Body Full of Joy
Senia Maymin, PhD
I teach Senior Leaders/C-suite how to WIN at getting their next job | Fractional Chief People Officer | Stanford PhD | Data-driven, ROI-focused, people-first leader | Board Presentations, HR Strategy, M&A
How do you keep yourself energetic, vital, and joyous while you’re sheltering in place and can't go to the gym? The Body Full of Joy team decided to do something to help people keep moving. They firmly believe that movement is critical not just for health and vitality, but also for feeling good. They created actions for one minute at a time!
To watch the whole discussion, click here or watch the embedded video below.
Senia: The story behind Body Full of Joy is that when Martin Seligman, founder of Positive Psychology, started thinking helping people during the coronavirus pandemic, he suggested that we do things that give us more positive emotions because that supports our immune systems, and in particular, we should get moving.
Amanda Moffa and Elaine O'Brien were looking for a way to contribute to public well-being during the pandemic, so they took up the challenge. First, they brought a team together, seven people who know what it means to get joy from movement. Then they created many 1-minute videos about ways to bring more joyful movement into our lives. You can find them all on the Body Full of Joy page.
These are ways to move, stretch, relax, center, energize ourselves, laugh, and boost joy.
Note: Each of the four panelists led us through a one-minute stretch. You can watch them here at 8:19.
Why One-Minute Videos?
Senia: Why one-minute videos?
Elaine: Just because they're snackable, quick, and easy. You can get a mood change. You can feel inspired. You can have a laugh, feel stronger.
Laura: I would add that when people have the image in their heads that exercise has to be X amount of time, they often feel, "I don't have that time. I can't really engage my body right now." We're trying to show that isn’t necessary. It doesn't take long. Dive into your body. Find those connections. Maybe you can boost your mood even in a moment of distress.
One Wish for the Audience
Senia: What is one wish that you have for the people who are here today?
LeeAnn Mallorie: Joy is not necessarily a given, especially if we're in a business context. My wish is that you start with the assumption that joy is possible in any context in which you're working or leading. Then ask yourself, "How do we reverse engineer it from there?"
Ilene Schaffer: I am going to build on LeeAnn's wish.
First, start thinking about treating your mind and body as well as you do our teeth. We would never go without brushing our teeth morning and night. We can see them, right? So think about the heart and lungs and all your organs. If we could treat those as well as we take care of our teeth, we are going to be doing really well.
Start to shift the dialogue around, "This is such a treat that I get to do this. I'll be a better person and feel better because of it." Change your attitude about movement from being "Something I have to do," into "Something I get to do."
Laura Taylor: I wish for you to be in touch with your own body, whatever that is for you. There are so many ranges in which we can find ourselves that can change over time. So continue to check in on the present of where your body is, and know that that is a critical piece of information that can provide well-being.
?Dr. Elaine O'Brien: I would say move with appreciation and love, to center yourself, and to project goodness. The smile you send may return to you. Lift up your heart and then breathe, really breathe in and breathe out goodness and light and joy.
Note: These panelists came to movement in completely different ways, and yet they all came to believe in the one-minute movement.
How Did Movement Become an Important Part of Your Life?
Senia: How did movement become important in your life?
Dr. Elaine O'Brien: I started teaching dance fitness in the early 80s. I noticed that it changed my mood. It helped me get in shape. It helped me be more productive at work and meet great people. Later, after I got my master's in applied positive psychology from Penn in 2008, I earned my PhD in 2015 in the psychology of human movement. In my research, I studied older women in dance classes who exercised moderately and regularly over time with an appreciative group. Not only were they doing very well, but there was a legacy effect. Their well-being affected the well-being of their children and grandchildren.
Laura Taylor: I came out literally because my mother was dancing. That's how I came into the world, and it has not stopped. I have been dancing for the better part of my life and moved into musical theater as a professional before coming to positive psychology. I am now really interested in the integration of my two passions. My ability to move and dance is a form of communication. It's not just about boosting my mood, but also a form of expression that has been really effective.
Ilene Schaffer: I feel like an outlier when it comes to exercise and fitness. If you asked me when I was a kid and even an early adult, "Do you like to exercise?" I'd say, "Oh no!" But then, I had a very limited definition of exercise. It equaled PE class and calisthenics. I absolutely hated PE. But I walked to the beach. I rode my bike into town. I played tennis with friends. I did gymnastics. I danced. I just didn't think of those activities as exercise. I realized I needed to update my definition of fitness and what it means to move the body. That's when I got inspired. I now have a whole menu of things I like to do to move my body. But one of my favorites is walking. I walk with my clients because I believe as deeply in the mental health benefits of walking as in the physical benefits.
LeeAnn Mallorie: I am the founder of two organizations that do embodied leadership work. One is Leading in Motion and the other is Guts and Grace, a women's leadership program. I was into competitive baton twirling, both competing and as an instructor, much of my young adult life. Then I got a job, and found myself wondering, where does the body go? Leadership seemed to be disconnected from movement. Fast forward. I started to meet people who were interweaving aspects of the body and leadership. That made my entire life make sense to me.
I got curious about what happens when we're not tapped into our bodies, and how that may actually get in the way not only of being both as free and competent, but also from being as joyful and fulfilled as we can be as leaders. When I was in the positive psychology program, I wrote my master's thesis on the role that the body plays in leadership. I looked at practical wisdom, using the right strength in the right moment at the right time. It turns out that knowing your body also brings certain strengths online. I'm very interested in how being in our own skins in a deeper way makes us better leaders.
Senia: Thanks to the Body Full of Joy team!
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