Category: Health

Pre-Surgery Preparation: Prayer and Meditation

I’m having surgery tomorrow morning. Early. Check in time is 6:45 AM, with surgery scheduled for 7:00. I’m not looking forward to it, but who ever really looks forward to having surgery. I’m worried. Okay, more than a little anxious about the pain, since the type of surgery I’m having is rumored to be excruciating.

In an effort to keep my teeth decay-free during this horrid two and a half years of wearing braces, I’ve overzealously brushed and flossed and managed to severely damage the gums around my bottom four front teeth. Because of the gum recession, the bone density of the roots on two of the teeth has already decreased to such a dangerously low point that I am at risk of losing the teeth. Ugh!

 

Surgery preparations—

Of course there is a mile-long list of things I must do and must not do prior to the procedure. Like: stop all anti-inflammatory meds (like Advil, ibuprofen, etc.) four days prior to surgery so my blood clotting capability isn’t affected; and no concentrated caffeine drinks, like Red Bull. (No problem there.) No strenuous exercise 24 hours before surgery (I should have asked him to define “strenuous.”) And stop food and water intake six hours before.

 

 The process—

He’ll be carving out tissue from the roof of my mouth and making new gum out of it to cover up the exposed roots. To enhance healing, he’ll be drawing my blood and mixing the platelets and stem cells with tissue and applying that to the wound. I won’t be able to apply ice packs anywhere near the surgery site (ice is always my pain treatment go-to) because any pressure to the surgical site can undo the delicate tissue. So much for the hoped-for ice.

Recovery time is six weeks, with the first several days off-limits to chewing, sucking liquids through a straw, (the vacuum can undo the sutures and tissue), or tooth brushing in that area. (I don’t think I’m going to attempt to brush any tooth in my mouth those first several days!) Room temperature liquids and swishing with water will be the norm.

Along with a lot of pain.

And that’s what I’m preparing the most for.

 

Meditating for mental (and physical) success—

The last thing I want to do is go into the morning exhausted and mentally overwhelmed. So I needed to spend today (the day before surgery) in mental and spiritual preparation for this three-hour, anesthesia-blessed procedure. I’m laying low, resting, doing some last-minute tidying up around the house so I can recover in a clean, dust-free environment.

And I’m spending a lot of time praying.

I’m asking God to prepare my body and mind for this, and to respond well, and joyfully. After all, my concern led to questioning the condition of my teeth, and two dentists recommending the best oral surgeon in town, a guy who uses the latest and greatest procedures to maximize success. And I managed to get this done before being surprised—like when my two front teeth might have ended up in a crisp apple I had just ripped into.

I’m thanking God for going ahead of me to prepare the procedure room, every last bit of equipment and the doctor and his assistant for the surgery. I’m requesting that God guides the doctor’s hands, and the assistant’s. I’m praying the procedure will go better than expected, and faster, with accelerated healing.

 

I’m also doing a lot of deep breathing exercise because that has the potential to decrease my stress and agitation and improve my immune system. (It’s the breathing in yoga exercises that makes that activity so successful health-wise.) Adding some light stretching will help, since I’ll be stuck in that chair for so long.

 

And I’m playing some of my favorite praise and worship songs, both high energy and low, to remind myself of God’s presence and promises and to increase my sense of awareness and presence—the state of mind and body posture one assumes when facing intimidating or stressful circumstances.

 

Overall goal—

In a nutshell, I’m focusing. And I’ll be leaning into the recovery. Resting as much as I need, or my body dictates. Setting aside other distractions. Maintaining a sense of peace and quiet amidst lots (or as much as possible) of smiles and laughter, even if they have to be internal. Doing a lot of general reading, which is a favorite activity I never have enough time for. I’m really looking forward to that!

And I’ll be spending a lot of time with my dogs, gazing into their eyes. Studies have shown that people holding gazes with their dogs showed increases in different hormones, like oxytocin, which is a feel-good hormone. Letting them give you pooch smooches also helps, but I won’t be able to allow them to do that. Too much risk to the graft.

