Going through stuff in the basement this winter, I came across a book that I had forgotten I even had—Richard Simmons’ Better Body Book, copyright 1983.
I absolutely love this book. It makes me smile every time I look at it. It’s a big book, over 10 inches tall and every page is filled with actual photographs of Richard Simmons doing the exercises.
And he has such a sense of humor when he explains the exercises. The names are even humorous like Doggy Lifts, Hip Flips, Tootsie Rolls.
An example of a bit of humor in his explanations is this: “One of the areas where you will see the reward of daily exercise is in your face and neck. Eating three meals a day is not my idea of giving your face muscles a workout—no matter how much you are chewing. The face may be expressive, but you have to do a series of exercises to use the muscles that make up your face if you want to keep them from sagging over the years….”
Anyway, I’m just not reading the book, but each morning around 4 when I get up I have my timer set for 15 minutes and I do my Richard Simmons exercises.
Now I know 15 minutes is not a lot of time, but I usually get exercise outside each day (except in winter) working in my garden and flower beds to add to this time.
The book has the exercises broken down into the different parts of the body starting with face and neck and going all the way to the feet. I usually start off with the heart exercises and also arm circles which we do in Tai Chi also.
I’ve learned there’s a discipline in exercising physically just as there is a discipline in exercising spiritually.
I know the physical exercise is really important. As someone once said, “You’re buying years with the time you are spending exercising.”
But I also know the time spent with spiritual exercise—spending time with God, reading and studying His Word—you’re buying years also, years of happiness and peace and eternal life with God.
“Your strength shall be renewed day by day like morning dew.” Psalm 110:3 TLB
Love in Jesus,
God’s “exercising' servant,
Liz Ray
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