Regular exercise has a huge pay off in terms of physical health. We know.
Something that’s less talked about is the wide-ranging benefits of a fitness regime for our mental health. Here are 5 benefits we can achieve for our brain and our soul from moving our bodies.
1. Feel better about your body. Whether we like it or not, how happy we feel in our own skin is largely determined by how we look. Healthy, fit bodies look and feel better, so we feel better about ourselves. Research has demonstrated this profound effect of exercise on body image.
2. Feel good about achieving goals. Exercise provides heaps of opportunities to set and achieve all sorts of goals. You can challenge yourself to exercise 6 times a week, to work up to running 5 kilometres, or learn to do 15 push-ups. According to psychologist Rachel Collis, the process of progressing towards our goals is one of the biggest things that makes us happy.
3. Meet new friends. The number and quality of our relationships has a strong impact on psychological wellbeing. Exercise provides opportunities to expand your social network. This could be through running into the same people each week at the gym or on your morning walk, through playing a team sport, or even just by having more in common with some of the people you already know. (See this article for more pointers on improving your social support network.)
4. “You” time: to reflect and think things through. Most of us live hectic lives in a fast-paced environment, and without time out for ourselves, we can become overwhelmed. Some people like to “blow out the cobwebs” with a gentle walk, others take out their frustrations on a boxing bag, or then there’s meditation through yoga. Whichever mode you use, exercise provides a unique opportunity to deal with whatever’s on your mind, and be better equipped to respond to whatever life is throwing you.
5. Learning new things. Intellectual stimulation from learning about all things fitness comes through a variety of activities: from taking a new group fitness class to learning a yoga sequence or reading books and blogs like this! An active body and produce and active brain, and keep both mind and body young.
So if ever you need another reason to get up and outside or into the gym – think about all these rewards and how much cheaper exercise is than visiting a shrink’s office!
Skip the shrink – see your personal trainer!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Regular exercise has a huge pay off in terms of physical health. We know.
Something that’s less talked about is the wide-ranging benefits of a fitness regime for our mental health. Here are 5 benefits we can achieve for our brain and our soul from moving our bodies.
1. Feel better about your body. Whether we like it or not, how happy we feel in our own skin is largely determined by how we look. Healthy, fit bodies look and feel better, so we feel better about ourselves. Research has demonstrated this profound effect of exercise on body image.
2. Feel good about achieving goals. Exercise provides heaps of opportunities to set and achieve all sorts of goals. You can challenge yourself to exercise 6 times a week, to work up to running 5 kilometres, or learn to do 15 push-ups. According to psychologist Rachel Collis, the process of progressing towards our goals is one of the biggest things that makes us happy.
3. Meet new friends. The number and quality of our relationships has a strong impact on psychological wellbeing. Exercise provides opportunities to expand your social network. This could be through running into the same people each week at the gym or on your morning walk, through playing a team sport, or even just by having more in common with some of the people you already know. (See this article for more pointers on improving your social support network.)
4. “You” time: to reflect and think things through. Most of us live hectic lives in a fast-paced environment, and without time out for ourselves, we can become overwhelmed. Some people like to “blow out the cobwebs” with a gentle walk, others take out their frustrations on a boxing bag, or then there’s meditation through yoga. Whichever mode you use, exercise provides a unique opportunity to deal with whatever’s on your mind, and be better equipped to respond to whatever life is throwing you.
5. Learning new things. Intellectual stimulation from learning about all things fitness comes through a variety of activities: from taking a new group fitness class to learning a yoga sequence or reading books and blogs like this! An active body and produce and active brain, and keep both mind and body young.
So if ever you need another reason to get up and outside or into the gym – think about all these rewards and how much cheaper exercise is than visiting a shrink’s office!
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2 Responses to “Skip the shrink – see your personal trainer!”
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Good point! I probably need a personal trainer!
The fab thing about the internet is there is so much information available that you can do great stuff yourself without a trainer (You just need time and the ability to take the wealth of information available with a grain of salt, and put it through your common sense filter.)
I guess I should say that if you have been diagnosed with a psychological disorder or think you could be, then exercise would make an excellent ADDITION to medical or psychological treatment rather than replace it.
But for most people just dealing with "Life" - regular exercise is wonderful!
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