today was the day I’ve been waiting for in my academic class The Science of Happiness

EXERCISE DAY!

a chance for me to nerd out about sweating and pat myself on the back for reaping the many benefits of exercise.

It got me thinking though, why do I sweat? Why do I workout? I think this answer varies for everyone– for some it is to lose weight, for some it is control, for some it is because they love competing in sports, for some it is for stress release.

Some of the above does pertain to me, but I still can’t help but think why this shift in my life. In high school I was the least athletic girl EVER and hated breaking a sweat in phys ed. Where did this gym rat come from?

We learned in class today that exercise is being prescribed as an anti-depressant  because:

–>Like prozac, exercise increases the levels of norepinephrine and serotonin.  

–> it acts as a distraction and can clear the mind

–> it allows the patient to have control

–> it is a social interaction (such as in the case of working out with a friend or group fitness

The population that is less active has higher instances of mental illness.

For me it has never been about weight loss, even if I didn’t work out I would still be little, I come from a long line of really petite females. My “sport” is trapeze, which does benefit from my work outs, however I am not training with trapeze as my specific goal in mind. I work out when I am stressed, often to procrastinate doing homework I am avoiding, often to let out pent up aggression and frustration from the day. Now a days, I work out to start my day on the right foot so I feel less anxious for the rest of the day, and can smile knowing I accomplished something at the ass-crack of dawn.

Today I realized that exercise is my anti-depressant. The times in my life when I have felt the most depressed correlate to times when I was inactive. The summer I spent living in the NYU Dorms, sulking in my loneliness and coping with stress caused by various things, I wish I would have gotten out of the dark dorm room and gone to the gym. I wish I would have continued to go to yoga classes. I wish I would have realized that running is a great way to release.

This school year has been incredible for various reasons. Yes I am finally studying what I have loved since I was 5 years old, yes there is a boy in Westchester who loves me despite how absurd I am, yes I have a comfortable home in the city, but perhaps most importantly has been my commitment to my physical health. I have learned what my favorite ways to exercise are, I have made my muscles stronger than ever, I have danced to latin music like a doofus in Zumba class, I have sweated my frustration away on the tread mill while listening to American Idiot for the millionth time.

I have found comfort and relief in fitness.

What is amazing about this is that fitness is there for everyone– anyone can run, anyone can learn how to do a bicep curl, take a zumba class from youtube, do yoga from netflix– find something active to do that distracts them, gets their heart racing, and gives them a healthy release.

I am obsessed with alternate therapies— how to help people like me who are troubled with anxieties and phobia cope via natural, drug free ways. For me musical theater has played a huge component in coping, seeing shows that wake me up, smack me in the face, make me cry, make me realize something about myself, and make me feel. I loved my music therapy course I took last year which taught me about the incredible power of healing with music. When I started doing trapeze I finally felt a sense of release from my uptight ways and learned to let go and fall.

And now I am very focused on the connection of fitness and mental well being.

So why do I sweat? Because I think it is continuing to save my life. I hate when people roll their eyes because I say “I can’t, I’m going to the gym”. I feel their judgement as they look at me and think I am on some weight loss binge. The truth? It’s what keeps me going.

I will leave you with this awesome list courtesy of my new fitness idol Patricia Moreno: