Truth

Brace yourself! Satan will try to sweep you off your feet with an onslaught of lies. Satan is known as “the deceiver, the father of lies.”(John 8:44) He will invade your thoughts with lies about what is important in life or what is right or wrong, for example. He may deceive you into thinking it’s okay to hold a grudge or misinterpret another person’s motives. Or he could lie and tell you that the work you do has no value, or that you have no value.

To defend yourself against this bombardment of lies and deception, you need to “gird your loins with truth.” (Ephesians 6:14) What are the loins exactly? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines loins as “the upper and lower abdominal regions and the region about the hips, ie., where you would place a belt; the part of the body on either side of the spinal column and between the hip and lower ribs.” This week’s exercise targets the loin area.

Truth is the first protective piece that Paul describes in Ephesians 6. (See Ephesians 6:11 – 17 for the entire list.) Knowing the truth will enable you to recognize Satan’s lies and defend yourself against them. How do we know what the truth is? Jesus said “if you are my disciples you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) The book of John in the New Testament of the Bible describes who Jesus is and what it means to know Him and be His disciple.

“Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17) So to know Jesus is to put on truth. Brace yourself against falsehood and gird yourself with the truth!

Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)

This week’s exercise involves a muscle in the area of the loins – the transverse abdominis, or TA. It is a deep muscle so it is usually not shown on muscle diagrams. The TA runs from side to side across your belly and is responsible for flattening it. (See the horizontal muscle fibers in the photo at right. creativecommons.org) Learning to contract this muscle will enable you to brace yourself to protect your back when lifting heavy objects. (Fitness professionals call it “abdominal bracing.”) Also, you will contract the TA before executing several other exercises.

So, first let’s locate your transverse abdominis. Stand and place your left hand on your belly below your navel and your right hand on your low back. Now, cough. (Just this once, it is okay to cough without covering your mouth!) Did you feel the tightening of the muscle under your left hand? That’s your TA. Do it again to be sure. (You may have felt the muscles higher up on the front of your waist contracting too, but we are focusing on the lower ones.) Now this time let’s contract the TA muscle again and imagine that you are pulling your navel toward the hand on your back (toward your spine). Keep your hips level. (Click here for the previous post on how to do this.) This is an exercise most people are not familiar with so it takes some conscious practice to perform it effectively. Pull your navel inward and hold for a few seconds (while continuing to breathe) and then release. Repeat five times or as many times as you like. You can do it several times a day.

If you are among the people who are not allowed to do curl-ups or bend your spine due to osteoporosis or a back or spinal condition, this is a way you can safely strengthen your abdominals. Of course, if you have any questions or concerns, consult your healthcare provider first.

The advantage of this exercise is that it truly can be done anywhere: standing in line, sitting in a meeting or while preparing a meal or drying your hair, etc. Decide when you might do this one and put up a sticky note as a reminder. You could combine it with deep breathing. Pull your navel inward as you exhale.

Strengthening the transverse abdominis is a fundamental exercise, one of the most important ones you can do. So be sure to include it in your Length and Strength routine!