Exercise and Holistic Health: Creating a Routine to Support Mental, Physical and Emotional Health
It’s no secret that exercise is a cornerstone of physical and mental health, but did you know that exercise can be utilized to prevent or manage almost every illness you can think of? Or that it can improve your sleep tenfold? Or that it can increase your energy levels throughout your day, and improve stress levels and anxiety symptoms? Read below to find out how implementing an exercise routine that you enjoy can help you shift into your best state of body and mind.
First, let’s talk about the why. Consistent exercise is known to prevent, reverse, or manage multiple diseases/disorders including cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, cancer, musculoskeletal pain, Alzheimer’s, dementia, anxiety, depression, and many more. Exercise is often prescribed within treatment plans for many of these illnesses, and if you’re healthy, it’s one of the best ways to prevent them and support your body’s protective mechanisms and immune response!
If you’re struggling with falling or staying asleep, exercise might be the answer! Exercise can support quality sleep in a few ways. One is by decreasing stress and anxiety which are often the thieves of restful sleep. Exercising outside and exposing yourself to sunlight and fresh air can also help your sleep by stimulating your body’s sleep-wake cycle. Another way exercise improves sleep is by increasing your sleep drive because of the energy you burn while working out! Quality sleep is crucial for our immune function and just about every one of our body’s processes, so supporting our sleep cycle with exercise is a great way to improve overall health.
A regular exercise routine can also improve our mental health and energy levels by regulating the production of stress hormones and increasing the production of our feel-good hormones. When we exercise, our brain releases chemical messengers that dictate how we feel physically and mentally. Some of these neurotransmitters are endorphins, dopamine, and endocannabinoids. Endorphins are the commonly known “feel good” hormone- responsible for boosting mood and reducing pain. Endocannabinoids are a lesser known hormone also produced with exercise and give us the feeling of euphoria known as “runner’s high”! Finally, dopamine is the reward hormone, it’s associated with feelings of pleasure and accomplishment! All of these hormones support a positive mood and combat stress and anxiety.
As far as our spiritual health, one of the eight dimensions of wellness, exercise supports this too! A movement practice requires us to take time for ourselves and nourish our spirit by moving in ways that feel good to us. Movement improves our health, therefore raising our vibration! We are all made up of energy and we all emit a certain frequency- higher frequencies being associated with health and well-being and spiritual enlightenment. Have you ever taken a yoga class and felt like a brand new person afterward? It’s probably because your vibration was rising through each asana!
So, how do we stay consistent and exercise multiple times per week when life is busy? The most helpful tips we have are to prioritize yourself and create scheduled time within your week for movement, and to choose something you enjoy. If you already have the time built into your schedule, you don’t have to decide when you’re going to exercise, you do it when the time comes! This is why it can be so helpful to join classes if you are a beginner, rather than working out on your own. Choosing movement that you enjoy is important because you’re much more likely to stick to a practice that makes you feel good! So, if that’s jogging with the dog, that’s perfect. If it’s weight lifting, hiking, dancing, or yoga, that’s great too! Let your body decide what practice feels best, then stick to it.
Essentially, consistent exercise can improve almost every dimension of our lives and well-being, including our immune system, energy levels, sleep, and mental health. Try incorporating some movement into your routine this week and take note of any shifts you notice. Eventually, your body and mind will crave movement, and you’ll look forward to your time spent exercising! Get moving, you and your health are so worth it!