G'day Sangha Australia registering! I've been wondering about physical activity and Zen. Is there a correlation between sitting and doing fitness of some kind?

I've met a few Zen priests. One thing which stands out is that they have bung legs. They have overdone the sitting bit perhaps?! It always surprises if not shocks me. Is it possible to be liberated and of service whilst caring for one's physical being and not needing a walking stick or a hip replacement as a consequence of (over) sitting?

I have asked online is there a physical equivalent of zazen beyond bowing and kinhin? I've really been wondering about that for the past 24 hours or so. What has come to me is that the Soto Zen practitioners of yore were farmers. They did their physical activity on the land. They toiled the soil from dawn until dusk. For them it was a respite to sit. They certainly didn't need martial arts or yoga. They were doing martial arts and yoga in their day to day activities.

So as I consequence I am going to take far more seriously my wish to be more involved in organic gardening. I have a large garden and a small house. The large garden is mostly full of grass at the moment. However I feel now more than ever a strong desire to convert it into a food producing garden. It seems far more useful and zen like than to do martial arts or yoga and more in keeping with our current practice. Gassho, kjs