Articles Archives - Page 5 of 9

February 16, 2022

The Stress Management Society

Stress and Mental Health are now more frequently talked about in the media as wellbeing issues we need to manage personally to stay healthy. But what if the issue is much broader than this? How can stress and mental health be managed by our Government, the NHS, the workplace and wider society adopting a preemptive approach, rather than a retrospective one.

Here, Neil talks to us about his experience of stress and mental health, what stress is and how it impacts us all as individuals and as members of society, as well as offering some practical stress management resources.

1.Why did you set up The Stress Management Society and what do you do?

In 2003 I had a personal experience with my mental health, which resulted in what was described at the time, as a breakdown. I actually now describe it more as a breakthrough. At the depths of that I didn’t actually want to be here anymore. The emotional and mental pain was so great, that I was happy to end my life.

My back story is, I started my first business at 24. I turned it into an international success, a multimillion pound business and then basically crashed and lost everything. That's why I had the breakdown.

I realised that the experience I’d had wasn’t a tragedy, it was actually the greatest gift I’ve ever been given. It was up to me to decide what to do with that gift.

There really wasn’t much to support a young person going through that kind of mental health challenge. No one was really taking the time to understand what I was going through. So I decided to do something about it. I set up The Stress Management Society, to offer support to people that are suffering from mental health challenges. Essentially inspiring and empowering them to do something about it.

We set up a research and consultancy organisation called International Wellbeing Insights, which goes into corporate organisations, to deliver mental health and wellbeing programmes, which in turn advanced all our non-commercial activity.

The sad statistic is that in W.E.I.R.D countries - western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic - suicide is the main cause of death of men under the age of 45 and is rapidly becoming the same for those aged 15-29. It’s astonishing that even children under ten are having suicide thoughts and sadly many have followed through on those thoughts. It’s tragic. We are literally failing some of the most vulnerable members of our society. We have some serious societal failings where we don’t have the necessary support, and it's sad that lives lost to mental health don’t seem to matter as much as those lost to Covid.

Even with the support and right resources, it's not necessarily going to stop things; we can minimise, but we can’t stop it. With everything that’s been going on in the past two years things are getting worse, they’re not getting better.

2. How do you define stress? Common symptoms? How important is it to manage stress effectively?

When we came into existence, there didn’t seem to be a universal, commonly accepted definition of stress, which is a little bit challenging, because if the experts don’t necessarily agree, we’ll struggle with the general kind of labelling.

It was actually a chance discussion I had on a plane, with a Structural Engineer, a stress tester, who knew a lot about stress as a force in physics, as opposed to something that is a human experience. But what I found fascinating was that there was really quite a lot of crossover. I asked him what his definition of stress was and he told me Force over Area equals Pressure.

He said if you put enough load on bridges they will eventually collapse, but before it collapses you will know that it's not coping particularly well, because it will start to bow, buckle and creak. When it's giving us those signs, we’ve then got some choices around what we can do to stop it from collapsing. We can start to take some of that load off, or we can better support it using concrete blocks underneath the bridge to help it bear the load more effectively.

My immediate reaction was, hang on a minute, people are exactly the same. It doesn’t matter how mentally tough or resilient you are, every single one of us, if enough demand is placed on us, we too ultimately collapse. And before we collapse, we’ll know we’re struggling because we show those bowing, buckling, creaking signs through changes in behaviour and emotions. It's then that we have options to actually do something about it.

So our definition of stress is where demand exceeds resources. Where the demand placed on the individual exceeds their capacity or their ability to cope with that demand, or more simply put, when the bridge has got too much load on it.

The reason we developed that kind of language is because it very much appeals to the ‘masculine mind’ of structure, logic, process, solution and focus. The masculine mind doesn’t really deal well with emotions. It allows us to have emotion based conversations in a very visual and practical way, which makes it more accessible particularly when people find it hard to tap into their emotions.

Someone saying I feel depressed can be viewed as a sign of weakness, but approaching the subject from the view that the bridge is overloaded, what do I need to either strengthen it or to remove the load, gets easier for people to kind of engage in those conversations. It’s a commonsense foundation of discussion (Final sentence added in by Nikki Roy as a comment she made during the interview).

About Neil

Neil Shah is the founder of International Wellbeing Insights and Chief De-Stressing Officer of The Stress Management Society.

A leading international expert on stress management and wellbeing, he is the author of Amazon #1 best-seller ‘Turning Negatives into Positives – An Introduction to Neurolinguistic Programming’ and ‘The 10-Step Stress Solution’

He is a renowned media personality on the subject of wellbeing, appearing regularly on BBC Breakfast, BBC Five Live and Sky Sunrise.

