In addiction, you abused your body for far too long. Now you want lasting recovery. That recovery starts in detox, but how does exercise therapy benefit you as well? Will exercise make your healing easier?

How Does Exercise Therapy Help Addiction Recovery?

Woman with feet on ball participating in exercise therapy Addiction is an individual journey. How you got there and why, as well as how you turn your life around, provide many twists and turns unique to your own story. Likewise, what works for you toward long-term sobriety differs from what works for someone else. But many people find the natural benefits of exercise therapy prove helpful, even after leaving rehab.

As previously said, your addiction took a toll on your body. Many people also suffer co-occurring conditions, like depression and anxiety along with their addiction.

For all of these mental health and addiction problems, exercise therapy provides a means of regaining healthy control over your body. It also relaxes your mind. Whether you prefer an intense gym workout, running each day or yoga therapy, physical fitness helps. You naturally feel better and maintain a positive outlook.

Achieving Healthy Balance Using Exercise Therapy in Detox

These positive benefits of exercise during detox provide physical proof. That proof starts with the harm your brain suffered from addiction. Addiction changed your brain chemistry, reducing your brain’s natural ability to produce dopamine, the “pleasure chemical.” Your brain long relied on your drugs or alcohol for feelings of pleasure and you lost those feelings in other areas of your life.

Exercise during detox helps coax your brain into producing those natural pleasure chemicals on its own again. Physical activity creates feelings of pleasure through the burst of dopamine it stimulates. You have heard of the “endorphin high” of running, working out or playing sports. This is that endorphin high, the natural version of the feelings drugs gave you.

This also indicates why some detox centers in Houston use exercise as therapy. Studies show that exercise takes your brain back to pre-addiction dopamine balance. Once you start exercising, you feel the natural high, boosting your mood which helps with feelings of depression. You also stop feeling as anxious, because exercise helps with stress relief and anxiety at the same time.

The Most Popular Addiction Recovery Exercises

In detox, you gain a mix of talk therapies, as each provides its unique benefits. The same is true of exercise therapy, with each type of exercise helping your body and mind benefit in unique ways.

Below are the most popular forms of exercise in detox:

  • Yoga
  • Walking, running or hiking
  • Strength training
  • Team activity

Yoga and meditation therapy work well together, particularly for people in addiction treatment. Before detox many people never considered yoga. But once they try it in a quality detox program, they start their own daily or weekly yoga practice at home to reduce stress and keep their mind and body fit. This enables a deeper mind-body connection, also giving you respect for your body and how you treat it.

Really, any physical challenge qualifies as physical exercise. Some work better in detox, while others expand your at-home resources for healthy living in recovery. Whichever method of physical fitness you choose after becoming clean, yoga or other healthy fitness regimens introduces you to the pleasure of exercise.

Yoga, Exercise, and Other Mind-Body Connections in Houston Detox

In Houston, Texas, at Serenity House Detox & Recovery, you gain exposure to yoga, meditation, and chiropractic care during your program. These methods show you alternative means of feeling the natural pleasure in life that you miss. They also help you start looking and feeling much healthier. Exercise improves your energy, outlook, focus, mood, and appearance at the same time.

Along with yoga, exercise, meditation and chiropractic care, detox at Serenity House Detox & Recovery include:

At Serenity House Detox & Recovery you receive the supervised detox you need for a fresh start in recovery. You start your new life feeling and looking healthier than you have in a long time, thanks to exercise therapy. So call Serenity House Detox & Recovery now at 866.516.8356 to learn about getting the help you need.