Body and soul: Faith-based fitness bulks up

The Christian diet craze of the late 1980s marked a trend toward the belief that “fit for the kingdom” included body as well as soul. Now the movement has expanded, as other religions have embraced faith-based fitness programs. Yet the issue raises questions about what messages faith-based diets, exercise programs and fitness centers send.

Workout Is getting fit about improving your health or improving your looks? What message does this convey to those who have less-than-perfect bodies? Is slimming down or bulking up a proper goal for ancient spiritual practices aimed at improving the soul?

There are more mundane questions as well: Should a church’s fitness center be tax-exempt while a nearby secular gym is not? Missouri recently began to tax yoga centers on the grounds that its spiritual roots in Hinduism are not grounds to qualify it as a tax shelter.

The debates are not likely to go away, and not only because New Year’s is traditionally the time when everyone — believer or not — repents of holiday binging and resolves to change eating and exercise habits. Many churches and some synagogues now include gyms, swimming pools and other fitness venues on their campuses, and an entire industry of religiously oriented fitness equipment suppliers, programming and teacher training has grown up to serve them.

Moreover, with obesity rates increasing and Americans growing more sedentary — and creating health-care problems and costs — the need to adopt more healthful lifestyles is obvious. Caring for the body is certainly in keeping with the teachings of most traditional religions.

This edition of ReligionLink provides background and resources for stories about faith-based fitness.

Background

The faith-based fitness movement is distinct from the interconnections between sports and religion, which are explored in this ReligionLink edition. The current trend would more closely reflect the “Muscular Christianity” movement of the 19th century that began in Britain and flourished in the United States after the Civil War, as this Christianity Today feature recounts. Today’s fitness trend is different, however, not only because it has moved beyond the churches, but also because Christians and other religious groups are often embracing the Eastern traditions of yoga and the martial arts in their quest for personal fitness and fulfillment. For some believers, those associations can be problematic.

Resources

Many more Americans say they are heavier than their ideal weight (62 percent) or say they would like to lose weight (55 percent) than are seriously trying to shed pounds at this time (27 percent), according to a recent Gallup Poll.
Read a 2009 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index that found that people who exercise experience a higher level of well-being, including higher life evaluation, emotional health scores and lower rates of depression.
The Rabbinical Assembly, the national association of Conservative rabbis, on Jan. 1, 2010, launched an initiative encouraging its members to “adopt healthy eating, exercise and lifestyle habits,” as this JTA article reports. The initiative is called The Shalem Campaign. “Shalem” is the Hebrew word meaning “whole,” and the philosophy of the Shalem Campaign is holistic and also reflects core Jewish principles, organizers say.
Read a January 5, 2010 essay from The Tablet, an online magazine of Jewish culture, titled “Is Yoga Kosher?” It is about the struggle of a Modern Orthodox Jew to reconcile her yogic practice with her Judaism.

Read an article about the tensions between secular sports clubs and fitness centers that must pay taxes and their church counterparts (and sometimes competitors) that are tax-exempt.
Read an article in the Vegetarian Times about Christian diet programs and how they compare to vegetarian diets. The article was published in 2007.
Read an October 1989 letter to the bishops of the Catholic Church on the subject of Christian meditation written by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. In it, Ratzinger addresses yoga.
Read a Sept. 17, 2005, New York Times article about the spread of Christian and Jewish yoga.

Faith and fitness organizations/programs

ChurchFitness.com helps churches establish and build fitness ministries. It provides equipment and training programs. Contact 757-250-3595.
Church Health Center was founded by a United Methodist doctor seeking to fulfill the Christian obligation to care for the poor by providing health care. Among its programs is On the Move in Congregations, a six-week program of Scripture, meditations and health tips designed for individual congregations to use to improve their health and fitness. Contact 901-261-8833 ext. 1513.
Faith and Fitness is an online lifestyle magazine that focuses on Christianity and fitness. Brad Bloom is publisher. Contact brad@faithandfitness.net.
First Place 4 Health is a Christian weight-loss program that began as a ministry at Houston’s First Baptist Church and now has groups in 12,000 congregations nationwide. The Web site has a search engine that allows a state-by-state search of existing groups and meetings. Carole Lewis is national director. Contact 713-688-6788, carole.lewis@firstplace4health.com.
Karate for Christ is an international organization of karate schools and teachers who approach this martial art with a Christian perspective. Among its goals is evangelization of Asia and Asian communities. Mike Lewis is in charge of its American operations and is based in Norfolk, Va. Contact kfciuskaicho@msn.com.
PraiseMoves is a “Christian alternative to yoga” founded by Laurette Willis. It consists of books, DVDs, tapes and television programs for adults and children. Willis is based in Tahlequah, Okla. Contact 800-211-8446, praisemoves@gmail.com.
The Torah Yoga Association is an online organization of students and teachers who approach yoga via the method of Diane Bloomfield. Contact through the Web site.
Weigh Down Ministries is a Christian-based fitness program founded by Gwen Shamblin, who is also a co-founder of Remnant Fellowship Church in Brentwood, Tenn. The Weigh Down Diet was at the forefront of the Christian diet craze of 20 years ago and remains very popular, despite Shamblin’s personal problems with her congregation. Contact via her Web site.
Yoga Mosaic is an association of Jewish yoga teachers and centers in the United States and overseas. The Web site has a search engine that allows a regional search of teachers and classes.

