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"Inner Fitness: Beyond Sports and Exercise"

By Paula Jager

Fitness through sport and exercise is much more than a battleground for war against an opponent, clock or other external concerns such as excess body fat. Inner fitness views exercise as an arena for the battles within; where your discipline for exercise/proper nutrition cannot be separated from the search for life's truths. During physical training we can experience something deeper than just the burn of working out.

If we avoid fixating on winning the game, scoring the goal or building the perfect body we give our mind and spirit a boost as we stare in the face of our inner concerns of fear, fatigue, failure, patience, perseverance, confidence and self doubt. Fitness can transport us to a new level of awareness where all of our external successes are mere reflections of the victories within. Workouts become tools for personal transcendence as we get to know ourselves, test our limits, gather inner strength and build physical vitality. If we exercise our psyches while we work our bodies, we will achieve not only outer fitness but inner fitness as well.

External rewards tend to be one dimensional; while we lose body fat,lower our cholesterol and blood pressure, improve function and look better, we also become better people as well. Exercise becomes the means to experiencing a personal potential geater than the physical skills themselves. Although bittersweet, sports injuries and illnesses often drive inner growth through athletic adversity. In Chinese, the word for crisis means both danger and opportunity.

View exercise not only as an exploration of your athletic potential but for overcoming the challenges within. Enjoyment in sport is directly related to the alignment of body, mind and spirit. The opponent is yourself and the reward deeply gratifying and personal. In order to achieve your goals in life it will take everything you have physically, emotionally and spiritually to make it happen.

Exercising enables you to deal with life more effectively. When you physically stimulate the body be it sports, exercise, martial arts or other forms of fitness you heighten your spirit; when the body is fit you feel good all over. Fitness is a powerful catalyst in learning the truth about life's lessons: discipline, patience, mastery,, sale-reliance and many others. Physical stimulation opens the deep centers of creativity and thought and you are more receptive to personal growth and change.

There are many physical pathways to choose from when you begin your journey inward. The important thing is to begin and go at your own pace. Use your sports and physical workouts to become inward bound, away from outer scores and results. It is a process that refuses to yield to demographic boundaries, ability levels and ages. With time and patience you will create a new frame of mind and also a frame of heart. You will be able to hurdle any self imposed limitations and take it to the next level. Test your limits, discover what you are made of physically and mentally and prepare for the game of life while life, itself, becomes a sport.

About the Author:

Paula Jager is owner operator of Jaguar Total Fitness located in Tampa, Florida. She has a BS and is an NSCA Certified Personal Trainer. She is also an obstacle course competitor for the Women's Tri Fitness. Her website is www.jaguarfit.com.