Exercise to Manage Stress & Anxiety | Childless Blog

WOBBLE WARNING: Though the focus of this post is exercise to manage stress & more, I do talk about my husband and foreign exchange daughter, plus mention my infertility journey…

*This post contains affiliate links. More explanation about that a bit later…

Thus far in the Managing Menopause, Endometriosis, Grief, Stress, Anxiety series, I have shared the vitamins, herbs, supplements, creams, lubricants, essential oils, and hot teas that I use to manage and alleviate symptoms. Today, I am going to share my personal exercise routine—exercise to manage stress, anxiety, grief, menopause, and endometriosis.

Exercise to Manage Stress, Anxiety, Grief, Menopause, & Endometriosis

First, we’ve got to get the legalize out of the way…

The All-Important Disclaimer…

I’m just a gal who suffers from endo, has gone through menopause, and is struggling through the stress & grief of losing my Nana, my Grammy, my best friend… I don’t hold a medical or counseling degree nor am I a specialist. I am simply speaking my truth–sharing exercises to manage stress, anxiety, grief, menopause, & endometriosis–with the goal of educating and advocating. In other words…

Not So Mommy…™ is designed to provide information and motivation to readers. This information is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional advice. The information contained in the blogs, emails, and social media posts is the sole expression and opinion of its author(s). Therefore, if you wish to apply ideas contained in the blogs, emails, and/or social media posts, you are taking full responsibility for your choices, actions, and results. (If you’d like to read the entire Not So Mommy…™ Disclosure Policy, click here.)

AND…

As I stated at the beginning of this post, this blog contains affiliate links. Thus, I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases, which helps me maintain this site and continue to fulfill the Not So Mommy… Purpose.

Exercise to Manage Stress & More…

Okay. Now, let’s talk about exercise to manage stress & more…

Walking

Dane and I started our health journey nearly a decade ago. And it started with a nightly walk. Ten minutes turned into thirty. One mile turned into two, three, four, five… We felt better. We lost weight. And we had some phenomenal conversations as we walked around and around our neighborhood.

After moving into our fixer-upper, we got out of the habit of our nightly walks. So, when I quit teaching five years ago, the number of steps I took each day decreased dramatically. No longer walking my classroom, but rather sitting behind a computer blogging, I started to gain weight. Even worse, I started to feel blah and my endo belly was more bloated than ever. So, I got a FitBit. It reminds me to get up and move every hour. And it helps me ensure that I get a minimum of 8,000 steps per day. But I strive for at least 10,000.

When I am more active, my hips don’t bother me as much. My endo belly is less bloated. And I just feel better over-all.

Aerials, A Movement Art

In 2015, I began to practice aerials with our foreign exchange daughter. To be honest, I had planned to be the (host) mom sitting on the side and watching my (exchange) daughter practice. But Bruna told me that I had to try aerials with her. And I will be forever grateful that she encouraged me to take that first class…

Over the past seven years, aerials has become my happy place. Once a week, I practice this movement art. And I always leave class feeling stronger, more relaxed, and impressed with what a 40-something endo warrior whose gone through menopause can do!

I have performed in two student showcases. (Nerve wracking and exhilarating all at once!) And I have choreographed pieces in honor of Jennifer, my best friend who passed away, as well as my Nana. In this way, aerial dance has truly helped me process grief. (Read more about that here and here.)

Now, there are times when I don’t want to go to class. It’s in the evening. Dane is home. Heading to the snug with a cup of tea to watch a bit of TV sounds tempting… Sometimes my back hurts or my sciatica is bothering me. Other times, my wrist aches or my endo belly is more bloated than normal. Nearly every week, I’m tired. And I think, maybe I should just skip it…

But I don’t. I go to class and practice. I receive encouragement from my coach and fellow aerialists. And I leave energized, with fewer aches and pains, with more confidence and joy…

Yoga

Many, many years ago, I did yoga hoping that it would help increase my fertility, that it would help me to conceive.

It didn’t.

And I didn’t do yoga for years after…

Recently, however, I decided to start practicing yoga again. I needed more exercise than my 10,000 daily steps and weekly aerials class were giving me. I had tried practicing yoga at home in the past. But I never stuck with it. So, I researched yoga studios near my home. I chose one just five minutes away… One that didn’t mention anything about having childcare… One that didn’t mention anything about kids’ classes… And I gave it a try.

I was so nervous about attending my first class. About meeting new people, about the small talk…

Everything went beautifully, however. The ladies are nice. I was forthcoming with the fact that we are childless. Another lady in class is childless, too. I really enjoy the yoga classes. Because of that, I’m attending twice a week—practicing Yoga Flow, as well as Kaiut Yoga.

Before my first Kaiut class, I was extremely stressed. Dane had a very important meeting that morning, and I was quite anxious. Because of this, I could feel an endo flare coming on… My stomach was hurting so badly that I wasn’t sure I could move. But I was at the studio, so I went to class. Kaiut Yoga is very gentle and focuses on joint health. After my one-hour practice, my stomach wasn’t hurting anymore. And the endo flare that I feared… Well, it didn’t flare after all.

Truly, yoga is helping manage my stress and anxiety better than anything else I have done. It is also helping to alleviate some of the aches and pains I suffer from due to endometriosis and post-menopause. And the mindfulness… Focusing on breath and movement… Well, it’s helping calm the thoughts of this over-thinker.

Find exercise that works for you…

Fabulous one, I encourage you to find an exercise routine that works for you. If you don’t exercise at all, I suggest that you start with a short evening walk, like Dane and I did. Buy a FitBit and make sure you are moving each hour, that you are getting at least 8,000 steps per day.

Try an exercise class. And don’t discount yourself, saying you can’t do something. I never imagined that I’d be able to choregraph a sling performance. I never thought I’d be strong enough to advance from beginning sling to sling 1 and now, to intermediate sling 2. We are capable of more than we give ourselves credit…

Yoga is an excellent exercise to manage stress, anxiety, endometriosis, menopause, & other chronic illnesses. You can practice in-studio (like I do) or at home with programs like Yoga Download. There are various types of yoga—flow, kaiut, yin, fusion, and more… So, if you don’t like one type of yoga, try a different kind. Sort of like hot tea, just because you don’t care for one doesn’t mean you don’t like any of them!

But if you find that you really don’t like yoga, that walking outside just doesn’t work, that aerials isn’t available where you live… Well, try Pilates or Zumba or Circuit Training or Water Aerobics. Just find something that will help you to get moving.

Because you can take all the vitamins and supplements… Diffuse all the essential oils… Drink all the hot tea… But exercise… Movement… It is vital for over-all health. Honestly, no holistic approach is complete without exercise.

When you buy…

Fabulous one, if you decide to buy one of the products I mentioned, I’d be so grateful if you’d purchase it using my affiliate link from this blog post. I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases, which helps me maintain this site and continue to fulfill the Not So Mommy… Purpose.

Find YOUR Practice at YogaDownload.com

YogaDownload.com offers 1,500+ online yoga classes. Subscriptions are as little as $12 a month. Not quite ready to commit? No worries! You can try YogaDownload.com for only $1!!! Just click the banner below.

If you prefer, you can purchase specific yoga videos rather than subscribing.

Coming Up…

Next week is my 45th birthday! Because of this, I’m going to take a break from the Managing Menopause, Endometriosis, Grief, Stress, Anxiety series. Instead, I’ll share my birthday post! The week after that, I’m reviewing Puppington. Thus, this series will continue on Monday, 25 April, discussing vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free products to manage stress and anxiety. I do hope you’ll come back each Monday to read…

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