The Joy of Movement
When was the last time you truly enjoyed moving your body? - not because you had to for fitness goals, to get your steps in, or to play some defined sport or activity, but simply because it felt good?
For many of us, the concept of exercise has become synonymous with accountability, results, and measurable goals. We push ourselves to meet targets, burn calories, to build muscle. But in the pursuit of “optimisation” we often forget the joy we can find from just movement itself.
Imagine tomorrow night a friend calls you up and asks you to join them at a dance class - outside of relatives weddings, where you may not be entirely sober, you’ve never stepped foot on a dance-floor out of conscious choice. It’s likely to be an absolute shambles at first. You may stumble through steps, laugh at your own lack of coordination, and will probably be more out of breath than any of your most recent workouts. But you’re also likely to feel something freeing in the movement, find something refreshing in the rhythm, that means you just don’t care about the outcome. At the end of the day, you know it’s just to have fun.
This is the psychology of play: like a child at a park, we’re sometimes better when we move outside the realm of goal-setting and performance, especially from a health perspective. Play isn’t about perfection - it’s about enjoyment, exploration, and creativity. And the beauty of it is that anyone can have access to this this type of joyful state, no matter their age or fitness level.
Think about the last time you went for a walk outside, not with any destination in mind, but just to walk without care. Or the last time you said ‘yes’ to something you knew would take you so far outside your comfort zone you had to accept a beginners mindset knowing how completely new this was for you. You likely weren’t concerned with how many steps you took, how many calories you burned, how foolish you may have looked. You simply moved, and that had its own inherent value.
There’s a profound shift when we stop seeing movement as just another task to complete, and start seeing it as a means to feel alive.
Walking, swimming, biking, dancing - these activities don’t necessarily require metrics. They don’t demand we challenge ourselves to the point of discomfort. All they ask is that we show up, and engage with curiosity.
I have a client who, every weekend before our session, joins in with a local sea-swimming group in the Cardiff area. I can’t help but admire the unwavering dedication it takes to jump into those waters each week, and I’m slightly envious of the surge of joy—no doubt dopamine-fuelled—that must come from running fearlessly into the water in the middle of January. It’s a perfect reminder that movement can be as invigorating for the mind as it is for the body.
The trick here is to find what you enjoy. We naturally gravitate towards activities that brings us satisfaction, not the ones that feels like a chore.
One of the books I’ll read throughout the year, “The Daily Laws” by Robert Greene, speaks about getting back in touch with those things we did as children, those activities that no-one pestered us to do, things we naturally took part in out of sheer enjoyment. Maybe for you it’s the freedom of a morning jog, the connectedness of practicing Yoga or Pilates, or the spontaneity of playing a sport with friends. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that at least some part of your day, or week, is spent with movement that makes you feel good - physically, mentally, emotionally.
When we embrace the joy of just ‘moving’, we gain more than just the physical benefits; we tap into our natural state of being. We learn that the real reward lies in the experience itself - the laughter, the energy, the rush of life.
So the challenge is simple; move for the fun of it. Rediscover (or discover…) what feels good for you. Let go of performance and perfection. Let movement remind you of the joy that’s always been there. Because, whilst there is a time and a place for hitting goals, tracking, and performance, there is equal time simply to enjoy the journey, without thought, just enjoyment.