Health & Wellness-Mind, Body, Spirit & Discovering the Purpose of Life

“God has blessed all of us with a physical body to have for this life on earth and how we take care of our body’s will have a direct effect on how we feel mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. There are so many factors that can affect the way we feel and can-do damage to us before the physical symptoms even begin to appear. When we develop a physical disease such as cancer, an autoimmune disorder, osteoarthritis, pneumonia, cervical stenosis, chronic back pain, neck pain, injuries to the knees/joints, intestinal issues, heart disease, ulcers, disease of the thyroid, migraines/headaches, etc… these aliments affect us emotionally and mentally as human beings to one degree or another. Any physical disorder affects our leisure pursuits, which affects our happiness and motivation to do the things we enjoy. As discussed in the seven chakras of the body these emotions and physical ailments are interchangeable. Our attitude, our faith, our hope, and trust in the lord is what gets us through most days. Your spiritual health is just as important as your emotional and physical health. Again, this brings us back to intention. If you “will” yourself to get better, you will get better. Your intentions of good health need to apply in everyday life.”?Author’s annotation to this passage—if one is experiencing pain in a certain area of the body such as the neck and shoulder area––that is attributed to the throat chakra, which resonates with communication and other alignments associated with that area.??It is important to pay attention to those blockages to stay fully healthy and balanced.?When one is not balanced it affects the other, meaning injuries affect communication as communication triggers stiffness and tension.??One affects the other.??It’s important to do some form of exercise to help release stress and tension, which keeps the synovial fluid building in the joints and––at the same time, increases the serotonin in your body which is the hormone that makes you feel better.?It puts you in a better mood––to effectively communicate––your wants, needs or desires.?

Some good exercises are if you are not very agile and have a considerable amount of pain from arthritis, spinal stenosis, herniated discs, inflammatory diseases, or autoimmune disorders are––chair yoga breathing exercises, light stretching exercises, or aquatic therapy exercises.??Physical therapists often teach these, but many do not follow through with these exercises at home, causing repeated injuries or pain.??Strength building is important, as is movement.??Each time we move a joint in any of our extremities, the synovial fluid in our joints builds up––its role is to cushion the joint.??If we don’t build up that fluid, the joint becomes stiff, and therefore you will have more pain.??Many people don’t understand that concept of movement.??This is why when we make up in the morning, after not moving for some time, we are initially stiff.??If you don’t exercise––this alignment will become exacerbated.??When we age, we lose the ability to produce as much synovial fluid, so it is important to stay active.?The more active you are, the more likely you are moving your joints even in general activities of daily living.??These physical activities, whether they are subtle or more aggressive, determine how much synovial fluid and serotonin are produced within your body.???It works together to compliment an outcome.??

This is an example of a simple exercise that can make all the difference in the world with shoulder pain.?You can do these exercises in the water or sitting in a chair––it’s your choice.

Start with shoulder shrugs. ?

Then round shoulders going forward, then backwards.

Using your body weight or a light weight, flat fist or palms push the water away from you, maintaining shoulders underwater––keeping good posture, stretch your arms straight out in front and bend coming back… ?

“Water workouts are a wonderful way to promote health and wellness. Doing exercises in water can be easier on the joints and provides resistance to help tone your muscles.”?––“When first starting out again, you want to go slow, and use your own body weight, however as you progress to can add water resistance dumbbells, zero-impact footwear, or x-cuffs to your wrists to provide increased resistance. Treading water is a good exercise––doing lunges in a shallow pool is also a good exercise. Implementing stretching exercises and modified yoga types of techniques in the shallow end of a pool is an excellent choice as well. ––For therapeutic purposes it is always best to use a warm pool, with a temperature from 88 degrees to 92 degrees as it relaxes the muscles to reduce tension.”

Author's annotation--whichever method you choose––make sure it is a choice that you will follow through on.?The only person that can truly motivate you––is you. So, set yourself up for success.