Sunday 12 January 2020

MIND // 10 Reasons To Fit Exercise Into Your Life (Dancing In Particular)

Exercise for a better mental state.


I don't think I will ever get tired of telling people just how good exercise is for you and your mental health.
I was watching Frank Bruno give an interview this morning on a new project house he has set up to help combat issues with young and old people with mental health struggles.
As a forefront to the program is their tag line, "Building healthy bodies and healthy minds", which I think is so powerful as it is leading with exercise and the unbelievable positive effects it has on mental health. Listening to him talk after suffering a sever psychotic episode, he turned the idea of going to the gym as a gruelling thing that a lot of us feel we don't want to do, into an hour long magic session that if done, is better than taking any medical pill.
The thing is I know he is right. I too believe in the power of exercise improving your well being. The thing is, I was told first hand to start excising by my cognitive behaviour therapist because it is a sure way to get better. Radio 1 DJ Greg James's wife BELLA MACKIE wrote a book called JOG ON where she documents how running saved her life after depression took over. There are articles online with scientific studies all on how exercise helps the brain heal. This is a magic pill, and one that doesn't need to be swallowed, you just need to be brave and find the thing that gets you moving.

Dancing is my superpower


For me it is dancing. 3 or 4 times a week I am dancing and I have found that I am becoming better with almost everything. OK, so there are always going to be annoyances in life, exercise doesn't get rid of them but exercise gives you a clear head. When you can feel most at your foggiest, exercise can help clear you mind, or give you prime time to think. For me, I don't think of anything but dancing.
I am lucky that I have been able to find a community within dancing. Women who I can chat with and have a cup of tea with, This helps immensely in my want to head out of the house even when it is cold and wet. This community was only formed though because I was brave and just got out and allowed it to happen. Exercise doesn't have to happen within a community setting though; exercise has to happen because you want it to.

You just have to go for it!


Starting something is always going to be hard. The more you want it, the more you will find it is easier to do, but you have to make the time available in your life to allow yourself to get into it.
I find classes are fun because at least you feel a bit protected with other people around. Walking is also great because it is the easiest form of exercise and can make a huge difference to your day. A power walk will change your life! Just getting out to do something a few times a week will quite quickly change your mindset. It has to have your heart pumping though, you need to give that organ a good beat and one that means your body will start to respond to the action.
It is through the power of movement that results happen. Not all of this should be to do with feeling good about how you look either, I think that is also really important to highlight. Exercising to help heal your head is not about exercising to make you skinny. Exercising more will naturally help you body change shape but wait loss should never be at the forefront of exercise. This time spent exercising is for you, it is for a greater overall health, not just a visual gain, but something that is much, much greater than that; something that will change your life for the better.
I think I will keep going on about exercise being good for the brain for many years. In a way it keeps me on track and I know the positive outcome it keeps giving me.

10 reasons to fit exercise into your life.


Anyway, this post was titled as 10 reasons so I better sum up this post with the simple details on why you need to fit exercise into your life!

It makes you feel good. Even when it feels hard, every minute you keep going is an achievement.
It clears your mind, even when the fog is too thick.
It is good for you. (That should be at the top really.)
Helps control physical illness and pain. Specific classes can offer relief from lots of body stresses.
It helps reduce high blood pressure
It improves breathing
It makes you stronger, building muscles and enabling you to move better
You can actually meet people and become part of a community
You can become happier and improve your mental health
You can sleep better which also in turn helps fix all sorts of problems you may have.

I could have carried this list on; exercise is so much more than just a boring activity we "should" be doing, This time spent exercising should be a happy time, just for us because it is a medicine we need to give us that long, happy life we all want.



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