Physical Health In Religious Communities

[Gabriela]

I'm wondering what all of you know about issues of diet and exercise in religious communities. I am particularly interested in monastic (cloistered) communities, and from what I've seen, the lifestyle is not conducive to good physical health. Sure, the calm, slow pace of life and the frequent prayer is sure to keep stress at bay, which has huge health benefits. But in the communities I've visited, the sisters get next to no exercise (nor do they have time for it), eat almost exclusively carbohydrates, and often get insufficient sleep.

 

Given the importance of bodily health for mental (and, I think, being the "holist" that I am, spiritual) health, I find this state of affairs rather appalling. I know that most communities have very little income and so must purchase the cheapest food possible, but as we all know, the cheap stuff in America these days hardly qualifies as food. And I know that prayer is the most important thing for monastics, so exercise and sleep may be sacrificed for that. But I'm thinking that the sisters could do all their work better—and the communities could save tons of money on medical expenses—if they lived healthier lifestyles (e.g., by eating "real food", exercising, and getting sufficient sleep).

 

What say ye all on this matter? And does anyone know of any communities that might be considered exemplary in this regard?

[Strictlyinkblot]

The community I'm hoping to enter are monastic. The sisters are free to go to bed from 21:00 approximately and the rising bell is at 05:20. There is also a siesta period during the day of about 1 1/2 hours. The diet is generally healthy with plenty of vegetables and some fruit, meat except for Wednesdays, Fridays and fast days, eating between meals is discouraged. The meals are self-service so it could be unhealthy depending on the sisters individual choices.

There are free periods during the day which could be used for exercise and the first recreation of the day for the novices is usually some form of a walk or ballgame or something similar. I was also told that time during the work period could be used for exercise if there was nothing pressing to be done as it was considered important. Its generally left up to the sisters to ensure that they get enough exercise.

Most of the communities I visited seem to have a healthy balance. Even St. Teresa of Avila insisted that her sisters should have at least seven hours of sleep a night. And I haven't met that many monastic nuns who were very overweight.

[Totally Franciscan]

Of course, it seems that every community would differ in all these areas, however, when I was in two different communities, one active, the other contemplative, we had more than enough food and treats to keep us healthy and happy.  In addition, my two communities were very good about exercise.  We had more than enough volleyball, walks, swimming, bike riding, not to mention physical work in the laundry, kitchen, cleaning the convent, etc.  I wouldn't worry about your health.  God always provides.  When one enters, one trusts in God to fulfill every need, and be assured he goes above and beyond our needs and gives from His largesse! 

[Gabriela]

The community I'm hoping to enter are monastic. The sisters are free to go to bed from 21:00 approximately and the rising bell is at 05:20. There is also a siesta period during the day of about 1 1/2 hours. The diet is generally healthy with plenty of vegetables and some fruit, meat except for Wednesdays, Fridays and fast days, eating between meals is discouraged. The meals are self-service so it could be unhealthy depending on the sisters individual choices.

There are free periods during the day which could be used for exercise and the first recreation of the day for the novices is usually some form of a walk or ballgame or something similar. I was also told that time during the work period could be used for exercise if there was nothing pressing to be done as it was considered important. Its generally left up to the sisters to ensure that they get enough exercise.

Most of the communities I visited seem to have a healthy balance. Even St. Teresa of Avila insisted that her sisters should have at least seven hours of sleep a night. And I haven't met that many monastic nuns who were very overweight.

 

 

Of course, it seems that every community would differ in all these areas, however, when I was in two different communities, one active, the other contemplative, we had more than enough food and treats to keep us healthy and happy.  In addition, my two communities were very good about exercise.  We had more than enough volleyball, walks, swimming, bike riding, not to mention physical work in the laundry, kitchen, cleaning the convent, etc.  I wouldn't worry about your health.  God always provides.  When one enters, one trusts in God to fulfill every need, and be assured he goes above and beyond our needs and gives from His largesse! 

 

Would you mind to mention which communities these were?