 

It’s not going to be easy, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to describe it as fun. But if everything goes according to plan, it won’t have to be as scary or painful or disrupting emotionally, physically or spiritually as it could be.

 

Reader request—

I would appreciate your prayers. At this point, I’m planning to be away from the blog for two weeks, so please check back around July 9 for the next Mediation Mondays installment.

 

Until then, thanks for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers, and be thinking about how you can lighten your mental and physical load through planned and structured meditation!

 

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo Copyright Desiring God

When Walking is Bad for You

Walking is one of the most rewarding forms of exercise, physically, mentally and spiritually. You can walk and pray, you can walk and socialize with a walking buddy. You can strengthen the body, heart and mind. It’s inexpensive and handy—just lace up those walking shoes, step outside and hit the road.

So, with all of these phenomenal benefits, why would I say that there might be a reason for when you shouldn’t walk?

Today I’m going to cover one big one.

You need to rethink walking for exercise if you are an urban dweller.

 

A 2016 University of Cambridge study published in Preventive Magazine indicated that the benefits of walking in polluted city air far outweighed the negatives. But they used a computerized health model, not real people for their research.

Now a new study published in The Lancet, one of the world’s oldest and best-known, peer-reviewed medical journals, suggests that where you choose to walk does matter.

 

What happens when you walk those city streets—

Researchers found that walking along heavily polluted streets does cancel out many of walking’s benefits.

The researchers gathered 119 people, all over the age of 60. Of this group, 40 of them were considered healthy, 40 had diagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is a chronic inflammatory lung disease, and 39 had ischemic heart disease, a condition caused by artery narrowing that reduces blood flow and oxygenation to the tissues.

Then the researchers gave them their walking assignments. Some were instructed to walk two hours a day along London’s Oxford Street, a downtown road heavily traversed by buses and cars. The other group spent two hours strolling through a quiet part of London’s Hyde Park.

After each workout, the researchers measured the pollution concentration in each location and then measured the following health markers in the participants:

  • lung capacity
  • breathlessness
  • wheezing
  • coughing
  • arterial stiffness (related to high blood pressure).

 

What do you think the researchers discovered?

If you think that walking in Hyde Park allowed the walkers to experience better health, you’d be partially right. Actually, they experienced big improvements in lung capacity and arterial stiffness.

After the participants walked along Oxford Street, inhaling its air pollutants, they experienced modest improvements in their lung capacity, but they experienced a worsening of arterial stiffness. Those findings led the researchers to suggest that the poor air quality negated many of walking’s benefits.

 

What about the COPD walkers? While they did experience some lung capacity improvements during their walks in both locations, the researchers considered the improvement to be negligible.

But the walkers with COPD demonstrated more respiratory issues, like coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath, after walking Oxford Street. They also ended up with more arterial stiffness.

The walkers with heart disease also suffered in the polluted urban environment. Unless they were taking cardiovascular drugs, which appeared to offer some protection against the bad air, they suffered more severe arterial stiffness.

Kian Fan Chung, lead researcher and professor of respiratory medicine at Imperial College London’s National Heart and Lung Institute, said, “You should avoid polluted areas for doing any form of exercise, specifically walking.” He added that if an outdoor, less-polluted green space is not available, then you should probably exercise indoors.

And I think even suburban dwellers need to think carefully about when and where they walk around their neighborhoods.

 

 

Case Study—

Within the last thirteen months, I’ve suffered and recovered from a decent bout of pneumonia and been diagnosed with lung nodules. Not large enough yet to be considered cancerous, but still there, and disconcerting. My once clean lungs have caused me to rethink, re-plan, and re-execute my neighborhood-walking program.

After trying both late afternoon and morning walking programs, I’ve discovered the times people are usually leaving for work, which means I get to inhale a lot of carbon monoxide fumes and burned gasoline byproducts if I walk when they drive. I usually end up feeling worse when I arrive home. And I cough a lot.

So when the weather was cooler, I’d wait until after 9:00 AM to walk, or walk around 3:00, before the coming-home rush. That worked well for several months.

