Wonderfully Made

The Health & Spiritual Dimensions Of Leading A Physically Active Lifestyle

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Don Morgan

Home

Series Code: WM

Program Code: WM000350


00:01 The following program presents principles
00:03 designed to promote good health and
00:04 is not intended to take the place of
00:06 personalized professional care.
00:08 The opinions and ideas expressed are those
00:10 of the speaker. Viewers are encouraged
00:12 to draw their own conclusions
00:14 about the information presented.
00:35 Hello and welcome to Wonderfully Made.
00:39 My name is Don Morgan and I teach
00:41 in the department Health and Human Performance
00:44 at Middle Tennessee State University.
00:47 Over the next number of weeks I am going
00:49 to be talking about the role that physical
00:52 activity can play and helping you achieving
00:55 optimal level of health. As an exercise
00:59 physiologist who is taught in the area of health
01:02 and fitness for 20 years and conducted research
01:05 on how the body responds to exercise.
01:08 I have come to appreciate just how exquisitely
01:11 made our bodies are and how God has designed
01:15 them to stand physical challenges, injury,
01:19 illness and all types of environmental stressors.
01:22 In this upcoming series of program I am going
01:26 to be presenting information that will
01:29 highlight the many health benefits which
01:32 come from being physically active.
01:34 As well as address some of the health conditions
01:37 that are caused or worsened by a sedentary
01:40 lifestyle. In addition, I hope to be able to
01:44 show how leading an active lifestyle can
01:47 fit seamlessly into God's plan for each
01:50 of us to enjoy vibrant, fulfilling and
01:54 spiritually and rich lives. When talking about the
01:58 relationship between physical activity and
02:01 health, it's important to define what we mean
02:04 by the word health. To me being healthy
02:09 is not merely the absence of disease
02:11 and infirmity but instead it represents the
02:15 combination of physical, mental, social
02:19 and spiritual well being. It is my view that
02:24 we are individually responsible for our health
02:27 and well being, to the practice of positive
02:31 lifestyle behaviors like not smoking and
02:35 engaging in a daily regiment of moderate
02:37 physical activity. Thus it is our choice
02:42 and no one else's as to whether or
02:46 not we will decide to embrace physical activity
02:49 as an integral part of our lives.
02:54 One of the things I like to emphasize is that
02:57 physical activity can be a joyful experience.
03:01 A good example of this is watching children
03:05 who are engaged in active play at school
03:07 or at home. As any parent or teacher knows,
03:11 young boys and girls have a natural bent
03:15 or inclination towards being active and
03:19 they seem to find great happiness in the
03:22 simplest of activities like riding a bike,
03:25 playing tag, jumping rope or even just digging
03:30 around in a sand box for hours on end.
03:34 Well the attraction of physical activity can
03:37 wane with age. I know many adults who also
03:41 find the sense of joy and fulfillment in being
03:44 physically active. I for one, enjoy running.
03:49 Now I am certainly not a fast runner and
03:54 I don't run as far or as long as I used to.
03:58 But at this stage of my life, with a busy family
04:03 and a job that's very, very hectic always
04:07 on the go, I am quite contend to be able
04:11 to run about 40 minutes are so on moat days of
04:14 the week. When I run, I know I am receiving
04:20 a multitude of physiological and
04:23 psychological benefits, many of which we will
04:26 detail in future programs. In addition I also gain
04:31 a tremendous spiritual blessing when I exercise,
04:35 because it is a daily reminder that God loves
04:39 me so much that he created a wonderfully
04:43 made body to inhabit, that is strong and
04:46 powerful, a body that enables me to meet
04:50 life's physical challenges head on each and
04:54 every day. One of the reasons I look forward
04:59 to my daily run is that it is one of the times
05:03 each day that I truly feel energized in the life.
