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Exercise the Blues Away
Health | November 12, 2017
I’ve recently started looking into our Lymphatic System, and its role in our health. And one of the things I’ve unknowingly done to support it is by exercising on a daily basis.
(If you haven’t become a member yet, join my ZGYM to see the exact workouts I do to keep in shape!)
Our Lymphatic System is a network of vessels scattered all throughout the entire body, and plays a role in our immunity, fluid balance, and detoxification. It protects us from outside threats (bacteria, virus, infections, and even cancer), and helps to get rid of waste.
What I was surprised to discover was that our Lymphatic System doesn’t come with a pump, and can become stagnant. And the easiest thing we can do everyday to keep it from becoming this way is through exercise.
This led me to an article from the American Psychological Association about the benefits of exercise and our mood. It goes on to say that exercise can help with anxiety, depression, and mood enhancement. My favorite quote from the article was that, “Failing to exercise when you feel bad is like explicitly not taking an aspirin when your head hurts.”
I then found an interesting connection between the stress hormone cortisol and the Lymphatic System in an excerpt from the Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology:
“Chronic exposure to large surges of cortisol, the stress hormone, can literally cause the lymphoid tissue to atrophy.”
If we’re not able to managing our stress, then we’ll only be brewing up a nasty storm of cortisol. Our mood has yet to get any better, and now our Lymphatic System is slowing down as a consequence.
Sabotaging its function by committing to staying stressed affects the health of our entire body, mood included. We may just become stressed from being stressed!
That’s why it’s important to stay active to get the stress out of our system. We actually start to produce feel-good hormones like serotonin and dopamine, which boost us up instead of dragging us down like cortisol.
If you’ve ever experienced that drug-like feeling called Runner’s High, then you know first hand what exercise can do for your mind. It’s very amazing! And that’s all because your brain has produced a mega dose of endorphins.
According to David Muzina, MD, founding director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Mood Disorders Treatment and Research, “Endorphins are our body’s natural morphine and, when released by special glands in our brains, they can produce a sense of well-being or joy and also decrease pain levels.”
Now, you don’t need to become a runner to get your endorphin game on. Anything that gets your heart pumping and your blood flowing is sufficient enough.
(Which I guarantee you’ll get if you try one of my ZGYM programs!)
Even turning down the intensity by slowing down has its benefits. Slow, gentle movements like those found in yoga stimulates the release of serotonin, helping to promote a sense of calmness and put you in a mode of “Zen”- without taking any drugs or mood enhancers. Yoga has even been found to help with the treatment of depression! If you’re looking for an alternative to my vigorous workouts, I have a library of yoga routines to help you relax and restore over at the ZGYM.
While I’m not discrediting the benefits of therapy, I do believe there are natural solutions towards treating mood-related conditions like anxiety and depression. That includes supporting our lymph and getting our body to produce feel-good hormones through the use of exercise. It’s a holistic way of getting your body to work for you, and not against you.
What do you think? Have you felt any better since exercising regularly?
References:
[1] https://www.livescience.com/26983-lymphatic-system.html
[2] Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology. Twelfth Edition. Saunders Press. Philadelphia PA pg. 931
[3] https://www.everydayhealth.com/depression-pictures/great-exercises-to-fight-depression.aspx#02
[4] https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/can-you-prove-that-yoga-works
Private Member |
usa
I have also come across research which discusses how exercising regularly can have the same affects on our brains as taking a serotonin boosting anti-depressant. And I can say that it has worked for me. I came off medication a couple years ago that I had been taking for years to help with my anxiety and depression. There is nothing wrong with taking medication for these purposes, I simply felt I no longer required them at that point in my life (I discussed this with my doctor and she helped me ween off-don’t ever just stop taking anti-depressants cold turkey!). I especially wanted to make sure I stayed healthy, so I started running. Then my cousin introduced me to Zuzka’s videos…I signed up for races..it was the beginning of the rest of my life as a healthier, happier person. I still struggle with depression time to time, but it usually is because I have not been consistent with exercise AND DIET, and once I get myself back on a consistent self-care routine I’m back to myself fairly quick. Anyway, I wanted to express that YES exercising daily creates a healthier self-physically, mentally, and emotionally!!! Sorry for the long post, I’m just passionate about preventative and mental health! 😉 Thank you for sharing this info Zuzka!!
Private Member |
matthews, nc, usa
I agry with you. I know how it feels. I also practicing running and then found ZGYM. Sport is the best anti-depressant. 😉
Private Member |
tokyo
I like the fact the article is supported by references which seem well documented and legit, very scientific! 😉
From my personal experience, I can also assert how helpful working out was for me: I was in a very low point when I started working out with Zuzka 6 years ago. Even a little rush and mood boost after every workout really helped to keep me going. Not to mention I started to feel and look better than ever.
