Physical Existence: The Vehicle of the Unbreakable

title: "Physical Existence: The Vehicle of the Unbreakable" slug: "physical-existence-the-vehicle-of-the-unbreakable" excerpt: "Let me take you to a moment 12,000 feet above the ground. It was the summer of 1999. I was flying a MiG-21 from one airfield to another as part of an aircraft swap. Soon after take-off, I switched to area control and levelled out. The skies were busy. A transport aircraft requested a higher climb. The radar controller responded calmly, “Traffic at ten o’clock, five kilometres.” The reply came back confidently, almost dismissively: “I am MiG-29.” A MiG-29 is not just another aircraft. It is a..." firstPublished: "2026-08-05T02:41:23.574Z" lastPublished: "2026-08-05T02:41:23.574Z" minutesToRead: 9 hashtags: [] wixPostId: "e4a2bcf9-eb30-4ec9-8854-20b5d5ff39da" originalUrl: "https://www.theunbreakablefitness.com/post/physical-existence-the-vehicle-of-the-unbreakable" ---

Let me take you to a moment 12,000 feet above the ground.

It was the summer of 1999. I was flying a MiG-21 from one airfield to another as part of an aircraft swap. Soon after take-off, I switched to area control and levelled out. The skies were busy. A transport aircraft requested a higher climb. The radar controller responded calmly, “Traffic at ten o’clock, five kilometres.”

The reply came back confidently, almost dismissively: “I am MiG-29.”

A MiG-29 is not just another aircraft. It is a powerful air-superiority fighter, and the man inside it knew exactly who he was — and what his machine could do.

That moment stayed with me.

Because we see this behaviour everywhere in daily life. The way a truck driver occupies the road is different from someone driving a compact car. A person in a luxury SUV moves differently than someone on a scooter. The capability of the vehicle changes the attitude of the driver. Slowly, almost unconsciously, identity merges with machinery.

The same truth applies to the human body. Our body is the vehicle. The soul is the driver.

The confidence of a special forces commando, an Olympic athlete, or a seasoned mountaineer is different from that of someone confined to a hospital bed. Strength, endurance, and physical wellbeing don’t just support the body — they shape the mind. A strong body doesn’t guarantee a strong mind, but a weak body almost always limits it.

If life is a journey, then the condition of your body determines how far — and how freely — you can travel.

Aesthetics

Every morning, billions of people across the world perform the same ritual. They walk into the bathroom, look into the mirror, and begin to judge.

A wrinkle. Grey hair. Tired eyes.

A little extra weight around the waist.

Rarely is this moment filled with gratitude. Most often, it is filled with criticism.

We have been conditioned to believe that fitness is about appearance. That health is something you can see. That beauty is something you either have or don’t.

But this belief is fragile.

If your relationship with your body is based only on how it looks, then your fitness will always be temporary. Looks change. Lighting changes. Age changes everything.

To become truly unbreakable, we must see the body differently—not as an ornament, but as a vehicle.

Ancient wisdom understood this long before modern science tried to measure it.

In the Yoga Vasishta, Sage Vasishta offers a powerful definition of beauty. He does not speak of facial symmetry or physical perfection. Instead, he defines beauty as a simple triad:

Cleanliness. Health. Happiness.

This changes everything. Beauty is no longer something you apply from the outside. It becomes something you build from within.

Cleanliness (Saucha)

When we hear the word ‘cleanliness’ today, we think of soap, showers, and hygiene. But the yogic idea of Saucha goes far deeper. It refers to internal purity — the cleanliness of the biological machine.

Imagine owning a vintage luxury car. You polish the exterior every day until it shines. But inside, the engine oil is thick with sludge, the fuel lines are clogged, and the exhaust is blocked.

The car may look beautiful — but it is dying. This is exactly how many people live.

Processed food. Polluted air. Hours of sitting. No sweating. Poor digestion.

Over time, toxins accumulate. In Ayurveda, this buildup is called4

Which one looks healthier?

Ama. It dulls the eyes, greys the skin, stiffens posture, and drains vitality. True beauty is not cosmetic. It is metabolic efficiency.

When the blood is well oxygenated, when digestion is clean, and when elimination works properly, the body glows naturally. No product can replace this.

Cleanliness is not a trait. It is a daily discipline. To stay clean inside means: Drinking enough waterMoving enough to sweatEating food the body can actually recognize

Giving the digestive system rest when needed Clean the engine — and the vehicle responds. Health (Arogya)

Health is often misunderstood as the absence of disease. But that is a very low standard. Health, in the Unbreakable sense, is functional reserve — the gap between what you can do and what you must do.

If carrying groceries exhausts you, your reserve is low. If climbing stairs feels effortless, your reserve is high.

Two men, both 75 years old. One shuffles carefully, afraid of falling. He avoids bending down. His body has become a cage. The other stands upright. He squats easily to pick up his keys. He walks with purpose.

Which one looks more alive?

This kind of health is built only through exercise and nutrition. Exercise builds structure. Nutrition builds material. Strength training builds the frame. Cardio builds the engine.

Without movement, muscle disappears. Bones weaken. Joints dry out. Ageing accelerates not because of time but because of inactivity.

Movement is lubrication. Motion truly is lotion. Exercise

We often view exercise as a punishment for what we ate or a way to "burn off" calories. This is a tragic misunderstanding. Exercise is the architect of the body. In the Yoga Vashishtha, the physical form is the manifestation of the mind's intent, but it requires maintenance. Without movement, the body enters a state of sarcopenia—the poverty of the flesh. We lose muscle mass as we age, not because we are old, but because we stop demanding strength from our bodies. Exercise provides the structure.

Resistance training builds the chassis. It keeps the bones dense and the posture upright. A slumped posture is the universal sign of defeat and Ageing. An upright, strong posture is the universal sign of youth and confidence.

Cardiovascular training builds the engine. It ensures that oxygen—the very spirit of life—reaches the periphery of the body. It brings the "rosy" glow to the cheeks that poets write about.

Modern science backs this ancient wisdom entirely. A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology showed that elderly people who exercised regularly had the skin composition of people in their 20s and 30s. Under a microscope, the skin of the exercisers had a thicker dermis and healthier collagen layers. Exercise literally kept their "coating" young.

The Mechanic of Nutrition: The Construction Site

If exercise is the architect, nutrition is the supply chain. You cannot build a marble palace if you are only delivering mud and straw to the construction site. Every single cell in your body—your eyelashes, your liver, your skin, your neurones—is made of the food you ate over the last few months. You are physically literally what you eat.

• Proteins are the bricks.
• Fats are the mortar and the insulation for your nerves.
• Vitamins and minerals are the specialised workers who make sure the electricity runs. If you feed your body "dead" food—processed sugars, rancid oils, inert fillers—you will build a “dead”-looking body. The structure may stand for a while, but it will lack lustre. It will look inflamed. Inflammation is the body’s fire alarm. When you are inflamed from poor nutrition, you are puffy, red, and tired. The Yoga Vasishta and Ayurvedic traditions emphasise Sattvic food— foods that are pure, light, and full of Prana (life energy). Today, we call this "whole food nutrition”. Fresh vegetables, fruits, clean proteins, and water. When you switch to this fuel, the difference is visual. The "muddy" look of the skin clears up. The hair shines. The body feels light. Beauty is the visual proof that the construction site is well-managed.

Happiness

The last pillar is the most overlooked — and the most powerful. A stressed, bitter, resentful mind slowly destroys the body.

Happiness is the positively excited state of the soul. It is the reward that feels good. The caution here is we must allow it to appear, to come to us and not chase it. The internal, imperishable Self—the soul—also experiences distinct states.

• Pain/Regret: The soul experiences pain not from criticism, insult, the undermining of its truth, or the ignoring of its fundamental existence. The soul's lowest psychological state is regret, a compounding sorrow arising from unaddressed ethical failures.
• Normal State: The soul’s natural, undisturbed baseline is one of no change or intrinsic self-interest, reflecting its inherent nature of existence.
• Excited State: The excited state of the soul is popularly defined as happiness. This is state where soul feels a a potential freedom and actualisation. For example, news of winning a lottery or receiving a large sum can make one instantly happy. It is a potential asset which can help an individual receive favourable and choice experiences. Chronic stress releases cortisol. Cortisol breaks down collagen, weakens immunity, and accelerates Ageing. This is why worry shows up on the face long before disease shows up in blood tests. On the other hand, contentment, curiosity, and emotional openness release regenerative hormones. We have all seen this.

People who are not conventionally “attractive” — yet magnetic.

People who look young not because of genetics, but because their minds are light.

Happiness is not ignorance. It is not denial. It is the ability to move through life without carrying unnecessary weight in the mind.

Letting go of grudges.

Learning something new.

Laughing at small failures.

This mental cleanliness reflects physically. The eyes brighten. The posture opens. The body softens without becoming weak.

Beauty from Happiness

The final, and perhaps most difficult, pillar is happiness. Sage Vashishtha tells Rama that a mind plagued by worry, jealousy, and anger burns the body like a fever. He asks, “How can a tree flourish if its roots are being eaten by termites?” The termites are your negative thoughts.

We have all seen this phenomenon. You meet someone who is physically attractive by standard definitions, with a symmetrical face and fit body but there is a stiffness to them. A bitterness. They are constantly complaining, judging, or worrying. Very quickly, their physical beauty seems to evaporate. They become "boring" to be around. Conversely, we all know someone who might not be a supermodel, but who radiates such warmth, laughter, and genuine joy that they are magnetic. We want to be near them. They are truly beautiful.

The Biology of Happiness This is not just poetic; it is hormonal.

Cortisol (The Stress Hormone): When we are unhappy, anxious, or angry, we release cortisol. Cortisol is catabolic—it breaks things down. It specifically breaks down collagen, the protein that keeps our skin smooth. Chronic unhappiness literally dissolves your face. It creates the "worry lines," the sagging jowls, the tired eyes.

Dopamine and Serotonin (The Joy Hormones): When we practice Santosha (contentment) and maintain a "learning attitude"—a key component of Unbreakable Fitness—we release anabolic hormones. We enter a state of regeneration.

There is a fable often associated with these teachings about a king who was obsessed with longevity. He employed the best doctors, ate the rarest herbs, and exercised rigorously. Yet, he looked haggard, for he was constantly worried about his kingdom, his enemies, and his treasury. One day, he met a monk living in a simple cave. The monk ate simple food, walked the hills, and owned nothing. Yet, the monk’s skin glowed like a youth, and his eyes sparkled with mirth. "What is your secret?" the King demanded. "What rare herb do you eat?" The monk laughed a deep belly laugh. "I eat the same food peasants eat, O! King. But I have no enemies in my mind. I carry no treasury in my heart. My digestion is perfect because my mind is at peace. You are trying to paint a crumbling wall; I simply keep the wall standing."

The Mental Component of Unbreakable Fitness Unbreakable Fitness requires a "large-hearted attitude”. This means:

Resilience: The ability to laugh at small failures.

• Curiosity: The desire to learn new things (which keeps the brain and eyes alert).
• Goodness: The relief of not holding grudges. Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. It rots you from the inside. When the Yoga Vashishtha states that beauty is happiness, it is giving us a prescription: To look better, you must learn to stress less. You must cultivate a mental garden that is free of weeds. So, we return to the plan for our lives. The Unbreakable Fitness is not a shallow pursuit of a "beach body”. It is the pursuit of a physical existence that honours the gift of life.

1. We seek cleanliness to ensure our engine runs without friction. 2. We seek health (through exercise and nutrition) to build a

structure that can weather the storms of life.3. We seek happiness to illuminate the structure from within.

When these three align, we achieve the true definition of beauty found in the ancient texts: Tejas. We become radiant. We become capable. We become unbreakable.

In the following chapters, we will leave the philosophical groundwork and enter the practical laboratory. We will look at exactly how to move (Chapter 2: Exercise), exactly what to eat (Chapter 3: Nutrition), and how to take this vehicle out into the world (Chapter 4: Outdoors). We must remember this chapter. Every squat we do, every vegetable we eat, and every moment of stress we let go of is an act of polishing the vehicle. We are preparing ourselves for a long, beautiful journey.

Suggestions for Further Reading

1. Valmiki. Yoga Vashishtha Maharamayan. (Classical Text). Describes the body as a city and emphasises the mind-body connection (Adhibhautika and Adhidaivika). Key verses on Saucha (purity) and Santosha (contentment) as prerequisites for a radiant life.
2. Crane, J. D., et al. (2015). "Exercise-stimulated interleukin-15 is shunted from skeletal muscle to skin to improve skin structure." Ageing Cell, 14(4), 625-634. (This study confirms that exercise releases myokines that improve skin thickness and structure, validating the "exercise is beauty" concept).
3. Whitehead, R. D., Re, D., Xiao, D., Ozakinci, G., & Perrett, D. I. (2012). "You are what you eat: within-subject increases in fruit and vegetable consumption confer beneficial skin-colour changes." PLoS ONE, 7(3). (Research confirming that carotenoid intake from nutrition creates a perceived "glow" more attractive than sun tanning).
4. Epel, E. S., et al. (2004). "Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(49), 17312-17315. (Scientific evidence linking psychological stress/unhappiness to cellular ageing and physical degradation).
5. Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). "The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions." American Psychologist, 56(3), 218. (Supports the concept that “large-heartedness” and positive affect build physical and mental resources).
6. Patanjali. Yoga Sutras (specifically, Sutra II.42 on Santosha leading to unexcelled happiness and its physical manifestations).