In her iconic role as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Reese Witherspoons states “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don’t.” While there is a lot to unpack in this statement that we will not get into, we will focus on the beginning that says “exercise gives you endorphins.” Why is this important to consider when discussing physical and mental health?
As a therapist who has worked through this pandemic from the very beginning, I have seen how incredibly important mental health is for everyone. It has often been emphasized to have good physical health and maybe less emphasized on the importance of mental health. For a mental health professional, having good mental health can influence your physical health, and vice versa. Having good physical health can influence your mental health. Finding the motivation to start a new workout routine is both a physical and mental feat. And while I can always talk about mental health and the importance of mental health, I also want to take a moment and discuss physical health.
During the pandemic, I have first-hand experienced how physical health can have an impact on mental health. On days that I went on a bike ride, participated in a 45-minute virtual yoga class, or took my two pugs on a walk, I genuinely felt less stress, less anxiety, and less emotional pain. Exercise increases endorphins, dopamine, adrenaline and endocannabinoid release. These brain chemicals are associated with feeling happy, feeing confident, feeling capable, feeling less anxiety and stress and even less physical pain. So in a nutshell, exercise is good for us. duh.
Let’s consider a yoga class. Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in ancient India. The modern interpretation of yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting of a sequence of connected movements and positions, accompanied by breathing exercises and usually ending in a period of relaxation or meditation. A key factor of yoga, and many other physical activities, is being mindful of your body - what it is doing, how it is reacting, what are you feeling, etc. This, in turn, is influencing your mental health during a physical activity. Being mindful of your breathing, where you place your feet on the mat, how you stretch your arms to the ceiling - engaging in physical activities with mental practices.
There are days when exercising is the least exciting activity I can think of. However, I also know that if I even exercise for just 10-15 minutes, I will feel better about myself. From a simple, I will feel better that I actually exercised and stuck with my workout routine, but furthermore it will increase the release of endorphins that can then influence my confidence and mental health, which can then influence my mood, and have a positive domino effect on so many other aspects of my life.
So, put simply, in the words of Elle Woods, “Exercise makes you happy.”
