have you heard the term that movement is medicine? Movement and exercise can be incredibly powerful tools to utilize when recovering and healing from any mental health conditions. These include anxiety, panic and DPDR.
Exercise releases Endorphins
Serotonin is considered the feel-good neurotransmitter. Lower levels of serotonin can cause symptoms of anxiety, depression, obsessive worry, increased self-guilt and shame, trouble sleeping, mood swings, increased sensitivity to pain and cravings for sweet and salty foods.
Dopamine is another feel good chemical in the brain that is released when exercising. Dopamine acts on different areas of the brain to give you feelings of pleasure, satisfaction and motivation.
Dopamine levels also play roles in sleep and facilitating healthy responses to stress. Symptoms of low dopamine include Lack of motivation, fatigue, inability to concentrate, mood swings, inability to feel pleasure from activities that used to bring you joy, depression, decreased sex drive and sleep disturbances.
Somatic Practices
Somatic practices are a form of body work that emphasizes internal physical perception and experience. Basically, somatic practices bring your awareness to the sensations inside and outside of your body.
Since things like anxiety, depression and trauma can cause disruptions in the mind body connection, somatic practices aim to bring that connection back. This brings healing and restoration to the nervous system, which is the goal when healing from anxiety.
Some forms of movement and exercise are also somatic practices. when we move the body, we allow the releases of stagnant stuck energy to move and be released. The best practice to do this is through mindful movement.
Yoga is a great mindful movement and somatic practice. Yoga brings awareness to the breath and to the body, without judgement, and creates a safe space for the practitioner to learn and explore how their feelings and emotions feel and impact the body.
Yoga is a great integrative practice for anxiety, depression and those who have experienced or went through traumatic events.
Good Physical Health= A Healthy Mind
Movement and exercise also boost the body’s immune system. proper immune system function is important for a healthy nervous system and a healthy nervous system = good mental health.
Exercise, especially somatic shaking stimulates and supports the lymphatic system. A major component of the immune system. When the body’s lymph fluid is moving and flowing like it is supposed the body is able to detox toxins that can exacerbate anxiety, depression and other mental health issues.
Exercise especially yoga supports the digestive system. regular movement and exercise stimulate the muscles in the GI tract increasing gut motility, decreasing the number of bad bacteria in the gut and increasing the number of good bacteria. Gut health is imperative to mental health. read more about that here.
Mindful Movement
yoga is a great practice that encompasses all of the above, its not only a great somatic practice but also a form of moving meditation that quiets the mind and releases stress from the body. Yoga is also great for the digestive, immune and lymphatic systems of the body.
Click here to check out 6 yoga poses for anxiety.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this post is not meant to diagnose or treat any medical condition. If you have any medical or psychiatric concerns, please seek the advice of a licensed healthcare provider.
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