I think most of us who exercise have a sense of how helpful movement is for us–mind, body, and spirit. However, it might be worth spending some time being mindful of just how connected your physical movement behaviors are to your emotional health.

“Emotional intelligence” has been a buzzy term from quite some time, but what does it really mean? To me, it’s about first developing the emotional awareness to know when you need to change something, to adapt, or to find a physical outlet for your emotional stress. Good emotional intelligence tests are rather lengthy (the short, pop culture ones seem pretty sketchy), but if you are interested you can follow this length to learn more about EI (emotional intelligence) and how the tests work. https://positivepsychology.com/emotional-intelligence-tests/ Given how important emotional intelligence is now considered for success in the workplace, there’s a good chance you’ll encounter more about EI in the coming years at your place of work.

At some point we all reach the moment of frustration where it might feel good to do something we shouldn’t, like throw a folder of papers at a boss. Regardless of whether or not they might deserve it (and deserve has so little to do with life as we must live it), we must keep our emotions in check for the good of the team, to feed our children, or other pragmatic daily concerns. But we can’t just “stuff it down” all day, each day. If we do, at some point we are likely to break. So what can we do?

Physical movement has many benefits, including cardiovascular health, body fat regulation, and better balance and coordination. It also helps us to process difficult emotional stress we all must deal with at some point. And, there are many options for just how you move, what movement behaviors you adapt. Are you experiencing intense emotional stress or trauma? Consider how you might adapt your movement behavior and perhaps you’ll have less need for anti-anxiety or pain medication. Stress can make you sick–if movement behavior can counter this, why not try it?

If you already exercise regularly, you may find you benefit from switching up your routine. Try another workout, such as running or yoga or lifting. Try something new. If you don’t have a regular movement behavior practice, begin with breathing and stretching. Breathe deeply into your belly for four or five seconds through your nose, feel the air in your belly and perhaps even give your diaphragm a little “squeeze,” then breathe out thinking “slow and relaxed” for several seconds. Just doing some breathing practice can be a great start to mindfulness and greater awareness of your emotional struggles. I use a two minute timer to practice mindfulness or to do breathing exercises–you may want to practice longer once you get more talented in your practice, but start with no more than two minutes at a time. If you’re stressed, slow down, breathe, and pay attention to how you feel. Self-awareness can be the first step to greater control.

In some cases you may need more intense movement. There are times when I benefit from my 100 pound boxing bag. If I really need to work out some frustration, I can strap on my gloves and give it a good MMA beat down with kicks and punches. Working on the bag is a much more acceptable and positive behavior than letting your anger or pain “bleed out” onto the lives of others. Help others keep their stress lower, too. If you can do that, not only will you benefit, but you will help those around you and provide a good example of a positive response to emotional stress. I know I’m hardly perfect here–I’m still working on it. I know I’ll never be perfect, but I know I can spend effort each day allowing myself to learn and get better.

In recent student success courses I have taught, I have been surprised at the number of students (often more than half of a class) who have been to “anger management” classes. The students claim the classes don’t work…but I wonder just how deeply these students have committed to the positive, alternative behaviors they studied in the anger management class. Behavior can be very difficult to change–we are often very committed to our old, broken, emotionally “dumb” scripts–but if we don’t commit to new scripts and new ways of adapting and learning in terms of our emotional health, we certainly have zero chance to change. Try making a 32 day commitment to create a more positive behavioral response to emotional stress. You have to start with day one–why not start today?

If you are experiencing a great deal of emotional stress, consider how much time you are spending on your body, and how you might take advantage of how your body can help you “process” and make sense out of all the pressure or pain you feel. For me, Tai Chi, MMA workouts, and lift days make all the difference. I breathe and stretch and push myself almost every day of the year, and it has made a positive difference for me. If you are in great pain, find a way to regularly push it through your body in order to feel better and do better each day.