Soul Trainer

I am a personal trainer and fitness instructor. For me it’s all about form, balance, flexibility and breathing. Not surprised? How about if I told you that these aren’t simply physical things you try to get your body to do properly but also spiritual disciplines you need to grow as a whole person—primarily spiritual disciplines? What’s good for your body is even better for your soul. Stay with me a minute.

Stretch.
I was a young wife with a kid, a husband in the Air Force and a job waiting tables at a steakhouse. I’d never set foot in a gym, but the food at work—those baked potatoes dripping with butter and sour cream, not to mention the desserts—were getting the worst of me. “Hit the health club,” my girlfriends said, seeing the transformation I was undergoing.

The first thing I tried was high-impact aerobics, where you really get your heart rate up. I lasted about 10 minutes. So I signed up for something called “dance thin.” There was a lot of stretching and toning on the mat along with some low-impact cardiovascular exercises. Now this was more like it. An hour-long class that didn’t take me a week to recover from.

Here’s what that class taught me most: how critical stretching is. It increases our energy and overall range of motion, which reduces tension and stress. Before any exercise, whether it’s a pickup game of basketball or an hour of gardening, it’s absolutely essential to stretch. This is especially true for inactive people. Figure out which muscles you’ll need and stretch them. Gently. Never bounce or jerk the muscles (bouncing can cause injury). Keep your stretches smooth and slow, and breathe into the movement, deep, sure breaths that draw rich, oxygenated blood to the muscles.

As a kid I used to sit in an old wil­low tree in our backyard. If I really stretched I could reach the top and from the highest branches look out onto the world. I’ve locked that image in my head. Stretching is a chance to shake off stiffness, become limber like that old willow and reach for the sky. I learned that stretching isn’t just physical. I try to stretch myself spiritually every day too—reminding myself of how God can do anything in our lives if we just let him in. That requires spiritual flexibility. When I stretch a part of my body I think about opportunities where I can meet God in my daily life, where I can stretch my faith. Try it.