Nature & Exercise

Why moving our bodies is important for our mental health, our skin health and for feeling a sense of achievement

Moving is so important for us to get the glow. It helps to boost blood to our skin which in turn then starts to help move any toxins out of our body through sweat, our liver and urine.

Ideally you’re looking for 30 minutes of movement four to five times a week. This doesn’t have to be a spin class, but if it floats your boat go for it. Can be a walk in the park, or taking the stairs instead of the lift. Or getting off your bus one stop early. Or parking a little further away from the office. We are keeping it simple, but it’s so effective. It helps our mental health, our physical health and will ultimately give our skin that glow that we know and love!

When deciding what to do, remember that a slower class can actually be really helpful for your body. When you walk instead of run, it helps our parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) to calm down (this is our fight or flight response), tells us we are safe and lets our body carry on restoring itself.

So if you’re a gym bunny, why not try a slower class this week. One with yoga in it, or pilates or even a long walk in the park. If our bodies are always in this fight or flight mode, which they can be too when you exercise at high intensity lots, it can be good to slow down a little, be a bit more gentle with ourselves and enjoy nature.

Moving your body is an excellent way to deal with stress. Getting to the gym is one way to get rid of it, and other ways can include yoga, pilates or even just a good old walk in nature. I personally do all three at various times and just listen to what my body needs, so if you feel amped up and want to hit the gym for a workout, then awesome. Or if you just want to walk it all away then that’s equally great. One of my favourite ways to do this is to get lost in some yoga and doing sun salutations activates 95% of the body, increases strength and can reduce body fat in women when performed over a consistent basis and period of time.

So why not try something new – when was the last time you tried something new? Can you remember? When was the last time you shook up your gym routine? Trying new things, whilst first appearing a bit scary, once done can be so fun and rewarding! You have that endorphin high, you’ve stretched yourself to try something new and you probably had a giggle because you got some of it wrong!

Alice x