Tina 00:00:00 Very recently I started thinking about movement in a different way. Movement can help us relax. It could help us get energized, and it could also help us reduce stress and anxiety. And on top of that, it helps us become physically fit. And there's also different times in our lives where different types of movement serve us. And so today I wanted to get into that and really start to embrace the mindset of movement instead of exercise. Let's get into it. You're listening to the Soul Aligned Self-care podcast. I'm your host, Tina Stinson, and I had a stroke at the age of 39 from stress and burnout that shook my world. Now I'm laying it all out. The deep level self-care practices and mindset shifts that I needed that kept me healthy, balanced, and thriving. Join me in this intimate space as we explore healing, resilience, and the soul's journey to alignment. This is where real conversations about deep level self-care happen. Let's get into it. Hey, guys. Welcome back to the Soul Aligned Self-care podcast.
Tina 00:01:21 I'm your host, Tina Stinson, and today we are talking about the holistic benefits of mindful movement. So I know I'm kind of, you know, kind of walking on eggshells around the term exercise because there's so many people who just relate that relate to exercise in a negative way. Now, for me, I've always been the type of person that loves exercise. I've been working out since I was, I don't know, probably 14, I don't know, I've just always enjoyed even before that, I was always like, so into riding my bicycle when I was little. I just love almost all forms of exercise. I'd have to say the only thing I don't enjoy immensely is lifting weights. But for the most part, I. I love movement, and I think thinking of it the way I'm going to talk about it today is a really great way to start adding movement into your life, even if you're the type of person who hates exercise, and also rethinking the types of movement that you should have in your life during the different time periods of your life.
Tina 00:02:30 What serves me right now in this time period of my life. So I used to think that all like exercise or physical movement was good for me at all times. So even when I was exhausted, I would push myself to go on a run or to work out. I wouldn't never skip a workout. It didn't matter how I felt. And I still do this a little bit sometimes today, you know, I'm I'll, you know, do a yoga class even if I feel tired or sick sometimes. But at least, at the very least, I'm not running when I feel sick or tired, you know, I'm doing something more that's tuned in to the way I feel. But I've learned through the recovery process from being in a constant state of fight or flight, and also from healing from a stroke, that this is not always good for you. This is not always the case. It doesn't exercise Especially high intensity exercise does not always serve you. Now we can experience the most growth and the most healing from our time when we're at rest.
Tina 00:03:28 And actually, this is when our muscles actually grow. It's not when we're actually working them. It's at the time of rest. So not letting ourselves rest can actually make us weaker and more susceptible to like, sickness. Also, for women, there's the added bonus of our cycle. And I know, I now know that there are certain times, and certain types of movement that, you know, sometimes rest is more beneficial, and sometimes different types of workouts are beneficial depending on your cycle. I'm not going to get into that today. I don't feel like I know enough about it to speak well, but I know, like right before you get your period, it's not always the best time to work out because your body is actually creating a new organ inside of you. And you know you need to rest a little bit. It's a lot of work, right? And so sometimes it's good to like, lay low, that we can not do anything that's highly intense. Which makes sense, right? It totally makes sense.
Tina 00:04:24 So I'm going to share with you, though a few of the things that I've learned for myself on my healing journey about movement and how I use movement to always support myself. And as I said in the intro, you can use movement to relax you. You could use it to reduce stress. You could use it to energize yourself, and you could use it for physical fitness. There's so many different benefits. You could also use. Use it to work through emotions and to release emotions. There's just so many benefits to movement, and I think it's important to always be moving every day. But I also think it's important to, be able to check in with yourself and know what's what would serve you in that moment. So the first lesson I want to share with you is rest, as is important as movement. And I learned this like the hard way when I was training. I don't know if I was training for a half marathon, I think I was or marathon, I'm not sure which one it was, but I love running and it comes really easy for me because it makes me feel so good.
Tina 00:05:25 And I've always been a runner. Well, actually no, not always. I think I started running in my 30s, but when I was young, young, young, like elementary school age, I remember loving running. But there was a time period where I didn't run too much, you know, through my upper teens and my 20s, but in my 30s I really got into it. And when I was training for this, let's just say a half marathon, I signed up for two training programs. One was with a bunch of amazing ladies and our running coach, and they were all pretty. They were all stronger runners than me, so it was a really good challenge. And the other one was with, like a local training group that was men and women. It was a very large group, but also very challenging. And between these two training groups, I was training almost every single day of the week and not resting much at all. But I felt great and I thought, man, I'm really going to improve my time.
