Exercise the Stress Away!

Once I started paying attention, I realized that I had gotten into my 60's without knowing that I needed to stop my body's stress cycle. I had strategies for survival. I learned how to distract when tensions rose, avoid groping hands without making a scene, navigate families fighting at funerals and more more more. These are excellent survival strategies but they do not deal with the stress itself.

Thanks to our body we have a source of intelligence that allows us access to knowledge about how to complete the stress cycle. When the pandemic hit, Pete and I were so anxious. We made a commitment to walk together every day. It was essential for us to be able to sleep at night and walking helped. Once the weather got nasty we were less willing to walk through rain, sleet or snow; we converted one of our bedrooms to a gym. We worked out religiously.

Little did we know that we were doing the single most effective strategy for completing the stress response cycle! Hurray for us! Here's the deal with exercise: We should complete between 20 and 60 minutes of exercise a day to discharge the daily stress that accumulates. I know we all want buns of steel and six-pack abs, but I am telling you, the most important part of exercise is this: it completes the stress response cycle.

So yes, I had a breakdown. But I also exercised every day and that kept me afloat. I was not myself, no where close to it, but I was able to do a few things that were also helpful in reclaiming my sanity because the exercise was mitigating the effects of stress.

Are you walking? Dancing? Playing pickle ball? Get moving friends!