As A Man Thinketh...  #WordsMatter 

By Audrey Muhammad

Have you heard of the saying “You are what you think about?”  Did you know our thoughts can affect us, no matter what our surroundings may be or what we may have? There are some wealthy, unhealthy and unhappy people.  Even if we are “eating” good food, if our thoughts are “bad,” we can ill affect the digestive process in a negative way.  Our thoughts are the WORDS we say in our mind.  The words we use DO Matter.   The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, “We can eat the best food, we can take fasts for nine days or for 20 or 30 days if we want to; and we will still suffer if we do not feed the brain with the right food.  These two bodies—the brain and digestive tract—have much in common with one another.  Whatever hurts one hurts the other.  We must treat both well” (How to Eat to Live Book I, p57).

Negative words are like “verbal fat.”  What am I referring to when I say “verbal fat?”  Verbal fat is referring to the thoughts and words that we repeat to ourselves that have a negative impact on our minds and are of no “nutritional value.”  Granted, some fat is needed as stored energy, just as maybe one person saying you can’t do something may be a slight motivation, but no one needs that type of spirit all the time.

How can we get rid of “verbal fat?”  We must exercise or practice replacing negative thoughts with positive producing ones.  (Two thoughts cannot occupy the same space and the same time, right?)  For instance, instead of saying, “Its hard for me to lose weight,” Say “It’s easy to improve my health if I do something each day to improve it.”  Or instead of saying, “I will always be fat,” say, “I will always strive to improve my health.  I am a child of God.  With Him, anything is possible.”  Are you getting stronger?  Are you burning some “verbal fat calories?”  (smile).  Choose your words/thoughts wisely; as the Minister recently said, “Words matter.”

In the book, Get Fit to Live: Be Your Best You, it states, “For every physical law, there is a spiritual law.  For every physical reality, there is a spiritual thought.”  The book also discusses the examples given by author, Louise L. Hay, who explains in one of her books how negative mental thoughts can lead to certain physical conditions.  For instance, “ a loss of appetite may signal [thoughts of] fear or not trusting life, (therefore, you don’t feed yourself.)  Depression may be caused by the thoughts of hopelessness and ungratefulness, etc.  (Read more about your thoughts and wellness in the book, Get Fit to Live:  Be Your Best You available at www.virtuetodaymag.com).

The saying “Change your thoughts, change your life” is quite possible.   How do we get “fit to live” and grow into a God?  The Honorable Minister Farrakhan said in Study Guide #18, “The first step toward growing into the Mind of God is to desire to do His Will.  Then, we must learn to obey His Commands.  (“Rising Above Emotion Into The Thinking Of God”).    Isn’t God worthy of respect and obedience?  Let’s answer these questions with an affirmative “Yes!” and get fit to live! 

May Allah(God) bless us all with peace, love, health, wealth, love and happiness.

Note:  Every Sunday at 9 a.m. EST, Get Fit to Live sponsors a FREE 30 min. Workout.  Register at www.getfittolive.eventbrite.com

(Audrey Muhammad is a fitness instructor, and author of Get Fit to Live:  Be your best You! To obtain your copy, send a $12 check or money order to Get Fit to Live, P.O. Box 61402, Raleigh, NC 27661-1402). Please consult a physician before beginning any new workout or dietary plan.  Send questions or comments to Audrey.a.muhammad@gmail.com)

Atonement for the Body: "I'm Sorry, body...I never meant to hurt you."

 

Get Fit to Live

 Atonement for the Body:  “I’m sorry, body- I never meant to hurt you”

 Who said we need to wait until January to make positive changes in our lifestyle.  The Holy Day of Atonement, which is October 16^th is an excellent time for us to thing about what improvements we can make to live a healthy life.  Let us look at the eight steps atonement and see how we can incorporate them into our fitness lifestyle.  (Quotes are from The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s Million Man March Atonement Message on October 16, 1995.)

