Movement for Happiness is a positive intervention that must be practiced, repeatedly. Below are a few activities to guide you in exploring movement practices that bring you innate joy. When engaging in a positive intervention, it helps to track your wellbeing as a measure of success. Before you dive in, take your PERMA+ Snapshot and see what your score is today. Next, try each of the activities below over the coming weeks and then retake your PERMA+ Snapshot to see how the positive intervention of Movement for Happiness impacted your wellbeing.
Try the positive intervention as researchers intended…
Positive Intervention: Movement for Happiness
Consider a movement practice that brings you innate joy and pleasure. Engage in a minimum of 150 mins/week (that’s about 25 minutes per day) of that movement at a moderate to vigorous intensity for the next 6 weeks. Feel free to spice up your movement practice by taking it outside, adding music, or inviting a friend to join. At the end of each movement practice, take a moment to reflect on your mood and overall wellbeing.
Once you have completed your first 6 weeks of Movement for Happiness, don’t stop there. Explore these additional practices to add movement to your daily life…
- Movement Snacks
Frequent, short bursts (5-10 minutes) of movement throughout the day are not only fun but also beneficial to your happiness. Try setting an alarm or reminder — whether on your phone, calendar, or a clock — and taking five movement snacks per day over the next five days. Get creative! There’s no minimum dose of movement necessary to boost your mood after sitting for too long.
- Mindful Movement
Bring your full awareness to your movement practice by limiting distractions, taking a deep breath and attending mindfully to each component of your practice. Without intention, our minds can easily check out of a run, hike, or other movement practice. Use this practice to learn how to direct (and often redirect) your attention to your breathing and movement.
- Movement for Happiness Boosters
Already have a movement practice that brings you joy? Try layering on one or more of these movement boosters and reflect on the impact. Could you add a little competition to your daily run? Bring a sense of play and wonder to your hike? Or would taking your bike ride off the city streets and into nature add benefit?