Tag Archive for exercise

The Food and Follicle Connection

Posted on July 6, 2016 by

As a natuHype-Hair-Natural-Hairralista for the past 12 years, I’ve come to terms with the fact that my hair takes work. Lots of it. It’s a relationship that is quite complicated at times. I love it, but I don’t always like it. I appreciate its thickness, but I hate the length of time it takes to style it. I love its versatility, but I hate that many really cute styles only stay cute for a few days. Nevertheless, I AM STILL IN LOVE WITH MY NATURAL HAIR! My hair doesn’t always love me or the way I treat it though. Over the years, I’ve learned that natural hair doesn’t automatically mean healthy hair. There are things that I have to do even beyond protective styling to keep my locks looking and feeling their best. I’m willing to bet you have too. To help, I’ve invited Kenyona McLeod, owner of Shear Glamour Salon and creator of Kennesential Beauty products (www.kenessential.com) to share her knowledge on achieving the healthiest hair possible. So, let your hair down and let’s get our luscious locks on!

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 2

I believe the Bible rates health right near the top of the list in importance. Man’s mind, spiritual nature, and body are all interconnected and dependent. What affects one can affect the other. If our bodies are misused, or if we live a gluttonous lifestyle (In Luke 21:34, Christ specifically warns against overeating in the last days), we could be putting ourselves at risk for health problems. Overeating is responsible for many degenerative diseases. Poor food choices make our bodies sluggish and our energy low. In that state it is difficult to efficiently perform what God has ordained and called us to do. Poor food and lifestyle choices can also affect the health of our hair.

Most of us dream of having long, luscious, flowing tresses, but no thanks to genetics, stress or other environmental factors, many of us have been left with hair that rarely sparkles or shines. Fortunately, a healthy diet and smart lifestyle changes can be the perfect marriage for your hair and body. Adopting a clean eating lifestyle can have your hair looking luscious. Truly healthy hair is the result of a well-nourished body and a nutrient-rich diet. What you put in is what you get out.

We often talk about hair as an extension of us and how we should handle and maintain it from the outside in so we can be able to achieve long hair, but how often will we hear people talk about the correlation between exercise and clean eating to make the hair stronger and longer?

There are several reasons why the whole body health connection would support the conclusion that in the quest for longer hair, clean eating is a huge factor. Others argue that longer hair is more about caring for the strand rather than the whole body. I believe your body and hair is a direct result of what you ingest… if you have a fatty fast food addiction, chances are your hair and body shows signs of this.

Healthy tips for achieving the stronger, longer hair you desire.

Eat Well

While you might not be able to change your hair growth rate which is about ¼ to ½ inch a month, it is possible that the vitamins and minerals present with a healthy diet will allow you maximize your natural hair growth rate. Think about eating healthy as deep conditioning your body from the inside out. A lifestyle high in fruits and vegetables will give you the minerals and vitamins needed for healthy hair and skin.

Nuts such as almonds, walnuts, and pecans are a great source of biotin, a vitamin known to help promote hair growth. Salmon Omega-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients for healthy hair and skin, and since your body cannot produce them on its own, it’s important you get these fatty acids from your diet. Eating two servings of fatty fish like salmon or tuna per week can help keep your hair full and long. Sweet potatoes are another wonderful food for hair growth due to their high dosage of beta carotene, the precursor of Vitamin A, which helps to keep hair from becoming dry and brittle. According to Livestrong.com, avocados are high in vitamin B and E, and fatty acids, preventing you from hair loss and breakage, strengthening your scalp, and providing that gleam and shine that most long hair girls desire.

Exercise Regularly

Regular exercise may improve blood circulation and allows the vitamins and minerals discussed previously to travel to the scalp where they are needed. Increasing blood flow to your scalp is one of the best ways to promote hair and scalp health. An increase in blood flow means that your hair is getting the nutrients it needs, but it also prevents dandruff, psoriasis, and other scalp problems. Studies have shown that better circulation in your scalp can even help your hair to grow faster. (www.theluxuryspot.com/increase-scalp- circulation/)

Manage Stress

Some people experience more hair loss or breakage during periods of high stress. Regular exercise is known to have a positive impact on blood pressure and mood which could help manage stress.

Think you cannot incorporate daily exercise into your already busy lifestyle? Remember stolen moments add up. Experts recommend working out 45 minutes to an hour a day (30 minutes for beginners) for weight loss and fitness. But if you’re like most women, you don’t always have a block of 30 to 60 minutes a day to devote exclusively to doing your workouts. Lest you think that short bursts of activity have a negligible effect on your fitness program, think again. One study found that women who split their exercise into 10-minute increments were more likely to exercise consistently, and lost more weight after five months, than women who exercised for 20 to 40 minutes at a time. (www.prevention.com)

Chat with Kenyona. What is your hair’s story? What have you discovered about the best way to care for your hair?

