Speaker 1: I won't let my body out be outwait everything that
Speaker 1: I'm made, don't won't spend my life trying to change.
Speaker 1: I'm learning to love who I am. I get I'm strong,
Speaker 1: I feel free, I know every part of me. It's beautiful.
Speaker 1: And then will always out way if you feel.
Speaker 2: It would be here, She'll some love to the food.
Speaker 1: Why have they take you one day?
Speaker 2: And did you and.
Speaker 1: Die out way? Happy Saturday?
Speaker 2: Outweigh amy here and exercise is a well known way
Speaker 2: to get endorphins. At least that was made clear to
Speaker 2: me and maybe some of you back in two thousand
Speaker 2: and one when Reese Witherspoon playing el Woods gave us
Speaker 2: this classic line and legally Blonde, she was trying to
Speaker 2: show others on the legal team that their client was innocent.
Speaker 1: I just don't think we could have done this. Exercise
Speaker 1: gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just
Speaker 1: don't shoot their husbands.
Speaker 2: That movie is totally in my wheelhouse for my age.
Speaker 2: So if you're listening right now and you're younger or
Speaker 2: older and haven't seen that movie for some reason, it's
Speaker 2: so cute and I highly recommend that you watch it.
Speaker 2: And while yes, exercise releases endorphins. It's not the only way.
Speaker 2: There are a number of other ways in which these beneficial,
Speaker 2: feel good chemicals are released naturally without exercising, and I'll
Speaker 2: get into those in just a minute. I'm sharing this
Speaker 2: because there was a time when things were really disordered
Speaker 2: for me when it came to working out. When I
Speaker 2: first started true recovery three years ago, I had to
Speaker 2: put a halt to a lot of my working out
Speaker 2: because I really didn't know how to do it truly
Speaker 2: for the good.
Speaker 1: Of my body.
Speaker 2: I didn't know how to enjoy it either, because for
Speaker 2: much of my life, probably since high school and I'm
Speaker 2: forty two now, so the math working out was always
Speaker 2: tied to what I ate like either as punishment or
Speaker 2: or was tied to what I wanted to eat, So
Speaker 2: then that meant I had to earn the food. So
Speaker 2: my reasons for working out were going through my eating
Speaker 2: disorder filter. Now, to give you an idea of what
Speaker 2: that filter was like, I wouldn't skip a workout even
Speaker 2: if I was tired, or if I was sick, or
Speaker 2: even if I was injured. I wouldn't take time off
Speaker 2: and I got anxious or I would feel guilty if
Speaker 2: I missed a workout. I was always preoccupied with weight
Speaker 2: and exercise routine. Now also lots of food and whatnot
Speaker 2: preoccupied me too, But we're talking about working out right now.
Speaker 1: And I would exercise more.
Speaker 2: If I ate a lot, or if I missed a workout,
Speaker 2: I would try to make up for it.
Speaker 1: I would say things to myself like.
Speaker 2: Oh, I ate so much last night, Better work extra
Speaker 2: hard today, or run x amount of miles. I ate
Speaker 2: too much this weekend, so I'll have to work it
Speaker 2: off this week with two A days or extra cardio.
Speaker 2: And I've been really good with what I've been eating,
Speaker 2: so I've earned this treat. Or you know, the list
Speaker 2: goes on. I had this cake, so now I've got
Speaker 2: to work out this way today.
Speaker 1: I would eat a lot less.
Speaker 2: If I couldn't exercise too, I would I would skip
Speaker 2: seeing friends, I would.
Speaker 1: Give up other activities.
Speaker 2: I would abandon responsibilities to make more time for exercise.
Speaker 2: I honestly based a lot of my self worth on
Speaker 2: the number of workouts that I did, and I was
Speaker 2: never satisfied with how much I was doing.
Speaker 1: There was always more.
