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Getting Your Joy Back

This week we thought it would be fun and timely to focus on simple strategy to get your joy back!! And for heaven’s sake, we could all use a bit more fun and joy in this season!

Looking back to the 1960’s, American singer and songwriter Chubby Checker’s number one selling song created a dance craze across the nation prompting millions to get up out of their seats and “do the twist”! If you have ever heard the song, chances are it put a smile on your face, a tap in your toes and got you dancing too. Hmmm? What if we thought of exercise in the same light? 

Most of us have been taught by health professionals to think of exercise as a discipline or something “we should do”, but rarely do we think of exercise as a joy or something “we want to do”. Here’s a “twist”, the song and message are changing. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, "Exercise is the new medicine. It will make you feel a lot better. We need to focus on the types of movement that people enjoy doing.”

 What a refreshing way to look at exercise- what we ‘want to do’ instead of what we ‘have to do’. Let’s begin to look at fitness with a little ‘twist’. If you are interested in experiencing more fun, moving more, sitting less and thriving, we know it takes finding activities we enjoy. 

I think of Marie, a client I had been working with. We had been meeting over the last couple of weeks talking about her goals and desires for her health and fitness and she began to share how the last year had been really difficult. “I just kind of feel numb, like I am going through the motions with everything in my life.”

I asked her, “Marie, what brings you joy?” She looked at me with a strange expression, “What’s joy got to do with working out?” She thought for a moment, “Let’s see, besides chocolate, coffee, a good movie or hanging out with my family and friends….I love birds, music and dancing!” 

We chatted for a bit longer and I asked her to think of other activities or hobbies she’d be willing to try which would bring her joy this week. She looked at me again and said, “No diet or exercise, right? Just something that makes me experience joy?” I nodded and she smiled. 

The next week, Marie came back and shared how much fun she had listening to her favorite music when driving, at work and almost everywhere she went.  Marie said she had a smile on her face and a song in her heart the entire week. She looked at me and said, “Guess what? I’m going to start dancing again too with a country line dancing class and I may even explore belly dancing!” 

So when you think of exercise, go outside the box of a formal class at the gym or needing a trainer to get in shape. Just make moving fun! You’ll be so much more likely to do it and over time you’ll notice a difference in the way you look and feel.

Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that bring a bounce to our step and a boost to our mood! Have fun this week trying something new, or revisiting an old favorite like putting on those dancing shoes!

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