Mental Health – Page 10 – Andrea Arthur Owan

The Important of Daily Stretching: Reducing Injury and the Effects of Aging

A lot of folks think stretching is just for athletes, young people, or yoga and Pilates devotees.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Stretching is important at all stages of life to maintain healthy, fluid and well-oiled joints, functioning muscles, balance and flexibility. It also helps reaction time.

Stretching should be a part of everyone’s daily wellness routine.

As gymnasts, we usually stretched as a group, before and following practice. Sometimes we helped each other stretch. The encouragement and aid helped.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a buddy, or guide, take you through a dedicated stretching routine?

Stretch help is on the way!

It turns out that a big massage chain has done just that—developed a dedicated stretching program.

Experts, who, between them, have 85 collective years of studying the functional movements of professional athletes and performers, have developed it through extensive research.

The method consists of ten targeted stretches that work from your top down. The stretches are designed to help your muscles reach their maximum flexibility.

The stretches are designed to be to be slow and deliberate traction techniques. The stretch “providers” take you through this guided stretching, which gently moves you beyond your resistance points. The goal is to increase circulation, reduce tension from the head down to your toes and improved muscle function.

The providers—who are knowledgeable in kinesiology (study of human movement) and anatomy—are all professionally trained and certified in the technique.

Sessions can be enjoyed in thirty or sixty-minute increments.

My opinion—

I haven’t given it a go yet. I’ll need to wait for my knee injury to calm down (since one of the stretches involves kneeling and leaning back on your heals) before trying it out. But I’m excited about the possibilities.

It’s a lot more fun and effective to have a “coach” guiding you through movements and workouts. And I’m going to guess that includes stretching!

Until next Wednesday, keep stretching and flexing that body! Ease and joy of movement can make life so much more enjoyable.

Blessings,

Andrea


Andrea Arthur Owan is an award-winning inspirational writer, fitness pro and chaplain. She writes and works to help people live their best lives—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

How to Make the Most Out of Life: Building Friendships

Want to broaden and strengthen your friendships and relationships? It could be one of the most important things you do to make you physically, emotionally and spiritually healthier.

Last month we started a series on developing and building friendships, something all of us need. Even the most righteous and Spirit-filled believer needs someone with skin on her. Even our Lord had His special twelve, and his intimate three. Why would we think we could go it alone?

Last week we looked at taking the first step on that journey: taking your whole person into account. Rather than take a shotgun or dart-throwing approach to friendship building, we need to know ourselves—our strengths, weaknesses, desires and needs—as we embark on friendship finding and building. In a nutshell, we need to discriminate based on that list.

Getting practical and proactive in friendship building—

After you’ve taken your whole person into account and made a thorough personal assessment, you can move forward. Today we’ll look at two suggestions for friendship building.

Get yourself out there!

You won’t make too many friends, or strengthen old friendships, if you don’t get busy and get visible. Some of the best ways are to:

Try something new—a painting or drawing class, taking music lessons, joining an exercise class that gives you the opportunity to interact with others.
Volunteer—join a board that works to achieve something you hold near and dear to your heart. When I volunteered at the local food bank, I had the pleasure of meeting all sorts of interesting people and even having the opportunity to interact with some of them outside of the volunteer setting.
A friend of mine who recently moved to another state got busy joining the local Newcomers Club, a church and one of its small groups, and Bible study. She also has a knack for talking to nearly every new person she meets, so she quickly racked up new friends and opportunities.
Join a hobby group—our younger son, who is 24, recently commented to my husband that he realized the one thing that was missing from his life was a hobby. My husband laughed, probably because he has too many hobbies going. “I really need a hobby,” Cory said. He correctly views a healthy hobby as one that helps him release work stress and engage his mind in different ways than his work does. It’s a win-win physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Find a place to gather with others.

People tend to like having a place to go to meet others, and it needs to be a comfortable place. Your local Mexican restaurant is likely not it. Why? That type of environment is too noisy and too busy to be able to focus on others and share your heart. Some places that make gathering locales are:

Library activity rooms—a writers group I belong to meets every Friday in a nearby library. It has been a fabulous place to meet others and make some new friends.
Quiet coffee shops
Parks
Community Centers
Meet-up Groups
Church rooms available for meetings
House rotation—have others over for tea, lunch or dinner and then ask others to host at their homes, if they are able. That way one person doesn’t feel burdened with hosting every time. We rotate between homes in one of my writing groups. And if someone needs to bow out at the last minute for some reason, another member quickly jumps in to fill that roll. There are only five of us, so it’s a close-knit group.

Think of other places you can meet, or groups you might want to start.