Tina 00:06:23 Am I running time? I was trying to beat my half marathon time and also I wanted to lose a little bit of weight. I had like gained like a little bit of belly weight and I thought, oh, this would be great. I'll lose a few pounds because I'm running so much it'll just drop off. That was usually my experience at this time. I was probably like in my 40s when I was doing this. And what happened though, was that I did not lose the weight, which I thought was weird. and when the moment came for my half marathon, my time really tanked. It was bad. It was my worst time ever. It was actually even worse than the time I ran a half marathon without training at all. So, so I was kind of, like, confused at this time. I didn't know why this happened, but I did a little bit of research, and what I found out was because I was not resting, my body was in total fight or flight.
Tina 00:07:16 I was doing intense training almost every day, and as a matter of survival, my body was holding on to the extra weight. It was like holding on to fat. More importantly, and my muscles were not getting any stronger because the growth period for muscles is when you're at rest. Right? And so I was actually breaking down my muscles a little bit. I was actually getting weaker. And I didn't know that I didn't really feel that way. But when it came down to my half marathon time, that's where I really saw the proof. Okay? And this was like such a big lesson for me because my running season was so important. So I would train all season and then I would run like a bunch of races, mostly in the fall. Right? I ran races all year long, but the majority of the ones that were like my favorite were in the fall. And so I lost that whole season because I trained too much. And, I would have, you know, I would have probably done like a hundred times better if I just did one training program and ran a couple times a week.
Tina 00:08:16 And I'm not kidding you, and probably just maybe did like a weight workout, I would have been much stronger and my time would have been amazing. So that lesson for me was a hard lesson, but rest is as important as the movement, right? And I'm not saying, like I said earlier, I think you should move every day, but there are those days where you need to do some type of movement that is restful, whether it be a gentle yoga session or a walk outside in nature, something that's not going to beat the heck out of your body every single day. Okay, now the next lesson I learned was to honor the way that your body feels always okay. Now, I'm much better at this now, but I didn't used to be. As I said, I would just continuously work out and work out and work out. when I was going through my divorce, I did. I worked out so much because I thought it was a healthy way to handle my anger. I was in the best shape of my life.
Tina 00:09:15 I did kickboxing, boxing, running, I don't know, I did everything and as I said, I was in the best shape of my life. But that was also when I had my stroke because I wasn't resting. So every day I ask myself, what kind of movement can I add to support me in the way that I feel today? And, you know, notice that, you know, I noticed that most of the time, even when I'm a bit tired, I still move. It's just more aligned. Like as I said, with the way my body feels. So maybe I might want to do just yoga that day. Maybe I don't even want to walk. Maybe my body is just tired. I'm just going to do a little yoga. Maybe I want to get I want to get like a little bit of a workout in. So I'm going to go for a walk because my body is just not feeling the run or it's too hot. Maybe it's just really, really hot outside.
Tina 00:10:06 I don't enjoy running when I'm super, super hot. And so I'd rather just go on a walk and then maybe do a yoga session if I'm too stressed. I don't run because this increases my stress levels. It keeps me in fight or flight and makes me more stressed out if I'm frustrated. Running helps, so you have to see how these different things make you feel in your body. you know, so when I'm really, really stressed, a good walk in nature serves me really well. Maybe some yoga. And so tuning into yourself every day is so important and then checking in with your body. And it's also really important not to make excuses. So like not to say, oh, I'm tired every day and I'm not going to do it anything. You know, there's times when a workout could actually energize you, you know? So if I'm feeling kind of like maybe I'm feeling like down in the dumps or something like that, a run can actually really help me feel more positive and energized and, you know, bring my mood up.
Tina 00:11:03 So it's important to get up every day and move around a little bit. Unless you're recovering from like, serious sickness or severe injury. It's important to move every day. So because it not only energizes us, but it helps the systems of the body work better. It helps emotions move through the body. And and if you can muster up, you know, like if you're tired and you're like, I just don't feel like doing it today. Maybe just a short dance to your favorite song in the morning, you can consider that a win. Like that's something you could do that can energize you, make you feel better, get get your body moving in the morning. But it's not like you don't have to look at it as every day. Oh my God, I have to get to the gym and just like, not look forward to it. And just almost like resenting the gym, okay? It's about tuning into the movement that's going to serve your body for that day and then keep moving every single day.
