Donna Richardson Joyner Brings Faith to the Fitness Game

Health and nutrition expert Donna Richardson Joyner has turned the fitness business into her own ministry./Donna Richardson Joyner

By Dennis J. Freeman

This is the last part of a two-part interview with fitness guru Donna Richardson Joyner on her call to combine spirituality, fitness and wellness.

Donna Richardson Joyner has moved up in the world of exercise and sweat. From an aerobics instructor to being appointed to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, Richardson Joyner have seen her mission to motivate people to live healthy lives, become an open public forum.   Those folks wrestling with how to win the battle of the bulge have a cheerleader in Richardson Joyner.

First appointed by former President George W. Bush to be part of the president’s national fitness team, Richardson Joyner is now a member of President Barack Obama’s health and nutrition squad.

Richardson Joyner doesn’t mind going to battle to fight the forces of unhealthy living. In fact, she thrives on it. Her faith in God gives Richardson Joyner the fierce belief that living healthy and spirituality are one. Richardson Joyner believes that good health results in having a good spiritual state of mind. She sees the two as being interrelated.

When your health is good, you honor God, she said.

“In order for us to claim victory in our health, if we want to win the battle for a healthier us, we must draw on the strength of the Lord who will give us the power to claim victory. When you become healthy, in my opinion, it honors Him and it empowers you to be a better witness,” Richardson Joyner said. “He wants you to have abundantly good health, but the enemy comes to rob you of it. Just like when we are unconditional about our faith, we must be unconditional about taking care of our body, which is the temple of our Holy Spirit.”

Church is where it all began for Richardson Joyner. She said connecting her spirituality with her teachings on health and fitness all goes together. “Sweating in the Spirit,” the international smash gospel music video, brought it all back home for her, she stated.

“It started in the church and I am right back in the church,” she said. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever been a part of. If I’m in the spirit, I’ll forget that I’m teaching. When I’m sweating in the spirit, it ushers me into a time where I am dancing with the Lord. The music is inspirational; you are empowering yourself.

“Look at how inspirational it is. Look at how empowering it is, and you’re dancing before the Lord. In that moment it’s a spiritual high. When you’re sweating in the spirit, you’re in the moment. We start with prayer. We end with prayer. That moment, that hour is all about Him. You don’t get that from any other kind of workout.”

Donna Richardson Joyner has shaken up the fitness business with her gospel music videos./Donna Richardson Joyner

But it takes more than humming a few Bible verses to change a mindset about eating right and living healthy, Richardson Joyner admits. It takes a difference in attitude and a change in the way people think.

That is a major challenge for many African Americans. According to the American Heart Association, 47.3 percent of African American women have cardiovascular disease. Nearly 45 percent of African American men come down with the disease as well. Blacks make up numbers nearly twice the numbers of whites, in terms of stroke victims.

“You can’t make an excuse when it comes to taking care of the temple, but we always find one,” said Richardson Joyner. “You cannot let your hair be an excuse. You don’t have an excuse when you want to get your hair done. We’ve got to throw away those excuses.”

Richardson Joyner’s own husband, syndicated radio talk show host Tom Joyner, was faced with that decision. Vastly overweight when they originally met, Tom Joyner was hit by a dose of reality by Richardson Joyner, who gave her future husband a straight up gut-check about the way he looked.

Tom Joyner battled multiple physical ailments because of his health. Richardson Joyner said she told her husband he had to make a lifestyle choice.

“When I met Tom, he was at least 50 pounds overweight. I said, ‘You can’t be the fly jock out here, serving millions of people and not take care of yourself. You’re going to be the fly-broke down jock.’”

She recommended a nutritionist to Joyner. He got a new trainer. His health improved considerably. Richardson Joyner said her husband had to make up in his own mind if being healthy was a priority.

“You can’t do it for someone else. They have to do it for themselves,” Richardson Joyner said. “Tom got to the point…he wasn’t healthy. He had back problems. He had knee problems. He had high-blood pressure and all that other stuff. He did do it and he’s kept the weight off.”


Discover more from News4usonline

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from News4usonline

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading