Built to Move!

By Kemi Odu

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

Our bodies were designed by a Master Craftsman. Our brain is a super computer and our body system is so complicated that most of us really don’t even have a clue how it functions. Our Creator, God, actually made our bodies to move. We were not designed to sit around for long periods of time. In this digital age we find ourselves sitting a whole lot.

We sit to watch television, work on our computers and our desk at the office all day. We sit in long meetings or conferences; we sit in class at school or even with online classes in front of our laptop.
We sit on airplanes for long hours or in trains when we travel by rail. Even in our cars when we travel by road. We sit while using our phones to communicate on social media for extended periods of time or when we’re playing video games. Sometimes we even find ourselves “sitting away” the whole day.

A lot of us fail to understand that this sedentary lifestyle is having a negative impact on our health. Our ancestors didn’t have cars, they walked everywhere. They also didn’t have machinery to help make their work easier. Everything was done manually. When they migrated to different localities, they went by foot. Even Jesus and the disciples walked almost everywhere they went except when they had to travel by boat. Our ancestors lived longer and lived healthier. They walked everywhere and were engaged a lot of manual physical activities such as farming and hunting. But it seems that as each generation passes our lifestyle becomes more and more sedentary. For our bodies to function optimally we need physical activity and if we’re not getting it, we’re not taking good care of our bodies.

We’re doing ourselves a huge disservice. According to the Mayo Clinic (www.mayoclinic.org), regular physical activity can improve our muscle strength and boost our endurance. Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to our tissues and helps our cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when our heart and lung health improves, we have more energy to tackle daily chores.

According to 1 Corinthians 6:9, our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Knowing that the Holy Spirit lives inside of us should make us want to present Him with optimally functioning living quarters. 1Corinthians 6:20 goes on to say that we should honour God with our bodies; “you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies”. We’re not honouring God with our bodies if we do not proper care of them. Some doctors assert that regular exercise can cure almost every type of ailment.

Exercise can reduce the risk of major illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, metabolic syndrome, cancer, diabetes and stroke. Research has even sown that exercise can affect your sleep quality, lift your mood, your self esteem and boost your energy levels. Apparently our bodies need a minimum of 150 minutes of physical activity a week. Instead of driving, why don’t you take a walk or even cycle? We can even engage in static jogging in front of our television set or do some squats while watching our favourite programmes! Why not take the stairs instead of elevator. There are so many adjustments we can make in our daily lives to incorporate more movement. We need to be
intentional about it and consistency is the key to success in this regards! Apart from improving overall health, dermatologists insist that exercise improves the health of our skin.

We all know that exercise helps keep us from weight gain, and helps with weight loss but do you know that exercise can make your skin firmer and supple? When we exercise, the blood is pumped through our body, working our heart muscles and circulating blood and oxygen. The improved blood flow nourishes our skin cells and removes toxins from the skin. Exercise reduces stress; thus helping to mitigate chronic skin conditions. Exercise can also help reverse and prevent early aging. Do you know that exercise also improves mental abilities? Yes, physical activity can improve your long-term and short-term memory.

According to Dana Foundation (www.dana.org), the heart rate increases during physical exercise, causing more blood to flow to the brain. As blood flow increases, the brain receives more oxygen and nutrients, particularly proteins. The proteins keep brain cells (also known as neurons) healthy, and promote the growth of new neurons which are the building blocks of the brain. It is pertinent to note that the health of each neuron health affects the overall function of the brain. Even if all you can do is
take a walk, you’ll reap a host of benefits from it. The Arthritis Foundation (www.arthritis.org) identified the following twelve benefits of taking a walk:

1. Improved circulation
2. Stop loss of bone mass
3. Enjoy longer life
4. Lighten mood
5. Lose weight
6. Strengthen muscles
7. Improve sleep
8. Support your joints
9. Improve your breath
10. Slow down mental decline
11. Lowers risk of Alzheimer’s
12. Reduces incidences of disability in people 65 and
    older.

Wow! Can you imagine deriving all these benefits for just taking a walk? Amazing isn’t it? Let’s all try and honour God with our bodies by keeping them in top shape. Trust me, your body will thank you for it.