Tina 00:11:56 So when I'm feeling great, I'll run and maybe hit the weights. So if I'm having like a really a day where I feel energized, I feel great. That's the day I'm going to do, like the hard core workout. I'm going to run and lift some heavy weights. Now, I don't love doing weights, so I got to be feeling good to do this. And. But I also know that lifting weights is so important for me as I get older, it helps me build my bone mass. And this leads me to the very next thing that I've learned. Okay, so movement supports you differently depending on where you are in your life and your cycle. Okay. And so what was good for me in my 20s isn't necessarily good for me. Now in my 50s, I am fully into midlife right now, and I'm working through perimenopause and moving into menopause. and hard core, high intensity like hour long workouts don't serve me anymore. Not because I don't have the energy, and not because that it's not going to help me get physically fit or stronger in some way.
Tina 00:12:54 But it's because. Or not even because I can't do it. It's because my body and my needs are changing. So going into perimenopause, as our hormones change, we are more likely to be anxious, right? So if I do a hardcore workout, this stresses me more. It keeps me in fight or flight, and I'm talking about high intensity workouts for long periods of time. So like short, high intensity workouts are good for me. But long, high intensity workouts are not. It keeps me in fight or flight. It makes it impossible for me to lose any of that mid-life weight gain. And it makes my cortisol. It keeps my cortisol high. Okay. I can actually lose weight more easily doing some yoga and lifting some heavy weights, weights, then running. Whereas in my 20s, if I gained a little extra weight or even in my 30s, I could just go, I could just run a little bit more and it would just drop off of me instantly. And I do miss those days because it was so easy.
Tina 00:13:48 It's like, oh, I gained ÂŁ5. I'm just going to run a little extra this week and it really would just drop right off. I could pretty much eat anything I wanted and not worry about gaining weight. So, you know, doing the yoga and lifting some, some heavy weights instead of the high intensity workouts that will lower my stress, that will lower my stress hormones and allow my body to release that extra weight and start to build muscle. Okay, and this is what really serves me now, building that muscle. Because as we move into our 40s and our 50s, we're losing muscle really fast as we go through perimenopause and menopause. And also men also lose muscle pretty fast, but a little bit later, usually like 40s 50s but more so 50s I would even say in the 60s. It's just a little later for men, but something so I still run, right? It's just not every single day. And I'm just not running, like, you know, 30 miles a week.
Tina 00:14:45 I make sure that I get the rest I need in between. And I don't do a lot of high intensity, long term workouts days in a row. I want to keep myself. I want to keep my cortisol low. I want to keep myself out of fight or flight. I want to be able to keep the extra pounds off, and I want to be able to build muscle. So this will lead me to the next thing that I've learned. Building muscle is important for your quality of life, that you will experience as you age. It's so important, right? So we start losing muscle mass, as I said, women, 30s and 40s. Yeah. And then men like 40s and 50s. Our muscles are so important. Not just to keep us strong and protect our protect our our bones, our bodies. They keep us well balanced and they help us avoid falling. So I don't know about you, but I don't want to be like, I don't want to get older and be like, weak and have low energy and be susceptible to falls.
Tina 00:15:43 I want to feel the way I feel now as I get older. So the best advice that I can give all women, I don't care how old you are, is that the time to start building muscle is right now. Okay, I don't care if you're 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, like it's never too late or never too early to start. So as we move into menopause, we lose so much muscle and it gets a little bit harder to build it. So starting as early as possible and building some muscle, like a muscle bank, so to speak, will benefit you long term. So something I did not intentionally. I didn't know what I was doing at the time, but I'm glad I did. It was in my 40s and through my 40s. I did a lot of CrossFit. And so I build I build a built a lot of muscle, and that has served me long term. I can actually feel my muscles like dwindling away as I get older.
