Does movement make you happy?

It’s funny that I’m thinking of writing about movement when it’s clearly Aditi who’s more of an expert in this field ~ she’s done a dance movement therapy course people ~. But I’m inspired and in an incredible mood so I’m not about to stop myself. I’ll warn you in advance that I have no idea where this is going to go but I’m excited to find out.

We’re constantly moving. I’m moving as I type, I move as I walk, breathe, eat and sleep. I uninhibitedly move as I listen to music.

I use the word move and not dance because I don’t think there’s much dance in it. It’s just the tapping of my foot, nodding my head and shoulders doing a weird thing with maybe even a side wave in the middle. I think that’s why it’s so much fun to watch people when they do not-very-choreographed dance. There’s raw emotion in there, or no emotion at all. It’s probably just people living in the moment that brings a smile on my face, I don’t know.

And then there is the emotional moving on. Sometimes we get so stuck on certain opinions or beliefs and it becomes super hard to change them or even imagine something other than that could be okay.

I saw this picture once and immediately agreed. Then I saw the same picture with a couple of extra lines added in the comments about how someone must have drawn it thinking it was a six or nine, we just don’t know what that person thought and that only one of those people arguing are right. Which got me thinking that beliefs are at the end of the day, cue the drumroll, beliefs.

When we have already established beliefs, I think it’s important to understand that one thing could have been interpreted in multiple ways, and any of the ways could be correct, depending on what the creator of the belief thought (which is something we may never know in some cases *religion*).

But I was talking about moving on. Often one gets attached to a person. Best friends you no longer talk to, maybe even someone you loved. And this is where the moving gets messy and hard. There are so many memories attached, so many nuances, lives you knew about but there is no point knowing anymore. Buckets of information basically, and you don’t know what to do with it. But then you deal with it through movement itself, generating endorphin to elevate your mood and make peace with yourself. Moving on tends to be a very positive thing, so albeit being difficult, I'd say it leaves you happy in the long run.

I deal with my mood - happy or sad - using movement. Your head and body are always in sync with how you feel. Which is why changing how your body functions will change how you feel as well.

Painting is moving your hands with the rhythm in your head, when people knit they use thread instead. As you chop the vegetables or stir the batter making sure there are no lumps, you’re moving. As you clean up your room and fold the laundry, you’re doing something. It’s actually fun cleaning up with blaring music, maybe you should try it someday.

But as I ponder further, I realise that maybe it isn’t just the movement that leaves you feeling great. I think the movement ensures that you’re doing something. It generally leaves you with focus and direction towards creating something, sometimes with a physical end product, others with a better mindspace.

Or it just leaves you with a clean bedroom and happy mother.

(I still think it's a good bargain.)

Kanksha

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