{"id":1548,"date":"2018-02-01T09:00:19","date_gmt":"2018-02-01T14:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1548"},"modified":"2018-02-13T14:42:41","modified_gmt":"2018-02-13T19:42:41","slug":"janice-turner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1548","title":{"rendered":"Janice Turner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shifting Your Paradigm Toward a Healthier Heart<\/em><\/h1>\n

By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alice. G. Patterson<\/em><\/p>\n

Janice Turner, the first lady of Bethany Baptist Church, has a calming presence. Her warm smile and steady voice, each syllable and word carefully thought out, would surely put anyone at ease.<\/p>\n

Women are often in \u201cfix-it mode,\u201d Janice said, explaining that they tend to take on other people\u2019s worries, problems and drama, resulting in an \u201cinordinate amount of low-grade stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

But you have to learn to \u201cshift your paradigm,\u201d she advised.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to have something that will help center you, so that you can see things clearly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Learning to let go early<\/h4>\n

Janice grew up in Syracuse, a middle child with eight other siblings.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mother was the epitome of patience,\u201d she said. \u201cShe rarely, rarely, rarely got overwrought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with calmness and composure, Janice\u2019s mother taught her children to have a conscience, Janice remembered. If she or her siblings misbehaved, their mother would talk to them \u201cin a way that would [make you] think, \u2018Please, just give me a spanking and be done with it,\u2019\u201d Janice remembered with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Her mother taught them to remember their actions would always affect others, a lesson Janice carried with her through a career in teaching.<\/p>\n

Growing up, Janice was never particularly drawn to one career path over another. So, in college, when it was time to choose a major, she took a chance on teaching.<\/p>\n

Following a successful career of 17 years in the classroom and 18 years in administrative roles, such as literacy coordinator and staff development person, that decision has proven to be a fruitful one.<\/p>\n

Thinking back to those childhood lessons, Janice remembered a few house rules that she followed in the classroom, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t tease each other. You didn\u2019t fight. You had to forgive,\u201d she said, adding that those are \u201cprerequisites\u201d for a career in teaching.<\/p>\n

One of her favorite things about leading a classroom was the fact that at the end of each school day, she could bid her students a pleasant evening, and the next day, everything started anew, fresh. As a teacher, it\u2019s important to not take things personally, and never hold onto negativity from one day to the next, she advised.<\/p>\n

Children are perceptive and notice if you hold onto things, Janice said. As a teacher, she said, you\u2019ll end up dreading each day, too.<\/p>\n

And, in terms of heart health, she added, \u201cyou\u2019re going to be a nervous wreck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Venturing from the comfort zone<\/h4>\n

Along with her composure and good conscience, Janice and her siblings inherited other, more physical traits, from their mother; health issues like diabetes and high blood pressure run in their family. Despite health complications, Janice\u2019s mother lived until she was 89. She passed away from a stroke.<\/p>\n

Before her mother\u2019s passing, Janice learned a handful of health lessons from her. Her mother had started to shift her paradigm, Janice remembered, walking for exercise at Shopping Town Mall long before anyone else had. She also began making more soups and developing healthier cooking habits.<\/p>\n

Traditional comfort foods \u2014 dishes typically rich in butter, fat and salt \u2014 can get people stuck in a cycle of caring for, or \u201ccomforting,\u201d others, and falling short of valuing themselves and their own health. Eventually, it becomes discomfort, Janice explained.<\/p>\n

One of the tenets she tries to bring to friends, family and the church congregation is the importance of breaking out of your comfort zone and trying different, perhaps healthier, cuisines and habits.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, now you have to shift your whole paradigm of what comfort is, and that\u2019s where the spiritual part helps,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you start shifting your paradigm to valuing your body, then you\u2019re more likely to make those positive changes in your health.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Janice herself focuses on teaching about spiritual heart health, Bethany Baptist Church hosts a variety of health and wellness workshops, organized by the church\u2019s health and wellness committee, a group of health care professionals.<\/p>\n

