Sober Short - Get Moving!

Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol-free life! Welcome to our second "Sober Short" - an interim mini podcast to supplement the weekly Tribe Sober podcast. I’m going to kick off this series by taking you through our Tribe Sober Toolkit – this toolkit is just one of the things that we share with you during our regular Zoom workshops – click here for more info. Our workshops have been a gamechanger for many people so if you want to kickstart your sober journey then sign up today In this episode Tool number two in our toolbox is exercise - we want you to Get Moving! We all know is that exercise is “good for us” and many many people exercise daily but they also drink on a daily basis – sometimes excessively We seem to have a lot of runners in our tribe – I always remember one lady telling me that she would wake up with a crashing hangover and then she’d force herself out for a run – often with tears running down her face as she felt so awful. These days she is sober and she runs twice as fast and enjoys every moment! There is a growing body of evidence about the benefits from regular exercise which we need to be doing all throughout our lives – not just when we are young. Exercise also has a role to play for people in recovery On episode 69 of the Tribe Sober podcast you can hear our Yoga Teacher Tamsin explaining how yoga can enable us to reconnect with our bodies in recovery – Tribe members have access to a daily yoga class with Tamsin which is a wonderful start to the day. But apart from yoga we need a more general exercise regime so lets look at some of the benefits of exercise Exercise will release endorphins which relieve stress/anxiety and give you a natural high – just the job in those early days of sobriety when you are feeling a bit flat without the buzz of alcohol Exercise improves our body image and our mental health – in fact its an essential, unavoidable part of being in good physical and mental health It also improves self-confidence and self-esteem and is a genuine reward for your body and mind — unlike alcohol, which is more like a punishment." If we’ve been drinking for years then we will have deep neural pathways marking the habit we have developed – the trick is to replace this unhealthy habit with a healthy habit – and a daily exercise routine does the job perfectly Stick at it for 66 days and you will have build a whole new neural pathway! My daily habit for decades had been to open a bottle of wine at 6pm – when I quit drinking I simply put on my headphones at 6pm and went walking by the sea for an hour – every.single.day – this not only got me through my “danger hour” but it helped me to build a new healthy habit Now that I am nearly 7 years sober I still walk at 6pm every evening – not to avoid drinking but just because I love it and have built a new neural pathway –it just doesn’t feel right if I don’t do it! We can feel a bit low in early sobriety and exercise will not only reduce your depression but it can give you a sense of purpose Have a listen to Tribe Sober podcast number 55 where I talk to Dr Loretta Breuning who explains that we need projects when we are in recovery – working towards a project will trigger our happy brain chemicals and an exercise program fits the bill perfectly Draw up targets and go a little further each time you run or walk for example – if you lift weights then gradually increase the weights There is more and more evidence emerging that we must keep exercising as we get older – even if you don’t feel up to running these days then just get walking. Get a Fitbit and make sure you hit that 10k target every single day. We really have to use it or lose it! If you are middle aged or older, leading a sedentary lifestyle and drinking alcohol then just do these two things and you will transform your life Ditch the Drink! Exercise Daily! If that sounds impossible then check out tribesober.com and we’ll get you started on this life changing journey! At Tribe Sober our goal