The Day My Husband Told Me to Go and Work Out

The other day my husband looked at me and said, very calmly and kindly:

“I think you need to go and work out.”

And honestly? He was right, because if I haven’t moved my body in a couple of days, I can feel it. Not just physically but emotionally. I am basically a nightmare to live with if I haven’t hit the mat!

I feel shorter tempered, less patient, less grounded and definitely more reactive. My nervous system feels louder. My thoughts feel heavier and more repetitive. Essentially everything feels slightly more difficult than it needs to and I know I’m not alone!

So many women think exercise is about weight management, about shrinking, about changing how they look from the outside but ever since I began a retreat company (over 10 years ago!) and now that I and so many clients are in midlife, movement becomes something far more important. It’s about how you feel on the inside…

It becomes regulation.

It becomes release.

It becomes therapy.

Movement Isn’t Just Fitness in Midlife

There’s a reason your body craves movement during perimenopause and menopause.

Hormonal shifts can affect mood, sleep, resilience, anxiety levels, recovery, confidence, and energy. The things that once felt easy can suddenly feel harder.

This is why the old “all or nothing” approach to exercise stops working. You do not need to punish your body, but you do need to support your nervous system.

You need to strengthen your body while softening your stress response. You need movement that meets you where you are on any given day and that can vary hugely.

My Therapy Happens on the Mat

Sometimes I go into a workout carrying tension I can’t explain. I might feel tired and wired or just fatigued despite having got to bed early.

Twenty minutes later, I feel like myself again! Not because I burned calories. Not because I punished my body. Not because I “earned” dinner or a treat after class.

I feel like myself again because I moved stagnant energy. I breathed deeply and I came back to centre. That is the power of intentional movement.

The Midlife Shift

At this stage of life, exercise is no longer about becoming someone new although we are definitely still evolving!

It is about returning to yourself.

That might look like:

• Strength training that builds confidence

• Barre that tones and steadies (and is fun!)

• Walking that clears your mind

• Mobility that relieves stiffness

• Breath-led movement that calms anxiety

• Short sessions that fit into real life

Consistency becomes easier when movement gives you something immediate: peace, clarity, energy, steadiness and joy.

If You’ve Been Feeling “Off”…

Before assuming you need more discipline… ask yourself:

Have I moved today?

How does my energy feel today?

Have I breathed deeply today?

Have I given my body what it needs to feel safe and strong?

Sometimes the answer isn’t to do more. It’s simply to move gently and that could take place on or off your yoga mat.

And… if the people around you lovingly tell you to go and work out… Take it as wisdom shared and go and roll out your mat.

Your reset might be one workout away.

Ps. If you would like to move mindfully through midlife with me, my entry-level 4-week Barre programme is available. Part of the Midlife Movement Method I’m building to suooort women in this stage of life.

Explore Awaken Barre 🤍