Think MOVEMENT rather than EXERCISE at midlife!

Menopause Fitness

When I chose my tagline ‘Breathe Well, Eat Well, Live Well, Move Well and Sleep Well’, there was a good reason I didn’t choose the word EXERCISE instead of MOVE.

Whilst exercise plays a large part in the holistic process of being ‘well’, I actually prefer to use the word movement. Say the word exercise and people tend to immediately think of intense gym workouts or fitness classes, whereas movement is a more open approach to using your body and keeping it active.

In my last blog, I covered the negative impact of stress and while certain exercise has its’ place, if you are going to put yourself in a state of anxiety or stress at the very thought of going to the gym or a class, then it is likely to put you off going at all and negates the whole point.

Sometimes a long walk or some gentle stretching can be more than enough if that is all you are up to. Beyond using it for the physical results and internal health, movement is also a powerful tool to connect your body and mind on a deeper level by offering meditative benefits.

I am not going to lie, I used to think stretching was a totally pointless exercise, plonked on the end of fitness classes to delay me being able to rush home for a glass of wine!

When I trained as a fitness instructor, I learnt about the importance of stretching to prevent injury but honestly, I still found it the most boring part of the class to teach!