1. Point out the wrong- Minister Farrakhan said that this first step is often the most difficult of all because “when we are wrong and we are not aware of it, someone has to point out the wrong.  The most difficult thing is when somebody points it out.  Do we accept it?”  How do we respond when someone points out that we are gaining too much weight or eating something we shouldn’t?  Most important, can we point out the wrong in our diets?  Have we committed a “wrong” to our bodies because we don’t exercise?   We must know what is need of correction.  Therefore, we must each perform a self-examination and self-analysis in order to perform a correction.   (It would also be a good idea to get a physical so that you may have an up-to-date reading of your body.  Please consult a physician)

2. Acknowledge- “To acknowledge means to admit the existence…”  All we have to do is look around and we see the health problems of our community and ourselves. 

3. Confess – Our first confession should be to Allah (God) to help relieve your soul of the burden it bears.  “The Holy Qur’an says it like this: ‘I have been greatly unjust to myself and confess my faults.  So grant me protection against all my fault for none grants protection against faults but thee.’  It is only through confession that we be granted protection from the consequences of our faults, for every deed has a consequence and we can never be granted protection against the faults that we refuse to acknowledge or that we are unwilling to confess.”  If we know we eat too much fried foods, confess and move on to the next step.

4.  Repentance – When we repent, we feel such remorse or shame, that we are determined to never conduct ourselves in such a way again.  Minister Farrakhan states that “Until we repent and feel sick and sorry over what we have done, we can never, never change our mind toward that thing; and if you don’t repent, you’ll do it over and over again.”  We should feel bad about eating an entire pie or gallon of ice cream.  If we don’t feel shame then we are on our way to silencing the voice of Allah (God) within.  That is something we definitely do not want to do; we want to keep God’s voice alive!

5. Atonement – Atone means to make amends.  What are we going to do to start the process of fitness atonement?  Are we going to fast for 3 days and then promise ourselves to eat a healthier diet?  Are we going to start walking 4 times a week?  We have to make amends to our body before it is too late.

6. Forgiveness – We have to grant ourselves pardon for what we have done, or else  we may spend too much time “beating ourselves up” and unable to make a change.

7. Reconciliation/Restoration – “After forgiveness we are going to be restored.  To what?  To our original position…So restoration means the act of returning something to an original or unimpaired condition.”  Wouldn’t you like to have a healthy 20 year-old body and you are 40 year-olds?  Because of our poor lifestyles or “death styles,” we age a lot quicker than what we should.

8.  Perfect Union - When we are in perfect union, we are using our body and treating our body the way Allah(God) intended.  We also will have the beautiful feeling of peace.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to lay your head down tonight knowing that you have prayed, eaten a healthy meal and exercised?   Wouldn’t it we terrific to be able to say, “I have not wronged my body today?” 

May Allah(God) bless us all with peace, health, wealth and happiness.

 (Audrey Muhammad is an aerobics instructor and the author of Get Fit to Live. To order the Book send a $12 money order (Free shipping) to Get Fit to Live, P.O. Box 61402, Raleigh, NC, 27661.  For more information email audreymuhammad@hotmail.com.  Please consult a physician before beginning any new diet or exercise program).

 

 

 

 

Build your Immune System and become Fearlessly Fit!

Some of us may have gone from saying “I don’t have time to exercise,” to saying, how can I exercise in my home?  You and your children will need to be active not only for your health, but for your sanity.  While most of us will be in our homes due to the outbreak of the Covid-19, we can make the best out of an unfortunate situation.  It takes work to improve ourselves and our bodies.  It takes time to see the rewards of our efforts.  However, do we believe, that as “children of the Most High,” that we deserve the best?   We deserve to have some time invested into becoming a better person?  Right?  Are we worth it?  Emphatically, YES!

What can we do during this time to protect ourselves and our families?

1.       Pray:  Prayer will give us the security and peace of mind that will relieve our irritation”- Minister Farrakhan via Twitter, June 9, 2014.