3. How can individuals help themselves with stress management and with achieving/maintaining good mental health?

It's not a one size fits all solution. If we go back to the bridge analogy, what options do we have to remove some of the load and how can we better equip ourselves.

One of the key things is getting the basics right and that includes things like what are you consuming both physically and mentally. Are you consuming information that is inspiring and uplifting you? Do you live your life in the past or the future?

We have no control over past or future events, so being present actually allows us to consider really how best we can navigate the experiences that we’re having. Reflect and look for things that are worthy to be grateful for - they are there in every given moment of every given day.

At the moment, the thing I think we really need to focus on is the sense of community. There is a direct correlation over the last 40 years, that as society and community have degraded, issues around mental health have increased. We don’t operate as a society anymore. We don’t have this community. We have this consumer culture that has really focused on the individual. You don’t need to rely on a person or a group to be able to function. That individualism is creating a sense of isolation.

I think we need to start moving away from this notion that mental health is an individual issue. Mental health is a societal issue. If someone has a breakdown, or takes their own life, that is not their issue, that’s a societal failing. We are creating the circumstances where that individual wasn’t supported.

Our focus for Stress Awareness Month this year, is building #Community as we are #BetterTogether. When we can build empathy and can start to see the world through each other's eyes and learn how to be compassionate, we can come together to find common solutions for societal challenges. We don’t need more polarity fuelled by profanity, we need to find unity through the power of community.

4. On your website, you've agreed with the principle that 'business leaders should drive change' - why and how?

The business community and business leaders have a vested interest in the solution around wellbeing, because there’s a direct correlation between happy, healthy staff and high productivity, performance and success. A good company to work for happens to be a successful company.

It also has a snowball effect because it impacts employees' families and therefore their communities. Company competitors, partners and suppliers suddenly start to pay attention. This is how we start to create ripples of positive change across society, by role modelling it.

Our campaign for this month is ‘Proactive not Reactive’.

We need to start getting more proactive around community building, wellbeing, inclusivity, diversity and engagement, and to move away from being reactive.

There’s significanly more chance of the suicide of someone close to you, than there is of them dying due to war or human violence, yet we don’t talk about it, we don’t understand the scale of the issue. We’ve let it get to the point where the main cause of death for a man aged 45 in Western society is suicide and even though that’s the case, we’re still not doing anything about it really. That’s absolutely tragic. 14.3% of all human beings who die every year, die as a result of their own hand. That’s incredible.

5. What do you mean by 'meaningful employment'? How do you help organisations achieve this?

Your work is a crucial part of your wellbeing. Having meaningful, gainful employment will actually contribute to your wellbeing.

To me, meaningful employment is where you’re valued as a human being, you’re able to develop and contribute your skills in a way that enhances your employer's overall vision, and you are rewarded fairly for it. This is really where organisations need to consider is their profit to the detriment of people or do we have a balance? This is really what we should be considering because this is good for everybody.

6. What projects/initiatives are you currently working on?

Right now, we’re really trying to emphasise this message of community. I’m talking about where you start to understand that collectively, we have far more things in common than the things that separate us. So we’re helping to bring people together to share their experiences and to build this community, from a local to a global level.

Also another project we’re working on is through our charitable arm, we’re currently raising money and we’ve received some lottery money, to run programmes for youths and children, particularly 11-19 year olds.

We just started a project with Charlton Athletic football club called Level Up, to equip kids with the tools that they should
be taught at schools - personal resilience, managing their wellbeing, really understanding how to equip themselves with the skills, tools and confidence to be able to navigate this world that we find ourselves in.

The other one is a Mental Wellbeing Ambassadors Programme. A proactive approach where it shows you how to have those preemptive conversations, not to wait until someone’s bridge is about to collapse, but to be able to pick it up before the bowing and buckling stage, knowing how to engage them and how to refer them to the most appropriate support resources.

8. What changes have you seen towards addressing stress and mental health as a wellbeing issue?

We’re getting to a point where we’re more comfortable having this conversation. When Covid hit, mental health was sidelined. We’re slowly starting to see that come back up again, but it's put back the mental health progress back by 6 years. We’re back to where we were in 2016. And that for me is a real concern. Mental health didn’t just go away, because Covid came along, it actually got worse, so why have we stopped talking about it? Getting access to a Counsellor or someone on the NHS is next to impossible right now. I think it's going to take something quite prominent to put it back in our focus again. It shouldn’t take that.

