As we enter Mental Health Awareness month, we are called to revisit movement. Movement can act as a way to reset your day and your night by balancing your circadian cycle.  While physical activity for mental health is not a new concept, we can sometimes fall into routines. These hard to change habits can make it easy to forget the benefits of taking time to well, move.  Sometimes it may be because of the associations with the one dreaded word, exercise. While movement is important, the call to tune into our bodies can be difficult if our bodies are in pain. Other times, what holds us back from changing routines and adding movement could be that life is simply too busy. Recognizing that we all have individual needs is the first step to identifying how we can fit movement into our lives.

Finding time to start something new, or change an existing set of habits can be scary, daunting or downright challenging.  So why and how can we move our bodies? We start by identifying what feels right and building towards more movement, with kindness. 

You may have heard about walks for hotness, but this comes down to movement for wellness.  For some, it could be taking a 20-minute walk, moving through a 15-minute yoga video, 10-minutes to do deep breathe work, dancing to a 5-song playlist, or adding a gentle stretch and relaxation session to move your muscles.  The reason for remembering to do this? Movement of any kind can bring about greater emotional wellness and lead to higher mood regulation. With that, we might begin to see a decrease in symptoms related to that pesky anxiety and depression.  

Specifically, focusing on adding movement to the wellness bank can break-up what can feel like a daily drain and grind.  With low- and high- intensity movement, working up a sweat or stretching in any way can bring up our vibration. This works by releasing feel-good hormones like endorphins, dopamine and serotonin.  When we feel better, we may then start to make healthier choices. This can look like changes to eating habits, engaging in deeper social connections, and taking better care of ourselves and our space. When it comes down to it, movement can help move “stuck” energy out of our bodies.  

We know it may seem easier said than done, but sometimes when we are stuck in our heads, or if our feelings seem too heavy, the way through it can be moving through it – quite literally.  Take a moment now to think about your day tomorrow.  How can you add a little beat of movement?  Starting small and building up may add little resets that your body needs and these little changes can then lead to a greater nights sleep. With that, we invite you to consider bringing in some more balance to your day and embrace the flow that the movement cycle creates.