2.       Wash our hands with soap for 20 seconds on regular basis

3.       Refrain from touching our face and eyes.

4.       Eat to live: Eating bean soup, fruits and vegetables will help give us adequate vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin C.

5.       Get proper sleep. 

6.       Lastly, reduce stress and condition your heart with a training program.

If you don’t have a current training program, you can start off with one simple exercise:  WALKING.

Walking is one of the best exercises that we can perform?   It is an exercise that improves your heart, lowers blood pressure, strengthens your muscles, strengthens your bones, improves your sleeping and uplifts your mood.  All it takes is 30 minutes or more 5 times a week.  You can take it one day at a time and count your steps if you don’t want to count minutes.

Whenever I see Minister Farrakhan, he is “on the move.”  This is an 86 year old man that “out walks” most, if not all of us.   He helped to lead us out into the community, how?  Walking.

How can you track your steps?  If you were one of the sisters blessed to attend your MGT class at Saviours’ Day 2020, you received the MGT Smart Bracelet.  If you missed it, you may use a smart phone or a pedometer to track your steps.   According to "The Walking Site," the average person takes about 1,000-3,000 steps a day. Since it takes about 2,000 steps to walk 1 mile a day, we usually walk a mile in our everyday lives from walking around the house, in the parking lot, in the store etc.  If the average person walks a mile a day, we have to find ways to increase our distance.  For example, by the end of my average work day, I usually have walked 2500-3000 steps.  When I get home, I may do a workout or jog or walk around a track so I can work toward my 10,000 steps. 

The goal for each sister and brother should be to walk, run or dance 5,000- 10,000 steps in a day, which can easily be done if we workout for 30 minutes at least 5 days a week.  How can we increase our steps?  Use the stairs, have family “drill time,” dance, get up and walk every hour, or march while watching a video of the Minister.  Although the some of the world has stopped, we must keep moving.  I have started posting “Get Fit to Live” videos that can be played at home.  Please follow @virtuemag on Instagram or YouTube to see the videos and subscribe online to virtuetodaymag.com to get articles and updates.

As the Minister instructed, “Make your own communities a decent place to live,” we should also make our bodies a decent place to dwell in.  Just as we should not throw trash on our streets, we shouldn’t throw “trash” in our bodies.   If we exercise and reduce the sweets we eat and eliminate processed foods like white bread and pasta from our diet, watch how the pounds begin to fall off.   We will become “Fearlessly Fit!”

May Allah bless us all with peace, love, health, wealth and happiness.

 (Audrey Muhammad is an aerobics instructor and author of the book How to Set Worthy Goals.  To order the book, send $9.97 to Get Fit to Live, P.O. Box 61402, Raleigh, NC 27661.  Please consult a physician before beginning any new diet or exercise program).

The Wisdom Of Rest

Get Fit to Live Column:
"The Wisdom of Rest"

By Audrey Muhammad

Do you know the impact rest has on your ability to heal and rejuvenate?  In Torchlight for America, The Honorable Minister Farrakhan listed “rest and relaxation” as the 6^th step for preventative care.  Minister Farrakhan stated that getting proper rest and relaxation will “allow your body time to recuperate from the emotional stress and physical exertion of the day, to re-energize itself to meet the challenges of the next day (A Torchlight for America, p. 147). 

One day I was listening to a podcast by Shawn Stevenson, author of Sleep Smarter and he shared how he broke his hip while running when he was a teenager.  He was diagnosed with a degenerative bone disease, but refused to accept it as a “death sentence.” He went on to study nutrition and kinesiology and found that, not only was his diet lacking, he was not allowing his body adequate time to rest and heal.   Sometime later, he improved his diet and started getting at least 7 or more hours of sleep.  As a result, he was able to lose weight AND his hip was healed. 

In his book, Shawn Stevenson discusses many benefits to proper sleep including:  Faster weight loss, better skin, better memory and a stronger immune system.  The author quotes renowned neurologist Kulreet Chaudhary, MD., who says, “Timing your sleep is like timing an investment in the stock market—it doesn’t matter how much you invest, it matters when you invest” (Sleep Smarter, p. 41).    According to Dr. Chaudhary, sleeping between 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. is the best times for people to get the most health benefits, especially for recovery, (p. 41)

The teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad also support the above claim.  “Eating one meal once a day or once every two days, with no meals between, gives the body time to rest the digestive machinery after the previous meal-and this give the blood time to purify itself o the poison from the last meal” (How to Eat to Live Book II, p. 130). 

At an event at Mosque No. 34 in Durham on August 11, 2018, Student Minister Carlos Muhammad, NOI Historian, shared a letter that Master Fard Muhammad wrote to the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.  In the letter written on October 10 1933, Master Fard Muhammad wrote, “You must have rest and time for other walks of life which is also necessary….”  Brother Carlos also dispelled the myth that a person only needs four hours of sleep; a myth that has circulated in the Nation.  He said Minister Farrakhan told him that he couldn’t function properly on that little sleep.  Granted, there are days where we may only get a couple hours of rest, but that is the “exception,” not the rule. 

Getting proper rest also affects your decision making process.   Have you noticed that when you go to sleep at a decent hour, at least at 9 or 10 p.m., that your mind functions better.  Also, when you get enough rest, you are also less likely to overeat; you have more discipline. “The less you eat the longer you live” (How to Eat to Live Book II, p. 176)

Eating properly and at the proper times, between 4-6 p.m., allows your body enough time to digest some of your food so that your sleep cycle isn’t disrupted.  When you constantly lack sleep, other problems may occur.  Sleep deprivation can also lead to mental illness and other ailments.

Overall, sleeping early helps gives us the drive and determination to stay up after prayer and exercise.  When you are able to get proper rest, did you know that your body’s metabolism works better and you burn more fat?  Do something “kind for yourself” each day: pray, eat right, do exercise and get proper rest.

There is wisdom in resting; let’s use it. May Allah bless us all with peace, health, wealth, love and happiness.

(Audrey Muhammad is an educator, aerobics instructor and the author of The Sister’s Guide to Fitness and How to Set Worthy Goals. Please consult a physician before beginning any new diet or exercise program.)   To order either book, send a $12 money order to Get Fit to Live, P.O. Box 61402, Raleigh, NC, 27661 or visit her website www.virtuetodaymag.com).

Teen Uses Graphic Design Talent to Help Community

Teen Uses Graphic Design Talent to Help Community Members

When a young mother wanted a logo for her daycare, she turned to her daughter’s friend, who was visiting one weekend to complete some community service. Hasana Muhammad, her daughter’s friend, shared that she was learning about Graphic design and could help.  The mother absolutely loved the design Hasana came up with, gave her a donation for her work and shared her new logo and its designer with others.  The idea for her own graphic design business was born after her first “job.”

          Growing up, Hasana was always very crafty and loved to read and draw.  Her design skills were  eventually transferred to computers. After being given a Google Chrome book by her uncle who is an army veteran, she became more interested in learning about computers and software. She is also interested in Virtual Reality, is a lover of anime and gaming.  

            Later, she joined Black Girls Code and began working on her mother’s bi-annual women’s publication, Virtue Today Magazine.  With her mother’s encouragement, Hasana named her company “Virtue Tech” (www.virtuettech.com).  Community members were excited to see the young teen entrepreneur begin working.    

            Her second client was a senior citizen who wanted a flyer designed for her business.  Tears came to her eyes when she saw Hasana’s design; she was so happy to see her business presented in such a professional manner and for an economical price.  Next, she designed a logo for a participant she met at the Power Networking Conference Website and went on to design websites for a local barber and senior citizen who recently published a cookbook. 

Hasana gave discounts to community members because many were on a fixed income, but she wanted them to have the same professional quality of other businesses.  Since she is a 17-year old high school senior who is preparing to major in Computer science, she plans to use her talent to also help raise money for college.  She is thankful that she was able to help so many people and even began interning at her former elementary school, Torchlight Academy, to help them out with graphic design and social media promotion.  Hasana, who also learning Chinese (Mandarin), has a 4.6 GPA, is president of Girls Learn International(GLI), has always had high standards and is graduating from Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy in Raleigh, NC at the top of her class.

