How to Get Yourself to ACTUALLY Exercise, According to the Buddha

from Polymath · host Daniel Aaron Levy

This is a narration of an article I wrote for the University of Bristol, currently available online here https://medium.com/@danielaaronlevy05/how-to-get-yourself-to-exercise-69655d0d4ca9 ! You'll notice I've been mentioning numbers throughout this voice clip, which pertain to both sources and footnotes. They're all available on the Medium page, but I've also included them here:1. Pedersen BK, Saltin B. Exercise as medicine — evidence for prescribing exercise as therapy in 26 different chronic diseases. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. November 2015;25(S3):1–72.2. Zero to Finals. Zero to Finals. 2025. Available at: https://zerotofinals.com/. Accessed November 5, 2025.3. Fox KR. The influence of physical activity on mental well-being. Public Health Nutrition. January 2007;2(3a):411–418.4. Hausenblas HA, Fallon EA. Exercise and body image: A meta-analysis. Psychology & Health. February 2007;21(1):33–47.5. Sani SHZ, Fathirezaie Z, Brand S, et al. Physical activity and self-esteem: Testing direct and indirect relationships associated with psychological and physical mechanisms. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. October 2016;2016(12):2617–2625.6. Basso JC, Suzuki WA. The Effects of Acute Exercise on Mood, Cognition, Neurophysiology, and Neurochemical Pathways: A Review. Brain Plasticity. December 2016;2(2):127–152.7. Hackney AC, Constantini NW. Endocrinology of Physical Activity and Sport. 3rd ed. Cham: Springer Nature; 2020.8. Wilckens KA, Stillman CM, Waiwood AM, et al. Exercise interventions preserve hippocampal volume: A meta-analysis. Hippocampus. December 2020;31(3):335–347.9. You may have seen this book around. It’s all about ‘Dual Systems Theory’, which divides the human mind into two different systems of thought- perfectly mirroring the centuries-older Buddhist conception. These systems are ‘System 1’, which plays the same role as the Buddhist ‘elephant’; and ‘System 2’, matching the Buddhist ‘rider’. This theory, and the mountains of evidence behind it, has completely revolutionised how scientists/economists view human nature, and Kahneman won a Nobel Prize (partly) for it. Kahneman D. Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York City: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 2011.10. There’s a common myth that to Get Fit, you’ve gotta go from couch potato to a full-fledged gym routine. But how many people actually retain this New Years’ Resolution? It’s not really how people work.11. Or go for a big stroll- there’s a great free app called AllTrails which will show you all the nice walks available to you wherever you are, and then show you maps of them with GPS.12. Scientists used to think that endorphins caused a runner’s high. By the way, endorphins are a kind of opioid that your body produces. Stuff like laughter, music, and sunlight literally makes you feel high, so go and touch grass. Siebers M, Biedermann SV, Bindila L, Lutz B, Fuss J. ‘Exercise-induced euphoria and anxiolysis do not depend on endogenous opioids in humans’. Psychoneuroendocrinology. April 2021;126:105–173.

NOW PLAYING