7 exercises to ease depression symptoms
Joy Onuorah

Exercise certainly isn’t a depression cure-all, but a study published in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology found that heart-pumping, endorphin-boosting workouts actually promote happiness.
Exercise stimulates the release of many of the brain chemicals thought to be in low supply when someone is battling depression.
Below are 7 great exercises to ease depression symptoms:

Runner’s high
Ever heard of runner’s high? “The most tangible example of exercise stimulating certain brain chemicals is the runner’s high that many athletes report experiencing once crossing a certain threshold of exertion while running.

Muscles building
Strength trainings is about mastery and control. It requires full attention and concentration. More importantly, people can see the results, the outline of the muscles forming, from dedication and training.

Yoga
Eastern traditions such as yoga have a wonderful antidepressant effect in that they improve flexibility and involve mindfulness, which breaks up repetitive negative thoughts, increase strength, make you aware of your breathing, improve balance, and contain a meditative component

Tai chi
Like yoga, the slow, gentle movements of tai chi are another Eastern tradition that might help you break free from depression or major depressive disorder.

Walk on
Simply putting one foot in front of the other may be the trick to feeling better and that’s because walking is an aerobic exercise that’s suited for almost everyone. All it takes is a pair of comfortable, supportive shoes, and you’re ready to go.
If depression has made you sedentary, start off slowly and gradually increase time and distance.

Play outside
If you enjoy being outdoors, even simple activities such as gardening, throwing a ball around with your kids, or washing your car may do you some good.
That’s because a healthy dose of sunlight has been shown to boost mood, likely due to the fact that sunshine stimulates our serotonin levels.

Bounce
Want something super-simple to break you out of a funk, at least temporarily? Be bouncey.
You don’t need to jump, but bend your knees and bounce as quickly as you can for a few minutes.
This is an easy way to oxygenate your brain and get some endorphins flowing.