Her community service earned her Student of the Year Award when GLI helped to provide over 600 feminine hygiene products for a local women’s shelter.  After she graduates, she has hopes to obtain an internship at Google or another company that will allow her to utilize her skills to help others.   Her goal is to continue developing her skills and her business so that she may be in a better position to provide services for her community and inspire other young girls to code and learn about computer science or other areas in engineering and technology.

(For more information, contact virtuetoday@gmail.com)

How to Build Real Power: Network!

How to Build Real Power:  Network!

By Audrey Muhammad

Last year I attended an event that was so inspirational, I finally revised a book I had been sitting on for about 20 years.  The Power Networking event held in Prince George’s county was truly amazing!  They had awesome presentations on how to market and brand your business, free coaching sessions and roundtable networking sessions.  Do you want to be inspired?  Do you want to meet “like-minded” people?  Attend the Power Networking Conference being held this year at the Gaylord Resort, July 5-7 in Prince George’s County, MD.    

Dr. George Fraser, the network event founder, explained the value of the conference in this short story.  He said he was talking to a man one time, and the man told them that our community’s problem is that "we don’t think enough about ourselves."  The man said that if people in my community are not thinking about you, and you, as black people are not thinking about yourselves, who is thinking about you?!  No one! 

The Power Networking Conference gives us an opportunity to think about and give some positive focus on our community.  Furthermore, it enables us to learn and share our knowledge with the possibility of also meeting someone to network or work with you.  My daughter got her first big logo building contract at the conference.  At the “roundtable” session, each person was able to share what he or she does and what is something that their company needs.  My daughter shared that she designs websites and logos and there was someone there who needed a logo.  Bingo! 

I participated in a free 1 hour coaching session with Howard White and was finally motivated to revise my children’s book, Rhymes of the Times:  Black Nursery Rhymes which is now available on Amazon.

For sixteen years the PowerNetworking Conference has been the home of black entrepreneurs looking for connect, grow and prosper. Forbes voted it one of the top five conferences in the world for entrepreneurs.   The conference has a unique philosophy of networking and helping our community build a financial legacy.  Do You Want to See Real Power?  Go to this year’s Power Networking Conference.  When you leave, you will not be the same.  You will be better…And have a little more power (smile).

                To register for the conference, go to www.powernetworkingconference.com or call the PNC Office at (216) 691-6686 ext. 330.  Registration is $499 and up.  (Call about the special deal for teenagers for $399).   Limited spots available, register today!

(Audrey Muhammad is the Editor-In-Chief of Virtue Today Magazine.  As a writer and educator, she is focused on sharing a “good word” and highlighting the best in our community.  Check out Virtue Today Magazine at www.virtuetodaymag.com).

How To Be Fearlessly Fit!

Become “Fearlessly Fit!”:  10,000 Fearless Steps to Fitness

By Audrey Muhammad

It takes work to improve ourselves and our bodies.  It takes time to see the rewards of our efforts.  However, do we believe, that as “children of the Most High,” that we deserve the best?   We deserve to have some time invested into becoming a better person?  Right?  Are we worth it?  Emphatically, YES!

We are soldiers in our army, right?  Soldiers are required to be fit physically and spiritually.  Being fit will not only help us enjoy life more, but it will help us perform our duties better. Exercising can make your overall life better!  It can actually make you have more energy, not less! 

Would you believe that one of the leading reasons the U.S. Army rejects potential recruits is excess weight?  However, even after screening out the “seriously obese and completely unfit, [the Army] is still finding that many of the recruits who reach basic training have less strength and endurance” than privates in the past.   What has caused this “unfit to fight” problem?  According to the August 31, 2010 article in The New York Times, “It is the legacy junk food and video games, compounded by a reduction in gym classes in many high schools,” Army officials claimed.

