Enjoying the Pain?

I've started a winter workout program on rowing machines on M/W/F/Sat. These workouts last about an hour and can be grueling. Our new Ukrainian rowing coach is intense and has challenged us to work harder.

Our coach has come up with some interesting sayings during these hard workouts. This morning, while we were doing the last of three 20 minute rowing sessions, he said, "Enjoy the pain." What I think he meant was "enjoy the physical exertion of a hard workout."

While I didn't enjoy the workout, I did enjoy the results. After a hard workout you feel relaxed from the endorphins that are released. You also feel good when the pain of the workout stops. You're hungry for breakfast and feel fully justified in eating a full breakfast. At night, you're tired and sleep better.

A hard workout is a useful metaphor for certain times in our life. When we have endured a painful or difficult time, there is relief when the pain stops. There is also the positive feeling that "I've survived this." Often, we can learn some life lessons from a painful episode.

I'm not suggesting that we seek out painful experiences. Enough pain comes into every life without looking for it. What I'm saying is that we can learn how to survive these challenging times and become stronger in the process. Perhaps we can even learn to enjoy the pain-- after it's over.

The Body's Own Feel-Good Drugs

Do you want to feel better? Then exercise, eat chocolate (or chile peppers) and meditate. Medical studies have shown that these three activities can trigger the release of endorphins, neurotransmitters that reduce pain, stress and can create a feeling of euphoria.

There are at least 20 types of endorphins in the body and they act on brain receptors in a similar way as do opiates. Hence, their pain-reducing effect. But the good news is that endorphins don't lead to addiction or dependence like opiates can.

While we usually view meditation as the most spiritual of the three activities mentioned above, I believe that exercise and eating can be spiritual practices.

Exercise can not only strengthen the body and mind, it can feed the soul. Spiritual practices like yoga, tai chi chung and meditative walking are forms of exercise. And, the added benefit to these practices is that you feel better after doing them.

I also believe that there is a spiritual dimension to eating. Yes, we can see food as fuel and wolf down a meal. But we can also eat slowly and gratefully, transforming a bodily necessity into a spiritual practice. Another dimension of eating is the social interaction in a meal shared with others. There is something deeply spiritual about a meal shared with good friends.

I don't believe it's an accident that those activities that are soul-nourishing help release endorphins, thus making us feel better. That's how we were created.

The Gift of Exercise

Have you ever thought of exercise as a gift? Many of us, me included, view exercise as a daily chore to perform. It's a means to the end of controlling weight and becoming more healthy. It falls into the category of "shoulds" rather than "wants."

However, if we see exercise as drudgery, how many of us will do it regularly? In today's New York Times there is an article by Jane Brody titled, "To Keep Moving, Look Beyond the Physical." In this article she explores the non-physcial benefits of exercise.

Dr. Michelle Segar, a motivational psychologist, is quoted saying, "We've made exercise feel like a chore to most people, not like a gift we give ourselves." She advocates looking at the rewards of exercise: feeling better psychologically and spiritually.

When you exercise with others, there is a feeling of camaraderie and social fellowship. As I've said before, when I row with others, I work harder and show up more consistently. When we exercise daily, we reduce stress and sleep better. Also, studies have shown that exercise can help reduce anxiety and depression

There are spiritual benefits to exercise as well. For example, when we walk mindfully, walking becomes a form of meditation. I know many persons who have found a deep spiritual connection in activities the rest of us consider exercise: skiing, running, rowing and playing sports.

The greatest benefits of exercise come when we can enjoy it as a form of play. When exercise becomes play, it is fun and joyful. As play, exercise can nourish body, mind and spirit.