Aug
10
2010
Shenandoah University and Valley Health are sponsors of a one-day conference titled Spirituality: Weaving Wholeness Into Healthcare on October 27th, 2010 in Winchester, Virginia.
Recent research has demonstrated improved patient outcomes when spirituality is incorporated into medical practice. Yet, addressing spirituality is often neglected. It may be overshadowed by the challenges of time constraints and prioritizing care, and many health care providers simply do not have the comfort level, specific tools or skills needed to incorporate spirituality into the hectic pace of modern day healthcare delivery. This full day, regional conference provides the knowledge, skills and tools for addressing patients’ spiritual needs for best practices in any health care setting.
The keynote speaker will be Christina M. Puchalski, MD, MS, FACP, founder and executive director of George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health. Discounted registration is available through September 7th.
See the link above for more information and to register.
Jun
21
2010
Last week I had the good fortune of attending a Health Ministries Leadership Summit in San Francisco hosted by Health Ministries Association (HMA). The summit was an opportunity for national leaders whose work involves the intersection of faith and health to gather and network to formulate key strategies linked to the future development of the faith-health movement. About 75 individuals attended to contribute to this effort.
Much of the focus during the 2-day summit was on how Faith Community Nurses (or Parish Nurses) and congregational Health Ministers can be more effective in their work. Additionally, we talked about strategies to contribute to Health Care Reform and how to move our collective work forward. A White Paper is to be published later this year which will summarize the work that was done at the summit and help to chart a course forward for all those involved in this type of ministry.
Health Ministries Association (HMA) is a non-profit membership organization reaching out to transform the approach to wholeness and health. HMA encompasses all who support whole-person ministries and is recognized as the national professional membership organization for Faith Community Nurses. If you’re involved in a health-related ministry that supports a house of faith and are inclined to be involved with a professional organization, I’d encourage you to consider becoming a member of HMA.
More detailed information on the summit is at this press release.
Nov
23
2009
I’ve started reading a new book, Prescribing Faith – Medicine, Media, and Religion in American Culture by Claire Hoertz Badaracco. Today I read the chapter titled Belief and Wellness: Medical Pluralism and Healing.
This chapter is one of the most concise writings I have read that explains the mind-body connection from a medical or scientific perspective. Among other topics, Badaracco discusses the following in the context of health and healing:
- The stress and relaxation responses
- Prayer, meditation and contemplation
- Mindfulness
- Habits of thinking
- Negative emotions – the anxiety pandemic
- Allostatic load
- Memories and remembered wellness
- Suffering
- Neurogenesis
- The role of physicians and practitioners
- Personal transformation
- Media’s impact
As I read this chapter, I was not surprised to read that most all of the principles she mentioned about the findings of many researchers in this field of religion/spirituality and health are also principles that the writers of the Bible captured thousands of years ago. These principles or spiritual truths were provided to us by our Creator, God, and science is beginning to get a handle on them – to understand them from a medical perspective. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Our role as believers in Christ or as seekers of the truth, is to believe and understand the truth that is recorded in the Bible… and then to apply it to our life… in the way we behave and the way we think.
More and more it is clear to me that our purpose in life is to be in a right relationship with God – to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength – and to love and serve others with the special gifts He has given us. (Mark 12:30-31) When we do this, God is glorified. This is our purpose for being on this earth.
As we practice the principles found in the Bible – as we obey God out of love (John 14:15,23), one of the outcomes, in general, is a high quality of life including good health. (John 10:10) This is how God designed things to work. Good health and well being should not be the motivator for practicing the Christian faith, but it’s often an outcome of putting into practice God’s principles that He’s provided us with in the Bible.
I’m looking forward to reading more of Badaracco’s book and to understand the impact that media, and in fact my writings, might have on people’s understanding and impression about the religion/spirituality-health link.
More Resources on the Spirituality/Religion-Health Link
Article - Spirituality and Your Health – Understanding the Connection
Article – Think Spiritual Thoughts/Renew Your Mind
Article – His Instruction Manual … Our Guidebook for Healthy Living
Poster Presentation – The Spirituality-Health Connection: Why It Exists A Christian perspective on this link supported by 194 scripture passages and 41 key principles.
Web Page – How God Designed Us
Web Page – Stress, Your Health and Faith
Mar
18
2009
Today’s USA Today ran an article that defines what moderate physical activity is.
National guidelines urge all Americans to engage in “moderate physical activity” at least 2 1/2 hours a week, but what does that mean? A stroll? A run?
A new study has the answer – Moderate is equivalent to a brisk walk, or about 1,000 steps every 10 minutes.
To determine what level of activity was in the moderate range, researchers had 58 women and 39 men (average age 32) walk on treadmills while a machine measured their energy expenditure. They found that moderate exercise amounted to 92 to 102 steps a minute for men and 91 to 115 steps a minute for women.
“Imagine you’re late for a bus. You’re in a hurry. It’s not a leisurely stroll, it’s a brisk walk,” says researcher Simon Marshall of San Diego State University. The study will be in May’s American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Nov
18
2008
You’re invited to visit and join a brand new online community – The Faith and Health Community.
There are absolutely no fees involved.
This site maximizes Web 2.0 and will help you do a lot of valuable things:
Some advantages of joining the site:
* Share & promote information about upcoming conferences/events
* Interact/network with like-minded people
* Easily share ideas in discussion forums
* Create your own page
* Create your own “groups”
* Host your own blog
* Share helpful websites w/ others
* Options to control your site notifications
* And much, much more
I’ve posted a few national conferences and call for papers/presentations —– Hope you’ll add your own as well!
Stop by and visit www.faithandhealth.ning.com, consider joining, and then let your friends and colleagues know about it!
Have a wonderful day!
Oct
08
2008
On Tuesday the government released new physical activity guidelines for Americans. The link I’ve provided offers resources for individuals and health professionals.
Here is a summary by age groups:
Children and Adolescents (aged 6–17)
• Children and adolescents should do 1 hour (60 minutes) or more of physical activity every day.
• Most of the 1 hour or more a day should be either moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity.
• As part of their daily physical activity, children and adolescents should do vigorous-intensity activity on at least 3 days per week. They also should do muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activity on at least 3 days per week.
Adults (aged 18–64)
• Adults should do 2 hours and 30 minutes a week of moderate-intensity, or 1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity. Aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes, preferably spread throughout the week.
• Additional health benefits are provided by increasing to 5 hours (300 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, or 2 hours and 30 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an quivalent combination of both.
• Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities that involve all major muscle groups performed on 2 or more days per week.
Older Adults (aged 65 and older)
• Older adults should follow the adult guidelines. If this is not possible due to limiting chronic conditions, older adults should be as physically active as their abilities allow. They should avoid inactivity. Older adults should do exercises that maintain or improve balance if they are at risk of falling.
Moderate Activities - You can talk while you do them, but you can’t sing.
Vigorous Activities – You can only say a few words without stopping to catch your breath.
Go get some activity today!
Aug
20
2008
I found this listing of the tremendous value of 12 fruits and vegetables. The author is unknown. Thanks to Cathy Morenzie for posting it on her Active Image site. Enjoy!
Then God said, “Let the land burst forth with every sort of grass and seed-bearing plant. And let there be trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. The seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And so it was. Genesis 1:11
A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye…and YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.
A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Eggplant, Avocados and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female – they look just like these organs. Today’s research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? …. It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm cells to overcome male sterility.
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.
MyPyramid.gov is one of the better government sites that provides education on the health benefits and nutrients received from eating the right amount of fruits and vegetables.
Eat your fruits and veggies daily! God certainly had a plan and knew what He was doing when He designed them for our health.
View the complete listing at God’s Pharmacy.
Jun
28
2008
This week I was fortunate to attend the first international conference of the Society for 
Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University in Durham, NC. The theme of the conference was “Spirituality, Health and Human Flourishing: Meaning? Measurement? Implications?”
The leaders of the research in this field were present. In addition to the keynote addresses and plenary sessions, there were approximately 60 poster presentations and 40 papers presented. If you’re interested in viewing the major presentations you can check back at their site as there will be videos available.
I was fortunate to present a poster titled “A Spiritual Fitness Assessment and 18 Spiritual Exercises.” It was a blessing to interact with many of the 250 attendees of the conference and to have dialog with those who viewed my poster.
Two leaders of the field were present, Harold Koenig, MD and Jeff Levin, PhD. Having the opportunity to speak with each of them was a treat. I’ve included a photo of me and Harold Koenig. Jeff Levin urged the participants to explore the concept of human flourishing.
I left the conference inspired to roll up my sleeves even further to better understand the spirituality/religion and health relationship and to share with others what I learn. Benefits of membership in the society can be found at this link.
May
30
2008
Living by Design… Discovering the Spirit, Soul and Body Connection is what I’m currently reading.
Ray Strand, MD and Bill Ewing, a Christian counselor, do a terrific job of explaining how God designed us and how our bodies function when we are under the stressors of life. The book, based on Biblical principles, points us to peace, love and possibly better emotional and physical health.
Here are chapter highlights:
- Stress and the body
- Unresolved anger
- Motivation of the heart
- Rest for the soul, power for life
- Exercise and diet
- Oxidative stress, free radicals and the need for nutritional supplements
- Healing God’s way
- An eternal perspective
If you know of someone who might have a chronic degenerative disease, inflammatory-related disease, panic attacks or another stress-related condition, this book would be a wonderful gift for them. I highly recommend it!
Have an awesome day!
Feb
13
2008
Today I came across a great resource I wanted you to know about. 
Two years ago the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church made a commitment to provide more resources for their clergy and congregations and communities. One thing they did was to contract with an agency for the web site Holy Healthy UMC. It provides wonderful and accurate information on Spirit, Mind & Body health from a Christian perspective. If your looking for an example of a site that covers all the basis, this might be amongst the best I have seen! Kudos to the developers of the site and for the Arkansas Conference in making this resource available.
