Healthy Jew Q&A #1

Stretching for back pain, and timing nightly fasting.

I spotted here some of this year’s first ripe carobs. Let’s go foraging!

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Dear Healthy Jew,

I’m excited to send you today our first edition of Healthy Jew Q&A, where I answer questions about health, Judaism, and Israel from paid subscribers to The Healthy Jew.

Thank you to every paid subscriber who supports my work helping you find health and wellness, and particularly to the members of our growing community who sent in questions for today’s post.

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Question 1: Stretching Exercises for Back Pain

I'm experiencing really bad back pain - probably a combination of being overweight, not exercising, not eating healthy enough, lifting children while working in childcare, and standing for long hours cooking for Shabbos. 

Recently someone suggested stretching exercises to strengthen my back muscles, and it seems to be helping. Perhaps you’d like to encourage people to do simple, daily exercises to prevent future middle-age pains. I have neglected my health for decades and now I'm beginning to pay the price. 

Keep up your vital and holy work,

Rachel S., Detroit

Dear Rachel,

I’m sorry to hear about your back pain, and happy that you’re finding a solution with stretching. In future posts and Healthy Jew workshops I hope to elaborate more about this important topic.

Today I’ll begin with some important tips you and other Healthy Jews might find useful.

First of all, make sure to discuss with your doctor if standard stretching exercises are safe and appropriate for you. She might suggest to consult with a qualified physical therapist.

But most people will greatly benefit from the simple stretches that have been used for thousands of years to find peace of mind and body, including relief from back pain.

To begin practicing stretching, here’s a helpful post from Mayo Clinic. If you find these stretches helpful, I highly recommend buying Jon Kabat Zin’s recordings from his evidence-based Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program (Series 1), which contain two 45-minute guided mindfulness stretching sessions.

What’s mindfulness have to do with stretching for back pain? Because stretching isn’t only about moving well, but also - perhaps primarily - being well, the third part of healthy Jewish living (as I introduced here). The stress and tension we’re working to free are in our mind as much as our body.

Therefore, while stretching, pay close attention to every feeling in your body, being careful not to push beyond your limits. That would just cause more injuries - not the healing you desire and deserve. Enter and exit each stretch slowly, aware of the purposeful effort and release. Stretch your mind and body together.

If you build a consistent stretching practice, you’ll hopefully notice over time how your limits - of mind and body - will expand, giving you more room to maneuver your back without pain.

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Question 2: Timing Nightly Fasting

Since I first read your post suggesting a nightly 12-hour fast, I’ve been doing it every night, and it’s really helping me feel energized and balanced. I’ve been fasting from like 9pm-9am (I go to sleep around 11:30) but people tell me it’s important to stop eating earlier, like from 7 or latest 8, especially for weight loss. How hard should I try to move my eating clock back?

Yonasan R., Brooklyn, NY

Dear Yonasan,

I’m so happy to hear that letting your body and soul rest and digest every night is working for you. That’s great news, and you balance and energy will grow as you settle deeper into the rhythm.

About the timing, I wouldn’t worry too much about the exact hour. It’s true that earlier is better, but being realistic is even more important. You have a few hours between eating and bed, and what you’d gain by finishing supper by 7pm - and waking up early to be ready for breakfast by 7am - is probably marginal compared to the stress of changing your whole schedule upside down. And it certainly wouldn’t be worth it if that would cause you to burn out of the whole thing.

I’ll add that one of the best things about the daily 12-hour fast is that it offers a built-in mechanism for recalibrating when a day’s eating ends later than optimal, such as a summer Shabbos dinner or even a late-night emotional-eating snack. If you finish eating at midnight, just push off breakfast until noon.

Let me be clear: I wouldn’t suggest scheduling your daily fast from midnight to noon. But if that happens occasionally, you’re only tilting your balance to the side for a day, not falling off completely.

Be well!