Gooood drugs, good drugs for the brain 🙂
Private Member |
I feel the same 😊 I can see when I’m going through stressful periods of time, working out definitely makes my day better. Or when I’m having low days when I don’t feel like doing anything, I do my workout and then it changes my mood and I end up having a good productive day. And I heard many many people talking about how working out is their drug/meditation/therapy 😊 that also makes us look and feel sexy hehe
Private Member |
matthews, nc, usa
I also feel really better Exercising Daily. I became a ZGYM member 7 month ago, when I have a hard depression, problems with work. I wanted to do something with it. I realized that I can’t control nothing in my life, excepting doing Sport. I just DON’T WANT to give up. So, I started to do it. I LOVE it! Now I’m a part of great society and I feel myself healthy, more emotionally stable, motivated and inspired.
Private Member |
pretoria, gauteng, south africa
Love this piece, thanx Zuzka. So true – when you feel down, get up! Exercise. I ALWAYS feel great after a session in the ZGym or even outside. Even when I reeeeaaaally didn’t feel like moving at all.
Private Member |
ramona, ca, usa
Thanks for this, Zuzka! I’ve really been struggling the past few months and this line from the article really hit me today: “Failing to exercise when you feel bad is like explicitly not taking an aspirin when your head hurts.” So true.
Private Member |
saint john new brunswick, canada
I love that line too! I struggled for years falling off the exercise band wagon, then getting back on. And then one day i figured it out, i decided i was no longer going to do things i hate, i hated steady state cardio machines, mindlessly moving staying in one place, like the elliptical, running, the bike, ect. I discovered HIIT workouts and i loved weights. So thats what i have been doing for a very long time and love it. Now i feel off if i skip a day, i love the natural high exercise gives me. I love Z’s workouts, they are challenging, not boring and i dont have to try and figure out what im going to do every day, that is done for me, one less decision i have to make in my day. Its great.
Private Member |
ramona, ca, usa
Yes, finding the exercise you love is definitely so important. I am like you, I hate running or any kind of steady state cardio. I also really hate going to the gym. I don’t mind working out in a gym but I hate driving to one, looking for parking, locking my stuff up in a locker or carrying it around with me all over the gym, sweaty machines, driving back…ugh, it’s exhausting. I really love the ZGym and this style of working out. It’s the one thing I have stuck with the longest, even if I have fallen off the wagon a couple of times. It’s just that there are some days when it’s just really hard to get out of bed and workout. I am going to put that quote on my wall by my bed so that next time I am struggling with depression, I’ll remember why I need to get up and get moving!
Private Member |
saint john new brunswick, canada
Driving to a gym finding parking driving home etc. can be time-consuming and annoying, and I know I’ve been annoyed at the gym trying to get out of peoples way or waiting to use the machine, so the at home thing is perfect for so many reasons, which is probably why this is what you have stuck with this the longest, which is great.
I also find certain quotes are great for my mind and keeping me on track, one of my favourites is “choose your hard” it’s the idea that it’s hard to exercise and eat healthy on a daily basis, but it’s also hard to look in the mirror and not like what you see and have low energy etc. so I guess we all choose our hard, one way or the other. So for me personally,that is something that I have to tell myself to keep me on track.
I like the interaction with this website, because we can encourage each other. ☺️
Private Member |
ramona, ca, usa
I like that! “Choose your hard.” I had never thought about it like that before. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Private Member |
saint john new brunswick, canada
Your welcome! Anytime I come across something that helps me mentally I like to share with people. Even though everyone’s different, and certain things might not help certain people. You just never know when you might share something that could really help someone. Another quote I like is “ nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels”
I have a sweet tooth so that one really helps me too lol
Private Member |
canada
I really like this article ❗️It is just SO TRUE. Exercise ( especially with Zuzka 🤗) is the Best thing we can do for ourselves! It has saved me. I can attest that it does work wonders for helping with stress and mood, Better than anything else. Keeps my Mind and body healthy, and keeps me sane ☺️ I also bounce on a trampoline during my warmup and feel like it aids in moving my lymphatic system.
Private Member |
saint john new brunswick, canada
Thank you so much for this info! I knew that exercise was great for so many reasons, this is just one more to add to the list. I had no idea about the lymphatic system, what it does for us and how it works. That is so interesting.
Private Member |
Yes! I agree! I’m so glad I found zgym! Best part of my day! 🙂
Private Member |
I have always relied on keeping moving to stay balanced emotionally. I was like that as a child, too. Movement is how I meditate, if that makes sense. I love to establish a connection to my mind with my body because it releases so much negative tension. I just feel emotionally stronger as well as physically tuned up.
Post Script: I miss Coffee Talk with Z! Love to hear her talk and watch her, so inspirational.