Exercise

So the thing is, do I like exercise? And it depends on when you ask me!

If you ask first thing in the morning, before I go, I’m likely to say no. If you ask me during a class, I’ll definitely say no (but actually, there is a spot about 20/30 minutes in that I get a rush of endorphins (one of the brains happy chemicals that gets me buzzing). 

Ask me after a session… I’ll say yes every time.

Why? What I realised in the sessions (and a bit before hand) there is a power battle playing in my head. There is the superhero who want the best for me or the villain who is holding me back. Every so often I want to give up, it’s quite hard and I’m out of breath – I love how my super hero always wins. She tells me I can do it, I will not give up, just 5 more minutes, just keep going. Why? Because she cares about me. If I give in to the villain telling me to give up, where else will I listen to him. 

By knowing that the superhero in myself will reprogram my brain into KNOWING I can do it and then I have the results – the sense of achievement – if I can do this… what else can I do!

Exercise is so important to good mental health – and I VALUE both now. It’s funny that you don’t appreciate things until you don’t have them. I used to weight 17stone 11lb and struggled with a number of health conditions. I didn’t appreciate my physical health until I was ill. 

I now have a dogged determination to stay positive and focussed on retaining good mental and physical health and a positive attitude. 

Does it always work? Most of the time – before I was often very down or somewhere numb (which was a far worse state than being down, because you have gone beyond caring).

Now I’m 85-90% up with the occasional time where I’m ratty, grumpy, sad. But that’s OK because we’re meant to have different emotions. Claiming to be happy 100% isn’t what I want nor is it realistic.

Take some time to ask your self – what do you do to ensure you have good health (both physical, mental and emotional).

Delicacies.