The "Spirit"

             "FITNESS" - Making it work for you in 2017!

     "Fitness."  So what does it mean to you?  Perhaps what comes to mind is an inspirational image of a superb athlete from the playing fields or gridiron of sports or maybe you think of a perfectly sculpted Adonis or a stunning Hercules or gorgeous nymph from the silver screen - or from the internet or from a book or magazine.  Maybe the idea of "fitness" repulses you.  Let's face it, there are many questionable aspects associated with our modern concepts of athletics and fitness.

     But, wouldn't you agree that true "fitness" speaks to everyone, regardless of creed, religion or race, whether past or present.  It's something we all share in common - the desire to be happy, healthy, fit, and well.  Surely you recall how happy you were when you or a loved one received did well in some physical activity or when you felt confident, fit, healthy, and seemingly "able to take on the world?!"  Isn't it true that one of the most common "New Years Resolutions" are to "lose weight" or "get in shape?"

     "Fitness", so what does it mean to you?  Yes being physically fit,  full of energy, quick, untiring.. full of life - it appeals to everyone.  We are physical creatures after all....

     But is that "all there is to it"?  What good are those "six pack abs" if the rest of your life is in shambles?  True “fitness,” we would therefore propose, is far more than just “physical.” Indeed, is it even primarily about the physical? This brings us to the concept of “holistic fitness.” What, exactly, do we mean by that? 

     "Holistic" refers to the "whole person", not simply the mind or body, but rather the entirely of what it means to be a human person. Perhaps YMCA legend Dr. Luther Gulick put it best when he said, "Mankind is an essential unity of body, mind and spirit, each being a necessary and eternal part of man, he being neither one alone, but the three, a wonderful combination of the dust of the earth, and the breath of God."  See C. Hopkins, History of the YMCA in North America, New York, 1951, 255, quoting Dr. Luther Gulick.

     "Fitness"   How would you describe it?  What does it mean to you?  We look forward to hearing from you!!!