From the Directors

We are very excited to bring you this issue dedicated to what we call
“Living Fitness.” Living Fitness is the creation of function and flow in all areas of life through physical exercise. And what better way to usher in the summer months than to celebrate this critical aspect of life itself. Both Anna Maria & I experience and witness the benefits of focused movement and bodybuilding every day. Our guests who exercise regularly smile more, heal more quickly and are generally happier, more down-to-earth people.
    In our modern technology-driven culture, our minds are extraordinarily stimulated and overactive. This can result in a gross imbalance in our
physical bodies. There is a delicate dance between thought and activity: Movement is medicine for a cluttered mind as a positive mind is medicine for an ailing body. As we blend these two essential elements with conscious intention, we can create a healthy and flourishing body and life.
    As a child growing up in Sweden, Anna was surrounded by nature. She lived on a hilltop overlooking the Baltic Sea and collected her drinking water from a well. Her father was a great
hiker and constantly challenged her intellect on their long nightly walks.
As a teenager she found it easy to adopt a vegan lifestyle and continued to enjoy regular exercise while launching her career in the field of complementary health care. As director of Sweden’s Brandal Clinic, she roused the guests every morning with exercise followed by a cold water hosing to jump-start the day. This invigorating tradition is still practiced at Hippocrates today, but we use a cold-water pool instead of a hose! Anna’s 35-year career has shown her that exercise is one of the most important components in helping people reverse and prevent disease.
    As a teenager growing up outside of New York City, I had two passions — bad food and loud music. My only other interest was cigarettes. As a
musician I practiced the popular
commandment: “Thou shall not
exercise or dance.” In those days I
saw “jocks” as the only ones capable of athletic endeavors. It was inconceivable and “uncool” to participate in both
music and sports. In our confused minds, “jocks” were less intelligent brutes. Ironically, it took my own obesity to arouse the sleeping athlete inside. Breaking out of my cocoon was very difficult. The first workout was
excruciating; every inch of my body ached and I felt like I was dying.
Nicotine and countless other toxins poured out of my body; I was a physical  wreck. But over the next five years and
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after losing over 100 pounds I began my professional work in the complimentary health field.
    Proper nutrition feeds and fuels healthy cells, but diet alone is inadequate to re-structure one’s body. While healthy foods will help you drop extra pounds, exercise is the best way to regulate body weight. Exercise shapes the cells into making strong, functional and healthy organs, bones, muscles and skin. True health is realized through daily movement and ongoing muscle building activity. This reflects a deep honor and respect for our bodies as well as a commitment to our livelihood. While our past experiences may differ drastically, they are both of great value when working with guests at the Hippocrates Institute. We not only have great compassion for those who struggle in the face of their own stagnation, doubt and fear, but we also can stand by and cheer them on in their victories.
    During our annual global travels we visit many cultures, societies and tribes. Without exception, the less “civilized” the group, the healthier they seem to be in terms of physical mobility and fitness. One of the most stunning examples of this—we discovered in 1976 on a trip to Peru—was a group of men and women in their 90’s who had the bodies of 25 year olds. It was surprising to learn that they walked nearly twenty miles each day to collect pure water and food. We watched these mature men giggling while kicking a heavy ball up the steep hills of their village; they seemed more child-like than I can ever remember being. Their joy was evident and it was instantly apparent that Western concepts of aging, as well as activity in relationship to aging, are greatly skewed. What would happen if we believed that we could increase our energy, vitality and life spans? Shouldn’t we be able to sing and dance and run at 100 just as we did at 10?
    In this issue you’ll find a variety of contributions to inspire you to take your physical health and fitness to a higher level. These individuals embrace exercise in their own special way and are sharing it now. The great news is that you can always generate and create a healthier being through committed thoughts and actions; this is living fitness. Living fitness is seeing exercise as a celebration of life’s physical and natural beauty and allowing this movement to elevate our energy and the energy around us. Because we realize the importance of exercise, play and celebration, Hippocrates recently ventured into healthy fitness vacations. This year we’ve traveled to the U.S. and British Virgin Islands as well as the Swiss Alps, providing opportunities for raw revelry across the globe. Keep your eyes posted for future adventures. When you give your body the full attention it deserves, you will gain a world of new and infinite possibilities.