5 Ways to Add Movement Into Your Routine
Stress and anxiety stir up a lot of racing thoughts or mental fog but that is not all they do. Stress and anxiety also contribute to built up muscle tension, restlessness and poor posture which all impact our mood (i.e. we are more quick tempered when our body is feeling uncomfortable). When we think of ‘mental health’, we do not always think about our body. But the two are always connected! Today we are going to learn 5 ways to add movement into your routine to improve your mental health.
I have found the topic of movement can scare people away when they think of it only in terms of exercise. We will talk about exercise in this list, naturally AND we will expand your perspective of movement with additional ways to engage your body for stress reduction and management. Let’s dive in!
1. Notice Your Posture.
When you notice your posture, you can check in with a few things like; how am I breathing? Is there any tightness or discomfort in areas like my neck, shoulders, back or ankles? Do I feel confident or unmotivated in this position? After you ask these questions, you can lean into your new awareness with the insight to begin shifting and tending to what your body needs. In therapy, we cover additional tools like body scans.
2. Stretch or shake it out.
Once you have noticed your posture and gained some insight into where your body needs movement. Let’s tend to it. Stretch the areas by going back to the basics (think about your gym class warm ups!). If you notice feeling restless, you may enjoy shaking or dancing out some of the energy. In therapy, we cover additional tools like progressive muscle relaxation.
3. Ground using gentle touch.
Sometimes we notice that we feel a numbness, a heaviness or a restricting tightness, often when we feel triggered into our survival responses. Other times, we simply enjoy cultivating soothing sensations when we learn to embrace body awareness and the “embodied” experience. This can be done through gentle touch like use of your fingertips running up and down your cheeks, arms, neck or legs, a gentle squeeze of pressure in a self-hug or, tapping along the eyebrow, throat or chest. In therapy, we cover tools focused to address self-harm behaviors or extreme overwhelm.
4. Check in with your pace.
How quickly or slowly we move from place to place is telling us something. Are you racing from room to room? Do you move slower, sluggish and delayed? Use this as a cue to check your mood. If you move fast, get curious about feelings that might be coming up such as pressure, rushing, worry, fear or even excitement. If you move slowly, get curious about feelings that might be coming up such as fatigue, exhaustion, freezing, or relaxation? In therapy, we cover tools to help you expand your insight into your pace's impact on your mood and health.
5. Exercise your way.
Here it is, exercise! Exercise is something that plays a huge role in not only our mood but our overall functioning for a sustainable life. Since so much trauma, depression or anxiety can surround exercise I like to offer an extension for you to give yourself permission to be flexible about what exercise looks like for you. Start with the baselines of “did my body move”? or “did my heart rate rise”? This allows you to start small and build on each act with the question of “can I do that one more time, two more times etc.”? Consider also adding variety in what exercise can be, here is a list to get some ideas flowing:
Walking (in place, pacing the house, around the neighborhood, parking further from a store entrance). Every step you take is helping you get blood flowing, your heart pumping and oxygen intake will increase leading to a release of “feel good” endorphins and a reduction in muscle tension.
Yoga (there are even varieties in this practice from vinyasa flow to hot yoga and the many original Eastern practices. Here is a link to free yoga videos with an awesome teacher, Adriene Mishler, who offers flexibility and variety.
Bodyweight exercises like jumping jacks, sit-ups, push-ups, squats in 30 second or 1 minute sets to get your blood flowing. Pro tip: Use your Netflix subscription to access Nike workout videos, including bodyweight exercises starting with 5 and 10 minute videos.
Now with some ideas in mind, I encourage you to take this list and make it yours. Everything can be flexed and adapted to a way that fits for you. Start somewhere and reduce pressure on doing it perfectly. “Perfect is the enemy of great”, afterall. Don’t forget to take credit for every action you take, no matter how small it seems, as they all add up and you can encourage positive, prideful and confident feelings that help you maintain consistency and long-term progress as a result. Don’t skip positive affirmations!
If you live in Las Vegas or Nevada and read these wanting to learn more by beginning therapy, call 702-381-2941 to get started with me. If you are outside of Nevada and read these wanting to learn more, try TherapyDen or PsychologyToday to find a therapist in your area. If you learned something new, have benefited from these tips or have feedback and ideas for topics please comment below. I love to hear from you!