[petitpèlerin]

I have the same concern. I'm a small person who happens to have a very low metabolism and I eat child-size portions. If I eat what other adults eat I gain weight. And I exercise (usually run) several times a week. I'm fit, healthy, strong, have a strong immune system, and I rarely get sick. I imagine religious life as a place where a bunch of women sit around the table three times a day eating three times what I need to, make goodies for each other, and get no exercise except a little bit of walking here and there. Contrast this with some of the monastic saints, who ate only bread and herbs. Their bodies were just disciplined not to need more and they functioned just fine. They also saw the importance for athletes of the spirit to be strong and fit in body as well. My body seems to work best on a similar regime and I don't want to mess with it. I have no willpower to resist food except by avoiding sitting at the table too long and not having goodies around, and I feel like a slug when I don't get regular, strenuous exercise, and who can be a happy bride of Christ when she feels like a slug? This is seriously my biggest concern about religious life.

[maximillion]

 I imagine religious life as a place where a bunch of women sit around the table three times a day eating three times what I need to, make goodies for each other, and get no exercise except a little bit of walking here and there.

Hi PP, I have no idea where you 'imagine' this community to be but it is unlike most I have ever heard of or been in contact with, if that is any reassurance.

The rule of Poverty closes one off to indulgence at the table as well as anywhere else.

Many (at least Cloistered) communities have few labour saving devices and in addition have to make the effort to grow their own food. Did you ever dig over a five metre square plot? Believe me, this is some tough exercise!

We need the gym and running as a keep fit strategy precisely because most of us live life styles that exclude the hard physical effort it takes to do the laundry by hand, dig for and raise our own food, and keep house without the benefit of anything other than simple tools and 'elbow grease'.

Poverty does not mean that communities over indulge in un-healthy foods, if they are growing their own then there will usually be an abundance of fruit and veg with a few eggs and dairy, very little meat.

Pre packaged food tends to rely on cheap fat and carbs, and I don't know many communities who buy it. There are a couple of notable exceptions I have seen posted here.

Some of the newer communities who work exclusively with street people and live in urban settings with no space to grow their own and relying on donations to feed themselves may be in this circumstance, but this would be an exception rather than the rule I imagine.

 

When I was in the cloister sometimes the only time I paused was in chapel for LOTH, and judging from others more recent experiences, this hasn't changed.

We didn't do long walks and ball games because we were kept fit doing everything else.

 

In addition, mental prayer takes effort too, staying awake at odd hours in the night, being constantly alert to the needs of others, watching and keeping a guard on one's attitude, and Recollection...these are as exhausting as digging the garden.

[juchu]

I really think this depends from community to community.... As some of you know, I have entered with health problems and others have been added to during this year. 

 

A monastic schedule normally really is a full schedule... And yes, resting in the chapel is sometimes really the only time one gets to rest, though actually in my community we have  a 2-3 pm break and we also rest from 21:15 - 5:30 which makes almost 8 hours sleep. This differs though in lent and easter time. 

Though sometimes even in this break there are things showing up that have to be done, especially when you are in a more flexible working position..... 

 

About the exercise, i think this depends if a community is cloistered or not. I am free to go for walks and runs, but I really hardly find the time for it. I force myself to do some 15 min. gymnastics every day for my back which I sometimes have to squeeze in at the end of lectio if it does not work otherwise. 

Those arrangements everybody must see for themselves and when in formation with their responsibles.... 

 

And yes, do not underestimate the exercise value of physical labour! Cleaning many rooms, walking across the courtyard to the laundry, stirring big pots of food, working 3 hours non stop in a morning kitchen..... 

[AccountDeleted]

I have the same concern. I'm a small person who happens to have a very low metabolism and I eat child-size portions. If I eat what other adults eat I gain weight. And I exercise (usually run) several times a week. I'm fit, healthy, strong, have a strong immune system, and I rarely get sick. I imagine religious life as a place where a bunch of women sit around the table three times a day eating three times what I need to, make goodies for each other, and get no exercise except a little bit of walking here and there. Contrast this with some of the monastic saints, who ate only bread and herbs. Their bodies were just disciplined not to need more and they functioned just fine. They also saw the importance for athletes of the spirit to be strong and fit in body as well. My body seems to work best on a similar regime and I don't want to mess with it. I have no willpower to resist food except by avoiding sitting at the table too long and not having goodies around, and I feel like a slug when I don't get regular, strenuous exercise, and who can be a happy bride of Christ when she feels like a slug? This is seriously my biggest concern about religious life.

