If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have seen that I posted one of my long-time favourite quotes earlier this week…
“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea”.
~ Isak Dinesen, real name Karen Blixen.
The reason I love this quote is because it reminds us that the body and nature are able to soothe us and make us feel better – it’s the simple things that are available to us every day.
I want to share with you my interpretation of how and why your sweat, tears or the sea can help you in times of emotional distress…
Sweat
Exercise actually uses up stress hormones, so sometimes going for a quick run or doing a couple of minutes worth of some challenging whole-body weight moves actually ‘eats up’ the adrenaline and cortisol in the body.
Even stretching has a similar effect, so it’s a good idea to get up and stretch every hour or when at work to counter the stress hormones that build up in the body – especially if you spend much of your day in the seated position and/or in a pressured environment.
Of course, exercise also creates the feel-good hormones called endorphins, so it goes without saying that regular exercise is important … Just be careful of over-exercise, as I’ve talked about many times before (a.k.a chronic cardio), which can actually have the opposite effect causing more stress in the body, such as inflammation, a compromised immune system and it can actually ramp up your stress hormones.
Let’s not forget sweating in the sauna! Deep sweating has many proven health benefits. Sauna’s flush toxins from the body, aid weight loss by speeding up the metabolism, make your immune system stronger by producing more white blood cells, increase your blood flow to the skin keeping you looking younger and your hair more glossy, they help your body recover more quickly from a work out and lastly, they can lower your blood pressure!
Latest studies from Finland show that regular weekly saunas of at least 20mins significantly improves life expectancy!
So, saunas are a great way to boost your overall health. Please be sure to check with your healthcare provider if you have any form of heart condition before using saunas.
Lastly, getting hot and sweaty with your partner is a great way to de-stress and boost the feel-good hormones … enough said, wink, wink!
Tears
I’ve spoken about crying before, in fact I wrote a whole blog on the subject last year.
Crying is good for you! … I like to say it’s part of your well-being regime.
Specific chemicals, depending on why you’re crying, are actually released in the tears. So, holding back and repressing the need to cry sends those emotions and chemicals back down into the body … and with nowhere to go they don’t just disappear, they fester!!
One of the questions I always ask new clients is whether or not they cry and how they feel about crying, it’s important! … As the saying goes, you’ve got to feel it to heal it!
I’ve actually had people share with me before, that when they allowed themselves to cry rather than their usual habit off holding the tears back and stuffing their feelings down, they noticed an improvement in their health complaints such as migraines and headaches!
The way I look at it is this; the body doesn’t do anything by accident. So, if we have the ability to cry it serves a purpose!
Let’s not forget that you can be crying from laughter as well … which is a sure-fire way to enhance your well-being. In fact, call me crazy, but when I feel in need of a laugh my go to is just looking up clips from the movie Anchorman, the jazz flute sketch always does it for me!!
The Sea
Lastly, being by the sea oftentimes helps us gain a sense of perspective … the immensity of the ocean, the sound of the waves… It has a calming effect on our nervous system whatever the weather.
Not to mention there’s a lot of research on the benefits of cold-water therapy if you’re actually swimming in the sea! And if you can’t get to the sea to take regular swims, I highly recommend having a daily cold shower. It’s something I’ve personally been doing for almost a year now and touch wood, I’ve not been ill or broken out in a coldsore (which I do occasionally) since then!
Cold water upregulates the immune system and also calms the mind. I won’t lie it’s not always pleasurable right at the start, especially in the colder seasons! But you do feel really invigorated and energised afterwards and you don’t feel cold either! My tip is to control your breath throughout the whole thing, breathing slowly and deeply through the nose. Resist the bodily urge to take a sharp intake of breath or to hold the breath.
The other way you can somewhat mimic bathing in the sea is to add sea salt to your bath. Not only is it good for your skin but it also helps to detoxify the body, along with the calming effects of bathing in water.
So, I hope this blog helps you bear in mind that looking after yourself and your health is not just a case of eating well and exercising. There are so many other things we can do for our overall wellbeing.
Love,
Kate x
