Tomorrow, October 10th, is World Mental Health Day, a chance to recognise and bring awareness to the importance of mental health and the huge impact it has on every single person on this planet. This year's theme, set by the World Federation for Mental Health, is 'mental health for all' and we feel this could not be more apt with the current global pandemic and all the knock-on effects that we are living through.
For us and many of those we admire in the health and wellbeing industry, exercise is, and has always been, about far more than just the changing of body shape.
Exercise is the most powerful tool, and for us and our coaching philosophy, the emphasis is on the changes that happen within, the strength developing in the body and also in the mind.
Exercise, with its plethora of benefits, gets feel-good endorphins flowing, boosts self-confidence, improves mental clarity and energy, reduces stress, anxiety, depression & low mood which with recent events may be heightened more than ever. We hope everyone reading this is doing ok and coping with this new way of living but we know that some may not be and that is ok too. It’s ok to acknowledge if you’re feeling down, or sad or lost. It doesn’t mean you are failing. Life is a crazy complex web and exercise can be an incredibly simple yet effective tool to have up your sleeve to help you cope.
There are so many ways it can positively impact your day. It can be your tool for dealing with what life throws at you, or your moment of self-care and time to invest in yourself. A chance to pause the chaos of life and escape, a chance to change your scenery and connect with nature or plug into your favourite music and get lost in the moment. Overall, a chance to nurture yourself.
Exercising can be whatever you want it to be; a gym is a great place to start (we might be biased ?) but it could also be in the form of a quick 15 minutes in your garden, a Joe Wicks workout with your kids, a brisk walk in nature at lunchtime. Swimming, running, tennis, skipping, trampolining, whatever floats your boat - it’s all good! Just get moving a little bit and often and feel yourself getting stronger.
It’s so important to prioritise your own mental health and wellbeing. Not only for yourself but for those around you who cherish you deeply.
For some amazingly inspirational people who will brighten up your social media feeds or browsers with relevant and helpful content that will do only good things for your mental health, we highly recommend these three;
Crunch Nutrition ~ @crunchnutrition
PMA Fitness ~ @faisalpmafitness
For anyone who may need or want further support on this, there are some really brilliant resources available at the Mental Health Foundation www.mentalhealth.org.uk and Mind - www.mind.org.uk
Sending love from team TJL
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