Exercise is a very important part of being a healthy person because it is what our bodies are designed to do. It is universally agreed across all different philosophies and doctrines of wellness that exercise is beneficial, moreover integral.

The most recent studies show that vigorous exercise for 30 minutes a day is extremely beneficial to counter heart disease and (short of LC'ing) one of the key ways to keep blood sugar under control for diabetics.

Weight lifting has been shown to strengthen bones and joints. I know that Tae Bo and weights have kicked the early signs of arthritis that I had, gave me more energy, and boosted my mood.

However, "exercise" does not necessarily mean getting a gym membership and pumping a lot of iron. I think that we forget that exercise (aerobic and otherwise) can be as simple as walking more, gardening, and playing outside. Remember when playing outside was fun? Swinging, monkey bars, tag, frisbee, hiking, swimming.. these things are all natural to us when we are kids, but for some reason as we get older we forget the fun of exercise.

Our bodies were not designed to recline on a proverbial couch or sit in front of a computer for 40 hours a week, but rather to do many different types of tasks as our hunter-gatherer ancestors would do.