05:07 When I run I can feel my heart pounding,
05:12 my breathing rate increasing,
05:14 the sweat gathering on my face,
05:16 and the growing stress on leg muscles as
05:20 I trudge up the hills that surround my home
05:23 in Middle Tennessee. There is a reward though
05:28 for my efforts because as I reach the top of
05:32 the rise and begin my descend down the hill,
05:35 I am able to recover, re-gather my strength
05:40 and feel a sense of solid accomplishment
05:43 that at least on this day I have been able
05:46 to find the energy and the strength to meet
05:49 this physical challenge. As I've began to speak
05:54 to audiences on the topic of physical activity
05:57 and health, I have to come realize that not
06:01 only is there a physical dimension to leading
06:05 an active lifestyle, but there is also a spiritual
06:08 dimension to physical activity.
06:11 When we are active we have the opportunity
06:15 and the privilege of exploring and moving
06:18 about the world that God has created for us.
06:21 In thinking about this gift from God,
06:25 I'd like for you to reflect for a moment
06:28 on some thoughts found in a wonderful
06:31 little book called the Adventist Health Style,
06:34 written by David Nieman.
06:36 He writes that there is a God given design
06:40 in nature for action and movement.
06:43 Consider the flowers that open and close daily,
06:47 the circulating ocean currents and orbiting
06:50 planets or the powerful onrush of the wind.
06:54 Water is fresh and clean if taken from a
06:58 rushing stream, but unhealthful when
07:01 drawn from a stagnant pool.
07:04 What is the spiritual meaning of these words?
07:07 To me these statements convey a fundamental
07:12 principle of Christian living that is when we
07:16 daily energized our body with physical activity
07:19 we fit perfectly into God's creation plan for
07:23 the universe, a plan in which movement
07:26 and activity are the norm and not the exception.
07:31 Ellen White a prolific Christian writer also
07:36 speaks about the link between activity
07:38 and health. In her book Ministry of Healing,
07:42 she states that, Action is a law of our being.
07:47 Every organ of the body has it's appointed work,
07:52 upon the performance of which it's development
07:55 and strength depend. The normal action of
07:59 all the organs gives strength and vigor,
08:01 while the tendency of disuse is toward decay
08:06 and death. Bind up an arm, even for few weeks,
08:11 then free it from it's bands, and you will
08:15 see that it is weaker than the one you have
08:18 been using moderately during the same time.
08:22 Inactivity produces the same effect upon
08:25 the whole muscular system.
08:29 What Mrs. White is saying here is that
08:32 the health of our bodies is directly associated
08:35 with them being used on a consistent basis.
08:38 Conversely, when we are physically inactive
08:43 for long periods of time or engaged in physical
08:46 activity on a hit or miss bases,
08:49 our bodies also adapt to this relative lack of
08:53 physical activity by becoming weaker and
08:57 more prone to sickness and disease.
09:00 Unfortunately there is no silver bullet that
09:04 will magically do away with disease and death.
09:07 However, performing regular physical activity
09:12 at a moderate intensity provides so many
09:15 health benefits that it's about as close to
09:18 a silver bullet as you will ever find.
09:23 For those of you who have embraced inactive
09:25 lifestyle there is almost an instinctive
09:29 understanding of how essential and important
09:33 exercise and physical activity are in warning
09:37 of chronic disease and maintaining normal
09:40 levels of function. For those of you however
09:44 who are not as active as you know you should be,
09:48 I hope that these series of programs will act
09:51 as a catalyst to motivate you to become healthier.
09:55 For some this may be journey you wanted
09:59 to take it various time in your life,
10:02 but for some reason you never took that
10:05 first step. For others you may have begun a
10:09 fitness program in the past but you didn't stick
10:12 with it long enough to see any lasting benefits.
10:16 Whatever the case may be, it is my sincere
10:20 prayer and hope that the material presented
10:23 in these health lectures begins to encourage
10:26 you to maintain a regular physical activity program.
10:33 As you began this journey, I want you to remember
10:36 that the path to wellness and good health is
10:40 not a short one, but instead is a wide
10:44 expanse that can be travel the rest of your life,
10:47 if that is your desire. As the evidence will show
10:52 it is not necessary to be extreme when performing
10:57 physical activity, but it is essential to be active
11:01 on a moderate and regular basis.
11:04 In order to reap the major health benefits
11:07 that activity can provide such as better way
11:11 control, lower blood pressure and an increase
11:15 in bone density. Such an approach is consistent
11:19 with the notion that moderation and physical
11:22 activity can lead to good health.
