The physical benefits of spending time at the beach are numerous. A wide open beach that stretches for miles naturally inspires exercise. There is so much space to move around in and explore that the body naturally becomes invigorated. The sensory experience of sights, smells and sounds at the beach also generate energy and make a person want to move around freely. In addition, the give of the sand under a person’s weight aids the exertion of exercise and the skill of balancing. Several ways you can engage in physical activity at the beach are:

• Walking. Simply walking the length of the beach makes for excellent physical exercise. Doctors recommend that every person get some substantial amount of walking in every day. The beach provides an excellent opportunity to do exactly that. Because the beach is an incredibly scenic place, it is not a chore to walk the length of it. It is a pleasurable experience, as well as an adventure.
• Stretching. Doing stretches or practicing an established form of stretching like yoga is very well suited for the beach. There are even yoga mats made specifically for use at the beach. The sandy surface is firm and flexible at the same time, creating an excellent surface for bracing one’s self in a stretch position.
• Balance practice. The sand of the beach is an excellent surface for practicing good balance. Our weight pushes our feet into the sand to a certain degree which gives them a small brace for balancing that would not otherwise be there. The sand is firm enough for us to hold a pose in, yet soft enough that it is not painful to fall over onto.
• Exertion. If it is a heartier workout you crave, the beach has no limits for the cardiovascular or toning exercises you can engage in. The beach makes an excellent space for running, jogging, dancing, aerobics, calisthenics or any other form of exerting exercise.

Throughout history, mankind has had an affinity for the sea and for the beach. There is something about standing on the edge of the continent and looking out into an unknown world of water that captures our imagination and leaves us in awe. For centuries, people have been going to the beach for restoration, invigoration and inspiration. As it turns out, time at the beach actually does have health benefits, both physically and mentally, for people. Physically, a person can exercise, stretch and increase their balance abilities at the beach. Mentally, a person can declutter their mind, reflect and meditate at the beach.

It is not uncommon to go to the beach and see people jogging, stretching, doing yoga or calisthenics, dancing or performing any number of other physical activities. The beach naturally inspires athletic activity through its wide open spaces and majestic scenery. The salty air, humidity and chill creates an invigorating sensory experience that one cannot find anywhere else. Performing athletic activities on the beach is a great idea because there is plenty of room to move around. This is why many leaders of yoga, tai chi and aerobics groups choose to hold their classes on the beach. The sand also has benefits to health because it has give to it, which increases a person’s level of exertion when they exercise on it.

The mental health benefits of the beach are obvious. The beach is a serene, peaceful place where one can come for sanctuary from the busy world of people. The sound of the waves crashing, the feeling of the wind carrying the ocean spray into our skin and the smell of salt water at the beach is soothing and invigorating. A person is able to empty their mind of their troubles and either reflect on their life broadly or simply keep their mind’s open for meditation. Either is enormously beneficial to a person’s mental health and is truly dependent on the separation from the noise of the world, like that found at the beach.

The beach has long been thought of as a place of solace. There is something about the open sky, the salty air, the sounds of gulls, the waves crashing and the sand underfoot that is soothing to the soul. People have been captivated by the sea and the beach since the dawn of mankind. Time at the beach has statistically been proven to lower blood pressure, ease mental disorders and hardships and have healing effects on the body. There are a number of ailments, both mental and physical, that time at the beach can heal.

Physical exercise, stretching and yoga on the beach have been found to be highly beneficial for a number of reasons. Sand obviously does not support the body in the same way as pavement, asphalt or more firm earth. It has a give to it that allows exercise with slightly more resistance where the body makes contact with it, which is usually the feet. This resistance is excellent for building leg strength, and for enhancing cardio. Many people have said that as they do physical activity, light or hard, on the beach, the give of the sand beneath them gives them a feeling of fluidity with the earth that they cannot get in other environments.

Meditation and prayer on the beach are some other beneficial methods of healing. The exercises of meditating and praying have long been known to help with afflictions of the mind, heart and soul. Negative thoughts and emotions always come with rampant negative thinking, which meditation aims to quiet. Meditation and relaxation is the emptying of the mind in order to receive the world around us and its positive energies. Prayer goes a step beyond meditation and allows a person to communicate with whatever higher power they believe in. People of faith regularly practice prayer and feel enormously fulfilled by it. Practicing these inner peace tactics on the beach can be very spiritually therapeutic, as the beach naturally holds spiritual connotations.

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