Especially if you feel limited due to lack of energy or mobility, you may wonder if exercise for mold illness treatment is more harmful or helpful. You may even know that too much activity knocks you down for a couple of days. Yet lying in bed doesn’t seem to help you physically or mentally, so what should you do?
Personal Inspiration from an Outdoor Enthusiast
We had just moved from living in a tent to living in a little house on some beautiful property when I got my sickest from mold illness. There were a bunch of fruit trees in the front yard, a pond, a creek, and across the property and up a steep hill another pond. It seemed nearly perfect to me.
Each day, I hiked up and down hills, through the beautiful trees, and over creeks. I have always loved the great outdoors. It was where I felt like me, like I was alive and part of God’s world. Anywhere and any way I could be outdoors was good for me.
So it will come as no surprise that one of the hardest parts about getting so sick from mold was having to slow down and even be sidelined. My body could no longer handle or recover from the exertion.
One month after living there, I could no longer go out to see my favorite trees, creeks, and hills. I had overdone it with exercise. I just didn’t have the strength and energy to do it. It was a sudden and drastic cutoff.
I laid down to sleep or watch TV during the day, waiting to get well. It just didn’t happen, even months later. If that wasn’t bad enough, I started getting more weird symptoms – brain fog, muscle cramping and wasting, lack of ability to control stress and anger, more food intolerances, a bloated belly, constipation, diarrhea, and the inability to catch my breath even when not moving much.
My eyes watered but felt extremely dry and itched so bad deep within where I couldn’t scratch. My mouth was extremely dry, and no amount of water would help.
I thought it was just a nightmare and willed myself to wake up. But it was my reality….
I spent years in this state, doing what I felt I was supposed to – just being patient and resting enough to get well, trying to take natural stuff to “fix” the symptoms, and going to lots of practitioners.
Here’s the secret I finally learned. For sickness that lasts beyond a few days, you need to move! Movement is a key to getting better, so exercise for mold illness is helpful and imperative! Movement helps you detox more quickly.
In fact, once I moved out of my moldy house, I only began getting well after I started walking everyday. I started out slowly. Most times, just getting outside for a slow walk made my body and mind feel better and kept me going for another day. Even if I really did not feel like going out at first, I always felt better for doing it. Before long I could go up and down hills again out in my beloved wilderness.
Why Exercise for Mold Illness is a Must!
It is a scientifically proven fact that the more sedentary and inactive your lifestyle becomes because of mold illness, the more your body will buckle to the symptoms and the more chronic your condition can become. (Like I did at first!)
I know that you are likely just trying to regain some sort of normal life again and it seems like you will never get there. But this isn’t true. Daily exercise can not only keep the healthy strong, but it can do just as much for you if you have inflammation from chronic illness.
The truth is that exercise is a helpful way to combat mold illness because you have many moving parts. Those parts need to move, especially when you are recovering from mold illness!
This is because mold toxins are fat-soluble and are stored in your fat tissues. Exercise flushes mold and mycotoxins out of your fat cells and into your bowels to be eliminated out of your body.
To be more technical, exercise helps you detox through:
- sweating
- increased oxygen production
- increased blood flow
- lowered blood sugar
- cellular regeneration
- decreased cellular aging
- surges in testosterone levels
- metabolic stimulation
- reduction in systemic inflammation
- improved lymphatic flow
With chronic mold illness, you must start exercising slowly because your body is so toxic. This is no time for CrossFit or powerlifting. But you do need a structured program that gradually increases in difficulty as you are detoxing the mold and mycotoxins.
So, with mold illness, what should you do for exercise?
Helpful Exercise for Mold Illness Recovery
Exercising every day – consistently – is most important. Sporadic sessions will hurt your body – which is why I suggest taking it slow! Consistent, gentle sessions will allow your body to adapt and change gradually.
Walking
If needed, try what worked for me:
- Start by walking for 5 minutes straight, just around your house.
- Take this movement outdoors.
- Add 5 minutes to your duration every 2 days, until you are moving continuously for 60 minutes.
- Add core exercises.
It was a long process and sometimes frustrating, but it helped so much. Taking it slow helped me avoid fatigue and setbacks. Plus with each little progression, I felt like I was getting a better handle on my health and regaining some control over my life. That felt so wonderful!
Balancing Exercises
Simple balancing exercises such as standing on one foot or doing leg raises can help more your blood and lymphatic circulation.
Dancing
If you are able, any form of dancing is movement and will help you detox!
Climbing stairs, jumping jacks, and even simply marching in place can help rid your body of mycotoxins, too.
Remember to stay hydrated (not over hydrated) and take your binder after you exercise.
Simply put, if you’re suffering from mold toxicity, it’s imperative that you start moving your body every day. In fact, consider exercise as part of your medicine right now. Don’t be discouraged by your physical or financial limitations. This too is a process, but worth it so you can heal!
If you need more help with your mold illness healing, reach out by Click here to set up a complimentary Breakthrough call to see if we could work together.
