Move body and mind: five exercises to improve mental health, from twists to lunges
A The paradox at the heart of current thinking about health is that we are all aware, perhaps painfully, that exercise is good for us and can be especially beneficial for mental health. As the number of people presenting to their doctors with mood disorders continues to rise, more and more GPs are urging us to exercise more. It has even been available on the NHS since 2019 as a treatment for mild mental health problems. But for many people, exercising more remains a difficult question.
We all know us should do more exercise and the arguments for its benefits hardly need repeating: improved blood pressure, better sleep, strength, mobility, self-confidence, mood and posture, perhaps even a better reflection when we look in the mirror.
When we look for ways to exercise for psychological benefits, we have to be honest: exercise hurts, even if you do it regularly. It’s boring, repetitive and difficult to maintain.
Images of slim bodies telegraphed by sportswear brands often give unrealistic ideas of what is achievable. Meanwhile, the overly mirrored gym experience can be alienating and perhaps even anxiety-provoking.
So one of the first choices you need to make when seeking the mental benefits of exercise is the motive for it. Why do you let yourself do this? And what do you hope to get out of it? In this way, practice hopefully becomes internal and psychological, rather than external and aesthetic.
Many benefits of exercise are clinically proven. There is the release of endorphins (the famous ‘runner’s high’) and increased circulation of good mood serotonin. Achieving one or 101 push-ups also provides a dopamine reward. Then there are the myokines or ‘hope molecules’, proteins released into the bloodstream by muscle contractions that improve metabolism, reduce inflammation and improve mood.
All of this may count towards what “mental health” means to you, but since people are more than biochemical formulas, it’s important that trainers also provide psychological cues to turn these movements into opportunities for reflection.
Fitness culture – the realm of physical health – tends to overemphasize the body, while talk therapy – the realm of mental health – can overemphasize the mind. Today, more research shows that what works better is bringing these disciplines together: programming specific exercises that both build strength and encourage introspection and self-awareness.
After using these techniques, participants often report increased energy, amazement at new skills, anxiety turning to calmness, a sharper sense of embodiment, and the motivation for more.
They are robust additions to an idea of mental health, which also includes social health – especially as friendships and training alliances are often formed. The mood improvements that can come with 30-45 minutes of exercise are more achievable than the six-packs and beach bodies advertised by many gym chains.
Stick to it, and long-term body composition changes—improved strength and mobility, muscle growth, fat loss—will likely be byproducts anyway.
This program, which we developed in our studio The Soma Space, includes five basic exercises, using so-called ‘atomic movements’. In the context of strength training, these are small, consistent movements that lead to physical well-being over time. The movements also reflect some of the basic ways the human body moves.
These can be done without or with any equipment, separately or combined as part of a workout, and we also suggest ways to develop them, “plus something else.”
As basic rules, you should always stretch and warm up before you start exercising, and most importantly, start where you are: if you can only perform one rep, it’s still one rep. Proceed carefully at first.
Use the reflective prompts to notice how you respond in the movement: what do you notice, as a counselor might ask? Struggle and frustration for sure – but what else? Try 10 minutes every day, preferably early in the day, and do this with others where possible.
Try these moves in their raw state and, if your budget allows, consider investing in a basic setup: some dumbbells, a kettlebell, a slam ball, and a resistance band.
All gyms have these and if you already strength train with barbells and heavier loads, try shifting the focus from volume and reps to interoceptive experience – how they make you feel both emotionally and physically.
1 Squat: Become comfortable with discomfort
Bodyweight squat: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, hands together in front of you, bend your knees, push your hips back and sink, keeping your feet flat on the floor. Avoid bending over. Push down through the heels to come back up.
Drinking cup squatting: as above plus hold a kettlebell or dumbbell with both hands at chest height.
The back squat with the barbell: Often thought of as an advanced movement, this is still achievable for most people with help in a gym.
Reflect on: Becoming comfortable with discomfort, and that’s how every exercise habit begins. Do you notice feelings of clumsiness (after all, squatting means pushing your butt out), tension, or shifting balance, or equally strength or lightness?
Discover the limits of your mobility as you sink and the feeling of victory as you rise. After 10 reps, congratulate yourself: you’ve started. New neural connections have been made.
Go on: Practice sitting deeper in the squat by holding on to something and pulling against it, such as a door frame, or by adding extra load. Consider trying a martial arts class, where movements are often performed in a semi-squat position, or a yoga class.
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2 Lunge: Overcome stuckness and fear of movement
From a standing position, take a step straight forward with one foot, lower the back knee toward the floor, then push back up. Try a shorter reach first, as the return movement can be hard work. Next, try side lunges (think hands: 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock), then reverse lunges (6 o’clock), or work all the way around the clock face. Keep the torso elevated and place a dumbbell in each hand or deepen the lunge to aid the movement.
Reflect on: breaking the stuck state in which fears and a gloomy mood can keep us – literally and figuratively, a breakdown is a step forward, outward and further. Additionally, observe your grounding (where your feet land) and slow the movement to reflect on your experience of control and balance. Start with 10 on each side, alternating left and right.
Go on: Walking and running are effectively controlled lunging movements, so consider the bench to 5k challenge. 3 Twist: find fluidity and flow
Learn the first four punches of boxing: jab-cross-hook-hook/1-2-3-4. The jab extends the lead arm forward towards the opponent, the cross extends the trailing arm forward as you rotate the torso into the strike, and rotates at the hips and waist for the hooks. Shadowbox the combo at one- to two-minute intervals. Or try Tai Chi’s “swinging arms” exercise: Turn your feet shoulder-width apart, twisting 90 degrees left and right at the waist so that your arms are tension-free and as limp as noodles. Develop it by lifting the left heel as you twist to the right and vice versa, tapping your lower back with one hand and your front shoulder with the other, for three- to five-minute intervals. Soften the knees and sink as you twist to continue the movement.
Think about: finding fluidity and flow in movement and adapting to changes in balance.
Go on: Try boxercise or a tai chi class for dynamic twists, or yoga for static/held twists like triangle pose/trikonasana. Or ask: when was the last time you went dancing?
4 Hinge: Owning your true self
Forward hinging at the hip is the foundation of the barbell deadlift—an important part of strength training—which can be tricky to master because it’s a relatively rare movement in everyday life. We move from a gorilla-like position with the hips pushed back, the knees slightly bent and the shoulders pulled back, to a full standing position.
Under load, the move recruits both leg strength and the ‘posterior chain’ (the muscles at the back of the body): try it first with a loaded bag or heavy book, and then a dumbbell in each hand if you have one, or a dumbbell. Take the opportunity to stand up fully and pull the shoulders back against the weight of the load.
Reflect on: self-affirmation, self-ownership, and relearning to stand tall like a mountain, plus the opposites: practicing against slumping, slouching, self-minimizing, and other bodily codes of low self-esteem. Or ask: what do you want to oppose?
Go on: Learn the kettlebell swing, or take the courage and try a strength workout at the gym to develop your deadlift.
5 Push and pull
Almost all strength training movements involve pushing or pulling against resistance, so consider doing one of the following:
Push: the humble push-up on the floor, or with knees on the floor if you have trouble holding the position, or against a counter. The downward facing dog yoga pose requires you to be pushed off the ground with your hands and feet. The barbell bench press engages the entire muscles, with an emphasis on the upper body. Then there is the mighty slam ball: hit it to the ground from shoulder height or above the head. Power the movement with your frustration.
Pull: try the reclining Superman: lie flat on your stomach, arms extended in front of you. Lift chest slightly off the floor and draw elbows toward your body, creating a W shape. Or the upright row: Stand up straight and use a resistance band hooked under your feet or dumbbells, pull up and return.
Think about: When things get over your head, what do you have to push away? And if something is lacking or missing, what do you want to bring closer?
Continue: visit a climbing wall (pulling your body up), go swimming (pulling through fluid) or try your hand at rowing. At a gym, try the sled push, leg press or chest press machine.
The Soma Space offers an online course of 12 sessions Introduction to mental health movement which covers basic exercises and ideas that can benefit mental health