Okay, this isn’t clickbait…
But It’s much more than just CrossFit – the sport – or whatever facade people are on about when the word “Crossfit” is said out loud.
For those who may not have heard of what CrossFit actually is, it’s basically the sport of fitness, defined as “constantly varied, high-intensity functional movements.”
While this isn’t an #ad for CrossFit, it’s an #ad for holistic wellbeing.
And I take no shame in that.
What many people don’t know about CrossFit is that it’s usually performed at select workout gyms that foster tight communities around the passion of self-care and wellbeing – all under the umbrella of the so-called-boring word “fitness”.
When you’re set in action – training, you’re figuratively and literally side by side next to a fellow “athlete” who’s only present harness their mental capabilities to breakthrough, physically.
**In case you don’t consider yourself athletic and the word “athlete” just scared the living crap out of you… Relax…
You’re considered one the moment you step into a workout.
It’s a mindset you’re forced to tap into.
That’s how CrossFit helped me beat depression.
Inclusion.
It took one brave decision to break my depressive cycle of self-destructive thoughts.
The moment I stepped foot into the CrossFit arena by Ossington Ave and Queen’s Street West, downtown Toronto, my life changed forever.
What made the difference were the little things, like when you feeling like crap, and “stupid” fist pumps during your workouts from fellow athletes mid-workout make all the difference in the world.
Yes. That’s the kind of support and community Crossfit is built on.
The exact same one I wish Mental Health was built on…
When you have a coach pushing you and three fellow athletes to complete a high volume set, and your body’s being pushed at its maximum mental capacity, that’s exactly when you’re priming your psyche to defeat any limitations that could impose a threat to your the mind.
In essence, my daily CrossFit workout acted out as a cutter- that sharp-edged razor you use to cut open any object – for my life. In my case, I was cutting all ties of my own depression, freeing myself from that dark vile voice I couldn’t kick out, inside.
By continuously surrounding myself around the arena, around men and women who were only there to push boundaries within themselves – I began to adopt a mentality that could beat any inner destructive voices within.
Slowly but surely, I started to produce adequate levels of dopamine in my body.
The ticking veins around the sides of my forehead and the feelings of adrenaline started to come back gradually into my life.
I finally started to feel the rush of being alive, once again.
The strength I used in practice gave me the power to overcome everything I hated about myself and my flaws.
I rose in love.
And Yes.
Men sometimes need to fall and rise in love with themselves.
Real. Alpha. Men.
Mental Illness knows nothing of gender.
As I write this, it still astounds me that nothing ever changed, on the outside.
You couldn’t have ever guessed there was a hell broken loose inside that 20-year-old mind of mine.
The reality is that we sometimes get too good at hiding.
I only learned that after living 2 years in deep agonizing physical and psychological pain.
Mental health forever changed my life.
**The message: Until you experience how much power you have over your body will you ever be able to comprehend this article.
Be it through yoga, dance, singing or any other form of sport or activity that one may progress in…
The mere fact of seeing a tremendous progression happening only by your own sheer will of going beyond a physical threshold; that itself is an act that may well be the biggest weapon you’ll ever need to tackle down the greatest monsters that may lie inside your own mind.
Thank you for taking the time to read my latest article!
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