The Joy of Movement

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I think that I had a masochistic relationship with exercise growing up because I was sort of encouraged to do serious endurance sports. And paying attention to how we relate to different forms of movement or exercise, that's part of the path. It also gives me a chance to say, when I say the joy of movement, people sometimes think I'm talking about it having to be easy. It has to always be pleasurable and have to be a party.

Pay a visit to your local gym, observe the grimacing patrons as they pound the treadmill or march in place on the StairMaster, and you might conclude that exercise is no fun. But it doesn’t have to be that way, according to Kelly McGonigal, who lectures at Stanford, teaches dance classes, and wrote “The Joy of Movement: How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection, and Courage.” Today, she explains how exercise — of all kinds and in all doses — can strengthen your mind, elevate your mood, and deepen your social connections.