The Little Things
December 10, 2014

Physical movement is so critical to our health. This week last year, I wrote a post called “From Crisis To A Reminder“, about an event that had happened on that Monday. This week, on Monday, I had a different set of experiences that led to the same reminder, so I’m posting it here yet again.

You see, I’m dealing with the frustrating experience that is navigating health care insurance. To make a long story short, the health insurance I did have, which was great, is switching to an Affordable Care plan, which gives me significantly less and doesn’t allow me to see my doctors for POTS. So, that’s not so helpful. What that’s led to is hours every day talking to various companies about copays, coinsurance, network coverage, etc… I’m not here to talk about insurance, but to help you understand how frustrating it is, after working more than 40 hour weeks, to deal with trying to navigate this situation and make sure that I can see the doctors that have actually heard of the chronic illness I have.

indoor bike trainer

(as a side note, I got white lights on a white strand this year to go around my porch doors. It looks much better 😀 )

On Monday I knew I had to make another few hours of calls after work, and I decided to hop on my bike trainer while I talked. Because I was on the phone, it allowed for a good interval workout, as I had to slow down at times to jot down notes, and sped up when I was talking to various customer care people. When I get stressed on the phone, I get very antsy, and feel trapped, but when I’m on my bike, it’s like the stress that I feel is immediately sent back out of my body through my pedaling.

I was reminded, once again, of the connection between our mental and physical health. When you’re dealing with something stressful, walking, stretching/doing pilates/yoga, or biking while on the phone, or even after a crisis situation, can be so very helpful in letting the stress leave your body instead of taking root. Physical movement is important, even when it doesn’t feel like it.

When we get stressed, so often our natural reaction is to eat or shut down, but sometimes tuning into something physical can be the best, most efficient way of handling it.

Now it’s your turn to share! Is there something you regularly do in life that creates stress that could be diminished through movement?

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2 responses to “A Lesson In Physical Movement”

  1. Abby @ BackAtSquareZero says:
    December 10, 2014 at 8:20 pm

    I have been eating and shutting down and I know that it does not help, but I keep doing it. I know I feel better when I work out, but I am struggling. I need to get back to it. Right now I am just a bit upset about family stuff and financial stuff.

  2. Tom says:
    December 15, 2014 at 11:55 am

    Great post. Between balancing my work, life, daughter’s school activities, etc… I always seem to have a lot of stressful activities going on that can be diminished through movement. Taking breaks during the day in between meetings, etc… to go for a quick run seems to make all the difference in the world!