{"id":1187,"date":"2014-04-13T09:00:57","date_gmt":"2014-04-13T13:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/?p=1187"},"modified":"2014-04-13T10:58:29","modified_gmt":"2014-04-13T14:58:29","slug":"age-of-champions-film-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/?p=1187","title":{"rendered":"Age of Champions: Film Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Its a beautiful Sunday morning with the sun that has greeted me and hopefully you as well.\u00a0 We find ourselves into the beginnings of spring.\u00a0 The sun with its more prominent rays fill us with energy.\u00a0 The warmth of the air, beckons us to stand up right as it surrounds us and\u00a0our lungs\u00a0with\u00a0deeper fullness to our breath.\u00a0 Our legs which may have stiffened from the winter cold begin to loosen up in the morning as the temperatures allow us to stretch in comfort.\u00a0 This is the gift of spring, the opportunity to allow us to open up ourselves physically to more movement.<\/p>\n

In honor of such a time, I watched a film that tributes longevity to\u00a0continuing to\u00a0keep the body in motion with a positive mentality on the self.\u00a0 The film is titled “Age of Champions.”\u00a0 You can view a trailer of the\u00a0film here: \u00a0http:\/\/ageofchampions.org\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The film depicts the lives of people who are in their late 60’s and up\u00a0even to\u00a0100 years old\u00a0who are national competitors.\u00a0 Each of them has a sport for which they train and compete.\u00a0 The film depicts their mental and physical training.\u00a0 It is their mental perseverance that stands out so clearly as the thread that has allowed them enjoy such physical endurance.<\/p>\n

They speak of the competition with the fierce conviction of their spirit that they are in fact winners.\u00a0 There is as one person describes it “no second place”.\u00a0 They set their mind and hearts on “first place” and with the support of their family, friends and other team mates; enter the competition with victory as their goal.\u00a0 None of them speak of their age as a hindrance; rather they have used it as an opportunity to pronounce themselves as newly born into another phase of their life that they get to enjoy through such experiences.\u00a0 One quote that stood out for me that was uttered by a fierce long time shot-put and high jumper was (and I am paraphrasing) \u00a0“you can’t just have faith, you have to have hard work along with faith to make it happen.”<\/p>\n

I thought about this quote as it applies to my own journey through health and healing.\u00a0\u00a0Faith has given me the courage to continue to seek out more improvement in my physical stability and mental clarity as I have seen my way through my own health challenge.\u00a0 It has allowed the storms to pass with more ease.\u00a0 It has allowed me to know that within each day of my life that I find myself struggling, there will be a day where I will not.\u00a0 But within this restful mind of peace that has come with faith, has indeed come my share of hard work.<\/p>\n

I have stayed the course when I have felt so tired.\u00a0 When I have lacked the clarity to focus inward and trust my instincts I have looked for opportunities to quiet my mind so that I can regain my center.\u00a0 I have incorporated physical building exercises along with my dedication in the kitchen to create the opportunities for my body to become stronger.<\/p>\n

Faith and hard work do go hand in hand.\u00a0 It takes commitment to honor one’s faith and just by wishing something to happen does not make it a possibility.\u00a0 We take care of ourselves when we apply what we have been given as tools to improving our health and combine this with the gentle spirit of ourselves.\u00a0 This creates a balance for which we can be assured we have applied our full self to taking responsibility as leaders of our health journey.<\/p>\n

I due hope you find an opportunity to enjoy this film. Perhaps with the more senior people in your life who are themselves active or can use this film to inspire them to seek out local gatherings which promote physical movement.\u00a0 Perhaps a conversation will begin between you and them about the power of faith along with hard work as it has manifested itself in their own lives and yours.<\/p>\n

In health,<\/p>\n

Safara<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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