Category Archives: Health
10,000 Steps
I have heard that a good goal is to walk 10,000 steps a day. If I walk for an hour in the morning, as I did today, that uses about 7000 steps. To make up the remaining steps, I have … Continue reading
Then and Now
This picture was taken two years ago. And this was taken last week. I am stunned at the change in my appearance. I have looked at other before and after pictures, but this pair is striking in the contrast between … Continue reading
Sanskrit Words
Yoga teaches you a few Sanskrit words. Namaste means ‘I bow to you’ and is used in a closing gesture of prayer with hands over heart. Vinyasa (I think) is a type of yoga linking movement and breath. Prana means … Continue reading
Simple Joys
I stood under an old locust tree at Maple Stadium for Adrian High School’s graduation. Or as natives say, Adr’n. Midway through the ceremony I texted a friend, “There is a lot of blah blah at graduation when all you … Continue reading
Monday Margarita
A home visit today, plus a funeral, hospital call, and news that a dear parishioner has died in hospital in Hillsdale. It was good that I could decompress later over a margarita with my wife and friends. Daily walking, practicing … Continue reading
Detox With Yoga
I went to Blissfield this afternoon for a session at Bliss Yoga. It involved a lot of twisting and stretching, particularly our hip joints (where I had problems last fall). At one point as we twisted in a pretzelly way, … Continue reading
14 Miles
I walked 14 miles this afternoon at a large park near Swanton, Ohio. It was twice as far as I have walked before. Body is tired now. I picked up an order of beans from Señorita’s for dinner. Still eating … Continue reading
My Purpose
I went to an oral surgery office today, where they have pictures of boats in the waiting room. They removed three of my wisdom teeth, the fourth having been taken out 30 years ago. My dentist urged me to do … Continue reading
Odd Conversation
I walked at the mall on my lunch hour today. I did eight laps, or roughly four miles. I had an odd, ongoing conversation with a woman sitting in the food court. Woman: Does that really work to lose weight? … Continue reading
Hospice Training
Yesterday I began a four week seminar, 24 hours of training spread over four Tuesdays in February, with the goal of becoming a hospice volunteer. Last year Hospice of Lenawee moved into a beautiful eight-bed residential facility on Wolf Creek … Continue reading
The First Step of Love
These are the stairs to the balcony at church. With cold and snow lately, I have taken to walking at work — which means I can include stair climbing in daily walks. Verticality! I’ve been chewing on Paul’s sketch of … Continue reading
Surprising Myself With Yoga
For the last three months I have been taking weekly classes at Downtown Yoga taught by Alice McGrath. She has studied in India. She teaches a form of yoga with props: blankets, bolsters, straps, and so forth. Tuesday night was … Continue reading
Sitting and Walking
I sat with a woman at a care facility in Jackson yesterday. She had a stroke last month. She was asleep, and none of her family was there. There was a family visiting the woman in the next bed. A … Continue reading
Three Rs of Sermon Preparation
My sermon preparation follows the three Rs: read, write, and rehearse. Monday and Tuesday are reading days. I love to read scripture in the Latin Vulgate, for example; Frederick Buechner recommends that you get out of your native language so … Continue reading
Of Raincoats, Donuts and Angels
There are two ways to walk in the rain, umbrella or raincoat. Raincoat is better because holding an umbrella limits the motion of one arm and hinders your stride. I walked three miles this morning in the rain with a … Continue reading
Elder Care
The Daybreak board met at 11:30 today for its lunch meeting. A part of the Department on Aging, Daybreak provides adult day care for people with dementia or memory loss. The director Tammy is a skilled administrator, a compassionate caregiver, … Continue reading
Healthy and at Peace
Yesterday was a day spent in pastoral care, with a home visit in the morning and a trip up to the University of Michigan Hospital in the afternoon. UofM is my least favorite hospital to visit because it is an … Continue reading
Learning Yoga
For the last four weeks a group of us has been learning yoga using a GAIAM DVD featuring Rodney Yee and Patricia Walden, whom we have dubbed Hot Guy In His Underwear and Cirque du Soleil Chick (because she is … Continue reading
Looking at the Ceiling
I hurt my back yesterday. So I have spent time since then on the floor, stretching out my back and looking at the ceiling, as I am here in my office. There was still work to do, officiating at a … Continue reading
The Third Bridge
This is the third bridge on the trail north of the Bent Oak parking lot. Round trip it is a four mile walk. I did it this afternoon between church responsibilities. Walking in May has been a challenge because of … Continue reading
