SKATEBOARDING

There are a number of reasons why skateboarding would be great for your overall health... whether you're an experienced or a new skater, the practice can play a major role in helping you manage your mental health as well as your physical health. I will highlight skating's many mental health benefits and share some of my thoughts on the subject. Aside from its accessibility, skating has a meditative quality, offers a long-term practice opportunity, it challenges you both mentally + physically (you're constantly learning), allows for creative freedom, stimulates brain function called neuroplasticity, improves vestibular + proprioception senses, and that feeling of gliding on the board is like no other. Researchers have studied the correlation between skateboarding and mental health in recent years, one of them is a study by The Pullias Center for Higher Education at USC (February 2020) which found that skateboarding “improves mental health, fosters community, and encourages diversity and resilience.” In addition to contributing to the mindfulness concept, skateboarding improves executive brain functions for focus, planning, and self-control... encouraging skaters to develop their attention skills further. ​

The practice provides more mental health benefits such as helping to overcome your fears, a chance for creative problem-solving, teaches resilience + patience, puts you in a flow state, improves empathy, provides safety + inclusivity, and manages anxiety by keeping you present... skating is an amazing mindful activity.  In terms of connection, skateboarding has the ability to connect people who would otherwise have little to nothing in common. It’s this human connection that’s one of the most healing factors for mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. People truly feel a sense of belonging through the skateboarding community in person and virtually.

As a person with C-PTSD healing from multiple traumas, skating became an essential practice in my mental health journey because of the benefits mentioned. Rolling around on my skateboard has been one of the most therapeutic things that I've ever done. I picked up skating with no expectations, just to learn something new and challenge myself and it has already given me so much more than that. I first noticed it within the first month of skating when I started to properly process my grief of losing my dad the year before. Previously, the grief put me in a state of reliving the erratic emotions surrounding the news of his death every day for over a year, a grief loop that felt hopeless... it was extremely painful but skating brought me out of that mode completely. Skating has shown me a way to heal from grief, to be more self-aware so that I can learn about my traumas and address them in my own time (through the different practices as seen on the MNSTR Method page), it taught me to be more present along with other life lessons. Since the beginning of these self-developments, I've been closely observing my practice and this self-study eventually led me to the creation of the MNSTR Skate Initiative. From my experience, skateboarding has been an effective healing tool and it can be used positively to manage our mental health when we have reached a certain level of self-awareness.