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I remember when I stopped doing gymnastics. My then 30 year old brother said to his friends: “My 13 year old sister is a retiree!” For 5 exciting years I had trained and competed and enjoyed every part of my gymnastics life. Then it seemed the other girls were performing at a higher level than me, and I was discouraged that I couldn’t keep up. I broke a finger on the uneven parallel bars, and had a hard time regaining my confidence, strength and form. For a year I lost structure as I wasn’t involved in sport. Later I would take up badminton and cycling, but during that year post gymnastics I was without a direction. Life had less sparkle as my fitness level and involvement with sport and exercise fell.

I am reminded of that time now during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Many people feel lost without the rhythm of exercise classes. We have lost structure and are feeling off balance emotionally and physically. The uncertainty of these times is elevating stress, anxiety and our nervous systems are on alert. People are also missing the social contact that the classes bring to their lives.

In last month’s blog post I touched on some healing methods that contribute to our overall wellbeing. We discovered how journaling is a powerful wellness tool. Today I want to explore and share some of the research on exercise as a healing modality. Research consistently shows that exercise has positive effects on our nervous system, our mental health, our cardiovascular, pulmonary, endocrine and immune systems, our musculoskeletal system, to name a few.

Let’s take a look at some evidence that exercise helps our mental health. I think most of us can relate to how much a walk in the forest, a bike ride, doing Tai Chi, yoga or a workout at the gym can decrease stress, improve our mood, and give us joy and a way of seeing things more clearly.

These positive effects are thought to be mediated through the release, for example, of endorphins

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression-and-exercise/art-20046495

and an alteration in cerebral blood flow.

Deslandes et al https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19521110/

I found numerous studies demonstrating the positive effect of exercise in a clinical population, for example those with depression and anxiety. Deslandes’ paper also highlights that exercise can prevent or reduce the risk of developing mental health concerns such as clinical depression, anxiety, dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. It appears that exercise improves the quality of life in people and also their condition itself.

But what about the non-clinical healthy population? Many of my Physiotherapy patients enjoy resistance training. Is there evidence to suggest mood can be enhanced with resistance training?

A 2012 UK study by Zanuso et al published in the International Journal of Sport Psychology (2012) showed that a strength training program has a positive effect on mood and decreases anxiety in a healthy population. The researchers had a group of 65 year old healthy men and women perform resistance exercise 3 X a week for 12 weeks. The sample size was only 20, but the research demonstrated that not only were there significant muscle strength increases in the intervention group, but there was also a moderate improvement of overall psychological function. Interestingly, the control group’s (no strength training) anxiety levels decreased as well, and the authors suggest that this could have been due to the fact the control group interacted with the researchers and each other and benefited from the social interaction.

The full text is available as a download.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230820183_The_Effect_of_a_Strength_Training_Program_on_Affect_Mood_Anxiety_and_Strength_Performance_in_Older_Individuals

Exercise and sport are vital to our whole body health. It does require dedication to maintain a daily home exercise practice during this COVID 19 pandemic and also during normal times. I know it can be challenging to find the motivation to exercise for a variety of reasons. We may not be able to get together in exercise classes at this time.  I believe we can take the reins and stay active, engaged, and help our mental as well as physical health. If we have been unable to exercise for whatever reason, it’s OK. We can start today. It’s never too late to begin, or re-begin.

To your health,

Felicity Goldring, BScPsych, BScPT, Registered Physiotherapist, Holistic Life and Wellness Coach, and retired gymnast.

DISCLAIMER:

 

The contents of this website and blog are for informational purposes and are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care practitioner with any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any mind or body exercise or other health program.

Neither Felicity Goldring, Kay Shore, or Bamboo Whole Health is responsible for any adverse effects resulting from your use of or reliance on any information contained in any website or blog post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the first post on the Bamboo’S TALK, the blog for Bamboo Whole Health, our multidisciplinary health centre facilitating balance, flexibility, and resilience in your whole person.

Over the next few posts we will take a look at some healing methods and the evidence that suggests that they are beneficial to our mind body spirit health.

Recently, I watched a docuseries called “Proven; Healing breakthroughs backed by science”. I learned about the efficacy of many modalities and how they calm the nervous system and stimulate healing in the bodymind. Over the past 30 years there has been an explosion of research into healing methods like massage, mindfulness meditation, acupuncture, biofeedback, EFT, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, Yoga and herbs to name a few. The docuseries covered topics such as stress, anxiety, chronic pain, and cancer, and named the researchers’ top 5 modalities to help treat these based on the quality of research, accessibility (cost) and effectiveness. Tai Chi, Yoga, Massage and other modalities ranked high as being beneficial to reduce stress and anxiety and manage chronic pain.

One healing method that wasn’t covered in the docuseries is what I want to explore today: Journaling. I started journaling when I was 7 years old, and have benefited from the practice since then. Now I want to take a look at the research that suggests that it is a tool to aid in managing chronic pain, and letting go of physical and emotional trauma.

Journaling is a tool I use to unpack my mind, process worries and other thoughts, plan for the future, sort out the past. I jot down my day, make a list, mull over a conversation, summon the courage to have a conversation. I find that journaling lessens anxiety, grief, and calms and lifts my spirit.

I like the stream of consciousness style of journaling described by Julia Cameron in “The Artist’s Way” She popularized the “morning pages” https://juliacameronlive.com/2019/09/24/the-bedrock-tool-of-the-artists-way-morning-pages/

Morning pages are done, if possible, first thing in the morning, and are three handwritten 8.5 X11 pages ideally, taking 20-25 minutes. There is no right way to do them, and the idea is not to think too much about what you are writing. You certainly don’t have to be a writer to do the morning pages. They are a great way to get in touch with yourself and get your inner critic out of the way.

Some of the research around journaling as a healing tool has been done with Expressive Writing, introduced by James Pennebaker PhD, a professor of Psychology at the University of Texas in Austin. He began studies in the 1980’s on the impact of expressive writing on physical and emotional health. His study on the immune response highlights that writing about emotional upheavals can improve immune function.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7593871/

His method of writing involves 15-20 minutes per day for 3-5 consecutive days. People are asked to let go and write down their deepest thoughts about an event that they have been thinking excessively about, and worrying about. A paper written by Baikie and Wilhelm in 2005 identifies the many benefits of expressive writing discovered over the years by Pennebaker and others including: reduced blood pressure, improved mood, improved lung function, improved sporting performance, reduced pain and improved physical health in patients with cancer.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-psychiatric-treatment/article/emotional-and-physical-health-benefits-of-expressive-writing/ED2976A61F5DE56B46F07A1CE9EA9F9F

(download the pdf for full article)

Daily journaling as a tool for emotional and physical recovery remains, for me, one of my most effective healing methods. I recommend it to my Physiotherapy and Life Coaching clients as one way to unblock the body mind spirit and help find balance, flexibility and resilience in life.

What is your experience with journaling, what do you think, and how does it make you feel?

Felicity Goldring, BScPsych, BScPT, Registered Physiotherapist, Holistic Life and Wellness Coach

 

DISCLAIMER:

 

The contents of this website and blog are for informational purposes and are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care practitioner with any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any mind or body exercise or other health program.

Neither Felicity Goldring, Kay Shore, or Bamboo Whole Health is responsible for any adverse effects resulting from your use of or reliance on any information contained in any website or blog post.