Episode 43: Movement and Mental Health with Linda Spaulding

00;00;09;23 – 00;02;30;18
Rick Hoaglund
If you’re sitting on your couch eating pizza or potato chips and feeling a little down, there’s a reason for that. The link between moving your body and feeling good mentally is backed by science. It shows how physical activity boosts your brain and emotional health. Today we’re going to discuss this link between movement and improving mental health. Welcome to On Topic with Empathia. I’m your host, Rick Hoaglund. Here’s a quick rundown of why moving can make such a huge difference. Here comes the science. Chemistry: when you’re active, your brain releases serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins. These natural mood boosters help keep anxiety at bay, and they make you feel happier overall. Brain Flexibility: exercise helps your brain stay adaptable, which is crucial for learning and memory and keeping depression away. It’s like a workout for your mind. Stress Reduction: getting your body moving can lower cortisol. That’s the stress hormone. Better Sleep: moving can improve your sleep patterns, which is incredibly important for mental health. Good sleep helps you stay in a better mood, think more clearly, and stress less. Confidence Boosting: physical activity can boost your self-esteem and your confidence. Whether you’re reaching fitness goals or just feeling stronger. It all adds up to a more productive self-image. Interaction: joining sports teams or fitness classes is a great way to meet people. These social connections can lift your mood, reduce loneliness, and provide a supportive network for mental health. Mind-Body Harmony: activities like yoga and tai chi. They focus on that mind-body link. They promote mindfulness and emotional balance. Managing Chronic Illness: for those with chronic illnesses, exercise can be a key part of treatment. It eases symptoms of depression and anxiety. Our guest today is one of the most motivating people I have ever met. She and I are old friends. One of her life’s missions is to get everyone moving. Let’s meet Linda Spaulding. Hi, Linda. Welcome to the podcast.

00;02;30;21 – 00;02;33;23
Linda Spaulding
Hey, Rick. How are you? I’m so excited to be here today.

00;02;33;25 – 00;02;50;20
Rick Hoaglund
I’m so excited. You’re always excited when I see you. I love it. And just for our listeners knowledge, I’ve known you for, you know what’s funny? I met you – you won’t believe this – I actually met you the first time in I think 1992.

00;02;50;22 – 00;02;55;14
Linda Spaulding
Yeah. I’m. Yeah, sounds about right. Yes. Just a few days ago.

00;02;55;16 – 00;03;18;28
Rick Hoaglund
So I’ve known you over 30 years, you know, and most of it’s been like a professional relationship. We work together. I always knew who you were. I always loved your work. And I’m so appreciative that you’re on our podcast. But today we’re going to be talking about movement. Now tell me a little bit about why movement is important to you. Why are you interested in moving around?

00;03;18;29 – 00;04;54;29
Linda Spaulding
Oh, movement has been such a part of my DNA. I think I came out moving and never stopped. I always was super involved in sports. Speed skating – I remember my dad still eating a taco at 5 a.m. and a skating rink during one of my competitions, and I always found movement so beneficial, and it really came into play when my parents started distance running back in the 70s. You know, my dad started running. He was always quite an athlete, and he was running when people would stop him and say, do you need a ride somewhere? Is your car broken down and so he started running and my mom joined him too. And then I, being an only kid, I always was going to miss out on something. So I jump right in with them and we all started really running together. And that really was transformational for me. I was going to, you know, typical high school kid, kinda insecure, trying to figure things out and running really helped me. I looked at it like as moving therapy and it really made a difference for me. I spent hours with my mom talking things through gave me confidence, it helped me process things. And then I really saw the impact of movement on me personally. And then being involved in all kinds of movement activities from, you know, musical theater to sports. It really drove me to really want to share this message with others. And that’s why, you know, I embarked in, you know, the group fitness industry and in the wellness industry because it was so impactful. And I wanted to engage, empower and inspire people about movement and the benefits of it.

00;04;55;04 – 00;05;02;06
Rick Hoaglund
I was gonna say, the first time I met you, you were running a gym. You were running a gym at the place where we worked.

00;05;02;09 – 00;05;03;07
Linda Spaulding
Yes, right.

00;05;03;09 – 00;05;11;07
Rick Hoaglund
And how did your life, I mean, that’s definitely all about moving. That’s definitely all about all the stuff that athletes go through, you know?