But now it’s HOT, and I can’t handle walking in the blazing inferno here in Tucson. (I’m a beach babe by design, not a desert rat.) So I needed to alter my walking times again.

On the weekend, the engineer and I roll out of bed at 4:30 AM, get dressed and drive to a local mountain to walk while the sun’s rising and for about an hour after it starts warming up the desert floor. At a 2.25 mph pace (this mountain’s grade is STEEP!), we can do the 2.9 miles up and back in about an hour and twenty minutes. But now we’re walking up, back, up halfway and then back down to increase our mileage and stamina for our hike over the Pyrenees for our Camino pilgrimage.

On weekdays, we’ve switched to strapping on our headlamps and walking at night around our neighborhood. We’ve discovered that garden spiders are nocturnal and have the most glorious, prism-like eyeballs that reflect our light beams! Sometimes we even catch cottontail bunnies or a pack rat enjoying the cooler night air. And we can also see the airborne dust particles floating across the light beams. We’re stunned at how much dust floats around us that we never see! But it’s a truly lovely time of day to walk.

But when it’s windy here and the dust is really flying, I head to the gym to walk on a treadmill. I’m allergic to dust (really), and it’s one of the environmental issues that will clog up my respiratory track and flatten me within hours. This year, thank the Lord, is the first time in three or four springs that I have NOT succumbed to dust-triggered bronchitis or pneumonia!

I think my new training plan is reaping benefits!

 

 

How about you?

Where and when do you usually walk (run or bike), and is it a potential health hazard for you?

Would it be possible for you to drive to a green belt location or park to walk instead of walking vehicle-clogged city streets?

Start monitoring your breathing after walking in different environments, and maybe measuring your blood pressure.

 

NEXT WEEK: More on walking, and finding green space to enjoy it!

Until then,

Happy walking, wherever it may be!

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photos courtesy of Google Images

Are You Growing the Right Direction?

Have you ever noticed how some trellising plants grow, like wisteria or delicate jasmine?

I’ve been watching my recently potted pink jasmine twining itself up the trellis I planted it in front of. And I noticed something fascinating. On just the second day, after it shot up overnight!

It naturally grows and loops counter-clockwise.

(For all of you master gardeners, who already know this fact, please don’t laugh!)

Every individual shoot twines that way, even when it runs out of supporting trellis and has no choice but to sag and then loop back down, it winds down the support in a counter-clockwise direction.

When I tried to get it to go the other direction, (I’m a scientist; I like to experiment!), it sagged or tried to unwind and rewind itself. Clearly, the growth genes in it weren’t happy, and resisted my efforts.

 

And then I started thinking that the same thing happens to me. When I’m not growing and developing and maturing the right direction, I sag and try to rewind. Even if I can’t put my finger on what’s happening, I can feel it.

I struggle emotionally, physically and spiritually. My life is unbalanced and chaotic. I’m not very fruitful, and I’m almost always frustrated. And oh, so tired.

 

Goad kicking—

In Jesus’ terms, I’m “kicking against the goad.” Which is hard. I’m resisting what the Holy Spirit wants me to do, resisting the life He has planned for me. The best life! I’m living life with one foot in my faith and the other on a spiritual (worldly) banana peel. Which isn’t a very stable, fruitful, (or pleasant) way to live.

If I try to rewind my jasmine and force it to grow another way or direction it isn’t designed to grow, I end up with a chaotic looking plant. And probably a stunted one. Lopsided. With ugly gaps.

If I give it the water, nutrients, and sunlight it needs, and maybe just help it get started in its tendril-support searching, I can stand back and watch it grow vigorously. It’s symmetrical and fascinating. It properly fills in the open spaces and is pleasing to observe. It brings me satisfaction and joy. I don’t really need to do much work to have it grow into a beautiful plant, because I’m allowing (and encouraging) it to do what it was designed to do.

 

How about you?

Are you growing the right direction, the way you were designed to grow? Allowing the Holy Spirit to nurture you and guide your growth? To provide the right support?

Or are you fighting your natural growth and His leading; and, in the process, wasting precious time, energy and resources.