 

 

Well, although your view of religious life is very strange to me, I do suggest that you and curiousing don't consider becoming Carmelites. Their focus is more on the spirit and less on the body. When saints ate little or fasted, it wasn't because they were concerned for the physical well-being of their bodies, but because they were concerned about the state of their souls. As for being a 'happy bride of Christ', this is not dependant on the health of the body but on the state of the soul too. And happiness is a fleeting thing compared with deep, inner peace through love and service to God through one's sisters. As for 'feeling like a slug'- in Carmel we have a saying, 'It isn't about feelings.' That isn't to say that we don't have feelings, but we learn to pay little attention to them and to focus instead on our commitment to God. Feelings come and go, our commitment needs to be constant. You may feel like a slug, or you may feel tired, or you may feel cranky, but none of that matters- it will pass.

 

As Maximilion has posted, those in cloistered life often have quite a lot of hard physical labor to do, so going to the gym isn't really part of the life, although some sisters do exercise or do stretches in their cells or go for walks around the gardens (and I suppose you could jog if you wanted to). In addition to just walking up and down the two flights of stairs every day, several times a day, there are gardens to dig, lawns to mow, vegetables to pick (ouch, poor back), laundry to hang on the line and then take in again later, floors to sweep, choirs to dust, beds to make, cells to clean, dishes to wash, compost to empty, kitchens and bathrooms to scrub, floors to wash, chapels to sweep and dust. At the end of a day I am exhausted - a gym would be redundant.

 

In Wolverhampton Carmel we have great food - healthier than anything I eat on the outside! We have fresh fruit and vegetables, salads, fish (no meat) and we serve ourselves so we can take whatever quantity works for our individual metabolisms. We fast on Fridays and during Lent and we observe the Carmelite fast from the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross until Easter. We do sit down three times a day for meals - to take time to give thanks to God for our meals, and because we need to sustain our bodies to do our work in His service. We don't indulge but we do have treats outside fast times, such as chocolates offered around during Recreation - but no sister is forced to take any if she doesn't want to. We also have access to cookies (biscuits) for afternoon tea when it is not a fast time, and on special feast days we have cream or chocolate biscuits if desired. And if someone donates it, we might have ice cream.

 

But the very tone of this thread is so focused on the physical that it really surprises me. No reason not to be healthy but it is only in this modern age that things like jogging and gyms have become necessary to maintain proper health. Believe me, one can be fit without them in religious life.

[Blessed&Grateful]

My little time spent in discerment with a cloistered community was proabably the healthiest period of my life. As nunsense described there is healthy food and hardly any snacking between (unless you need to as one of the sisters did due to very high metabolism.) The work I did around the monastery made up for any "lack" of exercise. I did walk the grounds quite a bit but that was more for prayer (in the Fransican spirit.)

[Gabriela]

I fully acknowledge the value of physical labor for physical health. It is a form of exercise. I agree that gyms aren't necessary when one is getting exercise in other ways. But some (not all) of the communities I've been in have not left any time at all for proper exercise (including physical labor; most of the sisters did office work or small-scale cooking, some cleaning here and there, nothing sufficient to keep one physically fit) or sufficient sleep. And when a community doesn't grow its own food, the cheapest stuff at the supermarket is the least nutritious stuff. Feeling exhausted at the end of the day doesn't mean one has had a good "workout" during the day. I feel exhausted after ten hours of mental labor on my thesis, even though I sat in one spot all day long—which is incredibly unhealthy.

 

My concern is precisely your view, nunsense: that the body doesn't matter, only the soul. Certainly the soul matters most, but while we are in these bodies, we are called to care for them, and as I mentioned in my OP, doing so can save enormous pain, suffering, and medical expense, as well as dramatically improve the quality of one's spiritual and mental life. I'm thinking your view is the reigning one in most religious communities, and that's what concerns me. I'm seeking more of a balanced life that takes into consideration the importance of physical health, a community that is willing to make the time and spend the money on the most healthful options for food, exercise, and sleep.

 

The prayer will always be there. That's what (cloistered) religious life is about. I think it's rare that that gets pushed aside. But it's easy for physical health to get pushed aside for other things in such a busy schedule as sisters have. Hence my concern.

