Since she first set foot on American soil several
hundred years ago, the black woman has been known as the tower
of strength that holds together the African American community.
In the midst of countless neighborhoods that are fraught with severe
health challenges, this woman has drawn upon her faith-filled inner
power enabling her to protect, persevere and lead, time and time
again. As a relentless harbinger she has, by necessity, been in
the forefront healing, helping and opening doors to assure meaningful
opportunities for family and extended family members. While traveling
on this journey, almost as a crusader in our communities, the health
of the black woman has been compromised.
This amazing African creation who has prowled across the planet
protecting urban and rural enclaves of Africanity and routinely
breathing life into many aspects of her communities, is now out
of breath herself. She has become weakened in the 21st century
by yet another disease designed to dismantle and disarm the black
infrastructure. Fragmentation, the sick separation of the body,
mind and spirit has now manifested itself as obesity. “Obesity,” though
some would prefer the euphemistic term “at-risk,” means
one’s Body Mass Index is greater than 30%. This disorder
is critically prevalent among blacks, and yet, in spite of recent
public attention directed toward overweight Americans, and tentative
efforts to develop targeted outreach strategies, the urgency to
eradicate the situation has not sufficiently impacted our African
American communities. Herein lies the arena where a disproportionate
number of beautiful, bountiful and deeply spiritual African American
women are found.
Within every overweight spiritual woman, I contend that there is
a silent search for a more meaningful connection between her mind,
muscles and her inner spirit. Within every “sista” who
allows more than 50 lbs. of body fat, (severe obesity), to rest
on her weakening skeletal structure, there is a deep yearning to
know the secret correlation between being lean, lithe and inner
light.
It is the responsibility of each of us “sistas” to
raise the question, “Am I functioning fully through my mind,
body and spirit? Am I functioning fully, or am I too full to function?
Is my choice of lifestyle creating a vehicle through which God’s
full expression of love, life and longevity are allowed to flourish?”
Being filled with the Holy Spirit suggests a balanced, holistic
integration of spirit, mind, and body. According to this definition,
each of us can be saturated with |
God’s love, and thereby, consciously
willing to use our body temple as an expression of the sweet Divinity
within. Holistic integration of mind/body/spirit means using our
minds creatively and discerningly; with this union we can screen
what enters our temple and select only that which keeps it fit
and functional. Being full with flesh that reflects an overindulgence
in toxic foods, and a poor commitment to exercise, however, is
deleterious to our well-being and impairs us from functioning healthfully,
wisely, and as the spiritual women needed on the front-lines in
our communities.
As black women we must recognize that which keeps us weak and waning
as we walk in the power of the “I AM.” It’s essential
that we first turn inward to find answers to the deep questions
surrounding personal disintegration, and collectively understand
the contributions to black women’s debilitation. The use
of ancestral affinity, genetic predisposition, or environmental
and cultural rationales can no longer cloud the reality that we
are killing ourselves. We must acquiesce to that fact and acknowledge
that, flabby muscles produce flaccid thinking and even more, a
flawed sense of physical, mental and spiritual synergy. Too much
sugar, salt and fat fuels the sickness and insanity that await
us if we don’t remain strong, deeply unified, and diligently “on
purpose.”
This means immediately intervening in the suicidal behavior that
accompanies obesity. This behavior, regardless of its cause or
origin, leaves our “queen mother” and the households
that many head, highly vulnerable to a multitude of fatal diseases.
Her poor personal health management today, raises questions as
to her capability to manage the health of her family and other
community members, tomorrow. Thus, obesity has endangered the most
critical cornerstone of the African American community, the black
woman, thus putting the entire population in harms way. The 21st
century black woman must now be armed with an embodied knowledge
that demonstrates a holistic-healing and personal management system.
It is crucial that this powerful system protects her, while empowering
her to penetrate her crumbling African American communities.
A Sacred Journey to Wellness is a holistic personal
management system designed to assist African American women from
faith-based communities in losing weight, decreasing debilitating
weight related health disorders, and deepening their “spiritual” alliance.
For more information regarding forthcoming programs email HYDYInc@aol.com |