 

For the weekend—

I know. It’s a holiday here in the U.S., but a three-day weekend is a perfect time to settle back and think about things in life.

Take some time this weekend to make some “field notes” on yourself. Like a biologist, environmentalist, or any other outdoor scientist does when assessing nature and what it tends to do naturally.

It won’t take long. Jot down the major areas of your life—physical, emotional and spiritual, and maybe work, family, personal relationships—and make some notes on how you’re growing in these areas. Don’t write down how you should be growing; just how you seem to be growing right now.

If you want, put happy, sad, or neutral faces next to each one. For now, just do the preliminary assessment without making any self-judgment calls.

Be a scientist researching yourself. Make it entertaining and fun.

 

NEXT WEEK: we’ll look more at how you should be growing. And what you might need to correct the direction you’re growing so you can be healthy, strong, and fruitful!

Until then, enjoy some plants and beautiful gardens!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

How to Begin an Effective Walking Program (Part 1)

Want to get started on an exercise program but haven’t done any exercising for a while, or ever?

Try walking!

 

You’ve probably heard about the benefits of a walking program, like—

  • Social benefits
  • Brain health
  • Heart health
  • Toning and weight loss
  • and, best of all, Mental health—Getting Outside in Nature and Fresh Air!

We’ll cover the benefits in more detail in future posts. But today we’ll look at how to get a walking program started.

 

First things first—

If you’re just starting a walking program, what do you think you first need to consider?

If you said your conditioning level, you’d be partially correct. But we’ll cover that point next week.

The first things you need to consider are:

  1. Where you’ll be walking; and
  2. What equipment you’ll need.

 

Equipment? Yup. Those shoes you’ll put on your walking feet.

 

One of my specialties in sports medicine was the biomechanics of the lower extremities. A fancy title for how the hips, thighs, knees, legs, ankles and feet work together when moving, or ambulating, to be exact, on a surface. I would observe you walking across a floor or on a treadmill and discern where you had a biomechanical problem in any of those areas that might cause injuries in a particular joint or body part.

One of the courses sparking my interest in this area was the conference “When Your Foot Hits the Ground, Everything Changes!” And it’s so true! Your gait can cause a chain reaction that spreads clear up to the spine, trunk and shoulders. And neck and head.

 

I can’t stop evaluating people’s movements. It’s automatic for me to mentally assess everyone I see out on the road running or walking. I cringe when I see people running (or some version you’d try to describe as running) and know they’d be better off physically and efficiency-wise walking rather than doing what they’re doing. It makes me shudder to see them move. And my brain automatically compiles a list of all of the physical problems they must have, or will likely have from their efforts.

 

      

 

First—What’s your training surface?  

This is one of the first things a knowledgeable sales person will ask you. What do you plan to use your shoes for? Running, walking, cross-training, etc.

And you need to know what kind of surface you plan to train on.

Will it be asphalt, packed dirt, a combination, inside track, treadmill? Your surface will decide the shoe tread and style.

 

For example, I’m training to walk the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrimage path in France and Spain. It covers a range of surfaces, including asphalt, hard packed dirt and other assorted surfaces, if I wander off the main path. My first choice would be trail running/walking shoes. Why? Because they have great, nubby soles that grip uneven surfaces. They’re good for day hikes on mountain paths and trail running.

But those great little grabby nubbies will quickly break down on asphalt. For asphalt, I’d need a road shoe. So I may carry both with me.

Sound indulgent? For me, it’s critical. My feet are so beaten up and broken down from gymnastics and dance that I need shoes that will go the distance (and surface) for me. And because of my flat feet, plantar fasciitis and pronation-supination problems, I have to be really picky. My shoe choice is an Altra.

I fell in love with my Altra trail shoes, with their wide toe boxes that let my toes splay out, wiggle and breathe. I violated my own rules with them, though, and wore them everywhere, so they broke down quickly, and I have to buy another pair. This time, though, I’ll be buying both the trail and road models. And I’m also training in Keen hiking boots that have a lower ankle profile, since I don’t like the high ankle style. It’s too constricting for me. My older son swears by the higher ankle, though. The takeaway?

