Reduce Stress with Mind Body Connection

Workouts that help reduce stress

1. Yoga

2. Pilates

3. Barre

4. Tai Chi or Active Meditation

Yoga for flexibility, mobility and stress relief

It's no surprise that Yoga makes the top of the list for workouts that help reduce stress. With the focus on isometric holds, deep breathing, mind body connection, it is one of the best ways to give your mind a break from your hectic schedule. Yoga emphasizes relaxation and quieting the mind, which helps to regulate blood flow and heart rate in a way that other workouts don't provide.

There are many yoga styles including ashtanga, bikram, hatha, vinyasa. The best yoga to provide you with calm is restorative or yin yoga. This style uses props to help you relax into poses that you hold for several minutes. In this class you might only go through a handful of poses but they are effective in letting go of tension from your muscles, improving your mobility and flexibility, while increasing relaxation. Yoga is known to reduce inflammation in the body to help you recover from illness or highly charged situations.

Pilates for repairing and restoring muscles

Pilates was designed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920's for helping with injury rehab. With its emphasis on core activation, fluid movements, spinal alignment, this workout is a wonderful counterbalance to high intensity workouts. Pilates stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system to improve tranquility in the mind and promotes relaxation. Whether you do mat or reformer Pilates, you will gain benefits that other workouts don't provide.

Pilates also works with breath and pulsing movements to improve core stability, increase flexibility and mobility in stiff joints. As you do 1-2 sessions per week in addition to weight lifting or HIIT, you will notice that your muscular endurance, balance and stability will allow you to lift heavier and push harder.

Since most movements are done with bodyweight only, this workout will not build bulky muscles.

Barre for lengthening muscles and restoring balance

A ballet inspired workout, barre builds core stability, improves posture, and works out smaller muscles with tiny movements. Since the pace of a barre workout can be faster than restorative yoga, you will work up a sweat in these classes and burn calories.

The reason why barre is so good at reducing cortisol is it forces you to live on the edge of your comfort zone, doing large volumes of pulsing movements with bodyweight or low weight that helps to regulate hormones. 

In barre classes, participants may add small hand weights, squishy balls, and additional props that will work on building strength and core stability. Expect to notice a difference in mobility and flexibility after doing a few sessions.

Tai Chi - the active meditation

Research shows that Tai Chi with its emphasis on meditation, breathwork, slow and fluid movements has the same benefits as higher intensity exercise at reducing stress. Movements help to stretch, rotate and twist muscles which helps to release tension in our bodies. A regular Tai Chi practice can help you improve your sleep by promoting relaxation.

This practice will allow you to be more mindful and helps to reduce anxiety and depression over time. Like the above workouts, these low impact exercises put minimal pressure on joints and muscles. Tai Chi can promote the building of core strength and balance.

Are you struggling with stress or anxiety? 

Exercise is a great equalizer when it comes to combating the stress of daily life. By providing individuals with an outlet to unleash their pent up frustration from the rigours of life, any form of movement is effective in combating anxiety and depression. However, the workouts mentioned above: yoga, pilates, barre, and Tai Chi are all more effective at reducing cortisol to give your brain a mental break.

If you are ready to work towards a stronger mind body connection, contact us at Rage Fitness at 1-825-945-7733 or fill out the online contact form to build you a plan that can help you reduce stress while improving the effectiveness of your workouts.