[2023-06-22] Joyful movement
As I shared recently, my daughter and I have started playing table tennis. It's a fast-paced, low-impact, enjoyable activity. When we get into a long back-and-forth, I am mesmerized. There's no time to think—only react.
Mel describes activities like table tennis, walking and dancing as joyful movement rather than exercise. The word "movement" could refer to a wide range of activities, from engaging in a team sport, to playing a game with a partner, to exercising on your own. And the word "joyful" conjures up thoughts of pleasure, positivity and sustainability.
In How to Find Joy in Exercise, Elle Schuldt asks:
How do you view exercise? Do you use it as a way to burn calories, lose weight, or compensate for what you ate? When we approach exercise this way, it can feel like punishment and wear on motivation, self-confidence and mental wellbeing. The good news—it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, we’re here to encourage you to explore the joyful movement mentality and learn how to exercise in a way that benefits your mind, body, and soul.
Schuldt identifies five elements that characterize joyful movement:
- Pleasure — You get to define what brings you pleasure.
- Choice — You get to decide what you do, when you do it, and for how long.
- Flexibility — You get to pick activities that are right in the moment and at this stage in your life.
- Celebration — You get to celebrate what your body can do rather than feel bad about what it can't.
- Intuition — You get to determine what feels right by listening to how your body feels before, during and after moving.
Schulz includes a list of activities that could constitute joyful movement, including taking a dog for a walk, spending time in the garden, dancing, playing catch, and walking while on the phone.
Whatever gets you moving and brings you joy is fair game.
