Top 3 benefits of exercising your mind.

@yinyogamats

By: Lekha Sanwal

The power of exercise is known to all. In the last two years, most of us started paying attention to our health and body. Physical fitness is the new need in this era. Healthy eating, workout plans and dedicated routines are part of our daily life these days.

But is it enough to just train our body? What about mental peace? Do we pay enough attention to the signals our mind sends?

This pandemic has increased our stress levels enormously. Each individual has their own set of problems causing mental pressure. In situations of no work or work from home, no social life and nowhere to go, the pressure on our mind increased significantly leading to depression and anxiety.

It is equally important to train our mind to ensure a relaxed, strong, confident and calm exterior. Taking our focus away from everyday chores and thoughts and diverting our mind into a refreshing activity of our choice can be called a mental exercise. We can train our mind by meditating, practising Yoga, solving a few puzzles or even by learning a new skill. When we make an effort for our good health the results are always rewarding.

I would love to share with you guys the Top 3 benefits exercising our mind.

(PS: These are the points tried and tested by me and I would personally recommend and encourage you to practice exercising to see the changes.)

1. Decreased depression and anxiety

During the lockdown, I was home for almost 5 months without any job as everything outside was closed. The situation made me moody and lazy. I kept on asking myself why am I taking this so hard? It is not like only I am affected, the whole world is. But no social life and no work made me impatient and anxious. I finally decided to keep myself busy as well as start an exercising routine. By just dedicating two hours to this I would feel energised and happy. The endorphin levels did their job right. I kept on learning new things and to date follow my workout plan.

My workout plan includes:

30 minutes of cardio or Zumba, followed by 15 minutes of medication and 5 minutes of freestyle dance.

Also, I used to plan a new task for me to complete every day. Be it drawing, painting, cooking, organising, etc. just anything I love that could keep me occupied.

2. Better and more organised sleep schedule:

After a long hard productive day, good sleep is bound to come and when combined with a mental exercise the good turns into better. Sleep is important as it enables the body to repair, take a break, be fit and prepare us for the next day.

After following my new routine, I have noticed the difference in my sleep cycle which also leads to having better and softer skin.

3. Boost in confidence:

A healthy mind reboots confidence levels and gives a person self-esteem to tackle challenging situations. It’s not always about physical appearance. It is we who decide how we look. The benefits of physical exercise are gradual but when we are mentally rejuvenated, all the negative thoughts in our mind tend to be minimized. When we are confident from within our face gleams with the same.

Dressing up and presenting myself has never been this fun. My peaceful mind allows me to ignore my first negative instincts about me and instead allows me to notice all the positives not only in me but also in others.

I hope you find these benefits convincing enough to persuade you to try exercising your mind too. There are multiple benefits that one can see by practising the art of exercising one’s mind. Keep sharing your ideas and reviews about the same. I would love to know its impact on my readers and I know you all would amaze me with your brilliant finds.