In response to a prompting I felt from the Lord, I started a small women’s group about a decade ago. We met at my home the second Saturday of every month and arranged occasional get-togethers with the family members in our backyard. Grilling, swimming and dining on S’mores made over an outdoor fire pit are quick ways to form friendships! The group last seven to eight years, and we opened our hearts to one another and formed special bonds. We studied the Bible together and prayed fervently for one another. When one of us had family issues or faced illnesses or death, we circled the wagons around one another for support.

As you read this post, does anything come to mind that you’d enjoy or think you’d like to start? Pray about it and about the people you think the Lord would like you to be-friend or gather with.

He knows best what your needs are.

Next week we’ll look at two more ways to bolster friendship building.

Until then, check library bulletin boards, community center activities pages, and Google search for meet-up groups in your area. You’ll probably be surprised to find the number of activities that will spark your interest.

Blessings,

Andrea


Andrea Arthur Owan is an award-winning inspirational writer, fitness pro and chaplain. She writes and works to help people live their best lives—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

How to Build Friendships: Taking the Whole Person Into Account

In this over-saturated, social media-driven world, we are finding ourselves lost, lonely, depressed and needing to return to the basics of life. (Anyone remember the song with that title by 4Him? I’ll supply the link at the end of this post.)

Building friendships and having a rich life—

First things first—

When you’re looking to make new friendships, deepen old ones, or considering whether or not a friendship has run its course (yes, that does happen), the first thing you can examine is you.

Take your whole person into account.

You’ll want to take a deep, introspective look at the five components of you, as a human being. Those components are:

Physical
Intellectual
Emotional
Social
Spiritual

These five components are needs you have. Needs that—when addressed and enriched—can provide you with a healthy, well-balanced and happy life.

To get started, you might ask yourself the following questions?

What is my current physical (health) state, and what do I need to do to improve or maintain it? What kind of physical activities do I enjoy and does my body respond positively to? What physical activities enhance my other needs?
How can I stimulate my intellectual side and keep my brain and cognitive functions active and as young as possible? (Physical activity is important for this too.) Would I like to learn a new language? Learn to play a musical instrument? Take a gourmet cooking class? An art class?
Would I make new friends and receive more social stimulation if I join a fitness class or a local hiking or cycling group? Would museum memberships or outings stimulate my brain? What about book clubs, or newcomers club if I’ve recently moved to a new area?
Is there a fellowship or Bible study group I could join that would enrich me in multiple areas—intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual? A volunteer position?
Is there something you and a current friend can do together? A friend of mine has a weekly, standing lunch date with another friend of hers. Sometimes they sit for hours and chat while eating. Gathering around a meal is one of the best ways to learn about one another and deepen friendships.

This same friend and I had a marvelous day at the zoo on the first day of spring this year. I’d been lamenting the fact that my boys were grown and gone, and we would no longer celebrate the first day of spring together with a “spring fling” day, when I’d give them the day off from home schooling, and we’d hit the zoo and swings at a local park.

But while languishing in my self-pity, the Lord reminded me that I wasn’t dead yet and that I could still celebrate spring fling day with a friend. We had a glorious time together, and ALL of the animals (except the rhino) were out on full, happy display for us on the gorgeous first day of spring. It was truly a day made in heaven! I even took pictures and texted them to the boys. “You’re at the ZOO!” came the return texts. Sharing the day with them that way resurrected some sweet memories for them. And I made a precious new one with a special friend!

It was a stimulating day physically, (3 weeks post-surgery, I hobbled around in a knee brace), emotionally, intellectually, socially, and spiritually.

A win-win all around!

Your turn—

Spend some time this week meditating on which areas/needs you’re not meeting and jotting down some ideas that could get you going in meeting them. Really take your whole person into account.

And here’s that YouTube video of the song—

Next week we’ll talk about getting out there and finding places to gather.

Blessings,

Andrea

What Kind of Christian Message Are You Sending Others?

It was the kind of behavior that made us angry, and embarrassed Christians.

On our return flight from Seattle, where we spent ten heavenly days visiting our twenty-something cherubs, my husband had an encounter with the woman occupying an exit-row seat next to him. She had the middle seat, while her husband languished at the window. My husband relished extending his six-foot, one-inch frame in the aisle seat. I, however, was enjoying life in first class, where my selfless spouse had deposited me after cashing in one of his bucket full of available upgrades.

As the other passengers boarded the plane, the woman’s controlling personality immediately emerged.

During boarding, a flight attendant made an announcement that the plane had the new, roomier overhead luggage compartments. Fliers were instructed to put their luggage in them wheels first and then turn the bags sideways, so they rested on their sides. That allowed for more bags to be placed in each compartment—side-by-side.

There were two problems: The announcement was made only once, so not all of the passengers heard him; and I think most of the boarding fliers were so pre-occupied with finding their seats that they only half-heard, or half-understood the instructions.

