Movement as Medicine: Healing Your Mind Through Your Body

To become a client, visit me at catiaholm.com or leave an anonymous question for the show by calling or texting 956-249-7930. 

Movement isn't just for physical health—it's powerful medicine for our mental wellbeing too. Science shows that just 30 minutes of moderate movement 3-5 times weekly can significantly reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety by releasing mood-enhancing brain chemicals.

• Movement helps regulate the nervous system and process trauma stored in the body
• Trauma becomes stored as "implicit memories" when we lack language to process experiences
• Movement allows processing of emotions without needing conscious awareness of their origins
• Shifting from self-control to self-compassion transforms our relationship with movement
• Different types of healing movement include mindful movement (yoga, tai chi), creative movement, grounding movement, rhythmic movement, and social movement
• Each type of movement taps into different parts of our nervous system, helping regulate mood
• Movement doesn't have to be grueling—it can be gentle, playful, and joyful
• Our relationship with movement often needs updating as we age and our needs change

Call the anonymous question line at 956-249-7930 or visit catiaholm.com to connect. If Couch Time with Cat has been meaningful to you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review to help others find this community of care.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Couch Time with Cat
• 1:21 The Science Behind Movement and Mood
• 4:15 Movement as Trauma Processing
• 7:35 Myths About Movement and Exercise
• 14:00 Types of Healing Movement
• 17:58 Guided Embodied Check-in Practice
• 21:34 Questions for Reflection and Closing

