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It’s very easy to think of fitness and exercise as a grim duty you must carry out. Of course, in some respects, that’s true. Not all of us want to get up at 6am and run around the local park in the rain (luckily, this isn’t the only way you can exercise).
But with all the talk of looking good, reducing the chance of illness, strengthening your joints, helping you feel better, and busting your stress, and of course, keeping a healthy weight, much is lost in the discussion.
What about fitness and its chance to heal you?
What do we mean by this? Well, when you give yourself time to exercise and train, your self-regard, confidence, inspirational outlook, and sense of belonging grows, too. You will express your worried, anxious energies into the physical effort, with only you remaining.
Many people report that an exercise regimen can help them process grief, trauma, and depression. While this shouldn’t come at the cost of healthy expression or support, it’s a very powerful weapon in your arsenal.
So – how is it that fitness can heal? How can we plan along those lines? What should that mean for you in the long run? In this post, we’ll discuss that and more:
It’s Good to Focus on a Singular Activity
The truth about life is that it can often be chaotic and unpredictable. At tumultuous periods where it feels like you have nothing to grab onto, health and fitness can be a wonderful crutch. After all, a 3 mile run will always remain a 3 mile run, and 100 kilograms on the barbell will always remain 100 kilograms. For this reason, the predictability and comfort of exercise and training can be remarkable good and give you a place to feel moored.
This can also help you avoid thinking about your worries for a little while. It’s not as if you can plan our the intricacies of your financial planning when you’re running, because you’re focused on the run. Having that mental pause can be very helpful, and lets you return to your life with a new perspective.
It’s Good to Express That Tension
It’s always good to express your tension in a healthy and capable manner. Otherwise, you may find yourself leaning into worse habits like drinking alcohol, gambling, eating too much, sitting in bed watching television, or getting into arguments with family and friends.
The tension won’t go anywhere unless you make it. As such, a little care and attention can go a long, long way, giving you the space to move forward on your own terms.
It’s Healing to Set a Goal & Meet it
At a time when most other areas of your life may be unpredictable, it’s nice to have things go the way you want them to. Luckily, fitness is relatively reliable in terms of the investment you put into it. As such, if you find that you’ve been running three times a week, you might have a goal to run 5k at the end of 12 weeks. Meeting that can feel extremely rewarding, even if you’re dealing with bereavement, the loss of a job, or perhaps even financial difficulty.
Never discount the incremental and growing benefits of meeting goals you care about. Even if they’re small, a win is a win. It might be a little while before you’ve given yourself time for them.
It’s Interesting to Learn About Your Hobby
Fitness is a hobby. It’s not just a chore. It’s a discipline you can learn about, get good at, and find interest in. Perhaps you can use it to meet other people, such as when taking a yoga class or martial arts class.
Even if you just like hiking, you can learn more about your local environment, its history, and even take pictures if you bring a camera along. Swimming helps you learn form and how to glide more easily in the water. Maybe fitness will inspire you to learn about nutrition, and good supplementation from AthleticStore. When you can focus on a constructive hobby, your life improves. That’s as good a way to heal as any other.
It’s Restorative to Meet Others Through Fitness
When you’re a novice in fitness, it’s good to have other people right there with you. It’s restorative to be in the same boat as someone else, to meet new people, and to have a common focus that you’re all trying to get better at.
Dance classes are good for this, as everyone is vulnerable at the same time, having to go out of their way to learn. There’s nothing quite like a focused approach to others.
With this advice, we hope you can see how and why fitness heals you for the better.
This is a collaborative post.
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
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