A Woman's Guide to Mindful Movement and Cognitive Health

Amanda Winstead

Women lead busy lives, and sometimes, exercise, eating right, and self-care don’t make it into our days. It happens. However, not making these things a priority could be the reason why you’re feeling burnt out and not at your best physically and mentally.

It’s okay if you haven’t put your health and wellness at the top of your priorities list thus far. Now is the perfect time to start taking better care of yourself. We’ll talk about why and how you can start prioritizing your health with regular exercise and mindful movement.

Why Now is the Time to Start Taking Better Care of Yourself

There’s no reason not to start taking better care of yourself right now. You’re getting older, you’re body is changing. And you need to get proactive about your physical and mental health to ensure you age healthily.

To illustrate this, let’s look at different aspects of your health that benefit from exercise.

Cognitive and Mental Health

Brain shrinkage is a normal part of the aging process. Thousands of our brain cells die every day in our cerebral cortex alone. That accumulated loss is what causes slower reflexes, hearing, vision, and memory loss over time.

You may not be able to produce new ones, however, you can preserve the brain cells you have with exercise. Regular physical activity thickens the grey matter in your brain where most of your brain cells are housed. Exercise also reverses brain cellular degeneration.

Aside from keeping women mentally sharp as they age, regular exercise helps you keep your stress levels in check and achieve mental clarity. You get an instant mood and energy boost. Your confidence and self-esteem improve as well.

Physical Health

Your physical health depends so much on your exercise habits. Our muscles tend to lose strength and flexibility and a moderate loss of bone density occurs as we age. Your heart starts working harder and bodily functions slow down.

Adopting a consistent exercise routine puts you in the best position physically as you get older, providing benefits like:

• Improved endurance;
• Stronger muscles and bones;
• Reduced risk of developing chronic illnesses;
• A better functioning cardiovascular system;
• Better oxygen flow through the body and to the brain.

Regular exercise also eases weight loss and management. Finally, physical activity translates to better sleep, helping you to wake up and conquer every day with the utmost energy and physical ability.
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Prioritize Your Health With Regular Exercise and Mindful Movement 

Even if you do know about the physical and mental benefits of exercise, it’s often difficult to adjust your lifestyle to this new habit. However, it is possible as long as you make your movement and exercise goals attainable. Simple, small steps are not only sustainable, but they’ll have the biggest impact on your health and wellness. Let’s take a look at a couple of those steps.

Learn About and Start Doing Mindful Movement

The best way to make your exercise goals attainable is to realize that you won’t exactly be capable of running a marathon on the first day of your exercise journey. Instead, look into mindful movement, which adopts the same principles as the meditation technique, mindfulness. 

Mindful movement isn’t restricted to any particular activity. Instead, you participate in the physical activities you enjoy, whether yoga, dancing, gym workouts, or walking, and infuse mindfulness into them. 

Mindful movement allows you to work on your physical fitness while also strengthening the mind-body connection and relieving stress.

Here are a few tips to get you started with mindful movement: 

• Focus on your breathing when you exercise;
• Unplug from everything during your exercise, even music;
• Recognize how you feel during workouts;
• Set positive intentions before engaging in any physical activity;
• Shower yourself with kindness and gratitude for showing up for yourself;
• Accept what’s happening when you exercise and don’t wish to be anywhere else but the present.

With these tips, you may even find that you’ll be less prone to extending yourself too far and understanding your physical limits better.

Create Space for Fitness and Exercise at Home

Of the 2,000 women surveyed in an INTIMINA survey, 69% admitted they don’t put enough effort into exercising. They named various barriers to doing so, including not having enough time, not being motivated, and feeling too tired beforehand.

The best way to address these challenges is to make exercise more comfortable and accessible. To do this, create space for exercise and wellness activities at home.

You could start with something simple, like buying dumbbells and bands to use at home. Or, you could do something more significant, such as converting your garage into a home gym.

Having a gym at home makes working out more accessible and affordable. In addition, a home gym gives you the space to try new exercises and grow your abilities without feeling judged like you might at the gym.

Follow these steps to turn your garage into a home gym:

• Declutter and deep clean your garage first;
• Create your floor plan for your home gym;
• Install flooring, installation, heating and cooling systems, storage solutions, and good lighting;
• Buy quality equipment that aligns with your fitness style, goals, and budget;
• Personalize your home gym so that you’re motivated each time you visit it. 

Whether it’s a home gym or a nook with dumbbells and a yoga mat, creating space for exercise and fitness at home will empower you to prioritize your health and exercise regularly.

Improve Your Nutrition

Your commitment to mindful movement and regular exercise is incomplete without proper nutrition. What you put into your body is just as important as how you maintain your health and wellness.

So, make a conscious effort to improve your nutrition. Start your day with a healthy breakfast. Eat vegetables with every meal. Avoid sugary drinks, alcohol, and juices, and drink lots of water throughout the day instead. Limit how much processed food you eat.

Don’t prolong taking better care of yourself any longer. Incorporate mindful movement, more exercise, and better nutrition habits into your routine with the simple tips above to help you age gracefully and continue to be the superwoman you are.

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Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on X.  

NOTE: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Nannocare. Nannocare is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with the author of this article, or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates.