Go big or go home. Rise and grind. Hit the pavement at 5am!
For most busy bodies, the Dubai lifestyle has made us all move in constant fight or flight mode. We’re used to busting out our stress by doing high-intensity workouts and fast-paced sweat-inducing exercises. For some people, these heavy-hitting exercises really refresh the mind and body. For others, especially those who are constantly stressed and feel chronic pressure at work or life in general, intense workouts can do more harm than good, it can leave them feeling depleted instead of energized and have slow recovery if not a difficult one.
It’s not to say that boxing, CrossFit, HIIT, jump rope and other high-impact exercises aren’t lifesavers for your fitness and stress-reducing goals, but have you considered low-impact exercise routines that will not only balance it all out but also have holistic benefits too – mind, body, soul, linking breath to flow and having high-impact on strength and endurance without raising your stress hormones?
Cortisol-conscious workouts are gentler movements paired with mindfulness. Doesn’t it sound relaxing enough already? There’s more good news, but first, let’s define things.
What is a Cortisol Conscious workout?
It is a high-intensity, low-impact interval training modality.
It reduces prolonged and high levels of cortisol in the body. Elevated and overstaying cortisol levels may lead to:
o high blood pressure
o excessive weight gain
o bloating
o irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
o acne
o irritability
o headaches
o anxiety
It helps produce endorphins to offset cortisol
It’s the parasympathetic nervous system’s (rest and digest) best friend
It’s friendly to your joints and muscles, not overstraining it
Mostly lower-paced with focus on form & technique making space for mindfulness
What are some examples of cortisol-conscious workouts?
Barre, pilates, yoga, swimming and walking are just some of the happy-hormones producing exercises that tap gently into your rest and digest system. Meditation, while technically not a workout, is one of the ways to hack into your PNS.
What are the main benefits of cortisol-conscious workouts?
Encourages tapping into your breath
Helps bring focus to muscular endurance
Promotes flexibility
Brings awareness to the importance of mindfulness in movement
Restorative and relaxing
Paus; - your new comfort zone for slowdown movement
We do love heavy-hitting workouts, but like with everything else, balance is key.
You will be able to find different experiences at our boutique studio that aims to complement your high-intensity trainings.
We’ve got the cortisol-conscious goodies: yin yoga, morning flow, vinyasa yoga, barre, pilates, hatha yoga (A study shows even just after one session of Hatha, participants were better able to handle stress (as measured by their own perception and their cortisol response versus controls) and so much more.
We also offer Meditation classes that rest on the core principles of Sound Healing meditations.
And to add to a more soothing slowdown, our treatments offer the same benefits of cortisol-conscious workouts.
Intuitive movements make your workouts work for you.
Tune in to what your body feels like, honor your cues. Even if say, you planned for an evening run but would rather do a Slowdown Stretch & Meditation, go for it. On the other hand, you also have the freedom to soak up the morning sun by swimming early instead of sticking to your routine of working out indoors in a studio.
In summary:
Remember why you move in the first place.
We all have different movement or fitness goals: to tone up, enhance mind sharpness, improve body built, reduce stress, hack your happy hormones, exercise socially, etc. But remember, not all exercise is right for everybody. When you are constantly stressed or chronically worked up, choose smarter sweat sessions by going taking a break and heading to Paus; (wink, wink!)
Aim to stretch your stress away instead of being stretched by stress. Take a break, don’t break :)
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