Speaker 2: I mean, when I was in college, I signed up
Speaker 2: for a marathon, and I did so under the guys
Speaker 2: that I love to run and I wanted to challenge myself,
Speaker 2: but it was one hundred percent so that I could
Speaker 2: basically sign up for something that was going to hold
Speaker 2: me accountable to run a lot and that would equal
Speaker 2: me losing weight. I mean, I told myself for years
Speaker 2: and years years that I love to run, but I
Speaker 2: do not like running. And I know that now because
Speaker 2: I know myself better, I know I decided to finally
Speaker 2: get serious about recovery. I had to press pause and
Speaker 2: give myself a break from exercise so that I could
Speaker 2: revisit working out through a different filter, a new filter,
Speaker 2: a filter that would be good for my body, not
Speaker 2: just for my body, my body, my mind, my spirit.
Speaker 1: I got a mind, body soul connection.
Speaker 2: Thing happens for me now more so than that when
Speaker 2: I'm working out. And so maybe you're in a place
Speaker 2: where you need to press pause on working out so
Speaker 2: that you can reset and work on a new filter
Speaker 2: and figure out what you like or what you don't like,
Speaker 2: and are you miserable doing this one workout when maybe
Speaker 2: you could open yourself up to something else. And my
Speaker 2: encouragement would be that it takes time, so you got
Speaker 2: to be patient with yourself, and while you set aside
Speaker 2: your strict workouts, your rigorous workouts or whatever it is,
Speaker 2: look at that as an opportunity to maybe go on
Speaker 2: more walks, either alone or with someone a friend, your
Speaker 2: significant other, a group of girlfriends and get outside with nature.
Speaker 2: If you're alone, be with your thoughts and work through
Speaker 2: some stuff while you're on a walk, or take it
Speaker 2: all in. It's really good to be outside, especially well,
Speaker 2: at least for me during recovery, being outside was very,
Speaker 2: very good for me. I'm still in recovery, but in
Speaker 2: the early days. Also, good conversation can be amazing if
Speaker 2: you've got someone on your walk, and then also know
Speaker 2: that you can still give your body that feel good
Speaker 2: chemical release through other things. So I did some research
Speaker 2: and compiled some ways for us to release endorphins without exercising.
Speaker 1: So first up we got.
Speaker 2: Massage, which I mean that's a nice replacement for working out,
Speaker 2: and also acupuncture. Both massage and acupuncture have been shown
Speaker 2: to stimulate the release of endorphins, particularly when pain trigger
Speaker 2: points are hit. Because endorphins release as a natural pain reliever.
Speaker 2: Those endorphins then lead to a sense of relaxation during
Speaker 2: and after a massage or acupuncture. Maybe you don't have
Speaker 2: time for one of those two things, but surely you
Speaker 2: have time for some laughter. Because the verse of laughter
Speaker 2: that happens during maybe a funny TV show or a
Speaker 2: funny movie, or laughing with friends, all that might actually
Speaker 2: have more benefits than you think. There are several studies
Speaker 2: that have shown that laughter physiologically stimulates the production of
Speaker 2: beta endorphins. Now, the exact reason behind this is still
Speaker 2: up for debate, but many think that the endorphin release
Speaker 2: comes from the deep breathing and whole body motion that's
Speaker 2: associated with laughing, so it's almost like it's stimulating an exercise. Also,
Speaker 2: UV light, being outside on a nice day has relaxing
Speaker 2: feelings associated with it, and part of it is that
Speaker 2: the UV light helps to stimulate the release of beta endorphins. Additionally,
Speaker 2: the brain releases seratonin when the body is exposed to sunlight,
Speaker 2: adding to the increase in happy hormones. There's also yoga,
Speaker 2: which yes, I know is technically working out, especially for me.
