February | 2023 | Jessica's Fitness

So, you guys know that working out is a SUPER important part of my life. And that I do it regularly. And that I include a mix of strength training, cardio and yoga. But I’ve personally never been one to for yoga more than 1-2 times a week. For many silly reasons…

I like a “hard” workout. I like the endorphin rush I get from cardio or heavy lifting, and I made up my mind a long time ago that I wouldn’t get that from yoga (again- VERY silly).

But this past January, I committed to doing 30 days of yoga in a row. I thought the increased opportunities for flexibility and focusing on my breathing would be good for me (it was). Maybe I also wanted to just test out how my body felt when I committed to one form of exercise consistently? Either way, it was a good experiment and here’s what I learned:

✨It’s good to challenge our bodies in new ways. Our muscles get very used to doing the same type of exercise on the same schedule, and that’s not adaptive or productive in the long term.

✨Yoga is a real workout!! My shoulders never felt so challenged, even in my days of heavy machine lifting or endless shoulder presses. And the ab work is added benefit!

✨Everything gets better when you take 20 minutes to breathe. My husband and I were just explaining this to our son, who was feeling worried about something. We told him that, most often, things get better in about 20 minutes. Pain, anxiety, stress- if you can breathe through the next 20 minutes, it will lessen. And as we were explaining this to him, I realized that this is one reason yoga is so good for me. No matter how busy I was, stressed about work, worried about things I couldn’t control or feeling a little blah, taking that 20-30 minutes out of my day and mindfully focusing on breath made me feel better. Every. Single. Time

✨Yoga is for everyone!! I’ve always loved recommending yoga to my clients and customizing poses to fit their unique needs. But during this experiment of mine, it also became apparent to me how much of a family activity yoga is (or could be). The kids joined me for about 50% of the workouts (though getting to do solo ones sometimes was the BEST). It made my trainer heart so so happy to sit in a sunny window and hear my kids breathing next to me on their mats, or to look over and see them attempting a pose. I couldn’t think of a better way to model self regulation and perseverance- and I really think we all benefited from slowing down a bit.

There was so much more I got from this month of yoga, but that’s the idea. And guess what?! My “regular” workouts didn’t suffer a bit, even if they were shorter than usual last month. I’m back to cycling, kickboxing and lifting with a stronger core, stronger shoulders, more flexible hamstrings and a deeper perspective about exercise- and life- in general.

Namaste ❤️
~Jess

Guys- it’s been a crazy few weeks! It started last week with some pretty significant work and personal stress coupled with the horrific news story of a woman who killed her three children here in MA. It’s taken me a week and a half to even begin writing about it- or even process it. I mean, it’s more tragedy than one person, one family or a whole community can bear. And I just can’t shake the sadness thinking about it.

You guys know I advocate for health and wellness- in an annoying amount, probably 🤷🏻‍♀️ Fitness, nutrition, alternative therapies and integrative health are absolute passions of mine. Which is why I care so much about the topic of mental health. There is NO separating physical from mental health, and we should stop pretending there is. We absolutely need both to survive and to thrive. And, at some point in our lives, we’re all going to need to focus on both. And it’s really REALLY time we start prioritizing both!

As someone with a lifetime of pretty bad anxiety…I understand firsthand that you can have a healthy body and not be completely well. I also see how much easier it is for people to talk about their migraines than their depression, their insomnia than PTSD, a bad back than anxiety. Not only are so many of these things related…there’s also NOTHING shameful about talking about our mental health struggles.

I guess I’m here to say that my heart breaks for any woman- or ANYONE- who feels they need to live their struggles in silence.

⭐️If someone isn’t ok, let’s make it normal and inviting for them to talk about it- as often as for as long as they need to.

⭐️Let’s take the shame out of any necessary treatment. And mental health days from work. And any level of outpatient or inpatient care a person needs.

⭐️Lets talk about our health early, often and openly

I’ve found some really tools over the year to balance my own struggles- fitness, nutrition, supplements, meditation, acupuncture, daily sunlight and fresh air, socializing as often as possible, journaling, gratitude, prayer, volunteering, therapy, sometimes medication and the most supportive friends and family.

There are many tools and some might work for you and some might not work all the time. But my hope for every reader, friend and loved one in my life and beyond is that we will all start prioritizing our health…in every way we need to.

I invite you all to share your stories, struggles and successes. Let’s keep this conversation open and ongoing…so no one ever feels for one second that they are alone ❤️