Move your Body to Calm your Mind
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In today’s world, the increased pace of life, high workload (both at work and at home), and pressure to succeed has led to a society in which we’re in a constant state of stress. The stress response is an evolutionary adaptation in response to an immediate threat, however, these days we are often stuck in a state of chronic stress. This causes something called stress sensitivity (overreacting to non-life threatening situations) and can even lead to worrying about events or things that could occur but that haven’t yet. This problem is exacerbated by the internet and smartphones which make us always plugged in, always available, and always “on”. Chronic stress is very hard on our bodies and is associated with a number of health concerns, including high blood pressure, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, sleep disturbances, and mental disorders.
One of the ways we can manage this stress response is through exercise. There is a time and place for that deep burn spin class or climbing a mountain (both of which have many benefits!). But certain types of exercise are more efficient for decreasing stress. Here we’ll outline some of the most effective stress-relieving exercises.
Moving meditation is any exercise in which you’re moving your body in a repetitive pattern, such as walking, running, cycling, or paddling. This type of exercise, in which you are doing simple movements at a low consistent intensity, allows your mind to relax, de-stress, and enter into a meditative state. One of the most accessible moving meditation exercises is simply walking. Leave your headphones at home to be fully present and mindful. Learn more about moving meditation here!
Yoga is an ancient practice that flows through a series of movements and poses to improve strength, flexibility, and balance. While there are many different types of practices, all types of yoga focus on bringing the attention to the breath, and yoga has been shown to be effective at relieving stress. As mentioned above, one of the biggest sources of stress is the anticipated stress, or worry of what’s to come. Dr. Michael Goldstein and colleagues were interested in seeing if a yogic breathing workshop could help mitigate this anticipatory stress response. Students from the University of Arizona were either assigned to a yogic breathing workshop or a wellness education workshop. The yogic breathing intervention was effective at improving self-reported measures of perceived stress, social connectedness, sleep disturbances, distress, anxiety, depression, conscientiousness, self-esteem, and life satisfaction when compared to the wellness education group. What’s more, the yogic breathing group also had a lower resting heart rate prior to a stressful task, suggesting that yogic breathing can help to mitigate the anticipatory stress response.
Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art that is now a popular exercise to relieve stress and improve health. It involves performing a series of flowing movements while focusing on the breath. It’s been shown to be an effective way to improve balance in the elderly, improve cognitive and motor function, decrease depressive symptoms and perceived stress, and improve many health conditions including Parkinson’s Disease, depression, dementia, and stroke rehabilitation. There is even some evidence to suggest that Tai Chi can improve immune function, although how effective it is at preventing disease remains to be determined.
Qigong is another Chinese practice that has gained popularity in Western cultures. Similar to Tai Chi, it involves slow, controlled movements while focusing on the breath and being in the present moment. Qigong has been shown to have physical and mental benefits, including improved immune function and sleep quality, decreased stress and anxiety, and desensitization to stressors.
Yoga, Tai Chi, and Qigong all focus on slowing down respiration, long exhalation, diaphragmatic breathing, or paying attention to natural breaths. One hypothesis for why these practices are so effective at calming us down is that attentive breathing stimulates the vagus nerve, which is the main nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” system). Of possibly equal importance is that during these guided practices, we are bringing complete awareness to the movements, and are therefore not scrolling through social media or thinking about that email we forgot to send. This unplugging from technology, even if only for a 30-minute class, can be a powerful antidote to the culture of distraction, addiction, and stress we’re living in now.
