Ep 4: How regular exercise fits into our mental & spiritual wellbeing

Today we're talking about regular exercise and how that fits into our mental and spiritual (0:08) well-being because someone asked exactly that question to me, how it fits into our mental (0:14) spiritual well-being, regular exercise. We are told to exercise regularly, to lose weight, (0:20) to maintain weight, etc. I'm personally not medical but even on Dr. Google you can read (0:28) and I'm going to quote Google here and then we'll go into my opinion, but on Google you can even (0:35) read how regular exercise can have a huge impact on depression, anxiety, ADHD, relieve stress, (0:43) improve memory, helps us sleep better, boosts our overall mood, increases self-esteem, (0:49) plays a role in preventing mental health problems and improving the quality of life for people (0:55) who do struggle with mental illnesses and that's just regular exercise, air quotes, (1:01) like three or four days a week of brisk walks to get your heart rate up or doing a video you love (1:07) or taking a gym class or something, right? That's what they're referring to, regular exercise.

 (1:12) For me personally, it has really been my go-to and I have felt quite a few times that exercise (1:19) has saved me. I'm not on depression medications because exercise does that for my system. (1:26) Everyone is different, everyone is different.

Depression medications can be really, (1:32) really beneficial for many people. I'm not on them because exercise does that for my system. (1:38) When my life was total shit romantically, work felt crappy, friendships were toxic and everything (1:45) felt off, including my eating.

That's another one I'll share with you another time. (1:51) Exercise was what pulled me through, albeit I over-exercised quite a bit. It really pulled (2:00) me through.

It completely stirs up my system to a point where I used to be two very different (2:06) people pre- and post-workout. I used to be very, very different until after I worked out every (2:12) day. When it's not being used as permission to eat or for punishment for what you ate, (2:19) which I also used to do back in the day, regular exercise, whether vigorous or gentle or moderate, (2:25) helps our oxygen intake, which helps our organs, which helps our mental clarity because our organs (2:33) are getting more air and openness and freedom in our mental clarity and our mood and our emotional (2:38) balance, which then leads to greater productivity at work and at home, more grounded and aligned (2:48) responses to family and people instead of the knee-jerk reactions.

The more cleanly we eat (2:55) and the more we give our bodies regular mindful movement, the more clear the connection to our (3:02) highest self, universe, guidance also, right? Ideas pop in. You read people better in a meeting (3:12) and then you can respond in kind because you're more connected with you and connectivity, right? (3:19) All that is. You let what could turn into a stressful situation or other stressful situations, (3:24) you let them roll more easily off your back because you're more mentally clear.

It's chicken (3:29) and egg, right? So further into her question with spiritual well-being, yes, both as a result again (3:37) of the much clearer channel your physical vessel, your body becomes with the actual stirring of all (3:43) chemicals, heart pumping, air flowing when we exercise, we literally become more open and more (3:49) of a clear channel to connect more easily, purely naturally with intuition, highest self, what is in (3:57) our highest good, guidance, whatever you want to call it. And I've mentioned this before but we can (4:04) add, then add a layer of awesomeness and intentionally use regular exercise as a grounding (4:11) tool, as a spiritual practice to pull us more into ourselves, right? Who we really are into the now, (4:21) into direct connection with mother earth, source energy and feel like the natural conduit (4:29) between the two, right? The highest self and earth. There are walking and running meditations (4:36) like Thich Nhat Hanh talks about those a lot, he's a Buddhist monk.

You can do thank you steps when (4:42) you're walking your dog or taking yourself or your grandkid or somebody, you know, taking a walk with (4:46) a friend, even quietly in your head, every step, thank you, thank you with each foot, right? Hikes, (4:54) trail runs, mountain biking, breathing intentionally with the tree nation, the earth angels who are the (5:00) birds, the rocks, the roots beneath our feet, grounding into that. Simultaneously, likewise, (5:07) consciously receiving, surrendering to their powerful energy, reciprocating, (5:14) right? Upwards, inwards, in connection with us as vibrational beings, reciprocating like the (5:19) trees reciprocating, the birds reciprocating, the rocks and roots beneath our feet, right? Everything (5:24) is energy. To shift to more 3D and not as woo, right? On a more day-to-day level, weight lifting (5:35) as a regular exercise can be a grounding spiritual connecting tool, connection tool or connection (5:42) activity too.

Even if you're just holding an eight pound weight while you're squatting or two eight (5:48) pound weights, one in each hand, really intentionally put your body weight into your heels, hinge your (5:55) butt back to protect your knees, breathe with your exhale, push yourself out of your squat with your (6:00) grounding energy connecting with the earth underneath your heels, being fully conscious (6:05) in your body, even like with a reverse fly or whatever also, right? Feel the connectivity and (6:12) the support, sense the connection through you with airflow and energy, feel, pretend, visualize (6:19) the connectivity up with source, down through your heels on your feet, right? So good, regular (6:25) exercise is so good. And when I stepped out of using it as permission or punishment for what I (6:33) eat or ate, my relationship with my body and exercise and all things opened up, cleared up, (6:40) shifted and supported me more than I actually had ever expected. So I encourage you, even if you're (6:49) like, what? I encourage you to celebrate what your body can do, what it can do, no matter what shape (6:58) you're in, celebrate what your body can do and use it with great gratitude and appreciation for (7:04) balancing everything.

Because this is something I move through with myself all the time, with (7:10) clients all the time, all the time, whether dialing it up or dialing it down with the exercise, (7:14) coming into a balance for your individual body with regular exercise that becomes one of your (7:20) most reliable best friends for the rest of your life. I mean, there's nothing more game-changing. (7:28) So thank you for being here with me and I'm excited to talk with you next time.