You guessed it: it’s that time of year again (for those of us here in the US). December, when things start getting a little colder outside and we find ourselves spending more and more of our time inside. There’s no problem with this in and of itself, but it does mean that we need to find more ways to start getting active, keeping up both our personal energy levels and our immune systems. The best way? Get moving! Here are 3 quick reasons to start getting in motion with a new personal fitness ritual or routine:

3) Longevity & Vitality

Multiple long-term studies have shown that those who exercise and enjoy an active lifestyle can expect to live a few more healthier years than their less-active peers (one study averages at about 3.5 extra years). How much would you treasure those few extra years of life? The ability to enjoy quality time with your grandchildren and pursue your passions? It’s absolutely worth it, but that may only motivate the long-term thinkers out there. Here are the other 2 reasons, with much more tangible effects:

2) Never Getting Sick

What I mean here is that exercise is the “pump” for our lymph system. Vigorous exercise and deep breathing stimulates lymph flow, which moves out all the toxins, viruses, etc; challenging workouts literally pump out the garbage from our bodies! Note that it comes out in many different ways, including your sweat – which is the #1 reason on the list of why to shower after a workout ;) Regular exercise dramatically enhances your immune system and gets your lymph system up and running, so you’ll definitely want to stay active this winter!

1) Mental Clarity & Energy

My personal #1 reason to exercise is the extraordinary mental clarity that comes immediately with any vigorous, stimulating workout. A 30-45 minute workout at the gym will do it for sure, but you can get the “mental clarity” effect dramatically in 2 minutes or less. Here’s how: jumping rope and jumping jacks. The movement of these 2 exercises gets you active, increases your heart rate, stimulates lymph flow and clears your “mental fog” right out of your head in no time. If you’re ever in one of those situations where you wake up in a fog and need some clarity quick, just try these two together (maybe 1 minute of one and 1 minute of the other). You’ll be blown away by the simplicity, but mostly by the effects.

I’ll personally do just these two exercises before sitting down to work at the computer in the morning, and then have an all-out, scheduled workout later in the afternoon. I find that the combination gives me extreme mental clarity and boundless energy all day to get done what I’m really after. For these reasons, mental clarity & energy constitute my #1 reason to exercise today, and sum up the true value of personal fitness.

I hope this will get the gears turning for you and that you’ll consider committing to a regular workout schedule for the wintertime here in the US. It’s a great time of year, and staying healthy, clear and full of energy will only help you to enjoy it more!

Unleash Your Vitality,

John Brackett

If you’re new to the concept of green smoothies, then you’re in for a treat. If you’re already familiar with them, then I’d love to hear your take on this post – as well as your personal favorites. If you’ve been around me for any length of time, you’ve probably seen me down at least a few “green smoothies”. What are these wild green drinks and why on earth would you want to drink one?

Green smoothies are fruit smoothies with added greens…blended in. It almost sounds outrageous until you get ahold of one and experience it firsthand. The truth is, green smoothies actually taste just like fruit smoothies, but deliver an unparalleled level of nutrition and personal energy for your day.

This morning is the perfect example: I woke up and relaxed to a tall glass of water first thing, and then made my way downstairs to the home gym setup for an amazing budokan workout (a vigorous blend of yoga, martial arts and meditation). The best post-workout meal? You guessed it: a green smoothie. If you’re ready for the challenge, I’ll give you today’s recipe: 2 cups of water as a base, 3 large bananas, 4 medium apples, a few handful of mixed berries and several large leaves of collard greens…all blended together. The net effect is a large, green smoothie; the net taste is a refreshing blend of bananas, apples and fresh berries.

If you’re looking for a way to have more energy in your day, feel better all day long, clear up your skin and just enjoy life more in general, green smoothies are one of the fastest ways to get there. It’s a daily ritual for me that’s second to none in health and fitness, but perhaps more importantly in mental clarity and peak performance. I like having a clear vision of the day ahead of me, and really being able to enjoy that day to the fullest.