Speaker 2: It was I used to do hot yoga two days
Speaker 2: when I was really trying to punish myself. But I'm
Speaker 2: not talking about yoga in that sense. I'm talking about
Speaker 2: the kind of yoga that you're having a mind body
Speaker 2: connection with the type of yoga that booser endorphins along
Speaker 2: with other feel good hormones, and it even can lower
Speaker 2: cortisol levels, which is the stress hormone. And yoga now
Speaker 2: that I am in a place of healing and recovery,
Speaker 2: it is so different for me. I actually don't have
Speaker 2: any desire to go to a hot class and sweat
Speaker 2: like crazy, which if you still do in recovery, that's
Speaker 2: totally fine for me. Again, I started to realize what
Speaker 2: I like and what I don't like. And now if
Speaker 2: I do yoga from time to time, which is so
Speaker 2: crazy that now I just do it from time to
Speaker 2: time because I went almost every single day for years, again.
Speaker 1: Sometimes twice a day.
Speaker 2: But now that I see it as a way to
Speaker 2: slow down and have some true mind body soul connection,
Speaker 2: it's a really beautiful practice for me. That's why I'm
Speaker 2: mentioning it here as a way to release some endorphins,
Speaker 2: even though it is technically still a workout, and I'm
Speaker 2: trying to give you alternatives.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 2: Music is our next one, and it's definitely an alternative.
Speaker 1: Playing music is.
Speaker 2: Another way to release endorphins a steady measured pain tolerance,
Speaker 2: and again, since endorphins are a pain reliever, and performers
Speaker 2: and found that singing, dancing, and drumming all trigger endorphin release.
Speaker 2: As far as listening to music, the data is more mixed,
Speaker 2: but some experts say that the act of listening to
Speaker 2: music can release endorphins too, while others say that more
Speaker 2: research is needed. But I know for sure I feel
Speaker 2: super good if I put on a really good song,
Speaker 2: roll down my windows, go for a drive, and sing
Speaker 2: along to the song like that definitely boosts my mood.
Speaker 2: And listening to music for sure causes a release of dopamine,
Speaker 2: which is another chemical that improves your mood. So even
Speaker 2: if listening to music doesn't result in an endorphin release,
Speaker 2: it does result in the release of another happy hormone.
Speaker 1: Meditation.
Speaker 2: Some studies have shown that consistent meditation can help release endorphins.
Speaker 2: The exact reason is still unknown, but consistent meditations seem
Speaker 2: to cause higher levels of endorphins, and studies also show
Speaker 2: that meditation can be an effective tool for stress management,
Speaker 2: and that people who meditate have higher levels of serotonin,
Speaker 2: a natural chemical that the body makes to help improve
Speaker 2: the mood. So, in other wor words, if you practice
Speaker 2: consistent meditation, you're more likely to feel some mood boosting
Speaker 2: effects for sure. And for me, I had to get
Speaker 2: over the whole woo woo side of meditation and sort
Speaker 2: of dispel some myths that I had in my mind
Speaker 2: about it. I'm actually in the middle of a meditation challenge.
Speaker 2: It's for twenty one days and I'm halfway there, and
Speaker 2: it's so good. I can say that it has caused
Speaker 2: me to manage my stress better. I have a different
Speaker 2: vibe about me, even when things are happening to me
Speaker 2: that normally used to throw me way off or i'd
Speaker 2: get all, you know, in a fuss about I'm a
Speaker 2: little more chill about those things, not saying I still
Speaker 2: don't get worked up over much, but I feel like
Speaker 2: the meditation challenge is happening. So if you're someone that's like, oh,
Speaker 2: I don't know that I can get into that, just
Speaker 2: look up some guided meditations on YouTube. Start small, even
Speaker 2: if you can just do you know, a few minutes,
Speaker 2: five minutes, ten minutes minor, averaging about ten minutes a
Speaker 2: day and that's perfectly fine if that's all you can do.
Speaker 2: I mean, meditation doesn't mean you have to sit for
Speaker 2: hours and hours and you're doing really anything weird, and
Speaker 2: you don't have to walk away from your.
Speaker 1: Everyday life to do it.
Speaker 2: I just shut my bedroom door and either sit up
Speaker 2: straight on my bed, or I sit in a chair,
Speaker 2: or sometimes I sit on the floor.
Speaker 1: I mean, your at work, if you.
Speaker 2: Have an office, you could shut your office door and
Speaker 2: just sit and try to focus on that time. Doesn't
Speaker 2: mean you have to like change clothes and sit on
Speaker 2: some you know, crazy little matt thing or be at
Speaker 2: a yoga class to meditate. Also another thing that pops
Speaker 2: into my mind too in the beginning is like, oh,
Speaker 2: I don't know if meditation lines up with what I believe.
Speaker 2: And honestly, you can meditate and keep believing, you know,
Speaker 2: religion wise, faith wise, whatever whatever background you're coming from,
Speaker 2: you can meditate and keep believing in whatever or whoever
Speaker 2: you want. Also something that kept me for meditating was
Speaker 2: I have a lot of thoughts in my head all
Speaker 2: the time, and I thought, well, if I'm not able
Speaker 2: to stop all my thoughts, I'm just not going to
Speaker 2: be very good at this, so I shouldn't do it.
Speaker 2: But meditation is not, and nor will it ever be.
Speaker 2: I don't think about trying to stop or get rid
Speaker 2: of thinking, and I'm so glad that I now know
Speaker 2: that because it's not possible. Meditation works by well, at
Speaker 2: least for me. And what I've been guided to do
Speaker 2: is like thoughts are going to pop into my head
Speaker 2: and I acknowledge them and then I release them and
Speaker 2: I get back to focusing on whatever I'm focusing on.
Speaker 2: And I might have to do that a bajillion different
Speaker 2: times during the meditation, but that's okay as long as
Speaker 2: I'm coming back to the guided meditation every single time.
Speaker 2: And I know the more I practice this, the better
Speaker 2: I'm going to get. But it's really not a big deal.
Speaker 2: If another thought pops into my head, I just acknowledge it,
Speaker 2: send it off.
Speaker 1: Focus, acknowledge it, send.
Speaker 2: It off, refocus, and I guess, yeah, you just got
Speaker 2: to know that.
Speaker 1: It's pretty simple.
Speaker 2: It's not as hard as at least I made it
Speaker 2: out to be, and it doesn't necessarily work immediately. I
Speaker 2: heard an analogy the other day about if you wanted
Speaker 2: to learn how to play the piano, you wouldn't take
Speaker 2: one lesson and then walk away frustrated because you couldn't
Speaker 2: play a song yet on the piano. So you can't
Speaker 2: do one meditation and then walk away frustrated because you
Speaker 2: don't really feel like you got anything out of it yet.
Speaker 2: So just know that it's not going to work immediately,
Speaker 2: but there are benefits. It's a long term process. Speaking
Speaker 2: of piano, I definitely want to take piano lessons soon.
Speaker 2: I know, random thought that just popped in my head.
Speaker 2: Two things I want to do play tennis and piano,
Speaker 2: So hopefully I will get to doing those two hobbies
Speaker 2: at some point later this year. Well, I hope y'all
Speaker 2: are having the day that you need to have, and
Speaker 2: I hope that this helps you in case you're in
Speaker 2: a place where you're trying to figure out how exercise
Speaker 2: really fits into your life and how it's showing up
Speaker 2: for you, and to give you hope that you can
Speaker 2: have a healthy relationship with movement and exercise and it
Speaker 2: can actually feel really good and you can do things
Speaker 2: that you love and it doesn't have to be punishment.
Speaker 1: So okay, Well, I'll se y'all Tuesday for.
Speaker 2: The fifth thing, and then next Thursday for four things,
Speaker 2: and then next Saturday for outwigh.
Speaker 1: That's how it all works.
Speaker 2: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, see you then bye