00;05;11;09 – 00;05;11;14
Linda Spaulding
Right.

00;05;11;15 – 00;05;20;13
Rick Hoaglund
But tell me about what drove you to start making that your profession? I mean, you’ve been doing this for a long time, and you can even talk about today what you’re doing, which is different, but it’s still moving.

00;05;20;13 – 00;06;47;13
Linda Spaulding
Yeah, yeah. It is. Yeah. You know, I, movement that was so important to me. And that’s why, you know, when I went to go study at, you know, for my college degree, I was starting with, I was started with counseling psychology because I again, I wanted to understand the, the by peer modification and the idea of movement. But then I made up my own degree and, people just thought it was a little like, “what is this?” You know, back in the 80s, wellness was not really defined yet. And so we call, I called it mind-body and hopefully I can get a job with it. That was really, literally what I did. And so after I, after I graduated, how I got to the club, I’ll tell you, in the meantime, my parents really became so involved in movement and wellness and fitness that they, they bought, they bought a health club. So I would go back during my summers between school and I would work with my dad, the fitness director, mom, the aerobic director, and I would learn the club business and it really was interesting to me. And so when I was applying for jobs, I saw this great little opportunity, which was a life changer for me at where you and I ended up working at running a couple of gyms, one, you know, in Portland and Seattle. And so that’s how, that was my first job. And, I went in and that’s how I got started, learning the club business for my parents. And then I got to, you know, build something on my own. That’s how that all got started.

00;06;47;16 – 00;07;00;16
Rick Hoaglund
So tell me what you’re doing now, because I find this interesting. You have, you have sort of two sort of parallel paths going on with your professional life now. Both dealing with, with physical activity. Tell me a little bit about.

00;07;00;19 – 00;11;00;27
Linda Spaulding
Yes. Yeah. Well my, my career kind of went in two paths and one of them again was the wellness group fitness/personal trainer/health coach. So I always had been teaching group fitness classes. And I’ve run a few group, group fitness programs and I teach about ten different group exercise formats, and along with personal training and, and some health coaching. So that I still do, that’s been my passion. I always was doing that when I was working my other full time job is, is doing that. So that was my first, career path right now. But then where you and I met, I had amazing opportunities at this company where I got to develop and build my own position. And as I was trying to define this mind-body wellness thing that was coming out, you know, in the late 80s, I started really as seeing different elements that affected people, people’s movement and people’s well-being. And I oversaw things like, drug and alcohol, and occupational medical clinic, hearing conservation, ergonomics, first aid, CPR training. I ran a nonprofit for financial emergencies. People were talking about financial emergencies. And then I found where you and I really started connecting was the critical incident response team. Our our passion for, you know, emergency response and taking care of people after critical incidences. And so my job, my job started opening up into more of the safety world. And that’s when I truly fell in love with safety because it gave me more resources and more ways to make sure people can take care of themselves and staying safe and healthy. You know, during the, on the work environmental operation, looking at ergonomics, looking, you know, sleep strategies, hydration, policy procedures, pre work stretching. So I really enjoyed that. And then you know along with all the movement. And so I was able to really combine a lot of those. And what I ended up doing is starting my own company called HI-NRG. I know it’s a shocker with the name. I didn’t think LO-NRG would go as well or OK-NRG, but I just HI-NRG. And so what I did is I took all this really, stuff that I’ve learned and my passion for aviation, I’ve written, I trademarked a training called Ramp Camp for airline athletes. Everybody is an athlete, and I want people to find their inner airline athlete. And so what I’ve done is I’ve created a four hour onboarding experience that kind of dives into, you know, human factors, fatigue, distraction, sleep, how to take care of ourselves. And my whole thing is what you can do to stay safe and healthy, to obey, in a sense, a risk of getting injured. And I go into, ramping up, I, we RAMP it up. Ready Activation Mobilization of Power, my dynamic stretching program. Getting to the core of lifting safely is like getting to the meat and potatoes, so to speak, on how our bodies move and we move. We don’t, you know, just look and go. That looks like a great movement on that slide. I get them on the floor, we roll around. I want them to start connecting with the most important thing that’s in that room: them. They are top priority. And it’s very easy, as we both know and all a lot of us know during life, we go on a, we start going down a long list of things to do, and I want them to be top priority and realistic things they can do to stay safe and healthy. And then the end of it is ready, ready for takeoff. And what I do is I we talk about ways of integrating these, you know, strategies, tips on to stay safe and healthy to the five phases of flight. So I, I created that and I’m so proud of it. And it it’s such a, so exciting to present it, team up with people about it because again, they walk out and they feel like they’re empowered to stay safe and healthy. And that to me is just means everything in the world.

