New students join martial arts classes for different reasons, like improved confidence and fitness with a purpose, but find that their anxiety is reduced the more classes they take. How to reduce anxiety? Read on to find out!
Reducing Anxiety with Martial Arts
Martial arts classes can be hugely helpful in helping adults reduce anxiety. Not only is it a highly physical sport, but it’s also an effective tool we can use to combat symptoms of anxiety.
One symptom of anxiety is racing thoughts. If you’re battling anxiety, you may feel like you’re just your thoughts, not feeling present or even feeling your body at all. Martial arts can be a great solution for this. First of all, when you’re feeling anxious, your brain can pump out adrenaline and turn on your fight-or-flight system. All that adrenaline usually just courses through your body because you’re not moving, left panicking and wondering how to reduce anxiety.
Kicking, punching, and channeling that energy effectively is healthy. It can even be necessary for your body, as it’s getting the adrenaline and anxiety out in an intentional way. Secondly, using your full body in a self-defense workout in general is going to melt that stress away and help you get all of those feelings out. Work stress, kids stress, relationship stress, life stress; All the things you’re way overthinking come out on the mat. You channel it all into movement and it makes you a focused, clear-headed person off the mat and an excellent martial artist on the mat, with real power and energy behind your moves.
Concentration and Motivation Through Martial Arts
Another symptoms of anxiety is difficulty concentrating or feeling motivated. Often when you’re struggling with how to reduce anxiety, you’re in a weird dichotomy. Sometimes you’re sharply alert and almost hyperactive, and other times you’re fatigued and don’t want to do anything. You’re either frozen in panic or spinning your wheels with stress. If you’re experiencing this – show up to class. That’s all we ask you to do.
Once you get here, we will help you! We will show you how to push yourself beyond what you think you’re capable of, and you’ll feel your focus shift. If you can commit to making it through the door, soon the minutes will fly by as you’re having fun with your friends and getting your sweat on. Then you’ll wonder where that hour went. For this one martial arts class, you don’t have to be anything other than exactly you. Even if you’re anxious, doing what you’re doing, exporting your thought process to your instructor and getting it all out through physical movement can help.
Martial arts cannot cure or get rid of anxiety. Only a medical professional can show you how to do that. But moving your body, getting into a community and engaging in positive social interactions, learning about mindset and slowly looking towards new horizons and accomplishments; these are vital components of your whole mental health picture that martial arts can help with.
Creating a Better Mindset through Martial Arts
We say it all the time, but it’s true: Martial arts is about way more than just punches and kicks. Martial arts is an amazing tool that people have been using for centuries to achieve real success and change their lives. You ask, “how to reduce anxiety?” Using ancient techniques that are mixed with a complete education on modern mindset in your martial arts classes, you’ll build confidence and physical and mental strength.
You will begin to develop discipline and perseverance by hitting your fitness goals and moving through the ranks. And you’ll learn so much about how strong your mind is from such a physically involved sport. Listen – martial arts is hard. It is a difficult sport. There’s a lot of coordination, muscle memory, focus, and discipline required to be a successful martial artist. While martial arts is difficult, guess what? So is life with anxiety–we’re going to help you get through it. Whether it’s just anxious feelings or full-on generalized anxiety disorder; we know the difficulty of life with mental health issues cannot be understated. We also know it can be helped through the power of martial arts classes and the development of your mindset.
How to Reduce Anxiety with Your Mindset
Mindset is so important to us here at Martial Arts America because we’ve seen it work time and time again, on and off the mat. How to reduce anxiety with Taekwondo? One of our favorite quotes is “A black belt is a white belt who never gave up.” The only difference between the two belts, or any two belts, is the commitment to show up and keep at it, even when times are tough.
When you’re by yourself in a gym, for example: It’s you, the machinery or weights, and your brain telling you what to do. If you’ve ever been to the gym when you’re anxious, you’ll know that your brain is not your most reliable workout buddy. It’s easily distracted, it can say some pretty mean things to you and hype you up for what it sees as emergencies, in the worst way possible. But when you’re in our martial arts classes, it’s not your brain telling you what to do – it’s our instructors. And our instructors have been right where you stand. Many of them have struggled with their mental health issues, and have turned to the mat time and time again. For support from their instructors, their peers, and this family here. Martial arts is an individual sport in a group setting, which means that you’re never alone, and that fact alone can be hugely comforting and helpful in reducing anxiety.
Martial Arts and Mental Health
The benefits of martial arts for mental health, in general, are endless. If you’re still wondering how to reduce anxiety with karate; staying active, focusing those racing thoughts into something useful through kicks and punches, and mindset/community support are martial arts benefits that are critical to staying well. With martial arts classes, your mood and health can improve tremendously right alongside your mindset, which gives you the proper tools to reduce anxiety and get through those tough times. Ready to see what martial arts can do for you? Give Martial Arts America in Greendale a try with our risk-free adult martial arts classes trial and see for yourself how it can change your life. You’ll love it!