But never fear! My husband’s eagle-eyed row mate appointed herself the luggage compartment-inserter inspector and corrected every passenger’s improper loading technique within her crosshairs. After a half-dozen such instructions, my husband said, “It’s okay. I think it’ll get worked out.” To which she vehemently disagreed. He repeated himself more firmly and told her the flight attendant would make sure it would be done correctly. After all, that is one of their jobs. She quieted down but was not pleased.

She went back to her big Bible, which she had pulled out and opened up to read as soon as she sat down. Her husband was busy reading his Bible too. Chris couldn’t tell if he was oblivious to her behavior or trying to ignore it.

Then, during the special instruction time all exit-row occupants must receive per FAA regulations—where the attendant asks each of you whether or not you would be able to assist in the event the doors need to be opened and are willing to help others exit the plane, this woman brushed off the flight attendant trying to get her attention with a dismissive hand wave, so she could stay focused on her Bible.

To get this Bible-reading woman’s attention, the attendant had to lean across my husband and get in the woman’s face and sternly say, “No, you’re going to stop what you’re doing right now and pay attention to me and give me a response, or I’m going to have you move to another seat.”

The woman harrumphed in irritation but complied.

Then, not long after takeoff, she reached up and turned off my husband’s air conditioning vent. After several seconds of stunned silence, he said, “That’s my air vent.”

The woman practically sneered at him, as she replied, “No, it’s not.”

“Oh, yes, yes, it is. You see,” my husband pointed to each vent as he said, “this one is mine and you have one and your husband has one. You can control yours.” He reached back up and swiveled the air nozzle to open.

This woman’s domineering behavior would not be suppressed. She reached up and shut of my husband’s vent again. My husband has a fuse a mile long, but he’d had enough. He leaned over and said in his most authoritative tone: “If you do that again, I’m going to call the flight attendant.”

Clearly unaccustomed to people standing up for themselves, she leaned back and responded with an elongated, exaggerated “Welll!”

But the air vent stayed on, and Chris rode home in comfort, with no additional problems from the Bible-reading row mate.

Until just prior to landing in Phoenix, when the Bible reader patted my husband’s arm and said, “You just don’t understand how we choose to live.”

My husband grinned. “Oh, you’d be surprised.”

Her mouth flew open.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first sorry interaction we’ve had with self-righteous Bible readers. We have plenty of stories just like it on our bad behavior examples list. That kind of behavior—and worse—drove our two boys away from gathering together in weekly worship at a congregation, and still keeps them away. They could no longer stand the hypocrisy within the church doors. I don’t know if they’ll ever go back.

It angers me.

Now, this woman might not have been a Christian. She might have been a Jehovah’s Witness. They’re notorious for carrying their Bibles with them wherever they go, making them visible, and spending every available moment reading them together. They don’t usually have much friendly interaction with those around them, either, unless they have to.

Or they might have been Mormon, but the Mormons are usually the friendliest, most polite apples in the barrel, so I’m going to guess they weren’t Joseph Smith devotees.

I’m going to sigh, and guess that they count themselves as true believers and the woman as someone who needs to control everyone else to feel in control. I can only imagine how she’s kept her husband and kids in line.

It’s a lesson to all of us to follow Paul’s admonitions to:

Err on the side of love;
Consider others as more important than yourself;
Be slow to speak, slow to anger; and, as Jesus said,
Be as sly as a serpent but as harmless as a dove.

Of course, I could fill pages with other Biblical instructions that say pretty much the same thing: Remember the One you represent, be filled with the Spirit (love, joy, patience, peace, long-suffering, etc.), and do not grieve the Holy Spirit by your words or actions.

Certainly, we can’t all be patient and perfect at all times, but it’s a lesson to all of us Christ-followers that others are watching, and so is the Lord.

Be careful that you don’t do anything that might bring shame upon Him, or drive others away from Him.

But there are other things about this that niggle at me:

Why does it always seem to be the women that are the most controlling? Where did we learn such behavior, who taught it to us, and why do we feel a need to be that way?

Thoughts to consider and make a personal evaluation on.

Hope you’re enjoying your summer! We’re breathlessly awaiting the monsoon rains here in the Southwest. The clouds are building, so we should be enjoying heat relief soon!

Until next week,

Andrea

“Certainly there was an Eden….We all long for it, and we are constantly glimpsing it.” —J.R.R. Tolkien

How to Make the Most Out of Life (Part 1)

A recent Guideposts magazine story (June/July 2019) talks about what’s important for a happy fulfilling life in your senior season of life: mental stimulation, spiritual nourishment, financial stability and good friends.

But my question is: why wait until the senior season of your life to pursue, seek out and enjoy those life components?

Aren’t they critical for a satisfying, well-balanced life in every season of life?

How did we get to this point?

I believe all of these components are critical and that only since the Industrial Age and now the Technology Age have we managed to compartmentalize ourselves in such a way that our life scales are thrown out of whack.