00;11;00;29 – 00;11;04;21
Rick Hoaglund
So it applies for more than just airlines though.

00;11;04;25 – 00;11;05;20
Linda Spaulding
Yeah, it does. Yeah.

00;11;05;22 – 00;11;13;27
Rick Hoaglund
Really any job but especially those jobs that have like a physical component, you know, if you work in a warehouse, if you work, I don’t know, there’s lots of places.

00;11;14;00 – 00;11;43;09
Linda Spaulding
Yeah. There is, you know, and, and I, I love it. You’re you’re exactly right. You know, the principles can apply to any different environments. And, you know, I, you know, any kind of operational or, or other kinds of environments. And that’s what I really like about it is it can be really personalized, you know, to, to any kind of, you know, kind of area. And that’s what’s been really fun is to take that and apply it to different ways and come up with some really fun strategies, engaging strategies, and realistic strategies that can really again, the most important thing is keep people safe and healthy.

00;11;43;12 – 00;12;03;14
Rick Hoaglund
So part of this safe and healthy piece is definitely mental as well, right? I mean, you’re not just talking about your body. You’re not just talking about, and I’m not saying that movement or physical activity is the end all the end all for mental health. Right? It can be a piece of the puzzle. Right?

00;12;03;16 – 00;14;46;08
Linda Spaulding
Yes. Yeah. I, I found that, you know, again, my first profound experience was, you know, me, you know, myself and watching others experience the movement to mental health. I mean, I’ve had people that have taken my classes for years talk about how much movement has really helped them, you know, process mental health, reduce stress, you know, get some self confidence, endorphins, sleep better so they can recover better so they can maybe, maybe look at it, something that they’ve been working on with a little more clarity. But movement has been so impactful and it gives people joy. That’s some of the biggest things I love about movement, particularly in, you know, I dance around by myself here, but but also with group, groups too. I love walking into a room. I can usually, I’m pretty intuitive so I can read a room and, before we get started, and then once we start moving and I mean, the more the better. I always allow people to, to really express themselves individually in classes, called solo and, and movement, I watched the room lift, after I’m done with class and, and also in the work environment. You know, I get people, that’s why I move a lot of people in my Ramp Camp training is we got to keep moving to keep the energy up and, you know, engagement and things like that. And it helps talk things out, like when I was running and I still do, it’s my therapy, you know, it also, with endorphins, reduces stress. It it allows maybe things to come up that maybe were hard to talk about. And I did a lot of processing, I’m an external processor, so I did a lot of processing during my running and it would just help me with my mental health. It help me kind of talk things through. And it, and it gave people also, maybe an invitation to talk about mental health. Like, “thanks for that workout. You know, I was not feeling great. I’ve got some, you know, stuff at home, you know that. And I was afraid to talk about it. But, you know, you’ve been talking about taking care of yourself. We all have things outside, you know, in our lives that might be difficult to deal with. And I’m glad you brought that up and working out, I feel better and I’ve got some energy. So maybe I might I can go home and maybe discuss this issue, you know, with my family, or I might look into helping myself out.” So again, that empowerment piece really helped open the door for people to start and, and giving them permission. That’s the big thing with mental health. I think Ricky and I’ve seen that, it’s okay to talk about it’s not, it’s not a dirty word. It’s not a dirty word. You can say it out loud and, and I think that’s what I really found with movement.

00;14;46;10 – 00;15;07;14
Rick Hoaglund
And it’s definitely part of self-care. You’re undergoing something stressful, or you’re in an environment that’s uncomfortable. Taking time out for yourself, doing exercise, getting out and moving like you were saying, it kind of helps reduce the hormone level even that’s in you, the, the endorphins.

00;15;07;21 – 00;15;10;08
Linda Spaulding
Cortisol. Yeah, yeah. And the cortisol decreases. Yes.

00;15;10;11 – 00;15;15;11
Rick Hoaglund
Getting rid of or at least reducing that as well as just the change of scenery, you know.