Here’s the basic recipe so you can start enjoying life-changing nutrition today: 1.5 – 2 cups of water as the base, plenty of your favorite fresh fruits (like bananas, mangoes, papayas, apples, etc) and keeping it simple with 1-2 types of fresh greens (think spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, lettuce, etc). You’ll find that the blender brings those greens down into such small particles that their absorption into your body brings in a rush of good health and wellbeing. You’ll find mental clarity and energy for your day, just from a green smoothie that tastes amazing anyway!

The challenge is on the table: just make one green smoothie for yourself within the next day or so. I promise you’ll be blown away!

Unleash Your Vitality,

John Brackett

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The further we dig back in history, the more it seems that fasting has always been an important part of many cultures throughout the world. Fasting has been known for its spiritual value for ages, whether it was used as part of a purely spiritual path or as a religious ritual. There’s always been some mystical quality to fasting, something outside of our traditional range of awareness. Today, I’d like to dive into fasting and really explore its effects on the mind and body – and why its proven itself to be the most effective method of healing through the ages.

The most profound benefits of fasting come no doubt through the channel of the mind. While bodily benefits and physical healings can be astounding, the mental clarity and enhanced awareness brought on by fasting are the most valuable assets, in my personal opinion. Just imagine yourself waking up in the morning and downing that tall glass of water. You feel great, hydrated and clear-minded, right? Now if you go ahead and eat a breakfast loaded with sugar, you’ll start to feel the buzz of a sugar high, coupled with a loss of focus and concentration – a foggy mind. If you combine all sorts of foods together that don’t mix well, you’ll have chaos in your stomach and your mind! So what you eat does dramatically affect your mental faculties.

So what happens when you actually decide to simply take a break from food? You get extreme mental clarity- the kind most people have never experienced. You finally see things clearly from a state of peak mental performance, and you may even arrive at some startling conclusions about the nature of life. This is why the practice of fasting has been paired so strongly with spiritual paths! If you want to fully experience truth at the level of the mind, you need to let go of the obstacles that may be holding back that perception. What obstacles?

This is where the physical part comes in: everything circulating throughout your body! When you fast, your body goes to work further digesting and assimilating nutrients that may not have had a chance to be fully digested yet. In addition, your blood is cleansed – which may have all sorts of odds and ends accumulated without your knowing it! This is why those fasting under medical supervision show all of their blood markers normalizing in a wildly short period of time. Blood pressure, cholesterol, tryglyceride levels, and even blood sugar/glucose levels all commonly normalize under a moderate water fast. So the bits and pieces of undigested food are digested (or stored if not possible), your blood is cleansed, and your organs get a rest! It can really be compared heavily to the effects of sleep and rest on our physiology. It recharges us, revitalizes us, charges the battery! Giving your organs a rest through fasting does the same thing.

After basic maintenance and repair work has been completed by the body, it’s then able to shift its energy toward physical healing. I always find it amazing reading stories of people who found the strength to endure the longer water fasts, the 2, 3, or 4-week long cycles. These are the ones who receive that astounding physical healing, whether it’s better eyesight from cataracts completely disappearing, eliminating tremors from Parkinson’s disease, or even the wild case of one man who regained hearing in a deaf ear he hadn’t heard from in 6 years! Still, it’s not all about the physical. The mental clarity we touched on in the beginning is so important, and many have found that through fasting they’ve eliminated all sorts of addictions from their lives. Many have also overcome more severe mental problems, those who would have been considered “troubled” or even “insane” have found clarity and complete reversal of these conditions.

It just goes to show that thorough healing and rejuvenation are always possible, and there’s usually something profound hiding in these ancient rituals handed down through the ages. While I can’t offer medical advice, I’d certainly be glad to write another post with more specifics on common fasting practices for physical, mental and spiritual health, covering topics like how long to fast for benefits, what you can expect from a 24-36 hour water fast, and water fasting vs. juice fasting. If this is something you’d like to read more about, tell me below and I’ll follow up!

Unleash Your Vitality,

John Brackett