Rest and the Gut

God created the 10 commandments to guide us to live a healthy, joyous, sin-free life. The 10 commandments were not written because God wanted to control us, but rather because he wants the best for us. They are the path to living a healthy life in body, mind, and spirit.

Some of the commandments are very easy to keep such thou shall worship no other God, thou shall not kill, and thou shall not commit adultery. These are no-brainers. Read through the list and consider how many of the commandments you actually keep 100% of the time.

You shall have no other Gods before me
You shall not make for yourselves an idol
You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy
Honor your father and your mother
You shall not murder
You shall not commit adultery
You shall not steal
You shall not give false testimony
You shall not covet

Let’s dissect each one of the commandments in keeping with our “I love my belly” theme and see how closely you follow the 10 commandments. This will also help you to love and take care of your belly region even more.

I pray that this is the easiest commandment of all for you to follow for there truly is no other God. Whatever heartache you are enduring, turn to God, not to food, drugs, crime, friends, animals, etc. Always turn to God. He created you and he can guide you where you need to be.
Do not worship golden cows, simple in concept, but consider this. Are you a die-hard fan of a sports team, musician, actor, author, subject, etc to the point that you think and talk about your obsession more than God? When was the last time you saw Jesus shirts being sold on every corner before a big church celebration? How many conversations during the week are about God versus other things? Is going for a hike on a Sunday morning more valuable to you than going to church? When you are stressed, do you turn to God or a bowl of ice cream? What do you put before God?

*Now, think of God’s dwelling place. It’s not just in Heaven. It is inside of you. By making the care of your physical body a priority, you are putting God first. You are the most important thing to God. He wants you to be healthy and spread the word!

Do not misuse the name of God. Hopefully, OMG stands for Oh my goodness! I remember hearing my oldest daughter say this phrase over and over again when she was 3 years old. She had heard me say it. It was much nicer to hear that than when she stubbed her toe and said damn it. Oops. That taught me real quick what I needed to change. The point of this is that we do and say things that we may not even think of as bad until we hear someone else say it. Number one thing God probably doesn’t want to hear is, “I hate myself or why did God make me so ugly”. Who wants to hear that! I think using the Lord’s name in vain should also carry over to insulting ourselves. God wouldn’t want to hear that he messed up because he knows he didn’t. The same holds true for asking God “why did you do this to me” when something “bad” happens in your life. He does things FOR us, not to us. It’s all part of his masterful plan. We must hold God in the highest of authority. Insulting Him and using His name in vain will not bring you peace.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy has totally been forgotten. Outside of going to church, we most often fill the day with tons of activity in preparation for the following week or just to use the free time that we are not at work. I’m 100% guilty of this, but I realize when I pack my schedule too much, I get run down. This makes me tired and crabby most often resulting in me getting sick because it causes me stress to have too much on my plate. God knew man needed rest. Even God took the time to rest on the 7^th day. By not taking that time to rest, we are thinking that we can do more than God and don’t need to rest. Hmmmmmm. You know that isn’t right. Basically, by not resting, we have put ourselves in a perpetual state of flight. Think of how this affects your body.

As I am working on clients, oftentimes I will hear their belly rumble. It’s not because they are hungry, but rather because they are finally relaxing and digestion is occurring. I remind them that a gazelle does not stop to go to the bathroom when being chased by a lion. When we are constantly on the go, our gut is going to suffer the consequences. How many of you limit how much you drink when you are out so you do not have to go to the bathroom?

Here are the effects of dehydration on your body according to Med One Urgent Care: Extreme thirst, urinating less than usual, headache, dark-colored urine, sluggishness and fatigue, bad breath, dry mouth, sugar cravings, dizziness, weakness, light-headedness, and confusion.

According to WebMD, lack of sleep and rest causes cognitive deficits, difficulty learning, decrease reaction time, heart problems, depression, fluid retention, skin issues, weight gain, and several other challenges. https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/10-results-sleep-loss

Know what WebMD says to do to relieve constipation?

When you’re constipated, your body may need more time in the bathroom, not less. Try to sit on the toilet for 15 minutes at the same time each day, even if you can’t “go.” It can relax your digestive system and cue your body for a bowel movement. .Jan 18, 2022 https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/constipation-what-not-to-do#:~:text=When%20you’re%20constipated%2C%20your,body%20for%20a%20bowel%20movement.

So much of our gut requires rest in order to function properly. We spend a fortune on supplements and medicine to keep us regular when we really may need to follow the 4^th commandment and rest.

We’ll continue to cover the remaining commandments in weeks to come. The gut is so important to our level of comfort that I’m going to stop here and give you 3 challenges.

Drink more water. Lots more.
Rest and respect the Sabbath
Put your faith in God to take away your stress and fill you with peace and joy

1 Corinthians 3: 16-17 NIV ~ Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? ¹⁷If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

Voyage to HEAL Weekly Task

Stretch: Using your cupped hand or your releaser ball, complete ice cream scooping motions in your right and left lower abdominal region as you are laying down. This is a lymphatic drainage technique to fluid moving. Do this at least 20 times on each side. Then place a hand on either side of your stomach and push inward 20 times alternating sides. Likewise, this lymphatic drainage technique will help decrease constipation.

Exercise: Lay on your back with your knees bent. Activate the pelvic floor and core muscles, bring your knees to tabletop by flexing at the hips 90 degrees. Now can you do this while raising the opposite arm overhead? Give it a try, but make sure your ribcage stays flat. Have fun getting things moving. If that is too intense, below is a video of my dear friend Tammy Reed demonstrating the windmill Kundalini yoga move. It takes a lot of coordination, but it is great to get you moving.

Habitual Change: Go to the bathroom when you need to go. Do not hold it longer than necessary.

Perspective enlightenment: God, let me be your temple and honor your commandments

Journaling option: Journal on the 4 commandments we discussed and really delve into how you are following those and how can you follow them even more closely.

This week’s blog post coincides with week 8: Arm Stretches/ I am enough. You can purchase this week in the store on the webpage. You can also purchase the Inner Peace Meditation CD or start your full online Voyage to HEAL. Click here to visit the store. Most importantly, start being kind to yourself always. As God gives you grace, so should you give it to yourself. Stop fighting yourself. Instead, love yourself.

Godspeed on your Voyage to HEAL

Love,

Jocelyn