This is part four of me looking at the BIG four areas of our health — so this week it's all about exercise.

 

I think it is safe to say that we are constantly being told how exercise is good for us, and most of us know about the physical benefits, but exercise also has a positive effect on our emotional health.

 

Physically, we know if we exercise, muscles tone up, joints and bones stay healthy, our breathing and heart health is improved. Potentially we may also lose weight if this is our goal with our exercise routines.

 

However, for us to start to exercise and then be consistent with it, we have to feel the emotional benefits too. Unfortunately the physical benefits are often not enough to make us want to keep exercising.

 

So I want us to look at the whys and hows about exercise and the difference it can make to our whole self.

 

You will have heard of feel-good hormones — endorphins 1 and 2. Exercise and activities can increase the production of these endorphins, however it is the relationship between the endorphins and the neurotransmitter Dopamine that makes a difference. Dopamine is the chemical messenger between the brain and the rest of the body. Dopamine is responsible for how we feel pleasure, so when endorphins are produced they bind to receptors of the central nervous system and dopamine is released and sends that feel-good effect all round the body.

 

Dopamine supports our ability to think, plan, strive, focus and just to be interested. It affects our motivation, sleep, mood, concentration, movement ...

Having already looked at stress, diet and sleep then we start to see the connection between exercise and being active and the affects it can have on all other areas of our health.

 

How many times do we think we will start to exercise more, or we say we will exercise tomorrow? ... and tomorrow doesn’t seem to come. Often we blame time for not exercising more, or the weather, or ... well just about anything can be used as a reason not to move the body. The thing is you don’t have to run a marathon, or do a triathlon, or lift heavy weights in the gym, or do HIIT workouts to feel good. A simple walk, being outside with nature, gardening, or doing some Pilates may be the best thing for your body and your mind.

 

Sometimes exercise which is going to stress the body is also going to stress emotionally so that isn’t always going to be what your body or mind need.

 

But you can see the benefits of why moving our body is good for all aspects of our health, so here are some things that could help to motivate you to move:

If you are feeling particularly lacking in motivation to exercise then try this, just place your mat down and leave it in a space where you will keep seeing it, and start by lying down on it for 5 minutes and just breathe.

Or step outside of your front door — or into your garden — then stand and breathe.

 

This is a start, and starting is the hardest part, but just as with the other areas of our health, start with small incremental changes and build from there.

 

Finding the right kind of activity that fits in with your lifestyle and your feelings is key, do something because it makes you feel good, not because you feel you have to.

If you have found the last four weeks of interest, and you feel you would like to find out more about how to make changes to your whole health, then please get in touch to discuss how I may be able to support you as a Pilates health coach.

One thing you may be interested in is my new TEN IN TEN programme — it's 10 days of 10 minutes of Pilates a day, which will be available from Monday 2nd November. In the words of Joseph Pilates:

In 10 sessions you’ll feel the difference... A few well-designed movements, properly performed in a balanced sequence, are worth hours of doing sloppy callisthenics or forced contortion.

 

You can join me live for 10 minutes a day, or you can have the sessions as recordings to find your 10 minutes a day. The TEN IN TEN programme will be free to all members, or a nominal cost for non-members.