Have the same bad habits of too many sweets, processed junk foods and little exercise affected us as “sister soldiers?”  Well, imagine if we combine “eating to live” with our training program?  We will be TOP soldiers in Allah’s army!  If you don’t have a current training program, you can start off with one simple exercise:  WALKING.

Walking is one of the best exercises that we can perform.   It is an exercise that improves your heart,  lowers blood pressure, strengthens your muscles, strengthens your bones, improves your sleeping and uplifts your mood.  All it takes is 30 minutes or more 5 times a week.  You can take it one day at a time and count your steps if you don’t want to count minutes.

Whenever I see Minister Farrakhan, he is “on the move.”  This is an 83 year old man that “out walks” most, if not all of us.   He helped to lead us out into the community, how?  Walking. What is my proposal to get us “walking” like Minister Farrakhan?

1.        Get a health check up from your doctor.

2.       Begin tracking your steps daily.

3.       Set a daily goal for yourself.  (Start with 2,000 steps and work your up.  You can even prepare to walk or run a 5k race as a goal.)

If you have a smart phone, you can track your steps with a pedometer, an app like MyFitnessPal or if you have an iphone, your steps can be tracked when you tap on the little “heart” icon.  Another option is you can get a FitBit, as my sister and I did, and strive for a number of steps per day.  Our goal is 10,000 steps per day.  However, you can start off by tracking your current steps and set a goal to increase it by 1,000-2,000 steps a day. According to "The Walking Site," the average person takes about 1,000-3,000 steps a day. Since it takes about 2,000 steps to walk 1 mile a day, we usually walk a mile in our everyday lives from walking around the house, in the parking lot, in the store etc.  If the average person walks a mile a day, we have to find ways to increase our distance.  For example, by the end of my average work day, I usually have walked 2500-3000 steps.  When I get home, I may do a workout or jog or walk around a track so I can work toward my 10,000 steps.  If I workout for at least 30-40 minutes, I usually get my 10,000 steps in.

The goal for each sisters and brother  is to walk, run or dance 5,000- 10,000 steps in a day, which can easily be done if we workout for 30 minutes at least 5 days a week.)  How can we increase our steps?  Use the stairs, park farther away from our destination, get up and walk every hour, or march while watching a video of the Minister and lastly, go on a group “call-out” and walk around your community. 

As the Minister instructed, “Make your own communities a decent place to live,” we should also make our bodies a decent place to dwell in.  Right?  Just as we shouldn’t throw trash on our streets, we shouldn’t throw “trash” in our bodies.   If we reduce the sweets we eat and eliminate processed foods like white bread and pasta from our diet, watch how the pounds begin to fall off.   We will become “Fearlessly Fit!”

Get Fit to Live’s 10,000 Fearless Steps program will encourage and guide us to incorporate “eating to live” and walking/ or weekly exercise into our daily lives.  The first part of the program will involve sisters tracking their steps, either by walking or running.  The goal is to get moving, uplift our spirit and lose weight if needed.  (Follow us on Facebook at Get Fit ToLive and share your stepping progress).

InshAllah, we will all be able to be more pleasing in the eyesight of Allah and show how the teachings “compliments” us.  As sisters, Master Fard wants to “sit us on top of the world.”  Hopefully, we will be able to sit as beautiful slender queens(smile).  The Messenger says in How to Eat to Live, “Believe in Him, obey and follow His teachings, and you will always be Happy!”   Let’s get to stepping and spread the joy!  The MGT that sends me the most steps by May 12, 2017, will get a Free fitness book and CD.

May Allah Bless us all with peace, love, health, wealth and happiness.

 (Audrey Muhammad is an aerobics instructor and author of the book The Sisters’ Guide to Fitness.  To order the book, send $9.95 to Virtue Magazine, P.O. Box 61402, Raleigh, NC 27661.  Send questions/comments to AudreyMuhammad@hotmail.com.  Please consult a physician before beginning any new diet or exercise program).