Editor’s Note: Dana Santas,Mobility Makeris a certified strength and conditioning expert in professional sports, mental and physical coach, and is the author of the book “Practical Solutions for Relieving Back Pain.”
(CNN) – We already know that exercise is good for our bodies, but it is also an essential tool for managing our mental health. However, many still see physical fitness from mental wellness, not as part of the same whole, but as two different goals.
Training routines are often designed with the body in mind, focusing on burning calories, building strength, or increasing flexibility. What is often missing is intentionality. It is a movement designed to not only make you sweat, but also to make you feel mentally and emotionally.
Research shows that consistent physical activity can alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression, sharpen executive function, and improve sleep quality. This is an important factor in emotional regulation and overall mental health. However, when it comes to mental health, not all movements are created equally. The type of movement, and the way you approach it, are important.
As a mental and physical coach in professional sports for over 20 years, I have helped elite athletes build durable mobile bodies, using movement and breath to regulate their nervous system, grounding under pressure and maintaining a sharp focus. These same tools and principles can help everyone strengthen their body and mind and improve their daily movements and sensations.
Pushing yourself with high-intensity training while mentally checking out or being cut off from your body will not give you the same mental health benefits as moving with consciousness. True Mindbody Fitness involves being present in motion, using intentional breathing and training in ways that support the nervous system.
The brain and body are deeply interconnected through the nervous system. One important player in this connection is the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain stem to the intestines. It affects a variety of functions such as heart rate, digestion, mood, and emotional regulation.
Exercising with deep focused breathing stimulates the maze nerve and activates the parasympathetic nervous system (the state of “rest and recovery”). By doing so, moving your body out of “Fighting and Flying” mode will help you calm your mind, reduce stress, improve your concentration and achieve a more easily.
On the other hand, if exercise is performed when excessively intense and insufficient breathing patterns and is not recovering, it will cause a sudden increase in stress hormones, making you feel depleted rather than energized. Therefore, it is important to choose exercises and formats that suit your needs and goals, not only physically but mentally and emotionally.
How to build a mind body fitness routine
There’s no need to overhaul your workout regimen to focus more on your mind. Start by layering these five simple strategies. Talk to your doctor before starting a new exercise program. If you feel pain, stop immediately.
Breathing is the most efficient and effective way to affect the nervous system. Use slow and intentional breathing before, during and after training.
•Warm up: Use diaphragmatic breathing to downshift from the day and connect to the body.
• During mobility work: Use breathing to move the ribcage in a way that supports better posture, positioning and rotation. For example, when twisting the upper body to the right, inhalation is used to inflate the rib on the right, and to contract the rib on the left to promote rotation.
• During Strength Training: Spit out the effort phase – just like when you push up with pushups or get up from a squat – activate core control to adjust tension.
• Cooldown practices dilated vomiting, which further stimulates the vagus nerve and promotes relaxation and recovery. It is recommended to double the length of nausea during the recovery session.
Mobility training improves flexibility and joint health, but its benefits go beyond the body. Practice respiratory-driven mobility drills such as the release of hip flexors in three directions and twisting windmills to sharpen body awareness and support the regulation of the nervous system. Add exercises like these to warm up or aggressive recovery days, focusing on adjusting your breath and movement to build physical control and mental clarity.
High-intensity workouts have benefits, but doing them too much can chronically increase stress levels and impair recovery. To support the nervous system, balance weekly training with low intensity sessions. Activities such as walking, yoga, breath-focused mobility, and weight strength jobs will keep you proactive, while promoting resilience, emotional regulation and injury prevention.
4. Training with presence and accuracy
No matter what type of training you are doing, strength, mobility, aerobic exercise or recovery – your mental presence will affect how your body functions and adapts. Charging or zoning the person in charge will increase the risk of injury and missing profits. Focus on the quality of movement. Pay attention to alignment, control the pace and recognize how your body is feeling. As your mind begins to wander, use your breath to ground yourself in the present and reconnect with your body. Being transforms all exercise into an opportunity to build both physical skills and mental clarity.
It takes 30 seconds at a time, before, during, before and after training. Ask yourself: Where am I nervous? How about breathing? What do you need now – Strength or Ground?
These moments of self-awareness transform fitness practices into tools for emotional regulation, not just physical condition.
How to structure a mentally and physically focused week
This is a weekly structure of samples to balance strength, mobility and nervous system support.
2 days: Preparing for breath-centered movements and strength training with mobility cooldown.
2 days: Breath-driven mobility or pilates and low-intensity aerobic exercise (such as walking, light cycling).
one day: Restoration days for breathing work and gentle stretching or yoga.
2 days: Mixed training (circuit or flow style) that blends mobility, strength and aerobic exercise.
Planning is important, but mindbody fitness is about listening and adjusting how you feel accordingly. Movements can change your mental and emotional state, but it works best when you start with consciousness and choose the best one to meet your needs. The goal is to support the system.
Remember, your mental and physical fitness routine is not about doing less, but about serving you more fully. By incorporating consciousness training, breathing and mobility and respecting the needs of the nervous system, you will not only feel stronger, but you will be focused on your daily life, resilient and grounded.