Balancing the Beast: Stress, Movement, and Health

Could understanding the body's reaction to stress be key to unlocking better health? This week we unpack the nuanced relationship between stress, movement, and health. You'll learn how stress, in measured doses, can actually bolster strength and resilience, yet when unchecked, it can detrimentally impact our well-being.
Stress and movement are more intertwined than you might think, particularly when it comes to chronic stress and physical activity. This episode shines a light on how stress can disrupt our motor control and stability in unexpected ways. Discover how mindful movement, breath work, and other stress management techniques can counteract these effects and lead to improved stability and coordination.
Embracing a holistic approach to stress management, we'll explore a comprehensive roadmap to building resilience against stress. Movement is a powerful ally in this journey, and by listening to your body and acting with compassion, you can effectively navigate stress's challenges.
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References:
“Sympathetic-induced changes in discharge rate and spike-triggered average twitch torque of low-threshold motor units in humans.” The Journal of Physiology, 586.22, pp 5561-5574, 2008(2) Silvestro Roatta, Dept. of Neuroscience, Physiology Section, University of Torino, Torino, Italy(3) Lars Arendt-Nielsen and Dario Farina, Centre for Sensory-Motor Interaction, Dept. of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
Not referenced specifically here, but interesting and relevant research:

A 2015 review by Macefield and Henderson in the Journal of Applied Physiology reinforced the idea that sympathetic activation can influence muscle function. They noted that sympathetic activation can affect both blood flow to muscles and the contractile properties of muscle fibers.
A 2018 study by Hellyer et al. in the Journal of Neurophysiology found that sympathetic activation can modulate motor unit behavior, supporting Roatta, Arendt-Nielsen & Farina's findings about sympathetic effects on muscle activation.

Research by Passatore and Roatta (2019) in the European Journal of Applied Physiology further explored how stress-related sympathetic activation affects skeletal muscle function, largely supporting the 2008 findings.

A 2020 review by Boulton and Grubb in Experimental Physiology discussed how sympathetic activation can influence muscle afferent feedback, which indirectly supports the referenced study's conclusions about sympathetic effects on motor control.

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Heart of Motion Podcast host Susannah Steers is a Pilates & Integrated Movement Specialist and owner of Moving Spirit Pilates in North Vancouver, BC. She is passionate about movement, about connections and about life.
Through movement teaching, speaking, and facilitating workshops, she supports people in creating movement practices that promote fitness from the inside out. She loves building community, and participating in multi-disciplinary collaborations.

Along with her friend and colleague Gillian McCormick, Susannah also co-hosts The Small Conversations for a Better World podcast – an interview based podcast dedicated to promoting the kind of conversations about health that can spark positive change in individuals, families, communities and across the globe.
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