It’s a Common Misunderstanding
How many times have you said to yourself, “I need to exercise more,” only to find yourself making excuses or talking yourself out of exercising? This is more common than you think. As a Holistic Health Coach, I work with people to change their habits and their mindsets, and the topic of exercise comes up a great deal. Once a person changes their mindset around exercise, they finally accomplish lasting results, becoming the best version of themselves. So, how is this accomplished? Let’s start by looking at the difference between exercise and movement.
Exercise
Exercise as defined by the Oxford Dictionary is, an activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness. So, when we think of exercise it already implies a level of pressure we put on ourselves. Exercise also has some negative connotations. In today’s society, we associate exercise with terms like goal weight or sacrificing, and high-pressure phrases like, if I don’t do this I’ll be unhealthy/unattractive, etc. All of these negative thoughts and associations can lead us to procrastinate and or become anxious about exercise. Sometimes we can muster up the surface-level motivation to bite the bullet and “just exercise” or “get it over with,” etc., but then we fall off the wagon. It’s an endless cycle.
Movement
Now let’s look at movement. Movement as defined by the Oxford Dictionary and for our purposes is, general activity or bustle. Already, this definition is a less intense statement. Now, when you think of general, it leaves room for you to design what that looks like for you. It’s much easier to put yourself in the driver’s seat instead of feeling like you’re going along for a ride of sacrifices and stress. Check out this TED Talk where they discuss a study that found people who had a lifestyle of bustle live longer healthier lives. https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_buettner_how_to_live_to_be_100?language=en
I enjoy giving my clients the good news that achieving good health doesn’t have to be painful or dreadful. The truth is, when we are enjoying ourselves we are far more likely to continue. An added bonus is that even more endorphins are released when you truly enjoy physical activity.
There are so many ways to move your body and it’s important to note that each person is different when it comes to their intrinsic motivation and what types of physical activity they enjoy.
Here are some examples of a movement that you might like:
⦁ Biking
⦁ Hula-hooping
⦁ Yoga
⦁ Pilates
⦁ Walking
⦁ Basketball
⦁ Snowboarding
⦁ Dancing
⦁ Swimming
⦁ Martial Arts
⦁ Rock Climbing
⦁ Carrying Children
⦁ Cleaning
⦁ Hiking
⦁ Water Aerobics
Tie Movement to Your Soul and Purpose
Whichever movement you prefer, just ensure that it serves a purpose for you personally and you enjoy the activity. Without purpose and enjoyment, “exercise” can send your body into a stress response because the mind and body are in disagreement. Most likely, this exercise routine will be short-lived because as the soul works to balance the mind and body, it will end the conflicting activity to manage the overall conflict – hence the start and stop of the cycle of exercising many people face. To put it more scientifically, if you are mentally stressed out about exercising (the mind), the body will release cortisol which is a catalyst for weight gain, fatigue, and depression.
So, now that you’ve learned a little about changing your mindset to movement vs. exercise, next time you want to increase your physical activity say to yourself, “what fun way will I move my body today?” instead of “Ugh, it’s time to exercise.”
Remember, your holistic health is what is important and the key to true habit change with lasting results.
Learn how we help people connect their mind body and soul with purposeful movement. Contact us today!