What quality of life do you have if you don’t have mental stimulation, spiritual nourishment, financial stability and good friends to share joys, pain and laughter?

Mental stimulation—

Some of us our over-stimulated mentally by our work schedules and job demands. To prove that truth, work or job “burn out” has recently become an official medical diagnosis. It isn’t always our fault—technology and a company’s demands that the employee always be connected, reachable and ridiculously overloaded—fuels the depression and burn out pattern. I really think employees need to start pushing back on that one, or do some serious self-analysis on how important that job or career is to them.

Plenty of millenials are doing just that—choosing to ditch the nine-to-five-plus rat race and opt for a richer, more stress-free life and fewer belongings. Kudos to them for prioritizing a little better than our generation or generations before us have.

Spiritual nourishment—

At any season of life we need spiritual nourishment. Study after study shows that people who worship regularly in a corporate setting and indicate they have a religious affiliation are happier and more satisfied with life. They also have better connections with others and are healthier mentally.

Unfortunately, this is an area many younger people have abdicated, adopting the erroneous belief that religious life is unnecessary, or eschewing church-going as old fashioned or believers too hypocritical.

I say they should get involved and be the instruments of compassion, kindness, and change they want to see. I believe they will eventually pay a steep price for abdicating this critical life component.

Financial stability—

Honestly, due to economic ups and downs and unpredictability, I’m not sure financial “stability” is ever achievable. But good goals are to always live below your means, within your means, save all you can, spend all you can, and give away all you can. And to live as debt-free as you possibly can. Being, and feeling like a slave to a lender is physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausting and depressing.

The common adage is that older adults live on a “fixed income.” But most people I know live on a fixed income of some sorts throughout their lives, unless they’re salespeople that depend on sales quotas, or company managers that enjoy yearly bonuses based on company performances.

Otherwise, you get the same paycheck week after week after week. And then maybe you get a raise. Even seniors get a yearly social security raise every year, even though it’s tiny and usually swallowed up by apartment or housing rent that increases accordingly.

Good friends—

How many good friends do you have? I mean really good friends. Not just friendly co-workers, classmates or acquaintances, but people with whom you can share your deepest thoughts?

People you can pray with, people who pray for you. The ones you can call in an emergency and who will be there for you.

I’m working on the friend component this week.

I’m visiting a friend who was by my side as we raised our children together. I was heartbroken when her husband transferred to a new job in a new state, MANY miles away, but I was determined to keep our friendship nurtured in spite of the physical distance that now spreads between us.

I didn’t want to allow our friendship to dissolve into infrequent text messaging or once-a-year Christmas card sending, so, as soon as they moved into their sprawling new home, (lots of bedrooms and no kids left at home), I told her to get the guest room ready for me to visit. Lucky me, she was happy to comply! (And I bought the airline ticket before my pragmatic brain told me no.)

And Chris and I did some friend nurturing Memorial Day weekend, too.

For my naturally-introverted husband, socializing can be taxing and stressful. To re-energize, he likes to spend time alone, or with just me, doing something we enjoy together, or just sitting on the couch enjoying Friday night movie time.

I, on the other hand, swing from lets-have-a-PARTY! extrovert, to I-desperately-need-some-time-alone, to hovering between the two extremes. Sometimes I re-energize through crowds and people contact; and sometimes I just have to be alone.

So when I expressed to Chris my desire to pack duffel bags and head 500 miles west to celebrate our friends’ daughter’s wedding, I didn’t exactly get a rousing “Yahoo!” response from him. I pretty much told him that I’d already replied with a yes. After several weeks of wrapping his brain around it, he warmed up to the idea.

And we had a blast!

Of course, I threw in a surprise two days post-wedding for us to spend on the beach in San Diego, not far from where we lived in a 32-foot fifth-wheel trailer when our older son was born. It was a walk down memory lane. And he couldn’t stop thanking me for both the wedding enjoyment followed by relaxing, no-stress down time. He returned home rejuvenated and happy. We both got the best of our own worlds!

I’m doing this trip alone, for some serious girl time. My friend says she has the week scheduled with outings, hiking, sightseeing, swim, sun and rest time.

The engineer and I have a couple other trips planned for this summer, to nurture our relationship and the family ties. Yes, taking them is going to cost us more than a financial counselor would advise us to spend, but we’re banking on the relationship, love building and joy out-weighing the financial burden.

Great motto to guide your life—

As John Wesley advised: Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can.

I think it’s pretty wise advise for life investment.

I’m just praying my trip East doesn’t come with tornadoes!

How about you?

What friendships will you nurture this summer?

Until next week,

Blessings,

Andrea

“Certainly there was an Eden….We all long for it, and we are constantly glimpsing it.” —J.R.R. Tolkien

Andrea Arthur Owan is an award-winning inspirational writer, fitness pro and chaplain. She writes and works to help people live their best lives—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.