Let’s Get Moving: How Does Mindful Exercise Help Beat Addiction?

Luckily, there is a multitude of physical exercises that can help anyone beat addiction. Improving physical health will help you feel better about yourself and will raise your self-confidence naturally. Exercise can act as an effective stress reliever, and stress is an enemy of addiction recovery. Mind and body are connected, so keeping a healthy body will in turn keep a healthy mind. 

Blocking Out Distractions

A key step in addiction treatment is being able to reflect and get in touch with one’s inner self, therefore a clear mind is a necessity. There are a variety of different ways this can be achieved, with yoga and meditation being the most common. While they may be one and the same, yoga is more physical than meditation, yet both have a goal of clearing the mind and focusing on the present. 

Yoga has become a popular practice worldwide, and for good reason. These are just some of the many benefits:

• Improves balance and flexibility
• Eases joint pain
• Improves mood
• Reduces stress

Some of the yoga poses may seem impossible, but practice makes perfect. While each pose may target a different part of the body from the outside, every pose targets the mind. Yoga aims to “find your breath” with the goal of blocking out any distractions. Meditation operates in a similar way. It can decrease negative emotions and increase patience. Practicing meditation or yoga every day as part of a routine is where they are most effective, such as first thing in the morning. The calming inner peace found will quickly turn into optimism and is a great way to start the day.

A Natural Mood Booster

Going on a walk or hike is a great way to connect with nature. One doesn’t need to backpack across Europe to reap its benefits – a bottle of water and comfortable shoes is all that’s needed. There are many safe trails that offer fantastic viewpoints. Looking at the beauty the earth provides is a natural mood booster. Creating a change in the environment by being able to connect with the surroundings is a key step against drug addiction and alcohol abuse. Listening to the birds chirping and feeling the wind blow gently through the trees exemplifies the beauty of life. 

Swimming is another avenue that can help enhance mood, with the physical benefits that come with it. For example, water is a friend to joints and muscle aches, which is perfect for older individuals or those dealing with these ailments respectively. In addition, there are also many aerobic exercises that not only help ease joint pain but can help find that inner breath that can be found in yoga and meditation. Swimming laps in a pool can also be just as effective. Beginning with one lap around the pool and slowly swimming a little bit more each time is a great way to show progress. The progress made serves as an apt metaphor for the IOP process itself. Swimming offers a calming and soothing effect, one that will help worries and troubles wash away.

Connecting With Others In A Team Environment

Participating in team sports is a fun method of improving physical health, but more importantly, it’s a perfect opportunity to surround yourself with other positive people. It doesn’t have to be a sport as physically demanding as football. Something like basketball or soccer is great because it gets the legs moving, and the heart pumping and isn’t as physically demanding. These sports don’t require a lot of setups – just a ball, a public park, or an open space will do – or there are recreation leagues that you can join. These team sports have the added benefit of establishing positive relationships because everyone involved has a common goal – working together to overcome an obstacle.