KenyKenyonaona McLeod is a Master hair care stylist and natural beauty mixologist, owner of Shear Glamour Salon, Shear Glamour Cosmetics and the creator of Kenessential Beauty a luxurious hair and body care line. She has been a licensed stylist for 20 years; she loves what she does and enjoys finding new ways to take hair and body care to the level of fabulousness. Kenyona has been trained under world renowned styling artists from Redken, Paul Mitchell, Mizani, Affirm, Kera Care, Design Essentials, Influence and B&B Bronner Bros.

“I believe everyone should enjoy and love their hair and body, and glamorizing what you have naturally, every time I step behind my chair or sell a product, I pray each and every client achieves their top level of beauty inside and out; and I’m here to make sure you fall madly in love with yourself and have the tools and resources to do so.

 

4 comments Posted in My Hair, Relationship with Self

Building Up the Gratitude Muscle

Posted on November 27, 2014 by

muscleI was watching Dr. Oz yesterday, and Robin Roberts, the Good Morning America anchor, was on the show sharing her story of triumph over cancer and another disease caused by her cancer treatment. She credits her recovery to maintaining a positive attitude throughout each ordeal and to a spirit of gratitude, a phenomenon that even her physicians find interesting enough to research. She said that gratitude was like a muscle. I thought that statement was very profound, so I’ve decided to explore that analogy a little further in recognition of this season of thanksgiving. Let’s get ready to work our gratitude muscles, shall we?

There are several similarities between gratitude and a human muscle.

1. Gratitude, like a muscle, remains underdeveloped if it is not exercised. Have you ever seen someone who started out skinny as a twig and after months of weight lifting looked as big as an ox? It is amazing how much muscles can transform when a little iron is pumped. But what happens when that same man stops working out? The muscle mass is lost, and he ends up back where he started. In order to maintain growth he must continue to do what built up the muscles in the first place.  Hebrews 13:15 (KJV) says “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” Praise, or gratitude, is expected of believers, and it is expected continually. The more we express our gratitude to God the more it builds us up, but if we refuse to do it or do it only sporadically, then our gratitude remains weak and so do we.

2. Gratitude is strained when pressure is applied to it. Lifting weights causes muscles to tear and that causes soreness in the muscles worked.  When those muscles are sore it can be difficult to continue exercising them and we want to quit, but when we continue it gets easier and easier over time. Similarly, when we face difficulties in our lives our attitude of gratitude is challenged and we feel as if gratitude is pointless or impossible, but that is when we should be grateful the most. It is much easier to have a pity party and go around complaining when things are not going our way, but the Bible tells us to give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for us (1 Thessalonians 5:8). God is very clear about when and in what situations we should be thankful–in everything and at all times. He did not say we should like or enjoy everything, but that we must maintain a thankful attitude through everything. Perhaps you don’t like your boss or your coworkers or the amount of money in your bank account or your relationship status.  There is still plenty to be thankful for in spite of it all.  Work through the tough times and no matter how painful things become press forward in praise.  The pain is good for you because it only leads to your growth.

3. The more you exercise gratitude the stronger you become and the more weight you can handle. When we lift weights regularly our muscles develop muscle memory.  The weight that seemed too heavy to lift one week becomes easier to lift the next week.  That’s because your muscles learned to adjust to the weight. The next time they are called upon to lift the original weight they are ready. They are stronger and ready for the next physical challenge. Gratitude works in much the same way. The familiar saying “trials come to make you strong” is true. Those trials are our opportunity to be built up in our faith and gratitude through practicing the habit of thankfulness. If we learn to be thankful when we find our bank account overdrawn one time, we can still be thankful if it happens again or if something worst happens to our money because we’ve learned how to handle it. In other words, the situations that shook you before won’t shake you anymore because you’re stronger and ready for the next spiritual challenge. Moreover, we will be able to say, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57 KJV). I’ve witnessed others who have managed to keep a smile on their faces and a praise on their lips in what I would call the most difficult circumstances. That is true spiritual strength.  Hear this, that strength is not reserved for special people.  It is available for those who put in the work necessary to become stronger and better as a result of the things they go through.

Yes, gratitude is a muscle we cannot afford to leave undeveloped. It takes work, but the work pays off in strength that we never knew we had all along.

