Mind in Motion: How Movement Transforms Mental Health at Work

In today’s fast-paced corporate world, conversations around mental health are no longer a luxury, they’re a necessity. At the forefront of this movement is Matt Balfour, a wellbeing content creator, public speaker, Samaritan volunteer, and the founder of Let’s Go Wellbeing. His mission is simple yet profound: to help organisations build healthier, more engaged workforces by making mental health conversations more accessible.

Matt recently spoke at our Mental Health and Wellbeing Conference. In his keynote, Balfour explored the connection between movement and mental wellbeing, sharing both scientific insights and personal stories that underline the urgency of supporting mental health in the workplace. 

Understanding Mental Health: A Shared Responsibility

Matt begins by grounding the audience with a clear definition of mental health, drawing from the World Health Organisation. 

“Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being” (WHO)

Importantly, he emphasises that everyone has mental health – good or poor, and that mental illness is not the starting point but the potential outcome of prolonged, unaddressed symptoms.

Matt further outlines how poor mental health can progress into mental illness or even crisis if warning signs are missed. The workplace, he argues, has both a moral and economic stake in addressing this, citing an estimated cost of £110 billion annually to the UK economy due to mental illness-related turnover, absenteeism, and inactivity. Turnover, absenteeism and inactivity are 3 of the biggest issues we will be trying to tackle in our Allyship in the Workplace Conference, which you can find out more about below:

Movement Matters: The Science Behind Exercise and Emotion

Most of us instinctively feel better after a walk, run, or yoga session. But Matt explains why movement improves mental health by diving into biology: exercise releases “feel-good” hormones: endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin – that regulate everything from mood to sleep.

He introduces the concept of allostasis, the body’s ability to adapt to stress, and contrasts it with allostatic overload, where chronic stress impairs resilience and increases susceptibility to illness. Conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and depression often follow when physical and mental demands overwhelm our coping mechanisms.

Movement, then, is not just about fitness. It’s about resilience. You aren’t just moving to stay physically well, it works wonders for your mental health and the way that your body can respond to changes, physical and mental. 

Coping Strategies: The Good, The Bad, and The Draining

In a highly relatable segment, Matt walks the audience through common coping mechanisms, both helpful and harmful. From deep breathing and time in nature to “just being silly,” attendees shared their personal go-to strategies via a live word cloud. The exercise reinforces the idea that coping is unique but must be intentional. Some of the words attendees submitted were:

• Baking for colleagues
• Playing guitar
• Going for walks 

He warns, however, of strategies that may seem exciting and helpful to detach you from your mental health issues, like alcohol, gambling or even venting to the wrong people. “We all know someone,” he jokes, “who leaves us with less energy than when we started the conversation.” 

Recognising these bad and draining dynamics is critical if we want to choose healthier responses to stress.

Lived Experience: From Loss to Purpose

The most powerful, motivating part of Matt Balfour’s session was his personal story. It spoke of how in the face of a tragedy, Matt had a lack of empathy and support from his employers:

“we’re talking about receiving emails from company directors on the day of the funeral… actively being encouraged to come back to work… there really was no kind of follow-up or acknowledgement in the weeks and months that followed.” (Matt Balfour)

The nature of the tragedy, alongside the lack of empathy from his employer, led Matt down a spiral of depression, unemployment and financial hardship. This indicates the importance of employers being mindful of employees wellbeing. Having empathy and awareness towards the hardships faced by the people you work with will help everyone to feel recognised, respected and cared for.

But change came when he stepped into a boxing gym. The movement, structure, and community he found there sparked not just physical transformation, but emotional healing. Matt walked into that gym feeling lost and he left healthier, happier and with a new career path, becoming a personal trainer. He then became a mental health advocate, and eventually launched Let’s Go Wellbeing, a consultancy which combines his lived experience and passion for helping others by empowering business leaders, managers and employees to have more accessible conversations about mental health in the workplace

Matt’s story is inspirational, and it shows how mental health neglect, whether intentional or not, can deepen personal crises, but also how movement and purpose can become lifelines.

Bonus Insight: Breathing as a Tool for Balance

Beyond movement, Matt highlights breathing as a key player in stress regulation. Through breathing calmly, in a controlled manner, we can improve heart rate variability (HRV)—a critical marker for mental and physical health.

In practical terms: mindful breathing can help us manage workplace stress, avoid burnout, and build resilience from the inside out. Next time you feel stressed, why not try a breathing exercise to calm you down? Matt is trying to drill down the point that mental health, like physical health, needs to be monitored and cared for. If you have an ache in your leg, you might try stretching it. If you feel stressed, you should try and respond to that by exercising, meditating or simply by regulating your breathing.

Building Healthier Teams Starts with Awareness

Matt Balfour’s Mind in Motion was more than a presentation, it was a powerful call to action on ways in which we can help ourselves, delivered by someone who is living proof of overcoming and blossoming after a hardship. He reminded us that movement, mindfulness, and meaningful connection aren’t just nice-to-haves, they’re essential strategies for navigating modern work life.

His session ended with a simple yet profound question: “How can we encourage our teams to be more active?” Answers poured in: 

• walking meetings, which make us move
• scheduled breaks, in which employees can get fresh air, eat or socialise
• building awareness to ensure that mental health is not underestimated

Ultimately, Matt reminds us that while flashy wellness programs are great, sustainable change comes from understanding our stress, choosing healthier coping tools, and prioritising our people.

We’d like to personally thank Matt Balfour for this powerful and inspirational talk at the Mental Health and Wellbeing Conference 2025. We have a plethora of insightful conferences in the near future, with opportunities to learn, network and make meaningful change – whether institutional or personal.