00;15;15;14 – 00;17;28;22
Linda Spaulding
Yes. Yes. It, it, it’s just huge and you know, and I found that too, you know, with me personally and in work environments is to try to create dynamic work environments through ergonomics, policy procedures, and again, empowering the person. What can I do in this space to help me be more mobile? And that’s why I’m at a stand up desk. I pretty much, you know, that’s what I do because it’s just, for me it’s just, if things are coming up, I’m able to channel that energy out and in a productive way instead of bottling it up – and I do have a bit of energy – and like, if I can’t get rid of it, it might come out a little differently than I wanted it to be if I was talking to somebody. So, yeah, you know, keeping people moving and change the scenery. I call it lock and load at ergonomics, you lock and load at your workstation, and it, it’s just, it’s good to change scenery. Take a couple of deep breaths, and you don’t, you know, need to get a new outfit for it or, you know, take time off from work. You can, you know, get a couple of deep breaths, and I, I thought, really, you know, this is years ago, and it really does make a big difference. It’s taken a few minutes and a few deep breaths, and that for me, it’s all about staying connected with yourself. And that’s why I like people moving. Throughout the workdays. Because from a from a wellbeing standpoint, mental health standpoint, injury standpoint, I found people started disconnecting from themselves when they don’t move, they don’ t know what this is doing. It’s like two separate people, their, their mental health over here in the physical health over here. And they don’t they if they don’t move, they don’t know what’s happening. It’s like, you know, a check and, and I find that stuff was, were popping up with people that maybe if they had a, an idea if it was happening sooner than later, they could have, you know, they could have addressed it. And, and I, so that’s another reason why I like movement is I’ve seen people that don’t move. They could have health issues like, you know, again, it’s like a health issue that could cause some mental health issues or vice versa. So that’s why I like keeping moving for that. But for the reasons, keep that mental, physical, emotional, you know, spiritual, stay connected.

00;17;28;24 – 00;17;48;15
Rick Hoaglund
So if you’re a manager or if you own a business, let’s say your business owner or you manage a bunch of people, and you notice that someone’s going through some time, is it okay, do you think it’s okay to somehow or another encourage them to do some movement? And what kind of movement would you encourage someone to do?

00;17;48;17 – 00;19;51;17
Linda Spaulding
Yeah. You know that, that’s something, I mean, that’s an interesting one because, you know, sometimes people, I’ve had people give all kinds of reactions around me knowing what I do particularly, you know, at some of the companies I work with, some people literally turn the other way. And, and then I get, “I don’t want to do aerobics,” you know, I mean, like, well, I go, well, you know, the good news is – I always like the glass half full – there’s actually more than that. And I’m going to ask a really wild question. What do you like to do? You know, so. But, and then some people, you know, again or don’t want to talk about it because people are embarrassed or there’s a lot of things with our body. I mean, there’s a lot of, you know, history issues. There’s, there’s just a lot of things that can trigger when, when you move your body. And I’ve, I’ve seen some of that in classes, particularly pilates classes where I’ve had things get unlocked and I’ve seen people laugh, cry, it was very powerful and, you know, very, you know, during a class. And so, you know, with movement, I, I know the power of movement and I always, I always want to approach the person where they’re at and, and, you know, make things attainable with movement. And, you know, for movement is, is what first what they like to do. You know, sometimes that is first came out a few days, few years ago, you know, there were not, they seemed like you got to run, you got to do this and everything’s so extreme. And, you know, for me is first meet them where they’re at. What do you like to do? And, and make it attainable, like build it into their day. Because a lot of times I would get, you know, I can’t work out. I have no time. I’m doing this, I’m doing that. I don’t, you know. Yeah. And I hurt and I’m tired. Well, that, you know, as you’re ramping up to move. Yes, you’re going to but energy creates energy. But you got to stick with it to get to that point. But you’re, you’re going to be a bit fatigued because your body hasn’t moved like this. And it’s trying to figure things out. But in the long run it’s going to be such a benefit. So I usually ask them what they like to do and put in their workday.

