the spine. This includes myself as I have experienced 3 inches of height loss. My primary aerobic exercise is currently a NordicTrack cross country ski machine.
Strength training (to strengthen muscle, bone, tendons, etc.). Reasons why you should do this also:
1. About 15 years ago, at age 48, I had a physical exam and complained to the doctor about various pains I was having—fingers, wrist, elbows, knees, back. He said sternly, “You’re getting old!” I never saw him again, but about a year later I bought the book Sports Medicine Bible, by Lyle J. Micheli, M.D., which gives complete descriptions of every type of injury, and precisely how to rehabilitate them, especially through careful range of motion and strength training exercises. In less than a year (except for the knees which took a while longer) all my “pains of age” were gone.
2.My father’s knees slowly got worse until, by the time he died at age 80, he was virtually crippled. Don’t let that happen to you. I didn’t learn about strength training until eight years later when my own knees got bad. Now they’re better than new.
3. My uncle was quite an active man—did lots of running, tennis, climbed most of the peaks over 4000 feet in the Adirondacks and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. But when he was about 60 he had a minor accident cross country skiing . . . And was paralyzed from the waist down until he died 25 years later. I’m pretty sure if he’d been doing back exercises that wouldn’t have happened.
4. Toni Packer, the “spiritual teacher” at the Springwater Center: she is now in her eighties and permanently bedridden (she has since passed away)|due to lumbar stenosis. Many years ago she told my wife, with a mischievous smile, “I’m supposed to do exercises, but I don’t do them.” Evidently she had issues with authority, and now. . . . . .
I will note that with strength training exercises, as with everything one does (driving, hiking up a mountain, etc.), it is necessary to be careful. Listen to your body. Stop doing the exercise if you start having any pain, and maybe try again a day or two later using less weight. I neglected to do this when performing the overhead press with too much weight. Like a dummy I kept doing the exercise even when my shoulder started to hurt—and it got very bad. Took more than a year to recover.
Also, the exercises should be done slowly and attentively. As you get older use, less weight with more repetitions. Generally, what I have read is that it is most efficient—time wise— to do one set of repetitions until you can’t do anymore.
It is also frequently said that one should take a day of rest between strength training sessions. My wife takes this literally and has two forty-five minute sessions a week. I prefer to do about 15 minutes a day, with the exercises spread throughout the day. But I try to have a day of rest between exercises that focus on the same muscle group.
Also, I recently developed a hernia, either from backpacking carrying three days worth of water (lifting the 55 pound pack on my back — which I've done many times without problem) or from jumping jacks with weights. So whatever exercise you do, be careful.
I will start with knees. I list these in order of difficulty:
First, from the June 2000 issue of Consumers Report’s On Health: “a new study in the March 2011 issue of the Journal Medicine And Science In Sports And Exercise concluded that exercise stimulates and strengthens shock absorbing knee cartilage and can ease and prevent arthritis. And a Cochrane review of 32 similar studies found that exercise can relieve arthritis pain in the knee as effectively as medication.” The Sports Medicine Bible also emphasizes how exercise, careful exercise, promotes healing.
First, sit on the edge of a table and slowly raise your legs up until they are horizontal. Then slowly lower them and bend them back as far as you can. Repeat doing three sets of 10 or 15. If you start having any pain, stop. If you have no pain then try it with ankle weights. Try this also doing sets with the toes pointed in and the toes pointed out. Doing this with 4 pounds of ankle weights over the toes of my heavy hiking boots completely cured me problems I started having recently. If your knees are still OK, then try leaning against either a smooth door or a wall with your heels about 12-18 inches away. Then slowly lower yourself until your thighs are horizontal (don’t go any lower than that). Then slowly straighten your legs. If you have no pain, do this 10 or 15 times. Always stop if you start having pain, and try again a day or two later with an easier exercise. If you can do the above exercises without pain, your knees are probably in good enough shape for running—just be careful.
2. The lunge / curl: holding dumbbells in each hand, take a long step forward with your right foot and simultaneously do a biceps curl with your left arm. Then step back and repeat with left foot and the right arm.
3. Chopping wood: I use a 30-40 pound dumbbell for this, held with both hands. My wife uses two 7-pound dumbbells, one in each hand. Stand with your feet about 18 inches apart. Raise the weights high over your head and then bring them down between your legs. Bend your knees slightly as you do this. Then slowly raise the weights over your head again and repeat. This is a great all-around exercise.
4. The squat: stand normally with dumbbells in each hand. Slowly squat down until your thighs are horizontal. Don’t go any lower. Then slowly raise yourself up and repeat. When I do this I also raise the dumbbells as high as I can, as if I were pulling up on a stretch band.
5. Hop around the clock: this is the most stressful. It took my wife and me several years of the above exercises to be able to do this one without pain. Stand on one foot and hop around in a circle clockwise at each “hour.” Then do with the other foot. Then repeat counterclockwise.
6. Opposite toe touch with dumbbells. Spread your legs a few feet apart and raise your right dumbbell and bring it across your chest and down behind your left heel, and then doing it with the left dumbbell to the right heel.
