Movement heals.
We need it for our heart health. We need it for our blood pressure. We need it for our joints, for synovial fluid, for our bones, for our brains, our muscles, nerves and posture.
And we need movement for stress.
The past week has been hard on my heart. Honestly, the past two years if I’m being honest. Things feel heavy, almost paralyzing. I don’t know how to deal with it sometimes.
But I know my body wants to move.
Research shows us that stress – both good and bad stress – can build up in our body. If you’ve ever worked with me individually you’ve heard me talk about the “stress bucket” we are born with that gets filled over time.
That is normal.
What we need is for stress to move through our bodies so we can return to a calm, peaceful state. We should be able to move in and out of stress while letting our nervous systems calm down again in between those times.
In the current world of a 24 hour news cycle, immediate responses, social media, instant messaging, cell phones, deadlines, pressure and pain, we are staying way too long in stress cycles.
We need movement to help us move out of that and return to a state of regulation.
That can be a workout. It can also be a walk or a hike. It can be breathing exercises or playing tag with your kids. It can be housecleaning or gardening or dancing in your kitchen.
Movement allows the stress to pass through and out of our bodies.
This month’s podcast talks directly about this phenomenon if you want more detail and you can find the recording here.
Make movement a part of your regular routine for both your physical health and your stress levels.
