A lot of people I got to know in college seperated their spiritual lives with their physical lives. They were very spiritually active, in a sense: they actively sensed danger to themselves or others by nonphysical means, perceiving someone's nature more by vibes than their physical presence or what they said, and used a lot of alternative means to treat someone suffering from any kind of ailment, imagined or not (and there WERE differences between the two, even to them, while they seperated into groups and talked about some of the others). Over time, as I evolved as a being, I wondered why someone would ever seperate their spiritual and physical self. To protect their "soul", perhaps? But in building up one's physical body and strength, one could build up the means to protect their soul another way. Often, people who work out and/or train in martial arts find that they build more confidence in themselves when they do such. I, myself, view one's "spiritual self" less as energy or true form and more their very will, and I believe that to be connected with one's physical well-being. I believe that some subconcious (or near-unconcious) part of our being is all-too aware of our physical selves and depending on our well-being in this area of our lives, it can hold us back when attempting any kind of feat of endurance. As beings in a world that keeps reminding us about the "human condition", we are all too aware of our limitations, and often unconsciously hold ourselves back. I used to be rather out of shape, when I spent time with the individuals I mentioned earlier, and I often didn't do too much. Whether that was because I felt as if I had too many limits to do much or whether I was left out, I don't remember, or really care anymore, but since I've started getting in better shape (via working out and being a bit more conscious of what I eat), I've felt as if I could handle more in my life, in every aspect, including spiritual. If our bodies are tempered, we should be able to handle more energies of all sorts.

You touch easily on the side of an issue that most people choose to ignore. I think that you make a great point... physical shape is a must for spiritual endurance.

Balance is the everything in life. Balance must be met between the two and many spiritual types do not understand that... they need the physical as well... vice versa.

Those people you know are polishing one side of the coin and pretending that the other one does not exist. Indeed, if you get stuck with aches, and fatigue, and everything that being out of shape brings, there is less energy left for spiritual needs and even for everyday mundane stuff. And it certainly makes you more vulnerable in all aspects. Neglecting the needs of the body is just laziness that offers a convenient reason - since it's not spiritual, don't waste your time on it. But what the lazy mind forgets is that the spirit does not exist independently from the body in this physical world.