January 12, 2022

Mindfulness – Stress Alleviation

We all experience stress from time to time, it's a natural part of the hustle and bustle of life, however it can become an issue when stress reaches the point of overwhelm and we don’t feel able to competently manage our stress levels or to get them back into balance. Stress can manifest itself both mentally and physically, negatively impacting our overall health and wellbeing.

In this article we look at what mindfulness is and hope to provide you with some tools and resources to help you manage your stress levels regularly, working on the premise that prevention is better than cure - a little time spent managing your stress levels on a regular basis, will better place you to manage particularly stressful situations, when the time comes.

Mindfulness is a way in which we can slow down and gain awareness of ourselves; our thoughts, our biases and assumptions, our body, our environment, our relationships; it's a way to become present in the moment and to focus on what truly matters and what is within our control. It's a way of cleansing the mind and creating space for ourselves, of achieving a feeling of calm, regaining clarity and focus. Mindfulness can help rebalance our mental and physical health and elevate our resilience.

We all have a personal responsibility to ourselves to make sure we engage in self-care, but what about the duty of care our employers have towards us? How can mindfulness be incorporated into the workplace to enhance our experience and fulfilment within our job roles?

Mindfulness in the Workplace

In a CIPD Update article on 23rd March, Kristian Adams highlighted some key issues around resilience and how Line Managers in particular, play a key role in influencing how resilient team members are. He hones in on the onus still being passed back onto the individual to ‘buck up’ and get on with things, something we know from experience, isn’t an acceptable nor an effective management technique. What about adopting a more human approach? What about allowing people to acknowledge and discuss their emotions and challenges? What about Mindful Management in the Workplace?

Mindfulness at work is increasingly gaining traction as a positive way to move forward in terms of people management. It brings the ‘human’ element back into the workplace and stops treating employees as a mere resource.

Both Mindful and CIPD have backed the value of mindfulness at work. CIPD reference survey evidence from Mind in 2015 and the Police Federation in 2018, which looks at the high stress levels of police service workers and how they can be reduced. Mindfulness was considered to be an option. A bespoke mindfulness course was developed - MindFit Cop - which was positioned as a form of strength training; a way to ensure workers were fit, healthy and resilient in order to do their job. The participants learned how to meditate and were taught about the science behind mindfulness and its practical applications.

Overall, results found that police service workers who felt they had little control over their work activities experienced more wellbeing benefit than those who felt they had more control to begin with. The research is thought to have positive implications for other high stress job roles and work environments.

By incorporating mindfulness into everyday work at all levels - an individual, a managerial and an organisational level - it benefits everyone. Managers are allowed to engage in authentic leadership and to help empower their employees. Employees experience improved wellbeing and transformative experiences and different ways to work. It allows for confidence, optimism, coherence and a sense of openness to flourish and moves away from the threat of stress and burnout. Mindfulness and resilience together make for a powerful management practice, but also as a way to move forward as a business with a strong competitive advantage.

November 24, 2021

Guest Contributor: Tala Oodit – What Makes A Successful Workplace

1. Support Services

Companies should provide insurance protection such as Private Healthcare, Income Protection, Life Assurance, and an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) as standard. I will caveat this and say that it's obviously subject to whether a company can afford to have this in place. In my opinion, these are more of a necessity than a unique selling point for a company. For the last few years, the recruitment market has been a candidate driven one - something that won’t be changing in the next few years. People are looking at the overall package and sometimes the base salary alone is not enough of an incentive to potential new recruits, so companies need to remain creative and competitive.

2. Culture

This 7 letter word is so simple and yet so complex in interpretation, so here is what culture means to me…

People will spend the majority of their life at work with colleagues, so its important that the work environment you provide is a decent one. Inclusion, access to Senior Managers and the level of trust given to people is key! It’s important that Managers sit with their team members regularly to understand what drives them and that people feel they have influence and are able to contribute to the overall success of the company.

Senior Managers need to ensure the company vision and the expectations surrounding the business goals are communicated clearly. In addition, Senior Managers should also be given Mental Health First Aid training as standard. Not only are they responsible for the financial health of the company, but also their people’s health and wellbeing too!

4. A Multi-Faceted Physical Working Environment

Covid-19 saw companies having to change their physical environment overnight. All office workers were asked to work from home for months at a time. If employers are choosing to keep working from home as an option moving forward, they need to ensure that employees are suitably equipped to do so. For example, we have asked employees to let us know if they need chair supports to help with their lower back or upper back, neck and shoulders. We’ve also reinforced the importance of taking a break and moving around.

Having worked in companies with retail stores and distribution centres, our H&S team are regularly running checks to ensure manual handling training is continuously taking place, meeting with our Occupational Health team, to ensure that as a business we are making reasonable adjustments for employees.

Whether people are working from home or onsite, employers need to give consideration to their employees’ physical health and wellbeing. We’ve previously used Body Mechanics for onsite massages to help remedy any occupational stresses and strains and they also provide yoga and online workouts - a range of different ways to access and help maintain physical wellbeing.

5. Communication is Key!

An old cliche, however the most obvious. You will be surprised by how this is often overlooked or not done properly. With the events of Covid-19, all businesses have had to go through some sort of change management to accommodate their business during the global crisis. I understand that it may not be feasible to have weekly company meetings, but what I would recommend is monthly company get togethers, rather than just teams and if safe, have those get togethers in person, rather than online. A fixed date in the diary will give people peace of mind and a chance to see various people across the business. Human contact and networking shouldn’t be underestimated in terms of personal morale and career development.

November 10, 2021

The Benefits Of Breathwork

This article first appeared as a blog on https://fiit.tv/

What if there was a magic pill that could give you more natural energy than a cup of coffee? That could help you to think clearer, be more creative, to de-stress and even sleep better.

Sound too good to be true?

What if we told you that you already have that magic pill and it’s quite literally under your nose!

Breathwork is being tipped as the next revolution in health and wellness. Thanks to world-renowned teacher, Richie Bostock aka @thebreathguy, you too can try a series of classes on Fiit.

You may be thinking, why do you need breathing classes? After all, you’ve been breathing all your life!

Well, Breathwork involves specific breathing techniques that have the power to change our physical, mental and emotional states.

Oxygen is the body’s number one fuel source, and increasing oxygen levels in the body brings a whole host of benefits. That’s why elite athletes, Silicon Valley CEOs and world famous performers are turning to Breathwork to feel and perform at their best. And now you can too, without leaving your living room!

September 27, 2021

The Science Of Why It Hurts So Damn Good

THE GOOD PAIN

Exercise is incredibly important. And inactivity is the fourth biggest killer worldwide. But, being fit can sometimes be a pain in the glutes.

Gede says: When we train we stress the body. This creates micro tears in our muscles called myofibrils. These are the ‘good’ kind. They promote muscle growth. And depending on the intensity of the workout, they can leave you feeling pretty sore.

This is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Or, DOMS. And when we exercise, it’s usually eccentric movements (the contraction while lengthening the muscle) that give us DOMS. For example, the lowering phase of a bicep curl or running downhill.

Not everyone loves DOMS. Sometimes sitting down can feel like hard work – let alone another workout. But know that it’s all a process. It’s your body learning and adapting. Next time you do that same thing, your body will know and you won’t feel so sore.

YOUR COMFORT ZONE IS TOO SAME-SAME

To be more. We have to do more. If we want to do 100 unbroken push ups – we need to do more push ups. If we want to run a marathon – we need to run more. And if we want to take our fitness to the next level – we need to train at the next level.

Gede says: Progress is made outside your comfort zone. It builds physical and mental toughness. And it’s not just about the mat. When you train your ability to deal with discomfort, you’re building trust that you can conquer hard things.

None of us will feel comfortable doing Boss Level. Not even me, Luke, Adrienne, Sean, Gus and Corinne – and we made this monsta! But that’s a good thing. For the whole Fiit community, this is a chance to prove what we’re capable of. And be proud of it!

HOW TO MINIMISE DOMS

If you’re going to train at the next level, you’re going to get DOMS. No matter what. But, there are a few things we can do to limit the pain. And make sure simple tasks like going to the toilet doesn’t become too torturous.

Gede says: DOMS can be reduced by sufficient warm-up and cool downs. If you are starting a programme or taking on a big session like Boss Level, it can be tempting to jump straight in. But it’s important to ease yourself in so it isn’t such a shock to the body.

While doing nothing for a few days seems logical, adding in some light active recovery can help. Whether that be yoga/mobility work, some low impact cardio or a light walk. Some easy movements can actually promote recovery – by driving blood into the muscles to repair and reduce the swelling.

When it comes to nutrition, the exact strategy will vary from person to person and you should always seek out nutrition advice from a qualified professional, but remember to refuel with carbohydrates, rebuild with protein and rehydrate effectively – especially while it’s hot.

