Like most of you, I am not a teenager whose parents take care of me and for the most part all I need to worry about is school, sports and managing my social media pages. Instead, I am a parent, attempting to do everything for my family, my career, manage to train for a swimming event that doesn't take place until August, and yes, manage my social media pages.
So much has happened in my life since mid-December. The intensity and pace of life activity that I've been keeping will continue on throughout the next few months. Here is just a snap shot of what happened in the last month and a half. I will list only a few points to give you a quick glance at what has kept me away from posting:
- Year End at work
- Christmas
- New Job Beginning January 1
- Bought a House
- Sold a house ( which was not an easy thing to do with 3 kids!)
During all this turmoil, I did everything I could to keep going to the pool 3-4 sessions per week. There were, and still are, many evenings that I debated heavily with myself as to whether I was going to drive 30 minutes to the pool, in the dark and cold when I was feeling exhausted and quite frankly, overwhelmed. My internal battle always ended up with me having frozen hair on my way to the car, and a feeling of mental freedom and relief, after practice was over.
Exercise is a great stress reliever. And if nothing else, over the holidays, I definitely needed to find a way to manage my ever rising stress level. Regardless of the exercise intensity, research has shown there is true benefit to daily physical activity in helping to reduce stress.
The Mayo clinic did a great summary of the benefits of exercise on stress relief. Here are a couple of points to remember when you are pondering skipping workout because your Life is Happening a bit more stressfully then usual.
1. Physical activity boosts endorphin release in our brain, causing a natural high and a better mood.
2. Regular exercise can help reduce the symptoms of mild depression and anxiety and help with
getting a good night sleep. All these benefits lead to an overall reduction in stress.
3. Exercising is a form of meditation. Halfway through your workout you may find you've forgotten
the day's list of 'things to do' and are focusing on one single task, your body's movement.
4. Make sure you schedule your physical activity into your day. Write it down, put it in your
calendar like an appointment and keep it! You will be happy you did.
Life will always Happen, make sure it doesn't keep you from Living your Life.
calendar like an appointment and keep it! You will be happy you did.
Life will always Happen, make sure it doesn't keep you from Living your Life.