11:27 Although I am going to be presenting information
11:30 that describes the association between
11:32 physical activity and health,
11:34 I realize how important it is to translate this
11:39 knowledge into something that is useful
11:42 and practical and meaningful.
11:46 So over the course of these thoughts we will
11:49 be mentioning not only the health benefits of
11:52 physical activity, but also talking about some
11:55 of the simple ways to include physical activity
11:59 and exercise into your daily schedule.
12:02 We will also be looking at ways to over come
12:04 various physical activity; looking at ways of
12:08 how to monetary how much physical activity
12:10 you are actually doing as well.
12:14 As we begin this journey together
12:16 I strongly believe that a secret to staying
12:21 on the road to better health is to find the
12:24 meaningful reason to adopt and to
12:28 commit to a healthy lifestyle.
12:32 There is no single perfect reason that
12:34 will work for everyone, but there is a reason
12:38 that will make sense to you, a reason that
12:41 you can identity with. For some it may be
12:46 that in listening to these programs
12:48 you will finally come to appreciate the sheer
12:51 enormity of the health blessings that come
12:54 from adopting a healthy lifestyle.
12:58 May be you have decided to become physically
13:00 fit because you are not functioning
13:02 as well as you used to, and you want to
13:05 become more fit and stronger so that
13:09 you can accomplish the daily tasks of living
13:12 more effectively. Perhaps you've had a
13:15 recent health scare and you suddenly
13:18 become aware that the old adage that without
13:21 your health you have nothing really is true.
13:26 It could be that you have become unhappy
13:29 with the way you look and feel.
13:31 And increasing your level of physical activity
13:34 would be a good first step toward reversing
13:37 this trend, or it may be that you've come to
13:42 realization that your health is important
13:45 not only to yourself, but also to those
13:48 who love you, care for you and depend on you.
13:52 The key point here is that this reason
13:57 whatever it is, needs to be important to you
14:01 because it will be this reason that will motivate
14:05 you to walk not only on the nice days but
14:09 also on days when the wind is blowing,
14:11 the temperature is cold and there is bit
14:14 of rain falling. It will be this reason that
14:18 will give you the inner strength to turn
14:21 down that second serving of ice cream
14:23 or that late night snack. It will be this reason
14:27 that will keep you from loosing your result
14:30 to stay healthy and fit when the temptation
14:33 to abandoned this resolve is difficult to resist.
14:39 Remaining committed to a daily program of
14:41 physical activity will help you to determine
14:45 and to develop an internal complex
14:48 that will guide you away from a sedentary
14:50 lifestyle and lead you instead towards
14:54 higher levels of wellness and total health.
15:00 Did you know that the Bible speaks well
15:02 of being in good health. In third John Verse 2,
15:07 God's servants says Beloved,
15:11 I wish above all things that thou mayest
15:15 prosper and be in the health, even as thy
15:18 soul prospereth. Christ is the source of our
15:24 physical and mental and emotional and
15:26 spiritual health. And much of his ministry was
15:30 devoted to acts of healing. God wants us to enjoy
15:35 this beautiful world that he has fashioned
15:38 and to that end he has created and designed
15:42 us to be active and noble. In fact one can make
15:47 the case that living a sedentary lifestyle
15:51 actually runs contrary to God's ideal of physical
15:55 activity as the natural state of affairs for a
15:59 universe that operates on the fundamental
16:02 principles of actions and movement.
16:06 The idea that sedentary living is not a normal
16:09 condition is also expressed,
16:12 in the profess to one of the chapters in the
16:16 1996 Surgeon General's report on Physical Activity
16:19 and Health. In this profess the author state
16:23 that the exercise boom is not just a fad;
16:28 it is a return to 'natural' activity the kind for
16:33 which our bodies are engineered and which
16:36 facilitates the proper function of our
16:38 biochemistry and physiology sedentary existence,
16:44 possible for great numbers of people
16:47 only during the last century, represents a
16:50 transient, unnatural aberration.
16:56 There is an intimate connection between
16:59 physical and spiritual health.
17:01 And I would like to tell you about a personal
17:04 experience that illustrates this point.
17:08 A few years ago I was speaking about the
17:12 positive benefits of physical activity to a
17:15 group of church members who are attending a
17:18 summer retreat in the Hills of Prescott,
17:20 Arizona. During this week long health series
17:24 I was part of a small group of individuals
17:28 who walked in the morning and evening
17:30 after eating. On one of our excursions
17:35 I remember walking for about 15 minutes
17:38 or so until we reach the end of the back
17:41 road that was surrounded by hundreds of tall pine
17:45 trees. I remember that we stopped,
17:48 held hands, sang a few songs and gave thanks
17:54 to God for this fellowship experience and for
17:57 giving us the physical strength to walk,
18:00 to gather in this beautiful setting
18:03 and to sense His wonderful presents.
18:07 Throughout this in prompt to worship service,
18:10 the wind blow through the trees and that
18:14 sound echoed all around us.
18:17 Now I don't know if you ever heard wind blow
18:20 through pine trees, but it is a beautiful,
18:24 heavenly, almost in describable sound
18:28 like God was whispering to us that day.
18:31 But we, this intrepid band of worshipers
18:36 on this day we are retreated to a
18:38 wonderful spiritually experience that
18:41 I will never forgot. Being physically fit
18:45 can allow you to have experiences that you
18:48 can remember and treasure for the rest
18:50 of your life. A few years ago I had the
18:55 opportunity to visit a former student of
18:57 mine who lived in Scotland. During this
19:00 visit my student Ian asked if I wanted
19:04 to take a wee little hike at the morning prior
19:08 to a talk I was to give later that day.
19:10 I said fine. I thought this would be a decent
19:14 substitute for run. Well when we arrived at
19:19 the walking site, I suddenly realized
19:21 that the wee little hike wasn't going to be
19:23 horizontal, but instead it was a hike up on
19:27 a mountain. So we started up and soon
19:31 I was drenched with sweat thinking to myself
19:35 I have a talk to give later today to a group
19:37 of faculty and students and I am not gonna
19:39 look very distinguished. But you know it was
19:43 all worth it because I have a picture in
19:47 my office of Ian and I, sitting at the top of
19:50 a mountain on a blue sky day overlooking
19:54 a sparkling lake. In recounting this experience,
19:59 I realized that it was all made possible
20:02 by the fact that I was fit enough to climb
20:05 that mountain and view a beautiful expanse
20:09 of God handy work. In addition to having
20:15 mountain topic experiences,
20:17 being physically active can allow you to
20:20 experience simple pleasures that are just
20:23 as meaningful. Imagine that you are a grand
20:28 parent and that you and your granddaughter
20:31 are driving down a country road sharing
20:34 conversation together. You notice that the sun
20:38 is almost setting and you realize that your
20:42 view of the sunset will be magnificent,
20:44 if you can watch it from the top of a small
20:47 hill located about a 100 yards in front of you.
20:51 You stop the car and your granddaughter
20:55 bolts out, runs ahead and calls back to you
20:58 saying come on grandpa or come on grandma
21:01 you have got to see this, it so pretty.
21:06 Now I am not a grandfather yet,
21:09 but if this situation ever happens to me
21:13 in the future I don't want to say,
21:16 I can't make it up the hill sweetheart
21:19 you tell me what it looks like?
21:22 Instead I hope that I am physically fit enough
21:27 to be able to walk to the top of this hill
21:30 so that I can stand side by side with
21:33 my grandchild and watch the beautiful sunset.
21:40 The decision to adopt the physical active
21:43 lifestyle is a personal one, one that only
21:47 you can make. Tom was a 38-year-old man
21:53 with a wife and a young child.
21:56 He was a busy executive and a job that took a
22:00 lot of his time and energy and he had just
22:04 become a father a few years earlier.
22:07 Because of all these responsibilities
22:10 exercising on a regular basis was
22:13 not a major priority in his life.
22:17 The first sign that something might be
22:20 wrong with Tom's health came
22:22 when he was playing basketball with his
22:24 friends and he noticed that his heart was
22:27 beating in an irregular patterned.