Transcript

Speaker 00: 0:00

Welcome to Couch Time with Cat, your safe place for real conversation and gentle check-in. KWVH presents Couch Time with Cat. Hi friends, and welcome to Couch Time with Cat, mental wellness with a friendly voice. I'm Cat, therapist, best-selling author, TEDx speaker, and endurance athlete. But most of all, I'm a wife, mama, and someone who deeply believes that people are good and healing is possible. Here in the hill country of Wimberley, Texas, I've built my life and practice around one purpose to make mental wellness feel accessible, compassionate, and real. This show is for those moments when life feels heavy, when you're craving clarity, or when you just need to hear, you're not alone. Each week we'll explore the terrain of mental wellness through stories, reflections, research, and tools you can bring into everyday life. Think of it as a conversation between friends, rooted in science, guided by heart, and grounded in the belief that healing does not have to feel clinical. It can feel like sitting on a couch with someone who gets it. So whether you're driving, walking, cooking, or simply catching your breath, you're welcome here. This is your space to feel seen, supported, and reminded of your own strength. I'm so glad you're here. Let's dive in. Today we're diving into a subject that has shaped my own life and the lives of so many clients. The healing power of movement. You know I have been waiting for this episode. Movement has a piece of my heart forever. We'll get into that in a little bit. We live in a world that often frames movement as a means to an end, to burn calories, to hit a goal weight, to sculpt the body. But what if we reimagine movement? Not as a punishment, not as perfection, but as medicine for the mind and nourishment for the soul. Think about this. Have you ever had one of those heavy days where everything feels overwhelming? And then a simple walk outside or swaying to the music in your kitchen shifted your entire mood? That is not coincidence, friends. That's your body showing you its wisdom. In today's episode, we're going to talk about why movement matters, not just for your physical health, but for your mental well-being. We'll explore the science, debunk some myths, and I'll guide you through a short practice you can try right where you are. Together, we'll reframe movement as a way to come back home to yourself. And if you hear a little extra whimpering or puppy running around, know that my 11-week-old puppy Chip is here in studio with me. He's our Couch Time with Cat dog. You're listening to Couch Time with Cat. I'm Kat, and today we're exploring how moving your body can move your mind and your spirit toward healing. Let's start with the science. When we move, our brains release serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins, the brain's natural mood lifters. That sounds super science-y, so I'm gonna say it again. Science was not my best subject. Um, so yeah, I can understand if those words sound a little bit too technical. So the brain releases serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins when we move. According to Harvard Health, just 30 minutes of moderate movement three to five times a week can significantly reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Friends, that's not that much time. Thirty minutes, three to five times a week, can significantly reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Movement also helps regulate the nervous system. For those of us with trauma histories, and side note, most of us have them. This is vital. Bessel Vanderkolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score, writes Trauma lives in the body, which means healing can live in the body too. Movement allows us to process what words alone cannot always release. What he's saying there is sometimes we don't have access to language about what is happening. Maybe something happened to us that was so incredibly traumatic, but maybe we were three or four or five and we didn't have language accessible to us. So then our body stores it in our nervous system. It's not stored in our brain as a memory, and we don't have the language because we didn't have the capacity yet as a young kid. So it's stored as a felt sense. So have you ever been somewhere and smelled a certain scent, or somebody's t-shirt just kind of sent you on this emotional journey, or maybe a certain texture, or a certain season really kind of triggers you and you're not sure why? That's because there is something that's living in your body that's kind of giving you breadcrumbs. You're having an implicit memory. The memory lives inside your body, but you don't have language for it. Versus an explicit memory, something that you can recall, like, oh, yes, last week I ate ice cream and I had two toppings. Friends, if you've been listening to Couch Time with Cat for a while, my my references to ice cream are too much. If you're a if you have an ice cream company and you want to sponsor me, that's uh that's probably a good idea. So we have implicit memories and we have explicit memories. And movement allows us to process what words alone cannot always release. So that is such good news. We don't even have to know what we are processing in order to process it. What does process mean? It means move the emotions associated with that experience through your body, up, out, and through your body. Think of like a water fountain. The water's coming up, out, and through the spigot. So we need to provide our body these opportunities to move our emotions through our body, even if we don't know why we have the emotions. Let me share a little story. After a long day of client sessions, when my heart is heavy with the stories I've held, it can be tempting to collapse into bed. I love my clients. I love holding space for them. I love being completely present with them. Part of my gift, I think, is that I am able to be present and hear really hard things without wincing. And when I do that with somebody, when I share that space, when I witness their pain without trying to shy it away or fix it, when I just am there