Mental Health Awareness Month

How's Your Mental Health

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. It is a great time to remind yourself to take care of your mental health. And one of the easiest ways to take care of mental health is to exercise. That’s right – by taking care of yourself physically you can significantly improve your overall mental well being.

Exercise is truly the un-sung hero in mental health prevention and treatment.

Exercise can:

»        Improve your mood
»        Combat chronic diseases
»        Manage your weigh
»        Boost your energy levels
»        Promote better sleep
»        Spark your sex life
»        And it can even be fun – no really – it can be!

Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. You'll also look better and feel better when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem. Regular physical activity can even help prevent depression and even help to bring you out of a depressive episode.

In 1999, Duke University Medical School did a study to look at exercise vs. prescription drugs in the treatment of depression. Originally, they were looking to see which treatment would be better for depression. They took 156 patients and broke them into 3 groups:

»        Exercise Only Group
»        Medication Only Group
»        Combination (Medicine and Exercise) Group

At the four month marker, they did a follow-up. Overall, 60% of the participants got better. They were quite even across the board too. No matter the treatment, people improved. Another 6 months went by and they followed up again. Once again, no significant differences between the three groups.

The study wasn’t producing the exact outcomes they had originally anticipated, so they decided to see what would happen if you stopped treatment. What would the relapse rates look like?

»        Medication Only Group = 38% relapsed into depression
»        Medication and Exercise Group = 31% relapsed into depression
»        Exercise Only Group = 9% relapsed into depression

Of course this was shocking to the researchers, but it wasn’t shocking to those of us who exercise. Even on the days I don’t feel like exercising, after I force myself to just walk for even 20 minutes – I feel great. It truly improves my mood, helps my sleep better, handle stress better and of course I can still fit into the skinny jeans.

Exercise doesn’t have to be painful and boring. Change up your exercise routine. Go for a hike outside (weather permitting). Play catch, tag football or Frisbee - any fun sport.  Challenge yourself just one day within your routine. Go an extra 10 minutes or increase your intensity a little and see how you go.

If you are just starting an exercise program – start slow. It’s okay to start slow and simple. Find an activity which you like – walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, etc. and just commit to 2 days at 20-30minutes. Then the next week increase a little: maybe add a day, or add some time, or increase intensity just a little. You don’t need to be ready to pass out of vomit to know you’ve done a great workout. Start slow and set yourself up for success.

Try something new! I can’t dance – but Zumba is fun! I’m not very coordinated, but Step Classes really kick my butt. I love Yoga (see below) and even though I’m not the most flexible in the class, I feel like I am doing something good for my body and my mind when I do it. I feel at peace and ready to face my next challenge head-on. Eexercise today to help your mental health. Listen to your Mind, your Body, and your Spirit and do something to help your mental wellbeing today!

Try Yoga

Try Something New Today - YOGA

The ancient spiritual discipline of yoga is now a $5.7 billion industry in America. But for all the money that is being spent on the industry – only 15.8 million Americans actually practice Yoga. This is not a huge jump on devotees – in 1998 it was reported that between 6-18 million people practiced the ancient art from India.

The Health Benefits of Yoga

Yoga has been practiced for more than 5,000 years, most Westernized yoga classes focus on learning physical poses, which are called asanas. They also usually include some form of breathing technique and possibly a meditation and breathing technique as well. Some yoga classes are designed purely for relaxation. But there are styles of yoga that teach you how to move your body in new ways. Choosing one of these styles offers the greatest health benefits by enabling you to develop your flexibility, strength, and balance.

Yoga and Flexibility

Yoga is not about being flexible and stretching like a gymnast. The truth is you're never too old to improve flexibility. Yoga works by safely stretching your muscles. This releases the lactic acid that builds up with muscle use and causes stiffness, tension, pain, and fatigue. In addition, yoga increases the range of motion in joints. It may also increase lubrication in the joints. The outcome is a sense of ease and fluidity throughout your body.

Yoga stretches not only your muscles but all of the soft tissues of your body. That includes ligaments, tendons, and the fascia sheath that surrounds your muscles. And no matter your level of yoga, you most likely will see benefits in a very short period of time. In one study, participants had up to 35% improvement in flexibility after only eight weeks of yoga. The greatest gains were in shoulder and trunk flexibility.

Yoga and Strength

Some styles of yoga, such as ashtanga and power yoga, are more vigorous than others. Practicing one of these styles will help you improve muscle tone.

But even less vigorous styles of yoga, such as Iyengar or hatha, which focuses on less movement and more precise alignment in poses, can provide strength and endurance benefits.

Many of the poses, such as downward dog, upward dog, and the plank pose, build upper-body strength. This becomes crucial as people age. The standing poses, especially if you hold them for several long breaths, build strength in your hamstrings, quadriceps, and abdominal muscles. Poses that strengthen the lower back include upward dog and the chair pose. When practiced correctly, nearly all poses build core strength in the deep abdominal muscles.

Yoga Can Help Posture

With increased flexibility and strength comes better posture. Most standing and sitting poses develop core strength. That's because you're counting on your deep abdominals to support and maintain each pose. With a stronger core, you're more likely to sit and stand "tall." Another benefit of yoga is the increased body awareness. This heightened awareness tells you more quickly when you're slouching or slumping so you can adjust your posture.

Yoga and Spirituality

Gone are the stereotypes that yoga is all about chanting, incense bringing and the hippie free spirit ideology.  Yoga doesn’t have to only be about a spiritual connection.  Though I find you actually do connect with yourself on a spiritual level much more when you do engage in yoga. What do I mean by this, well you begin to listen. You turn off the noise, reduce the chatter that goes on in your head and actually live in the moment. This helps us to have a spiritual Further Reading:relationship with ourselves. And if you are already a religious or spiritual person, I feel that yoga helps you to connect even deeper with that faith.

So, try yoga today. You are never too old, too young, too out of shape or too in shape to try it. You will find it challenging no matter the skill level and rewarding. You are rewarding your mind, body, and spirit by trying it.

There are yoga books, dvds, podcasts, retreats, gyms – you name it. Tap into that billion dollar industry to see what method works best for you.