Let the world spice up your life.

Cafetalk Tutor's Column

Tutor David 's Column

The world is my gym (!)

Oct 27, 2017

Who needs the gym?! The world around me is my playground.

I was recently inspired by a Chinese student of mine who casually told me that his 88 year old Grandfather wakes up at 6am every day to perform 2 hours of exercise in the park! I was very surprised by this, and when I asked to see a picture of him I was shown an image of a man who looked extremely young and youthful with a lean, muscular body to rival many 40 year olds in the west! 

Since travelling in Japan I have seen many elderly people hiking up mountains, practicing Qi Gong (Ki Ko in Japanese - きこ)in the parks, and also performing stretches and mobility exercises whilst waiting for buses and trains. This is very different to my experiences in the West where elderly people often live sedentary lifestyles. Having exercised with some of these people in the park during my evening runs (and cat feeding sessions!) I found their warm personalities and 'genki' (元気 ) demeanours to be hugely inspiring.

As someone who had my own private studio in London and has ran fitness businesses for over 8 years, I never thought I would be able to cope without my dumbells, weights, punchbags and other exercise equipment!

Since we have left the UK two months ago and started travelling and working in Japan, I have been forced to become more resourceful, as joining a gym when we are only in one city for 2-4 weeks is not a viable option! As Japan has such beautiful natural surroundings, I have been taking pleasure in working with these to keep healthy and have found it is impossible to get bored!

This type of exercise has lead to me becoming leaner, and losing muscle due to not lifting weights (a lot of running, walking, and body weight exercises will do this to you), but I must say that I feel more balanced than ever, and I believe my body is in a more natural and harmonious state.

I have recently come to believe that large amounts of excess muscle are detrimetal to our health, and the 'Blue Zones studies' fully support this notion. The Okinawans who live the longest on the planet (many of whom are centenarians - people over 100 years of age) and other blue zones populations generally do not do any weight training at all! Their general routine doesn't even generally involve a lot of 'exercise' as we in the west know it. They mostly do lots of work in the garden, as well as walking everywhere, and possibly a bit of cycling or swimming along with this.

I am now working on reversing all of the damage my body has sustained over the years from numerous surgeries, contact sports and 100km - 100 mile ultramarathon footraces!

My goal is to bring my body back to the state I was in when I was a baby! Anyone who knows Taoist (Daoist) philosophy will notice that this is something which is often referenced in the classic texts, but it is only just becoming so relevant to me now!

Have a 'perfectly balanced' day everyone!

'It is health that is true wealth, and not pieces of gold or silver'

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I am a highly experienced professional English teacher, Yoga Instructor, Nutrition Consultant and Personal Trainer from London, UK. I recently left London to work and travel around Japan on a Working Holiday Visa with my girlfriend Ashley (who is also a teacher on Cafetalk : https://cafetalk.com/tutors/profile/?id=54542&lang=en ). We love sharing adventures travelling, teaching, exploring and understanding new cultures. We hope to speak with you soon!

Please check out my lessons if you are interested in learning real, authentic British English, or have an interest in Yoga, healthy eating or general health and fitness.

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions, or if you would like to schedule a lesson at a time in which my schedule is not open. I will always do my best to accomodate every student.

This column was published by the author in their personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.

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