How many of you EXPLORE?
I love to EXPLORE wherever I am. You can explore your neighborhood, city, state and/or a new location. A number of years ago I headed out for a jog in the neighborhood that I’d lived in, let’s say 5 years (I don’t remember the exact number) and discovered an urban “oasis” a mile from my house. It’s called Reed Canyon (Portland, OR) and I NEVER knew it was there. Imagine finding an urban forest surrounding a pond with a woodchip trail circumnavigating it with geese, ducks and blue herron – I live in the CITY. The facts are that Reed Canyon, according to Portland Parks and Wildlife, is the location of the highest quality terrestrial habitat in the Crystal Springs watershed and perhaps some of the purest water in Portland (Aldofson & Associates 2001, Zachariah Perry, November 25, 2009, meeting with Lauren Bloomquist and Rachel Workin). This was BLISS and only a mile from the house – I now didn’t have to travel 60 plus minutes to the mountains for a “retreat”. I could have a “retreat” any day!
Exploring for pleasure and/or exercise outdoors can provide variety and inspiration to your life. Variety of the ever changing outdoor surroundings, terrain and freshness of air help inspire people. The inspiration could come in the form of time spent alone thinking about your dreams, new ideas for work and/or to stay committed to your health and fitness. Did you know: Individuals who exercise outdoor stay committed at a higher rate than those exercising indoors.
Recently, I visited San Diego, CA for my Todd Durkin Mastermind Retreat with fitness professionals gathered from all over the West Coast. I arrived early and with a half marathon to train for I chose to fit in an 8.5 mile trail run while exploring an area in San Diego I had never been! The Los Penasquitos Canyon was beautiful and very different from the evergreen, moss and fern laden landscape we have in the Pacific Northwest. There were cacti, desert flowers blooming, dry, crunching leaves underfoot and a small creek meandering through the canyon with a nice waterfall along the way. This brief exploration provided me time to step away from the hustle and bustle of day to day life – think about my dreams, family, business…….LIFE & a chance to BREATHE!
“Nature allows you to connect with your extraordinary and deepest self and soul”, states my mentor Todd Durkin. It’s true – have you heard of the biophilia effect? Biophilia effect is applied to this deep connection we humans have to nature. Semantically, it means “love of life” and the theory states that we are endowed with a genetic link to nature that has evolved from our early human ancestors whose existence and survival were synonymous with the natural environment. Tina Vindum, a leader in outdoor fitness, turned me on to this and inspired the launch of PEAK fitness NW and my Outdoor Fitness Training.
EVERYONE needs to get outdoors! Did you know that 93% of Americans day is spent indoors – with buzzy machines, artificial light and recycled air. Bluh! Time spent outdoors, sitting, walking &/or exercising, provides 75% cleaner air and can help provide clarity to your thoughts. Did I mention that the OUTDOORS is the BEST gym in the world! The outdoor gym provides a 12% increase in caloric expenditure than indoor exercise and you can burn more than 32% more fat outside than inside. And with the gray days of fall and winter arriving it is even more important to spend time in natural light. It is the best source of light available and impossible to reproduce and is recommended for hormonal regularity – helping us feel more calm, alert and upbeat.
Here is my challenge to you:
Make time to EXPLORE, as we enter into the 4th quarter of 2013. As Tina Vindum, owner of Outdoor Fitness (San Francisco & Marin County, CA), so eloquently states on her website “Nature experiences and interaction with the natural elements have a profound effect on our mental performance, self-awareness, vigor, appreciation of others and our environment.” While you are exploring ask yourself: What is the one thing that you need to accomplish in the next three months to make 2013 extraordinary? Explore, think about it. Revisit your mssion, vision, dreams and goals in all areas of your life.
- Dream BIG.
- Write it down, see it.
- Visualize it.
- LIVE!
- & Explore!
Make time to explore, be inspired, seek adventure for as little as 20 minutes and up to 2 hours a day. It is clean, dirty FUN! The outdoor environment turns your workouts in PLAY and ADVENTURE giving you a greater sense of ACCOMPLISHMENT, having braved the terrain and conditions of the outdoors.
Here is where I’ll be EXPLORING this weekend – Spider Meadow, Glacier Peak Wilderness, Washington:
Get OUT. Explore. Get Fit. Have FUN!