It’s all in your mind: How we transform our perceptions after a workout

Over the years I’ve found that stress, anger or sadness are best dispelled through a long run or yoga session. Afterwards I can’t help but feel joyful that everything is ok in the world — even if it only lasts an hour or two.

Perhaps most of this is attributable to the uplifting effect of endorphins, but they’re reliable: I always find myself leaving a workout happier, calmer and more confident than when I started.

The last effect is of particular interest to me, because for so many of us, our perceptions of our bodies is why we’re bothering to exercise in the first place. Runners and practitioners of yoga will tell you that the tiniest bit of activity can have important effects on self-perception. We’ve all witnessed — and I’ve experienced myself — the tendency to admire ourselves in the mirror post-workout, seeing a new version of ourselves. Stomachs seem flatter, arms seem bigger, even if our bodies couldn’t possibly have changed that much in a couple hours.

It’s impossible to completely transform our bodies in one workout, so the real change is mental — we view ourselves and our bodies differently, more optimistically, after exercise.

This “all in your head” effect also works in reverse. After a particularly glutinous meal, I sometimes look in the mirror and see a doughy and bloated Kelsey staring back, an expanded version of what my body looked like pre-feast. It doesn’t stop there. To everyone else I look the same, but in my head I’ve gained 20 pounds — plus I’m suddenly unhappy with my hair, and ten new sunspots have appeared on my face in an hour. One negative thought leads to another, and I’m caught in a downward spiral.

While these feelings are common after a greasy meal, we’ll ride waves of discontent with ourselves after spotting even the most trivial of “flaws” — characteristics that don’t measure up to society’s increasingly high standard of beauty.

Why is it so easy to switch from one extreme to the next? And most importantly, how do we get it to stop?

I’m still struggling with these questions myself, but an important starting place is realizing that you are the most important influence on your own happiness — you’re your strongest ally and your worst enemy. The path to self-acceptance doesn’t start with a hundred pushups or a new foundation; it starts with you loving you, in every shape, size, and form, and loving what your body can do.