CALL A SADIST A SADIST

Some people just love the pain cave. One of our founders, Ian McCaig, is an unapologetically unhinged human being. He ran across the Sahara Desert for fun. And while that isn’t necessarily ‘normal’ – turns out he’s not the only one who yearns for suffering.

Gede says: Research has found that people who sit most of the time – at work, on the couch, in the car – can really enjoy going beyond the limits. For instance, Ultramarathons are far more popular with people who sit in offices all day. And this is because stress forces our body to focus. It becomes a form of escapism – like reading or meditating.

Plus, exercise releases a whole bunch of delicious endorphins, which interact with receptors in our brains to reduce the perception of pain and make us feel amazing! This is why the lines between pleasure and pain are so often blurred.

September 21, 2021

Guest Contributor: Shannon Hoskin – First Swim Centre Manager

The trepidation sets in as you approach the water...how cool will it feel on my skin today? There is nothing better than getting my head under the water, pushing off the wall, and banging out a few laps. But how do you fit it into your daily life? Work (which has me in the water, teaching little ones to swim or watching my team of teachers teach), the kids, life admin, the extra activities, including sitting on pool side now for 5 hours a week with my two! I don’t swim anywhere near enough, which is frustrating given I’m in a pool environment 7 days a week. But I made myself a promise, that when the kids went back to school, I would go swimming for myself twice a week. I’ve managed that so far (week 2) and I plan on sticking with it. Why this time, unlike the million times before? I decided I deserve the time and space to do something for myself - I am worth it! Such a simple change in my mindset, with an unbelievably positive outcome for me first and foremost, but those around me too.

Having said all that, so many people still don’t swim. Did you see the latest stats by Swim England last week, stating that only 3% of children in London, aged between seven and eleven, can swim competently?! Across the UK, more than three million children were found not to be competent swimmers. This is frightening if you ask me. Swimming is not just an extra weekly activity, it’s a life skill. It’s essential to learn to swim. That’s why it’s included in the school curriculum.

I want my children to become competent swimmers. They are both on their way to achieving this, which reminds me daily to put the effort into myself. Be kind to yourself and if you can’t find the time to swim for yourself because there are one too many balls to juggle now, then bring your baby or toddler to swim with us and you at First Swim. We are based in Chiswick and Twickenham. Our lessons focus on gentle swimming progression, nothing is forced. There is also a sofa with your name on it for a post swim drink and cookie.

September 21, 2021

Guest Blog: Everything You Need To Know About Parkrun

How do I find an event?

Finding your local event is really simple with our map, which you can find here.

Each event has its own course page where you’ll find:

Contact details of the Event Team if you have any questions
A map that shows the course and the start and finish areas, as well as some handy tips for getting there, including nearest bus stops and train station, as well as the event postcode
Details of the Volunteer Team and how you can get involved.
Upcoming cancellations and other parkruns nearby

Many events also have their own social media pages where you can get in touch with the team, give them a search on Facebook and Twitter.

Do I have to complete 5k?

Parkrun can be whatever you want it to be. There are ways to get involved that do not involve completing 5k, and there is no pressure to complete the whole course if you’ve started and don’t feel able to continue (although we think you’ll surprise yourself!)

You can also just head down to your local parkrun event and watch what’s going on, soak up the atmosphere and get to know your local team.

For anyone starting out on their parkrun journey, or thinking about building up to the magic 5k distance, our simple and easy walking plan Strive for Five can be found here. You can do that anywhere, any time.

There’s also the option to get involved as a volunteer.

Volunteering is super easy, loads of fun, and there’s no training or experience required, one of the event team members can just show you what to do on the day.

To volunteer just find your local event on the map and drop the team an email at the address on the course page, or via social media.

What does parkrun look like?

Parkruns are friendly, relaxed environments, where there are people of all shapes and sizes, abilities and backgrounds. Some people will be in sports kit, some not, some people will walk and some will run, many will just be there to enjoy the morning.

So, please don’t feel any pressure.

There’s a short First Timer’s Welcome for anyone who’d like a little more information on the day.

We can’t promise a safe space to leave your belongings so please bring as little as possible. All you need is your barcode and something comfortable to wear.

What happens after parkrun?

You’ll feel fantastic!

Whether you’ve walked, jogged, ran, volunteered, or gone along to watch, you’ll have set yourself up for the rest of the weekend.

Once the results have been processed (and if you’re volunteering someone will help you with this) you’ll get a text and an email from parkrun with all the details of your participation.

Everyone has their own record on our website, where you can track your progress and see all of the parkruns you’ve been to. Just sign in online with the details you created when you registered and all the information is always there.

