How do you exercise?
Do trauma and exercise go hand in hand? This is something I recently felt compelled to look into. As someone who works with different bodies each day, I see how emotions are held within the body and how they manifest in a variety of ways.
Visible tension in the hands, jaw, and muscles. A rigidity to each movement. Fast, shallow breathing. A striving for perfection at an early stage and a feeling of agitation when that isn’t attained. These are all signs that underlying emotions are surfacing and affecting how we move through life.
While exercise can be a phenomenal way to release tension, improve mood, and provide a sense of connection and confidence, it can also be a trigger and lead to more destructive results.
Running endless miles to “push through pain” can mimic the feeling of stuffing down and ignoring painful emotions. Exercising in order to turn off the brain and disconnect can be linked to the same disconnect created between the mind and body when a physical trauma has occurred. Chasing excessive amounts of intensity to subconsciously recreate feelings of stress, not because we enjoy them, but because they are what is familiar.
I bring this up because I hope it’s thought-provoking. I want more people to recognize the major link that exists between our emotional and physical states. They are not independent of one another. When dysregulation occurs emotionally, it will manifest physically, whether you realize it or not.
Mindful, effective training is what I encourage everyone to look into. Take a break from the “just push through” mentality and lean into grounding, challenging work that requires great mental focus.
If your first thought is to resist this type of training or dismiss the idea of understanding your emotions through movement, I ask you to be curious. Try to identify where that comes from. I’m not saying there isn’t ever a need for intensity or working out to get out of the head. I’m simply saying, just like anything else, it’s not for everyone, and there are alternatives.