Joyful Movement: what it is & how it differs from traditional exercise
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF JOYFUL MOVEMENT?
I admit, the first time I heard that terminology I rolled my eyes. I felt like it was a term they were using to try to trick me into exercising.
If Iām being honest, throughout most of my relationship with exercise over the years, I havenāt particularly enjoyed it.
I always thought of exercise as something I had to do to burn off the calories from what I just ate. Or something I had to doļæ¼ preemptively in advance of going out to eat.
Even when I tried to focus on the health benefits of exercise, it still felt like another rule of something I had to do to be good.
If you feel the same way about exercise, I get it. I completely understand where youāre coming from.
Then, I heard about joyful movement.
Joyful movement is a way to approach exercise where you focus on pleasure. If something isnāt pleasurable, you donāt focus on that.
Thinking about exercise as a way to atone for the calories you have just eaten is not pleasurable.
Thinking about exercise as a way to give yourself permission to eat later today is also not pleasurable.
Thinking about exercise as something you have to do just to check a box isnāt pleasurable either.
Now I get it, we canāt only do things in life that are pleasurable.
But if thereās a way to make something more fun, why not?
Thatās what thinking about exercise more as ājoyful movementā has done for me.
Let me give you an example. This morning I woke up and I was debating whether I wanted to stay in bed or get up and go for a walk.
As I was trying to make my decision, my thoughts had nothing to do with my weight or the calories I would burn by walking.
I simply thought about the pleasure walking would bring me.
I thought about how I love to smell the fresh air in the morning. I love hearing the birds and seeing rabbits in my neighborsā yards.
I thought about how I love having that time to myself without any other distractions. I thought about the music I love to listen to when Iām walking or the podcasts I love to catch up on.
All of those things bring me joy. So when I focused on the joy that walking brings me, it became a no brainer.
I got out of bed, got dressed, and went for a walk.
Now, Iāve had people tell me that walking is a waste of my time and that instead I need to do something that burns more calories like orange theory.
Hereās the thing, though. I used to do orange theory and I think itās an amazing program. I totally get why people love it. But it brought me absolutely no joy. It did bring me a couple of injuries, but it did not bring me joy.
Thatās what joyful movement is about. Rejecting other peoplesā ideas of the type of exercise you āshouldā be doing, and listening to yourself and figuring out what type of exercise brings you joy.
P.S. - If you're a woman who wants to learn more about self-love and body acceptance, sign up for my newsletter. It's filled with so much good info. I can't wait to share it with you! Sign up here
Labels: body acceptance, body neutrality, body positivity, diet, dieting, diets, emotional eating, exercise, joyful movement, lose weight, self concept, self confidence, self esteem, self love, stress eating, weight loss
<< Home