You can reprint your barcode from this page on the website too, as well as update your details, or change your communication preferences.

We can’t wait to welcome you to a parkrun very soon. Make sure you get in touch to tell us all about it using our Feedback from the field link here.

September 13, 2021

Practitioner Spotlight: Dani Mavi – Yoga

At 21, I decided to begin my yoga journey and completed a 200 hour teacher training here in the UK, with a highly respected yoga school ‘Yoga London’, one of the most successful, largest teacher training schools in Europe.

Still eager to learn more, I then travelled to Rishikesh, India ‘The Capital of Yoga’ to study at ‘Shiva Yoga Peeth’ which is highly recommended by Yoga Alliance and top most positive rated school in Rishikesh. The intensive course of 13 hour days consisted of Cleansing, Pranayama, Meditation, Bandhas, Mudras, Teaching Practice, Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga Practice, Yoga Philosophy, Hatha Yoga/Ashtanga and Mantra Recitation. This was a life changing experience.

I have participated in various workshops in London with guest teachers including David Swenson and Norman Blair.

Like many other teenagers, I became very stressed during GCSE and A level exams. I would revise on the floor with my back hunched over and stay there for hours at a time. My poor posture led me to having unbearable back and neck pain, along with lack of sleep due to stress.

Visiting Physiotherapists and Chiropractors, I was given stretching techniques and recommended to try yoga. I bought my first Ashtanga Yoga book at 16 and began self-practicing. At 17, I started attending yoga classes. I would recommend practicing yoga daily to feel the benefits, starting with 5-10 minutes each morning. I love being in tree pose whilst I’m brushing my teeth and holding triangle pose whilst I wait for the kettle to boil!

How can it Help?

Yoga helps to boost the immune system, encourage relaxation and correct posture alignment. Yoga offers physical and mental health benefits for people of all ages. If you’re recovering from surgery or living with a painful condition, yoga can become an integral part of your treatment and potentially hasten healing.

Doing yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which reduces the stress fight-or-flight response, thus reducing your stress levels. An important component of yoga is focusing on the present. Studies have found that regular yoga practice improves coordination, reaction time, memory and even IQ scores.

There are different types of yoga:

Vinyasa Yoga uses the synchronicity of breath and movement to challenge the body and mind. Blending graceful movements with strength building asanas, Vinyasa is a playful and energetic style that will tone and strengthen both your physical body and your mental resilience.

Iyengar Yoga is characterised by its precision and alignment in postures. Teachers are trained to a high level and are experienced at working with some injuries and modifying postures to your needs.

Hatha Yoga combines postures, breath control (pranayama), meditation, yogic philosophy and guided relaxation, which will help you to stretch and tone your body, whilst quietening your mind.

Ashtanga Yoga requires focus to move through the sequence, helping to still the mind and bring inner peace. The vigorous postures and focus on the breath create stamina and flexibility to the body.

Power Yoga takes yoga to a new dimension, where you feel your body worked hard with your mind focused.

Yin Yoga is a slow and deep practice, creating calm in meeting the intensity of a stretch, cultivating a healing and nourishing effect on the body, tuning in to the parasympathetic nervous system

Hot Yoga is practiced in a room which is heated to 37 degrees celcius. Hot yoga practice replicates the heat and humidity of India, where yoga originated. My favourite!

Yoga is a good way for people who don’t love weights to build upper body muscle and stronger cores, whilst improving flexibility. Improved sleep is one of the key benefits of yoga that nearly every practitioner can experience, no matter what their skill level. Studies have found that a consistent yoga practice can help improve depression and lead to significant increases in serotonin levels too. I highly recommend finding a yoga class and trying it for yourself. It’s changed my life in many ways, particularly my fitness and overall health and wellbeing. It can do the same for you too!

September 7, 2021

Guest Contributor: Sarah Banks – How I Found The Exercise That Works For Me

Sarah Banks works as an Online Business Consultant and has shared her journey to find exercise that works for her in this article.

I’ve never been a particularly active person. I’ve struggled to find the “exercise” that works for me, but I’ve always had a love for walking. Being able to enjoy exploring the countryside, meandering through forests, hills, and the coastline to see what nature had to show to me that day is so special. But, as with all good things, I never seemed to have the time to walk as often as I’d like.

