The Key to Balancing Stress and Wellness

In Lifestyle Medicine, I often emphasize cultivating a healthy relationship with food, movement, and self. Our Western culture often promotes the idea that "exercise" is essential for health, but I believe it's just as important to recognize when your body needs vigorous movement versus gentler forms of activity. Achieving balance—whether by alternating between these types of movement or incorporating both into your daily routine—can profoundly affect both your physical and mental health.

Vigorous movement or exercise is undeniably beneficial. It boosts serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine levels, enhancing mood, focus, and motivation. However, it does little to reduce cortisol—the hormone released in response to stress. Elevated cortisol can wreak havoc on our bodies and minds, contributing to fatigue, anxiety, weight gain, and even chronic illness.

This is where gentle, intentional movement combined with breathwork comes into play. Breath-focused practices, even for just 3–5 minutes a day, can transform your health and well-being by engaging your parasympathetic nervous system—the calming counterpart to the "fight or flight" response. Over time, this practice helps retrain your brain to remain calm and grounded, even in stressful situations.

Just like any new skill or sport, breathwork takes practice to master. A coach or guide can help accelerate your progress and ensure you get the most out of the practice. If you’re new to breathwork, I recommend trying this short and simple breathing exercise on YouTube: Breathwork Video. It’s quick, accessible, and designed for daily use. Note that there is a 1-minute breath hold towards the end of the video. If you feel dizzy or uncomfortable at any point, pause to breathe normally and resume when ready—your body’s signals always come first.

Imagine if everyone took just a few minutes a day to engage in focused breathwork. The ripple effect on stress levels, health, and overall happiness would be profound. I encourage you to try it for yourself and see how it can shift your relationship with your mind, body, and movement.

Your health journey doesn’t need to be about extremes. It’s about listening to your body, finding balance, and nourishing yourself in every sense of the word.

In peace & health,

Dana Mincer, DO

Love Health Direct Primary Care

www.LoveHealthDPC.com