Beyond Joyful Movement
Evolving the definition of joyful movement beyond "feeling joy while I move."
Lauren's Principles of Intuitive, Joyful Movement (based on Evelyn Tribole's and Elyse Resch's Principles of Intuitive Eating)
- Renounce diet culture
- Embrace curiosity and creativity
- Develop your mind/body connection
- Deconstruct your mindset
- Find your joy
- Rediscover your passions
- Reconnect with your values
- Give yourself permission
- Be gentle, flexible, and adaptable
- Honor your mind, body, and spirit
If you've found this post, you've likely already heard of "joyful movement." I imagine most who find this post are at different points in their relationship with it: newbie, seasoned expert, curious, exploring, or even skeptic...
Brief Personal History with Movement
I've seen most people define joyful movement quite simply: feeling joy while you move. I certainly felt this way when I first learned about it. I was so used to forcing myself to exercise for the numerous societally enforced reasons one "should" exercise (when, where, what, how long, how often, how intensely, etc). "Do you mean I can actually move in a way that I enjoy and it still counts as exercise?" That sounded so liberating (and it was)! There have always been ways that I enjoyed moving my body, but I was told that only certain types of exercise and certain intensities and frequencies were enough. The ways that I liked were often "not enough."
As my relationship with movement began to heal and repair, I continued to struggle with doing the activities and the amounts of movement that I wanted to do (and sometimes still struggle). The wonderful part was that I had done a lot of work to figure out what I actually wanted out of my relationship with movement. The frustrating part was that I continued to face barriers that stood in the way of this relationship that I wanted: fear of being in a gym environment or group fitness class, discomfort in my body, stubborn all or nothing thinking, and many more. After I had learned how my eating disorder, body image, and social conditioning/diet culture affected my relationship with movement, I also began to learn how ADHD, chronic pain, anxiety, and depression affect my relationship with movement. Simply feeling joy while I move either wasn't enough to get me moving, or I wasn't actually feeling joy while I was moving.
Exploring the Meaning of Joyful Movement
As I continued learning, I started to question what "joyful movement" really means to me. Am I just putting the same diet culture expectations on this new relationship with movement? Is the quest to find movement specifically "joyful" harming this new relationship with activity? Is this becoming my new barrier to exercise and the relationship I want with it? Am I pressuring myself to find "joy" in every moment when I move and therefore increasing anxiety around movement?
I started to notice that many people on similar journeys to mine felt roughly the same way, so I began to expand my definition of "joyful movement." I'm certainly not the only one to expand the definition beyond what I'd originally heard, but I felt empowered by my own process in arriving there and later found the other people doing the same work.
A Joyful Relationship with Movement
My definition is this: the phrase "joyful movement" describes a joyful relationship with movement in much the same way that "intuitive eating" describes a relationship with food. It exists in opposition to the common and popular, punishing, "no pain no gain," diet-culture-entangled, rigid, morality-based attitudes toward exercise (and food). Describing "intuitive eating" as simply "eat whatever you want whenever you want" is every bit as reductive and simplistic as describing "joyful movement" as "feeling joy while you exercise." We must think beyond these definitions to truly heal, repair, and evolve our relationships with physical activity (and food, since we are briefly on the subject). Intuitive eating starts there but is so much more than that, and joyful, intuitive, accessible, inclusive movement is the same.
I began to take a more introspective, flexible approach the way I learned to approach my relationship with eating. I push back against all or nothing thinking. I experiment. I play. I adjust. I question. I deconstruct. I journal. Reflection, evaluation, and adjustments have become integral to my process. Now I've expanded my understanding of joyful movement and what it looks like for me. It's ever evolving. Much like intuitive eating, there isn't a "destination," and there is no pass or fail. There is simply "aligned with the framework" or "not aligned with the framework," and both are ok. If you fall off the "path," the only thing to do is step back on it. It's a process and a journey that evolves and adapts and grows. It shifts and morphs while you do. It's flexible, intuitive, empowering, mindful.
This is where the joy comes in. I feel joy about my relationship with movement. I am released from the burden of a punishing, rigid, "no pain no gain" relationship with movement. I don't always feel joy while I'm moving. But yes, sometimes my movement is joyful too. My relationship with movement and the joy I feel are ebbing and flowing. The consistent part is that I frequently recommit to this relationship with movement that adds value and fulfillment to my life.
Beyond the Personal Relationship
Beyond the personal relationship with movement and confronting internal barriers, we also must consider the external barriers and how these influence our own and others' joyful movement. Social justice, body liberation, and intersectionality are part of this work. It cannot be solely a personal endeavor, especially if you have the privilege to not be burdened by the external barriers of oppression, stigma, and lack of access. If you experience oppression and marginalization (particularly multiply marginalized folks), we do not have the privilege to avoid these factors in our relationship with our bodies and with exercise. As one example, I mentioned above a "fear of being in a gym environment," and that fear is a direct result of marginalization and stigma as well as trauma. It is not just a fear due to a personal experience (part of it is), but it is also due to internalizing and anticipating harm I've observed others experience in the interest of protecting myself from additional harms. This is not an experience or feeling unique to me.
Learning about oppression and fighting to dismantle it are another process on their own. No one is expected to do this transformation overnight. It's a necessary evolution of the process overall. When we make movement safer and more joyous for ourselves, we must also help make it safer for others. I'll continue to link to resources where we can all learn more, and I will continue to talk about my own external barriers and my process with them. As we progress toward adjustments within ourselves, may we also progress toward improvements for others while centering the most marginalized among us.
Let's start today by taking just 2 actions!
1. Identify one thing you can learn about your own relationship with movement. For example, maybe you find it difficult to go to the Zumba class you enjoy. Can you identify one reason that you find it difficult to go?
2. Find one person teaching on social media about oppression and marginalization in health and wellness spaces, then choose one (or more if you choose) of the following: follow them, read/like/share some posts, buy their course/book/training, tip them.
A few Instagram accounts I recommend (not an exhaustive list):
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