IJS

How will you develop your gratitude muscle?

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Exercise Daily in God–No Spiritual Flabbiness Please!

Posted on November 9, 2014 by

a-ministers-spiritual-workoutSocial networking sites are flooded with all sorts of challenges–ice bucket challenge, worship challenge (which was really a singing challenge), and even a grown and sexy challenge, but I’m about to tell you about a challenge that will revolutionize your life if you participate.  I call it the spiritual fitness challenge.  It is designed to help you get in shape for spiritual warfare.  

For the past week I have been doing this challenge myself.  What I’ve found is that my mornings are not as rushed, my mind is clearer, and I am even getting to work on time.  Go figure.  I have begun to refer to these moments as dates with God.  The reason I started doing this is because I’ve noticed in my own life more of a dedication to working out and a sporadic tendency to study scriptures, but I haven’t done anything concrete recently to switch the dynamic.  Last week my pastor preached a message entitled “What Shall I Render?” about offering God the best of what we have that solidified for me the need for change.  Four months ago I made a decision to change my life by working out regularly and eating more healthy.  Now I decide to change my life in a more significant way by exercising in the Word–DAILY.

1 Timothy 4:8 (KJV) says, For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

The Message Bible states it more plainly.  “Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.”

I desire a more spiritually disciplined life.  I know that it is of the utmost importance for a believer.  But knowing it is not enough. I must not just talk about it, but be about it.  By the grace of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit, I will be about it. If I can develop a habit of working out my body, I know I can develop a habit of working out my soul salvation.   God has been so good to me, and he deserves the best of me, not my gym or anything else I spend time doing.  So I’ve created a spiritual workout plan very similar to the one I use at the gym for those who need a place to start.

WHO and WHAT

Every born-again believer needs to engage in ongoing communication with God.  It is not enough to be saved.  That is only the tip of the ice burg.  God created you to honor and represent Him in the earth, but if you haven’t cultivated your relationship with him, you cannot effectively do either of those things.  We must yield ourselves to be used of Him. Otherwise, you will a saved person being used of the devil.  What a waste of God’s saving grace and His divine inheritance.  We should take full advantage of our God-given rights to peace, wealth, prosperity, and every other good gift the blood of Christ has secured for us.  But the kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force (Matthew 11:12 KJV).  Building up ourselves daily in the Word through spiritual discipline is what it takes to win against spiritual forces that violently oppose us.  It is also not enough to engage in conversations about God with others if you’re not also supplementing that with study on your own and regular church attendance.  Let me make this clear.  There is no substitute for the literal Word of God being preached and taught to you and read and studied by you; for faith comes by hearing and hearing by THE WORD OF GOD.  As far as equipment goes, all you need is a Bible (paper or electronic version is up to you), a journal or notebook, a pen, a concordance, and an open heart.

WHERE

Communicate with Him in the closet, by the bed, in the kitchen or the bathroom. Do it anywhere, but just do it.  God will meet you wherever you are.  Make sure the spot you choose is quiet and free from distractions.  I do not advise you, however, to lie in bed though for obvious reasons.  Sleep will overtake you.

WHEN

I think it is important to communicate with God first thing in the morning.  Jesus prayed early in the morning.

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35 NIV).

That is the time where you have less distractions (the husband and kids are asleep, the house is quiet, the phone is not ringing or chiming with Facebook and e-mail notifications, the computer is not on, and your mind is the most clear).  It is offering God the first and best of your day.

WHY

Why do people follow workout programs in the first place?  Because they don’t know where to start, to get guidance through an unfamiliar process, to do what works. That’s why I sought one.  These are also some reasons people hesitate to establish a solid study schedule for the Word, not to mention that although the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41).  The good news is the stronger your spirit is the the less your flesh will be able to control you.  That strength comes by being in His presence and in His Word.  It can seem a bit overwhelming to do, but you cannot let that stop you.  My apprehension of gym crowds almost made me quit going, but once I found a workout program I liked and felt comfortable with I followed it to the letter and soon a habit developed.  Even though there were days that I did not feel like going, I did anyway because I began to see results.  It feels good when your hard work pays off.  Making the decision to give God more time will be hard work at first.  Our adversary, the devil, will do anything he can to throw us off course. Distractions, trials, laziness, sin, and procrastination are all tools in his arsenal that he will fire in our direction just to keep us from truly getting to know our rights and privileges which are found in the Word.  You cannot claim or possess what you do not know belongs to you.  You cannot exercise rights that you do not know are yours.  You cannot benefit from an inheritance if you do not access its funds.  Finally, you cannot maintain growth if you do not consistently do what caused growth in the first place.  So of course he doesn’t want us to obtain the knowledge of the truth. Pastor Ed Schneider, M.P.Th. sums it up perfectly by saying, “The Devil has got to be absolutely gleeful at the way some of us Christians act as we continually contribute to our own spiritual demise” (Originally posted on Growing in Christian Understanding).  Please don’t be a party to your own downfall by staying disconnected from God, your life source.  Pushing past the obstacles he puts in your path will pay off.

