What is Joyful Movement? Tips to Learn How to Like Exercise
One of the principles of intuitive eating is movement for pleasure. But if you have a fraught relationship with movement, it’s probably not that pleasurable to you! This post explores what joyful movement is, and gives tips for how to learn to like exercise.
If you’ve ever struggled with your relationship with exercise, using it as a weight loss tool, to burn off what you ate, or punish yourself for overeating, then it’s highly likely that working out is not exactly your favorite thing to do. Rather than being a pleasurable activity, or a tool for taking care of your body, exercise probably feels a lot more like a punishing chore.
In my experience with clients, I’ve noticed their relationship with exercise is often one of the last areas to heal. I’ve also noticed many of my clients experience a TON of guilt and shame over not liking exercise. They’re “shoulding” all over themselves with diet mentality (“If only you could exercise regularly then you’d be thinner” “You would feel less stressed about food if you worked out more often”), while simultaneously experiencing a genuine desire to move their body for more helpful reasons like building strength, improving mood, and boosting energy. But even those more positive motivations can turn into “shoulds” that add to their shame.
When a client tells me they hate exercise, I like to share this analogy:
Think of a vegetable that you hated growing up, but your parents always made you eat it. Probably broccoli, because what kid didn’t hate broccoli? Maybe if you were lucky you were able to sneak a few spears to your dog, but if not, you had to choke down every last soggy bite. And you know it was soggy, because if you were a child of the 80s like me, broccoli was always microwaved from frozen. Blech. Soggy green trees that smell like farts.
So it’s probably no surprise that when you were old enough to make your own choices about food, broccoli was not on the menu. You hated broccoli.
Then, as an adult, you were introduced to broccoli in a different way. It was served crispy and roasted, with a dusting of parmesan cheese, or crisp-tender in a stir fry with noodles and chicken and other yummy things. Maybe one day you were brave or curious enough to try broccoli served in these new and more appealing ways….and maybe you actually liked it!
You see, this new broccoli was technically the same broccoli you were served as a child, but really, it was a totally different thing. With this new broccoli, the focus was on pleasure, rather than the gross green stuff you had to choke down to earn dessert.
In this analogy, soggy steamed frozen broccoli is exercise, and crispy, caramelized and yummy broccoli is joyful movement. Exercise is forced. It’s an early morning boot camp you have to drag yourself out of bed at 5:30 for. It’s a tedious session on the elliptical. It’s a cardio workout video you do by yourself in your living room.
Joyful movement centers pleasure. And sure, there may be some aspect of doing something good for your body because “adulting,” but you’re doing it in a way that feels good physically and mentally, or at the very least isn’t punishing. Joyful movement is a yoga class that leaves you feeling refreshed, clear headed, and walking just a little bit taller. It’s a vigorous run outside on a sunny but breezy day. It’s walking the dog around the neighborhood with your spouse and chatting about your day. It’s a weekly kickball game with your friends. It’s a barre class with a killer soundtrack.
(Please note, these examples are based on what I personally find pleasurable vs torturous. Everyone is different and may find joy in activities other people hate. Except for the elliptical - I refuse to believe anyone actually likes the elliptical.)
Hiking is always and forever my favorite kind of joyful movement
What is Joyful Movement?
Joyful movement is a way of approaching physical activity that emphasizes pleasure. We know that physical activity offers a host of physical and mental health benefits, and by emphasizing pleasure, you’re more likely to regularly move your body.
Joyful movement also emphasizes choice. Exercise often feels compulsory - it’s done to earn food or burn off food, to punish the body for not fitting into arbitrary and unrealistic ideals. Joyful movement recognizes the right to rest, as well as the benefits of it, and your choice in whether to engage with it or not.
With joyful movement, all kinds of movement are valid. Not only do different people have different preferences when it comes to movement, but different abilities as well. To make joyful movement inclusive, all types of movement must be morally equal, even if they may have different purposes.
If you’re trying to learn how to like exercise again, it’s helpful to think of it like that broccoli. Consider ways you can introduce it in a more pleasure-focused way, and you’re much more likely to have a good experience with it. Because you’re not necessarily someone who hates movement, you’re someone who hates exercise, and that’s really understandable when you’ve only had the soggy frozen broccoli version of movement!
Tips for Rediscovering Joyful Movement:
Take a break.
Sometimes rediscovering joyful movement means taking a break from it for awhile - sometimes a long while! It’s OK to hang up your running shoes for a bit. Taking a break can bring clarity, and is especially helpful if you struggle with compulsive exercise. If exercise has become your go-to for dealing with body discomfort, taking a pause allows you to learn other ways of coping. My friend Kylie has written beautifully on her experience taking a break from exercise.
What did you like as a child?
Think about what types of movement you liked as a child. Group sports, and things like gymnastics, roller skating, dance and riding a bike may be more divorced from weight control than other kinds of movement. Or maybe not - I know a lot of people had really toxic experiences in dance and gymnastics. But in general, these more child-like and playful kinds of physical activity can be fun to incorporate.
Incorporate mindfulness
Mindfulness can be a useful tool for fostering embodiment during exercise, and getting out of your head. Tuning into physical sensations or the environment around you can turn movement into almost a meditative experience. Here’s a post I wrote with tips for how to practice mindful movement.
Gentle movement
Don’t forget gentle movement! With exercise, the focus is often on calorie burning, so movement that isn’t intense may feel like it “doesn’t count.” In reality, gentle movement offers a host of benefits to your body and mind, and most certainly counts - although you really don’t need to be counting! Here’s a post I wrote with ideas for gentle movement.
Everyday movement
You don’t have to be in a gym to get your body moving! Think about ways you can incorporate movement into your everyday life. Gardening, walking the dog, taking stairs at work (super cliche and I know this is often used as diety advice, but I also found it woke me up from my afternoon slump), cleaning, and playing with your kids are all ways to incorporate movement in a setting that isn’t a gym.
Consider safety
Unfortunately, we live in a world where all types of movement aren’t safe for all people. Whether it’s street harassment for female runners, or larger bodied people receiving stares or comments at the gym, feeling unsafe will make even the most enjoyable type of movement feel stressful. Consider what you need to do to feel safe, whether that means running in a well lit neighborhood, finding a more inclusive space to work out, a workout buddy, or even working out at home.
Sometimes the kind of movement that’s joyful for you can change. I LOVED running for a few years, but for the past year it hasn’t really been as much fun for me. And that’s OK! Sometimes I test out a run and it’s enjoyable, other times it ends up turning into a long walk. Lately, I’ve found other kids of movement are more fun right now.
I think it’s important to note that while I value and promote joyful movement, sometimes movement isn’t so joyful, and that’s OK too! I’m thinking of friends and clients who have required physical therapy to heal from injuries, to aid mobility or symptoms with chronic medical conditions, or sometimes had to train for an event that meant working out at times that they really weren’t into it. It’s OK if it’s not always joyful, as long as it’s not punishing.
I also want to point out that exercise is not a moral obligation. Just like some people might try the crispy roasted broccoli and decide they actually like it, others might not. If that’s you, that’s OK! You don’t have to be one of those people who likes exercise, or engages with it. While movement certainly offers health benefits, there’s lots of other things that offer health benefits too. At the end of the day, it is 100% your decision whether or not you want to pursue health, and in what ways.
This post was originally published March 2018. It has been updated to give you the best possible content.
If this post on joyful movement was helpful, follow my joyful movement pinterest board for more fun movement inspiration!
More Posts on Joyful Movement:
The Art of Mindful Movement
Gentle Movement I’ve Been Loving Lately
When Exercise Becomes Unhealthy