Back/abdomen exercises:
1. Bicycle crunch: Lie on your back and clasp your hands behind your head. Bend your knees. In an ordinary crunch you just raise your upper body as high as you can and then lower it. In this crunch, lift your feet off the floor, extend your right foot out as if you’re riding a bicycle, and simultaneously raise your upper body, twisting it so you’re right elbow points towards your left knee. Then repeat with the reverse sides of the body. I use 5-pound ankle weights to get more of a workout.
2. Lie on the floor on your stomach with your arms pointed forward as if you’re diving. Raise your arms and legs off the floor as high as you can. Lower them and repeat. If this gets too easy try the following: lie on your back instead and now raise your entire torso off the floor so the just your heels and shoulders (and arms) are touching. To make this more difficult I put about 40 pounds of weights on my stomach.
3. Shoveling snow: grasp a moderately heavy dumbbell (I use 40 pounds) at each end with your palms facing each other. Pretend you’re holding a snow shovel and shoveling snow to the left. You can bend your knees at the beginning, and gradually straighten them as you go through the exercise. Return to starting position and repeat. Then shovel in the opposite direction.
Upper body exercises:
Frankly, you can do just about anything you can think of with a pair of dumbbells. The possibilities are endless. Some suggestions:
1. Biceps curl.
2. Overhead press: raise dumbbells or barbell to shoulder level and press it straight overhead.
3. Triceps extension: hold two dumbbells straight overhead and slowly bend your arms so your forearms are horizontal. Then raise the dumbbells up again and repeat.
4. Pushups.
5. Horizontal row: holding a pair of dumbbells, bend at the waist until your upper body is horizontal. Pull the dumbbells up toward your chest as if you’re rowing a boat. Slowly lower the dumbbells
and repeat.
6. The egg beater: assume the same posture as the previous but rotate your arms in opposite directions with the dumbbells hanging down, like an egg beater. Then reverse direction. If you have
back problems you may wish to do these exercises either standing at a 45° angle or with one arm at a time, the other arm supporting the body. Lie on your back with knees bent and arms out to the side
holding dumbbells. Raise them until they’re straight over your chest, and then lower them.
8. Same position but with your arms straight above your head, parallel with the rest of your body. Raise the dumbbells over your chest, and then lower them.
9. Stand with upper body horizontal, arms hanging down holding dumbbells. If you have back problems you may wish to do these exercises either standing at a 45° angle or with one arm at a time,
the other arm supporting the body, or lying on your back. Raise the dumbbells up behind you as far as you can. Lower them and repeat. This simulates the effort of using trekking poles. You
can also raise the dumbbells to the front. I also do what I call the bear hug: with the upper body in the same horizontal position I raise the dumbbells as far up as I can to the sides, and then
bring them down crossing my arms across my chest.
10. Shoulder shrug: stand with arms by your side, dumbbells in each hand. Raise your shoulders up, then lower them.
11. To prevent rotator cuff impingement syndrome, do the exercises at this site
12. I have just invented an exercise for the neck which is a good idea to do especially to prevent the effects of whiplash from an auto accident. My mother had this happen to her and spent countless hours in traction — which has been shown to do nothing.
Lower body exercises:
Do the following without shoes.
1. Sit normally in a chair leaning back. Place a couch cushion between the balls of your feet and squeeze it repeatedly.
2. The same position but this time put an exercise band (or bungee cord,) tied at the ends so it makes a loop, around both feet, and pull your feet apart as far as you can. Repeat.
3. Toe raise: same position; put the ball of one foot over the other (above the ball). Press down with the first foot and lift up with the other. Then switch top and bottom feet. Do repeatedly.
4. Heel raise: stand on the balls of your feet on the edge of a chair or stair. Raise yourself up lifting the heels and then lower them as far as possible. Repeat several times. Then do
again with the toes pointing in, and again with the toes pointing out. Don’t do too much at first because you can easily get a cramp in your calf. Do this daily to prevent plantar fasciitis (which
causes heel pain). This can also be done with one’s hands on the jambs on opposite sides of a door with one’s feet three or 4 feet away. Raise oneself up on one’s toes as high as one can, again toes
pointing straight ahead, in, out, and straight ahead again. I do this with a heavy pack. If you do have plantar fasciitis you can combine this exercise with the stretch (that by itself did not help
me): put the upper heel of the offending foot over the opposite side. Pull back on the toes with one hand while vigorously massaging across the tendons of the plantar fascia with the fingers, even
the fingernails, of the other. I get tightness in my right foot due to my piano pedal use.
Wrist and hand exercises:
You may think it is not necessary to do these (or other exercises above), but just reflect that if you fall, having done these may prevent a sprained or broken wrist, or injured finger. Last week,
while running in the woods, I slipped in the mud and landed on my thumb. I only slightly injured it, but the experience has inspired me to do what I list below more regularly.
1. Take a hand towel, fold it, and then roll it up until you have a cylinder about 3 inches in diameter and 8 inches long. Hold it with both hands straight out in front of you with your thumbs
together. Twist the towel back and forth. Rotate the towel 90° to the right and repeat. Rotate 180° to the left and repeat. Return to starting position and repeat.
2. Unfold the towel and sort of scrunch each side into a ball. Hold each “ball” with your hands and squeeze repeatedly with your fingers in as many directions as possible. You can also do this with
deflated tennis balls or specially designed hand exercisers.
3. Form a circle with your thumb and index finger and squeeze. Repeat with all the other fingers, several times. Do again only this time, as you squeeze, move your finger and thumb in and out so the
circle is alternately widened and then narrowed.
4. Clasp your hands as if in prayer. Squeeze your fingers against the backs of your hands in every possible direction.
5. Stand upright with dumbbells in each hand, pointing front to back: tilt the dumbbells up to the front, and then back up to the rear. Do this exercise especially if you use trekking poles.
Other exercises:
I do these everyday just to get my blood moving, Especially before playing the piano:
1. Jumping jacks: I do this with 10 pound dumbbells. Start with less and work up.
2. Alternate heel touch: stand with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders, with dumbbells in each hand. Raise your right dumbbell up over your head and then down to the proximity of your left
heel. Repeat with the other side.
3. The fast running in place, pumping dumbbells up and down.
Stretching:
I used to do lots of yoga but now I feel the above exercises are a better use of my time, and some of them incorporate stretching. Note that the latest studies show it is better not to stretch before
exercise, rather after one has warmed up some. Below are a couple stretches I do.
1. Calf stretch: put your hands up on the jambs of a door and back away with your feet as far as you can, keeping your heels on the floor, in and feel the stretch in your calves. Rock slowly back and
forth from side to side, perhaps bending the knees slightly, and you can feel the stretch in different spots of your calves. Usually it is instructed to stretch one calf at a time, but I find it
works to do both simultaneously.
2. Back stretch: Lie on your back and bring your knees up your chest. Keeping your shoulders on the floor, roll slowly and carefully to the right, and then to the left.
3. Head roll: lower your chin to your chest and then slowly roll your head around counterclockwise and again clockwise, feeling the stretch in your neck muscles.
There are lots more strength training and range of motion exercises in Sports Medicine Bible. I highly recommend it. But as far as treating injuries goes, it’s outdated. Very recent research has shown that what for decades was standard treatment — RICE; rest, ice, compression, and elevation — actually slows healing. (Now they tell us!) See these links for more on this:
http://www.caringmedical.com/sports-injuries/rice-why-we-do-not-recommend-it/
Likewise cortisone shots, NSAIDs such as ibuprofen, ice, anything that interferes with the body’s natural inflammatory response just delays healing. See this article:
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/do-cortisone-shots-actually-make-things-worse/
If one has an injury, try very careful exercise and stretching, and also massage — all of which stimulate blood flow to the area. A search online can also find very serious questions whether ultrasound is of any use at all.
The Scientific 7-Minute Workout By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-minute-workout/
See the above article
I practice this exercise in the following manner: about 30 push-ups, about 30 jumping jacks with 10 pound weights, 12 (each side) opposite toe touches, high knees running in place pumping dumbbells up and down, triceps dip on chair (40-50), wall sit doing simultaneous dumbbell curl (about 20), exercise #2 of the Back/Abdomen exercises above, the bicycle crunch (about 25 each side), the side plank on each side, and the normal plank. For the planks I also do a sort of shoulder push-up just to get more exercise. As a variation on this, after the wall sit I do the hop around-the-clock and the heel raise leaning into a door (10 raises in each position for a total of 40). These take me about eight or nine minutes.
The links below go to many more interesting articles.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/exercise-may-protect-against-brain-shrinkage/
http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/#/brain+exercisee
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/07/can-exercise-protect-the-brain-from-fatty-foods/
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/exercise-may-help-protect-children-from-stress/?src=rechp
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/how-exercise-may-boost-the-brain/?src=recg&pagewanted=print
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/ask-well-double-the-workout-double-the-benefits/?hpw
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/ask-well-do-we-need-to-stretch/?hpw
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/24/the-rise-of-the-minimalist-workout/?src=me&ref=general&pagewanted=print
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/03/how-exercise-can-calm-anxiety/?src=me&ref=general
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/building-up-bones-with-a-little-bashing/?src=rechp&pagewanted=print
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/21/how-exercise-can-help-us-sleep-better/?ref=global-home&pagewanted=print
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/how-exercise-can-help-us-eat-less/?src=me&ref=general&pagewanted=print
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25303707 Exercise 'significant role' in reducing risk of dementia, long-term study finds
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/how-exercise-may-protect-against-depression/?action=click&pgtype=Homepage®ion=CColumn&module=MostViewed&version=Full&src=mv&WT.nav=MostViewed
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/30/running-just-5-minutes-a-day-has-long-lasting-benefits/
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/how-exercise-helps-us-tolerate-pain/?src=me
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/how-exercise-can-boost-the-childs-brain/?action=click&contentCollection=Asia%20Pacific&module=MostEmailed&version=Full®ion=Marginalia&src=me&pgtype=article
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