00;19;51;23 – 00;20;38;21
Rick Hoaglund
Tell me about these, when you start working out, you went there, you start to go there. You start working out, you’re sore, you’re tired. How do you motivate somebody that’s like, I am not going to run today. I ran yesterday and my feet are killing me. What, what’s a good motivator? Because it’s when people drop out I think. And I may be completely wrong, but I know people that started working out say at a gym, they go for like ten days because it’s all exciting and then they stop going and they continue to pay the membership fees for years. But anyway, how do you how do you motivate someone? How do you keep them moving? I mean, it’s good for their mental health. It’s good for their physical health. How do you how do you keep them going?

00;20;38;23 – 00;22;54;27
Linda Spaulding
Well, when I meet with them, I, I meet what, you know, some of them like accountability and it could be a trainer, it could be a group. And again I, I’m a big fan of, of both of those and that’s one of them too is buddy systems, I’ve done that before. And thank God they started this great work called Cross Training. Oh yeah, a while ago. A lot of it, we ran ourselves in the ground. That’s all I literally did is I get up, run my brains out and go home. And we didn’t stretch, that took too much time, that, that no, we got to run, got to run, got to run run run. And what I like about now is, is, is cross-training and and setting people up for success, starting with kind of bite size pieces and again, things that they enjoy doing and also safety, educating people. I see people going to the gym like I’m going to go, you know, lose that 50 pounds in a week, call it, I call it the class reunion. And yeah. And and they go in there like, yeah, you know, New Year’s, New Year’s resolution I’m going to go in boom. And, and I you know I always use Super Bowl Sunday. It’s like okay how are we doing everybody. Super Bowl Sunday how are we doing. And so what I find is you know, you know, variety and also attainable, allow yourself to recover. Because a lot of times people, we never recovered. It was like oh we don’t need that. That’s an, I need to exercise seven days a week, my brains out. And so I, when I work with people, at first what they like to do and then I fit it in, and then I give them kind of a, first I educate them on how to do it safely for them. We all move differently. And if I can set people up, that’s what I do with Ramp Camp is, and my stuff is, how does this work, your body? We all have little quirks and idiosynchronizes from, this way we are that, you know, that sport thing that happened and I, I tried to pick that up off the floor thing. We all have that. And I think it’s empowering again, how your body works. And, and so I start with that and then things that they enjoy doing is something that I do. And, and then and accountability I think, and a group accountability with someone or the group dynamic I found has really been so helpful for for most people is working out with groups.

00;22;55;00 – 00;23;18;01
Rick Hoaglund
So if I’m an employer, I’m going to go back to that, that space again, because that’s kind of like you’re a leader of a team. And is there any benefit to my organization or to my team if people are working out versus maybe a team that doesn’t work out? Is there any benefit? Is there anything out there that shows that work performance is better or attendance is better, or is there is there any.

00;23;18;01 – 00;25;22;20
Linda Spaulding
Yeah. There is, there is. And what I really like with group exercise programs is the team building culture aspect. That’s another thing that I’ve seen and retention. Right now, you know with job turnovers, I, I am working with an organization that has, mind boggling program for their employees, wellness program for their employees. And, I just see the energy and the collaboration and the teamwork and how proud they are to be part of this organization. Productivity, is, you know, productivity and, and again, reducing stress. And your employees come in, you know, little sleeping better, more, a better mindset. Yes. It’s it’s really important. And you know, the physical and then the mental health and, you know, Covid really blew the doors off that on on mental health. And I’m so happy we are talking about it out loud and not in a dark corner somewhere whispering it. It’s all been there. And I’ve been a big, I’ve been a big advocate of talking about mental health. I’ve had, you know, mental illness in my family. My, my father committed suicide after mental health. And I remember that was back in ’08 almost whispering it. You know, you didn’t talk about the s-word back then. And now I’m so happy that people are okay to say, “yeah, you know, I’m not feeling that great. I you have some tools for me?” And, and I said, “yes, I do!” Yeah. And again you’re employee assistance program is great. Check that out. Go talk to somebody. Go go get that tools. Go get those tools to help yourself and I, and that takes courage you’ve come to me. I am so impressed that you’re doing this. And, you know, talk to them. And I think it’s great if you did some moving around during the day. Here’s some things you can do safely for you. You know, nutrition, a kind of, kind of tree rings out into all these areas that can support mental health. But that, again, I’m glad we’re talking about it very openly now.

00;25;22;22 – 00;25;32;24
Rick Hoaglund
So I guess aerobics is different now than it was in the, do you remember in Let’s Get Physical the video.

