0:14  
From hot yoga to CrossFit to stationary peloton bikes, there's always a new trend in the fitness industry. In the past few years boxwood studios have been popping up all over big cities. places like New York, LA and Toronto have seen an influx of boxing boutique studios that focus on Boxing to the beat for a great physical workout. This fitness trend has made boxing more accessible to the general public. But while boxing is a great sweat, it's the mental workout that has many people, and especially women turning towards the sport.

0:57  
But I remember being so nervous. I remember warming up on the pads with a woman named Melissa and her just give me this pep talk me like you got this you got this girl and the feeling of getting my hand raised in the ring there. I don't know if there's many feelings better than that.

1:18  
That's Melanie Whitmore, otherwise known as warrior Whitmore in the ring at 42. Melanie has been an amateur fighter for over a decade, but is also the head makeup artist for a beta Canada. And everything Mel has experienced in her life. She's always turned back to boxing. In many ways Melanie considers boxing to be her therapist at 250 pounds and an avid smoker. Melanie claims that boxing really is the one thing that helped her get over her body dysmorphia, and eating disorders.

1:53  
boxin kind of helped regulate a lot of that, for me regulate my emotions around how what I saw in the mirror and how I ate it. Nothing happened overnight, but slowly there was a shift in me about equating quality food with quality workouts.

2:15  
Jacqueline Garmin is an example of another woman who has used boxing more for the mental benefits than the physical. Jacqueline is an amateur fighter group fitness instructor and creator and founder of the mask off gala, a Toronto based charity event for mental health awareness. For Jacqueline boxing is something that she has used to help her get through her drug and alcohol addiction and to help her stay sober.

2:40  
I felt really powerful. I felt like I was finding a way to release parts of myself and I felt more like empowered, I felt stronger and I felt like this was like a really healthy way for me to let out some feelings.

3:02  
There's a reason why so many people gravitate towards boxing. movement in general is a huge component in healing trauma, anxiety, and depression.

3:12  
Muscles of memory emotions can like live in your body. And unless you're like lifting or running or doing something that like addresses that they might stay. They might stay inside inside and then you carry them with you.

3:26  
That's Kayla Meredith, founder of the move to heal project, a company that's based around healing the mind and past traumas through intentional movement.

3:35  
It's like meditation for me. That's when Nothing's going on. In my mind, that's when I feel the most clear that's when I feel the most connected to my body.

3:48  
We all know that exercise is good for your physical well being. But the mental benefits can be just as important. When you exercise you release feel good endorphins. These natural cannabis like brain chemicals, and other natural brain chemicals enhance your sense of well being. exercise helps you cope with your problems in a healthy way. It's really great for social interaction and can help you gain confidence. exercise and especially boxing helps to take your mind off your worries. When you're so focused on the task at hand you can get away from the cycle of negative thoughts that can feed into depression and anxiety.

4:29  
All those

4:30  
feelings are going and thoughts are like going through my head. But I think as soon as I'm like releasing the punch, it's like it is almost like a meditation or like finding a calm point and then you wind up Do it again. So like all the in between me actually punching them like my mind is really loud. And then when I release I like find satisfaction in calm.

4:57  
Boxing requires such a large mental focus pasty here focused on sending out strong punches, protecting yourself, footwork and an opponent coming at you full force. It's hard to focus on a bad day or a cycle of bad thoughts when all of your brain is occupied by the sport. being mentally tuned in is so important in boxing, it can be the difference between landing punch or getting punched.

5:22  
I feel like I've seen a lot of boxers, but specifically I want to speak to like female boxers, I've seen a lot of successful female boxers in all different shapes and sizes. And I have to say, the mental toughness, I think, is the most important quality. I've seen women who you know, part of a bit, stockier, a little bit heavier, and can just drive through those rounds, totally focused totally, like conscious, and just nailed around because of the mental toughness that they clearly have. And I've seen women who are like, totally jacked up and ripped, and unable to to keep that focus, and lose because they can't stay on the game plan.

6:18  
For both Jacqueline and Melanie, boxing is a way to physically stay fit. But it's a way to mentally become strong, you have to be mentally tough to be able to punch someone and to get punched. But behind all of that, boxing teaches lessons that can be used to help in adverse life situations.

6:37  
The mental aspect is like, how do you keep your head strong? How do you motivate yourself because at the end of the day, it's just you and you in the ring. You have to be the one motivating yourself, you have to be the one driving yourself to keep going like when I'm telling myself, Oh my god, I can't breathe, and I have to get up and be like you go, you do this, losing is not an option, you're going

7:00  
past fighting an opponent in the ring. These women are constantly fighting their own minds, fighting to push harder, faster, stronger, fighting their own battles. And it's this aspect of boxing that works to help individuals process and deal with tough emotions. And to overcome mental illness.

7:20  
Your muscles have memory. And if you're moving, like if you're stretching something out that you've never stretched before, or like lifting something and it's activating a muscle group that has never been activated before or it's been a while. It might stir up different emotions. Emotion has to move through your body, you have to get it out somehow. And like, I love therapy, like I love talk therapy, I think it's great to verbally get it out. But I would think now for myself like I know I have to move to get it out. Sometimes I think with adversity and like things that people are dealing with in their life, they don't have the language for it. They don't know how to put what they're feeling into words. And that's where boxing could be really helpful because like, you might not be able to speak how you're feeling but you can move your body in a way that like allows you to find peace or grounding or release or you know something.

8:23  
Boxing will make you faster and stronger. If you consistently train you will Punch Harder, run out of breath less quickly, and be able to move your feet more naturally. But what you might not expect the first time you go into a boutique box fit gym is the feeling of mental release. As boxing gyms continue to pop up. We can look at it as due to a society obsessed with physical appearances and health. Or we can look at it as a society trying to find ways to fight against the rising rates of mental illness. Next time you're feeling stressed out anxious or upset, it might be a good idea to find a way to move your body that also strengthens your mind. Remember the stories of Jacqueline Melanie and Kayla who continue to find healing through the sport of boxing.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai