Welcome to this edition of OnFitness. I hope that you have all been able to make the most of the summer season, and that vacation time has enriched you with treasured memories, healthy eating, and the pleasures of the good life; to me there is no greater pleasure than being in the great outdoors.
I have spent many a weekend over the summer season camping amid the beauty and splendor of Big Sur National Park. I personally can think of no greater de-stressor than to hitch one’s humble tent on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, light a fire and read a good book till light fades, then lie back and be lulled asleep by the sound of the mighty ocean below. An early start as light transcends, and we watch sun-up over a cup of steaming coffee, then hit one of the many hiking trails that weave their way through the acres of Big Sur and embark on a leg-toning, butt-firming hike!
Pleasant souls we meet along the way who exchange greetings, pass the time of day with, and make small talk on the weather, the awesome view, and the condition of the trail as we continue on avoiding the poison oak. What a feeling of peace that one feels upon reaching one of the many vista points and stopping to take a moment’s rest in the quiet and solitude. To meditate on the moment of experience and then the inner silence that one feels with the heat of the sun on your body and the power and majesty of nature stretching about before you.
Until you reach the end with the satisfaction of knowing that, you have seen untouched land and felt the soul of the earth. You feel a healthy glow and a yearning to reach that campsite, that fire, and to sit again with your feet up looking out to sea with a cup of herbal tea and reflect on the hours that you spent today working your body. Then take a moment to contemplate life and its problems that somehow now do not seem so bad after all. Night falls and sleep engulfs you, and tomorrow a new day dawns.
Check out the current issue of OnFitness® Magazine, July/ Agusut issue also on newsstands nationwide.
