14/05/2024
Most people I work with talk about their mental health and the positive affect exercise and physical activity has on it.
Sometimes they don’t even appreciate the impact movement has until it is taken away or reduced, for example through injury, illness or just life. For others new or returning to a regular exercise programme, they notice very quickly how much better their mental health is as a result.
But there are another group of people who aren’t sure where to start with physical activity. If this is you, you are not alone. Quite often if we struggling with our mental health for whatever reason, we can get in our own way and feel bogged down with what everyone else is going and end up doing nothing at all.
You don’t have to be doing what everyone else is doing.
Start small and be compassionate to yourself. Go for a walk, soak up the sounds of nature or listen to a podcast. A 10 minute walk to one might provide exactly the same mental health benefits to a 10 mile run for another. You do you.
When life feels hard movement matters. It can help us see we are not in a cave but in a tunnel and if we keep putting one foot in front of the other, we will see light.