00;25;32;26 – 00;25;34;29
Linda Spaulding
Oh my God. Oh, I was, yeah!

00;25;34;29 – 00;25;57;28
Rick Hoaglund
Olivia Newton-John okay. That is very like intimidating to a lot of people because everybody’s perfectly physically fit that’s doing this. And and they’re all dancing around and, dancing is the wrong word. They are working out, I guess. But in a video, they’re really dancing. And they have perfect clothes and, and it’s changed a lot. Right? It’s changed a lot.

00;25;58;00 – 00;29;27;11
Linda Spaulding
Yeah. Okay. I admit, I, I, my mom and I, my mom and I got certified in group fitness together, 1984, together. And. Yes, Let’s Get Physical was on my cassette tape and, you know, Get Excited and, and Neutron dance, were on my cassette tape that I was recording off the radio, because that’s what you did. And, and, you know, I think about those times and you’re right, it’s changed. I still want to shout out to two icons of mine: Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons. Richard Simmons. Unbelievable. Sweatin to the oldies. He was the first person, and Jane Fonda again, open the door for so many people to move and, and join, I again, Jane Fonda, salute. Richard Simmons brought the people out you might not see, you know, on the videos as you’re talking about, you know, Olivia Newton-John’s video. That, to me was so inspiring, that to me was Richard got those people together, they were sweating the oldies and he was a game changer. And, and I think he was a real catalyst throughout our career. We’ve had ups and downs where certain body types is: this means you’re fit, this means you’re not. And I’ve been, you know, and, and there’s a, there is a some risky stuff with the fitness industry and I’ve been there and done that. But overall Richard was first one to say, hey everybody, you know, can move and have fun and be healthy. And, and he, he made it, he gave people permission to come in and whatever you got on it doesn’t matter and just move with me. And this is great. You’re going to feel better, get some confidence and let’s, let’s do it. And so I, and it has changed, workouts have changed. And you know, there’s been so much over the years I’ve been doing this thing. What I love about it is they’re doing, they’re really celebrating all phases of our journey in fitness and wellness. And, you know, as myself going through that journey, I’m glad that we’re, we’ve got, we’re starting to to really have things for everyone, everybody’s fitness level, everybody’s age. And it doesn’t mean when you’re at a, because it used to be when you’re at a certain number, well, you know, “you better not. You know, you might get hurt. Oh, I don’t know if you should move like that. Ooh.” And I’m kind of in there now. And, right, you and I are looking at each other, Rick. I know, but what I love is that the industry has embraced this and has created and highlighted and celebrated all the different parts of a wellness journey. I mean, I had a guy in my bootcamp class, Paul, he was 90 and he could do it. And there’s so many people that have inspired me throughout my life. There was another gentleman, but who was over 100, who did a decathlon. They had to create a new category for him because of his age. And he did. He did it. He did. I watched him be push ups. I mean, so it used to be the party was over, but it’s not anymore. So that’s how it’s really changed.

00;29;27;13 – 00;29;46;15
Rick Hoaglund
Are the benefits the same for someone that’s 60, 70, 80 years old as they are for someone just 20, 30, 40? As far as mental health goes, do you believe that it or, or it, it’s the same? It’s better, it’s worse? It’s, it is up to the individual?

00;29;46;18 – 00;31;16;02
Linda Spaulding
Yeah. You know for me is, I think there’s a lot of common denominators, I think, you know, you can, we could, we could all experience depression. I did in high school and, and you know, depression and we can at you know, when we are at a the other at a another part of our spectrum. So I think, I think there’s, there’s, a lot of, a lot of common denominators with, you know, with exercise and mental health. I do I think there is, you know, I think we all want, you know, self-confidence and, and we want, you know, quality of life and age does not define that. I mean, that’s something I found, you know, being in the industry so many years, you know, if you’re at a certain age, it doesn’t mean you are automatically, you know, physically fit, do everything. And if you’re at this age, you can’t move. I mean, I’ve, I’ve had people contradict that throughout my career and I’m, you know, so again, it’s that was really interesting to me at in the industry is, is I would have people that I could be their mom, you know and, and then people that, you know, could be my grandmother, you know, kick my butt. And so you can’t, I think that just from an age, you can’t just put a number on it and say, well, you’re just going to be this. And, and I think, you know, with mental health is is the same, is the same way too. I think it it can help throughout our whole journey, our wellness journey. I think it can really help mental health with with us with, with this. Both ends of the spectrum.