National sources

FAITH and FITNESS AUTHORS/TEACHERS

Brad Bloom is the publisher of Faith and Fitness magazine, an online lifestyle magazine about Christianity and fitness that is based in Yorkville, Va. He wrote a 2008 article for the magazine on why the church should be involved in physical fitness. In 2010, the magazine will focus on the role the church can play in fitness and on the role of church fitness centers in the community and the congregation. Contact brad@faithandfitness.net.
Diane Bloomfield is the author of Torah Yoga, a Jewish-themed yoga book and program that she teaches in the U.S. and Israel. She also founded the Torah Yoga Association. She gave a Beliefnet.com interview on the intersection of Judaism and yoga. Contact via Web site.
Susan Bordenkircher is the author of Yoga for Christians, which is based on a class she developed called “Outstretched in Worship,” a Christian approach to yoga. She is based in Fairhope, Ala. Contact 251-928-9133, bordenkircher@bellsouth.net.
J. Ron Eaker is a doctor and the author of Fat Proof Your Family: God’s Way to Forming Healthy Habits for Life (2007). He blogs at Fat Proof Your Family and can discuss women and fitness from a Christian perspective. He lives in Augusta, Ga. Contact 706-733-4427, reaker@pol.net.
Scott Gerson is the author of The Ayurvedic Guide to Diet & Weight Loss and founder of the National Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine in Brewster, N.Y. Contact 845-278-8700.
Steven Rapp is a Boston yoga teacher who developed Aleph-Bet yoga, a series of postures meant to represent Hebrew letters. Contact 617-918-1551, Rapp.Steve@cs.com.
Peter Walters and John Byl are co-authors of Christian Paths to Health and Wellness (2007). Walters is an associate professor in the applied health science department at Wheaton College in Illinois, and Byl is a professor of physical education at Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. Byl can discuss the biblical foundation behind the Christian fitness movement. Contact Walters at peter.h.walters@wheaton.edu and Byl at 905-648-2139 ext. 4249, byl@redeemer.ca.
La Vita Weaver is the founder of Fit for God Ministries and the author of Fit for God: The 8-Week Plan That Kicks the Devil OUT and Invites Health and Healing IN. She says her belief in God helped her reduce from 200 pounds. She is based in Capital Heights, Md. Contact 301-901-3013, lavitaweaver@fitforgod.com.

CLERGY

Myriam Klotz is a Reconstructionist rabbi and the director of yoga and embodied practices at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Contact myriam@ijs-online.org.
Debra Orenstein is a rabbi and leader of Makom Ohr Shalom congregation in Los Angeles. She wrote a Torah portion commentary about teshuvah, the return to God, and weight loss. Contact 818-725-7600.
Steve Reynolds is pastor of Capital Baptist Church in Annandale, Va., and author of Bod for God: The Four Keys to Weight Loss (2009). He urged his congregation to join him in a Christian-themed weight loss program. Reynolds eventually lost 100 pounds. Contact via his assistant, Rindy Dowdy, 703-560-3109 ext. 101, sreynolds@capitalbaptist.org.
Thomas Ryan is a Paulist priest and director of the Paulist North American Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in New York City. He is the author of Prayer of Heart and Body: Meditation and Yoga as Christian Spiritual Practice. Contact 202-269-2511, tomryan@paulist.org.

ACADEMICS

R. Marie Griffith is a religion professor who specializes in women and gender at Princeton University in Princeton, N.J. She is the author of Born Again Bodies: Flesh and Spirit in American Christianity and has studied Christian weight-loss programs and the women who participate in them, especially in the evangelical, Pentecostal and charismatic communities. Contact 609-258-4515.
Michelle Lelwica is an associate professor of religion at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. She is the author of Starving for Salvation: The Spiritual Dimensions of Eating Problems Among American Girls and Women and The Religion of Thinness: Satisfying the Spiritual Hungers Behind Women’s Obsession With Food and Weight (2009). She recently wrote a commentary for Newsweek and The Washington Post linking the quests for thinness and salvation. She can discuss the Christian diet movement and the quasi-religious nature of our culture’s obsession with thinness. Contact 218-299-3437, lelwica@cord.edu.
Rebecca Lester is an assistant professor of sociocultural anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis. She contributed a chapter on the spiritual dimensions of Overeaters Anonymous to Interpreting Weight. Contact 314-935-9426, rjlester@artsci.wustl.edu.

