Joyful Movement is a new (ish) term that came to light for many through the Intuitive Eating movement.
In the book, Intuitive Eating, Joyful Movement is the 9th principle out of 10 principles total. To learn more about these principles, visit our page discussing each of these principles!
Joyful movement comes down to connecting and listening to your body and what it needs that day.
It is less about what we think we ‘should’ do and more about what we need or what our body finds enjoyable and comfortable. This may vary day-to-day or week-to-week. It may depend on the weather, your mood, the stage you are at in your menstrual cycle, your stress load at work, etc.
Finding the “Internal Cues”
Listening to your body and what it needs comes with time and practice. Intuitive Eating is about listening to and honoring your body’s internal cues. A cue could look like a headache, soreness, a hollow feeling in your stomach, the need for a good stretch, etc.
There are many health benefits of intuitive movement! Unfortunately our society (cough cough, diet culture) places a lot of focus on the external motivators for activity. i.e. calories, weight, appearance, etc.
What may make the biggest difference between a short-lived behavior and a long-lasting behavior is your motivation. Long-lasting behaviors often follow internal motivation.
Internal motivation simply means moving your body for reasons that make you happy, you feel good about, and prefer to do. When you move your body for internal reasons, you may find forms of movement that feel awesome that you never would have thought were helpful or enjoyable.
Do a Quick Body Scan.
When you wake up, do a quick “body scan” where you ask yourself “how do I feel?” or “what would feel good to do today?”
It is okay to rest.Having 1-2 rest days per week are actually really beneficial! Our body needs rest, in fact, for individuals really wanting to get stronger, rest is one of the best things you can do for your body! A small example of this is taking 1-2min rest in between sets of weights. This time allows your body to rebuild and allows you to take a pause and listen to what your body needs- was that set too heavy, do I need to stop, do I need to begin my cool down? Other ways to rest are after being outside for a long period of time. Does your body need water? Does it need fuel? Do you need to do some self-care such as taking a shower or laying down?
Without rest, our bodies do not get stronger and we do not often listen to what our body needs.
Ask Yourself “Why?”
Ask yourself “why am I doing movement?” Is it to burn calories or for an external reason or is it because I enjoy it or it is to relieve stress.
Let the Clothes Fit You!
We may not often think about this, but clothing has a BIG impact on your movement and your ability to enjoy what you are doing or not. It is important to be wearing the right kind of fabrics for the activity you’re doing so you are comfortable and can do those movements without distraction. In addition, the way clothing touches your body may be the difference between enjoying what you are doing or maybe even avoiding movement all together. While you do activity, you do not want to be feeling pinched or like you are always having to pull your pants up.
Rather than trying to ‘fit into clothes,’ let your clothing fit you!
Find a brand that you can get behind. There are many awesome clothing brands out there that make size-inclusive clothing. Some we love are:
Athleta
SheFit
Just My Size
Primadonna
Dia & Co
Fabletics
Superfit Hero
Good American
As you can see, there is more that goes into joyful movement than we think and there are so many things we can do and change up to help us move for internal reasons rather than external pressures. Let us know how you feel once you move for internal joy!
Our dietitians often talk about intuitive movement in sessions because it does directly impact our nutrition, food needs and body confidence. If you’re looking to talk to a dietitian about any and all things related to nutrition and movement, let us know!