Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has a lot of benefits one might not think of right away, so today we are going to talk about Ten HUGE Health Benefits of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. How do I know about these benefits?
I LIVE them.
Not only am I a forty-one-year-old woman. I am a mom, a writer, and a C.E.O. of my own company. Stress just goes with the territory. Gracie Jiu Jitsu has been a lifesaver.
Life has not been all bunnies and unicorns for me. I’ve struggled with MAJOR health issues. Last summer, I suddenly had a strange rash break out on my side and finally landed in the ER from pain. I found out I had SHINGLES.
Nothing to make a gal feel young and sexy like SHINGLES.
I wouldn’t wish Shingles on my worst enemy. In 1995, I fractured my lower back and it didn’t hurt nearly as badly as Shingles. With Shingles? I was in sheer agony. Every nerve ending was on fire. I was also tired, moody, depressed and did I mention the PAIN?
But, Shingles was a wakeup call. I feel I finally got this ill because the stress of taking care of aging family members, the stress of running a business, the stress of traveling and working non-stop finally dog-piled me. BJJ has helped me tremendously and I recovered from Shingles far faster than any doctor anticipated. I firmly believe Jiu Jitsu is the reason I was able to bounce back as quickly as I did.
So here are TEN Major Benefits from BJJ…
Make You Sweat—In our climate-controlled-anti-perspirant-loving worlds, it is easy to forget that we humans were designed to SWEAT. We seem to do everything possible to avoid sweating, but that can come at a heavy cost to our health.
We live in a stressful world and often don’t make the best food choices when we are on the go. Additionally, we are exposed to all kinds of environmental toxins our forefathers and foremothers didn’t have to contend with. We inhale exhaust from cars and formaldehyde from carpet and building materials. We ingest petroleum-based estrogen from plastic bottles and food wrappers. Our bodies endure a relentless assault of toxins and chemicals, which we NEED to get rid of.
How does the body do this? SWEAT. Feeling fatigued, depressed, anxious, tired, bloated? How long has it been since you had a good soak-through-your-clothes-SWEAT?
If we don’t sweat, all that junk just builds up in our system. Trust me, in BJJ, you will SWEAT.
Make You MOVE–Modern life is very sedentary. We drive places instead of walking. We use machines to do what we used to do by hand (I.e. washing/scrubbing clothes). Our body is made up largely of water. Our lymphatic system is there to help detox poisons and garbage from the blood and get rid of cancer-causing cells in the body. How does it work? With WATER. But water alone isn’t enough.
Physical activity helps the lymphatic fluid pump through our system to give it a good cleaning.
What happens when a body of water has no movement? It is stagnant and gross and bad stuff starts to grow. Our bodies are the same. Movement helps keep those currents flowing and our body rejuvenated.
Stress Release—Feel like you are waiting to exhale? Do you often forget to breathe throughout the day? I’m a writer by trade and I know that sometimes I just suddenly gulp down air because I’m so tense, so focused on what I am doing, I forget to BREATHE.
Again, human lifestyles used to accommodate for stresses. For instance, we had to walk places. We could decompress, move, maybe watch the sun or birds and we could wind down while we were getting from Point A to Point B.
These days, when we go from Point A to Point B? We DRIVE…which is usually just STRESS on STEROIDS. We get home and all we have left in us is to veg out. Why? Because all that stress is just piling up and it NEEDS to be diffused.
Potential energy (stress) needs to be turned into kinetic energy (movement) or we are setting ourselves up for overload and burnout.
And, to be blunt, society frowns on us choking that other driver who has never met a BLINKER…but we can work out that repressed urge to choke people in a socially acceptable way with Jiu Jitsu 😀 .
Lower Cortisol Levels—Cortisol is a hormone released when we are under stress. Though this hormone is necessary and helpful, modern lifestyles have allowed this bugger to go cray-cray. Poor diet, not enough sleep, stress from work, home, finances all place our bodies in a non-stop cycle of “hormonally” being “ready” for a fight…that never comes.
Hit the mats. Burn off that cortisol.
Better Sleep—Again, modern lifestyles are to blame. In the “olden” days, it was easier to get a good night’s rest. First of all, before the advent of electric lighting, people went to bed when the sun went down. They wound down to the low light of a fire, candle or lantern. This bright-halogen-stay-up-as-many- hours-as-you-can is NOT NORMAL and NOT HEALTHY.
Light pollution and sound pollution are also problems that can interfere with sleep.
But, one HUGE reason we aren’t sleeping the way we should? We aren’t wearing out the BODY. Our brains are fried. Our emotions are raw and bleeding, but our bodies? They’ve been forced to do a very unnatural thing…SIT STILL ALL DAY.
What I love about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is that it is an intense workout that can be tailored for any level of skill or fitness. When I started, I was 40 years old and 40 pounds overweight. I was also coming off five months with Shingles. Now? I am still recovering from Shingles, but I am a lot healthier. All I have had to do is up my intensity. BJJ worked for where I was, and works where I AM.
Flexibility—This one is HUGE for me. I’ve been a writer for going on 14 years. Six years ago, I was crippled with tendonitis in my hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders. I couldn’t hold my son (who was a baby) and could barely function in my job.
I did physical therapy, yoga, weights, more yoga and it never fully went away. Finally, I figured I would be in pain anyway so I signed up for BJJ. Six weeks later the tendonitis was gone. What I tried for SIX YEARS to fix, BJJ did in SIX WEEKS.
When I traced back how this could be so, I realized that a lot of the movements in BJJ are opposite of what we do in life. In life, we are hunched over a steering wheel, a keyboard. We are curled inward. Many of the movements in BJJ strengthen and stretch muscles we aren’t using enough.
Improved Focus—Face it, if you are wearing out your body, breathing, moving, and stretching? You probably will sleep better which will help focus. BUT, BJJ is a unique sport. There is a LOT of strategy involved and it is as much of a sport of the mind as it is the body.
In BJJ it isn’t about who is the strongest, but often who is the smartest 😉 . I’m closing in on my blue belt and what I am learning is that if I fight smarter, I don’t have to fight HARDER.
BJJ helps focus in that it trains the mind to be engaged and deliberate, which can be a fresh change of pace from the routine of being on auto-pilot.
Relaxation—These days we have a tough time winding down. We are keyed up on energy drinks and our RIDICULOUS American culture expects us to give 110% 110% of the time. We are penalized for vacations and sick days. And then we wonder why so many Americans are obese, unhealthy and unhappy?
BJJ wears out the will the mind and the body so we can RECOVER. It also helps us learn to get in tune with the bodies and minds we’ve probably been ignoring far too long.
Better Hydration—Trust me, come try an hour of BJJ and all you will want is WATER and LOTS OF IT. I know many people trying to lose weight struggle with getting rid of sodas and even alcohol. So change the pattern. Go to the WHY. Why are we drinking sugary caffeinated drinks? Because we are tired. Why are we tired? Because we are dehydrated and over caffeinated and stressed. Same with alcohol. We are maybe having that wine or beer just so we can get SOME SLEEP.
In the absence of activity, these drinks DO provide a reward. Start doing BJJ and these drinks will start becoming a penalty. You just feel ICKY. Water is soon what you crave because rolling around on the ground after too much wine or a day filled with Coca Cola is just…UGH.
Better Food Choices—Again, change the pattern. Sugary processed foods have a reward when we are sedentary. But, get active and suddenly we fill like someone dumped sugar in our gas tank…because THAT is EXACTLY what is happening.
Gracie believes that Jiu Jitsu is a lifestyle. Yes, it is great that we can turn any potential mugger or rapist into a human pretzel, but the LIFE of BJJ is the longer-lasting reward that you can enjoy every day.
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