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

Steve Boyce is the senior pastor of New Life Worship Center, which is in a dispute with the city of Smithfield, R.I., over the use of its church members-only fitness center. Contact 401-232-5200.
Cathy Chadwick is the founder of TouchStone Yoga, a Christian yoga center, and she teaches yoga classes in several Massachusetts churches and communities, including one at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Contact 978-356-5041.
Elizabeth Moulton leads the First Place 4 Health group that meets weekly at the United Baptist Church in Island Falls, Maine. Contact 207-463-3260, mainemoultonmom@yahoo.com.

IN THE EAST

John Bennett is a certified teacher of Karate for Christ at the David and Goliath Christian Martial Arts Academy in Corning, N.Y. Contact 607-329-0200, bennettny2002@yahoo.com.
Melisa Darby is a Christian yoga teacher in the Washington, D.C., area. She is a Catholic and says her relationship with Jesus has been deepened by yoga. She blogs at Light on Christian Yoga. Contact 512-785-2147, melisa@yogaveritas.com.
Thea Wilson conducts the Fit for the Kingdom ministry at First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Upper Marlboro, Md. The program links Bible studies to overcoming food addictions. Contact 301-773-3600.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

Henry Brinton is pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Virginia and co-author with Vik Khanna of Ten Commandments of Faith and Fitness (2008). Brinton wrote a June 10, 2008, article for The Washington Post about the intersection of faith and fitness. Contact 703-273-5300, henry@fairfaxpresby.com.
Faith Giebel is director of sports and Gloria Copeland is fitness center director at Dunwoody Baptist Church in Atlanta. The church has enormous sports and fitness programs, including cheerleading and martial arts. Contact Giebel at 770-280-1220 ext. 2, fgiebel@dbc.org, and Copeland at 770-280-1200 ext. 3058, gcopeland@dbc.org.
Becky Roberts is North Carolina’s only certified teacher of Holy Yoga, a Christian-based yoga program. Contact beckyr@holyyoga.net.

IN THE SOUTH

Dave Stone is senior minister of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., which has a sports and fitness ministry. Contact 502-253-8000.
Terry Baldridge teaches a Christian aerobics class at Flippin Christian Church in Flippin, Ark. Contact 870-453-8119.
Blair Lanier is the fitness director at Germantown Baptist Church in Germantown, Tenn. The church has a fitness center, which it considers a ministry, that draws 70 percent of its membership from outside the congregation. Contact 901-756-9450.
Peg Nixon teaches aerobics at Life Christian Aerobics, a nonprofit in the Louisville area of Kentucky. Contact 502-541-0906, peg@lifechristianaerobics.org.

IN THE MIDWEST

David Bundrick is an associate pastor at First Baptist Raytown in Raytown, Mo. The church has a fitness center it considers an outreach ministry. He is a consultant to ChurchFitness.com. Contact 816-268-1528, dbundrick@fbroc.com.
Donna Furmanek is a yoga teacher at the Academy of Creative Movement Yoga Studio in Orland Park, Ill. She is a Christian and wrote an article about the intersection of yoga and Christian spirituality as well as about the fear some Christians have of traditional yoga. Contact 708-403-7225.
Addis Moore is pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Kalamazoo, Mich. He founded the Living Well Fitness Center after he noticed many in his congregation struggling with weight and diabetes. Contact 269-388-3111.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

Brooke Boon is the founder of Holy Yoga, a Christian-based yoga training and teaching program based in Phoenix, Ariz. Contact 602-321-1819.
E. Easter is the founder and teacher of Resurrection Aerobics, which she describes as “Christian-based sex aerobics.” She lives and teaches in Houston. Contact 832-660-6176, info@resurrectionaerobics.com.
Yahweh Yoga is a Christian-based yoga training academy that trains yoga teachers and offers Christ-oriented yoga classes. It is based in Chandler, Ariz. Contact 480-753-4659.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

The Christian Academy of Martial Arts is in Morgan Hill, Calif. It approaches martial arts with a Christian perspective. Contact 408-705-3577.
Cissy Brady-Rogers is a marriage and family counselor in Arcadia, Calif., and was a contributor to The Religion of Thinness: Satisfying the Spiritual Hungers Behind Women’s Obsession With Food and Weight. She can discuss fitness, yoga, Christians practicing yoga, Christian-based weight loss, eating disorders, plastic surgery and sexuality. Contact 626-254-1774, cissy@cissybradyrogers.com.
Matt Smith is pastor of Barabbas Road Church in La Jolla, Calif. He instituted a fitness ministry to attract new church members when other ministries failed. Contact 619-459-3873, pastormatt@whoisbarabbas.com.
Chris Stewart is the California representative for Karate for Christ. He is based in Downey, Calif. Contact 562-862-2438, chris@newstreetchurch.com.