Exercise and Endorphins and Endurance

Health Tip:

When you exercise your body naturally releases endorphins, which give a feeling of well being. This is where the term 'runners high' originates. Antidepressants contain synthetic forms of the endorphins naturally released in exercise.


http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/exercise-depression

I am constantly amazed on the value of exercise for our overall health. When I first started running I remember enjoying the feeling I would get of complete relaxation after the run. In nursing school I learned that this was related to endorphins my body was releasing. The more I learned about it, the more I was fascinated to discover that God has hard wired our bodies to have a natural stress relief in exercise.

In caring for people who are limited in how they can exercise due to health conditions, I work with them to find an exercise that does work for them. Water exercise is usually a cure all for many people. Although it is difficult to get started with exercise, in about 2-3 weeks we can develop a habit that 'sticks'.

I often think that the apostle Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament, must have been a runner. There are so many references to running, and my favorite is the challenge to run with perseverance the race God has set before us.. ! What a challenge.

In closing this blog, I think about the spiritual endurance required in this life to persevere in our faith above all else. Like exercise, our faith is a discipline that we must pursue. For me, I have found great inspiration in the testimony of my grandfather's faith. He dedicated his life to take the gospel to a remote village in the Amazon. God used Grandpas life and there are many churches in that village now. Not only that, but, they have schools and clinics thanks to my grandparents perseverance. They faced hepatitis, malaria, and threats to their safety in order to endure in what God called them to do.

Today marks a year that my Grandfather died. I want to continue in the example he set, to persevere in all that God calls me to, making my faith the most important aspect of my life.