5 min read
The link between music, movement & our mental health is becoming more of a focal point in many fitness and wellbeing spaces... for good reason.
Music is proven to lower stress. Movement is proven to release it.
I could list 100 reasons why both are amazing for you, but the thing that improved my physical and mental health most wasn't strangers on the internet telling me I'd feel happier if I walked for 30 minutes a day, or that listening to binaural beats could induce a state of calm. Knowing wasn't enough. It was my own experience and research which revealed the truth of all the rumours. I could really get behind this when it personally felt true to me. We are spoilt with music trends and charts, but we have access to our own preferences almost instantaneously through streaming platforms and our friends. We get to choose our own self care routines, and it matters that we enjoy them. Subconsciously we know this, that's why we spend half our wages going to gigs, festivals and events, filtering our favourite artists and returning to our favourite run club. But saving these things for the weekend / Summer doesn't have to be the only way.
Frequently engaging with our favourite music and movement can drastically improve our mood and our productivity.
For me it helps me with winding down as well as studying and focusing on tasks. To the point of becoming mentally resilient enough to pause the arguing voices in my head, and engaged enough to execute changes in my life, including taking this space from a concept to a reality.
My personal entry points for becoming someone who improves both their physical and mental health with music and movement: music and activities that feel accessible, fun, and safe.
So what did this look like?
Accessible
I think it's important to validate everyone's individual journey, and point out that you may not be in a place to run a half marathon this year... and that's ok! That's why I'll admit that I am still the person who Youtubes "gentle somatic exercises". Once upon a time this was "lazy exercises from bed to help me get up" in my search bar. Home is a familiar space I spend plenty of time in. Plus it's amazing what you can find on the internet. There's not much you could google that someone else hasn't needed first and then gone on to create. That's the stunning side of the world wide web. During particularly depressive episodes I couldn't entertain going to the gym. Nor was it helpful to force myself. So for the days or weeks where it's too big of an ask, it's good to have a handful of exercises you can access from home until your capacity grows a little bigger. This takes as long as it takes, and I'll always stand by 'little, often and gently' over hurting yourself through brute force. It isn't sustainable for everyone and can lead to increasing cortisol levels by putting yourself under too much pressure.
It is important to pace ourselves. In fact those 15 minute home videos have saved me on many occasions when my own ADHD has made me forget to book a class until it's fully booked, or when my anxiety says "nope" to being in a room full of people. Starting off small is almost guaranteed to snowball into becoming something of a habit, and usually works better than trying to override your nervous system. It also creates a relationship with yourself where you can make small, manageable promises to yourself and actually follow through on them, rather than abandoning commitments and reinforcing a feeling of personal failure. A win for making friends with your brain. So in many ways you are being kinder to yourself by accommodating your current capacity.
Genres that motivate me: liquid DnB, Nu Disco
An album that speaks to my soul: Blonde- Frank Ocean
My go to home workouts: yoga with Adrienne on Youtube (and her lil dog Benjy), Liz Tenuto (@theworkoutwitch) somatic exercises
Fun
Doing what brings you joy is underrated and misunderstood advice. I didn't dance, swim, or rollerskate for years because I thought that adults could only do this if they were pros. Disempowering (and untrue) messages like this, as well as fitness culture, led me to aim to exercise where I could blend in, exercising strictly and solely to look good instead of to feel good. Unsurprisingly I would quickly just not want to do it any more. Hundreds wasted in gym memberships and cancellation fees.
I realised I was happiest when I put on a playlist and bopped around the house. Then the garden. Then I literally began walking to work, headphones in, with a spring in my step. It lit me up. It was clear my body giving me feedback, saying "this feels good... we gotta do it more often". When I built a bit of confidence I started looking at local beginners classes that centred joining for fun and not to necessarily upskill (although this often happens by default). Zumba and step classes - where there's a routine - or courses that had clear 6-8 week lifespans are great for the brain that instantly goes "I've gotta be good at this". Just investing in short term experimental joy. Low commitment with high reward. It's so important that we give ourselves permission to be an amateur., and to try more than one thing if we want to.
My number one feelgood activity: definitely living room boogies
Something that brings me joy: dog walking!
Current favourite pick me up tune: Sean Paul - Glue. An anthem
Safe
It might sound strange, or it might sound obvious... but we all strive for something really key whether we realise or not: safety. We want to feel safe in our body. The closest thing to us, the thing we are never without. And why wouldn't we want that? In a world that's so unpredictable and chaotic, there is more need than ever before to cultivate a feeling of security within us during times where it is not easily claimed externally.
Unfortunately it's pretty common for us to turn to harmful or lacklustre ways of managing the world's uncertainty or our own stress. Safety often comes from familiarity or predictability. It's taken me and many others years of trial and error to become the person who chooses to take a walk or put on the radio and shake it out instead of reach for a bottle or lay on the sofa. Not to say there's not room for that sometimes too. But I can more frequently choose the former, because it's now familiar. That's hugely down to creating new patterns for those moments of discomfort, and being able to predict that it'll help me feel better.
If we can armour ourselves with activities, practices and rituals that help us feel grounded and secure, we are more likely to feel safe stepping out into the world too. No shaming - I speak to my friends all the time about finding balance. It's not always about cutting out everything 'bad' for you all at once, but more often the act of regularly choosing the thing that will help you feel better with less negative consequences. Ultimately the boozy late nights and days bed rotting are giving our brains something they want: a sense of relief, calm and security, usually driven by serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin. The same feeling can scientifically be produced by movement and sound: dancing at a gig, during a bike ride or on a yoga mat. Trust me - I didn't believe it at first either... but I'm here to tell you the rumours are absolutely true.
A safe place that never gets old: in the forest on a sunny day
Exercise that makes me feel comfortable: stretching first thing in the morning or last thing at night. Something about this resets me every time
Artists who feels like a warm blanket and are on repeat: Cleo Sol, W!llow & Malia
I can always tell where my mental health might be at by the way I feel about my activities, and it gets easier to adjust accordingly.
Reflecting on the reasons why I like or benefit from the exercise I do keeps my mind happy and myself committed. In turn this helps build practices to look forward to, as well as a better friendship with myself where we get to do fun things. These prerequisites alternate too. It gets easier to make decisions in the best interest of my mind and body the more I incorporate music and movement alongside my preferences for that day.
A good reflective practice is to think of your potential entry points to more, (and most importantly) better suited movement. Do you love the outdoors? Prefer solo or group activity? Is your body wired to jump up when you hear drum n bass? Is efficiency your goal? Do competitions motivate you? Whatever you value, try starting here.
Add comment
Comments