As we all know, we have not evolved to sit for the entire day, craned over a computer. Whereas, primitive man would experience a daily endorphin release through going outside (often in the sun) and employing physical activity to achieve a goal that day, like catching the night's meal. In most jobs you are working towards 'long term goals'. This could be a promotion or in my case, as an engineer, it is often the completion of a project 6 months down the line. This is a further departure from our natural way of life as it means you miss out in the high you get from conquering your goals. The modern world requires us to work towards goals that do not provide instant gratification. So many people find this difficult as the human brain has evolved to go after more immediate rewards like catching prey and eating it. This manifested itself in addictions like smoking, drinking, overeating and other drugs. The good news is you can make exercise itself your goal for the day and get the thrill of physical activity and achievement in one shot.amandamm

I focus on short, sharp exercise as this increases your natural testosterone levels the most (DC Cumming, 1986). This comes as no surprise to me: think of what kind of exercise a hunter gatherer would do when killing an animal of fighting off a rival. Exercises that use muscles synergistically, and work the core of your body have also been shown to boost testosterone the most (E Metcalf, MPH, WebMD.com). This is partly why I focus on self-supporting like push ups, and pull-ups.kmkryy

The intensity of the exercise is also related to the intensity of the endorphin dump you experience after, in my experience, especially if you lift to failure. This also replicates the feeling of breaking through a barrier and pushing it to the limit you experience in other aspects of life.estellegg-壹份難舍的情

Exercise as a Spiritual Practice jasmine-牽腸挂肚
The modern sedentary lifestyle of sitting on your computer takes the attention away from your body and 'inner being' and focuses it on the thoughts in the head. This is a very unbalanced state to be in. The saving grace is that exercise reverses this process and brings your awareness back to the body and the breathing. It is also, impossible to push yourself to the limit physically and not be in a state of 'presence' or 'no thought' experienced during meditation. This is because of the amount of focus that is required to pursue strenuous physical activity to the point of muscle failure.floobty

This is why I treat exercise as one of my spiritual practices and after my routine I experience a deep sense of peace for the rest of the day...