Most know Martin Luther King as a champion for Black Rights and activism,
but there’s very little known about what he did for his fitness.
We have some scant testimonials about MLK’s actual daily routine outside of his work in his community.
Still, some accounts have some credibility, and it’s worth noting what he did in his time between campaigning in politics.
Newsletter Summary:
The few activities that MLK did that helped his health, and why he did them
One quote about awareness to start the week
✊ MLK’s Exercise Routine
Research and history on what King did with his body is very limited.
No accounts (unfortunately) suggest king engaged in resistance training of any kind.
In his defense, lifting weights was very much still a fringe activity.
Also, for what it’s worth, only 10% of the American population was overweight in the 1950’s, much lower than the current number of 40%.
But MLK still had some movement in his repertoire, the likes of which we should talk about since they have congruency with his life mission.
A 1959 trip to India to study the humanitarianism of the late Mahatma Gandhi gave King some transformative insight on how to lead and influence people with peace, and some speculate that on this trip he engaged in a yoga practice that helped him further his spiritual practice.
While there’s no conclusive evidence of this, he wasn’t inactive.
He was a walker, a golfer, and a baseball fan, too.
But you might be asking “why, Fran, are you telling us about King’s exercise routine?”
Well, if he was truly a yogi and a walker, there’s something to be said about what those effects those meditative practices can have on someone’s mental capacity.
King’s engagement in both these activities is a reminder that not every exercise we do should be mentally taxing, but mentally stimulating.
Yoga can improve focus and cognitive ability, and while King’s decorated resume proves he wasn’t lacking in those areas, we could honor him today and throughout 2025 by doing more restorative activity.
Meditating by itself is a difficult enough task.
But finding peace and quiet through walking, yoga, or something else relaxing like a sauna or steam room could do more for our overall health than we realize.
I’d argue the mental clarity gained from slow, controlled movement is just as effective as the physical benefits from the hard workouts.
🔍 One quote about awareness to start the week
“Awareness is the greatest agent for change.”
— Eckhart Tolle
… Other than action, of course.
Awareness about your current routine is paramount at this point of the year.
This is the point of the year where people start to fall off.
The January 1 glue comes undone.
Have awareness about what’s working.
What’s not.
Make the change.