In yesterday’s post on “Balance” I talked about the detail of keeping a healthy proportion of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual activity in life.

And there’s an extra bit I need to add about the physical aspect. With activities that are low-medium intensity, make sure you hit it for at least 40 minutes at a time. And here is why.

In the first 20 minutes of exercise, your system is opening up and beginning to flow. If you stop after 20 minutes, don’t be surprised if you feel “off” or stirred up. You need to continue for another 20 minutes to allow your system to clear itself out. Many feel that cross-training activities and mixing up your routine are especially helpful in that the focus of the physical demand is rotated throughout your system, taxing different areas and keeping everything “well used” in a reasonable fashion.

Finally, consider the Zen parable of the strawberries when it comes to whatever it is you are doing:

“A man running across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger chasing after him. Coming to a cliff, he caught hold of a wild vine and swung himself over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Terrified, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger had come, waiting to eat him. Two mice, one white, one black, little by little began to gnaw away at the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other and enjoyed the sweetness.”