Then I had a bright idea. As a businesswoman I was getting frustrated with traditional methods of networking and finding that “zoom fatigue” is a very real thing, I was looking for alternatives. That’s when I decided to combine my love for walking with networking. Having 1-2-1 walks with fellow self-employed business owners and freelancers then led to me starting a regular ‘netwalking’ club, where we walk for around an hour discussing our businesses, opportunities, and goals for the years ahead rounded up with a coffee and a chat. I find netwalking a great way to find new business owners to connect with to share the successes and challenges of working for yourself, all while getting some of the many benefits of walking in nature which include reducing stress and depression, lowering blood pressure, and helping you to think more clearly.

I learned that exercise doesn’t have to feel like exercise

I find being around nature is beneficial to my mental health, so I wanted to find new ways to get out and about in the countryside while fitting in some additional exercise. Although I lack in ability, I have always been a keen sea swimmer, it’s just so invigorating floating in the cold water!

I’d had a little dip here and there in local rivers but in April 2021 I decided I wanted to do more and so I went along to my first open water swim at my local water sports centre. They have two lakes there dedicated to swimming with courses set out so you can track how far you've swum. I'm pushing myself to complete the Lake 1 course twice or to swim Lake 2 and Lake 1, which are approximately 1 km per swim! For someone with little open swimming skill and who is, self-admittedly, unfit, it’s quite the challenge.

To enable this, I’ve changed my working hours to put aside Friday mornings to swim there weekly, which I’ve been doing since April and I’m planning to continue right the way through winter (although you can be sure that I won’t be in the water for long when it snows!)

The benefits of open water swimming

According to Open Water Swimming England, there are four key health benefits to this activity, so maybe I can persuade you to give it a go as I explain what they are.

Better sleep.
Many of us experience insomnia and difficulties getting off to sleep each night. Open water swimming helps your body to naturally increase levels of prolactin, a hormone that promotes REM sleep so you can doze off more easily.

Boosted immune system.
If you’re looking for ways to give your immune system a natural boost, open water swimming in colder water (i.e., in UK waters!) can reduce the over-production of some hormones in our bodies that can impair our immunity thus enabling it to be better at warding off infection.

Preventing long-term health conditions.
Chronic illness is something that can strike any of us at any time, often without warning. Open water swimming can reduce the chances of developing these conditions by making your body’s internal systems more efficient and effective as the cold water improves circulation. It also means if you are chronically ill, swimming in open waters can help you manage your symptoms and illness too.

Increased happiness.
For me it was boosting my mental health that was the main driver for starting open water swimming. On my first swim my anxiety was around 8/9 out of 10 and when I got out of the water it had dropped to just 2/3. This isn’t surprising as open water swimming has been shown to increase thyroid stimulating hormones by more than 50%, this leads to improved mood and increased happiness but can also help with regulating weight, body temperature and muscle strength too.

Not content with getting more active in 2 sports this year, I decided to throw in a 3rd challenge

As I was rapidly approaching my 40th Birthday I wanted to really get out of my comfort zone, and I did just that by trying Aerial Yoga! I have practised yoga for around 10 years (although not since 2020 when in-person classes stopped) and I figured that if I could do yoga how hard could aerial be!

I went along to my first class terrified but came out impressed with myself and the things I could get my body to do. 5 weeks on and I made it to every class, discovered muscles I have never had before and feel stronger. I have now signed up for another 5 weeks in September and am really excited about strengthening my core and upper body as I develop my skills further.

The benefits of regular exercise and spending time in nature are so good that it is important to try to make time to do this but finding that time can be hard when you have a family and are running a business. I have managed to flex my working day to work later/earlier so that I can fit my exercise in when the kids are at school or by taking them along with me at weekends when we head off for family walks.

You are never too old to try out new sports and types of exercise as even if like me there was very little you enjoyed in the past, you may find that something new will change your mind.

September 1, 2021

The Importance Of Fitness

The Physical Health Benefits

Physical activity is a great way to improve cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health - to strengthen both the heart and skeletal muscles, to boost circulation, to provide nourishment throughout the body and to increase our stamina and endurance. Engaging in activities such as running, swimming, cycling and circuit training will help enhance muscle tone, bone density, range of movement and flexibility.

But exercise doesn’t have to be a full-on, intense cardio session every time, where you’re left feeling exhausted. Even elevating your heart rate moderately for 30 minutes a day with a brisk walk, is enough to bring about noticeable improvements to our fitness.

Key indicators for improved physical health and fitness are being able to work more intensively and for longer periods, being able to breathe deeper and recover quicker and having a lower resting heart rate.

The Mental Health Benefits

Being physically active doesn’t just bring about physical health benefits, it’s also good for the mind - an excellent way to stay physically and mentally fit. Exercise releases endorphins, or ‘happy hormones’, which help to boost our mood and to alleviate stress. The mind-body connection is the very foundation of yoga for example - by focusing on the breath, you enter into a calm or even meditative state, whilst engaging in physical poses (asanas), enjoying both physical and mental benefits.

