“Exercise is high, you should try it,” Janet says to Rory and Paris as she runs to complete her laps in the ocean on spring break (Gilmore Girls, season 4, episode 17). Although annoying, Jogger Janet has a point in that exercise can often provide a sense of euphoria. Of course, there is a wide variation on how much, and what kind of pleasure people can derive from exercise. People may also choose (or choose not) to exercise for a number of reasons but here I’m focusing on my personal drive – your girl is anxious.
With anxiety comes heightened and lengthened stress responses. When I feel stressed out, and this can be mild or so much that it’s unbearable, I like to do a little workout. Every single time, I’m amazed at how much better I feel afterwards. You prance around on a yoga mat for 30 mins and suddenly you find the will to live again. What’s going on here?
Dr. Emily Nagoski and Dr. Amelia Nagoski suggest that our lives are full of constant stressors, which are mostly out of our control. The problem is that these stressors often leave us in states of perpetual stress because we don’t complete our stress response cycles. While it may seem intuitive to just fix the stressor that’s causing the stress (if you can), the Nagoski sisters argue that this doesn’t actually help us get out of the physiological stressed state. Instead, we need to complete the stress response cycle, which happens when we survive a dangerous or stressful situation and our bodies become aware that we’re now safe.
Everything goes back to how our stress response cycles have evolved. Imagine an ancestor in the jungle who needs to swerve the threat of a lion, the options are to stay put and probably get eaten or run away (simple fight or flight baby). So they run away. This movement of the body tells the brain that the threat is being avoided, and the cycle is able to be completed. The problem is that the threats nowadays look like rising covid-19 cases, getting swindled on tinder, financial crises, seeing on instagram that everybody is having more fun than you, the patriarchy etc. In these cases, it’s not really obvious that you need to get up and run. With both ancestral and modern stress, cortisol and adrenaline spike and your body’s fight or flight mode sets in, but in these modern scenarios, you will likely continue to dwell on the matter, for example through doom scrolling, and the stress response cycle never gets completed. Luckily, our bodies can’t really differentiate between a lion and Kristen’s instagram, so moving your body can still help manage it! (It also may not because you know, different things work for different people and there are other ways to complete a stress response cycle, but it’s always worth a shot).
Here are some of the ways I move my body to complete the stress response cycle.
The Pilates Class
The Pilates Class (TPC) is a web platform, better described as a ‘private pilates studio in your home,’ taught by the lovely Jacqui Kingswell. The classes focus on strength work, toning and lengthening the body, but also work to calm your mind. With all the breath work, core work, and micro-movements, it’s hard to dwell on much else anyways. From chill, satisfying to intense classes, TPC caters to individual bodies and needs in a way no other workout platform does.
12-3-30 by Lauren Giraldo
Created by social media influencer Lauren Giraldo, 12-3-30 is a treadmill workout with specific parameters of 12 (incline), 3 (mph), and 30 (minutes). I’m not here to substantiate any of the weight loss claims this tiktok trend is known for, but it really is the perfect workout if you’re looking to just zone out for a bit. Though it’s low impact, it’s a lot harder than it looks and you’ll def get a sweat on.
Yoga
Yoga, combining fluid movements with deep breathing and mental focus, is one of my all time favourites for stress reduction. More specifically, and if you’re able to, try hitting up an actual yoga studio. While some people prefer to workout at home, I find that going to a secondary location gives a double punch of getting both exercise and human interaction (which also helps with stress cycles). Also, yoga studios as spaces are more calming than your average gym with scents of sage, warm wood, and a slew of corny but comforting inspirational quotes.
Really, any physical activity following stress may complete the loop – the gym, stretching, walking, biking, etc. The best workout for you is whatever you enjoy doing. Just ditch the lion asap!