Exercising In Bed

Exercise, for all its benefits, can be such a tedious chore for most people. Throw in a busy schedule and the thought of exercise is pretty much toast. I understand the feeling because I've gone through the struggles of trying to drag myself away from what I was doing (including sleep) in order to huff and puff and basically give myself a hard time. It's just so much easier to lie down and sleep.

The term "exercising in bed" sounds like such an oxymoron given our current ideas about what constitutes exercise. But such a set of exercises does exist, and it's not some recent exercise fad that's being raved about in the Internet. I'm not referring to the more carnal pleasures of sex (although sex is also a good form of exercise; in fact, some new findings point to some forms of sex that could reduce the incidence of breast cancer in women). In the early 1900s, a man named Sanford Bennett published the book Exercising In Bed. At the time Bennett published the book, he was nearly 70 years old, yet he looked like a much younger man (see photo).

Bennett attributed his youthful appearance and vigor to the set of exercises he developed and had been practicing for nearly 20 years (at the time of publication). Not much is known about Bennett's life, but according to his own account, at 50 years old he was quite an unhealthy man. He had all the signs of old age and was suffering from numerous chronic ailments. Not content to rely on the treatment of doctors and drugs for the rest of his life, he embarked on a quest to rejuvenate his way to good health. The result of his research is a set of 35 simple exercises that can be done in bed. Bennett died of an accident well into his 80s but it's safe to say that if Nature had taken its course, Bennett could have lived a healthy life into his 90s or even beyond.

According to Bennett, the key to good health is to retain the pliability and flexibility of the different muscles, organs and other parts of the body, thus ensuring good circulation of the blood all around. This is the state of the body at youth, but as we age and misuse the body, the corresponding muscles, organs, etc. slowly deteriorate and exhibit signs of ill health. Therefore, by exercising these different parts, health and vigor may be returned.

Bennett's exercises consist of alternating muscle tension and relaxation called isometric exercises. As per Wikipedia: Isometric exercise or isometrics are a type of strength training in which the joint angle and muscle length do not change during contraction (compared to concentric or eccentric contractions, called dynamic/isotonic movements). Isometrics are done in static positions, rather than being dynamic through a range of motion.

If you've ever experienced straining to open a bottle of jam or a stuck window, that's isometric exercise. In Bennett's exercises, you mainly use your own body to create the opposing tension, which is why they can be done while lying in bed. Interestingly, Bennett developed these exercises precisely because he didn't want to get up and strain himself with regular exercise!

Of course, Bennett's exercise routine is the product of a late 19th/early 20th century understanding about the human body. However, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and Bennett himself had shown that he was able to reverse the ill conditions he had when he was 50. In the book, the doctor even mentioned that Bennett had the physiology of a 30-year old athlete. Whatever you may think about Bennett's approach, it seems the exercises do work as stated.

We've approached this subject from a more physiological viewpoint, and what little we've seen seems to make sense. Let's try looking at it now from an esoteric standpoint.

According to Master Choa in his pranic healing books, aside from the major chakras, there are minor (smaller) chakras and even micro chakras for the really small and delicate organs. These chakras govern how much prana (life force) passes through the different parts of the body and these chakras are also responsible for expelling used up or dirty energy. This is why chakras are clairvoyantly seen as spinning wheels of energy, the alternating clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations of the chakras draw in and expel energy accordingly.

When a chakra is not able to expel enough dirty or used up energy, the dirty energy tends to get stuck around the chakra, sort of like a clogged drain. This in turn also affects the chakra's ability to draw in enough fresh prana to "feed" the corresponding body part. What results is the disease that we commonly see.

What physical exercise does is that it stimulates the chakras of the parts being exercised to loosen up and spin even faster, thus it can dislodge any stuck up energy. Once the chakras are clean and able to function normally, health returns to the body. This is why we tend to feel good and energized after exercise even after using up so much energy in the effort.

Since Sanford Bennett's exercises target practically every part of the body, we can imagine that all the chakras (major, minor and micro) are being stimulated within the same short span of time. This could explain why Bennett was able to achieve such amazing results even if the exercises don't follow our regular understanding of how exercise should be done. Fresh prana coursing throughout the body will regenerate every part, even leading to a youthful glow.

If you would like to know more about Sanford Bennett and his books, you may visit this site. The exercises are so simple and easy to do, it's really up to you to try them. It can start you on the road back to good health and rejuvenation.

In this holiday season when there is an abundance of good food and our schedules may be filled to the brim with Christmas parties and family reunions, now may actually be the perfect time to try out Sanford Bennett's exercises. There's nothing to lose and certianly everything to gain.