What is Joyful Movement and Why is it important in Menopause?

Many women in the perimenopause phase start to experience challenges in their experience, in particular in relation to weight changes. In the past they have dieted and exercised in a way to “lose kilos”, only to find that now, that no longer gives the wanted results. Joyful movement is a way of moving your body for pleasure, rather than for a specific outcome. The menopause years present many challenges for women, but is also a time to feel freedom from the gruelling physical activity of the past, and put our self care first by choosing pleasure over external outcomes.

What is Joyful Movement?

Firstly, let’s address what joyful movement is not.

Diet culture and the diet mentality focuses on burning calories, exercising to burn off what you’ve eaten, focuses on weight loss as the outcome with an emphasis on numbers – calories burned, weight on the scales, centimetres lost, number of reps, the amount of time spent exercising, as examples. This takes away the fun and pleasure of exercising, as it often is only worth participating in if the external outcomes have been achieved, such as losing weight, lost centimetres or burning more calories. This can result in feelings of shame and guilt when the outcome is not achieved, and ultimately, physical activity can be viewed as punishment for achieving a desired goal. It centres around what is called extrinsic factors of motivation.

Joyful movement is a form of physical activity that centres around pleasure and fun, instilling joy in us and all the ways we can move our bodies. It is a mindset shift that allows us to choose movement we enjoy because it makes us feel good, rather than for external outcomes. When we participate in movement we enjoy, we are more likely to continue doing it, and look forward to doing it. Honouring ourselves with rest and understanding the importance of it, listening to our bodies on any given day and resting without guilt or shame. Joyful movement includes all ways that we can move our bodies and applies to all abilities and preferences. It centres around what is called intrinsic factors of motivation.

What is Intrinsic Motivation?

Intrinsic motivation is the foundation of joyful movement and is defined by, the doing of an activity for its inherent satisfaction rather than for some separable consequence. The rewards from intrinsic motivation are often felt straight away, such as – happy, relaxed, energised, strong, calm, peaceful, positive, present, as examples.

Other benefits of intrinsic motivation include:

Reduced anxiety, depression and stress
Better sleep
Connection through social interaction
Improved energy levels
Improved brain function – clearer thinking, memory recall
Improved self confidence and body image

This is not to say that if a person is extrinsically motivated that they don’t feel these things either, but the focus is shifted to these things only, with dropping the expectation of external outcomes.

Why Joyful Movement is important in Menopause

Self care and self kindness really need to be at the top of our priority list in midlife. Energy levels are often not what they used to be, but we continue to still try to do everything in a day that we did before perimenopause started. We are at risk of burnout if we don’t listen to our bodies and honour what they need on a daily basis. Joyful movement allows us to slow down, connect with our body and make decisions based on how we are feeling without shame or guilt. If we didn’t sleep well, then why would we still go to the gym to do a workout, when our body really needs rest? In perimenopause, menopause and post menopause, our bodies are going through some big changes and just don’t function like they used to. Gone are the days of “pushing through”, balance and rest are key, and that’s okay. The stress hormone, cortisol plays a big role in our sleep and energy, and if we aren’t listening to our bodies and trying to continue to push through when we really need rest, we are just making our menopause experience worse, not better.

Incorporating more joyful movement into your life

If the idea of incorporating more joyful movement into your lifestyle sounds appealing (and I hope it does!) there are quite a few ideas to get started in experiencing it. It is a really good idea to start with by thinking about any activities you enjoyed in the past that you no longer do and even the things you loved as a child! Try to incorporate mindfulness and gentle movement and consider safety as well, as you don’t want to cause an injury or aggravate a niggling one. Everyday movement is important as is variety, so think about a couple of activities that you would enjoy a few times a week. If you discover that you need a break from physical activity at the moment, that is okay too. Sometimes that is exactly what we need to reset and prevent burnout. Always listen to your body.

There are many options of different types of activities that could be joyful for you, some include:

Hiking/bushwalking
Yoga at home or in a class/studio
Tennis
Rollerblading or rollerskating
Stand up paddle boarding
Gardening
Hula Hoop
Enter a fun run for charity (to walk or run)
Put on your favourite music and just dance
Free fitness classes on YouTube
Bowling (Ten pin or lawn)
Self defense class

There really are so many options to choose from for joyful movement that will give you the benefit of happiness, strength, fitness, better sleep, reduced stress and reduced or more manageable menopause symptoms.

I would love to hear if you have incorporated joyful movement into your lifestyle and what you chose to do. Was it something from your childhood, or just something you have lost connection too? Let me know!!

References:

1 Finding Julianne, 50+ Joyful Movement Ideas to make you fall in love with exercise again

http://findingjulianne.com/joyful-movement-ideas/

2 Teixeira PJ et al, Exercise, physical activity, and self determination theory: A systematic review, Int J Behav Nutr & Phys Activ 2012 9:78

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3441783/pdf/1479-5868-9-78.pdf

3 Rachael Hartley Nutrition, What is Joyful Movement? Tips to learn how to like exercise.

https://www.rachaelhartleynutrition.com/blog/rediscovering-joy-in-movement

4 Wellness Workdays, Enjoy exercise with Joyful Movement

https://www.wellnessworkdays.com/post/enjoy-exercise-with-joyful-movement

5 Willer F, The Non-Diet Approach Guidebook for Dietitians, 2013, p77-83