Move It or Lose It!

Move It or Lose It!

Exercise is key to our good health, our mobility, and our longevity. We all know this to be true, but how many reasons can you think of for not exercising? It’s too hot; it’s too cold; the gym is too far away; I have too much to do; I don’t like exercising alone; I don’t like being in a class; and the list goes on…..  Maybe you even have some truly original excuses!

In the aftermath of losing a spouse, it seems as though there is no end to the paperwork, the details that need attention, or the demands upon our time and energy. We will probably remember to eat when we finally get hungry, and no one will go completely without water very long – but we can always find something that needs to be done rather than any kind of movement or exercise.

One of the best tools I’ve found to help me keep moving is my Apple Watch! When I started tracking steps I took during the day, it was shocking how little I was moving! No wonder my joints were stiff, my muscles ached, and walking was hard! One of the laws of inertia says that an object at rest tends to stay at rest unless moved upon by another force! This is particularly true of our bodies. The less we move, the less we WANT to move! …and the more difficult it becomes to move.

Okay, but you’re probably asking how does moving more help with grief? The answer lies in the fact that this “law of inertia” tends to also work in the opposite direction!  “An object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.” Once you start moving more, you feel better, you find you have more energy, your mental outlook improves, and suddenly you realize that you actually enjoy moving more!

Grief is painful, mentally, emotionally, and physically. But one way to help ease some of that pain is to move your body. Movement and exercise cause a physical reaction in our bodies, which can actually make us feel better in every way. Without going into the science, trust me when I say that movement releases chemicals that act as pain relievers to the receptors in your brain. You hurt less without meds!

Believe it or not, moving more can actually help you sleep better. Sleeping too much or too little can be an issue when you’re grieving, especially in the early months. Some people can’t fall asleep so they stay up until all hours of the night, sometimes sleeping in the recliner and never really going to bed at all. Some people want to do nothing BUT sleep, as it anesthetizes the emotional pain. Neither is healthy!

Moving your body is tiring. Taking the time to move regularly can help tire you out more thoroughly so it’s easier to fall asleep at bedtime. Sleep is crucial for so many brain functions, and when you don’t get enough sleep it can start to impact everything from your mood to your social life. Again, a fitness tracker of some kind is a valuable investment to tell you how much sleep you’re actually getting so that you can make adjustments.

There are many simple ways that you can begin to move your body more, but it all boils down to your choosing to do so! Walking a dog is a great way to incorporate a few minutes of exercise into your routines – maybe even morning and evening! If you don’t have a dog, you could offer to walk one for your neighbor or volunteer at the local animal shelter. They always need dog walkers!

You can set yourself some goals that have to do with decluttering, reorganizing, sorting, and cleaning your house. Simple housework can add up many steps a day running from room to room, or up and down stairs, or lifting and moving things. Here’s an interesting Scripture: Proverbs 31:17 “She surrounds her waist with strength and makes her arms strong.”

One thing I recently did was join a fitness center. I decided that it would not actually KILL me to get up in time to make a 7:00 a.m. water aerobics class three times a week! I’ve met a whole new circle of people, I love the class, my day gets started earlier, and in addition to all of that, I’m starting to feel stronger after just a few months of consistent exercise! Some days I still honestly don’t want to get up and go (especially now that it’s starting to be darker in the mornings), but it’s a choice I make every single time to invest in a better lifestyle as I age. And guess what? My mental outlook is changing as I spend time moving and laughing with a new group of friends!

The easier pathway is to let grief overcome our free will to make good choices. The Bible tells us that we need to “renew our minds”, and that has to do with seeing clearly that I’m making a long-term investment in my quality of life as I make choices every day to move the body a little more. Some of you may be younger widows who are still running kids here-there-and-everywhere. You already live an active lifestyle, but take time for your own self-care. Some of you may be elderly and feel that it’s too late for you to join an exercise class, or maybe your situation means that you can barely move at all! It’s never too late to start…slow and easy. You don’t need to start training for an Iron Man triathlon! But God has this to say to you:

Zechariah 10:12 “I will strengthen them in the LORD, and in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.”

Possibly the most important reason we should move intentionally is that we thereby glorify and honor God by taking care of our bodies. Here are several scriptures that give us pause for thought. Just take a minute to ponder them?

1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Galatians 6:9 “Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Isaiah 40:31 “but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

If you’ve been allowing grief to rob you of a better quality of life, I challenge you today to rethink this. There’s one verse I found that encouraged me greatly because it identifies how I was feeling. Set yourself some reasonable goals and take your first steps TODAY! I’d love to hear your progress reports!

Hebrews 12:12 — “Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees….”

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome here or you can email me at sheryl@freshhope.us. If you’re looking for a new purpose and a pathway to move ahead, please consider joining one of our Refocusing Widows groups, either in person or online. You can register at www.refocusingwidows.org/Groups. We look forward to meeting you!