Tina 00:16:37 I'm amazed by how much muscle I lost. Even though I still work out, I still run and I lift weights so I can feel this. I noticeably, my body is noticeably different now that I'm in. I'm in my second like the the later half of my 50s. Okay, so, building those muscle stored that muscle storage, it will pay you back with energy, health, strength and balance and feeling good as you get older. Okay. All important things. Very important things. I don't know about you, but I want to have fun when I'm older and I want to feel good, and that's just so important to me. So that's the next thing I want to talk about. Do what feels good and make you happy. Stop thinking of exercise as this this horrible thing that you dread that you don't want to do. Start looking at it as movement that serves your body and keeps you feeling good. It keeps your energy levels up. Stop looking at others to make a plan for your movement.
Tina 00:17:41 Okay, not saying don't use personal trainers, but don't look at other people and what they're doing and decide that that's what's best for you. Like like as I said earlier, lifting weights is important. And if you don't know how to do that, then you hire a personal trainer to learn how to do that and to learn how to start building muscle. Okay, but don't like kill yourself with high intensity weightlifting sessions for hours every day. Okay, do what feels good. Do and check in like the first. The first lesson I learned was checking in with your body. What do I need today? Maybe doing lifting weights is not good for me today. Maybe I need something that's going to, like, tame my stress levels. My stress? Yeah, my stress levels. And sorry. And you know what's going to help me reduce stress and anxiety and what's going to help me feel good today is maybe a good yoga session, maybe some qi gong, maybe some swimming, maybe a walking nature.
Tina 00:18:42 I could probably make a list of 100 different things that you could do, like different things that you could do that represent movement. You can even, you know, use breathwork as movement. You could use breathwork to help improve your cardiovascular health. Okay, which I think is amazing. So maybe like ask yourself different questions and journal it out. So what feels good to me at this age and gives me what is needed at this time in my life. Okay, ask yourself that question. Write some things out. What helps me relax and reduce stress? What energizes me? So relax and reduce stress might be key. Jog might be. yoga, might be a walk outside. What energizes you? That might be dancing? That baby running, swimming. You know, it might be playing sports. It might be hiking. What helps me build muscle, you know? So, lifting weights, you know, using resistance bands, kettlebells, CrossFit. There's so many different ways to build muscle. you know, as I said, you could probably just sit and make a list of all the different ways that all the different things that sound fun to you, that represent movement and then just start trying and seeing what works for you and the different ways you feel in your body the different times in your life.
Tina 00:20:04 But this isn't something that you do need to figure out for yourself, right? So figure it out for yourself. And then as I said, if you need help, then that's when you hire the professional, the personal trainer, the yoga instructor, whatever you're trying to learn how to do, the swim coach, the running coach, the, the bicycle coach, whatever you need to do, start running races. You know, it's a, really fun community to be involved with. And running races is so much fun, and you don't have to run the whole time. You could also walk. So it's it's just a lot of fun to do it with all the other people. So your challenge today is to come up with a movement plan that is fun, supportive and effective for me at this point in my life. My my workout plan is running. Sometimes walking in nature, sometimes with a weighted vest on. this helps me. This helps me, build bone mass. So it helps me get stronger and build bone mass.
Tina 00:21:03 also all types of yoga. I love all yoga, dancing in the living room to my favorite song, lifting weights because I know it's something that's needed. Not my favorite, but I do lift weights, and breathwork is very important to me. It helps me reduce stress. and breathwork is the same as movement. It could help energize you. It could help reduce stress. It could increase your cardio. Improve, I should say your cardiovascular health. So really cool. I'm actually working on a breathwork certification and so stay tuned for that. I'll give you more information if you want to start doing different breathwork sessions. I'll definitely be offering that soon. So what will you do to support yourself as you get older and move into the next phase of your life? What's going to be your plan right now and what's going to be your plan as you move through life? Okay, so, I hope that you enjoyed today's episode and I hope that I helped you kind of almost change your mindset about movement and physical exercise.
Tina 00:22:13 Like, I want you to change your mindset and think of it as movement instead of physical exercise, and start embracing the things that you love that help you move your body and stay healthy. Now to get any support and guidance. Stepping in to all the practices that I talk about, you know, on the podcast, you can join me in the Salt Line Self-care circle, which is a monthly coaching membership supporting your self-care, your mindset, your self-love so that you could live your life fully and thrive in all the areas of your life. And if you're interested in the soul aligned self-care circle, you could find the link in the show notes in the show notes. So I hope to see you in the circle, but I will see you next week on the podcast. I love you guys and we'll talk soon. Bye.
