By Rabbi Jaymee Alpert
Note: This blog post was featured as part of our #HeshbonHodesh: Adar monthly newsletter.
Growing up, I was the last-picked in gym class for every single sport. I faked more injuries than I can count so that I wouldn’t have to participate, and my USY volleyball coach awarded me the “Most Improved Player” trophy, because honestly, I could only go up from where I had started.
No one was more surprised than I when I started to fall in love with exercise about fourteen years ago. At first, it was the thrill of having my body do things I didn’t know it could do: Push-Ups! Jump-Rope! Squats! Sled Pushes! And then, over time, I realized that I was connecting to my body in a deeper way.
Exercising, whether hitting the boxing bag (which I love), or deadlifting considerably more than I weigh (which I also love), not only keeps me physically strong but makes me mentally tough. Is the awkward phone call I have to make really the hardest part of my day when I have already made it through kettlebell swings and burpees? Moving my body also clears my head so that I can deal with the stress of life in general and the more particular stress of being a rabbi.
The early rabbis who crafted Asher Yatzar got it right. They really understood the connection between physical, mental, and spiritual health. I come back to this prayer a lot, especially these days when it is so easy to become unmoored. It reminds me that when I take care of my body, I also contribute to my emotional well-being. I am grateful that I had an exercise routine in place before the pandemic began, and even more grateful that I have been able to maintain it during this time. Moving my body gives me peace of mind even when I am tired, even when my muscles don’t want to cooperate and I am confronted by my limits.
If you want to start exercising but feel overwhelmed, here are a few moves you can do at home or in your office in between Zoom meetings:
- Plank-hold
- 10 jumping jacks
- 10 squats
- 10 push-ups
If you would like a few more suggestions, please be in touch, rabbialpert@beth-david.org.
Wishing you a healthy, happy Adar!
Jaymee Alpert is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation Beth David in Saratoga, CA. She is the co-creator of Neshama Body and Soul (a practice that combines prayer, body-weight strength training, and meditation), and a former boxing instructor. She was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2003.
Read the Other Blog Posts in This Series:
Rabbi Daniel Pressman: "No Pain, No Gain"
Rabbi Michael Ungar: Finding the Parallels Between Fitness and Jewish Living
Rabbis Daniel Novick and Sarah Krinsky: The Joy of Peloton