00;31;16;04 – 00;31;30;27
Rick Hoaglund
So since you have had a broad range of students, is there anyone out there, I guess someone that could not physically move could not do this? But beyond that, is there anyone out there that could not participate in some way or another?

00;31;30;29 – 00;32;43;11
Linda Spaulding
Gosh, let me think about that. Gosh, I’m trying to think if I had anybody that that could not participate. I have not had, maybe a couple of times it could have been just a, god, you know what, I can’t remember if anybody, I always, I’ve had people in chairs in my classes, I, you know, whatever they were comfortable doing safely. My, my number one is safety for them and everyone. But I’ve always tried to include them, you know, and if it wasn’t a group I would meet with them individually. You know, it was something. It was something. It was. And that’s why I was really excited when a lot of the different ways of doing exercise came out, you know, from water workouts to chair workouts. I love chair rope. I love chair yoga. I think it’s fabulous. So that’s where I really like, again, meeting where people are at, always, you know, doing something that that’s really, that can help them move. So I can’t really think of anybody that could not participate.

00;32;43;14 – 00;32;56;08
Rick Hoaglund
Is there a particular type of exercise that’s best for mental health? If someone we’re feeling stressed out, someone we’re feeling depressed, is it all aerobics or could they do weightlifting or?

00;32;56;10 – 00;35;02;06
Linda Spaulding
Oh, I think all of it. I think again, it comes down to, you know, what you really like doing. And I think a combination of both. Again, I go back to that cross-training. What are they, again, what you like, you know, for me for me it’s it’s definitely dancing. I love teaching cardio dance, Zumba. That to me is just joy, fun, let it go. But I’ve had people that like hit training, high intensity interval training. Weightlifting is really important too. Weightlifting is a productive way, again, for stress and also building that muscle mass and that, there’s so many benefits that from, just from a confidence standpoint, injury prevention standpoint. So again, it’s hard for me to say one exercise is best. I think again is what they’re gonna do, first thing, you know and but again, mix, mixing things up. But if you’re, you know, when I get when I get stressed out, for me it’s either dance or run. And I think people just need to identify what their go tos are. And, and again, you know, being aware of that is really important. And also, you know, then doing it, making time, but also you don’t, don’t take away if you don’t have, you know, two hours to go to the gym. Boy, I’m so glad we’re all over that because I, that was another big barrier. You know, we had as people couldn’t. I can’t go there two hours a day. I don’t have time. And so I really like what’s happened with, with just the, you know, education and research with, with exercise. You don’t need to be in there for five hours like that used to be. That’s what we thought. We are there for our hours. Like this is going to be so great. I have no life, but by God, I’m going to be at the gym. And now they they’ve got it more attainable. But I always tell people it’s going to add up. If you’ve got a few minutes, do you want to go walk around? It’s all going to add up. I mean, you might, you’re going to need to do a little bit longer, you know, for cardiovascular health and that. But but if you’re moving that’s really, that’s really beneficial. So that’s something that I think has really helped keeping people active is you can, you know, you can break it up. And it doesn’t have to be ten hours in a gym like it used to be.

00;35;02;08 – 00;35;05;03
Rick Hoaglund
So even things like a square dance club.

00;35;05;05 – 00;35;06;29
Linda Spaulding
Yes. Yeah. Oh yeah.

00;35;07;02 – 00;35;12;23
Rick Hoaglund
Ballroom dancing. I guess even dancing, if you danced all night at a at a nightclub. I mean, that all counts, right?

00;35;12;25 – 00;35;31;11
Linda Spaulding
Oh my God, it all counts. I mean, that that’s what I love about it. Any kind of, you know, any kind of act, any kind of dance is, is great. And, and yes, anything, anything, anything roller skating, I mean, just, just all of it is. So. Yeah. Dancing any kind of dance is fabulous. Yes.

00;35;31;14 – 00;35;35;03
Rick Hoaglund
Is there anything you’d like to add that I haven’t asked?

00;35;35;05 – 00;35;38;06
Linda Spaulding
Oh gosh. I mean trying to think if there’s anything else.

