Rediscovering Movement: Healing the Mind and Body Through Chronic Illness Recovery

Movement is Medicine for both the mind and body. 

But.. What if I am scared to move?

What if I have not moved in a very long time? 

How I began to bring in movement during chronic illness:

For a year and a half during my experience with chronic illness, I literally laid on the couch all day, every day. Sometimes I would move outside to a cushion in the sun, but my movement was limited to shifting from one cushion to another or walking upstairs to the bathroom and bed (which often caused intense sensations of fear for quite some time.) Therefore, it was hard to imagine ever going on a walk, run, or hike again.

But slowly as I began to calm my nervous system and trust that I was safe and that my body was healthy I began to re-introduce movement. 

At first, I started by sitting on my yoga mat and doing small stretches. For a while, even that felt very scary. But as I slowly practiced more and continued to reassure myself that I was safe, I was able to stay on my yoga mat for longer periods and gently reintroduce movement.

For me, Yin Yoga was especially helpful. I began doing a 30-minute Yin Yoga class several times a week.

During each class, I allowed myself to rest when I needed to and gave myself plenty of praise for everything I could to do.

When reintroducing activities here is a helpful checklist to use:

Steps to resuming activity 

• Decide what you are going to do

• Expect it to go well 

• Do a little bit of it 

• Engage in the activity with Joy, Smiles and Gratitude

• If symptoms arise respond with calmness, compassion and neutrality

A few more examples of when I was reintroducing activities and movement:

 I used to lie on my back, put on music, and swing my feet, arms, and legs up in the air and “dance.”

One day, I remember lying outside doing this silly dance and even sweating a little bit! I was amazed and excited, as I hadn’t broken a sweat in about two years.

Reintroducing walking — this took me a while. I first began by just walking outside our front door, then slowly added about ten feet at a time. One day, I finally walked down the full driveway; wow! The full driveway! I continued to be proud of what I could do.

 Reintroducing gardening happened one small step at a time. I remember the first day I actually walked into the garden again after two years! Ahhh, I was so happy just to have made it into the garden space (about 30 feet from my front door). I smiled and definitely cried many times as I re-entered the garden and slowly began to put my hands back into the earth.

I know it may feel scary or uncomfortable at first but movement is medicine for the mind and body. 

When we move, we’re not just working muscles, we are releasing stored tension, clearing toxins through our lymphatic system, and boosting those feel-good hormones. 

Exercise and movement can also help discharge stress hormones and signal to our nervous system that the "threat" (an example could be a fight with your partner) has passed.

If you’re working on reintroducing movement into your life while experiencing symptoms, be kind to yourself. Throughout the process, ask yourself, “What do I need right now to return to calmness and feel safe?”

And... have fun with it! Get creative. What can you do right now? See where that leads you!

Can you lay on your back and throw your hands in the air and sing?

Can you try a Yoga class and allow yourself to do any of the moves that feel good to you right now? 

If I went from lying down for a year and a half to now being to go on full hikes and runs I know you can too!

Full healing is possible. 

Remember to be proud of yourself and give yourself lots of praise and compassion for all that you can do! Every step of the way. 

Please reach out with any questions you may have and let me know if you would like support through this process.

With support and reassurance,

Alisha Braswell  

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