 

EDIT: And don't worry: I would never consider Carmelites! ;-)

Edited January 2, 2013 by curiousing

[petitpèlerin]

On the one hand, we're supposed to work for the soul and not the body. On the other hand there is a profound unity between the soul and the body. My main concern is that the body is treated like the soul: exercised, disciplined, and made strong. If that happens through a community's daily life of work, as you do in Carmel, Nunsense, then that's a life I respect and could live. I'm just concerned because throughout my life I've had contact with some religious who do not live such a rigorous life nor are in any kind of good shape. Growing up I had a school principal who was overweight and drove her car to school every day, from the convent on the corner of the school driveway, a few hundred feet. Contrast that with some photos I recently saw of some SJM priests scaling rock faces and porting serious backpacks on mountain treks with young people. I believe in taking care of the body as well as the soul and I'd like to stay in the kind of shape where I'm keeping my body as strong and capable as possible for as long as possible. Although I suppose the life you live determines what you need your body to be capable of doing.

[savvy]

Petitpe`lerin,

I had the same concerns about the Jerusalem community.  They eat too luxurious for a monastery, and I think they cook too much too, even though food is never wasted.  I was told that their penance was trying to live a monastic life in the heart of the city, and their founders said, they should eat and sleep well, or they would not survive.  They also consider all meals to be a liturgy of the table, so I do not know if that has something do with it.  They do not eat meat on Wednesday's or Friday's.

 

When the sisters were off to work during the day,  I was given manual duties to be done around the house. I was given the afternoon free to go for a walk etc, but I noticed that the sisters used the afternoon to do work such as laundary etc. 

 

On desert day, they can go out more, but one of the sisters said, that she was very sportive, but barely gets the time to do these things in monastic life, because they are always busy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[inperpetuity]

The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles are very knowledgeable when it comes to eating healthy.  They get the carb thing and recognize that not everyone has the grace or natural ability to go extreme long periods without eating something.  When I spent time with them visiting every Sunday for a whole summer and then on a week visit, they asked me if I needed to have a snack between meals and there were several sisters who did this, but this was an exception.  They frequently went for walks and now of course they are able to farm as well.

 

Then the Carmelites of Witchita, Kansas do organic farming, have their own cows for milk and cheese, but I don't know about time for excercise.  The Carmelite schedule as you mentioned doesn't afford much free time. Some people need to excercise more than others. I am one of those people, but I know other people who are very healthy who need to excercise much less than me and who are much older than me and have been that way their whole life. Everyone's different.   I'm sure  that if someone really needed to excercise more, the prioress or superior would work with them to fit it in somehow.  One would assume that the prioress of the community they are entering would be flexible enough to be able to allow for certain diet and excercise needs within reason.

 

I do believe that If God calls someone to a community, then He will also provide for their physical and spiritual needs as He sees  fit.  It always requires a certain amount of abandonment for sure just to enter.

 

[emmaberry101]

I have never lived in the cloister, or in any religious community, so take what I say with a grain of salt!

 

For the Poor Clares and most other contemplative communities, you are spending much of the day in mental prayer on your knees, which is a form of exercise (works the leg muscles as well as the abs :P). Curiousing, you are right that some of the nuns have assigned work that is decidedly not manual labor. I believe that in Roswell a Sister has typewriter duty where she types out letters and things like that. However, this Sister, even with the Office work she does, spends, at the very least, 2 hours a day in mental prayer on her knees. She will also kneel for a portion of the Mass and her daily adoration. 

 

When the weather is nice, many contemplative communities spend the recreation hour walking and talking with one another. 

 

As far as the food, I cannot give you a definitive answer because I do not know what communities you are speaking of, but the Poor Clares eat very well for the Lenten fast they keep everyday. The food is served in such a way that the Sisters get adequate calories and nutrition, and in my community, the food is not all carbs, though there are some carbs as they are necessary for brain function and general health.

 

To say that contemplative communities are unhealthy or not paying enough attention to the physical could really be answered with nuns' notorious longevity! They are famous for it. I have not seen statistics, but nuns generally live longer than the average person. In the Roswell Poor Clare cloister, some of the nuns even get discouraged and have to remind themselves that "Well, I will have to die someday, that's for sure."

 

It is also a known fact that not everyone has the ability to live the contemplative life. This is one of the foremost signs that is not one's vocation. Often, people turned away by contemplative communities act as if the contemplatives are living superhuman or unstable lives, when really it is a good healthy life for the women living it, but definitely not for everyone on the outside. Poor Clares, being in the Order of Penance, live their life in such a way that it is almost designed not to be within everyone's capability.

 

The contemplative vocation is a rare calling, and there are so many different communities out there that if you have a special need, do not fear to bring it up when visiting. Even the strictest communities realize that "some people are more enfeebled by a passing indisposition than another by a long and grave illness." (From the Poor Clare rule of life documents) Furthermore, a vocation given by God will be aided in supernatural grace.

 

EDIT: Please forgive me, I forgot to address the issue of sleep! I have been told by contemplatives that they do not need as much sleep as those on the outside because of the peace and silence in the cloister. Apparently, when the body does not go through the daily amount of stress and constant noise we put it through, less sleep is needed because there is not as much to recover from-the nerves are not as frazzled as our poor nerves are on the outside from traffic, cell phones, deadlines, etc.

 

The Poor Clares get, on average, 7 hours of sleep a night. While not luxurious, it is an adequate amount of sleep, and if a Sister needs more, she can almost always have a lie-in when it is requested. Also, the body self-adjusts to lower amounts of sleep when it is given less. There is no siesta or nap during the day.

 

Again, the simplest answer to concerns about the healthiness of the contemplative's life need only be answered with how few of them get cancer, their long lives, and so on. Also, prayer has been shown, even in secular studies, to add years to one's life because of the stress-decreasing properties, I remember reading. So a contemplative who is truly immersed in prayer is often far healthier than your average "outsider."

 

 

 

Great question, curiousing!

 

Edited January 2, 2013 by emmaberry101

[AccountDeleted]

I fully acknowledge the value of physical labor for physical health. It is a form of exercise. I agree that gyms aren't necessary when one is getting exercise in other ways. But some (not all) of the communities I've been in have not left any time at all for proper exercise (including physical labor; most of the sisters did office work or small-scale cooking, some cleaning here and there, nothing sufficient to keep one physically fit) or sufficient sleep. And when a community doesn't grow its own food, the cheapest stuff at the supermarket is the least nutritious stuff. Feeling exhausted at the end of the day doesn't mean one has had a good "workout" during the day. I feel exhausted after ten hours of mental labor on my thesis, even though I sat in one spot all day long—which is incredibly unhealthy.

 

My concern is precisely your view, nunsense: that the body doesn't matter, only the soul. Certainly the soul matters most, but while we are in these bodies, we are called to care for them, and as I mentioned in my OP, doing so can save enormous pain, suffering, and medical expense, as well as dramatically improve the quality of one's spiritual and mental life. I'm thinking your view is the reigning one in most religious communities, and that's what concerns me. I'm seeking more of a balanced life that takes into consideration the importance of physical health, a community that is willing to make the time and spend the money on the most healthful options for food, exercise, and sleep.

 

The prayer will always be there. That's what (cloistered) religious life is about. I think it's rare that that gets pushed aside. But it's easy for physical health to get pushed aside for other things in such a busy schedule as sisters have. Hence my concern.

 

EDIT: And don't worry: I would never consider Carmelites! ;-)

 

The body exists so that we can prepare ourselves for our life with God. It is important to take good care of it because it is a gift given to us by God and a temple of the Holy Spirit, and you aren't arguing with my thoughts on this, but on those of Our Lord who said 'The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.' John 6:63

 

I doubt that he meant we should ignore the needs of the flesh but certainly we human beings do spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about body, our looks, our health when we spend much less time worrying about the state of our souls. Those who choose religious life are doing so because they understand that the soul's needs should be placed above those of the body.

 

The nuns I have lived with are aware of health and the need for sleep and good food because no sister wants to be a burden to her community through ill heath. Carmelites get at least 7 hours sleep a night (and more if one wants to go to bed early during free time after Compline) and they eat healthy food and those who don't do some kind of physical work around the convent are usually those who are unable to do so through age or infirmity. As has been mentioned as well, nuns tend to live very long lives over all. Those who die young don't usually do so because of lack of exercise but because of a disease. St Therese died of TB and Teresa of the Andes had septicaema I think. No amount of gym work would have helped either of them so it's good that both of them were more focused on the state of their souls! In my community we have a nun who is 90 years old and one who is 89 - and they both envy those who have gone to God before them - and neither of them has ever jogged or been to the gym.

 

If physical health is a priority for you (hopefully for health reasons and not vanity or through some eating disorder) then by all means seek out a convent that takes this into account and includes time for physical exercise as opposed to physical labor.