Exercising outdoors in nature is another way to enhance our mental health through physical activity. Going for a long walk and taking in the views and hopefully some sunshine, can help us switch off from the everyday stresses and ground our emotions.

So how can you incorporate more activity into your life, or discover activities that work for you, to improve your overall physical and mental fitness? We take a look at some key pointers on the next page.

Make it Work for You

Get more active - everyday activities count. A great example of this is the widely recognised goal of 10,000 steps a day. Walk instead of drive. Use the stairs, instead of the lift. Get off public transport one or two stops earlier. Incorporate a walk into your day at lunchtime or after dinner. Make exercise part of your daily routine and keep that routine active.

Exercise regularly - to make visible and lasting gains in your health and fitness, you need to be consistent. Exercising to a schedule and incorporating a level of flexibility, whatever that looks like for you, is key to making positive progress. Finding a way to fit exercise around your work, family and social life isn’t always easy, so why not try and combine exercise with family time or catching up with friends.

Mix it Up - keep it interesting by doing a variety of exercises and activities. Doing a combination of LISS (low intensity steady state) such as running, cycling, swimming, brisk walking that are lower intensity for 45-60 minutes at a time at least twice a week, alongside HiiT (high intensity interval training) like short, intense circuit training sometimes including weights for up to 30 minutes twice a week, with a mobility and stretch activity such as yoga or Pilates for between 30 to 90 minutes at least once a week, will give you variety of exercise and intensity, as well as a comprehensive workout routine.

Crunch the Data - get to know your stats - what they are now and what do you want them to realistically be. This needn’t be overwhelming. Buying a set of digital bathroom scales and a health and activity tracker such as a FitBit or an Apple Watch will give you the insights you need. For example, how much do you weigh? How tall are you? What is your BMI? What is your hip to waist ratio? What is your muscle mass and body fat percentages? What are your activity levels like? What should your daily calorie intake be? What are your daily nutrition macros - your proportion of protein, fat and carbohydrates? How much activity should you do everyday? What sort of exercises and activities will suit you best? Understanding all of these elements of your body and health, will give you a clear idea of where you are and what you need to do, to achieve better health and fitness.

Nutrition - as the sayings go ‘you are what you eat’ and ‘you can’t out exercise a bad diet’. Speaking with a Nutritionist will help you understand your current health and eating habits, your relationship with food and triggers to any bad habits, the foods you should avoid and include, working with any specific dietary requirements, clearly defining your calorie intake and food group macros. Good nutrition will provide your body with the building blocks it needs to stay healthy.

Category: Articles

1.Why did you set up The Stress Management Society and what do you do?

Neil Shah Chief De-Stressing Officer

2. How do you define stress? Common symptoms? How important is it to manage stress effectively?

About Neil

3. How can individuals help themselves with stress management and with achieving/maintaining good mental health?

4. On your website, you've agreed with the principle that 'business leaders should drive change' - why and how?

5. What do you mean by 'meaningful employment'? How do you help organisations achieve this?

6. What projects/initiatives are you currently working on?

7. What is the '10 Step Stress Solution?'

8. What changes have you seen towards addressing stress and mental health as a wellbeing issue?

9. Can you recommend any practical or insightul resources people can access to help with stress management?

Find out more and get involved...

Mindfulness in the Workplace

Resources For You

“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally” Jon Kabat-Zinn

1. Support Services

2. Culture

3. A Balanced Environment

4. A Multi-Faceted Physical Working Environment

5. Communication is Key!

Tala's Final Thought...

What if there was a magic pill that could give you more natural energy than a cup of coffee? That could help you to think clearer, be more creative, to de-stress and even sleep better.

Richie’s Breathwork classes are available as part of Body Mechanics Membership.

THE GOOD PAIN

YOUR COMFORT ZONE IS TOO SAME-SAME

HOW TO MINIMISE DOMS

CALL A SADIST A SADIST

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Background

What is Yoga?

How can it Help?

There are different types of yoga:

I learned that exercise doesn’t have to feel like exercise

The benefits of open water swimming

Not content with getting more active in 2 sports this year, I decided to throw in a 3rd challenge

The Physical Health Benefits

The Mental Health Benefits

Make it Work for You

About us

Give us a Call

Send us a Message

Neil Shah
Chief De-Stressing Officer

“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally”
Jon Kabat-Zinn