We survived to 2021! This year is all about renewing ourselves and focusing on our wellbeing. Many of us have taken the extra steps towards living our best lives by improving our health and fitness. Lately, intuitive exercise has been gaining popularity as an alternative to the daily grind gym culture. To know more about the physical and mental benefits of intuitive exercise, read on!
Intuitive Exercise 101
Listening to your body is the main mantra of intuitive exercise. Practicing intuitive exercise means connecting to your body to know what it needs and knowing what different types of pain mean. You will use your internal cues to know your workout’s type, intensity, and length for the day. Intuitive exercise is moving for self-care instead of focusing on burning calories and losing weight.
What are the mental and physical benefits of intuitive exercise?
We already established the advantages of exercise a long time ago. These benefits also come with intuitive exercises since you would also move and engage in physical activity. Some of these benefits are:
- Better rest and sleep at night
- Decreased anxiety and improved stress response
- Higher levels of energy
- Increased muscle mass and bone density
- Increased physical flexibility and a better sense of balance
- Enhanced memory and information retention
- Lighter mood and positive mindset
- Reduced risks of cardiovascular diseases
What sets intuitive exercise apart is that it focuses on internal motivation. With this type of exercise, movement will be treated as self-care and not as physical punishment. Moreover, focusing on your body does wonders for your physical and mental state since you will be more focused on your body experiences.
Intuitive exercise will help you move consistently and exercise regularly.
Our bodies have a high level of perception, and they know the exact level of physical activity they need for optimal performance. Learning how to listen to your body will help you give it exactly what it needs. Practicing intuitive exercise will train you to move according to the necessities of your body. Before you know it, you are already constantly moving!
Intuitive exercise will reduce your risk of incurring exercise-related injuries and fatigue.
Exercising without listening to your body makes you more susceptible to injuries such as muscle strain and overfatigue. A misconception in the fitness world is that these are normal and necessary to achieve optimal health. However, that is not true at all! As they say, too much of a good thing is harmful—that also applies to exercise. It is always best to listen to your body to prevent hurting it.
Intuitive exercise encourages fitness beginners to enjoy exercise and physical movement.
The gym can be very intimidating, especially for those who are just newbies to the fitness world. Intuitive exercise will help you transition from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one. A drastic change may be harmful to your body, especially if it is not well-adjusted to intense activities. It is best to listen to your body first, and then you can adjust the intensity as you progress in your journey.
Intuitive exercise removes the mental stress and guilt caused by skipping gym sessions.
A rigid exercise routine is bound to make you feel guilty and distressed when you cannot stick to it. A missed workout session puts a lot of mental stress on some of us. Most of the time, it is enough to discourage individuals from returning to the gym. Being unable to stick to a routine is very stressful to some and may even cause demotivation.
Intuitive exercise is very flexible, and it encourages you to be understanding of your body. Sometimes, it cannot deliver an intensity level of physical activity, and that’s okay. Intuitive exercise teaches you that you can still attain progress despite having some off days.
Intuitive exercise allows you to recover and heal your body.
Intuitive exercise allows you to have rest days since your body is in charge. You will learn how to trust your body, and so you can now detect when it needs time for rehabilitation. Your internal awareness will let you know when to slow down and give your body the rest it needs.
Intuitive exercise will help you develop and heighten mindfulness.
Intuitive exercise teaches you mindfulness, which you can apply to other areas of your life as well. Although it may take some time to learn, mindfulness allows you to get in touch with your inner self.
Just like quantum healing, intuitive exercise helps you get in touch with your energy. With a strong sense of mindfulness, you can easily understand what you think and how you feel. Doing so will vastly improve your mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
