This week has been Mental Health Awareness Week and it has been great to see people talking about it and raising awareness.
We believe mental health is just as important as physical health and there has historically been a lot of stigma associated and is still something that is not talked about often enough. 
Mental health comes in all shapes and sizes and can’t be seen, so you never know what someone else is going through. There are lots of studies about the positive relationship between exercise and mental health and especially group exercising. Group exercising has lots of additional benefits including feeling a part of something and safety in numbers.
Exercise isn’t just about cardio capacity, fat loss and building muscle. It’s about so much more than it. The feeling of well-being and achievement is all thanks to those happy endorphins. Better sleep, more energy, feeling more relaxed and having a more positive outlook. Studies show exercise is a powerful drug and in addition to relieving depression symptoms, research also shows that maintaining an exercise schedule can prevent you from relapsing and encourages positive structure.
One of the big ones is distraction. Allowing yourself some time to break out of the cycle, focus on something completely different and away from any negative thoughts. Exercises that involve cross movement so engaging both arms and legs, such as walking, running, swimming, dancing and of course boot camp can all help by focusing the mind on your body and how it feels or what you need to do next.
You might know someone that would benefit from exercise both for the mind and body. Go for a walk together, encourage them to exercise with you, supporting them can also support you. Take a moment, it’s OK to talk.