When i think of exercise my thoughts turn to the gym rather than simple origami. Healthy body, healthy mind that kind of thing. Not the other way around. It must be good for you break into a sweat whilst pounding away on that treadmill or sculling your way past the LCD competitor for glory! After all that's what exercise is all about right? Losing the inches and handles, getting a bit of definition here and there. Now i can hear my girl friend Monica laughing about that one!

"Definition on Chris? he'll have to cut back on booze, sweets, ice cream.........................!"

It's a long list. Even when you do get the calories under control, then you have to deal with the cravings!

Yes it's true you spend all that money on your gym membership, stop eating all your favorites, only to find your waist has grown. The reason being your body is screaming out for those e numbers and MSG. Preservatives the industry call them. That's the manufacturing industry naturally. Of course food needs to be preserved but can't they take the addictive qualities out first? That works for health conscience folk. A bit less sugar or salt, help lower the cholesterol, common sense of course.

There's a but here! If foods are consumed more frequently and by more people that's advertising coming to fruition. As we know those executives in advertising need people to want more - if people don't buy their clients products guess whose shelved? The ad agency, or if the account is new then they'll reposition the product for the client. Same product with a change of packaging. New slogan, different target audience, viola! If that doesn't work then the agency is axed. No room for comfort in the FMCG market.

There is another kind of exercise though! Help is at hand, you don't have to join a gym, give up your guilty favorites. None of that, it's not about giving up, but taking up a new hobby! For simple origami you only need a square piece of paper and a design to follow! For the price of a gym member joining fee you can kit yourself out with a huge amount of paper and designs! The benefits of getting in to simple origami are many. Here are few to think about.

The art of origami helps you balance your physical and mental relationship. Let me explain, I'm not a scientist so it's an easy explanation. Your left side of your body is controlled by the right hand side of your brain and vice versa. Each side of your brain is responsible for varies abilities which your body has. Examples are

Left hemisphere controls spoken and written language and reasoning.

Right hemisphere controls imagination, art and music awareness.

That's all very well but what are you getting out of it? OK The reason i explained that is because when you apply yourself to following an origami design, using folds and creases to construct that pattern you use both sides of your brain! Whilst you are beginning your origami adventure your brain is getting a work out too! You access both hemispheres when practicing origami. This means that your logical abilities improve and you get a taste for an outstanding art form. In the same way physical exercise helps balance stress and improve well being, so does origami! As you focus on solving the design by folding your square piece of paper. You are channeling your energy in to that mini project and being consumed with a desire to complete the simple origami pattern.

The great trick about learning origami is that the fold and creases you use in the earlier patterns are the same used later on when you are dealing with more complex ones. So that you learn initially will be of use as your art develops.

As i mentioned there are many benefits of origami rather than just the above: Lowering blood pressure, making gifts for friends, sending invitations, amusing children, distracting children, decorations for festivities. You can make practically anything using the simple origami art, bar of course a space shuttle! Never mind burning up on re entry, you would be lucky to get off the launch pad!

If you've read this far you can check out the video below which gives you a practical demonstration of simple origami on screen.