41. Exercise
You’re only one workout away from a good mood. - Unknown
The very best time to exercise is when you least feel like it.
Here are some of the brilliant benefits that exercise can bring:
Exercise is distracting. It’s hard to think about things that are wrong whilst you are chasing a tennis ball or running a race.
Exercise can make you more confident – the more you do it, the more you will get better at it.
Getting fit will help you feel good about yourself as you will feel stronger and more capable.
Playing a sport with other people can be fun and a great way to make new friendships.
Regular exercise can boost your mood and help you sleep better.
How it works
NHS guidelines say that children from 5 to 18 should do at least 60 minutes of moderate-intensity
exercise every day. Moderate intensity means your heartbeat gets faster and you breathe harder.
Exercise has been shown to increase levels of serotonin, which increases levels of happiness and wellbeing. Exercise releases endorphins, which are the feel-good chemicals that act on the brain to calm us down and help with mood swings.
Activity: Find your exercise
If you haven’t found anything you like yet, then have a go at something new. Circle the ones you’ve tried below:
Karate
Swimming
RunningBike-riding
Gymnastics
Rowing
Aerobics
Ice skating
Skateboarding
Playing frisbee
Skipping Tennis
Walking
Roller skating Rugby
Badminton
Trampolining
Horse-riding Dancing
Football
42. Belly breathing
When the breath wanders the mind also is unsteady. But when the breath is calmed the mind too will be still.
- Svatmarama (Author)When you are fearful, angry, or feeling uptight it affects your body. Your muscles will tense up and your breathing becomes shallower. When your breathing is shallow, it is hard to think clearly.
Taking long deep breaths enables your body and your mind to become calmer.
How it works
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine found there are 175 brain cells which pay close attention to what our breath is doing and, as a result, make alterations to the state of our mind.
The neurons which link breathing to relaxation, attention, excitement and anxiety are embedded in our brains and they pick up on our breathing.
Activity: How to belly breathe
Lie flat on the floor on your back and place both hands on your stomach.
Breathe in and out through your nose. Begin to inhale deep breaths into your tummy until you feel your tummy inflating like a balloon. You will feel your fingertips begin to separate and join back together again as you breathe out.
Make your exhale (breath out) long and slow so that your tummy button moves back towards your spine.
As you breathe in, you might like to repeat to yourself, ‘I am’ and as you exhale finish the sentence with something positive, like ‘calm’, ‘strong’, ‘happy’.
Belly breathing is great for aiding relaxation, so doing it before bed is good or else at times of tension, such as exam time.
Create your own calm…
...by breathing deeply and switching on your relaxation response in your body and mind.
43. Even more brilliant breathing exercises
Breathing is the greatest pleasure in life.
By looking after your body, you can help your mind relax. By looking after your mind, you can help your body relax. It is a powerful circle of calm you can control.
Here are some more great breathing techniques to practise.
Bee breathing
Another fun breathing exercise is to put your hands on your ears and inhale through your nose as if you are smelling a flower. Then breathe out whilst making a buzzing bee sound. You can play around with this by making long noises, short noises, whatever works!
Blowing out the candles
Hold your hands up in front of your face with your palms facing you. You are going to pretend that your fingers and thumbs are all candles. Inhale through your nose then blow your breath out slowly through pursed lips, blowing out that first
candle. Then inhale through your nose and exhale slowly and blow out that second candle, and so on until all ten candles are out.
Feather breaths
Place a feather on a table. Breathe in through your nose for a count of 3, hold your breath for 3 then slowly breathe out through your mouth trying to blow the feather as far as you can across the table.
Simply breathing
If you are somewhere public and you don’t fancy making bee sounds or blowing on your fingers you can simply try this:
Breathe in through your nose whilst counting slowly to 3.
Then, without pausing or holding your breath, breathe out to the count of 4.
Repeat until you feel relaxed.
Create your own calm…
…by breathing through times of stress until it passes.
44. Yoga
You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.
Yoga works on your body and mind and can bring you a great deal of peace. It has been practised for thousands of years.
How it works
Our nervous system connects our brain to our body and sends lots of messages rushing between the two.
One branch is called the sympathetic nervous system. This increases our heart rate, blood pressure, stress levels, and tension in our muscles.
Another branch is called the parasympathetic nervous system and it does exactly the opposite. It helps us relax. It lowers our heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol (stress) levels and muscle tension.
Completely releasing all muscular tension is one of the best ways to calm the nervous system, which is one of the reasons why yoga is so healing.