22:29 Although he didn't feel any chest pain
22:32 or pressure, Tom decided to visit a physician
22:37 and have a complete physical.
22:39 The doctor said there was nothing out
22:42 of the ordinary, nothing was found that was
22:44 strange, so the doctor send him home
22:48 and told him not to worry. However the
22:53 next night he began to experience continuous
22:56 heart palpitations and became very apprehensive.
23:01 Tom, his wife and his one year old daughter
23:05 raised to the local emergency room
23:07 where he spent hours hooked up to an
23:10 EKG machine. As he lay in bed trying to remain
23:16 calm and looking up periodically at the
23:20 heart tracings, he thought of questions
23:23 a young father should never have to ponder.
23:26 Ones like am I going to have a heart attack
23:29 tonight and may be die? Will I be able to see
23:34 my young daughter grow up?
23:37 How can I leave my wife with the task of
23:40 raising my daughter? As he lay there that
23:45 evening he began to wonder if his lack of
23:49 regular physical activity had in some way
23:52 contributed to the situation.
23:56 Thankfully after nearly 4 hours,
23:59 the palpitation subsided and Tom went home.
24:03 Thankful that he had survived the evening,
24:06 but shaken to his very chore and uneasy
24:10 about what it transpired,
24:13 the next day transformed by what
24:16 it happened Tom began walking in the morning
24:20 and evening with his wife and soon
24:23 he was walking dozens of miles per week.
24:27 Over the course of the next 6 months
24:29 Tom lost weight, his blood pressure fell,
24:33 his cardiovascular endurance improved
24:36 and his heart palpitations were judged to be
24:39 benign. Today Tom really misses a day of walking.
24:47 Tom is a real person, someone I know well,
24:52 and I believe that had he had not decided to
24:56 start a regular routine of physical activity,
24:58 his chances of having a major health
25:01 setback in the near future would have being
25:04 substantially increased, instead he now leads
25:10 an active life that contributes immeasurably
25:13 to a healthier lifestyle, the benefits of which
25:17 Tom can now share everyday with his family.
25:24 Tom's experience in that emergency room
25:26 was a motivating factor that caused him
25:29 to make a decision that changed his life.
25:32 It is my prayer that like Tom you too will find
25:37 a reason, a reason that makes sense to you,
25:40 a reason that rings true to you to begin a
25:44 regular program of physical activity.
25:48 If Tom can change his life and find the Joy
25:52 and fulfillment that comes from being
25:54 physically active, so can you.
25:57 Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that the first
26:01 wealth is health. Evidence is mounting
26:06 daily that shows the people of all ages can
26:09 substantially improve their health and well
26:11 being by adopting an active lifestyle.
26:15 Although modern technology has made
26:17 our lives more efficient in countless ways,
26:21 it is also made it much easier to reduce our
26:24 daily levels of physical activity.
26:26 The time has come for us to take a proactive
26:30 stance by creating and taking advantage
26:33 of opportunities to accumulate small
26:36 amounts of physical activity throughout the day.
26:40 In closing, I want you to know that God's
26:44 richest blessing of physical and spiritual health
26:47 await you as you start to incorporate physical
26:51 activity into your life. I hope that as a result
26:55 of listening to these series of programs
26:57 that you began to experience the joy
27:00 and reap the benefits of living an active life.
27:04 As our creator God knows that our physical
27:08 and spiritual health thrives only
27:11 when we are active in both body and spirit.
27:14 It is God who is the author of healing and
27:17 renewal who forgive all your inequities
27:21 and heals all your diseases, who redeems
27:24 your life from destruction and crowns
27:27 you with loving kindness and tender mercies,
27:30 who satisfies your mouth with good things
27:34 so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.
27:37 God wants nothing less than for you to
27:41 be in the best of health so that you can meet
27:45 and overcome the physical and spiritual
27:48 challenges of daily living, and in the process
27:52 bless others around you with the message of
27:55 wellness and good health. I hope that you will tune
28:00 in next time when we will talk about how to start
28:02 a physical activity program and to be
28:05 active until then keeping moving
28:07 step by step towards better health and fitness.


Home

Revised 2014-12-17