Dear Massi,
Thank you for opening a discussion on this important topic. I'll share my experiences, perspectives, and also recommendations.
Considering movement in relation to stress reduction - we have to be specific. The world of movement & its practice is vast & encompassing. Therefore, movement is not innately great for stress reduction. It does, of course, depend on the type & quantity. Certainly - if someone is very sedentary, injecting regular movement of low-to-moderate intensity throughout the day can be extremely beneficial for stress reduction, among many other things.
However.
If someone is sedentary, working 9-5 in an office, for example, then after work practices high-intensity strength training for 90 minutes 4-5 days a week, whilst this may serve to relieve certain psycho-emotional stresses (we also have to consider the TYPE of stress we are talking about, as it is multi-faceted), on the physical layer it is NOT relieving stress. Rather, by its very nature (high-intensity training, which is what many go to the gym to do. This is how we create the demands for adaptation), it is ADDING stress. And a lot of it.
So, just to be clear, let's distinguish between physical stress, leading to symptoms of "over-training" such as lethargy, and overuse injuries, and psycho-emotional stress, with symptoms such as loss of motivation, and the feeling of practice being a "burden", as you mention.
Firstly.
If any of these symptoms occurs, it's a sign that we have already pushed to far - that what we are doing is not sustainable. It's not as simple as taking a break, then going back to the same things. Because it will happen again. The balance of life (which is all encompassing of practice, work, social & family life, personal projects, pleasures, commitments & responsibilities) needs to be reassessed, managed, prioritised, and aligned. Because life changes (if you are living dynamically), then this may need to be reassessed regularly.
We only have so many resources to expend, before we find ourselves in a deficit. In all of these areas, then we need to consider how we can CRO our resources (Conserve, Raise, Optimise). This is a practice to itself.
Secondly.
Specific to the physical practice. If work/social/relationship/environmental stressors feel well-managed & balanced, and it is the intensity of our physical training which feels unsustainable, then it's a sign that certain flavours & qualities of the wider movement practice are missing. This is what I experienced maybe 10 years ago practicing sessions of only capacity strength/skill/mobility development & locomotion conditioning training 3-4 hours a day 6 days a week. I developed hugely. But I was completely overtrained, and ended up with injuries which took me years to recover.
So - I think now we finally get to what perhaps your original question referred to, but it's necessary to consider all the other things as well because, as mentioned, it's not so 2-dimentional when considering "stress" and recovery.
The most valuable perspective & practices for managing physical stress (which of course also directly affect the psycho-emotional too. There is no split here when working through the body) is of noticing & managing hypertonicity through TENSION MODULATION contexts. It seems simple, but it is powerful and, again, a practice to itself. The wider perspective is of "emptying", and we can then also connect this with force-generation & transmission work. Here are some specific practice which you can and I will simply say SHOULD practice every day, multiple times per day (e.g. morning, before & after practice), if not already:
General shaking concepts: https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/gerneral-shaking-concepts
Emptying sequence: https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/3-5-mins-emptying-sequence
Emptying & connecting legs: https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/single-leg-balance-dynamic-hip-rotation-2024
Emptying & connecting arms: https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/arm-coordination-force-generation-2024
Review FG&T in focus: https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/in-focus-force-generation-transmission
There are also more in the related collections in the library.
This is for what concerns specific practices for managing what is already occurring.
However, we can also CHANGE what is already occurring. This can be done by UNDULATING the intensity of your sessions. E.g., cycling 'heavy', medium' and 'light' days, whereby EVERYTHING you do on that day corresponds to the according intensity level. This helps to mitigate over-training physically, but also psycho-emotionally because there is variation and you're not always facing a very tough session, which may be exactly the same as the last, Lower intensity is also an opportunity to consolidate skills you may have already learned, and make what was once high-intensity feel like low intensity, as you accustom.
The other way this can be done is to widen the landscape of your practice. For example, explore adding practices or disciplines which are lower-intensity or are even specifically working on energy and/or the level of tone - Qi Gon or Tai-Chi practices. Perhaps replacing a 1-2 training days per week. Breathwork followed by swimming in the pool and then relaxed, passive stretching. Replacing a second, high-intensity upper-body day with a relaxed climb in the bouldering gym with some friends. Whilst balancing out the flavours & qualities of your overall practice, it is also an opportunity to expand the landscape & experience of your movement practice.
Food for thought I hope to be nourishing Let me know where you think some gaps in your practice-management may lie, and how you might be considering to re-/balance. As mentioned, it's a practice to itself - and one which must be at the forefront and often considered if our objective is lifelong, sustainable practice.
J
