My Exercise Journey: From Stress to Balance

The Beginning: My Early Exercise Beliefs

Many years ago, when I began my exercise journey, I believed that being healthy meant getting up and running long and hard or doing something that would make me sweat—something that would make me feel like I was working hard on my body to achieve health. This mindset began 20 years ago when I started running and later on joining a Crossfit gym.

The Stress Cycle: When Exercise Became Counterproductive

As life progressed, I began learning how to navigate difficulties and stressors in work and personal life. I started exercising more and more to stabilize my mental health because I was experiencing significant stress and was almost burnt out from work and other life pressures. I truly believed that if I exercised more, I would feel better and healthier.

The Daily Pattern That Wasn't Working

After working 8-10 hours per day, I would go to the gym or run after work—5K - 10K runs, or intense CrossFit sessions at the gym where the coaches and other gym members enthusiatically pushed me aka “encouraged me/cheered me on” to work harder and lift heavier. I believed this would help manage my stress so I could go home feeling refreshed. However, after each workout session, I experienced troubling symptoms:

• I couldn't sleep properly

• I lost my appetite and couldn't eat dinner

• My whole body would shake for one to two hours after intense Crossfit workouts

• This affected my sleep quality throughout the night

The Vicious Cycle

This created a destructive cycle: I would wake up tired, go to work early, experience normal work stress, then head to the gym or go running after work because I thought it would release my stress. While I felt good immediately after running or each gym session, my physical body remained highly stressed. I couldn't eat or sleep properly, and the next day I had to depend on caffeine just to get through the day and be productive at work.

The Realization: Understanding Stress Hormones

I continued this pattern for several years without realizing that I was actually adding more stress to my body through heavy exercise. I couldn't think of other ways to help my body feel more relaxed—I was so accustomed to this approach that it became automatic.

My health coaching training taught me valuable insights that helped me reflect on what I had been doing wrong for my body. I learned that my stress hormone cortisol was consistently high, and by adding heavy physical activities or intense exercises, I wasn't actually lowering my cortisol levels. Instead, my cortisol remained constantly elevated, keeping my nervous system in fight-or-flight mode all the time. I hadn't understood what kind of exercise would truly fit my body's needs and help me relax, calm down, and clear my mind at the moment.

4. Swimming

Swimming has become another wonderful form of gentle exercise for stress relief. When I swim, my mind focuses on the water and the movement of my entire body. It takes my mind off stressful events.

5. Dancing

Dancing to my favorite music makes me happy and builds confidence in myself, especially in my body. I used to enjoy dancing to K-pop.

6. Bouldering

There are many reasons that I like it – it uses different muscles in my body that I never or rarely used before, it helps my mind strategize better, it helps me beat my fear of heights, and when I climb even a little bit, I tend to sweat more.

Discovering What Actually Works for Me

1. Walking

Walking helps clear my mind and calm my nervous system. Just 20 minutes of walking benefits both my mental and physical health.

2. Light Cycling

Cycling is a light exercise that clears my head while moving my body in ways that help my nervous system relax. I can adjust the intensity slightly to increase my heart rate depending on what I want to achieve.

3. Gentle Stretching

Light stretching or yoga-like movements relax my muscles and help release tension throughout my body—in my shoulders, legs, arms, and other areas.

Through this learning process, I discovered several gentle exercises that truly support my well-being and calm my nervous system:

These gentler approaches have taught me that effective stress management through exercise isn't ALL about intensity—it's about finding movements that truly support your body's needs and nervous system balance.

What exercises that help clear your mind and reduce stress from your body in this season of life?

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