“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.”

John F. Kennedy

Let’s face it.  Given the choice, everyone would prefer to be healthy.  In fact, most people would prefer that good health simply happened by osmosis.  So they settle for the next best thing.  Something they can put in their mouths- a quick fix.  Overweight?  Take a pill.  Feeling depressed?  Take a pill.  Overwhelmed with anxiety?  Take a pill.  Can’t sit still and pay attention?  Take a pill.  And there are many choices, each with their respective unpleasant side effects—Xenical, Xanax, Librium, Ativan, Paxil, Effexor, Ritalin, Prozac, Zoloft, the list goes on. 

But while medicating to relieve problems can bring some relief, the reality is that sustaining good mental and physical health often results from a much tougher pill to swallow:  Exercise.  Yes, you read that correctly… exercise.  For you to work well, you need to do work.  That means move as in exert yourself—the bane of most people’s existence!  Although health clubs are often filled to capacity, a majority of individuals in our country exercise minimally or avoid it altogether; this, despite burgeoning evidence that exercise improves health in a number of ways and has a positive effect on mental health as well.

In December, 2011, the American Psychological Association’s flagship magazine, The APA Monitor, contained an article called, “The Exercise Effect”, which elucidated the many benefits of exercise.  An interesting facet of the article was the comment that psychologists often fail to incorporate exercise into their treatment regimen.  This psychologist, as usual, is “ahead of the curve.”  The way the body moves through exercise to achieve positive states is an integral part of the work I do.  

Most psychologists would recommend exercise to an obese individual requesting a treatment regimen for weight loss.  But why should that professional recommend exercise to someone who states he or she is depressed?  Or anxious?  Or unfocused, insecure and unmotivated?  

That same APA Monitor article revealed growing research indicating a connection between moving muscles and improved emotional well being; and the release of certain “feel-good” chemicals in the body induced by exercising, improved moods.  It is suggested that exercise can alleviate long-term depression, relieve stress, improve sensory awareness (i.e., perception) and therefore, “focus”, and even help reduce the risk of obesity-induced diabetes.

The idea of movement related to behavior and mood is consistent with certain treatment models; among them the one embraced by this psychologist/author called, “The Mythoself Process”, in which all behaviors and emotions first manifest in the neuro-musculature of the body and are held there in unique ways.  Before you become aware that you are stressed, angry, depressed, anxious, or experiencing other “inhibitory” or negative states, your body shifts through micro-muscular flexions, postural and breathing changes to manifest those feelings physically. In a similar way, when you are elated, calm and centered and experiencing a pervasive sense of well being, this too manifests first and foremost in your body.  Call these “excitatory” experiences.  Exercise is a vehicle that can cause a shift from inhibitory to excitatory states.  

But will just any type of exercise suffice?  For example, does carrying groceries from your car to the kitchen count?  What about talking a lot and using the various jaw muscles—does that help?  How about gardening once in awhile?  Housework?  Sex? Does it have to be something formal like joining a gym?

What about going out and jogging long-distances?  A popular misconception about long-distance running is that, because it often leads to your having a slow resting heart rate and, after vigorous exercise, causes your heart rate to “recover” quickly, you are relatively healthier.  However, long-distance jogging may be missing an important ingredient as regards a healthy lifestyle, one that has to do with how your heart works.  As it turns out, the influence of exercise on good mental and physical health is optimized when a concept called, “heart-rate variability” (HRV) is taken into account.  

What does that mean?  And how does it work?  Don’t miss a beat—be here next time!