energetically holding space with them and saying, I see you, I hear you. That was so hard. After a while, that takes a toll on my body and on my mind. And in order for me to be the best clinician I can be, I need to be present and clear and strong. And the way that I do that day after day is by taking care of my body through movement. So even though after a long day I feel tired, my feelings say, shut down, go to bed, go numb, scroll on your phone. I've learned that when I lace up my running shoes and I go for a walk or go for a run or lift some weights or even do some stretching, something shifts. The air, the rhythm of my feet, the openness of the sky. Oh, and when it gets cold outside, oh my gosh, that air is delicious. It doesn't erase the struggle, but it creates space. And I return home a little more grounded and a little more myself. I don't have to say anything. I don't have to say, I'm processing X, Y, Z. No, no, no. I just move my body, I enjoy the air, enjoy the music, enjoy the stretching. My body does the rest for me. And I've seen this with countless clients as well. A woman who found freedom again in swimming. Oh my gosh. A man who eased his anxiety through daily walks. Movement became their medicine, not because it fixed everything, but because it changed their relationship to what they were carrying. You don't have to carry it all. You can let it move through you. Here's the truth. Many of us carry myths about movement. We say, oh, it has to be in a gym, or it has to be very difficult. Like unless we're getting our butt whooped, it's not actually a workout. Or it's only valuable if it changes how our body looks. But movement is so much bigger than that. And I really, I retrospectively lament the time that I spent using movement as a tool to I don't think I ever used it to punish myself necessarily, but I used it in an effort to shape my body or to be a certain weight or to look a certain way so that I could then be considered beautiful or acceptable or that I could fit in. And the older I got, the more I let that go. And actually, my husband, probably, I don't know, when our oldest was two, one or two, I was feeling kind of not great. And that day, and I was, I guess I was short. I don't know, I'll have to remember being short with him, not short. I mean, I am short, but you know what I mean. And he said, Have you worked out today? And I said, uh, no. And he said, I think you should go work out. And at first I was outraged. I thought, how dare you, how dare you tell me to go work out? And he said, No, no, sweetheart. When you work out, you feel better, you feel happier, you feel more relieved. And this was in 2000, probably 2015 or 16. And I had never conceptualized movement in that way. I had only thought of exercise as a means to an end. If I exercise, I'm going to fit into my favorite genes. I had never thought about exercise as a salve to stress or anxiety. And so I went to go work out. And he was really the very first person who ever waved that flag for me. And since then, I mean, it's been almost 10 years, I have completely changed my relationship to movement and I adore, I adore movement. I adore it so much that I run long distances and I really try to challenge my body in different ways. Not so that I can fit into genes, but so that I can process my emotions and so that I can feel strong and I build confidence, not because of how I look, but because of what I accomplished. So reframing it, movement can be play. It can be playing limbo, it can be playing tag, it can be jumping on a trampoline. Movement can be gentle, it can be yoga or Pilates or stretching in your living room. It doesn't have to be grueling. There's a special group of us that really enjoy grueling. I have yet to figure that out, friends, but um, it doesn't have to be that way. Movement can be grounding, expressive, and even joyful. Think of dancing, think of wedding dancing, or quinceanera dancing, or sweet 16 dancing, or Diwali dancing. Like every time you dance, you feel oh, like just like a little bit of fairy dust has been sprinkled on you. When we shift from self-control to self-compassion, movement becomes a way of caring for our whole selves and not just our muscles. Different types of healing movement. Here's some ideas for you to take into the week, to go get curious about. Think of it like a little movement buffet. Maybe you've only been going on walks for the last six years and you're just bored as all get out. I get it, I'd be bored too. Go do something else. Change the way you're moving your body. Here are some examples of mindful movement. There's yoga, tai chi, walking meditations. This is where breath and body meet. You can do this. These days, we're so lucky to be able to go to a class and do these mindful movements in community, but you can also just pull up a video on YouTube and do it in your living room if that's what suits you. There's creative movement, dancing in your living room, expressive movement, gardening, right? You're just, you're just wanting to move your bodies in ways that you don't normally. A lot of us stand up, sit down, lay down, stand up, sit down, lay down. And so our body isn't used to moving laterally very much anymore. Our bodies are used to moving on this one particular plane. And it's very helpful for our processing to kind of move your muscles and fascia. Fascia is kind of like the net that holds all your muscles together. Move your muscles and fascia in a way that is not ordinary. That is not the typical way you move. That's how you're going to get the most bang for your buck. There's grounding movement, walking barefoot, slow stretching, lifting weights with presence, rhythmic movement. That's my favorite. Running. Drumming. Guys, oh my gosh. I played um, I started playing drums in the fifth grade. I played snare drum from fifth grade to when I was a senior. I also played trapset in high school, which means um all the drums with the cymbals, and I was in the jazz band. Anybody? Glenn Miller, anybody? Glenn Miller. And I was also drum major. Am I an overachiever? So my body really responds well to rhythmic movement. So