Janice became acquainted with the mission of the American Heart Association\u2019s Go Red for Women campaign a few years ago when her church hosted an event. The survivors\u2019 testimonies \u2014 the life changes they made and seeing them in full recovery \u2014 drew her to Go Red, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s where I decided to do my best, be it in small groups of individuals or with family, by telling people the importance of getting your heart ready, or taking care of your spiritual heart,\u201d Janice said, \u201cso that we can do the work that your physical heart needs to be healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bringing it down<\/h4>\n

The American Heart Association does a great deal of work to get the word out about effects of heart disease and stroke on women in the United States. A lot of people know which physical signs they should be on the lookout for, and how to stay heart healthy, Janice said.<\/p>\n

In her role as small group leader at Bethany Baptist Church, she hopes to help people to know and read their bodies better through spiritual heart health.<\/p>\n

When her husband attended seminary, Janice decided to go along and audit the classes. She\u2019d been an educator, and had a natural curiosity. She found herself particularly drawn to the spiritual formation class. Janice liked the fact that this class encouraged care of one\u2019s spiritual life, teaching centering and contemplative prayer, discipline and practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a big turning point for me,\u201d she remembered.<\/p>\n

It was there she learned how to \u201cbring it down,\u201d she said with a smile, giving example with a long, centering exhale.<\/p>\n

Without being centered \u2014 having spiritual health, as Janice explained \u2014 physical heart health won\u2019t come easy, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think [physical health] really becomes applicable unless you are ready to do that,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that means that you really have to have your heart and a mindset that you value your temple. So, that\u2019s where the spiritual formation [comes in].\u201d<\/p>\n

For women, many of whom are in that constant \u201cfix-it mode,\u201d as Janice said, one of the challenges to overcome is learning to better value oneself, she said. Take a step back, learn to know the\u00a0signs in your body and be willing to make changes to benefit you both physically and spiritually, she advised.<\/p>\n

Along with that paradigm shift of cuisine change, moving is equally important.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you become more comfortable with your own humanity, you will want to get up,\u201d Janice said, suggesting walking and yoga, her two go-to activities. \u201cI like yoga, because it makes you pay attention to your physical and your spiritual self.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until about two years ago that Janice moved yoga from her bucket list to her daily routine. It had been a goal, merely words in her journal, until one day, she worked up the courage to walk into a class. That first day, she had no idea where to find her mat or what the foam blocks were for, she admitted with a laugh. But, thanks to the kindness of her classmates, she quickly learned the ins and outs of the class.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the value of coming out of your paradigm and finding things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Janice\u2019s advice is to stay away from drama \u2014 \u201cI\u2019m allergic to drama,\u201d she chuckled \u2014 continue to move, try new things and always strive to keep your heart soft.<\/p>\n

A fair number of churchgoers in their 80s and 90s follow these guidelines, and happily drive themselves to service each week, she said. Janice added that while you might be predisposed to heart disease, it\u2019s how you choose to live while enduring it that matters.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuality of life doesn\u2019t mean longevity,\u201d Janice said. \u201cIt means how you live in the moment.\u201d SWM<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shifting Your Paradigm Toward a Healthier Heart By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alice. G. Patterson Janice Turner, the first lady of Bethany Baptist Church, has a calming presence. Her warm smile and steady voice, each syllable and word carefully thought out, would surely put anyone at ease. Women are often in \u201cfix-it mode,\u201d Janice…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[146,531,541,517,540,133,516],"class_list":["post-1548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-alice-g-patterson","tag-american-heart-association","tag-bethany-baptist-church","tag-february-2018","tag-janice-turner","tag-lorna-oppedisano","tag-the-go-red-edition"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Janice-Turner-0011.jpg?fit=5200%2C3470&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1288,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1288","url_meta":{"origin":1548,"position":0},"title":"Annie Taylor","author":"Staff","date":"December 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Designing Your Passion By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alice G. 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