Good evening,
I know I haven't written in a while but it is not because I
haven't been thinking of you, my Sacred and Fit family. In the last two
years, you have truly contributed to my spiritual growth and through
that to my health and wellness but also to my teaching and research. In
a few hours it will be a new year and I didn't want to end this old
year without acknowledging your contribution.
Sacred
and Fit began with an idea that behaviors associated with health and
wellness can be part of a spiritual practice. In the beginning, I tied
the lessons to my own personal spiritual tools, the Aramaic version of
the Lord's Prayer and the Beatitudes. However, later I found that any
spiritual practice could be enhanced by bringing a God consciousness to
behaviors that are done every day (like eating) or behaviors that need to
become a habit (exercise).
Sacred and Fit did for me what New Year's resolutions had failed to do....slowly
and systematically, over time, changed my thinking about healthy
eating and exercise and helped me to create good habits and keep them.
As my hot Yoga sessions and regular walks became times of prayer or
times to cultivate silence and serenity they became desirable activities
instead of chores. Honestly, it has taken these two years to get to
this point where something seems wrong when I don't get to walk. This
Christmas I made a huge batch of cinnamon rolls but I only ate a few
over several days and had no real desire to eat my normal six at a
time...That was a Christmas miracle!
Just
kidding...the real miracle is what happened at my job. I started using S&F principles at work. I have (healthy) snacks at my desk and I bring
my lunch every day so there were ample opportunities to think more about
God while at work and to bring a God awareness to my work tasks. Last
year was extremely intense at my job. In addition to the completion of
my graduate student's dissertation, I also helped write several grants.
One was a federal grant that will (hopefully) fund a mobile dental and health
clinic for the homeless, those with insecure housing and those formerly
incarcerated. These populations are the least likely to seek out health
care. Also, medical and dental students have practically no experience
with these populations. Volunteering at the medical camp will help
rectify that.
When I connect the dots, I see that
my Sacred and Fit practices led to a renewed desire to serve God in a
tangible way by
volunteering once a month at the soup kitchen which led to helping
organize a medical camp at my church in Richmond which led to the
grant. I also saw how my daily meditation helped increase my own focus
and concentration and so I introduced a guided relaxation in my
classes, which helped reduce test anxiety among my students and raised
their grades.
This year, I received $350, 000
from the National Science Foundation with a goal of increasing the
number of HBCU students who study science, engineering, technology and
math. We will be addressing math and test anxiety through meditation and
focused relaxation. Through focus groups the students revealed that
they need encouraging words and uplifting reminders to help them do the
academic behaviors that will result in good grades. So, we are
developing a mobile app to deliver this type of information to their
phones.
We all know that creating new habits is hard.
The science of behavioral change shows that there are some common
features to success whether you are trying to be healthier, trying to
get better grades or even trying to be a better Christian.
1. Set small goals, get good at them before moving on to bigger things. Be patient.
2. Build new habits by connecting them to habits that you already have. Be persistent.
3. Have a partner for encouragement and accountability. Partner
4. Change the thoughts behind the behavior. Use your faith to renew your mind and believe in yourself. Prayer & Affirmations
Sacred
and Fit incorporated all of these components and we are
now spreading the message. In 2013, my research team and I will be
bringing the S&F principles to a whole new audience. So if you are
wanting to start the New Year with a renewed focus on making a
significant change in some area of your life start with this: Know that
your life is sacred and your body a temple. Next step?
Don't know yet?...In January, we focus on Visioning.
Happy New Year.
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