If you’re an athlete, avid exerciser, or just someone who enjoys movement then you know the benefits of movement.
You may even feel like you need to run, lift weights, bike, or dance just to feel like yourself.
In today’s interview I sit down with Kelly McGonigal to talk about her new book The Joy of Movement: How exercise helps us find happiness, hope, connection, and courage.
Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., is a research psychologist, a lecturer at Stanford University, and an award-winning science writer. She is the author of the international bestseller The Willpower Instinct (2013), The Upside of Stress (2016), and Yoga for Pain Relief (2009). Her work has been published in twenty-eight languages. Since 2000, she has taught dance, yoga, and group exercise in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In The Joy of Movement Kelly combines her passion for fitness and background in health psychology to investigate movement as a source of joy. The Joy of Movement is a love letter to movement and exploration of what is most human about us.
Along the way, Kelly tells the stories of people who have found fulfillment and belonging through running, walking, dancing, swimming, weightlifting, and more, with examples that span the globe. From Tanzania, where one of the last hunter-gatherer tribes on the planet live, to a dance class at Juilliard for people with Parkinson’s disease, to the streets of London, where volunteers combine fitness and community service, to races in the remote wilderness, where athletes push the limits of what a human can endure.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- How what we call the runners high is actually more of a persistence high that helps us keep going.
- Why we are wired to persist, endure, and pursue what we want.
- Some people who are born with a vulnerability towards unhealthy addictions also are more likely to get hooked on exercise when they try it.
- The science behind the mental health benefits of exercise.
- The power of thought when it comes to exercise.
- How to view the purpose of movement differently so you naturally feel compelled to do it.
- Some of the science behind how movement and exercise can give you a sense of community and belonging.
- The surprising highlights for the ultra endurance athletes Kelly talked with.
- And so much more…
Connect with Kelly On Social Media
Facebook | Instagram | Website
Resources
- Pick up The Joy of Movement on Amazon
Click to Subscribe
iTunes | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher