"The adult has six kinds of desires and seven kinds of feelings to which they are attracted to in the outside world; those have affected the function of their internal organs.
Under the pressure of the world inside and outside, it is very hard for them to concentrate on their training, but if they can control their desire and emotion, clear their mind, calm their breathing and concentrate and reserve their strength, then they can succeed."
Amen to that.
Even the Warrior Monks of the Shaolin Temple knew that no matter your age or skill level, anyone could exercise and train to improve their health.
This has never been more important to all of us then right now.
According to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Obesity is now the #2 most preventable cause of death in the United States, right behind smoking.
Heart disease is the #1 killer in the United States and there are mountains of studies and hundreds of medical professionals that are coming out and saying that most heart disease is preventable, diet related and can be treated partially with regular exercise.
Here's an example. Take my father; God love him, but I'm really peeved at him right now.
He's your standard baby boomer. Born in 1945, son of a former bootlegger and mayor, Dad served in military intelligence during Vietnam and came home to start picking beans in the family business and eventually going in to the concrete business.
A big beer drinker and smoker his whole life, he never saw an exercise he liked beyond fishing, bowling and watching NASCAR and pro football.
His brother has had two shunts put in his heart before age seventy. His father died at age sixty eight of hardening of the arteries. I never got to know him since I was only two years old when he died, but I'm told by my family that I take after him in the sense of humor and personality department.
Apparently Grandpa couldn't go anywhere without trying to meet everyone and leaving with fourteen new best friends either. I guess that's why he was the mayor.
Dad's turning sixty one in June and just had his second heart scare. He had a mini stroke about a year and a half ago and found out he had high blood pressure.
They checked him then, put him on medication and said he was good to go; just to make sure that he got his physical every year.
He was back in the hospital a couple of weeks ago with fatigue and a pressure in his chest that went down his arm. Into ICU he went to check him out.
His EKG, where they see your electrical heart patterns as your heart beats, was greatly changed from his last one so he went to the catheter lab where they put a tiny camera into his heart and looked around to make sure there were no blockages.
That checked out so my Dad's doc told him, "You look fit. You just have a weak heart and we can control that with medication. See you in ten days and after that in three months."
Unbelievable.
Dad could lose thirty pounds easy. With his legs and belly, he kind of looks like a bird that swallowed a beach ball. At barely five foot ten and 204 lbs, he could definitely cut back on some biscuits and get rid of some of that weight.
Not to mention the three to four daily beers he forgot to tell the medical staff about.
When he told me what his Doc said and that he didn't really have to change much, you can imagine my response.
I began talking to him about his diet, exercise and stress levels.
I tried logic. Then I tried cajoling. Then I tried guilt, followed by yelling, begging, pleading, obscenities and then finally, I hurled the biggest gauntlet down I could think of...
I threatened to be a Jimmie Johnson racing fan.
That almost broke him.
When that didn't work, I knew I was in for a tough fight.
Baby boomers like Dad get set in their ways and to a certain degree, they've earned it.
The history that they have gone through; families they have raised and sacrifices they have made have earned them the right to pretty much do whatever the hell it is they want to.
The challenge becomes getting them to believe that they start an exercise program after all these years and then have the gumption to stick with it.
Any exercise that people can do, no matter how long or how intense, can have immediate and long lasting impact on the quality and duration of your life.
I'm not giving up on Dad. He's cantankerous, ornery, set in his ways and more stubborn than a mule that's been pulling a yoke all day out in the hot sun, but he's my Dad...
And I love him.
Besides, I don't think I can really bring myself to root for Jimmie Johnson during a race, no matter how mad my Dad makes me.
Best,
William Huff
P.S. - To find out all the different exercises and ways to stay in shape that were used by the Shaolin Temple, go to https://www.shaolinsecrets.com and pick up your copy of Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I. There's exercises in there that will increase your energy, help you sleep better, improve your strength and endurance and much, much more.