HOW

Each day I weight train, I focus on a particular muscle group–shoulders and arms, legs, back, or chest.  So begin by identifying what spiritual element you want to focus on each day.  It could be something that you are believing God for in your life (ie. divine health and healing, prosperity, peace, a new job, salvation for a family member, etc.). This may change depending on how the Holy Spirit is leading you, but do have a focus in mind to begin with rather than reading chapter by chapter of the Bible randomly.  It may make your time more productive and meaningful to you.

prayer

Training Schedule:  10-15 minutes

  1. Warm-up–5 minutes of Praise and worship. Begin by telling God what you appreciate about Him.  Tell Him how good He is to you and thank Him.  This really does rev you up for the time you will spend in His presence.
  2. First exercise–Read and Reflect on the Word.  Choose a scripture or two that address what you are focusing on for the day.  If healing is your focus, choose healing scriptures such as Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24 and read them.  A concordance will come in handy for this.  Reflecting on what you’ve read by writing about it in a journal/notebook is also a good way to cement what you’ve received from God and to chart growth or progress.
  3. Second exercise–Pray.  Ask the Lord to help you apply the Word you just read to your day and life.  For example, start praying with this.  “Lord, I thank you for your Word.  I ask that you help me have the faith to walk in the healing you’ve promised me.  I resist every sign and symptom that contradicts what your Word says.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.”  I would also pray in the spirit during this time to ensure that you have prayed according to the perfect will of God (Romans 8:26-27)
  4. Third exercise–Confess.  Make a personal confession about what you read.  For example say, “I am healed by the stripes of Jesus.  I am walking in divine health.  Every organ and tissue in my body functions in the perfection that God created it to function.  No sickness can come on me.  I am redeemed form sickness and disease.”  Confession brings possession.
  5. Cool down–Acknowledge God.  End your time by thanking God for meeting you in your quiet time or sitting in silence to hear Him speak to you.

You might be thinking, Do I really need a step-by-step plan for spending time with God?  Well, think about it this way. Is it better to have a plan or no plan at all?  Will your time with God look exactly like this everyday?  Of course not. This is just a starting point, and that’s what I want to challenge you to do–start.  Sometimes we can be so concerned with failing to live up to God’s standards that we don’t even try.  The Bible says “draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you” (James 4:8 a).  Once the presence of God begins to meet you there, all sorts of things start to happen.  Your emotions may get stirred up and result in uncontrollable tears or laughter.  You may lose track of time because you are enjoying the sweet communion and fellowship with Him.  You may not even get past the praise. Or you may end of switching the order of things altogether.  And all of that is good as long as you get it in.  God just wants us to establish a sacred place in our hearts and day just for him.  That is why we were created in the first place.

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9 KJV).

“I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him” (Isaiah 43:6-7).

Repeat this cycle for 7 days.  Use the same focus or a different one.  Like with any workout routine, if the intensity wanes, increase it either by doing this several times a day or by increasing the amount of time you spend doing it (move from 10 or 15 minute increments to 20 or 30 minutes increments and slowly progress).  You can even add more to your training repertoire like meditating on the Word throughout your day, writing prayers to God, listening to music, or singing. There’s really no limit to where your worship time can take you.  The key is to make a decision and stick to it. Just make sure you have properly prepared for this because you don’t want anything to get in the way of this commitment.  If you think that you will forget, put it on your calendar and set a timer to remind you.  If you think that you may be too tired to get up earlier than usual, try your best to get in bed at an earlier time.  If for some reason your schedule gets thrown off, make it up at a different time of day or simply do a shorter version.  JUST GET IT IN!  It’s imperative to your spiritual and natural well being.

So if you are sick of carrying the excess weight of the burdens and cares of life, sick of being weary and worn out by trials and tribulations, and sick of being weak and powerless against the attacks of the enemy, then lose the weight, build up your spiritual endurance and increase your strength in the Word of God.

I challenge you to join me in this spiritual fitness challenge for the next week, and find someone to challenge also.  I’d love to hear how this worked or didn’t work for you, so please share your comments.

I’m just sayin’.

No comments Posted in Relationship with God