Reflecting on the Quote of the Week

Now, while I personally disagree with running helping anger (it would probably fuel mine—I truly hate running!), I think the sentiment behind this quote is incredibly important.

I notice a huge difference in my mental health depending on whether I'm consistently training or not. As my husband so kindly pointed out at the end of class Monday, I'm a huge brat when I haven't had the chance to work out as regularly as my body would like.

As a woman who was labeled ADHD just last year, my brain is constantly jumping from task to task. My mind is always racing, and sometimes it feels overwhelming. Being a mom, a wife, a business owner—and trying to still exist as my own individual human while functioning as an adult—is exhausting. I know many of you can relate. There is always something to do.

And while screen time for kids gets a bad reputation, I’ve also noticed how it affects me. When I start giving in to too much screen time, my thought patterns shift in a negative direction. Recently, I realized I had fallen into a pretty intense negative self-talk spiral. Probably not coincidentally, this happened right around the time my regular training routine ended after earning my USKMA black belt.

Movement has a way of grounding us again.

At 360 Defense, we try really hard to create a place where you can leave all that mental baggage at the door. For an hour, you can focus on yourself and your Krav Maga training. It gives your mind a break from the constantly growing to-do lists.

There will always be piles of unknowns. Things to schedule. Things you forgot. Things you’re worried about.

Training—whether it's Krav Maga, Yin Yoga, hiking, or something else—helps me step out of that mental noise and come back into my body. I can feel like an entirely new person after a good class.

Exercise is powerful stress relief. It helps pull me out of those negative thought spirals and stimulates those endorphins that help shift my mindset.

During a Krav Maga class, I have to be present. I have to focus on what my body is doing and what my partner is doing. My thoughts become centered on how to make my jab, hook, or round kick better.

For that hour, my mind gets a break from everything else.

Maybe that’s what Kathrine Switzer meant. It’s not really about running. It’s about movement bringing us back to ourselves.

When we move, breathe, and focus on the present moment, emotions like anger, stress, and overwhelm start to loosen their grip. We become more aware, more grounded, and more capable of responding instead of reacting.

And sometimes, that one hour on the mat is exactly what we need to reset and reflect.