For thousands of years Taoism has advocated living at a slower pace. Many people are confounded when they realize that this principle of Taoism is even applied to exercise, actually it is especially applied to exercise. Wu Wei is one of the foundational principles which is usually translated as “doing without doing”. A more appropriate definition is allowing things to be done without meddlesome, combative, or egotistical effort.

Compare this to the modern/western approach which is to be as involved as possible (Carpe Diem), and control everything from beginning to end.

This Tao of Revitalization (the way of self healing and longevity) was often at odds with what the modern experts were advocating. Instead of taking life slower, bookstores and television programming are filled with experts telling people to keep the heart rate up, run or jog daily, renew your gym memberships, partake in the latest aerobics fashions and fads etc… Throughout this the Taoist would advise the opposite usually to the dismay of the student.

Perhaps this is changing, however, as modern research is beginning to confirm the Taoist teachings. In 2013, Dr. Samir Vermani, M.D., wrote an article for ABC News which shattered the belief that running is good for you. The article was based on Dr. Vermani’s research as well as a Danish health Medical study.

“Your one-hour spinning class may be a good workout, but simply taking the stairs may be better.

When the amount of calories burned is the same, standing and walking over the course of a day is superior to an hour of intense exercise in improving cholesterol and preventing diabetes, a new study found.

‘Get out of your chair as much as you can, take the stairs instead of the elevator, go by bike [and] leave your car at home,” said Hans Savelberg, associate professor in the Department of Human Movement Sciences at Maastricht University Medical Centre, in the Netherlands, and author of the study published today in the journal PLOS One.

Danish researchers followed 18 young people ages 19 to 24, all of normal weight, who performed three separate exercise regimens over the course of the study. In the first, participants did not exercise and sat for 14 hours. In the second, participants sat for 13 hours, but performed one hour of vigorous cycling. In the third, participants sat for 8 hours, but engaged in 4 hours of walking and 2 hours of standing.

Energy expenditure was the same in the vigorous exercise regimen and the standing and walking regimen. After each regimen, researchers tracked insulin sensitivity – a laboratory test to monitor development of diabetes – and cholesterol levels.”

Naturally, the group that sat less and moved more had lower cholesterol and improved insulin sensitivity. The researchers also found, however, that the group that engaged in 4 hours of walking and 2 hours of standing throughout the day had better results then the group that exercised intensely for one hour.

The researchers were shocked to find that the negative affects of sitting most of the day cannot be reversed by focusing ones energy into a one hour intense exercise class or workout routine.

“If you exercise for half an hour and are sedentary for the rest of the day, that represents an unhealthy lifestyle,” said Savelberg. “Long periods of non-sitting at a low intensity level should be classified as an active lifestyle. (ABC World News)”

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