Doing physical work ≠ exercising?

Although physical labor can exercise our muscles to a certain extent, it can often easily damage our vitality. To put it bluntly, the result of excessive physical activity is: "fatigue". Sometimes, not only are we tired physically, but we are also tired mentally. Why?

I often suggest that my patients exercise more, and many of them immediately object, "I buy groceries, cook, wash clothes and mop the floor every day, and I'm so tired that my back aches. Do I still need to exercise?" In fact, there is a misunderstanding here: "Doing physical work" is not equal to "exercise", the two cannot be equated. Although physical labor can exercise our muscles to a certain extent, it can often easily damage our vitality. To put it bluntly, the result of excessive physical activity is: "fatigue". Sometimes, not only are we tired physically, but we are also tired mentally. Why?

When people don't want to do physical work but have to do it, they do it with emotion, and their body and mind are in a state of contradiction. The strength does not come from the heart, which makes people particularly tired. Humming a little tune while doing housework will make you feel more energetic the more you work. This is the unity of body and mind. But often times, when people do housework, they do it with a sad and gloomy face, and the more they do, the more tired they feel.

Real exercise is to relax your mind, coordinate your mind and body, and let the strength come from the heart, rather than separating the "body" and the "mind". Playing ball, climbing mountains, dancing, fishing... these activities can relax the mind, release repressed emotions, and keep the body and mind healthy. Only by not overworking can you exercise the body.

Some patients told me, "I also go out and climb mountains, but I feel very tired after I come back. After climbing a few times, I feel bored and don't want to climb anymore." When taking the pulse of these patients, it can be found that the inch pulse on the left hand goes up to the thenar eminence, which reflects that the patients usually think too much. People like this, when climbing a mountain, are still thinking about many things in life, and their hearts cannot calm down.

Although the human body is in a quiet natural environment, the brain is always busy working. The eyes are looking at the beautiful scenery of the world, but the worry lines on the forehead cannot be stretched out. In this state, even if the beautiful scenery of the world is right in front of them, they have no heart to appreciate it, because their hearts cannot accommodate many things.

First, they carry a heavy burden in their hearts, and then go hiking, play ball, or dance. What they feel is not a sense of relaxation, but a sense of calmness. For them, going out and exercising are more tiring! How can such a state of mind help to exercise the body and cultivate one's character? Smile happily, eat comfortably, sleep peacefully, let go of obsessions, unify body and mind, and let strength come from the heart. This is the real exercise, and this is the way to be healthy.