Sep 7

Sep 7 What Happens When You Stop Optimising and Start Moving Gently?

Have you ever felt like your energy disappears the moment you need it most?

Maybe you’ve hit a season of life (midlife, motherhood, burnout, the unnameable fog) where your mind and body no longer feel like they’re on speaking terms. You’ve tried the morning routines, the wellness hacks, the meditation apps. But somehow, you still feel off — unanchored, disconnected, lost.

Today I wanted to share one small experiment that helped me find a way back.

Living Wellishly, Not Perfectly

Back in May, I started A Year of Living Wellish-ly, a set of micro wellbeing experiments designed not to improve me, but to reconnect back in with myself, others and the world around me.

I wasn’t looking to become a better version of myself. I just wanted to feel more like myself again — to restore the link between my mind, body, and what makes life feel good. This wasn’t about glowing skin or green juice. It was about remembering who I was when I wasn’t rushing, striving, or performing.

And it worked. For a while.

Then life did what it always does: got full. Work deadlines stacked up, school year chaos kicked in, and work on my podcast began with ten interviews recorded in one month. Slowly, my wellbeing practices drifted to the edge. What returned was fatigue, self-doubt, and a sort of body-fog where energy used to be.

How the Mind-Body Connection Works (and Why It’s Easy to Forget)

Our culture tends to separate the body and the mind, even though research tells a very different story. In fact, studies show that our mental wellbeing is inextricably linked to physical movement, breath, posture, and even how we stand in space.

The research tells us this:

Moving your body in gentle, intentional ways reduces anxiety by lowering cortisol and regulating the nervous system.
Practices like Qigong, yoga, and Tai Chi stimulate the vagus nerve, improving your heart rate variability — a key marker of emotional resilience.
A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Psychology titled "Effects of Qigong Exercise on the Physical and Mental Health of College Students" found that Qigong exercise significantly reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety in college students.

And here’s something else science confirms: You don’t need high-intensity workouts or perfect form to feel better. Just starting—even slowly, even awkwardly—can be enough to begin rewiring your nervous system for calm, presence, and energy that lasts.

The Experiment: Qigong in a Sprint-lit Hall with Strangers

So when spring had rolled in with that fresh-start energy, I didn’t go back to the gym. I went to Qigong.

The class was held in a community hall. I was the youngest by at least ten years. Someone offered me a chair.

Our teacher, a calm and commanding German woman, opened the session with Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese — a poem that felt like permission.

Then we moved. Slowly. Deliberately. Breathing with intention. Stroking our arms. Holding our hands out as if to welcome something. And for a few minutes, I didn’t feel lost. I felt here.

I didn’t optimise. I didn’t hustle. I just allowed myself to feel. And what I felt was… present, even radiant. Like a little bit of my light had come back.

What I Learned About Reconnecting Through Movement

This class felt like a quiet homecoming.

Qigong invited me to meet myself where I was — tired, a little cynical, hopeful despite everything. And that soft meeting helped me realise:

I don’t need to “get fit” to start.
I don’t need to understand it fully to feel the benefits.
Movement isn’t about discipline — it’s about relationship.
And when I treat my body kindly, my mind follows.

What To Do If You’re Feeling Lost, Disconnected or Overwhelmed

If you’re reading this and thinking, “That sounds nice, but I could never…” — let me offer this:

You don’t need a fancy studio, or matching leggings, or a full hour.

You could try:

A 10-minute walk without your phone
Standing barefoot in your garden and taking five slow breaths
A YouTube Qigong video
Dancing to one song in your kitchen
Stretching your arms as you make tea, and simply noticing how it feels

These are not fixes. They are invitations. And if you follow them gently, they might just lead you back to the body you call home.

From Crashed to Connected (and What’s Next)

Though I’ve moved on to the next phase of Living Wellish-ly — creativity, more on that soon — I’m carrying a few things with me:

A community sauna I want to return to
A Nordic walking group I’m curious about
A commitment to listen to what my energy needs, not just what my to-do list says
A quieter conversation between my body and mind

If you’re curious about the mind-body connection, or wondering what your version of wellbeing might look like — here’s your invitation:

Create your own mini month of movement experiments.