We runners, yogis, and other fitness addicts know that exercise can emit a zen like feeling. But people who don’t exercise regularly or may be new to exercise don’t. This article dives into the current research on the neuroscience behind that Zen like feeling. For those who think we’re crazy, these types of articles validate our claims and hopefully help propel people forward to become more active.

Below is a quote from Today’s article. Pass it on to someone in your life that needs a little evidence that exercise really does improve your life in innumerable ways.

Phys Ed: Why Exercise Makes You Less Anxious

“It looks more and more like the positive stress of exercise prepares cells and structures and pathways within the brain so that they’re more equipped to handle stress in other forms,” says Michael Hopkins, a graduate student affiliated with the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Laboratory at Dartmouth, who has been studying how exercise differently affects thinking and emotion. “It’s pretty amazing, really, that you can get this translation from the realm of purely physical stresses to the realm of psychological stressors.”

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It seems like no matter what I do or say some people are resistant to exercise. Which is completely okay, ’cause I’ll be cheering them on until their ready to experience all that exercise has to offer. How are you cheering people on today to become more active?

Today is my 3 year wedding anniversary. Since, we won’t be celebrating until next week I thought I’d celebrate here with you. We got married at our favorite place in NYC, Central Park.  I’m not too keen on tradition, so it was a small ceremony for just us and our family.  That night we hosted a “cocktails and cupcakes” party in  a gorgeous loft space.

The husband had all of his favorite foods.

Here’s one of my favorite photos from that day.

Lots of women vow to get in shape when they become engaged. In fact many women get into the best shape of their life at this time. It can be a great catalyst for a lifetime of change. But, why wait for a proposal or waste time dreaming about how good of shape you were in when you got married? We should always be at our healthiest. We shouldn’t wait for a life event to propel us into positive lifestyle changes.

What propels/propelled you to make a healthy change?  Have you been able to maintain those healthy changes?

My answer: No one specific event, but a series of events occurred that made me realize that “perfect” eating and exercising isn’t something I have to achieve.  I had a “no tolerance zone” for what I deemed “bad foods” and missing workouts.  I learned that balance equals perfection in my books.  For the most part I have been able to maintain balance.  Of course there are times when I have to re-adjust, but isn’t that what balance is all about?