Exploring Mental Health through Movement.

Movement as Medicine for the Mind

At Dark Horse Counselling, I believe movement isn’t just about exercise—it’s about healing,

expression, and connection. When you move your body, you’re not only strengthening

muscles or improving fitness; you’re releasing tension, shifting energy, and opening space for your mind to breathe.

Science tells us that movement releases endorphins, those feel-good chemicals that lift mood and ease stress. But beyond the biology, movement gives us a way to drop out of our heads and back into our bodies. It can quiet anxiety, soften low moods, and help us feel grounded in the present moment.

Movement doesn’t have to look a certain way. For some, it’s the discipline of yoga, where

breath and body come together in stillness and flow. For others, it’s the freedom of dance

when words aren’t enough. It can be cleaning horse paddocks, a HIIT class that leaves you

sweaty and clear-headed, or a slow, long run that helps you process and release. Even a

simple walk through nature can be a form of mindful movement that allows you to reconnect

with yourself.

What matters is finding what feels good, what speaks to you. Start simple. A ten-minute

walk. A few stretches in the morning. Movement that nourishes, not punishes.

At Dark Horse Counselling, I love to try to weave movement into the work I do—whether

it’s through counselling sessions that encourage embodied awareness, personal training

strategies that strengthen both body and mind, or equine assisted therapy that invites healing in partnership with horses.

This is about more than fitness. It’s about balance, resilience, and reclaiming the parts of

yourself that stress, trauma, or everyday life can push aside.