Joyful Movement
Amanda StansfieldHi there beautiful!
Today I want to talk about Joyful Movement and how you can find a way to move your body that makes your feel good and leaves you feeling joyful.
You’ve seen and heard me use the term “intuitive movement” many times before. This is a way of moving your body on your terms that feels good in your physical body and emotional body. Another way of defining intuitive movement is to consider what brings you joy? What movement practice do you look forward to rather than it feeling like a burden? This is why I also like to use the expression Joyful Movement. Todays conversation is all about helping you find yours.
Joyful movement and intuitive movement both allow you to ditch the expression “exercise” and instead focus on moving in a fun way that feels great for your unique body. With Joyful Movement there is an added bonus – when you move and have fun at the same time you are transforming your mental health too. Exercise can often feel overwhelming and something that you “have” to do so lets stop thinking of movement as a chore and instead something that you look forward to doing because it helps you feel your best.
Think back to your childhood, did you run instead of walking everywhere like I did? Perhaps you were engaged in team sports, or grew up dancing on stage like my daughter did? Chances are recess was one of your favourite times at school and you spent hours running around on the playground laughing and playing with friends. No matter how you moved your body as a child, you did this from intuition and because you enjoyed it.
I hear a lot from caregivers that they struggle with their relationship to exercise. Many have a tendency to over-exercise and view exercise as a way to numb their feelings, or as a way to “make up” for eating “bad foods”. While others struggle to find the motivation to get up and change into their fitness clothes. The word exercise can have a negative tone associated with it, like it’s something expected of you rather than because you want to do it.
By finding a way of moving that feels good for your body that also brings you pleasure, you can transform your relationship with exercise and your body and reap all of the incredible health benefits a daily movement practice provides.
In today’s conversation, you’ll learn simple steps you can take to find your version of joyful movement.
WHY JOYFUL MOVEMENT IS IMPORTANT
We all know that exercise helps you maintain a healthy weight, but there are countless other benefits that we often forget about. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention regular movement helps balance blood sugars, boosts cardiovascular health, reduces risk of high blood pressure, decreases stress and anxiety,
improvs mental health and mood, strengthens bones, improves sleep, and increases in overall longevity and quality of life.
In addition to those powerful health benefits joyful movement plays a significant role in how you live the rest of your life. When you genuinely feel good, you tend to make nourishing food choices, and positive decisions in all ares of your life. The quality of our health and happiness comes from inside our body and to truly thrive in your unique body joyful movement plays an important role for your mind, body and spirit!
When you create healthy habits — whether it’s the food you eat, the way you move, or any other practice — that truly feels enjoyable, it becomes something you look forward to and easily becomes part of your day.
HOW TO FIND YOUR JOYFUL MOVEMENT AND BUILD YOUR PRACTICE
Use these steps as a guide to find your version of joyful movement and to build your practice.
1. identify which movement(s) make you feel good
Most of you may have a general idea of which movements bring you joy, but for many people, you may need more time and to try different exercises to see what feels best.
When thinking about movement, it can be helpful to think about the different categories of movement and the types of exercises in each.
Aerobic: such as cycling (indoor or outdoor), dance, running, kickboxing, trampoline etc.
Strength: such as pilates, barre, yoga, weight lifting, etc.
Activity: such as swimming (indoor or outdoor), tennis, hiking, climbing, walking in nature, kayaking, SUP, team sports, etc.
Be patient with yourself and commit to trying new ways to move your body until you find something that feels right — I promise there’s something for everyone!
2. connect with friends (& make new ones) for more fun & accountability
One of the best ways to make a new habit into a regular ritual is by having an accountability partner. Invite a friend, family member or co-worker to join you, studies show you are happier, and more likely to continue if you have added support.
This is why connecting with others is such an important aspect of any of your healthy habits, but especially movement.
3. one step at a time
Wanting to jump all in is common with any new health practice. It’s like a new years resolution, you start out with the best intentions but sooner rather than later your motivation fizzles out. The same all-or-nothing mentality is common with nutrition and this is why most diets don’t work. Instead, practice small steps, or as I like to say, add one mini ritual at a time, and allow it to naturally evolve into your daily routine with ease.
You do not need to go from rarely exercising straight into exercising everyday. Although I have to say, when you find something you love, or an instructor’s class that you look forward to, it will feel natural to want to continue. One of the best compliments I ever received was from a client who was new to barre, she had never taken a studio class before and after one class she immediately found her passion. She has since never missed one of my classes and routinely takes private yoga classes with me too.
Before jumping into your joyful movement practice, ask yourself how many days of movement is realistic, how much time do you have and when is the best day and time each week? You can always increase the times and duration, but start by setting yourself up for success without it feeling stressful or a burden. Small steps over time build consistent habits that bring you long lasting health benefits.
4. Make it Convenient
To build more consistency with your joyful movement practice consider how you can make it more convenient for yourself. Identify any potential barriers that may come up. This could be physical barriers, (location etc) or emotional barriers (time of day, level of fatigue etc).
For some people getting out of the house is a huge undertaking so starting a 10 minute practice at home might make sense. Or perhaps, getting out of the house is exactly what you need, try a walk in nature, or book a class at a local studio. If you commute to work try something close to your office or go straight to a studio on your drive home. You are less likely to change your clothes once you’ve stepped inside your home and see the list of responsibilities you have there.
5. Be flexible
There are always days when your energy levels are low, time is short or Mother Nature decides to challenge you with less than desirable weather.
Have a couple options you enjoy so no matter what happens you can move your body from a place of love vs. frustration. Moving my tush is an absolute must for my wellbeing, when Stella spends time in the hospital, the first thing I notice is how much I miss moving my body. I get really creative — yoga mat in the room to sneak in mini flows, a few standing leg exercises and to stretch my back and hips. I ask the PT team if I can borrow a mini trampoline to jump on and I walk the stairs multiple times a day to reset my mind.
I love walking in the rain just as much as I do the sunshine, but I will vary where I walk so my feet don’t get muddy. I also love hot yoga as much as I do a gentle restorative class. I teach both high cardio barre classes and those that provide more stretching. When I’m near the ocean I always choose a long swim over a run on the beach. And when in doubt, I turn on some tunes and throw a dance party with my girls.
PUT THIS INTO PRACTICE
Now you understand what joyful movement is, you can take these steps and begin exploring what movements feel best for you. Be sure to check in with yourself, notice what feels really great, what you really look forward to and where you may need to adjust. Be gentle with yourself, allow some time to find what feels good to you!
You are doing incredible work, anything new takes time to establish a routine that works.