Repetitive Exercise -- Physically & Mentally
So as I was talking to my companion's physical therapist the other day, the topic of exercise came up. I told him I now understand the importance of physical education when I was just a child. I told him that it is too bad that they don't have curriculum at that age to discuss with children the importance and the reason why as children we are being exercised. When I was in elementary school, I thought adults just liked to torture us and were trying to tire us out, so we would be calm when the teacher was teaching us in the classroom. But in reality they were doing us a favor by getting us used to an exercise regime. I'm sure there may have been some teachers who educated their students as to why exercise was important, I can tell you that mine did not. It wasn't until I got into a college level exercise program that I was educated about the importance of exercise and I'll be honest, I had already formed an opinion on how much I didn't like taxing my body to the point of exhaustion.
I've had arthritis since I was 8 years old in my knees. Since my 50''s I've developed full body arthritis. Into my 60's it really started getting out of control. So I worked extra hard, along with a lot of prayer and was able to shed 60 plus pounds. It was also during this time I found out I was lacking Magnesium and Vitamin D -- losing those nutrients really hurts your muscles and bones. As part of my initial weight reduction program, I joined Silver Sneakers and was able to exercise 5 days per week in a gym doing three days of aerobics and two days of treadmill and stationary bicycling. Mind you this is before my Ozempic days which started two years ago. Because of Ozempic, I've been able to keep most of my weight loss off. Also, the great part of exercise and losing weight is that blood pressure improves. My biggest blessing of it all is that for four years, I am no longer prediabetic or diabetic. Aside from some vitamin deficiencies, my blood work and cholesterol has also returned into normal ranges.
I'll share the miracle for me is that even though I have Graves/Hashimotos Thyroid Disease, I finally have found a doctor who has been able to stabilize my weight. I shared in a previous blog how I had hands laid on me to pray over my health. This prayer was always one high on my prayer list for myself. I can tell you that HS put in my head, "What are you going to do to assist in this process?' I'm finding that prayer usually is a two way street. God is not our genie who grants our desires, when we have made poor choices without us putting some effort into answering our prayer. So thus, I saw a doctor and started an exercise regime. I still exercise, but not to the extent I was with 5 days a week in a gym setting. I prefer the gentler approach of non-strenuous low impact walking and stair climbing. I'm also trying to stay active and I don't sit for long periods of time. I also practice getting on the floor and standing up from the floor. I have found that it is harder to look under beds and furniture like I used to without some effort. That's a task that really gets harder with age. It's unfortunate that my companion is unable to perform this task, so it is something we are working on just in case he lands up on the ground again.
I love technology now. It provides many resources for counting your steps, closing circles on your phone and if you fall -- it will give you a screen that you can call 911. This is also available on the Apple Watch, so you don't have to have one of those buttons around your neck like the commercial, "I've fallen and I can't get up!!" I fully understand that commercial now and for me it's no longer a joke.
So I've touched upon physical exercising. There is also exercising one's own rights. (We all have them.) One thing that is clear is that as humans on this earth, we have been given free choice and will (biblically speaking). This can pertain to your spirituality and belief systems, along with just living your everyday life as you please -- obviously within the boundaries of government laws. I'm touching upon this topic, because it's important to realize that exercising one's right, doesn't mean you get to control another person's rights and belief system. People have the right to choose what they consider important and priorities in their lives. Exercise good judgment. (That's a good one.) Exercise kindness.
There is also reading exercises and studies-- inclusive of all kinds of topics, but my priority these days is really getting into scripture and inspirational reading. I guess you can say, you are exercising your brain power at this point. There is also practicing and exercising your ability to play a musical instrument. In my case that would be playing the piano and guitar. When I was a young person, I had a huge repertoire that I had developed of different songs I could play on both instruments by memorization. I'm finding that if you don't exercise these skills, you'll lose your ability to recall songs and notes from memory. Also, by not exercising my vocalization skills, my voice is no longer what it was -- so, if you plan on maintaining doing these gifts on a continued basis, exercising your abilities is key. I guess that phrase "Practice makes perfect" makes sense now.
I don't know if you have ever watched documentaries of famous singers and/or actors, but if you do -- you can see that even though some of them have been given natural abilities, they maintain a regime of exercising their skills in order to keep them in top shape. I've been amazed at hearing some of the vocal skills of musicians from my younger years, who are now in their 70's that still have such powerful vocal skills. I'm sure the same dedication and exercise is true for actors to be able to maintain their memorization skills, etc.
I'm at an age where I really have to keep my brain active. So I exercise my brain, along with reading, by playing word games, doing crossword puzzles -- anything to assist in keeping my brain sharp, which gets challenging by the day now. This reminds me that at the age of 54.5, I retired. I knew all about technology and could go from Microsoft to an Apple/Mac platform without even thinking about it. Although I've always used an iPad and iPhone, I had transitioned into a PC laptop and computer. Once my technology on computers started going obsolete and or slowing into turtle mode, I decided to transition back to a M4 Laptop, but you know what, because I hadn't kept up with the times, I lost my ability to be proficient and had to retrain myself along with my son's help on the Mac format. Talk about frustrating. I've always shared with my family my fear of losing my ability to do things for myself and lose my independence when it comes to technology and doing many other simple things in this life. Bottom line, stay active and exercise -- whether physically or mentally. Which brings another phrase to mind, "Use it or lose it!!"
1 Timothy 4:8 -- "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 -- "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price."
1 Corinthians 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
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