Changing room Chat. May. Week 2. Sit a while and just chill out...

[Oldfloss]

Hello, everyone...

Welcome ! Here we are,. On the road and spending another session in the Yoga Studio...

It has been an interesting week, since May began and certainly for me, a lot of things going in, physically and mentally!

The Yoga is not going as brilliantly as I wished, and I have been playing Catch up ! But, YWA, May is still ongoing and there have been some excellent sessions, including one of which which got me thinking.

There was, on Day 2, Yoga for when you are Angry... an odd title... but a session worth doing, and a thought I carried with me for a while. The thought relating to how huge, the impact is, of the range of feelings and emotions we have in our lives and that may be impacting also, on the way we exercise.

So, here, in the quiet , calm of the Studio, I thought today, we might focus on that. Exercise and emotions. I remember a past post here, on a similar theme.

healthunlocked.com/strength...

Okay...

“ People who exercise regularly, have better mental health and emotional well-being”

That is something, I have read over and over again, as I explored this topic... and there does appear to be, also, a wealth of evidence to support that.

There are of course, some obvious benefits, which we are probably aware of.

The physical ones:

* Memory and brain function

* Heart, muscle and bone health

* Reducing the risk of developing some long-term health conditions, such as heart disease

The less obvious:

* Improving sleep

* Improving your mood

* Improving confidence

* Managing stress

* Connecting with the great outdoors

* Meeting and mixing with new people

* Managing symptoms of depression and anxiety

This all sounds great, but how do we get around to doing any form of exercise, if we are struggling with strong emotions, physical weakness, or just, good old, can't be bothered-ness!

First off;

* Be kind to yourself... you are human. Energy levels may be low... the time may not be right. Ease off and ease back. Slow it down or take a rest.

* Persevere and be patient. There are no quick fix solutions. Keep trying and find the exercise that works for YOU. Stick with it.

* Go with the flow. Some days it may all feel great, and some days, as MissUnderstanding reminded we runners, on the Bridge Quest this week...“I’m so behind and all my hard work has fallen out of my legs!!!” It may not feel as good!

* Comparison. Reading other posts and other replies, that make you feel, wrongly, that you are not good enough! You make your own goals and you decide what YOU want to achieve it.

* Change your routine. That may be enough to spur you on.

Finally; take care of yourself, and do what you are able to. Any form of exercise, however short and sweet, is going to impact. If you are finding it a struggle, just beginning, is a massive step forward. As Coach Bennett on our Nike guided runs tells us. “ Just showing up, is enough”.

So.... how is it all going with you.... is anybody trying out the Yoga with Adriene sessions... ? How are you finding them. Have you had a go and decided it is not for you?

If you are struggling or have struggled to get the exercise in, how have you kick started it all again ?

If you have chance, pop in and share your experiences with us, please

Oldfloss x

[skysue16]

‘Food for thought’ as always OF 😊 Lots of research to show exercise = well being. My problem is, like you said, when you are stressed and can’t find time to exercise (even though you know it will help), things just continue to spiral downwards. I find the school holidays are vital for interrupting that spiral because, although there is admin work to do, at least I have more time to exercise. This BH weekend I managed two runs, yay, plus my usual squats, heel raisers and some standing press ups 😊👍

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to skysue16]

Hello. I absolutely know what you mean. It is a good job we have school holidays! But, yes there too, there is not always time...... the work you do at home... folk do not realise, quite how much there is... unpaid and often unseen.

Well done you for doing a regular routine, and for those runs. I am sure they recharged you...

Time for me to do a whole post on exercise for the busy educator. ! Thank you x

[skysue16 in reply to Oldfloss]

Ahh, yes….’exercise for the busy educator’ good idea for a post 👍 I wonder how many schools are still doing the Daily Mile, which was popular a few years ago. The children love it and so simple to organise. Great for the adults too, when they joined in! 😂

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to skysue16]

I remember that, and when I headed out for a run yesterday, did wonder about popping in to the primary school to see if they still did it!!!

I thought I may offer to lead it, but I figure my DBS? Is that what it is called now, has run out... so I would or the school would need to get that sorted?

[skysue16 in reply to Oldfloss]

That would be a great thing to do 👍😊 When I did it with reception aged children I think we just ran for 5 or maybe 10 mins (rather than a specific distance) . They simply ran/walked around the playground and stopped with me, for a breather, while I ticked their laps. Some were very motivated by this and ran fast for the whole time to try and get lots of laps, others were quite happy to jog around slowly 👍😀

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to skysue16]

I think that i may pop in and see if there is any interest Thanks for the information !

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold]

Just popping in, recuperating and coming back from a minor calf strain. So running is on hold. But it is amazing how a little row, and a thourough post-row stretch and a little flexibility session makes me feel all pliable again.

I did a 20 min row and 12 min gentle stretch yesterday, and for hours afterwards, I felt like a “new woman”! 🤣 Or at least my calves did.

As you know, I did manage a couple of years ago to have something like a 1 1/2 year streak of daily yoga via YWA, but as I added rowing and walking to running, I stopped following it daily as I was doing stretches after every running, walking and rowing. That added already 20min of daily flexibility work in the average to my routines.

But I believe that I didn’t leave my experience with yoga behind, but rather incorporated it into everyday movement, including my post-workout stretches.

When I do a jacknife overhead, I hear Adriene guide me through some gentle movement (“walk your hands to the right, and then to the left”), and I consciously feel how my body stretches through these. When I do my calf-stretches, I often sneak in one of the Tibetan rites, or the down dog to upward dog transition in a cycle.

So I feel I’ve taken YWA with me on my own journey of trying to fit it all in, with the January daily challenge giving me the opportunity for updating my practice.

I did wonder this morning, when reading your post, if it were better for me and my calves to return to a daily YWA session to improve my calf flexibility, but realistically, I think I just don’t have enough time in the day.

So being kind to yourself, being patient and being conscious of the long journey are thoughts that are also important for me, I find.

Great mindful post.

Happy mindful working out.

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to CBDB]

Thank you so much for calling in and sharing this... I am glad that you are recovering and recuperating slowly from that strain.

Your rowing plays such a major part in your whole exercise routine and is clearly paying dividends... and the Yoga too, seems to be an inbuilt feature of those routines too, which is really interesting. The little reminders we get in our heads, from past routines are so useful...that voice you hear, in your jackknife... I often hear Adriene's voice when I am standing in a queue... and I ground myself and drop my shoulders... tree root style.

Time... ah yes. Fitting everything in , not overdoing it and getting on with all the other life stuff! As skysue16 says... sometimes, it just seems a major task! Folk told me. that when I retired, that time would drag and it was boring... not so, I have less time to do things I wish to, than I ever had when I worked full time. Bored? Never !

You have taken the Yoga with you and are using it so well. I do hope other folk drop in and read this...

Lots to think about from this reply. Thank you .

[AlMorr]

I do some yoga Oldfloss, although not nearly as much as you. You may remember two years ago I ran a 5K along the canal bank about 4 miles from where I live, the sun was shining with a brisk westery wind behind me, I ran in a easterly direction with the water glistening in the sunshine, yesterday I ran another 5K but in a westerly direction against a very light south west wind, it was more cloudy with only a little sunshine but still very pleasant, my time two years ago was 32:28, yesterday 32:38, not much difference, I saw 3 other runners and 3 cyclists.

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to AlMorr]

Hello Al ! You do a lot to keep yourself in trim... I think you walked a neighbour's dog for a while too ! Your run and timings show just how fit you are staying. !

My Yoga is a bit erratic right now, except for my morning routine which I do every day,

I am though getting plenty of strength and stamina work in . building bike stores and dismantling a very big garden shed!

[AlMorr in reply to Oldfloss]

I still walk my neighbours dog Holly at around 2 o'clock every day, those walks started several years ago because Hollies owner had a slight heart condition but is OK now, however, as Holly loves her afternoon walk with me her owner still let's me have a walk with her at 2,

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to AlMorr]

Hello Al... Lucky dog... and how good to have that regular walk every day ! Rain or shine? Good exercise for both of you

[AlMorr in reply to Oldfloss]

Lol, rain or shine, my neighbour doesn't allow me to take Holly a walk if it's raining because it takes so long to dry her.

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to AlMorr]

That's good then.. a rest day

[SMITHYC]

Hi OldflossI thought I would tell you what I do.

I teach chair exercise to older people.

I am 69 years old. I do it voluntary. My oldest is 94. We don't just do exercise but have a boogie as well. They love it.

Seeing the joy and hearing them say they feel better after doing it makes it all worth while.

Chair exercise is not as easy as some people think.

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to SMITHYC]

We do have a lot of chair exercises linked in our S and F forum... great for all ages... and especially after injury.

Well done you !