The fitness industry is not a whole lot different than most of the pop industries out there today. Consistently changing, always looking for the bigger, better, and most trendy thing to hit main stream by storm. How can we as exercise enthusiasts possibly keep up? What’s hip today is so “yesterday” by tomorrow. What used to be more than enough is not even considered bare minimum by the glutinous consumerism of the now.
Lets take yoga for example. Yoga has been practiced since the third millennium and up until just recently (the past 10 years or so) it had only changed and evolved within itself. Now its like cranberries in juice;  people are mixing it with everything! Yoga and pilates, Yoga and kickboxing, Yoga and Qigong, dance, weight training, Taichi….the list is seemingly endless. And this is just one discipline.
I myself am a sport and martial art practitioner and understand the importance of evolution and continuing education of a sport or discipline, but doesn’t this seem a bit excessive? Things are changing so much so fast that it feels as though we are losing some of the roots and history of these teachings. The implications feel a bit commercialized and trivialized;  this once thought of lifetime learning is no longer enough for the fast paced lifestyle of today. Is that the case? Something that was once practiced relentlessly day in and out for centuries or even a lifetime is now so “simple” that it needs to be added to to even make it digestible for a one to two hour a week training session? Honestly, it seems kind of ridiculous. Integrated concurrent exercise defiantly has its benefits and the time pay off is unmatchable, but as one love-for-fitness person to the other we are much more than fueled machines. Cognitive override, feelings, history, with the ability to choose all separate us from our primal brothers. Having meaning and finding balance in our teachings and training regimens is just as important as the esthetic and clock driven outcomes of those practices. Think about what your doing. LIVE an active meaningful life instead of just going through the motions for the immediate outcome and I guarantee you’ll feel and look your best.