Move the Body and Nurture the Mind
Post for April and May 2018.
While feeding my spirit for 20 minutes during the empowerment hour, I came across 1 Corinthian 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your bodies are temple of the Holy Spirit whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.” At that moment, I realized that my body is a gift from God and to honor Him, I must take better care of it. I made a commitment to health and fitness and concluded that pursuing health and fitness would require me to move my body and nurture my mind.
For years, my buddy Walter has tried to persuade me to commit to exer
cise and join the gym. Repeatedly, I have told him I did not have the luxury to segregate a block of time to go to the gym or exercise. Today, I am moved to exercise for at least 20 minutes each day but what’s a girl to do? Calisthenics!
Calisthenics involves pushing, pulling jumping, bending and swinging exercises using one's own body weight as resistance and done along with stretches. Research shows that if done regularly and vigorously, calisthenics can provide the benefits of muscular and aerobic conditioning as well as improve balance, agility, and coordination. And I can do it all in the comfort of my home. In addition to moving through calisthenics, I can incorporate more physical activity into my daily routine by by taking the steps instead of the elevator, parking further away from the front door when going to the store, walking to my appointments instead of driving everywhere especially if where I am going does not take longer than 20 minutes.
The commitment to move the body further fuels my desire to nourish my body and use the remaining 20 minutes of the hour to nurture my mind with new knowledge. I am motivated to by learn about nutrition. I have to admit that my dear friend Andrew is right – you are what you eat. I learned that nutrition is the body’s ability to take what you eat and drink and use it for growth, cell repair and maintenance of health. I learned that the purpose of food is to provide the body with macro nutriments - fats, proteins and carbohydrates and micro nutrients – vitamins minerals and water necessary for good health. I now know that all calories are not equal and I make better food and different food choices because to quote Andrew “ to change your taste buds, you have to educate your taste bud!.” Move and learn to treasure the gift that God has given you - your body.
