Forget calories! Focus on your health when you exercise!

​Ever feel like you have to work out hard when you work out?

Maybe you skip an exercise session because you don’t have enough time to do something hard, or get sweaty, or make it to the gym?
 
This kind of thinking could be robbing you of lots of great opportunities to reduce negative stress responses and improve your overall health.
 
We have known intuitively that we feel better, have better mood when we move.  But we haven’t always been able to make the connection to why.
 
Our hormonal stress response has been linked to our cerebrum and thoughts through the adrenal glad.  This is one of the reasons psychotherapy can be helpful for people with stress management.
 
But did you know that our motor and sensory cortexes also influence our adrenal glands! 
 
Just a 20 minute walk can help to burn off inflammatory stress hormones! 
 
And the muscles attached to our spine (you know-our core muscles)  have the most neural connections to this response.
 
So, yes moving your spine and doing even simple core movement type exercises can be a great way to stay healthy!
 
Here are 2 of my favorite exercises to connect your mind and spine:

Pelvic Clock

Cork Screw

​Exercise doesn’t always have to be hard especially when it comes to our mental health!