00;35;38;07 – 00;35;44;15
Rick Hoaglund
What’s your personal philosophy about maintaining good mental health? Your personal one.

00;35;44;17 – 00;37;25;28
Linda Spaulding
My personal one I think for me is it’s okay to talk about I think that’s been the biggest one for me, is we all have it, some always going on. And I think, I think for me is giving permission and to talk about it and not feel judged, not feel like, “well, I better not.” And and I think that, that’s a big one for me with mental health and also for me is, is helping people find what they’re looking for. You know, I felt kind of like a, an air traffic controller at times in my career. “You need to land over here. You need to take off over there, and there’s your route, way points to get where you need to go.” And for me personally, is is empowering people to, to to take care of themselves and, and what they need and to help them, help them find what they’re, what they need and also recognizing their effort. We do not do that enough. We do not do that. We’re always like, we better do it. We’re not doing this. We’re not doing that. I always want to recognize people when they’re making steps for their, for their, you know, their health and well-being and safety is is commend them on that and tell them, you know, that is such. That’s a fantastic. And it’s just going to do nothing but continue like snowball and other elements of your life. And sometimes people don’t realize that when they start, you know, talking with a therapist. Wow, I didn’t realize all this was affecting my sleep and my work and and this and that and the other and my health and my, and, and that’s what I love is getting that ball, so to speak, rolling with them. Get that momentum. And I just push it, push them down that, you know, push it and it just gets bigger and gets faster.

00;37;26;00 – 00;37;42;20
Rick Hoaglund
And that could start by starting an exercise regiment or a walk every day. Or whatever. Even just recognizing that, hey, today I walked a block, tomorrow I walk two blocks. The next day I walk three blocks. I mean whatever, whatever works for them, works for them.

00;37;42;23 – 00;37;43;00
Linda Spaulding
Yeah.

00;37;43;01 – 00;37;46;21
Rick Hoaglund
They should appreciate the fact that they’re making strides forward. Right?

00;37;46;24 – 00;39;08;01
Linda Spaulding
That’s what I’m saying. Yes. And that’s why I love, you know, technology. I love, tracker, trackers have been great for people and I have people show me their tracker, like, look what I did. And I go, wow, that’s impressive. And, you know, writing things down, I like, it depends on how you are. I like visual, so I like things up. And I like to write things down, too. Like I walked, you know, a block today. Check. Put a star by it and and go, woohoo! And so I can see my my progress and, and buddy, I have friends of mine that keep me accountable with my workouts. And I show up to class and they go, how are you? How’s your training this week? So any little bit is so important. And and it could be, it will be a game changer. It will change things. It’s going to change something whether they like it or not. That’s what I like about this exercise stuff. I’m sorry if you didn’t want to sleep better, feel better or, you know, have more energy. Sorry. It’s going to happen anyway. You don’t have to just, you know, enjoy it, build on it. Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to do that to you. Didn’t mean that you’re going to, you know, have, do all that positive stuff. So that’s what I like about this, this movement stuff with mental health too. It, you’re going to get it, it’s part of the deal. It’s a package deal. So that’s that’s one thing I like about it too.

00;39;08;03 – 00;39;21;25
Rick Hoaglund
Well thank you very much Linda. It’s been a joy talking to you. I’m so glad to call you a friend and you’re so positive. I love I love, I love having you here. Thank you so much. And I’d like to invite you to come back. We’ll have you again on our, on our podcast.

00;39;21;28 – 00;39;43;02
Linda Spaulding
I would love that too. Thank you Rick. And it was such a honor to talk to you about some of my favorite, you know, my favorite things to talk about, you know, movement, mental health. And it’s, it’s more important than ever right now that we need to take care of ourselves and each other. And this is such a powerful way to do that. So thank you for having me today. It was an honor to be here.

00;39;43;04 – 00;40;25;22
Rick Hoaglund
I appreciate it. Thanks for joining Linda and me. We hope today’s episode inspired you to get moving and experiencing the amazing mental health benefits. Remember, whether it’s a quick walk, a yoga class, or any activity you enjoy, every bit of movement counts. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with friends and family who might need a little motivation to hear other episodes of On Topic with Empathia, visit our website empathia.com. Follow us on social media @empathia and subscribe to On Topic with Empathia to hear new episodes as soon as they go live. I’m Rick Hoaglund, thanks for listening to On Topic with Empathia.