I've heard it a few times now: "Wow, there's a lot going on." Today, I explore connections between motion and emotion. How might you use movement to process all the changes happening around you today?
We sat in a cramped consultation room, packed as full as my immobile gut felt. My male coworker Jeong-yoon and I sat opposite the doctor, a solid wooden desk between us. I watched the doctor’s eyebrows furrow slightly as she took stock of her notes. She was thinking.
“Does she exercise regularly?” (Jeong-yoon translated.)
“I exercise about four times a week. Not regularly per se.” (again, translation).
“She needs to have a schedule. A rhythm. She needs to eat at the same times, move at the same times, sleep at the same times. She should give her body a structure.” (translation).
The vulnerability of the situation was almost unbearable.
“Okay, I’ll try that.”
There's something about being really sick that catalyzes behavior change unlike anything else. My studio apartment was 4 km (about 2.5 miles) from the school where I taught. I decided to skip the afternoon bus ride and start walking home instead. Simple change though it was, it worked wonders. Each day, by choosing to come to work, I earned an hour of quiet space to process. I grew to love this practice so much, I've never stopped. Here in Cinci, I chose my current apartment largely because it’s walking distance from grad school. Finally, I’ve found a daily feeling space.
While some categorize exercise as “emotion regulation,” I prefer “being human.” I’ll never forget Chicago therapist Patty Vander-Sande’s words: “Emotions are energy in motion. If you don’t let them move, you get depressed!” I’ve found channeling emotions into body movement is a great way to "feel my feels". While walking, running, hiking, and at-home yoga tend to be my favorites because they’re easy and free, people’s need for exercise has resulted in a never-ending list of activities: Kick-boxing, rowing, karate, capture-the-flag, tree-climbing, rock-climbing, water-surfing, gardening, clubbing… just Google it. While I’m all for journaling and meditating, I find that when my day misses movement, I lose touch with my feelings, too. Just like the listen-choose continuum, I think there’s a move-feel connection, too. Our bodies are ecosystems, remember?
“Emotions are energy in motion. If you don’t let them move, you get depressed!”
When I was traveling in Asia, I was surprised (naive millennial that I am); folks seem to already know about this connection. The older generations in Korea are so committed to daily movement that the park authorities have created outdoor gyms in the mountains. After a short inclined hike, ajummas and adeshis (women and men, typically 50+ in age) hop on exercise machines for a bit before trekking back down. When I asked them, they raved about this practice. In Beijing and many other Chinese cities, citizens gather nightly for park dancing; they turn on a government-broadcasted radio station in public squares and dance in lines together for about 30 minutes. Watching them swing their hips in sync like that, I almost hopped in to join them--they looked so happy! While abroad, I learned that moving our outsides moves our insides, too.
>> Park dancing in Beijing. March 2019. Researchers started assessing correlations between emotion regulation and movement in the mid-1990s. Turns out regular exercise is associated with reduced anxiety, depression, stress, and negativity. People who exercise regularly tend to report more positive moods, and for organizations with low morale, exercise interventions are proving effective in boosting workplace moods. For me, moving my body helped my brain (and gut!) move, too.
Today, I look at the current state of things, and I don’t know where to even start with all my feelings. But I know the answer can’t be “so just don’t feel them.” (I’ve been in that constipated place before, and I refuse to go back). I’m committed to learning a new way, a well way. So instead, first, I wake up and breathe. Then I choose to eat. And then, I move. And as I do, my fear, anger, grief, gratitude, disappointment, anticipation, and loneliness bubble to the surface. Hard as they are to face and hold, as I move, my strong body handles them, processes them, and releases them. Over time, I’ve come to understand that feelings are information about where we are today. They don’t define us or our reality. They change and pass. We don’t choose them. We respond to them. They are energy. It is simply our job to recognize them and mobilize them to move. Move where? That’s tomorrow’s question…
Feelings are information about where we are today. They don’t define us or our reality. They change and pass. We don’t choose them. We respond to them.
Have you moved today? Even while we’re slowing the spread, that needn’t slow our stride! Head out for a long walk if you’re able. If you’re privileged enough to have a car and parks nearby, drive to some nature, breathe deep, and get going. Take a few moments to let the information overload settle and the feelings flow. For those of us getting claustrophobic in tiny city apartments, consider hopping to a free online exercise class--lots of companies have started live streams this week! If moving feels new and intimidating to you, you are not alone. Exercise is vulnerable. It’s just us and our bodies. We can’t be in anyone else’s body. This steering practice takes courage. Perhaps consider exercising with someone else; doing new things tends to be easier with others. Ironically, processing feelings with others tends to go smoother when we’re moving, too.
I recently met a 93-year-old named Betty. She is one of those women with sparkling eyes whose presence fills you with awe and joy. I asked her, “Betty, what advice do you have for us? You’re the wisest one in the room!” She laughed and said, “Just keep moving!”
Until tomorrow, friends.
Be well.
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