Did you know there are personal “fringe benefits” to your affiliation with Lev Eisha? According to an article in this month’s
Atlantic Magazine, “religious people report more satisfaction with their love lives, and regular attendance at a house of worship has been associated with ‘lower rates of smoking and drinking, a greater tendency to exercise and improved cardiovascular health’.”*
Citing scientific studies, including “Religion and Spirituality: Linkages to Physical Health,”** the writers state that when we attend regular temple or church services, we are engaged in quiet reflection and experience positive emotions. There are opportunities to observe and model hopeful and compassionate behaviors, and moral support is offered for such virtues as forgiveness, “which are highly conducive to living a healthy lifestyle.”
Besides extensive research on the influence that belonging to a supportive, community can have on our lives, there are also your own anecdotal accounts.
Lev Eisha is an evocative service! We share great highs with laughter, dancing and great joy. We also share challenging moments of tears, sadness and recognition of loss and pain. There is always a hug and a shoulder to cry on. Most importantly, we are there to connect and just knowing we are not alone also supports a healthy lifestyle. We were told last month by a woman joining us for the first time, that Lev Eisha is a “well kept secret.” Well, the secret is out.
Participating in a Lev Eisha service allows each of us to begin the month with open hearts and positive attitudes. We all need this, and it is a gift we give one another. Lastly, the study cited evidence which suggests that for healthy people, attendance at services can “protect against death.”
What is this conclusion based on? The authors found that regular church/temple attendance may “encourage meaningful social roles that provide a sense of self-worth and purpose through the act of helping. Helping others appears to bolster feelings of personal control and to lower feelings of depression. Volunteerism…has been shown to reduce mortality.”
My dear women of Lev Eisha: know that we are here for one another sharing each others’ joys and sorrows. Participate monthly in our amazing Lev Eisha experience! It’s good for your body, good for your “lev/heart” and good for your soul!
*Nov 2014, The Atlantic p. 32: “Keeping the Faith”
**American Psychologist, Jan. 2003