 

Get the type of shoes you need and feel comfortable in!

 

FYI: I DO NOT get any money from Altra shoes for recommending them. There are a lot of good shoes out there. Do your research, go to a good store, a store focused on runners and walkers and outdoor enthusiasts is best, although I wouldn’t recommend Big 5. While I have purchased shoes there (they often sell last year’s models at reduced prices), I know what I’m looking for. But I have my doubts about whether their sales staff is knowledgeable enough about shoes to make a good recommendation, or fit you properly.

I’m a REI shopper. Their staff is knowledgeable and helpful! Summit Hut would be another great place to go too. But in either case, I do not recommend purchasing shoes online, unless you’ve already tried them on in a store, or you’re re-ordering a shoe you know works for you!

 

Then—what shoes to buy!

When a patient came in to see me, one of the first things I did was evaluate their shoes.

  • Were they wearing running shoes or shoes made for walking or tennis, or just casual strolling?
  • What did the wear patterns on the bottom of their shoes tell me about their gate or issues they might have?
  • Did they need orthotics or “posting” in their shoes to help alleviate stressors?

 

And the big question?

Had they outworn their shoes? Had their shoes broken down to a point where they needed to be trashed and new shoes purchased. Take Note! A typical exercise shoe, if worn daily, will last you only 3 -5 months (although some manufacturers claim a longer period). Ask the sales person how many miles you could expect to put on the shoe before having to replace it. That will give you a better idea of how long they’ll last. But don’t balk at buying an expensive shoe. This piece of equipment is critical to your physical health! A fact most people never think about.

 

What shoe is right for you?

Shoes are usually built on what is called a last—a mechanical form having the same shape or form as a human foot. Back when I was in practice, most shoes were built on a man’s last, meaning everyone—male and female—had shoes built primarily for a man, with only minor modifications made. Yuck!

Today, women’s shoes are built on a women’s last (thank goodness!). And you have a wide variety from which to choose! (That can be a challenge just by itself!)

So the first thing you need to do is buy the right shoes! And to buy the right shoes, you need to make a few notes about what kind you need.

 

First, decide whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, advanced or extreme exerciser. Your answer will help in selecting the shoe that’s best for your ability level.

And PLEASE don’t plan to wear the shoes you’ve had in your closet for years, or the ones you use to clean up the backyard. Your feet change over the years, and you need shoes that accommodate that change. Do you have flat feet that need more support? Do you have high arches that need a ton of support? Do your feet roll inward when you walk? Does your forefoot roll outward when you push off?

Spend some time watching yourself walk, by walking toward a big mirror at a gym or at home. Watch your feet, how they move. Have someone stand behind you and watch you walk forward. What do they see? Write it down. Then take that information with you to a GOOD shoe store, one where the sales staff understands shoes and styles and customer needs, and don’t just try to sell you the “latest and greatest” and priciest model.

Try them on with the socks you plan to wear. Run around the floor with them on. Jump up and down. Don’t pick out the cheapest just because they’re cheap. Plan to spend some money and pick out comfortable shoes that do what you need them to do.

Your feet—and the rest of your body—will be so happy you did!

 

 

And take care of those shoes!

You’ll make a big investment in your footwear, so take care of your shoes so they can take care of you.

  • Lace them correctly!
  • Unlace them when removing them, instead of stepping on them with the opposite foot to yank them off. You’ll break down the back of the shoe.
  • Remove the liners/arch supports, if they come with them, to air out.
  • Keep them clean and remove the rocks and pebbles that might lodge in the treads.
  • Know how your shoes should be cleaned and clean them properly.
  • Don’t squash them in your bag or suitcase. Make sure they have room so they won’t get broken down when packed.

 

For those of you who would like to get a jumpstart on researching shoes, here’s a link to a great article in “The Strategist.” It lists some of what they think are the best running, training and workout shoes available for women and why. (They even have tips for beginners.) You can find good shoe recommendations for men on their site too.

Have fun shoe shopping!

http://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-running-shoes-workout-shoes-women.html

 

NEXT WEEK—we’ll talk about the progression of a good (effective) walking program and how to get the most benefit from it. I’ll give you some tips to avoid injuries and even cover why a walking program may not be good for you.

 

Until then,

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

How to Forgive What You Can NEVER Forget

“On the day I forgave my father, my life began.”

                                                                                                —Pat Conroy

 

Do you find it hard to forgive what you can’t forget? Do you think you need to forget in order to fully forgive? Do you think you must automatically trust and reconcile once you’ve forgiven someone?

These are just some of the hard questions Dr. David Stoop covers in his priceless little book Forgiving What You’ll NEVER Forget. I picked it up in the Midway airport in Chicago while suffering through a ten-hour flight delay. (Now I’m sort of thankful for the delay!)

For those of you unfamiliar with Dr. Stoop, he is a clinical psychologist who can be regularly heard on New Life Live radio program. He founded the Center for Family Therapy in Newport Beach, California and is an adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary.

 

The back cover blurb says:

“Forgiveness is an essential part of being a Christian, but that doesn’t make it easy. What do we do when confronted with the unforgivable—an act that shakes our moral foundations to their roots, often committed by someone trusted and loved? Murder, sexual, abuse, adultery—all leave lifelong wounds. Thankfully, they are all trespasses that, through the grace of God, can be forgiven.

“Dr. David Stoop compassionately guides you down a biblical road, from the pain of bitter hurt to the peace found only in heartfelt forgiveness, even for the worst of offenses. In doing so, he opens up the way for you to experience the freedom that forgiveness brings.”

 

So just how do you forgive the unforgivable?

I think most of us have asked ourselves that question at one point, or many, in our lives. If you’re a follower of Christ, you feel obligated or moved by compassion and love of our Savior to forgive. If you’re not a believer, you might be more moved to get even or stay angry. Forever.

 

The 160-page, almost pocket-sized book contains chapters on—

  • Apology Not Accepted—including the definition of forgiveness, the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation, and when it’s difficult to consider forgiveness
  • Myths and Truths about Forgiveness—this chapter includes some great questions to determine where you fall on the forgiveness spectrum and understanding common fallacies and myths about forgiveness
  • A Radical Forgiveness—this covers the history of God’s forgiving nature throughout Scripture, including the Old Testament and a comparison of Jewish and Christian teachings on forgiveness; and Christians’ tendency toward conditional forgiveness.
  • Choosing to Forgive—Stoop discusses the false paths of denial and bitterness we sometimes take. He also covers self-blame, obsession with the event, depression and shame along with seeking revenge and withdrawing. And he talks about the potential dangers of denial.
  • The Path of Forgiveness—Interestingly enough, forgiving often involves a path that looks like the five stages of grief, with grief, anger, sadness, action steps to achieve forgiveness, exploring the possibility of reconciliation, and then learning     to trust again, which can be a huge obstacle for some to overcome.
  • Forgiving Ourselves—This issue can be tough for a couple of reasons: sometimes we don’t think about doing it; and, sometimes our standards are higher than God’s.
  • A Step Beyond Forgiveness—This chapter contains some amazing stories on the power of forgiveness and prayer—to move toward forgiving someone who really doesn’t deserve it, binding and loosening sins, and being freed from bitterness. It’s about stepping out beyond what you thought, and knew, were humanly possible to see God’s power work in and through you to change lives.
  • The Benefits of Forgiveness—There are numerous benefits received when you forgive, including physical, emotional, relational and spiritual benefits.

 

Dr. Stoop wraps up the book by addressing some of the most common questions asked about forgiveness.

This little gem is a short read, but not necessarily an easy one. It could rekindle some pain and bitter memories you wanted to keep dormant. It could challenge your beliefs and behavior. It could move you to positive action. But if you work through the questions at the end of each chapter, and put into practice what the author counsels, I know you’ll feel free!

 

Forgiving What You’ll NEVER Forget is available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle editions and on barnesandnoble.com.

 

 

 

Until next week,

May your heart and mind be lightened by forgiveness!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).