running, drumming, rowing, anything repetitive that soothes the nervous system. Then there's social movement, group hikes, like wrecking. Have you guys heard of Project Grit? That's here in town. Dance classes, or simply walking with a friend. If you're doing it with a friend, you multiply the goodness that you're getting out of it. You're getting your body is moving, and then you're also getting connection. Each form taps into a different part of our nervous system, helping regulate mood and bringing us back to balance. And if you've just tuned in, you're listening to Couch Time with Kat. I'm Kat, and today we're exploring the profound connection between movement and mental health. We are at the guided practice section of the show. Okay, friends, so let's do this together. We're going to do something called an embodied check-in. We're going to try it together. So put your courage cape on. If you're able, pause with me for just a couple of minutes. Close your eyes if that feels comfortable. You guys know the drill. I do this almost every show. You're going to breathe in through your nose. Exhale through your mouth. Let your shoulders relax. Let your belly go soft. Maybe shake out your toes, your fingertips. Do it again. Breathe in. Exhale. Now we're gonna do a little body scan. Let's start it. Your shoulders. Just think put your mind's eye, your energy, on your shoulders. How do your shoulders feel right now? How about your chest? Does it feel tight? Cold, relaxed? How about your hips? Mine are tight for sure. Maybe y'all's are relaxed or creaky or limber? How about your legs? Are they contracted? Are they relaxed? Without judgment, just notice what's there. And you can ask yourself, what does my body want right now? Is it a stretch, a sway, a shake, a walk? If you pay attention to the way your body feels, it's likely that your body is going to give you a cue. Like, hey, I'm feeling a little heavy. Go shake me out on the lawn. Or go do some stretches or go get a hug. Give yourself permission to follow that impulse. Even if it's just rolling your shoulders and standing to stretch your arms. That right there is movement as medicine. And if you want a small challenge, see if in the next 24 hours you can give your body one kind movement, just one, and notice how it shifts your mood. Here are two questions to take with you. What kind of movement feels kind to my body right now? So maybe that's going for a hike, maybe it's going for a walk, maybe it's dancing with your spouse in the kitchen. Maybe it's something really vigorous. Maybe you're thinking, let me go rock climbing, or let me go for a long hike, or maybe you're feeling curious about a national park nearby. What kind of movement feels kind to your body right now? And then what stories have you inherited about movement that you may need to rewrite? What stories have you been living with? What is the paradigm that you have been living with around movement? That it needs to look a certain way, that you need to wear certain clothes, that you need to burn a certain amount of calories, that you need to succeed in some type of way. You need to squat this much weight or impress people at the CrossFit Gym. What is the paradigm that you're carrying around? And is that paradigm serving you? Often as we age, we need to rewrite our paradigm. We need to create these shifts and changes. We need to evolve. Or maybe you were a bodybuilder in the 90s. And now you've aged a few decades and you need something a little more gentle. But your ego is getting in the way, saying, no, no, that's not actually working out. What's the point? It's only important, or you're only cool if you lift this much weight, or what have you. These paradigms are so harmful to us. They keep us stuck, they keep us stagnant in a way of life that doesn't serve us anymore. With age comes wisdom and discernment, and we need to do something with that. Make different choices. Don't be afraid to change, don't be afraid to experiment. There is no one right way, there's no best way. There's what you want to try and experience and how you want to explore your life, and that's all that matters. If people are judging you, they have their own work to do. Their judgment is not about you, their judgment is about them. And that's okay, that's their own journey. We don't need to disparage them, but I do want to liberate you from their judgment. So take a moment and jot those things down. I'm going to repeat those questions. What kind of movement feels kind to your body right now? And then what stories have you inherited about movement that you may need to rewrite? So that can be stories that you've inherited or just old paradigms that used to work for you that maybe need a little update. As we close, I want to remind you: our bodies are wise, so wise. They carry so much and they also hold the key to letting go. Movement isn't about fixing yourself, it's about returning to yourself. So you may move in ways that heal, not because you have to, but because you long to. You long to release those hurts, those burdens, those experiences. And that's okay. You absolutely have permission to move on from them, to let them rest and to go enjoy your life without them. May you move in ways that heal because you deserve it. Thank you for being here. You've been listening to Couch Time with Kat. I'm Kat, and today we've been exploring the healing power of movement for the mind. Thank you for spending this time with me. If something from today's conversation resonated, or if you're in a season where support would help, visit me at gottheahhallam.com. That's C-A-T-I-A-H-O-L-M.com. You can also leave an anonymous question for the show by calling or texting 956-249-7930. I'd love to hear what's on your heart. If Couch Time with Cat has been meaningful to you, it would mean so much if you'd subscribe, rate, and leave a review. It helps others find us and it grows this community of care. And if you know someone who needs a little light right now, send them this episode. Remind them they're not alone. Until next time, be gentle with yourself. Keep showing up and know I'm right here with you.